My Cobbler's Child

Scott Ginsberg (the guy with the nametag), commented recently in one of his blog posts that it wasn't enough just to have a website anymore -- you must have a web presence. In that entry, he had a number of suggestions on how to attain that lofty goal. For many of us, though, even getting the website part right is a task of epic proportions in and of itself.

I am a web programmer and, up until a few years ago, I didn't even have a website. Yes, I know, I know. It was heartily embarrassing to hand people my business card and to have to tell them not to look at my website. Come to think of it, that would explain some of the odd looks I got back then.

Now this gaping hole in my web presence had many underlying causes. It was partly, of course, that my website was a true cobbler's child. I spent so much time working on other people's web projects, that I had little time for my own. A larger part of it, however, was just trying to answer the question of how I wanted to present myself. Tied in with that was my full awareness that, while I was a fairly competent programmer, designing a decent site, complete with original layout and graphics, was a task I wasn't quite ready to attack. Fortunately for me, my subcontractor and longtime friend, Kristin Mead, helped me come up with a nice, clean look for my site. "All" I had to do then was fill in the content.

Yeah, that's "all".

The problem with content on the web is that it has to change and evolve or no one will ever care to look at it twice. This is part of the process of turning that website into a web presence and something with which I continually struggle. One reason that I have started this blog is to create some changing content for my site -- and the other, with any luck, is to provide some interesting or useful information along the way.

I'm just starting to look at some of the other technologies which have been popping up over the last couple of years -- the so-called Web 2.0. How can I use these things? Do I even want to? Some of the pointers I've seen recently mention Squidoo, MySpace, Flickr, and del.icio.us. I figure the best way to investigate is just to dive right in. I'm looking forward to the exploration. I'll report back with anything interesting that I find.

What sort of cool web technologies have you played with recently? Anything that you'd care to recommend?

Another Unexpected Pleasure

I've written a few posts now about customer service, both good and bad. I've decided that it is just too easy to come up with the bad. Look on any site which talks about one company or another and inevitably someone will post a hair-raising tail about the horrors they experienced at the uncaring or incompetent hands of that company.

Yep, that's way too easy.

So, instead, I think I will only write about the very best customer service -- the kind that surprises me and gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling. I challenge you, dear readers (both of you), to come up with better stories. Let's reward the good we find with the same enthusiasm that we lambast the bad.

I had a surprisingly good experience just the other day. I have been in the process of moving to a new web hosting service for my company's website, http://cyberdatasolns.com, for about the last month. It always takes a while to go through this process, what with moving all the content and testing it on the new service. The final step, prior to canceling the old website, is to tell your Domain Name Registrar that the site has moved. Most of these services actually have online facilities to make these changes. Mine, Network Solutions, Inc., was no exception.

The trick with online procedures is, though, that you need to have a username and password in order to make those changes. I had originally created this website about ten years ago, so my account name and password had long since fled the drafty corridors of my brain. They did have a procedure where the username and password could be sent to you via the email address under which you registered. Of course, that was ten years old, too, and had long since been terminated. To deal with this, they had a form I could fill out which, when faxed to them, would allow them to change the email address, which would allow me to follow the other procedures to eventually get in contact with my account.

So far, so good, they seemed to have thought of everything. I filled out that form and faxed it to them. Then I waited.

And waited.

I suddenly realized that I had no clue how long this would take. So, I resolved to call them.

I got in relatively quickly (about a 3 minute wait) -- finally, a company which actually staffs its help line with enough people! When Maria came on the line, I quickly described the situation and asked simply how long it would take to make the change. She was able to tell me immediately that it would take one business day. Wow! A help line person with the information immediately at hand!

"But, Mr. Peters, if you would like, I can ask your security question and if you can answer it, I can take care of everything right now."

Great! Give it to me!

She asked the question and I got the answer wrong. As I recall, when I originally set up the question, it had been meant to remind me of the password (which it didn't). Sometimes I am too clever by half. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to wait for the faxed sheet to be processed. No big deal.

"Actually, Mr. Peters. If I may call you back at the number registered for the account, we can still process the changes."

What? A company that has actually thought out all of the issues that their customers might face? I'm shocked!

Well, needless to say, the process worked like a charm. I was able to make all the necessary changes without letting a single day go by. Kudos to Network Solutions, Inc!

So, tell me your story of good customer service. Does it beat mine?

Pride and Prejudice

My wife, Lisa, and I watched the A&E presentation of "Pride and Prejudice" tonight (the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy). Don't laugh! It's a very manly show to watch. Right up there with "Die Hard" and "The Terminator"!

Anyway, It is a delightful story. The one thing is, you have to tune your ear a bit to follow the dialog. The language of the time (at least as portrayed in this particular instance) feels a bit round about. The cadences of speech can catch you off guard.

It occurred to me that this is a problem that we in the technical realms can cause without intending it. Often the language we use devolves into jargon and needless technical verbiage. Unless the poor victims of our communication happen to have "tuned their ears" they are rapidly lost in a sea of confusion and frustration. Unlike the amusing antics of the Bennett family, however, our descriptions of the latest in client-server technology can, at best, bring on a glazed look in the eyes.

We need to remember that, in addition to the skills with keyboard and CPU, we must also develop the skills in communication to first understand the needs of our clients and then to make ourselves understood. Personally, I've found that analogy and illustration tend to help quite a bit. Your methods may vary.

Have you ever had a hard time speaking with a technologist? What happened? If you are a technologist how do you communicate what you do to a non-techie?

Memory Gardens

I wouldn't call myself an avid gardener, but I do enjoy getting out and working in the beds around our house occasionally. There is something about preparing the way for the beauty of Spring that re-energizes me. Sometimes, if I don't have a lot of time, I'll just mosey around the yard for a few minutes and say hello to everyone and see how they are growing.

It's funny, though. Each bed has its batch of memories that come with it. Looking at the perennial bed in front of our house, I remember when my mom and my wife (then still my girlfriend) played hooky so they could come up and tear up my front lawn. Many of the plants in that bed are divisions from my mom's giant gardens down in Toledo. We laughed a lot that day, as I recall, and tearing up sod never seemed so easy.

The garage-side garden was the first flower bed that I designed. It started out as a very regular two-foot wide plot, planted by some prior resident, that ran the length of the garage. By the time I was done, it had grown considerably and had taken on a much more free-form shape. Now it also houses a large selection of tulips planted in memory of a good friend whom we lost not long ago. We planted the first batch of bulbs on the day on which he passed away and I'm sure a tear or two nourished those blooms.

The bed behind the house is our Japanese garden. The granite pagoda was the result of a day of shopping at Ann Arbor Home and Garden. The dwarf Japanese maple (whom we call "Ace") was the result of a day shopping at Home Depot. It's a serene place. We have a bench pulled up alongside to allow us to sit and rest from our labors. We've spent many a pleasant hour there, planning out our next garden project -- planning our future.

This year, my wife wants to start a moon garden at the back of our property. I expect that there will be memories associated with it, too. The thing is, whether those memories are of joy or sorrow, of hope or disappointment, the garden will transmute those emotions into things of beauty and tranquility. I don't know how, but it always seems to work that way.

What memories have you grown in your garden?

A Great Read

I just finished a super book called "The Power of Approachability" by Scott Ginsberg.

I'm going to have to read it again.

This book is so chock-a-block full of good information that it was like drinking from the firehose. Scott has ideas on presenting yourself in email, on the phone, and in person with the goal to be more approachable and to create unforgettable first impressions (and that's unforgettable in a good way -- not like the time that guy at the office party smeared potato salad in the boss's hair).

Scott is somewhat famous as "that guy with the nametag". For the last five years he has worn a nametag 24/7. He wrote about the experience in his first book called "HELLO, My Name is Scott" -- a book I fully intend to buy. I am also listening to one of his audio programs, "How to become a Networking Superhero", from which I have gotten several great ideas on how better to meet and build better mutually beneficial relationships in the business networking environment. I'm really looking forward to using some of his ideas in the area of building relationships via the Internet.

If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend picking up "The Power of Approachability". Even if you don't think you require it in the context of your business life, the tips on starting conversations alone will more than pay for the price of the book.

What books are you reading right now? Would you recommend them?