Posted on Wed, Oct 29, 2008
That’s one sweet book cover
Over the past several months I, and 236 other bloggers from all over the globe (from 29 US States and 14 countries), wrote chapters for the book, Age of Conversation 2.
The book is obviously unique since it involves connections between people all around the world who have never met each other.
What’s the book about? Well, let the marketing spiel roll forth:
“This book is a daring challenge to the business community. Gone are the top-down, command and control messages that held sway through the 20th Century. In are a raft of new techniques that start with listening, responding and action that set the scene for a continuing and evolving dialog about brands, experience, business and community.”
Of course you are eager to buy it, but let me just put this out there to turn a definitely maybe into a definitely definitely. All profits go to the children’s charity, Variety.
Puchase the hard copy, soft copy or e-book here.
Mad props go to Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton. Both worked tirelessly to organize and execute this project. Many virtual gold stars, high fives and man hugs are being directed your way.
Oh yeah, just in case you don’t believe me about the number of bloggers involved in this project, here they all are:
Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem
[digg=http://digg.com/business_finance/Huge_blogger_collaboration_to_benefit_charity]
Posted on Tue, Oct 14, 2008
Everyone knows that automated phone directories and ordering systems are mildly annoying at best, and oftentimes horrendously frustrating.
Mazzio’s, a pizza chain (sorry, “Italian eatery” chain), is no exception. Theirs suffers from a significant usability issue, one which is tied directly to customer satisfaction.
We had a coupon from Mazzio’s, four dollars off our next pizza on account of them delivering late last time.
We order our pizza via telephone and are subject to an automated ordering service. Interesting, at checkout there are no options to enter a coupon code. So, we order the pizza anyway thinking that we can simply give it to the delivery guy.
Upon delivery, we hand the coupon to the delivery guy only to be told that he can’t accept it – we have to tell the person on the other end of the phone when we order. Are you kidding me? What dude on the other end of the phone – it’s an automated telephone system!
So, the coupon was given to us to rectify a customer service issue on Mazzio’s end, yet the next time we order we can’t actually use it. Needless to say, this usability issue has lowered my confidence in Mazzio’s as a brand who can deliver upon what they promise, and the net result is for me to bitch about it on the Internet for all to see.
The effects of a simple usability oversight can be devastating to a brand – especially if it ties in with the mighty $. That is, the customer’s mighty, or not so mighty, dollar.
Mazzio’s, free advice for you:
- At the check-out stage, before asking for billing information, ask, “do you have a coupon?”
- If yes, ask the customer to enter the unique coupon code with their keypad.
- Apply the discount and move on to the billing stage.
Not only will the above actually make the automated ordering system more usable, it will help to prevent future customer dissatisfaction!
[digg=http://digg.com/business_finance/Mazzio_s_automation_hurts_customers]
Posted on Wed, Oct 01, 2008
I’ve been testing Mozilla’s Ubiquity prototype for the last hour (thanks to Scott Watkins for putting me on the case). It’s freaking awesome.
Essentially, Mozilla is trying to address flaws with how the Internet is used, and make the experience more cohesive and natural for the user. For example, typically when telling a buddy about a restuarant and how to get there, you have to open a seperate Google Maps window, enter the address, select the restuarant and paste the link into your email. Kind of long winded, huh?
How much easier would it be to simply select the name of the restuarant within your email, hit a simple command button and get Ubiquity to map the restaurant, place the map in your email, and look up some Yelp reviews at the same time? Oh yeah, you don’t have to open another window.
The app isn’t limited to directions and reviews. Translations and definitions are all par for the course, too.
The build is early prototype, so expect limitations, but the idea is solid.
Ubiquity is limited to Firefox – but I’d suggest you try it. It’s really cool. This truly could be an app that changes how we use the Internet.
[digg=http://digg.com/tech_news/Mozilla_Ubiquity_redefining_website_usability]