Blog Feed: What technology is really important? What trends are worth watching? What do you need to know? Education starts here.
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More Than a Watch
Published on 2013-04-08 20:59:00
I have had my Pebble watch for about a month now and I can tell you it is an amazing bit of technology.
Summer of Sequels Comes to Text Messaging
Published on 2013-03-17 22:48:00
It’s approaching summertime which means it’s time for sequels.
Smashtalk® is Like the Bicycle
Published on 2013-01-21 00:59:00
Bicycles are a major form of transportation all over the world today.
Text Messaging is like Windshield Wipers
Published on 2013-01-06 22:21:00
What do windshield wipers and text messaging have in common?
The Android Report
Published on 2012-12-27 23:12:00
To all my friends and anyone else who happens upon this blog posting, I have decided to document what I believe is the solution to the ongoing struggles I have experienced in the last 18 months trying to get Android to function in a consistent and re
Coming Full Circle: Computing Goes Back to the Enterprise
Published on 2012-11-26 16:35:00
Clouds are all the rage in the computing world.
Signs that Customer Service Matters
Published on 2012-10-05 15:29:00
I recently found myself trying to reach Customer Service executives in a large number of US companies.
The Next Quantum Leap in Device Convenience
Published on 2012-08-21 19:00:00
I was asked the other day to describe the next generation of technology and how it would change our daily routines.
The Missing Element in Performance Measurement
Published on 2012-08-20 15:07:00
Can you imagine having your work performance measured and analyzed every minute of every day?
The Next Productivity Boost
Published on 2012-07-25 14:39:00
Throughout history, great advances in productivity have come about when business systems thought to be discreet by design were brought together.
Customer Crafted Service – A Deeper Dive
Published on 2012-06-12 01:13:00
The Customer Crafted Service Model, as described in my previous posting, “The Next Frontier”, highlights the concepts for building a customer service system that reflects the demands of today’s customers; customers who have more choices in all areas of products and services than ever before.At the center of that model is the customer – the decision maker regarding all facets of the interaction.
Customer Crafted Service – The Next Frontier
Published on 2012-05-31 19:02:00
The customer service model has undergone a great deal of change in the past few years.
Stop Instrumenting and Start Solving Problems
Published on 2012-05-16 15:48:00
Taking your car to the mechanic.
The Customer Service “Leap of Faith”
Published on 2012-02-27 19:58:00
Customer service departments share a great many common practices. They hire new agents as needed and put them through the company’s standard on-boarding program. This usually includes a number of training courses and simulation exercises designed to make sure the new agent has the basic skills to do their job. The new agent, comfortable in their new cubicle, then begins the process of improvement. Every phone call is recorded and many are evaluated looking for areas of improvement. Perfor [..]
Is Apple Immune to the Osborne Effect?
Published on 2012-02-20 00:25:00
The iPad3. The iPhone5. Both products are expected to be released this year. Both products are expected to offer vast improvements over current versions. Both products are both the best kept secrets and the worst kept secrets at the same time. So how is it that Apple avoids becoming subject to the “Osborne Effect?” I know, sounds like a rhetorical question but it isn’t. I really do not know how Apple continues to sell monstrous numbers of products when a new model is known to be rig [..]
Innovation Applied to Existing Technologies
Published on 2012-01-16 07:00:00
It rains a lot in Oregon so wipers are pretty much a necessity. Watching them go back and forth one afternoon got me to thinking, “I wonder how many cars are made today that do not have intermittent wipers?” I suspect that the answer is very few if any. Were Low – Medium – High not sufficient? Certainly better than On/Off as an option. How many of you would trade in your intermittent wipers for a “standard version with 3 speed settings? Yeah, me too. I like my variable speed opt [..]
The Role of Social Media in Simple Terms
Published on 2011-12-28 11:46:00
Wind the clock way, way back. Look at retailing before telephones and radios. Customer service was a personal experience that happened at the place of business. Want to visit with other customers, visit with your neighbors as the smaller towns all supported the local merchants and the merchants generally listened or went out of business. Wind the clock forward and retailers are on a steady path to greater and greater levels of isolation with their customers. Most retailers today have no rea [..]
Social Media: Where’s the integration?
Published on 2011-11-23 00:25:00
Like many of you, I have a Facebook page and a Twitter account. I cannot say I am an active user of either system but I do occasionally take a look at what is being posted. What amazes me is that I have friends who are only reachable via their Twitter handle or a private FB message. This situation has really stumped me lately; how do you reach someone on Twitter or FB if you are an e-mail user? It strikes me as totally arrogant that Twitter does not have the sense to create a simple gateway [..]
An Idea Steve Jobs Would Have Appreciated
Published on 2011-11-07 07:30:00
Steve Jobs, along with Jonathan Ive, embraced the love consumers have for technology “that just works.” The iPod, iPhone and iPad are great examples of existing ideas re-defined by an unyielding desire to make the products simple to use. The design of SmashTalk follows that same principle. None of the myriad of group text messaging solutions that are garnering millions of VC investment dollars follow the basic rule that has helped Apple catapult itself ahead of all other vendors in its ta [..]
The Role of Social Media - The Cold, Hard Truth
Published on 2011-10-26 22:19:00
Social media must be about letting the customer meet the "company" and other customers in order to develop a sense of community. People like to share and like knowing there are others who also acquired the product. Encouraging others to "spread the word" is what the purpose of Social Media ought to be and that supports a larger branding mission if done well.The idea that FB, YouTube & Twitter ought to be a primary means of customer support is just plain wrong. No one needs to create the next Dav [..]
Social Media: Is a Dangerous Pattern Emerging?
Published on 2011-10-17 00:53:00
A friend of mine recently had a problem with her American Express card. She had an issue with a late fee, called the 800 number, was told that the charge was valid and though there were many years of great purchase and payment history, the late fee would not be waived. My friend cancelled her AMEX card and posted a short version of the incident on Twitter. Not surprisingly, American Express reached out to her as they are an avid user of Twitter search technology. The Social Media representati [..]
Here We Go Again!
Published on 2011-09-06 05:00:00
Many years ago, instant messaging was all the rage. More than a dozen companies sprang to life all promoting their method and their “standard” as the next big thing. Even the really big players decided to try their luck in this new game that was going to take a large bite out of the e-mail market and make ICQ a dinosaur. Anyone old enough to remember what happened knows that instant messaging is still in its infancy and has no hope of ever becoming the ubiquitous communication utility so [..]
The New Traveler’s Gathering Spot
Published on 2011-07-12 18:08:00
As a regular business traveler for the past 30 years, there have been a number of changes in the traveling environment; some good and some not so good. Obviously, the TSA experience fluctuates between grand nuisance and mild annoyance depending upon the location and calendar. Choices of eateries is also much broader today than it was years ago.The most stark difference I have noticed in the past couple of years is actually an update of a very old model; the phone bank. Remember those walls of [..]
The Case for Tablets
Published on 2011-03-22 20:07:00
Having just returned from CTIA and having had an opportunity to try out all the latest tablets, I can firmly state that while the idea of a tablet computer is very enticing, there are just too many shortcomings to get me to buy one. TypingFirst and
Solving the Mobile Payment Problem
Published on 2011-02-25 04:15:00
I don’t know about you but the idea of transmitting my credit card data from my smartphone to a receiver in order to avoid using my credit cards does not sound like a good idea. I know about the encryption and all the steps to secure the transmiss
Making Every Contact Center Resource a High Performer
Published on 2011-02-12 23:00:00
Today, contact centers around the world are spending hundreds of millions every year in an effort to measure the performance of their employees. Quality Monitoring (QM), Infomarts, Datamarts, Key Performance Indicator (KPI) tracking and Speech Analy
20 Years of Electronic Calendars and Time Zone Shifts are Still a Problem
Published on 2011-02-04 23:01:00
Maybe it’s the wave of new technology that has me bothered or maybe it’s the real lack of innovation that seems to be largely ignored or maybe it’s something else. All I know is that I still cannot put appointments into my Outlook calendar, tra
Multi-player board games via Smashtalk text messaging. Good or bad idea?
Published on 2010-11-21 18:28:00
Imagine playing Monopoly or Bridge or Yahtzee via text messaging. Smashtalk is designed to support applications sending and receiving Smashtalk text messages. Player A starts the game on their smartphone and invited 3 friends to play. The invi
History in Spirals
Published on 2010-09-14 00:01:00
History is a wonderful subject of study if the study includes the “cause and effect” behind the events. Some would say that history repeats itself. I would suggest that history does not repeat but rather history occurs in a spiraling pattern. Wha
Customer Service Staff: The Last Investments
Published on 2010-09-07 16:39:00
I listen to a lot of webinars focused on how to improve the delivery of customer service. I read lots of analyst reports about the state of customer service and where investments are being made and expected to be made in the future. As I am sure you
The Next Big Thing in Mobile Technology
Published on 2010-07-31 20:44:00
I was recently asked what I thought was going to be the next big thing to drive the mobile telephony industry. I imagine many of you chat amongst your colleagues about this same question. To really understand what is it that is coming, it is useful t
Science of Business – Made Easy! [Gravity]
Published on 2010-07-15 01:47:28
Gravity is all around us. It is part of everything we do every day. So what exactly is this thing called Gravity.Let’s start with the definition. Gravity, according to the Collins Junior Dictionary, is “the force that makes things fall when you d
Why the outrage about AT&T and iPhone4?
Published on 2010-06-15 12:53:00
AT&T is the displaying the financial calculations of a company that has a monopoly. Why invest in systems capable of handling the known volumes when it is a temporary condition? Why really work to build out the network when a VZ-versi
Why All the Fuss About Social Media?
Published on 2010-06-09 12:33:00
Social Media is quite the rage these days. I must be seeing at least 2-3 webinars per week on the subject from various companies and vendors talking about how Social Media is impacting our lives, our customers’ lives and the world around us. In man
UC and the Contact Center: The Real Approach to Success
Published on 2010-05-26 13:48:00
Unified Communication (UC), as both concept and product, has been around for over 10 years. In fact, I remember working on my first UC client 15 years ago. So why has it taken so long for the idea to really take hold, or has it? Better yet, what i
Science of Business – Made Easy! [Inertia]
Published on 2010-05-25 10:30:00
The law of inertia is very simple. It states that an object in motion will stay in motion until it is acted upon by something that changes it direction or speed of motion. The law of inertia also states that an object at rest - motionless
Science of Business – Made Easy! [Friction]
Published on 2010-05-09 23:01:00
Friction is one of the more useful terms in business for which the origins are clearly in the field of science. Friction, by definition, is the rubbing together of 2 or more surfaces. That rubbing produces heat, wear and eventual failure of component
Do You Have the Skills?
Published on 2010-05-04 17:08:00
All of us have a unique blend of talents, abilities, experiences and interests. It is those things that make each one of us unique. It is those differences that ought to be the cornerstone of every contact center but sadly are not. Historically, c