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PayPal has announced a limited release of PayPal Mobile, which enables you to send money via your cell phone.

Read more about it here (PayPal) and here (PC Pro)

roar at roarweb dot com

Now you can run Windows XP on a Mac.

I wonder if that will change the customer experience???

roar at roarweb dot com

Sxore goes beta:

This good news from Sxore was posted on February 16th. At that point I chose not to write about it. Why? Because I feel Alpha testers should have been given this knowledge before it was made public!

Maybe not a big deal you might say. You are right. But sometimes it is the small things that makes a difference!

Today I received an e-mail from Sxore and decided to give it a few lines. This e-mail was sent to those of us who subscribes to the sxore development list. Attached was 7 documents. My initial test feedback, dated December 15th, was among these.

In December, after testing sxore, I uninstalled the alpha version from my blog. It had a few bugs that I could not live with while waiting for them to get fixed. Good thing I did - today was the first time I heard from them since a “thank you for your feedback” e-mail came in mid December.

While I’m planning to give sxore another try in the near future, there are a few process issues I’d like to look at with regards to their test program. The bottom line is that I feel there was a few steps missing:

• Ongoing feedback to testers is important: We’re more likely to continue to test if we hear from you!
• Tell us BEFORE you launch the next phase: That way we can be ready - and even help you spread the word through writing about it! [Note: The attachments shows that they sent out an announcement on Feb 16th - but I never received it! And I think they should have told us BEFORE it was posted on their site!]
• Help us help you! If we had know BEFORE and been able to download and launch the BETA before it was publicly available, Sxore would have had a series of blogs to point new users to. This would have given each of us some exposure - a bit for each individual blog, lots for sxore!

We believe in providing legendary customer service and are looking for creative, team-oriented stars who work brilliantly, meet deadlines and live to innovate.

I did not find Sxore able to live up to this Sxip quote. Personally I look at the small things when looking at Information Technology companies. And customer service processes are very important to me.

If they can’t get a simple customer service process right, how can I then trust them to get their code and functionality right?

Hmm, I wonder if the job of Product Manager for Sxore is still available???

roar at roarweb dot com

I think the latest Microsoft TechNet mailer show that they don’t understand the new realities of the “conversation“.

I recently received a marketing piece for TechNet Flash from Microsoft Canada. I looked at the copy on the front and thought “Wow, they just don’t get it!”

The copy read:

Some people believe it is who you know that gets you ahead.

When I opened the piece I saw that it wasn’t as bad as I first thought:

Members of TechNet Flash believe it’s what you know, too.

The “too” at the end made the difference. While “what” absolutely is important in the technical arena, the Cluetrain Manifesto showed us that “who” can be even more important.

As a provider of technical knowledge TechNet tries the typical approach of making their stuff “the most important thing since …”.

What’s wrong with that you might ask? Well, to really show their class I think they should have acted differently. By wording their marketing piece differently they could have acknowledged that they understand the importance of the “conversation” - and at the same time underlined the importance of technical knowledge.

Let’s face it. With 95% of all jobs never advertised you need to know somebody. Without contacts you are stuck! Thus the importance of “who”. When you know somebody you have the possibility to get ahead - if you know “what”.

So, while Microsoft got both of the elements in their message, I think they should have stressed the overall importance of “who” much more, and then played the “what” card.

One possible option:

Networking expertise is important. It is who you know that might get you ahead!

Networking expertise is important. Do you know what to do to run your network properly?

Any other ideas? Suggestions welcome!

roar at roarweb dot com

If you read my blog on a regular basis you know that I’ve had a problem reclaiming my blog on Technorati.

While I know Technorati is a free service, I’m still very disappointed about the customer experience I have had trying to figure this out. It just seems to be impossible to get an answer from them!

Anyway, maybe there is hope. Thanks to Liz from Successful Blog I’ve found a link to the blog of Janice Myint of Technorati. In one post she describes what you might try to check out when you are in my situation. I have just left her a comment, maybe - just maybe - I will be so lucky that I actually get some help. That would be great!

roar at roarweb dot com

Technorati Tags: customer experience, Successful Blog, Janice Myint, Technorati, roar, roarweb, Technorati Support, Technorati Help, Technorati Tips

On January 9th I wrote about my trouble in getting a reply to a Technorati customer service request.

This week, on January 23rd (Monday), I tried again! Still no reply. I wonder what it takes to get their attention? Or maybe I have their attention - they just don’t want to talk to me???

roar at roarweb dot com

I’m having a problem with my Technorati account. It’s frustrating! My own fault, but frustrating.

I deleted a claim to this blog - and now I cannot reclaim it!

Error: Unclaimable Blog
Sorry, the URL you entered is not claimable. If you feel that’s not correct, please contact support.

I contacted Technorati support on Wednesday. Today is Monday and I still have not heard back - with the exception of an automated reply e-mail. I know this is a free service, but still…. it’s a bug (I think) in their system!

So, how did I get “here”?

Searches on Technorati for my blog seemed to not show the latest results. It kind of all stopped 14 days prior to me deleting my claim. I deleted the claim in the hope that a new claim might speed up the listing of my newest posts. I should have known better.

However. Such a mistake is probably not unique. Why can’t I claim it back? It looks like poor programming to me. Maybe someone can explain it to me!?

roar at roarweb dot com

A COCO Gift Card is a personalised prepaid Gift Card that looks like a credit card, but works like a rechargeable gift certificate.

Cool!

roar at roarweb dot com

Looking for a new home page? Check out Netvibes!

Thanks to Paul Kedrosky for pointing this one out. Check out his site, Paul Kedrosky’s Infectious Greed, for more musings about technology, finance, venture capital, & the money culture.

roar at roarweb dot com

Vision is critical when you try to manage the Customer Experience. Good research tools are critical to enable proper Customer Experience Management (CEM).

Over at Vision Critical, the latest Angus Reid project, they have been busy building new market research tools. According to a quote from Dr. Angus Reid, CEO of Vision Critical (and “Industry Icon” according to their web site), they have “..squeezed the functionality of a large research enterprise into a software system..”.

Vision Critical’s products include:

Panel+ , an Internet based panel management system that will take care of everything, from profiling to surveys to reporting.

Fusion, a complementary suite of rich media applications that include interactive visuals, streaming video and 3D virtual environments.

FasTrac, a service for those who want to outsource the development, programming, and hosting of their online surveys.

Their efforts are starting to pay off, and Much Music, one of their clients, was recently named “Brand Of The Year” by Strategy Magazine.

I have tried Vision Critical’s demo of Fusion Online Shelfset. I like the idea, but not the interface. Instead of requiring an user to click on arrows to navigate around, I’d prefer an Ajax[Wiki] like application interface where you can move around using your mouse pointer. Google Maps is a good example of such an application.

Unfortunately I don’t think Ajax would be able to provide the needed data for proper analysis of what takes place during a session. [Please let me know if such tools are available!]. And without data your research results aren’t that good.

For those interested in Ajax Applications and the customer buying process: In New Zealand Tim Haines has invited to a “blogversation“ to see “…how AJAX could be used to improve one part of the shopper’s buying process”. Elsewhere, Dan Grossman [A Venture Forth] has a list of “Top 10 Ajax Applications“

Good research information and analysis is important for proper management of the customer experience So is the usability[wiki] of interface (tool) facing the customer.

Bernd H. Schmitt, in his book about Customer Experience Management (CEM), suggests there is a five step process to connect with your customers at every touch-point.

· Gain original insight into the customer’s world
· Develop an experiential strategy platform
· Create a unique and vivid brand experience
· Provide dynamic interactions at the customer interface
· Innovate continuously to improve customers’ lives

The tools from Vision Critical will be helpful for those trying to develop a successful CEM strategy. A note of caution though, to all those trying to develop better relationships with their customers: Not all customers are equal! Some will be profitable, many not. Do your research and then develop your initiatives focused on those that will help grow and sustain your business.

roar at roarweb dot com