Thursday, 17 December 2009
Is Retweet just a bad name for a good function...?
I have been involved in and seen a lot of conversations recently about Twitter and its new Retweet function (which at the time of this post is missing although I do expect it to be back). Now the conversations have been mixed. Some like it some hate it but as with anything relating to this ground breaking communications platform, it is causing a lot of conversations.Now I totally understand peoples problem with the function as it restricts and “changes the game” relating to the way they have already been retweeting others for some time. However, where I think the real issue lies is with their branding of this function. Calling it Retweet has only caused confusion; it is not a rRetweet in the traditional sense as created by “the crowd” some time ago.
So what is the answer? I think that if you have a problem with the function then change its name in your head to “Guest Tweet”. I have chatted to a few people about this and it has actually gone some way to change their perception of the function.
The way I view it is that it is a guest tweet in my stream to others. Something like, here is a tweet that I like from user x, this is the reason I follow this user and hey, if you like me for a similar reason that I like them then maybe you would like to follow them? It is almost a follow recommendation (traditionally #Followfriday or #FF) function to subtly recommend other users to your followers.
Just my take on it anyway, It does prove how important Twitter is to people simply by the conversations it causes.......
Monday, 7 December 2009
Thursday, 3 December 2009
The quest to move away from "the user"
After working in IT for so long, it seem like the norm to call people who consume IT as "users". Although this is perfectly viable and workable it just does not sound very nice (due to the fact that it is heavily related to some other type of people who have nothing to do with computers).I would like to know if anyone else has anything else that they call them? Yes we can simply say people or as suggested by @ogerrard maybe "end-users" is more to the fact and removes some of the bad connotations but is there anything else?
The original computer people were operators, but then that was when computers were "operated" to achieve a task.... We also had the naming "number crunchers" so maybe a reuse of something like this would work.
Crunchers?
Tappers?
Qwerters?
isumers?
iusers?
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
IT Support, please tell me your experiences
In a world where most things in daily life at least have a connection to technology, it is difficult to get away from it. It is undeniable that that when all of the systems and devices work, productivity can be increased, however, it seems that more and more, inadequate and “wrongly delivered” support of these systems actually causes many to think “what is the point?”It is also true that in recent times that peoples home and personal experiences are actually rivalling that of their work and in some (and probably most) instances, becoming entirely better and less painful to use. To put it simply, the advancement of easy to use web applications along with the ability to log into almost anything you use from multiple locations can make “work” systems seem clunky and not built for the user.
Now, what is ideal for work and what is ideal for home is a much longer article than this one but what I would like to find out is what people see as the issues with their works systems and more specifically, the way they are supported.
Questions
• Do you feel that your IT supplier understands your business, goals and motivations?
• Do you feel that the support is delivered half heartedly?
• Do you think some simple changes could be made to make things infinitely better for you and your employees?
• Do you think that you relationship with your IT company should be one of client and supplier or more partnership based.
You possibly know that by reading this blog I am someone who works directly in this field. We provide support for SME companies in and around London and the UK. I wanted to make it clear that this is not simply a selling exercise. Yes, if I can find people to talk to then I will of course be interested in talking about the Virtual IT solution but my real goal here is to gather enough information from real people around this subject and use it to create a real view of where things are right now.
Please feel free to add to this topic in any way listed below and in advance, I thank you for your time.
Mail – bryn@virtualit.biz
Twitter - @brynmorgan
Here – Leave a comment on this blog
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Ten Green Bottles...
Today, it seems that everything and anything (human or not) is social networking and broadcasting to the world. Lets take a look at this age old rhyme in a new light...If there were ten green bottle hanging on the wall.................... and if one green bottle should accidentally fall....
Then..............................
1 would update LinkedIn Status "Looking for a new Green bottle to fill essential role, Location - On a Wall, remuneration - having kids worldwide singing about you"
1 would update Facebook page "Really sad at losing a friend but now I am 1 friend down on my count so anyone looking to be part of the Green Bottle brigade, speak to me"
1 would tweet " hey man - we just had a jumper"
1 would decide enough is enough and leave the wall, using all social networking tools to promote the change in work and lifestyle, hopefully getting enough of a "Value" business case and eventually land that book deal.
1 would get straight into their Wall web page and amend their SEO to make sure that anyone looking for 10 green bottles also knew that they were now a team of 9 (as well as leaving the people looking for 10 to enter their website unknowingly)
1 would update their blog with the news and increase traffic by having a new "fall" story to cover every day. (Unless they are next of course)
1 would post a video on YouTube entitled "The wall jump that went horribly wrong" (and get loads of sick comments to reply to)
1 would get onto the conference circuit to talk all about their experiences with the wall
1 would decide to leave the digital age once and for all with a permanent out of office reply saying that they no longer work on the wall and for all enquiries, please come to the wall in person to see if there are any bottles left.
and finally, the last one would have the bottle to simply stay on the wall and do what they do best trying to avoid any falls and hopefully living happily ever after.....
Wel, I was just saying............. Social Media does seem to be absolutely everywhere. Will it ever end?
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