Archive for January, 2008

Postscript:  Omnistar saw my post and has been very helpful since then.  They told me that because of this they’ve changed the way they deal with these messages in the future and that they didn’t know I was a hosting customer.  They asked me to remove the post below, but I still think there’s value in having it here.  I am happy they’re making things better and wish them luck.

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I set up Omnistar Tell-a-Friend for a client on a hosting service which won’t let us use scripts. The password was lost and when we tried to use the “password lost link” we got a page-not-found, error 404 page (still does.)

So, I send a message to support@omnistartell to tell them it’s broken. It’s a one click-reproducible issue, so I figure it’s an easy fix. I get a tracking number and move on with my day. For 99.9% of all software companies out there that would be enough.

But then I get the message back:

=== PLEASE REPLY ABOVE THIS LINE ===
—– has responded to your ticket which was numbered 1234

The time of the response was: 01-24-2008 17:36 PM
Their response was:
For us to fix this problem we need you to fill out our bug fix form here:
www.omnistaretools.com/bugfix

Please let me know when you have filled out our bug fix form.
–
Thank you for your business with Omnistar Interactive.

The link is to a full length form I need to fill out. Bullshit. Somebody forgot to tell these guys about what it means to be the provider, versus the paying customer. If your software has a bug, and I was nice enough to point it out, then THEY should file the damn bugfix form ON MY BEHALF. And, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt to say “And we’re sorry you had trouble.”

It’s kind of like the long forms you have to fill out when your bags are lost. The airlines should be grabbing you a cold drink and asking what kind of music you like while they fill out the damn forms.

Poorly done.

When you take pride in your work, it shows. Sometimes, it’s downright artistic. These guys take pride in the work. What’s more, almost nobody will ever see it. This is behind the scenes cabling that makes things like this website work. Anyone can pull wire, but only certain people can make it look like a masterpiece.

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another two photos after the break

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Some Lexington news here, Exstream Software is being acquired by Hewlett-Packard for an undisclosed amount.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy American Capital Strategies Ltd.’s Exstream Software LLC for an undisclosed amount.

Based in Lexington, Ky., Exstream Software makes software that allows businesses to personalize documents aimed at their customers. Founded by Davis Marksbury and Dan Kloiber, the company’s brands include Dialogue and AFP Studio.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Exstream Software will be integrated into the Web Services and Software business unit within the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) of HP. “Businesses – whether a bank, healthcare provider or utility company – need to communicate relevant, personalized information to their customers through a broad range of channels,” said David Murphy, senior vice president, Web Services and Software Business, IPG, HP. “We expect that the acquisition of Exstream will allow HP to address a broader set of customers and be a strong leader in the fast-growing document automation market.”

We are very happy to join with HP to accelerate our ability to help businesses around the world to efficiently develop and deploy personalized communications,” said Richard Troksa, chief executive officer and president, Exstream Software. “The combination of Exstream’s solutions and HP’s print software expertise will provide customers with a more comprehensive approach to delivering reliable and targeted business communications.”

The company’s programs help banks print account statements, government agencies print applications and utilities print bills.

Hewlett-Packard expects the deal to close in the second quarter of its fiscal year.

The company plans to integrate Exstream into HP’s (NYSE:HPQ) Web services and software business unit, which is part of the imaging and printing group.

Exstream has more than 300 employees, and its customers include banks, insurers, government departments, retailers, telecommunications companies and utilities.

Jason has good coverage over at WebProWorld as well.

Rand Fishkin of SEOMOZ gives a well-articulated list of advice for start-up CEOs. I think it applies to all types of CEOs, team leaders, and in some cases consultants.

Go read the list…. which includes:

You need:

• A Voracious Appetite for Knowledge
• Seeing the Good in Everyone
• Caring About More than Money

And some specific to running a new-media-oriented firm:

• A background in usability  (woo hoo!!!!)
• Ability to communicate in multiple mediums
• Cultivating a culture of analytics.  (*Scott waves fists in air -  woo hooo!!!)

It’s a not-to-be-missed post that offers a point of view on the issues many of my clients are facing.

There is plenty of buzz out there about how the economy is slowing. Companies will begin pulling back on expenses and unfortunately cut on staff, too, if it gets worse. But smart companies know that there is no better time to surge forward and leave competition wondering what happened.

Social marketing, with authentic messages, is the most important recession-time marketing tool any company can have. But waiting until a real recession to try it is a huge mistake. Now’s the time to get involved. But involved in the right way.

The trouble is, many companies jump into blogging, digging, and you-tubing blind and clueless, hoping that the magic beans will carry them into the clouds. An old-marketing approach to spreading the word will not work in today’s social sphere, but you’ll still see it - blogs that read like press releases and TV commercials posted to youtube without tags of any type.

Successful Social Marketing can give protection against economic downturns. But it’s not easy - and it requires a change in the way you think about customers, communications, and the very core of your business model. With a constant application of authentic, easy-to-spread messages, you encourage distribution of the message.

You already know if you build it, they won’t come. So, how are you going to get people to join in your social media effort? What is the best way to identify key blogosphere influencers that might already have access to your market(s)? In which communities/listservs will you place ‘moles’? Once you identify them, how will you engage them to make your destination attractive to them? How will you increase the ’shareability’ of your blog/podcast? - Lena Wes

For one thing, authentic messages go further down the customer’s consideration cycle than average marketing messages. Especially if they have an anchor - such as a specific example close to home or a highly visual image that sticks. This makes it easier to re-tell the story to others, without worrying that you’re inadvertently feeding bullshit. If your customers join the conversation, they can spread the message for you - the most economical and effective marketing method available.

Those applying social marketing methods need to know about the people whose behavior to change as well as their relevant beliefs, behaviors and attitudes in context of social and cultural factors influencing behaviors. By knowing this first, the marketing message can be designed to spread naturally, and inexpensively, between marketing mavens.

People distrust old-school marketing messages - and they’re trusting them less all the time. So while you may feel as if you’re “putting the word out there” - people may not be buying it. If you can’t afford to put the word out there in an authentic way, you can’t afford to do business today. You’re wasting your marketing dollars pushing messages that do not work.

Lastly, those who take the time to integrate social media with market segmentation techniques can have a multiplier effect on the post-click element of this process the same way raising another mast of sails does to a ship.

photo: Pedro Simões

Just a short post to voice my disatisfaction with Flickr Uploadr. The tool is infuriating. It never, ever works the first time. Despite the fact I’m a Flickr Pro paying customer, it’s almost impossible for me to get images onto the service.

If it fails, you must again enter all of your tags and descriptions before you try again. Agggrrr!!!!

Picasa on the other hand uploads pictures to Picasaweb flawlessly every time. Same computer, same images, same everything.

What’s the bloody difference?