The left panel of this search gives a brief synopsis of each balloon. I hadn't realized so many of the infected individuals are young (under 10) children.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Swine Flu Tracking
Reason #4238 why I love Google = visual epidemic tracking.
The left panel of this search gives a brief synopsis of each balloon. I hadn't realized so many of the infected individuals are young (under 10) children.
The left panel of this search gives a brief synopsis of each balloon. I hadn't realized so many of the infected individuals are young (under 10) children.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Can't be a pro-everything...
and if you think you are, there's likely no one who agrees with you.
Seth has this to say...
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Whether it's your job to provoke me or my job to provoke you, do just that and you'll leave yourself with a lot more breath and happier, more empowered employees.
bk
Seth has this to say...
-- Seth GodinI'm the first person to admit that compared to you, I have no idea what I'm talking about. You're there, doing what you do, and doing it with skill.
Let me be really clear: My job is not to tell you what to do. I don't know what to do. You do.
Not just me, of course. Everybody with a blog or a book or an interest in your success. Don't do what they say. Listen to their questions instead.
My job is provoke you into asking hard questions. Ask those questions to your boss and your co-workers and yourself. It's easy to show that self-aware decisions and thoughtful strategies outperform blind stumbling.
I don't have a lot of patience for this list of seven rules or that manual of how it's supposed to be or the step-by-step road map you can purchase today only. I think you'll do a lot better if you get optimistic about the future and cynical about pat answers at the same time instead.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Whether it's your job to provoke me or my job to provoke you, do just that and you'll leave yourself with a lot more breath and happier, more empowered employees.
bk
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
seth godin: this is broken
Ross encouraged us to watch this Seth Godin video yesterday. I'm glad he did, because when I first came across the post myself, I pushed play and saw the 20-some-minute duration and navigated away. It turned out to be not only entertaining, but valid to just about anyone, on any given day, who actively participates in the real world.
I hate when I order water at a restaurant and, by default, it comes with a lemon. I didn't order lemon water, I ordered water. I bet you've never gotten a water that came with an iced tea bag in it simply by asking for a water. Iced tea is equally acceptable as a beverage, yet you'd have to ask for it. Why then, do restaurant managers / staff assume that you want the extras? Probably as Seth points out, because it's not their job to change the status quo; someone above them told them that at the specific establishment, we serve water with a lemon. It's the person's job to bring guests the product that management has created, not to challenge said product. On the other hand, when is the last time you ordered a lemonade and got that same lemon garnish without asking? Slim chance, if any. But why? I would be enthralled if my lemonade from a dispenser came with a fresh lemon. But it's not the server's job to develop the product, so instead you get the water with the lemon and the lemonade with nothing.
When you begin to look at things this way, it seems increasingly easier to stand out -- to be only marginally less broken, but less broken across the board translates into a much smoother operation overall.
bk
I hate when I order water at a restaurant and, by default, it comes with a lemon. I didn't order lemon water, I ordered water. I bet you've never gotten a water that came with an iced tea bag in it simply by asking for a water. Iced tea is equally acceptable as a beverage, yet you'd have to ask for it. Why then, do restaurant managers / staff assume that you want the extras? Probably as Seth points out, because it's not their job to change the status quo; someone above them told them that at the specific establishment, we serve water with a lemon. It's the person's job to bring guests the product that management has created, not to challenge said product. On the other hand, when is the last time you ordered a lemonade and got that same lemon garnish without asking? Slim chance, if any. But why? I would be enthralled if my lemonade from a dispenser came with a fresh lemon. But it's not the server's job to develop the product, so instead you get the water with the lemon and the lemonade with nothing.
When you begin to look at things this way, it seems increasingly easier to stand out -- to be only marginally less broken, but less broken across the board translates into a much smoother operation overall.
bk
Microsoft's eighth try still sucks
Despite the fact that Windows 7 has yet to hit the shelves [although if you're privy to some tech sites it is apparently available for download in its final beta stages, but I don't know for sure where because frankly I don't care], Microsoft is said to be hiring developers for Windows 8. The preview below is ironically similar to Mac's OS X [I run 10.5.2 and 10.5.6 on my machines and am most familiar with those] and even features stacks, a [crappy] dashboard, and Mac-like windows and interchangeable screens. Only thing is, Microsoft 8 is a concept that looks strangely similar to Mac's already-deployed OS. Hmmmm. Little behind?
Copenhagen User Experience from Copenhagen Concept on Vimeo.
Copenhagen User Experience from Copenhagen Concept on Vimeo.
Reporting Phishing Scams
Here's a simple list on how to report phishing scams like the one above that I received today:
- You can usually send a copy to abuse@DOMAIN.com where DOMAIN.com signifies the company to which you are directing the email. For example, abuse@suntrust.com is the email address for sending phishing emails purporting to be from SunTrust Bank.
- If in the United States, you can also forward a copy to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using the address spam@uce.gov.
- If you aren't in the U.S. and the abuse@DOMAIN.com address bounces, you can visit the real website by using a pre-existing bookmark in your browser or typing the known good URL (link) into your browser. Do not use the link included in the phishing email! Once on the site, look for a viable contact resource. For example, at the very bottom of the page on the eBay website is a link titled "Security & Resource Center". Following that link takes you to a page that instructs you on how to submit "suspicious-looking email that appears to be from eBay or PayPal and you want eBay to take action." If you can't find a specific security resource, try looking for general contact or support contact details on the website.
- If you still can't find suitable contact details and you're not ready to give up, you can always do a domain name lookup, referred to as a whois, and get the contact details that way. Keep in mind that whois information is often grossly out-of-date and the email addresses listed therein are frequently unmonitored accounts. Still, it's worth a shot. Popular whois servers include APNIC, ARIN, and Network Solutions.
Whichever method you choose, be sure to forward the email as an attachment so that the HTML encoding and header information is preserved; otherwise the email will be of little use for investigative purposes.
bk
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
What if technology didn't shrink? Visa ad.
Visa's latest ad for Australia and New Zealand: What if technology didn't shrink?
created by TBWA\Whybin
created by TBWA\Whybin
Thursday, April 16, 2009
24 Hour Fitness: Ancillary Revenue Streams vs. Your Business Model
Installing ancillary revenue streams is a potentially outstanding way to increase your company's annual gross, but be mindful of where you focus your attention, especially if it tends to be primarily on the bottom line. By definition, ancillary revenue streams are not your company's primary source of income; they do, however, affect your business model, and not always in the way you would like.
I belong to 24 Hour Fitness and I love their gyms. With more than 20 clubs in the Denver Metro area, I can almost always find a location that conveniently fits into my day. The employees are polite and helpful and they greet you by name every morning [by design, I'm sure], the equipment is well-maintained and there's lots of it, and the price isn't too bad either. Since I'm there every day and because I'm in my brother's wedding soon, I decided to try their tanning package so I'm not blindingly pale in my dress. Despite being a huge fan of the brand, here's what I found with their a la carte tanning option:
bk
I belong to 24 Hour Fitness and I love their gyms. With more than 20 clubs in the Denver Metro area, I can almost always find a location that conveniently fits into my day. The employees are polite and helpful and they greet you by name every morning [by design, I'm sure], the equipment is well-maintained and there's lots of it, and the price isn't too bad either. Since I'm there every day and because I'm in my brother's wedding soon, I decided to try their tanning package so I'm not blindingly pale in my dress. Despite being a huge fan of the brand, here's what I found with their a la carte tanning option:
- In order to purchase an unlimited monthly package I have to sit down with a sales rep and complete the process, which I was told consists of a few forms and "first and last month's payment." When I asked how you pay the first and the last month of a one-month tanning package, the down-to-earth front desk employee laughed and said he wasn't really sure.
- Because I don't have an extra 45-minutes to tool around with a sales rep before work in the morning I decided to go with the 10-tan package which required only my credit card and a short health release form.
- There are 4 stand-up tanning beds at the location by my house. Apparently only one of them is functional because when I finished my workout and went to the desk to request a tanning session I was told that it would be an 8-10 minute wait because someone was in it.
- The beds are located along the wall next to a bunch of machines. So, once I finish my workout and get undressed, I have to tan and then put my sweaty workout clothes back on to walk to the locker room. A smarter set-up would have been to enclose the small area and include walkways on either end so that you could get to the lockers without having to go back through the gym, and you wouldn't need to get fully dressed again.
- The first time I went I stayed in for the max 12 minutes. It seemed very quick, so the second time I set my stopwatch. The 12 minute tanning session is actually only a few seconds over 8 minutes, which is why I found the bed to be largely ineffective. When I asked the employee why the beds turn off two-thirds of the way through the session he told me that they know the timers don't work. Really?
bk
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Reality Show "Someone's Gotta Go" -- humor in layoffs? Doubt it.
Fox has apparently developed its latest classless reality show, "Someone's Gotta Go". The basis of the show is layoffs and will feature small companies having to make a decision on whose job will be cut as a result of the economic state. The decision will be placed in the hands of the employees who will have full access to the company's books, etc. I find it hard to believe that a group of intellectuals sitting in a conference room absorbed this pitch and applauded the effort. Sort of sickening.
I must say, the best end result I could imagine is if this show fails miserably and whoever's idea it was is the one to lose his / her job.
bk
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
It's a PC...
...a response to Lauren getting a PC...
bk
Friday, April 10, 2009
Honda Element becomes "dog friendly"
According to PSFK, the new Element was developed with dogs in mind. It [seriously] has:
- a cushioned pet bed in the cargo area with an elevated platform;
- second row and cargo area pet restraint systems;
- an extendable cargo area load-in ramp;
- a 12V DC rear ventilation fan;
- second-row seat covers with a dog pattern design (matches the bed fabric);
- all-season rubber floor mats with a toy bone pattern;
- a spill-resistant water bowl; and
- dog-friendly exterior emblems
Microsoft Whitepaper = BS
Part of Microsoft's "I'm a PC" ad series has resulted in the company releasing a whitepaper developed by Endpoint Technologies president Roger Kay. Bad move Microsoft.
If there's one thing Microsoft should never, ever do [IMO] it's start spitting out spec comparisons between the Mac and the PC; this will overwhelmingly confuse the general public [aka PC users] and allow a statistical backlash heyday in the Mac blogosphere.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kay put out the following table as the point-making aspect of his whitepaper:
A simple glance at this chart reveals fatal flaws that I find incredibly insulting as a consumer. Mr. Kay wants me to believe that if I buy both the low end and high end machine in a single year, one set a Mac and one a PC, I'll arrive at a total cost of five-year ownership variance of $3367 where Mac was the more expensive machine. However, Kay has conveniently done the following:
So, let's add in the minimal $120 for two registered anti-virus software programs and $90 (times 2 for both PCs) a year for the remaining 4 years to maintain the software ($840), MobileMe service for [apparently only one of each pair needs these services, just to make it equal] the PC, $149 at 5 years ($745), Microsoft Office, Quicken, and "Other Software" to bring the PC up to the same operating ability as the Mac ($289), and Dell in-home service which I believe is more than $150 but we'll say $99 to keep it comparable to the one-to-one Apple service ($99). That's a total of $1973 of off-the-top-off-my head costs that cut the variance to $1394 from the original $3367.
Without being bias -- having had 4 PCs and 2 Macs since I got my first one in 1994 I feel I have a decent grasp on maintenance on both -- keep in mind that while $1394 is a substantial cost difference, this is the amount saved on PC when purchasing both the base model and the high-end model from both. The number looks much different when you do a more realistic comparison of only one machine, say the base models: when you make the above listed changes to create comparable machines, the base model cost variance is more like $363.
Note: the $363 is a derivation of:
:) bk
If there's one thing Microsoft should never, ever do [IMO] it's start spitting out spec comparisons between the Mac and the PC; this will overwhelmingly confuse the general public [aka PC users] and allow a statistical backlash heyday in the Mac blogosphere.
Nevertheless, Mr. Kay put out the following table as the point-making aspect of his whitepaper:
A simple glance at this chart reveals fatal flaws that I find incredibly insulting as a consumer. Mr. Kay wants me to believe that if I buy both the low end and high end machine in a single year, one set a Mac and one a PC, I'll arrive at a total cost of five-year ownership variance of $3367 where Mac was the more expensive machine. However, Kay has conveniently done the following:
- only purchased one warranty for each pair, which doesn't cover both machines
- left both PCs with no anti-virus protection
- given the Mac MobileMe service for five years and not the PC (service available on both)
- given the Mac a complete line of office, financial, and supplemental software while the PC apparently runs nothing more than the factory-installed OS -- (what the hell is "other SW" and why does the PC not get other software options if the Mac does?)
- Apple one-to-one care and not Dell in-home care (Mac / Dell near equivalents)
So, let's add in the minimal $120 for two registered anti-virus software programs and $90 (times 2 for both PCs) a year for the remaining 4 years to maintain the software ($840), MobileMe service for [apparently only one of each pair needs these services, just to make it equal] the PC, $149 at 5 years ($745), Microsoft Office, Quicken, and "Other Software" to bring the PC up to the same operating ability as the Mac ($289), and Dell in-home service which I believe is more than $150 but we'll say $99 to keep it comparable to the one-to-one Apple service ($99). That's a total of $1973 of off-the-top-off-my head costs that cut the variance to $1394 from the original $3367.
Without being bias -- having had 4 PCs and 2 Macs since I got my first one in 1994 I feel I have a decent grasp on maintenance on both -- keep in mind that while $1394 is a substantial cost difference, this is the amount saved on PC when purchasing both the base model and the high-end model from both. The number looks much different when you do a more realistic comparison of only one machine, say the base models: when you make the above listed changes to create comparable machines, the base model cost variance is more like $363.
Note: the $363 is a derivation of:
- $2693 (total cost of PC Table 1) - $1049 (total cost of high-end PC) + $1553 (total cost of equivalent PC equipment already included in the Mac and half [$420] of the anti-virus software as it's only one machine) = $3197 total five-year cost of base model PC
- $6060 (total cost of Mac Table 2) - $2500 (total cost of high-end Mac) = $3560 total five-year cost of base model Mac
- $3560 (base Mac) - $3197 (base PC) = $363
:) bk
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Callwave 1, Verizon 0
I've been using Callwave for about a year because a) I hate voicemail -- that's what email is for, b) I never check my voicemail as a direct result of (a), and c) just don't leave me a voicemail; I saw that you called, and if it were urgent you would have text'd me.
Anyway, I've decided that, at this point, I'm away from my computer enough that it's no longer worth it and I just end up calling the person anyway, and since the voice-to-text option became a feature only available by upgrade, I'm dropping off. Seems easy enough to bail on a service you don't pay for, right? Ask Verizon.
Let me be clear that it is completely my fault that I did not search for my own solution to the busy signal that existed where my Callwave message used to be. I simply deleted the account information I had listed with Callwave, and then when I realized that didn't automatically reset my subscriber VM message, I [stupidly] called Verizon.
Call number one to Verizon consisted of a polite customer service person who tried to walk me through setting my voicemail preferences on my mobile. I continued to explain [that I'm not an idiot] and eventually was directed to the tech department. Again, I explained, and this polite employee decided that resetting my VM was the answer. I attempted to elaborate that, while I appreciate the effort, if my voicemail was never deactivated, more like re-routed, then I'm guessing activating it again is not the answer. I played along anyway. No luck. Polite person number three explained that some servers were down and that unfortunately the process that will restore my original answering service will be unavailable for 24 hours. Luckily though, they can call me back, rather than visa-versa. Sure enough, I got a call back about 4 hours after I had asked them to call me, and the process was completed. Once again, no luck. So, my current polite person informed me that they will be looking into the problem and get back to me within 48 hours. I'm assuming they never found a solution as it's been 8 days and I finally decided that I could probably have more luck on my own.
So, here's the answer that I found after 30 seconds of looking and wish I had searched for myself 8 days ago, in case you ever need to deactivate a Callwave account because your carrier will not help:
a) Please find your deactivation code(s) in the table below.
b) Dial the code(s) as you would a phone number
c) Press "Send" on your phone to dial that number.
d) Repeat steps b) and c) if there are multiple codes for your carrier
Wireless Carrier or Network
Deactivation Codes
AT&T Cingular, T-Mobile, GSM network
##004#
Verizon, CDMA network
*73
*900
*920
TDMA Network
*740
*730
Bluegrass, Midwest Wireless
*900
*920
Cellcom
*680
Cincinnati Bell
##004#
Midwest Wireless
*90##
*92##
US Cellular
*740
:) bk
Anyway, I've decided that, at this point, I'm away from my computer enough that it's no longer worth it and I just end up calling the person anyway, and since the voice-to-text option became a feature only available by upgrade, I'm dropping off. Seems easy enough to bail on a service you don't pay for, right? Ask Verizon.
Let me be clear that it is completely my fault that I did not search for my own solution to the busy signal that existed where my Callwave message used to be. I simply deleted the account information I had listed with Callwave, and then when I realized that didn't automatically reset my subscriber VM message, I [stupidly] called Verizon.
Call number one to Verizon consisted of a polite customer service person who tried to walk me through setting my voicemail preferences on my mobile. I continued to explain [that I'm not an idiot] and eventually was directed to the tech department. Again, I explained, and this polite employee decided that resetting my VM was the answer. I attempted to elaborate that, while I appreciate the effort, if my voicemail was never deactivated, more like re-routed, then I'm guessing activating it again is not the answer. I played along anyway. No luck. Polite person number three explained that some servers were down and that unfortunately the process that will restore my original answering service will be unavailable for 24 hours. Luckily though, they can call me back, rather than visa-versa. Sure enough, I got a call back about 4 hours after I had asked them to call me, and the process was completed. Once again, no luck. So, my current polite person informed me that they will be looking into the problem and get back to me within 48 hours. I'm assuming they never found a solution as it's been 8 days and I finally decided that I could probably have more luck on my own.
So, here's the answer that I found after 30 seconds of looking and wish I had searched for myself 8 days ago, in case you ever need to deactivate a Callwave account because your carrier will not help:
a) Please find your deactivation code(s) in the table below.
b) Dial the code(s) as you would a phone number
c) Press "Send" on your phone to dial that number.
d) Repeat steps b) and c) if there are multiple codes for your carrier
Wireless Carrier or Network
Deactivation Codes
AT&T Cingular, T-Mobile, GSM network
##004#
Verizon, CDMA network
*73
*900
*920
TDMA Network
*740
*730
Bluegrass, Midwest Wireless
*900
*920
Cellcom
*680
Cincinnati Bell
##004#
Midwest Wireless
*90##
*92##
US Cellular
*740
:) bk
Google Voice: it's official
Google has [finally] officially released it's newest addition to the long list of amazingly helpful Google tools: Google Voice. The email went out today inviting existing Grand Central users to upgrade to Google Voice in order to receive the added features. I've always been a Grand Central fan, but now that it [Google Voice] offers SMS support, and business contacts utilizing SMS features becomes increasingly the norm, the system is even more useful.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
perception.
Yesterday on my not-so-smooth flight from Denver to Akron I noticed quite an amazing display of extrinsic control that really got me thinking. A brief run-down: about an hour into our trip we started to hit some pretty significant turbulance. Understandably, the captain came on, urged everyone to be seated with seatbelts fastened, and then informed us that the attendants would be unavailable as they would also need to be seated. The turbulance picked up even more and the plane was literally bouncing around, spilling drinks and so on. Since the flight was at half capacity, the audio level was much lower than usual and someone in the back could easily be heard in the front. I watched as people clinged to their seats and tried to stay calm. I've been on quite a few bumpy rides so this wasn't too alarming for me, though I'll admit not extremely comfortable being exhausted and wanting to sleep.
The flight attendents took their seats in the back of plane and one threw his arms in the air and began to yell, "Folks this is a free rollercoaster ride, we don't even charge extra for this! Make sure your arms are up!" Everyone began laughing and, surprisingly, many joined in and extended their arms above their heads as if heading down a steep hill on a rollercoaster. The plane got loud and people were laughing and cheering as we hit more bumps.
A single flight attendent took what could have been an extremely stressful situation for a newby patron and in ten seconds, with nothing more than words and simple situational association, turned it into a laughing matter.
I continued to sit and watch and ferociously dig at what simple perception can do to a situation, a relationship, a company etc. The key is in positioning yourself correctly as the influencer; as a flight attendent, the man was a in a trustworthy and experienced position and therefore people followed him. As a manager, if you can strategically and artistically place yourself as a highly-respected and trustworthy team member, imagine what you can do for your direct reports, who in turn can have an exponential effect on front line staff.
”Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.” --Mark A. Clement
bk
The flight attendents took their seats in the back of plane and one threw his arms in the air and began to yell, "Folks this is a free rollercoaster ride, we don't even charge extra for this! Make sure your arms are up!" Everyone began laughing and, surprisingly, many joined in and extended their arms above their heads as if heading down a steep hill on a rollercoaster. The plane got loud and people were laughing and cheering as we hit more bumps.
A single flight attendent took what could have been an extremely stressful situation for a newby patron and in ten seconds, with nothing more than words and simple situational association, turned it into a laughing matter.
I continued to sit and watch and ferociously dig at what simple perception can do to a situation, a relationship, a company etc. The key is in positioning yourself correctly as the influencer; as a flight attendent, the man was a in a trustworthy and experienced position and therefore people followed him. As a manager, if you can strategically and artistically place yourself as a highly-respected and trustworthy team member, imagine what you can do for your direct reports, who in turn can have an exponential effect on front line staff.
”Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.” --Mark A. Clement
bk
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