It is with great excitement and a little teeny tear in my eye that we officially say good-bye to Process. I am pushing the button on transferring the domain; and with the click of a mouse, it will fade into infamy...or at least will live on in the tax records of State of Michigan as a fine, upstanding LLC.
Goodbye Process...thanks for the memories.
And a bigger thank you to all the great clients that made it so much fun.
You may have heard the phrase that "wisdom is the result of experience and experience is the result of mistakes" (something to that affect). And although it is perhaps clichéd biz speak seen on a poster with a mountain on it...it does make sense. I would bet this person rarely steps in cement anymore...and is probably more aware overall as to where they step and what they might me stepping in. One would hope at least.
Again and again I'm amazed at how big corporations still don't understand that customer experience is everything. The rules and regulations they put up to protect their profits will eventually be their undoing; and after they go out of business, that .5% increase in revenue due to crappy policies probably won't be that comforting.
My case:
I went to my neighborhood Blockbuster to rent some movies - saw a lot of great previously viewed movies, and walked up to the counter to purchase $60 worth of movies, plus rent another. (Irony as you'll see soon, is that this one of my biggest single Blockbuster purchases). The clerk then informs me that I was one day past their grace period with their "no late fees" policy, and had to charge $15 for each movie. I asked if they would consider waiving the fee this one time as I wasn't aware of the 'forced to purchase' program.
How many times has "Sorry Sir, there's nothing I can do" been muttered in service counters around the world - must be staggering.
I then ask for them to pro-rate my 'rewards' membership as I would then like to cancel my account entirely...what do you think their response was?? (see above).
Why am I thanking Blockbuster? They've forced me to make a shift on how I consume media, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I've been toying with purchasing AppleTV, with HD movies on demand, but wasn't quite motivated to pay the upfront costs. Now I'm ready.
The almost intolerable frustration and "can't do anything" attitude brought me to a tipping point: The money I will pay for any equipment, service, etc. far outweighs being pissed off on a beautiful summer evening. I don't want to deal with Blockbuster's antiquated corporate policy, and I'm willing to pay for a better solution.
So, thank you Blockbuster; for allowing me to justify the purchase of a fun toy...and for reinforcing a valuable lesson: Never put anything in your corporate policy that stands in the way of your customer loving you.
By the way, had these clerks called someone and got presidential veto power on the 'late fee'...they would have had a customer for life, and one who would have probably continually upgraded his services, etc.
They got my $30, and now someone else has the next 50 years of my media consumption dollars.
I wonder if that ROI is part of their going out of business plan?? At least they're consistent.
A year or so ago I had tried to get a new business off the ground that included a piece of real estate. I had the distinct pleasure of asking for a zoning variance for the project, and at that meeting were a host of neighbors who were going to 'fight' the development. The project would improve an eyesore, generate taxes, etc. etc. - but they were focused on issues like foot traffic, neighborhood impact, etc. -- all valid, but projected perceptions of what the result would be. The argument is here nor there, but all I could think about during the meeting is that these people are fearful; they are scared of something that isn't real. In the end, I guess it's a bit sad that people can't get past their personal boxes of thought, and embrace that life is dynamic, constantly moving, and yes, a little scary. Caution be damned...it's time to get busy.
Why on God's green earth (btw, did you forget it's earth day?) have we sat idle for so long and not kept up with our duties as diligent bloggers?
Engagement.
As an entity, it simply hasn't seemed important enough. If someone said they were going to burn my house down if I didn't blog everyday, you can bet I'd be here with bells on. And the same is true with about 99% of everyone's dreams and aspirations...we lack the ability to focus on a) what the activity will gain us (or help us avoid) and b) what that benefit is frequently. Perhaps you've tried a trick of sticking a reminder on your mirror, so it's the first thing you see in the morning; engagement with whatever it is you needed to remember.
As Earth Day is here to remind us, we need engagement with our planet as well. How is it so easy to disregard the thousands of things one can do throughout a day to help lighten the burden on our ecosystem? Engagement; the dire consequences just aren't real enough...that's why Al Gore's film was such a phenomenon; it started to put those consequences in a visual format and in a way that made the consequences more real...and thus more people become engaged in the issue.
So as Mother Earth keeps turning, we have opportunities galore to engage or disengage, in all facets of our lives (and those of others). From getting 'stuff' done throughout the day to ending global poverty...it all comes down to our focus.
I sincerely strive to engage in all aspects more diligently everyday, and the value of a tool like a blog is that it forces some public accountability to that engagement; there is pressure there that gives you a little more motivation to do some thinking and share it with the world...and we intend to do just that; as best we can.
Yesterday I had a couple different sources descend upon me with some compelling articles and highlights on what 'free' means these days, and how giving your stuff away is savvy business. For a grocery store?; not so much. For those of us creating media, service models, and expertise? Could be very smart indeed.
Here is your assigned reading for today...and remember that 'free' is the ultimate price point.
Wired Article 1 (by Chris Anderson, who is Wired's editor, and wrote a great book)
Skitch is a new tool currently in beta that allows you to "share ideas and images and have fun with friends online." It combines basic graphics editing functions with screencapturing and web/email integration in an all-in-one application. You can capture a picture of a website and make text annotations of the features you like directly on the photo, post it to Flickr, FTP or send it directly to your designer/client all in one screen. Or you can draw sunglasses on dogs (see screencast). I like applications that capture the imagination of teenagers and geezers alike.
-- AVOkay, in an attempt at a quick 'downtime' entry, we're going to check out Simpleology's new blog course that promises to make us rich beyond my dreams through utilizing this little old blog. Well, maybe not beyond our dreams, but at least it will make for a good distraction during the slow week. By the way, in the spirit of full disclosure, some of us have looked at some of the simpelology content, and it's very very simple common sense stuff that makes a ton of sense, so do go check it out.. It's like anything else, those are those who do, and those who read alot about it, but don't, and wonder why nothing changes...in the spirit of a new year and new possibilities, I'm posting the Simpleology banner here, albeit it cleverly worded to 'blend' with our content. :)
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I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.
It covers:
I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.
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We'll keep you posted.
...with the stars. Yes, yet another public figure with some level of recognizability has signed on for another season of 'Dancing with the Stars'. Not only Mark Cuban, but Helio Castroneves (Indy racing fame), a '90210' alum, a spice girl, a cheetah girl, the Welterweight Champion of the World (Mayweather), Marie Osmond (she's a little bit country) and....Mr. Wayne Newton.
I respect Marc's reason for doing the show as laid out in his blog. But the question I have is why the show period? Why was this show made? Why do people watch? What awesome spin offs can we expect soon as ratings seem to remain steady or even growing (Swapping Wives with Extreme Home Makeover experts while we Flip This House on Survivor Island while Big Brother becomes the Apprentice?). Which forces me to contemplate the world we live in; one that can get me so excited for what's possible, so excited to participate in this new economy, new thinking, and new experiences...But yet one that cranks out mind-numbing reality show after reality show that literally offers you the opportunity to put your life on hold while you watch others live theirs; like the Sims without the heavy lifting of clicking a mouse.
So, although I agree with Marc's take on experiencing all that you can, one experience I will gladly forgo is catching the new season of 'Dancing with the Stars'. Instead I joined an online forum where we watch paint dry via webcam....and I'll take that any day over seeing another confused celebrity try to muster one more paycheck out of past (or even present) glory by wearing tight pants and sequins.
PLEASE Enlighten me...I'm all ears.
-- brett vantil
