1. Direction of the wireless industry
2. The Apple iPad
3. Verizon and the iPhone

Disclosure:  I am not stating anything here that I have uncovered as a trade secret.  All speculations are based upon industry news, trends, and my knowledge of the wireless industry.  Nothing else – no insider magic or hocus pocus.

Mobile Direction

Mobile’s future is in data

To many, this is not a shocking revelation.  We expect this as a natural evolution of the industry.  Why then are so many folks just waking up to the power of a smartphone?  I believe the shock here will not be in the need for mobile data services.  I think the shock is in how fast the industry will switch to data services as the monetary driver.

In the United States, we have seen the traditional land line need decline in favor of a mobile device.  The next step here is the decline of the mobile phone for traditional voice calling in favor of VOIP and other data based services – such as video conferencing.  I believe the big phone companies also see this as the inevitable future and that is why they are making some changes or decisions in their overall business strategy.  Sure, AT&T and Verizon are still shedding their land line businesses – but they are also bolstering their data options.  for example:

AT&T aquired a large network of Wi-Fi hotspots. They have also added personal microcell products to their portfolio.  Why?  These are two easy ways for the company to backhaul its own data needs while reducing the strain on its 3g networks.

Verizon on the other hand has partnered with Skype to offer VOIP calls (on the Verizon network of course).  To me – this says the company realizes that data is the wave of the future.  Verizon has also endorsed the use of Wi-Fi and they are touting their aggressive roll-out of 4g LTE technology.

I would not be surprised to see data plans increase in price (as well as capacity) and have voice calling allowed for free – much like we take no long distance charges for granted today.

There’s an app for that

The next trend is mobile applications.  Again, not a shocker for many out there.  The shock is again in how quickly apps are become pervasive.  They are no longer little gag gift apps like iFart or iBeer – they are becoming useful productivity tools or better yet – custom proprietary applications for conducting business.  If you are starting out as a developer – you might want to focus here.

That stated – there is a war brewing.  That war is for the mobile application development framework.  Adobe is working to make Flash and Air mobile capable.  While other companies such as Appcelerator are working to provide a flexible, multi-language, multi-platform framework.  This is a realm that Microsoft has lost – they just don’t want to admit it yet.  The war is Adobe’s to lose.  There are numerous Flash/Flex developers out there waiting to put their app on a mobile platform.  Unfortunately, if Adobe can only get the Andriod platform on board by the end of the year (as Microsoft and Apple claim performance issues), an upstart cross-platform framework like Appcelerator’s, may be the big win.

The Apple iCan’tComeUpWithABetterProductName

The iPad – what a stupid name.  This device really intrigues me. I can say I will NOT buy a first generation device.  I will however watch it’s development and could purchase a second generation product.  I could certainly see it replacing my netbook.  I don’t see it replacing my desktop or developer class laptop anytime soon.  But that device that I take on plane trips, vacations, etc. – absolutely.  Especially if I can read my paper on it and have 10 hours of battery life to boot.  I won’t let the name scare me away – but I do know a few people who won’t buy it because of its name.  I’ll also be on the lookout for any Android based tablets as they may be a better fit for my personal work/business mix.

So here is what I don’t like about the iPad or what we suspect of the iPad:

• No multitasking:  I think you will see this in a future OS upgrade.  I believe you will see this on the iPhone as well.
• No video output:  The iPad looks like a great movie machine – why not allow me to hook it to my TV.   Oh, that’s right – you want me to use Apple TV for that and use iTunes as the digital hub for all.  I guess that’s why no DVD or blu-ray capability as well (I can live without these).
• No USB:  I love the cloud, but there will always be instances when I need to put my data on something portable – like a thumb drive.  Give me USB connectivity please.  This way I can hook up my storage as needed or better yet – my printer.
• Can you save and transfer documents to the iPad?  I can do this on my iPhone already.  I use a cloud service application – like Dropbox or Box.net and an application such as QuickOffice to edit my documents.  Sure it will be great to have more robust applications but I don’t think this is a major show stopper.
• Does the iPad support Microsoft Exchange email? I personally don’t care as I have dumped Exchange in favor of Google Apps.  This is a very pressing question for all those folks using Exchange.  It even more pressing for the IT folks supporting Exchange who need to explain to their users why they can’t use mobile devices like the iPhone or iPad in this way.
• Does the iPad support VPN and configuration management? Again, I don’t care.  But this is an important aspect to consider in the enterprise.
• Can you use media services other than iTunes on the iPad? I might not care.  And it would be great if I could playback from NetFlix or any of the major network websites.
• Can the iPad be used for videoconferencing? No camera, so apparently not.  I think the addition of a web conferencing camera(s) and stellar speakerphone would be a KILLER application for this device.
• Will the iPad’s internal storage be upgradable? I got a lot of stuff.  I need ready access to it OR I need to haul a lot around with me.  There are two choices here – allow m to use external devices OR allow me to expand my device storage.
• Will Apple allow the use of Flash on the iPad? They will have to – eventually OR they will lose the marketshare they have built.

Verizon and the iPhone

I keep telling people that they should not hold tier breath for this one.  I don’t think it is realistic to expect Apple to deliver a CDMA radio based iPhone when LTE technology is right around the corner.  Verizon is building out its 4g LTE network in 2010 and 2011.  Guess what, that’;s just in time for the 5 year (people seem to forget that) exclusive deal Apple has with AT&T to expire.  That’s when you will see it – when it won’t cost money to run two production lines AND when Verizon has LTE in place.

While we are at it – think back 3 years.  Do you think Verizon’s network could have handled the influx of iPhone users and data use?  I personally do not think so.  Verizon is very protective about its network.  I think those phones would have been locked down and prohibited from a lot of things much like AT&T did (navigation apps) and continues to do (tethering).

I’m not trying to defend one network over the other.  I use AT&T.  I was employed by Verizon.  Both have their merits and headaches.

At the end of 2007 I, like many others participated in the Give One Get One program of One Laptop per Child (OLPC). 75,000 laptops went to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Oceania, the West Bank, and Haiti.  An additional 75,000 laptops came into the USA as part of the “get” side of the equation.

In light of the recent disaster in Haiti, the OLPC group is gathering used XO laptops to send to Haiti. If you or the child to whom you gave the laptop is no longer using it then kindly send it to the address below (even if it is broken).

OLPC FOR HAITI c/o Exel
615 Westport Parkway #500
Grapevine, TX 76051

75% of the schools in Port-au-Prince have been destroyed in the recent earthquake. Because of the XO’s unique features (sunlight readability, solar powered, water resistant, drop proof), it is also an ideal tool for relief work.

==========================

I do have to agree with the usefulness of the laptop.  It’s a great travel PC if you don’t need anything sophisticated or can live on Google apps for productivity software.  I have often used mine for writing in the bright southern sun.  I could see how useful it would be as a disaster relief tool.  As such, I will be sending mine in.  I encourage you to do the same.

Well… I’m sorry I did.  In fact, I am sorry that I have involved myself with this company at all.  So dissatisfied, that I created a list on twitter for “Companies I Hate” and added Stream as the number one entry.  ***Edit: Stream Energy and I have come to a resolution for my particular concern. The resolution has been added later in this blog post.

Stream Energy's website - Jan. 2010 (click to see full-size)

Why?  Simple really – it all comes down to customer service.  But first, let’s look at their website again.  They claim, “With competitive rates and outstanding customer service, Stream Energy has quickly established itself as a leading power and gas utility company serving the needs of customers in Texas and Georgia.”

So they make a pretty bold claim here.  Not only will you get competitive rates, but you will get outstanding customer service.

First, the rates – they are in line with the others in my area.  Maybe a penny less per therm.  I have yet to get my bill, so I don’t know what surcharges are hidden in there and if in fact they will be less expensive.  The teaser rate is significantly less.  I’ll go along with the word “competitive” in this case.

Now, lets talk about customer service.  Or should I say dis-service.

I’m going to skip the whole PITA (pain in the ass) online application (which wastes a good 20 minutes [if you read everything] and  requires a follow up confirmation call) and skip right to the confirmation portion.  I was told I had a morning hook-up scheduled (hours between 8 AM and noon) and that I had to be on premises to pay a $25.00 connect fee.  Since my alternative residence is only 15 minutes away, I asked if they could call me en-route so that I could meet them.  I was told this was not possible.  OK, I can live with that so I made arrangements to not have appointments that morning so that I could sit in a house with no running water and no heat in order to wait for gas hook up.   Please note: The confirmation date was a good week and a half out and the premises in question is already equipped with a gas meter hook up.

Did they arrive on time?  If my watch was set for the Hawaiian Time Zone (UTC -10h), then yes.  A service tech did not arrive until 3:42 PM.  Yep, I waited almost twice as long as the window promised in a cold house, losing billable time.

Now I am hungry and have my afternoon appointments in jeopardy because the hook up has not occurred yet.  I call my clients and reschedule.  I call Stream to find out what the deal with my hook up is.   Did I call Stream Energy?  You bet I did. By the way – if you don’t know your account number, you will need to go through several menu choices to talk to a representative.

Here’s where I get mad.  I am now told that my hook up is an all day appointment.  I ask how long is a day – what are the working hours?  I am told it shows as all day.  Yes, you told me that.  When does the day end?  4 PM? 5PM? 7PM?  Worse, I felt as if I couldn’t ask my question because the CSR kept interrupting me before I finished asking my question.  How can you help me if you don’t listen to my question?  I am given the phone number for Atlanta Gas Light.  Great, another number to call because Stream can’t answer my question.  Inefficient and rude.

I call AGL.  They send a tech over who tells me that I didn’t need to be on premises and I don’t need to pay $25.00 on the spot.  Great – now Stream totally had me waiting there for no reason and I lost a complete day of billable time.   A whole day of billable time to save on 2 months of service.  Yeah – that’s a good deal!

***Resolution communication

So what to do?  Turn to social media.  They have FaceBook and Twitter plastered on their website.  Unfortunately, on FaceBook – its a FAN page.  At this point I am anything but a FAN.  So I tweet.  I decide I am going to Tweet at least once a day until I either receive a response from Stream OR get sick of bashing a company.

It took Stream Energy ONE WEEK to respond to me.  The initial contact did come from a Sr. Executive (name and position withheld without release permission).   I also recognize that every story has 3 sides:  both parties and the truth which lies somewhere in-between.   I’m also sure my view is still obscured by what I perceived to be lack of respect, rudeness, and a wasted day.  AND I appreciate them reaching out.  That act restores some credibility.

So after a few other e-mails, I receive a few phone calls (yes they were persistent since I did not return the calls at first) from a senior leader of their customer service team.   He informed me that he had personally looked into the matter and that they would be using this situation as a learning experience for their representatives.  Hopefully my experience will benefit other customers.  The key points for me as a learning experience are as follows:

1. Provide accurate appointment data such as time, presence required, and fees to the customer for hook-up day.
2. If Stream can’t provide #1, then provide flexibility to the customer such as a courtesy call before the tech arrives. If that’s another company’s responsibility – work it out.  Stream is who I buy gas from.
3. Don’t make me call a third party.  Stream is my contact – and should handle it.
4. Ensure Stream’s customer service representatives listen to the customer’s concerns or questions.  And ensure they don’t provide vague unhelpful information.

I wish that was the end of the story.  Unfortunately its not.  And the rest of the story becomes a great case study for what to do/not do in terms of using social media for business development.

About two hours after hanging up the phone with the Customer Service leader, the same Sr. Executive whom initiated contact sent a follow up e-mail.  He kindly suggested I consider deleting my tweets and any related posts.  I kindly declined.

Here are the lessons learned for utilizing Social Media as a business strategy.

1. If you are create a social media business presence, be prepared to respond via social media  For example:
   • Visitors to your FaceBook page may not want to be a “fan” or “like” everything about your company.  Provide contact information access to your company there OR allow people to post content.
   • If you have a Twitter account for your company, be prepared to respond to tweets and questions in a timely fashion.  If you are just squatting on the Twitter handle – disclose that.
2. Establish some sort of “brand reputation” or “monitoring” strategy.  This can be an expensive solution such as Radian 6 or a cheap roll your own solution with Google Alerts.  It’s not hard and it will allow you to catch issues before they become serious problems.
3. Treat every faux-pas as a learning opportunity.  In this case, Stream did that.  Unfortunately they dropped the ball when they requested it go away.  Embrace your mistakes.  Show the world your company cares and adapts to legitimate concerns of the customer.  This will only help your brand.

I welcome any posts from Stream Energy on this matter.  I also welcome any thoughts or comments regarding Stream Energy’s request to consider removing my tweets and posts.

Haiti is the poorest, least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, and the majority of Haitians live in poverty.  Disasters like this magnitude 7.0 earthquake are especially devastating when they strike places that are already struggling to provide the most basic of services for its population.  The sheer scale of poverty in the country means that the government has limited capacity to meet even the simplest needs of its people, let alone address a disaster of this magnitude. Haiti’s lack of development—which translates into a lack of government capacity for emergency preparedness—magnifies the impact of this tragedy.

Did you drink a bottle of water today?  Did you drink a glass of tap water?  This is a luxury in a country such as Haiti to begin with.  The prospect of clean, fresh water is now much more elusive than it was last week.

Now, how YOU can help…

Drink tap water and kindly donate the money you would have spent on bottled water or a cup of coffee to relief efforts.  Simply text “HAITI” to “90999” and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. You will need to confirm the donation.   Need a receipt?  Receipts are available online at mGive’s Web site. In addition, this is a recommended mechanism for aid by the US State Department.  http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/help_haiti_disaster_relief_efforts

Why is this a good idea?

Monetary contributions to established relief agencies are always the most useful response to disasters. Financial contributions allow professional relief organizations to purchase exactly what is most urgently needed by disaster victims and to pay for the transportation necessary to distribute those supplies. Unlike in-kind donations, cash donations entail no transportation cost. In addition, cash donations allow relief supplies to be purchased at locations as near to the disaster site as possible. Supplies, particularly food, can almost always be purchased locally – even in famine situations. This approach has the triple advantage of stimulating local economies (providing employment, generating cash flow), ensuring that supplies arrive as quickly as possible and reducing transport and storage costs. Cash contributions to established legitimate relief agencies are always considerably more beneficial than the donation of commodities.

Finally, watch out for any scams promising aid.  If you would like to make donations, do so to recognized aid organizations such as the Red Cross or OxFam.  The US State Department provides a list of recognized aid organizations.

Thank you for listening and thank you for considering how you can offer assistance to those who need it.

[edit]

Here is a list or recognized aid organizations operating in Haiti:

• Action Against Hunger, 877-777-1420
• American Red Cross, 800-733-2767
• American Jewish World Service, 212-792-2900
• AmeriCares, 800-486-4357
• Beyond Borders, 866-424-8403
• CARE, 800-521-2273
• CarmaFoundation
• Catholic Relief Services, 800-736-3467
• Childcare Worldwide, 800-553-2328
• Concern Worldwide, 212-557-8000
• Cross International, 800-391-8545
• Direct Relief International, 805-964-4767
• Doctors Without Borders, 888-392-0392
• Feed My Starving Children, 763-504-2919
• Food for the Poor, 800-427-9104
• Friends of WFP, 866-929-1694
• Haiti Children, 877-424-8454
• Haiti Marycare, 203-675-4770
• Haitian Health Foundation, 860-886-4357
• Hope for Haiti, 239-434-7183
• International Medical Corps, 800-481-4462
• International Rescue Committee, 877-733-8433
• International Relief Teams, 619-284-7979
• Lutheran World Relief, 800-597-5972
• Medical Teams International, 800-959-4325
• Meds and Food for Kids, 314-420-1634
• Mennonite Central Committee, 888-563-4676
• Mercy Corps, 888-256-1900
• Operation Blessing, 800-730-2537
• Operation USA, 800-678-7255
• Oxfam, 800-776-9326
• Partners in Health, 617-432-5298
• Rural Haiti Project, 347-405-5552

• The Salvation Army, 800-725-2769
• Samaritan’s Purse, 828-262-1980
• Save the Children, 800-728-3843
• UN Central Emergency Response Fund
• UNICEF, 800-367-5437
• World Concern, 800-755-5022
• World Hope International, 888-466-4673
• World Relief, 800-535-5433
• World Vision, 888-511-6548
• Yele Haiti, 212-352-0552 (Wyclef Jean’s grassroots org. Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone.)

Jamaican Turkey Patty and Mashed Sweet Potato

I love Thanksgiving. I always have. One reason is the fabulous leftovers. Well in our household, leftover turkey isn’t really leftover – it’s more of an ingredient. For the second year in a row, I’ve used these ingredients to make Jamaican style patties. This year, it was a plain chicken style patty. Recipe follows (Makes about 20 5-inch pies).

Patty Filling:

3lbs turkey meat (chopped fine)
1 white onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (minced)
3 scallions (fine chop)
1 can green chiles
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons dried ginger
1 scotch bonnet pepper (if you want HOT – or other pepper to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup bread crumbs

All ingredients above combined in a Dutch oven or large sauté pan.  Prepare the onions and garlic first. Add spices, tomatoes, peppers and then chicken. Add bread crumbs and cook to stew consistency.

The Patty Dough:

I used rollout premade pie crusts( flakey kind, 9 inch).  Each yields about 4 patties.  Cut out 5 inch circles or size you like.  I use a bowl to trace with a knife. Place few teaspoons of filling on round cutout, fold over and crimp edges. Cut steam vents. Brush with an egg wash and bake at 400 for 20 min.

A eggwash is made by beating one egg with a tablespoon of water.

How to participate in either conference

These aren’t your typical conferences.  They are conducted using a web conferencing tool.  Not that a web conferencing tool is earthshaking new.  The meat of the conference happens in the social media based communities.  For Social Media Tools Week, this is in the back-chat channel occurring on Twitter and Google Wave.  Feel free to use ChickenFox’s Conversation Dashboard.

For LearnTrends, this will happen in Twitter as well as the LearnTrends Ning community.  Be a casual observer, or an active participant.  The choice is up to you.

LearnTrends 2009

LearnTrends is an online conference created by Jay Cross and his peers.  This year will focus on Convergence in the Workplace.  From my experience, its a great place to hear new ideas from the pioneers of informal and social learning.  The conference sessions this year will run Tuesday Nov 17 through Thursday Nov 19.  All you need to do is register to attend.

All presenters are asked to save half their time for questions and discussion with you. LearnTrends is hosted on the Elluminate platform. Show up a few minutes early to download Elluminate’s Java start file. All sound will be Voice Over IP. No telephone links. If you want to speak, you need to have a headset to avoid audio feedback.  Link to online event.

The Twitter hashtag is #learntrends. Tweet away but please use Elluminate’s chat function for questions for presenters.

Social Media Tools Week 2009

A similar type of venue to LearnTrends.  Come hear some thought leaders in the social media space in a packed schedule.  Contribute your thoughts in the back-chat.  This conference runs all week.  Again, all you need to do is register.  Even though it has already started, its not too late!

Discuss the conference on several platforms:

Google Wave search the public timeline (with:public SMTW)

Twitter hashtag #SMTW

My Irish friends are keen on discussing the upcoming Ireland-France play off match.  Well, that and posting where they are all going for a pint via the map and voting gadgets while my day is just getting started.

My learning and development peers and I have been discussing how we believe Wave will be a revolutionary tool for distance learning because of its ability to provide a rich collaborative environment for breakout sessions.   So then I started wondering – how would this work on my mobile phone?

I haven’t had the opportunity to test it on my old Windows Mobile or Android phones yet, but I did fire it up on the iPhone.  It gives a warning screen that it’s “not a supported browser”, but you can bypass that and it’ll run.  It’s missing some of the features of the normal version of Wave, but works well.

Then I discovered App-It.  App-It is a web page at www.AppIt.us.  It’s quite simple in that it is a list of links to Google apps, like Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Latitude, voice, etc.  Just make Wave shortcut, by clicking the (+) button in your browser and “Add to Home Screen”.  This creates an icon on the desktop for convenient use.  Now I’m in Google heaven as I use these apps on daily basis for my business.

Are you a Wave user?  if so, what are your thoughts?  How have you used it so far?

New Media Atlanta logo

Friday September 25, 2009 will mark an inflection point for social media events in Atlanta.  The question is, in what direction are we trending.  Atlanta has several Social Media events already.  They range from small meetups to multi-day unconferences such as SoCon.  New Media Atlanta is the new kid on the block and brings with it lofty aspirations and polished marketing.

First, lets look at how the event was marketed.  This is important because there were a lot of people in attendance.  Many of them paid what they considered to be a reasonable sum of money to attend.

The New Media Atlanta conference is a high level, business dialog about how social media is changing marketing and messaging – and in fact, changing the nature of all communications.   We’ll talk about strategies to leverage its power to build your company, product, brand, service, etc.

Have you been curious about what social media can mean for your own business?

Are you interested in learning from a group of experts who have the experience to guide you along the way long-term?

Does a chance to meet some real-world social media leaders, authors and speakers appeal to you?

This conference is meant for you and other business owners who are engaging in social media but haven’t quite made the leap to exponential success.

Maybe those people (myself included) should have honed in on the words “high level” because this is what the morning was… High Level.  Unfortunately, the event hosts exacerbated the problem by starting late and kicking the event off with a good hour of “thank-our sponsors.”  Even though, the marketing was beautiful, the event well coordinated, and the facilities fabulous – serious credibility had been lost before the kickoff keynote speaker took the stage.  And it had already seeped into the conference backchannel conversations (on twitter and backnoise).

To make things worse, the opening keynote tried to adapt his presentation because of the sentiment trending in the backchannel.  He stated “the conference sucked so far.”  This was followed by two more presentations that were either retread presentations from another event or a glorified “look at me” show.   The backchannel toxicity escalates further.  Thank goodness it’s lunch time.

Lunch provided a welcome respite, needed food and drink (since both were banned from the auditorium), and the chance to speak with the closing keynote speaker – Chris Brogan.  Chris was kind enough to chat with everyone and sign copies of his book “Trust Agents.“  Unfortunately, it was not good enough to keep me at the conference – especially since it was being live streamed.  So I, and a whole bunch of other people, left the conference.

I’m not sorry.  I got to avoid the Friday afternoon Atlanta traffic.  I still got to watch the conference, although I was not there in person.  And I was still able to follow the backchannel – which was still toxic.   Content wise, the afternoon picked up.  The panel was good, and Chris Brogan did not disappoint.  Here’s why – he addressed the backchannel.  He made it part of his presentation, or a better term would be a conversation.   I am sorry that I did not go to the after party.  and skipping the Atlanta traffic was worth it.

I know many people were disappointed with the conference.  It’s a real shame because if the content issues are addressed, this could be a great event – especially since the people organizing it know how to market it and make it look good.  I don’t want to say the “Lipstick on a pig” line, but I do live in the South.  Do I feel like I got my money’s worth?  The answer would be “no.”  Admittedly, I left early.  However I blocked a day off from clients and I paid for the event – so there were some significant investments made.  Leaving allowed me to recoup about 40% of that.  Would I go again next year?  The answer is maybe.  It is contingent upon the content.  I will also be asking a lot more questions about the content before agreeing to go.

So in a nutshell, here are the salient points about the conference:

1. Don’t start late with a bunch of advertising
2. consider putting your keynote speaker first – especially if you have a high powered panel later.
3. If it is going to be “high level” content, don’t bill it as a business solution solver.
4. If you are going to bill it as business oriented, have more business representation present (from multiple industries)
5. Encourage your presenters to bring “fresh material”, I don’t want to see last years presentation – again.
6. Pay attention to the backchannel and adjust as needed
7. Kudos for putting the event together and executing on it.  Event planning and execution is hard work.
8. Bowling shirts are COOL.

Over the next few days, I’ll be post ing a few more blog posts related to the backchannel conversations.  This topic has many facets for exploration, and the one I want to discuss is its role in learning and development.

Were you at New Media Atlanta?  What were your thoughts? What’s your feedback?  What were your snarky backchannel comments?

That phrase has been swimming around in my head since.  It’s so true.  It is all transition, so what does happen next?

Here in America, we are in serious transition mode.  We have a relatively new government administration proposing enormous changes to the fabric of business and personal wealth and benefits.  We have a global economic crisis which has impacted employment.  Because of this, the workforce is even more inter-generational mixed than expected.  And those generations like to do things differently.

Social Media is an agent of change in this case.  It’s one that can be applied in many different aspects.  And while it will evolve over time, the principles behind it remain the same.  “Social” business has been around for a long time – it didn’t start with the advent of Facebook or Twitter. The only thing that has changed is the ubiquitousness or cost of entry to applying these business practices on a massive scale.   Let’s think about it for a minute… Twenty years ago, did you research an item before purchase?  Did you ask other people their opinions?  Of course you did.  You may have had to wait for that Consumer Reports article, or may have only had one or two people to ask about it.  Where now because things are so digital, you can find hundred of opinions and rating s on almost every single item for purchase.  When it comes to buying something (especially a service), we would rather work with people we know and trust.  Social media allows us to do that with the power of crowdsourcing.

Business is in transition.  The customer/client/participant is now in the driver’s seat.  The flexible companies/providers will be the ones to thrive in the new era.  All it takes is listening skills and a willingness to trust the customer.  It’s all transition, what happens next is up to them (and you if you listen).

image provided by Steve Gasser

Games are a great way to introduce and reinforce learning because they help drive home application of the topic.  Steve’s game is quick and simple.  I’d have to say it is one of the best exercises that I have seen in a long time.  I am jealous that I didn’t think of it first.  Steve is openly giving it to the community, for which I admire him even more.  I plan to use it and adapt it.  I hope you will too.  Thanks Steve!

Steve’s blog post and materials may be found here:

http://www.stevegasser.com/social-media-for-non-profits-the-game/