Friendly Technology.........

Beware of Technology Generalists....

I think its important for people to be wary of computer companies who say they do "everything". Last week, a client of mine was sharing with me quite a frustrating experience. He had upgraded his palm pilot to one that included a phone. This particular phone / palm pilot combination is made by a company called Kyocera.

The problems with the upgrade was that his computer stopped synching with the phone / palm pilot. He hired a local company to come and fix the issue. Well meaning people, great for a lot of computer issues, but they spent 6 hours and no luck.  Couldn't charge a fee either.

Finally, my client found out about a dedicated Kyocera expert, spent an hour on the phone with this person, and the problem was solved.

What this tells me:
- its worth its weight in gold to find experts, or "the expert", in the particular programs or equipment you use.

- if things are working fine, and you don't see the need for any new features, upgrades are often not worth a lump of coal. (this could be a separate post - 'don't upgrade needlessly')

A new Information Literacy Test for the Computer Age...

There was an interesting article on Slashdot a little while ago on a new aptitude test from the people behind the well known tests, the SAT and the GMAT. The new offering is called the Information and Communication literacy assessment and it could not have come at a more appropriate time.

I believe the increased access to information many people now enjoy is a very good thing. But, this also means we are having to process a lot more. One way to cope with this is to pull back from all the choices. I think a better strategy is to learn how to successfully manage information. This new test sounds like it could help.

The Pope and Technology - my column

Have recieved a lot of good feedback for my newspaper column from 10 days ago. I can't say that I would have agreed with Pope John Paul on much, but his open spirit about technology gives me ample cause to admire him. Without further adieu,

 Although I am not a Catholic, or even especially religious, I have found many things that have inspired me about Pope John Paul II in the past few weeks.

 With wall to wall coverage of the Pope’s illness and his subsequent passing, it has been hard not to find out more about this humble man who became a world leader.

 I might not agree with all of the Pope’s beliefs but I truly believe that here was a human being who, while being steadfast in his adherence to many ancient traditions, was truly a man of his times.

The Pope helped bring down the Iron Curtain, for example, by holding Mass in his home country of Poland and telling his countrypeople "not to be afraid". 

Some 22 years later, John Paul II gave a similar message about the Internet – telling the world not to be afraid.

In a 2002, on the occasion of World Communications Day, the Pope gave a speech entitled “Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel”.

With this speech, the Pope signaled his solid understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of cyberspace.

He noted the Internet is simply a means to an end, but it is a very powerful means – allowing the Catholic Church “magnificent opportunities” to reach people and a “unique supplement and support”.

The Pope understood that nothing can replace face to face interaction, but when face to face interaction is not possible, the Internet can be a powerful and positive substitute.

The Vatican launched a web site way back in 1995 – www.vatican.va. If you have had the opportunity to visit the site recently, you will see that not all web sites have to be glitzy. I think the Vatican web site is designed in a very classic, respectful style

I have read that, when the Pope died, officials sent the first news to journalists via text messages to cell phones. If you go to Yahoo news right now, you will find a large organized section of news coming from the Vatican.

Today, I not only want to salute a great spiritual leader. I also want to pay tribute to a great leader in the productive use of technology.

Rest in Peace Pope John Paul II. You will be sorely missed.

Presenting to Cariboo Press Editorial Conference about Blogging...

I just arrived home from giving a talk to the yearly Cariboo Press editorial conference. My Friendly Tech column runs in 6 papers within the Cariboo Press group. I talked about the greater choice of news available to people - with the Internet, and especially with blogs. I also expressed a view that the best combination was a journalist who also blogs. I promised a list of further resources to the people in the seminar. Here it is:

• Dan Gillmor's Blog
• Blogging, Journalism, and Credibilty Conference
• Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies
• Editor's Weblog

A Good Second Best to Rechargeable Batteries...

I cringe a little every time I throw out a battery. I bought some rechargeables a while back, but seem now have to misplaced my set. Yes, I will buy rechargeable batteries again but the New York Times (free registration required) points towards a better set of non rechargeables - if I need them.

This June, Panasonic will introduce Oxyride batteries: AA and AAA disposable batteries that the company calls "the most significant developments in primary battery technology in 40 years." According to Panasonic, these batteries last up to twice as long as premium alkaline batteries like Duracell Ultra ($5 for four), yet cost the same as regular alkalines ($4 for four).

Astounded yet? Then get this: Oxyride batteries are also supposed to deliver more power. The result, the company says, is that battery-operated toothbrushes spin faster, flashlights shine brighter, camera flashes are quicker to recharge and music players produce richer sound.

More information here on the Panasonic web site.

Computer Keyboards and Germs

I eat in front of my keyboard a lot and, due to the resulting guilt and concern, I am linking to this piece on Slashdot.org:

"Gee, this is a suprise.  Researchers have found that keyboards harbor bacteria and super-germs. This is particularly interesting this time because this research noted that there is a lot of computer use in hospitals and they're finding it really difficult to sterilize them."

Google becomes more Ask Jeevesish...

The search companies continue to release many great new features. I often show people the Ask Jeeves search engine as a place where they can ask simple questions and get answers - "what is the weather in Kamloops?" or "whats the population of Canada? or "when is Demi Moore's birthday"

Now Google now does the same sort of thing.

Solar Powered Gadget Bags...

Enviromentally friendly technology, in this day in age and in my opinion, constitutes very friendly technology.

Just ran across this mention on Gizmodo about carry bags that have solar panels that can keep cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs charged up. Alas, these bags don't yet have the power to charge laptops which might be carried inside. Here's a link to the full details on Gizmodo.

Pope John Paul and Technology...

Great article by Larry Magid at CBS News about how Pope John Paul loved both tradition and technology...

Rest In Peace.

Roman Bodnarchuk - Marketing using the Internet

For some reason still unfathomable to me, I didn't get sleep before the Techvibes Massive 2005 conference. Although I attended 4 speaker sessions, I really only took notes for one of them. I did record audio of all 4 and will post them up likely tomorrow. The notes I took mostly involve my impressions of Roman Bondarchuk's talk entitled "The Future of Database Marketing using Web and Email". Roman is the CEO of a company called N5R.

Dry sounding title but a pretty earthshattering concept. In the age of the Internet, at long last, businesses are able to almost perfectly match people to products. We are able to sell stuff without making people angry about unwanted mail, telemarketing calls at dinner, and unwanted emails about body part enhancement. More important, we are able to make people feel special.

I think it is important for both businesses and buyers to get their heads around this concept. I absolutely think what Roman talked about is much better for everybody and is truly a great example of how the web is changing things for the better.

A Adobe PDF copy of Roman's slides are here and I will update here tomorrow with a link to the audio. Here are my notes from his session:

• Going online now tied with TV for most time spent weekly on average. The more educated the person, the less TV and the more online.

• direct mail marketing - less than 1% response rate considered good. Awards come if over 5% response.

• if you send person direct mail which invites them to a web page specially built and addressed for them, response rate can soar. Instead of www.anysite.com, mail that goes to Mary Smith would ask her to visit www.marysmith.anysite.com. This mass customization is possible using web technology and a printing technology called digital variable technology. People feel special.

• High definition video is now possible to use on web sites without too much issue with long download times. Even people on lower speed Internet connections can access pretty easily. This way, you can create a more human and interesting experience for people.

• Roman got his start building a email database of 3 million people for the Backstreet boys. What's more interesting that that, he says, is how they used those emails. They took great care in writing emails that would really connect with the people receiving them. They would ask people 5 or 6 important questions when they signed up for the email and then tailor the emails according to their answers.

• Roman also talked about junk email and how often email people have signed up for winds up in the junk email box. The key to this he says is to give people incentive to forward emails themselves to their email network.

• The key is to make people feel special, make them feel valued, and to respect their time. This is much easier with this type of marketing.