Continue reading Samsung Forte is the SCH-R910, brings TouchWiz LTE action to MetroPCS (video)
Samsung Forte is the SCH-R910, brings TouchWiz LTE action to MetroPCS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MotionX-GPS Drive exports full-screen nav on Pioneer and JVC head units, has love only for iOS (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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First, lets set the stage There are social customer service platforms (GetSatisfaction, UserVoice, etc.) and then there are social platforms where companies can do customer service (Twitter, Facebook, etc.). For the sake of what I want to write about in this piece, were talking about the latter. By and large, the companies that are spending the time and money on the former are doing a pretty decent job of solving customer issues. The ones who are using the latter seem to be a mixed bag, with very few good ones involved.
Lets look at some basic ideas, how they work and whats going wrong. Then well dive in a bit with the deeper ideas that larger companies need to start monitoring. First, well start with Joe.
Joes a guy who lives in Arizona. Hes a social media-savvy sort of person who does a lot of his interaction with companies and brands over Twitter. Ive seen Joe talk cars, conferences and customers over Twitter for the past few months. I cant call Joe a friend, per se, but hes absolutely one of the people whose input I enjoy seeing over Twitter.
Recently, Joe tried to take advantage of a sale on a game via Target, a major retailer here in the US. Joe bought Call of Duty: Black Ops via Targets site and waited for his shipment. According to his blog post concern! ing the matter, Target had a problem with his credit card and sent him emails. The emails, however, appeared to be phishing attemps and Joe largely ignored them. Heres where things went really wrong for Target.
Well skip over the finer details of Targets emails here, because they arent reallyimportantto the point of this post. What is important, however, is that Joe went to Twitter to try to talk to someone from Target. Mind you, Target appears to be doing all the right things when it comes to interaction on Twitter. The company is talking to its customers, addressing problems and being as much of a real person as any company could be. But when it comes to Joe, Target has chosen to not respond to him publicly at all.
While Target is far from the only guilty party for behavior of this sort, it makes a great case-in-point. The company is being handed a perfect opportunity to resolve a dispute publicly. Whether it chooses to give Joe the deal that he originally wanted or not, someone from Target needs to address him.
This is where so many are going so very wrong. Of course the companies are interacting, but they are not doing true customer service. Customer service certainly doesnt mean that the customer can never be in the wrong, but it absolutely does mean that a business needs to pay equal attention to unhappy ones as it does to the happy ones.
Facing facts, socially-based customer service isnt always sunshine and roses. Another case in point came from Delta Airlines. When a customer had an issue with the airline that was addressed over Twitter, the company did choose to direct message the customer in question, but no mention was given in Deltas timeline. This utopian society of Twitter timelines, even if it isnt happening yet, will eventually l! ead to c ustomers not believing the interaction that really is happening. Nothing in the world of buying and selling works flawlessly 100-percent of the time. Customers (and potential customers) need to see how you resolve issues with your unhappy customers as well.
These are only two examples, but the list goes on near endlessly. There are so many opportunities to see themselves real being missed by companies, and its time for a fundamental shift toward reality instead of some feigned euphoric happiness zone.
Now, lets take things a step into the deeper end of the pool. What if Activision (the publisher for Call of Duty) was really paying attention to whats going on with its products? Obviously, it cant get involved with every single customer dispute, but what if it were watching this interaction or lack thereof via Twitter? What power could be had by developers, publishers and the like standing up for the customers in these cases? While there are certain difficulties that would arise, its safe to say that retailers would take on a different role in the process.
If youve read much of what Ive written about social media strategy and/or customer service, youll know that Ive spoken highly of Rackspace in the past. The company exemplifies what social customer service should be. Have a problem? Drop a reply to @Rackspace on Twitter and I can almost assure you that youll get a prompt response. Yes, right there on Twitter, in public, for all to see. While it might not come directly from the Rackspace main account, a flag-waving representative of the company will have no shame in addressing your problem in plain view of everyone.
Why does this matter? Because its a prime example of a company that is doing it right. Whether the company or the customer is in the right doesnt matter. Interaction isnt hidden and the company seems to be constantly on the lookout for mentions of its various products whether positive or negative.
Is it time for more companies to follow suit? From where Im sitting, yes. Its actually far beyond time. Technology-based business are especially under the microscope for this. If youre technically savvy, if you choose to use Twitter and other social services for your customer support, then show the good and the bad. Track down every mention of your products name that you can and find out whats being said about it. If your product is being distributed through someone else, keep an eye on what is happening with it.
Its your product and its your opportunity. The last thing that you want to do is let either of them go bad.Rackspace Photo, Delta Jet Photo
What we're watching tonight:HDTV Listings for January 22, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading IBM looks back on 100 years of history, finds plenty to be proud of (video)
IBM looks back on 100 years of history, finds plenty to be proud of (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nexus One gets tiny update to Android 2.2.2, fixes SMS routing issues originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A Palestinian TV reporter faces charges of insulting a public figure after being tagged in a Facebook photo that ridicules the Palestinian Authority president, highlighting how social networks can just as easily be used to repress dissent as they can to aid it.
Mamdouh Hamamreh, a correspondent for Palestinian television station Al-Quds, was detained in September after he was tagged in an image of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas next to a picture of a Syrian actor who played a spy in a popular Arab television show, English-language Israeli paper The Jer usalem Post reports. The implication of the image is that Abbas is a traitor.
Hamamreh, who has since been released, told the Associated Press on Saturday that his prosecutors have set his first court date for next month. Its worth noting that his TV station is sympathetic to militant Islamic group Hamas, which opposes Abbass Palestinian Authority. Prosecutors say Hamamreh posted the image, but Hamamreh says he had nothing to do with it.
The arrest highlights how social networks can be double-edged swords when it comes to free speech. While its easy to point to conflicts in which social networks have played a critical role in aiding dissent like the Iran election protests last year and the recent overthrow of Tunisias corrupt government, repressive governments also use them to monitor and quell dissent.
Bloggers in repressive countries were once largely permitted to write about topics that traditional media didnt dare broach, but as their influence increased they started to be harassed and in some cases arrested by their governments. It wouldnt surprise us if a similar story continues to emerge from social network use.
More About: arrest, facebook, Palestine
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By almost all standards, Google is in great shape. It had a fantastic fourth quarter, increasing revenue by 26% from Q4 2009. It is the undisputed leader in search, YouTube is on fire and Android is giving Apple a run for its money.
Under the surface though, things arent all sunshine and roses. Google Buzz and Google Wave were failures. ! At the s ame time, Facebook has emerged as a legitimate threat to Google and has been stealing Googles best talent. Its gotten so bad that Google gave everybody a 10% raise in a desperate bid to retain talent.
Perhaps thats why Larry Page is replacing Eric Schmidt as CEO. There was nobody accountable at the top, and now Google risks losing big ground to Facebook and Apple. This is Larry Pages company now.
Thanks to Schmidt, Google is efficient, but it has also lost its ability to come up with a clear vision and execute upon it. What it needs now is a visionary leader to take Google to new heights, much like Apples Steve Jobs and Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg have done with their companies.
Google needs its own Steve Jobs, and it had better hope Larry Page is that man. Heres why:
The graph below depicts the history of Microsofts stock price, starting from its 1986 IPO to today. In its entire history, the company has only had two CEOs: Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Ive placed a line on the January 2000 mark to reflect when Bill Gates handed the reigns over to Steve Ballmer.
As you can see, Microsofts growth has stagnated since Ballmer has taken the helm. Gates, the visionary, was able to turn his company into a powerhouse by taking risks and creating groundbreaking products. Ballmer is an effective manager, but he is not a visionary.
Lets be fair, though: when Ballmer took over, Microsoft was in the midst of a brut! al antit rust investigation and the dot-com bubble. Plus, Gates was still at the company as the chief software architect and the keeper of the technology vision of the company. Still, he wasnt calling the shots; Ballmer was.
Perhaps this is the more telling chart, though:
This is a graph depicting the changes in Microsoft and Apples market capitalizations over the last decade. In Q1 2001, Apple was worth a mere $7.64 billion, 1/38th the size of Microsofts massive $291.74 billion market cap.
As of this Friday, Apple is worth $300.92 billion. Microsoft, on the other hand, has dropped all the way down to $239.73 billion in market cap. The change in fortunes is absolutely astonishing.
While there are thousands of factors that contributed to the decline of Microsoft and the rise of Apple, nobody can discount the impact their CEOs have had in the last decade.
Why was Steve Jobs declared CEO of the Decade by Fortune Magazine? Its because he triumphantly returned to the company he founded, gave it a clear vision, and transformed Apple into one of the worlds most successful companies.
You dont have to look far for visionary CEOs whove had a monstrous impact on their companies, either. Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, Amazons Jeff Bezos, Oracles Larry Eliason, and Groupons Andrew Mason are just a few examples.
And its not just recently that visionary leaders that have changed the fates of their companies, either: Ford Motor Companys Henry Ford, Standard Oils John Rockefeller and General Electrics Thomas Edison redefined business, technology and industry in ways few others have.
Its true that many companies dont need visionary leaders. Sometimes a visionary isnt an effective manager at a! time wh en a company needs to focus on efficiency and not new products. However, visionaries are the best choice to take the helm when a company is first starting out, when it is out to redefine an industry or when it is stagnating or in decline.
Zuckerberg turned a young company into a $50 billion empire in less than a decade. Steve Jobs steered a company on the brink of bankruptcy to new heights. Henry Ford single-handedly created the modern automotive industry.
Now what about Google? Heres what I said late last year when I declared Google Buzz techs biggest flop of 2010:
With Googles biggest attempt at social now a mere afterthought, nothing stands in Facebooks way. The social network will eventually surpass its Silicon Valley rival both in terms of net worth and dominance of the web. Google will become the next Microsoft, profitable but unable to grow, and Facebook will become the next Google whose influence will be felt for years to come.
Now, more than ever in its history, does Google need a visionary leader in the mold of Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. Eric Schmidt, while one of the best CEOs and managers of all time, isnt a visionary. The vision has always been with the founders, especially with Larry Page, its President of Products and soon-to-be CEO.
Earlier this week, I answered a question on Quora on the potential impact of Googles leadership shake-up. Heres what I said:
Larry Page is the visionary of the three. Hes been President of Product because hes usually the one who comes up with the visionary product ideas and has ta plan to turn that idea into reality.
It was never quite clear who was in charge before, bu! t now no body can dispute that the buck stops with Larry Page. While he wont be CEO officially until April (blame paperwork/bylaws/transition time/new nameplates), Page is already, in a sense, acting CEO.
How does this affect product development? Its going to accelerate, based on Larrys vision and Sergeys hands-on approach. Sergeys going to push more new projects off the ground while Larry is going to help define the overarching goals and strategies, while getting the right people in place.
Google needs a clearer vision from the top. If it cant find a way to limit the influence of Facebook soon, it will become the next Microsoft (or, even worse, the next Yahoo). It has an advantage most companies in its position dont have, though: It still has its founders.
For Googles sake, lets hope Larry Page is the visionary CEO that the company so desperately needs.
More About: apple, Column, eric schmidt, Google, larry page, Opinion, Sergey Brin, steve jobs, The Social Analyst, tim cook
Apple hacker digs up Qualcomm baseband proof by decompiling iTunes? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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