Negative Feedback in Customer Communities: A Liability or Opportunity?

Jump to major points of this article

On the ride home from work last Thursday, I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) and the hosts shared messages they received from listeners regarding NPR’s recent Iraqi war coverage. I can’t remember the quotes, but the reviews were predominately negative. I remember words such as sickening, atrocious, disrespectful, disgusted and surprising.

These words read on the radio clicked with me that day. They set off a thought in my head related to online communities of customers and the role of negative feedback in customer community building. Here is what I thought…

There is a reason NPR reads these comments on the air on a regular basis. I know little about radio or broadcasting but I think there is something powerful occurring when negative comments are shared in this way. I felt a new respect for NPR’s forthright honesty and a connection with other listeners that I hadn’t felt before.

Negative Comments Provide Voice

These comments represent the voice of the listener. When I heard the comments on the radio, I knew the stories of which they were speaking and I felt the same when I heard them. I instantly felt connected to the other listeners, we experienced the same feelings; we shared the same perspective. By reading these comments on the air, NPR helped me feel like I was connected to their community of loyal and concerned listeners.

By inviting listeners to share their criticisms and then reading them on the air, NPR is saying “Here we are, warts and all. We will never please everyone, but we are listening and doing our best. To show you that we are aware of our listeners’ opinions, here is what people are saying…”

This gesture is nothing new to the media. Take a look at almost any magazine and you’ll see some sort of “cheers and jeers”. I believe this type of feedback-made-public is representative of an effective way that companies can benefit from online communities of their customers.

Perceptions on Customer Communities

It is a perception that online communities of customers can be risky because they may backfire and become a liability. Some of the common concerns may be: “What if they bash us in front of all the other customers?” “What if it turns into a complaint forum?” “How can we make sure it doesn’t turn negative and change perceptions of all our customers?”

I think this is true across many companies who consider building an online community and is a valid concern. The thought of bringing customers together and giving each customer the ability to be critical in public sounds like a recipe for disaster. In some cases, it certainly can be. However, I strongly believe that what companies instinctively want to avoid regarding customer communities can be their greatest asset.

The Hidden Asset

A couple of years ago, I was inspired by the irreverant web site and book The Cluetrain Manifesto- it helped me define my perspective on this subject. Here is what I think is a good, albeit casual response to the common fears regarding customer communities: “Look at it this way. Assume your customers are going to talk about you no matter what you do. When they talk, they are going to talk about what is wrong and what they don’t like about your company. You have a choice: you can let them continue talk using their own network and let the negativity multiply blindly, or you can sponsor a network, become a part of the discussion and show the customers what you’re doing to help.”
Overall, here is the crux of my point:

• Negative comments may be a symptom of a problem that all customers experience


• By allowing these comments to flow, you learn and help all customers feel that they are being heard


• By giving them a common voice, they feel unified and connected to one another


• By promoting and responding to these comments honestly, you can become a connected part of the network


• As members of the same network, you can build trust and loyalty by demonstrating that you are aware of problems and working to change things for the better


• If you can build trust and loyalty in your customer base, you’re on your way to being more successful

The alternative is to pretend that customers are all perfectly happy and spreading the good news wherever they go. This strategy is much less risky, less costly in the short term and much easier for the board to stomach. Plus, “that’s the way it’s always worked and we’ve done fine”- what Seth Godin would sardonically call a “winning strategy”. I would agree with Seth that today’s winning strategies can easily become tomorrow’s liabilities.

Like NPR reading negative comments on the air, companies have an opportunity to view negative comments in online communities as a new chance to connect and serve customers. Just like the connection I felt to other listeners when negative feedback was voiced on the radio, customers feel connected when they realize they are not alone and someone is speaking for them.

If customers choose to be critical, their comments should not be hidden or diverted, they should be shared because they may represent a silent majority that is looking for a voice. By giving customers a voice and responding to them in a community, companies can build a valuable and irreplaceable foundation of trust and open communication. Using this foundation, customers can become more enabled to help companies make real improvements that make a real difference.

Article/Review: iCohere- Creating Communities for Collaboration and Learning

iCohere: Creating Communities for Collaboration and Learning

The folks at iCohere have published an article that is focused on 4 types of communities they see and different approaches for each one. Their focus seems to be on internal organizational learning and communication as opposed to using communities for serving customers.

I've checked out both the demos and they are slick looking. I think they are well organized and offer a good selection of collaboration tools. I like the icons for each post type (I agree, In summary, etc.) Interesting integration of audio and video tools along with text. Also, they make the ability to upload a picture very obvious- which I think can be really important.

It's possible to receive "email updates" but I wasn't able to find a way to subscribe to particular discussions or forums. In my view, most vendors aren't integrating email enough, or making it obvious enough to use.

Also, it didn't seem to be a largely customizable/configurable tool. I see that most site management is template based and little technical knowledge is needed to enable/disable tools- a good thing. However, I think an important factor is the ability to change everything if you want. To match the tool to your culture, I think you may need the ability to change each button, each description, each heading, etc. and rearrange everything to match what you need. I’m not sure if this is possible.

Of course, it was only a demo, so I have yet to see it really used and I could be making premature assumptions.

I'm always surprised that online community vendors don't make better use of their own tools in serving their clients or prospects. I really like to see a community of users and vendor folks working together on the vendor’s site and using their platform. This allows you to see the tool work in real life and find answers at the same time. Like Web Crossing Harbor.

In the end, it seems like a good platform. But, I maintain my view that platforms are only tools and will never make or break the success of the collaborative group. People make it work at the end of the day.

Thanks to Marc Pierson for the pointer...

Announcing A Name Change

I've made the patriotic and bold decision to change my last name: LeFever. I've decided that it's too French. From now on, I'd like to be known as:

Lee LeFreedom

Blogs, The Tipping Point and Ideaviruses

The Tipping Blog - How Weblogs Can Turn an Idea into an Epidemic

This is my kind of article. It really hits home and mentions some books and folks I admire. It's long, but gooood.

Excerpt:

Somehow I had lucked into the mythical "Tipping Point" described by author Malcolm Gladwell: "that moment in an epidemic when a virus reaches critical mass". If the link to my article was the virus, then the method of transmission was the humble weblog.

In understanding what had happened, I had to relearn everything I thought I knew about how weblogs work, and how ideas spread in the blogging community and beyond.

A Brief History of Online Communication

If I'm really gonna claim that I know something about online communication, I've gotta get back to basics. I was doing a little research recently and came across a couple of sites that were interesting. I was looking to try to define the similarities and differences between Usenet and Listserv- which has turned out to be a little daunting. I won't go into all that here... yet.

I did see something that I thought was a great snapshot of Internet communication history. As you may know, Google now has all the Usenet archives- they go back 20 years and are an impressive resource for almost any questions.

Google has produced a page that looks at the past 20 years in terms of Usenet posts. Some of the links are broken, but it's still really cool to check it out...

20 Year Archive on Google Groups

This is a good one: First mention of the Y2K problem

Also, this page gave me a good education on the history of LISTSERV.

Enjoy!

And the word for the day is...

I know this looks like filler... "Lee couldn't think of anything else, so he started posting random words" It's really not like that. Sometimes a word hits me just right and it becomed an almost annoying part of my vocabulary.

I was recently hit by one: nascent

According to dictionary.com nascent means: Commencing, or in process of development; beginning to exist or to grow; coming into being; as, a nascent germ.

It's good one. :-)

Fascinating: New Email Analysis Shows What's Really Going On

There are a few articles out there that describe a new breed of software that analyzes email and informal social networks. It sounds mudane, but I think they may hold the keys to understanding how organizational communication creates networks that are more powerful than established teams.

Through analyzing who is sending and receiving emails, in one example, the tools map out who the employees are that serve as resources for the rest of the employees. We all know those folks who seem to always have the answers- these sytems show who they are and who is in their informal network. Plus, how these systems can be used in all kinds of situations.

I first saw these articles in the Communities of Practice Discussion Group on Yahoo! Groups. Posted by Vladis Valdis Krebs of Orgnet Vladis Valdis developed network-mapping software called InFlow.

Emerging Technology: Who Loves Ya, Baby?- A look where social mapping originated, how it can be used and how granfalloons (formal groups) and karasses (informal,spontaneous groups) provide the context for these studies.

E-mail reveals real leaders- This article is more specific to analysing email in terms of communities of practice. It provides results from a study conducted at Hewlett Packard.

[cond-mat/0211498] Self-similar community structure in organisations A short, academic analysis.

I think there is a huge need for tools like these. I think email is still new and we don't know what kind of effect this new connectedness is having on organzational behaviour. If companies take a good (and reliable) look at how their employees are self-organizing, they can find unknown leaders, thought leaders, new and unexpected teams and new ways to structure their companies that match with the way that people really organize- not how the org chart organizes them.

Where is Raed? Blog Hits the Big Time

Iraqi uses Web to chronicle a city under the bombs

Our friend at Where is Raed? has hit the big time: Article posted on Yahoo News India via Reuters.

TrackBack Explained (sort of)

How Trackback Works

Being a bit of newbie to blogging, I wasn't too sure how to use trackback effectively. The page linked above helped.

Here is my own attempt at an explanation...

Leaving comments on a blog lets you communicate with the author of a blog. It's a great way to promote yourself and make friends. Normally, you'd just click "Comment" on their blog and leave a message on their site.

Trackback allows you to comment about a blog on your own site and automatically notify the original site that you've commented, closing the loop.

The value I see is being able to have control of your own content while extending the value of the original post.

If you have something revolutionary to say about someone's blog entry, you can do it on your site and create a win-win for both bloggers. They get links to interesting comments about their entries and you get traffic from folks who want to see what you have to say.

I wish someone would read this entry and then use the trakback link to comment on their site. It would be my first one. You know, they say you never forget the first one...
:-)

I pulled 1000 songs out of thin air

New Category! Gadgetry

Last night I was completely geeked out about my new computer and wireless networking. I took my computer over to Anthony’s, where he has a wireless home network up. I busted out my computer with the battery charged and cranked her up. Using windows XP, I had a little notification that said “A wireless network is available, click here to connect”. Two clicks later, I was hooked up to his network and able to wirelessly get on the web, etc. No big deal, I do that at home now.

What was really cool was how I was able to get his music collection. Through the network connection, I was able to get into one of his computers that has thousands of songs. Anthony’s wife, Kristin, says we share the same brain- and she’s right- we share the same tastes in lots of things and music is one. I had wireless access to 6-8 gigs of music that I like.

So, over the course of about 2 hours, I copied and pasted about 2.5 gigs of music into my machine through the network. Each album took about 3 minutes or so.

And that’s not a big deal. I could have easily hooked up an Ethernet connection and transferred the songs much faster. But that would have been lame or too easy.

What really got me excited, what really geeked me out was doing it wirelessly. I was able plop down this little machine on their coffee table and get the job done. I could have done the same thing from the kitchen, or my car outside. We sat there and played video games while this little machine pulled music out of the thin air and put it in my computer, and it was so freakin easy.

Man I hope the RIAA doesn’t come knockin on my door for this…

Where is Raed?: In our Minds?

I have been fascinated by the “Where is Raed?” blog that is purportedly authored by a guy in Baghdad, Iraq. This guy Paul Boutin has done some research and analysis on whether it’s a hoax or not. I think it’s for real. Link

Excerpt:

Rather than guess, I emailed Salam and asked for proof of his location just before the first attack on Baghdad this morning. "how can i do that?" he emailed back. "you don't expect me to run out in the street and take a picture near something you'll recognize." Actually, I pointed out, a +964 phone number where I could reach him would do. Dialing into Iraq from here is tough right now, but not impossible, and rerouting a phone number would be much tougher than posting a blog from outside the country. Salam hasn't given me one, but that's understandable.

Seen on Boing Boing.

Archives Up In Here

OK, I admit it, I'm not the technical brains behind this operation. Big ups to Anthony at The Useful Arts for helping me get the snazzy archive links over on the left side here. I'm really digging how it shows how many entried for each month.

The Encompassing Gravity of Situations

Everyday I think about what I want to post here. I’m inspired one day, have interesting links the next, some things hit me right, others don’t and sometimes the motivation is just not there. And then there are times like these, when nothing I could write seems of any consequence compared to the gravity of the situation in which we find ourselves. We are on the verge of war.

On September 12th, 2001, I got an email newsletter from Phillip Kaplan, a New Yorker who created the website F*cked Company. The newsletter contained his reaction to the events of September 11th- the day before. He said something in that newsletter that, to me, captured how the event had changed his reality and that of others in our generation. It seems trite, but he said something to the effect of…

“The Simpsons won’t be funny for a while…”

In my mind, this little phrase captured how certain situations change the way we view everything around us. Everything that we take for granted somehow gets appreciated in a new way because our priorities have been so rearranged. The Simpsons has always been amusing, but I doubt anyone could see the humor for a while after 9/11.

Today I think about what I want to write here, but the only things that seem important right now have nothing to do with me or why I created this site. I don’t think anyone cares about me, my interests or online communication right now. You are worried about the state of the world, the welfare of you and your family, the impending war that we are bringing to Iraq. I am too.

I have this feeling that, like the Simpsons after 9/11, there is nothing I can do that will make any difference to anyone because there is something bigger at play- something that is all-encompassing on a worldwide scale. Something that makes everything normal seem less important and less interesting. This war is and will continue to rearrange our reality- keeping us from enjoying the little things that make us happy.

But alas, I will not let the war claim me and my site as a victim. I will carry on with one eye on the war, one on Communication Culture and my foot on the gas. My hope is that it will be over quickly so we can recover our normalcy, laugh at the Simpsons and focus on things that matter on a personal scale. This site matters to me and on it I will focus, no matter the events of the world.

Tech Soup Online Community

TechSoup - The TechSoup Community

I've always had a soft place in my heart for non-profits, or should I say not-for-profits. I guess it's the same thing that brought me to healthcare. They are generally involved in doing good and have a philanthropic aura that appeals to me.

I was recently contacted by a moderator of the TechSoup Online Community about posting my article on switching online community platforms in the Tech Soup Forum on Virtual Communities. I gladly obliged and just wanted to give them a little shout-out.

There are so many communities out there, but I do like the feeling of smaller and less techy forums where normal folks have great questions and the discussion doesn't turn into techno-babble.

I haven't had time to use Tech Soup too much, but it looks like a place I'd like to keep an eye on. They're doing good things in their community.

War Coverage with a Personal Twist

This is the second time I’ve written this post, again, I lost the browser version. Uggg.

So it looks like we’re going to war this week. There are some interesting sites out there that I’ll be watching during this battle. They represent a kind of reporting that you won’t see on CNN or Google News. Most are blog sites where folks post personal accounts of the war and/or personal analysis of news agency stories. It’ll be interesting to see who attracts the traffic when the bombs drop. Here are some links:

• Kevin Site’s Blog: "First-person account of a reporter's life on the front lines of war." (My bet as a popular one)
• LT Smash: An anonymous soldier’s blog who is operating in Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Back to Iraq 2.0: A former New York Times daily and AP reporter reports on the war and tries to raise money to go cover it independently.
• OxBlog: "The political rantings of Josh Chafetz, a 2001 Rhodes Scholar and graduate student in political theory at Oxford."
• Blogs of War: Blog with nice set of links and war related analysis
• Where is Raed: Accounts from inside Iraq.
• Iraqwar.info: News blog with mainstream and some under-the-radar stories.

Some non-blog war links:

• Iraqi News Agency:
  
• Military.com:
  
• DebkaFiles (Isreali News)
  

We have some crazy stuff coming our way and I've got to say I'm excited. It's exciting in a way that is both dreadful and anxious. I can't say I'm a fan of the war or Bush, but I am a fan of news and world events and this one will be a doosey to watch- particularly through the words of real people.

Personal Journalism

Kevin Sites Blog

According to Technorati this site is the most linked to blog today. I imagine this one may be even more popular soon.

I think Kevin Sites is on to something. He's an accomplished journalist who is covering the Iraq war. As part of his coverage, he's posting to his personal blog with information that you won't see on CNN.. personal accounts of things that happened to him, things he saw.

I really like that he writes well and his words aren't biased by the news agencys' "blanderizer". He communicates in a way that allows people to feel like they are with him tells little stories that are high on content, low on newsworthiness.

Guardian Reporter Loses It

I though this was awesome. A reporter for the Guardian, a british publication, was sent to cover a Cricket match and totally loses his shit and rants about his job and life. What's even funnier is that it's included in the article about the match as if it's normal.

Read the article

Excerpt:

It's really simple: India are already through, New Zealand have to win.

Meanwhile, have you ever thought WHAT SORT OF LIFE IS THIS AND WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING BOARDING A TRAIN FOR MOORGATE AT 6.30 IN THE MORNING AND THEN STANDING AROUND FOR AGES WAITING FOR A TUBE WHILE STARING AT A SIGN TELLING YOU THAT IF YOU WAIT FOR FOUR MINUTES YOU CAN BOARD A TRAIN TO UXBRIDGE I'D RATHER WAIT FOUR HOURS FOR A JOURNEY WITH THE GRIM REAPER QUITE FRANKLY

via: Boing Boing

I piss me off sometimes

It's my own fault... I've done it about 10 times and I'll never learn...

I'm about 20 minutes into the best entry ever and I decide to go search for something I need. I don't open a new browser, no, I just use the handy Google browser search box. Then I realize that I've navigated away from the entry and when I return it's empty, fuckin empty. All the good writing down the drain.

I need to just start writing in something besides the web site and copy the stuff in when I want to publish. I gotta get away from this computer before I break something. At least it's Friday and I have a beer in hand so soothe my anger. It was gonna be a killer post too.

New Photos Posted: Utah

I've uploaded about 20 photos from the Utah trip- check em out. Some are pretty good in my lay opinion. I'm still figuring out the photo gallery thing. For instance, there isn't navigation to go back to the home page. You gotta hit back a bunch or fiddle with the URL. Deal with it. :)

Anthony got it all hooked up. :)

The Cluetrain guys are at it again

World of Ends

Doc Searls and David Weinberger have created a new site, or should I say manifesto called the World of Ends.
What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else.

It seems to be their next step in explaining the inherent value of the Internet in terms of learning from the mistakes we've made in the past. Mistakes that were made because of a lack of understanding what the Internet is and how it should be used.

Communities of Practice from the Medical Perspective

Creating Customer Communities: A Surgical Approach

Interesting article that talks about how a doctor has been very successful in creating a real-life community of patients by encouraging them to get to know one another.

Through this example, the article provides a look at how buisnesses who can forge these types of relationships will see great benefits.

Home again and feelin old

There is nothing like coming back into town from a trip, going straight to bed and waking up the next morning and dealing with everything that happened at work while you were gone. I wanted to crawl under my desk today and pretend I was still in Utah.

Speaking of which, Utah was pretty darn dope. We met in Park City and stayed with Andy Varner- a guy I grew up with. He's been living in Park City for years and has all the hook ups. We had a free place to stay with Andy and free lift tix for the Park City Resort.

My friend JJ came out from Charleston, SC and Tom from Bozeman, MT. I didn't know Tom before, but he's a killer guy. I only knew him previously as "Big Face Tom". He does have a long face, apparenly 13 vertical inches.

They needed more snow, but we were able to find powder in the trees consistently. We rode three days straight and it kicked my butt. It's been a while since I snowboarded 3 days in a row.

On the second day, we went to this place I hadn't heard of before: Snow Basin. It is a world-freaking-class resort. It was the site of some downhill events in the 2002 Winter Olympic games.

It used to be a sleepy hill, but the Olympics changed all that.

The lodges are unlike anything I'd ever seen- beautiful and brand new. I had never had a post session beer in a fine leather chair surrounded by fine rugs, sculptures and 3 story fireplaces. They have 2 gondolas, one tram, and incredible terrain. There was hardly a soul on the mountain too.

Apparently, Snowbasin was upgraded due to the Snowbasin Land Exchange Act, which, I think, is a way that the goverment provides money for Olympic upgrades.

One guy owns the mountain and it's the same guy that own Sinclair Oil- Earl Holding. There is a pretty interesting story about how Snowbasin has grown.

All in all, it was really fun, exhausting, a little risky and eye opening. Utah is such a bizarre place. The conservatism is palpable. It is not a place that fits with my lifestyle or my beliefs. But, gawd, they have some of the best snow on earth.

Photos on the way...

Outtie

I am sooo outta here. Probably won't be anything new till Monday. I'm off to Park City, UT.

Socialtext

Socialtext

I just registered as a user of their workspace. I was impressed by the registration process and their communication style- personal feeling. Just getting started, but it reminds me of Ryze and I think they work together.

Interview: Cindy Bowens, Sigil Games Online

Online Community Report

This is an interview with the Community Relations Manager of Sigil Games (think Everquest). These games are used by thousands of players at once and they organize into online communities and accomplish goals in the game.

I really liked this quote:

It is my belief that as these types of communities grow and flourish that they have the potential to promote acceptance and understanding among individuals and diverse groups. Businesses should be able to look to these types of communities that have been around for many years and recognize that they are powerful tools for communication, networking and marketing.

From Yahoo! Groups to Web Crossing: Changing Online Community Platforms

I believe there are a number of list owners on Yahoo! Groups who are looking to move their groups to another platform. This article provides some thoughts and considerations on how this transition can occur successfully.

• Choosing a platform
  
• Keeping the members happy
  
• What to keep, what to remove?
  
• Educating members
  
• In conclusion
  

Disclaimer: I do not work for Web Crossing or sell their products.

Choosing a Platform

One of your first goals should be to look at what your members like about Yahoo! Groups. Then, you can emulate the things they like and get rid of the bad stuff. Emulating what they like and keeping things very simple in the beginning will help them see value quickly. Then, over time, you can roll out all the cool stuff that a real platform provides.

You might be surprised that there aren’t many vendors out there saying "Hey! We can substitute for Yahoo! Groups and do a lot more!"You’d think there would be a great market for people who had grown to loath the advertising and one-size-fits-all orientation of Yahoo! Groups.

You might look at vendors like Prospero, PeopleLink, Communispace, etc. They have really impressive platforms- but you are the only one who knows what you can afford and what fits your needs. I have had an excellent experience with Web Crossing in moving from Yahoo! Groups.

Below are some examples of features you might consider in moving away from Yahoo! Groups.

• Email Integration- Digest and Individual email capability (perhaps the most important factor)
  
• Full integration with your web site's look and feel
  
• Full content ownership
  
• Attachment Support
  
• Polling
  
• Choice of discussion organization
  
• Member profiles with pictures
  
• Who’s Online? functionality
  
• Customizability- The ability to change all the copy on the site, all the buttons, everything.
  
• Affordability
  

Keeping the members happy(top)

You might already know that switching online community platforms can be treacherous- it can easily kill culture and disillusion members. It changes the “place” of the community, the very foundation. For a smooth transition, you need to figure out how to make the process almost seamless for the members.

Spend time watching and listening to the members- you need to define what is important to them and ensure that those things make the transition and even improve on what they already use.

One of those factors may be email. Many Yahoo! Groups operate on email predominately- like a listserv. To keep this functionality going may be your biggest obstacle. Remember to check into how many members are on Individual Emails, Digest, or Web Only. In the transition, you may be forced to pick a single delivery method as the default- so it should match what most users prefer.

What to keep, what to remove? (top)

Before you start to set expectations with the members, you’ll need to figure out how the web site would be organized, what options the members will have, etc. For most vendors out there, this may become an exercise in elimination. Many platforms come with an overwhelming assortment of options and you’ll need to concern yourself with not overwhelming the members on day one.

Your focus should be on the new site behaving much like the tools your members use on Yahoo! You can start with a very simple and usable system and build in cool features once the members have gotten used to the site.

You want to avoid overwhelming the members with options and tools. Simple simple simple, easy easy easy.

Educating Members (top)

Once we have a strong idea of how the new system would work, consider designing communication that will alert and educate your members prior to the transition. Be clear about what will happen, what will change and what, if anything, is required of them. Then, try to transition them without them having to *do* anything. If you can, design it where the average member would be receiving emails from Yahoo! on one day and from the new community the next. Seamless transition.

In conclusion (top)

Overall, I think clear and usable communication is the key. Members need to understand what is happening, why and how. They need to trust you. Then, the site has to easy to understand for the new member. The core functionality has to be simple to use- hard to question. Also, the site must be nimble- listen hard to members and make changes for their benefit. Look at things through a member’s eyes.

Lastly, assume that things will change- you may lose important members and your culture may change. By changing platforms, you are building for the future. Expect some pain the beginning and be prepared to explain the reasoning behind the change and why, over time, it will be good for everyone.

Stay tuned to the Online Community Looking Glass category of this site for more posts like this one.

Communication Culture Home

~Lee

Who's House? Rahn's House

Big ups to some of our closest friends, Blake, Christi and baby Griffin! Their offer on their first house has been been accepted and it's lookin like they may be moving in in a couple of months. I've seen the outside of the house ands it's very cool- it overlooks a park and has a private patio and back yard.

We're totally excited for em and the best news is that they're just a little way down the street. We can finally plan on seeing Griffin and Isabella grow up together.

Seems like my friends are all growns up these days.

Blogrolling is cool

I just got a blogrolling account and I'm pretty impressed with how it works. Basically, it let's me visit a site and then click a link on my browser to view a form that lets me publish the link to my own site without any coding. It's a quick way to post links on this site.

Check out the random links on the lower right to see the blogroll links...

There are so many cool tools that individuals are producing out there that make web publishing easy. These folks often give away their tools and ask for donations. It has some philanthropic appeal for me. These folks are working for everyone's benefit. I guess it's like the open source movement some too.

Computer-Mediated Communication Survey

Computer-Mediated Communication Questionnaire

I took this survey and I thought it really asked some pertinent questions about all the different tools we can use to communicate- and how different situations and levels of experience govern choices of different tools.

For instance, one question was about choices of communication tools when communicating with superiors. It made me think of how many tools there are and how there are few guidelines or best practices that we can look to to help us understand what is appropriate for particular situations. I could imagine that is partially a question of etiquette. "Don't ask for a raise using an instant message." I hope to receive the results of this study.

Message from the survey creater found on Online Facilitation

Computer-mediated communication has long extended the simple use of only the computer. Nowadays, most people associate CMC with technologies such as email, chat, instant messaging, and even short message sending via cell phones. However, measurement instruments to assess our competency to communicate effectively through these mediated modes are rare.

I'm asking for your help in testing a medium choice / computer-mediated communication competency instrument. Completing the instrument (at website below) should take no more than 10 minutes.

http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~bunz/cmc/

The distribution of this URL (to students, colleagues, other listserves,
people in other countries) is strongly encouraged and much appreciated.

Thanks for your help. Feel free to contact me
if you have questions about this project.
Ulla Bunz

----------------------------------------------------
Ulla Bunz
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
Rutgers University
4 Huntington Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Email: bunz@s...

I wish J-lo would J-go away forever

J-Lo Opts for Fleet of Limos for 100-Yard Trip

I'm not sure why, but I have a deeply rooted aversion to all things "diva". J-Lo, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion- uggghhh. I'd be happy if I never heard from them again.