Recently in Context Category

I talk to a lot of smart people in my job.  There are people who are as plugged into technology and its possibilities as I am.  These folks explore uses for software, set up servers at home, and plug into every social network they can.  These employees find a way to use the Web because that's their background and/or passion.  But they don't do it on the job.

I also talk to smart people who are just starting to kick the tires at Wikipedia or set up profiles on Linked In.  They're not quite sure if it's for them, but they see their kids trying it or they read things in the Wall Street Journal and want to learn more.  They see possibility, but want more assurance and hand-holding.  They want to know that the organization supports them in their explorations.

Both types have a willingness to try the Internet on for size.  Some just need more encouragement than others.

As an advocate for Web-based collaboration, I feel the worst thing I can possibly tell employees who show an interest is "no".  No, the organization isn't ready.  No, there isn't a selected standard.  No, their project is not a priority.  No, we haven't figured out every nuance of our security model.  No, we're not sure how to monitor user generated content.  The "wall of no" is the death knell to fragile interest and eventual adoption.

What needs to be solved first isn't security or lack of enterprise standards, it's how to capitalize on employee interest.  If an organization waits until everything is perfect, there may not be anyone around who wants to use the carefully crafted Web-based solution that's scheduled to make an appearance.

Momentum needs to be maintained...encouraged...nurtured...it's so easily lost.

On October 27, 2002 I posted an entry about a Chevy Tahoe commercial.  In it, the Tahoe ad execs used a kicky little poem that I couldn't get out of my head.  It was the advertising equivalent of earworm, which must have pleased their client immensely.  So tortured was I over the snippets floating in my head, that I tracked the whole thing down, posted it, and then promptly forgot about it.

Until this morning.

This morning, some guy left a castigating comment stating exactly what he thought of that poem.  He broke it down line by vitriolic line, while at the same time putting his preferences for Fords out there in a fashion that was reminiscent of the Macs vs. PCs whoop-de-hoodle.  What I can't figure is both the entry & the commercial are over five years old!  You would think that he'd get over it by now, or at least moved on to ranting about hybrids & Vespas.  I guess not.

Anyway, the comments he left weren't a direct slam on me, but made me wonder what I have in the back catalog that may engender future comment spew.   I may bother looking, but I'll probably let it stand.  It was what it was when it was, ya know?

That's the thing with having over five years worth of content.  Most of it was a product of a moment, a reflection of its time.  I want things to seem dated.  I want past opinions to remain.  I want my fascination with Netflix, Del.icio.us and Digg to seem quaint some day.  I want the fact that I liked that poem to be there another five years.  Else, what's a blog for?

In the breakoom today, I noticed a television commercial that featured an elderly woman talking about her recent diabetes diagnosis. She claimed to get all the information she needed but that she had no way to understand it. The solution? Call the insurance company for help.

I know the point of the commercial was to show the company as a good and kind entity that's ready to serve its customers. However, it made me think about the woman's experience and what could be done to make the information (dare I call it overload?) comprehensible to her.

Patients are given information, but don't they have expection of context from their healthcare providers? Wouldn't it be better for her to turn to her doctor and say, "Explain this to me in way that's useful and will improve my health?" Or have materials written for different education levels? Or stress levels? Perhaps I'm naive.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting that information overload is now a point of differentiation for insurance companies. Sad to say, I can't remember the name of the company...Liberty something-something I think.