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Write the most important thing first – in any kind of email

January 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I recently registered a new domain name, but for this one I tried another provider than the one I have for my other domains. I happy with my current provider, but as I didn’t want a web hotel this time, I had to try something new. Anyway, the whole registration was kind of made in a hurry, because it was an idea I got and then after I headed out. From the mail I received, I got the impression that I was going to get an invoice via Snail mail. So I just closed the email without reading all of it, and headed out.

After some waiting I still had not received any invoice, but neither had I taken the time to figure out when I today got a “reminder” to pay. Weird I thought and opened the mail, only to find out that further down in the mail there was a title called “How do I pay?.” But I never got that far down in the email the first time, thus never realized that I could pay online. Rookie mistake indeed, I would have understood that there was an online payment. But as some domain-resellers have your confirm the domain name with a signature by fax or snail mail, I thought that this was some variation of this.

Either way, make sure that you organize your emails so that the things that you really want to be said is not too far down in the e-mail, as people tend to start to read and then just browse through the rest. Believe I have more examples of this, or perhaps you can admit that you also do it?

3 Tips to Make sure that people read what you write:

  1. Put the most important things first, or at least a very noticeable notifier of what is coming.
  2. Track the click-through rate on all the links in emails (those that your send to many people atleast) to figure out what people read, and how they interpret what you are meaning.  
  3. Consider ways to shorten your emails, because people are used to Tweeted information now, 140 char, that is!

Looking at the second advice here is what I’m talking about. Sometimes you put many links after each other in a sentence like: I recently wrote on my blog that I published a video on YouTube. Now, to me it is obvious that it’s only the link under “video” that defines the actually video I’m referring too. But other people might think that the link under blog refers to the specific blog post, or that the YouTube link shows the video on YouTube. You can track or at least anticipate what people think of this sentence by tracking the click-thoughts.

So, the next time you write an email with something important, make sure to start with it!

Any thoughts on this? Personal experiences?

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: , ,

This week’s challenge: do a spell and grammar check for your LinkedIn profile.

January 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’m the expert at missing a letter here or there when I type, especially when the missed or wrong letter only give me another word and thus are not caught by the automatic spell checker. However, I believe that in blog posts for example, people tend to forgive misspelled words easier than on a resume.

Lately I have read a lot of CV’s and personal letters as I’m about to completely rewrite my CV and personal introduction as it has been awhile since the last time. Though many people have managed to inspire me in with their CVs and LinkedIn pages, I’m still chocked of how people seem to forget to proofread and complete a grammar check on their LinkedIn page, something they tend to be better at on their other CV’s.

I think this is because people tend to spend less time setting up their LinkedIn profile than writing a CV. Also, I think is more likely that, people review their resumes before sending them out and do not have the habit of doing the same with their LinkedIn profile page. This is unfortunate, because almost all headhunters will Google you, and hopefully find your LinkedIn page. Thus, your LinkedIn page might be a big part of your application even though if you don’t link to it.

Therefore, I challenge all of you to do a spell and grammar check to your LinkedIn profile before the weekend!

Please share if you completed the challenge and if you indeed found any spelling or grammatical errors.

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: , , ,

Preconceptions: Chocolate Pralines in a Red Tinfoil Wrapper!

January 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As you might know, Belgium is famous for their wonderful Chocolate. So moving here I made it a habit to try new kind of chocolate; dark, milk, white, expensive, cheap, pralines and other kinds. Though it was not until recently I found out that I had preconceptions about chocolate and their wrappings.

As a Christmas gift I got this amazing chocolate box filled with delicious pralines from Neuhaus. I do not know if that is the case here, but in Sweden we have a tradition of giving each other boxes with chocolate pralines around Christmas.

Photo: Neuhaus

Anyway, I many other situations I save the best for last, but with chocolate I do the reverse. So the last pieces in the box, those that I really do not care for become emergency chocolate for when I really crave it. In my box those that are left are usually wrapped in a red foil wrapper, to me meaning that it is a praline filled with cherry liqueur, (or some other type of liqueur) and I really don’t like them.

So when I got my Neuhaus chocolate box, I followed the habit and saved the praline in the red tinfoil wrapper for last. Only to find out that it did not contain any liqueur but some very tasty soft nougat mix. What a great surprise! After this experience I realized that I never even thought about the fact that this wrapper could mean one thing in Belgium and one thing in Sweden. So I even asked a few Swedes if they had the same preconception, and indeed they had.

Now thinking about this, I realized that launching a product as international as Chocolate in a new country could mean a lot more investigations about preconceptions and habits than one would think.

So you have any similar experiences? Have you ever launched a product in a new country and faced this kind of challenge? Share your experiences.

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: , , ,

Why You Always Need To Communicate Using The Tools Preferred By The Respondent

January 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A few days ago I had a discussion with a clear Facebook opponent. Actually, she was against all social media. She argued that Facebook was only a place to share photos while I argued that I used it for communications. I guess in a way we are both right, as people tend to use Facebook very differently. Even my use has changed over time.

At one point we started discussing the value of communicating in various channels, especially comparing: Skype, Phone calls, E-Mail and Facebook mail and wall. She said that all the people worth being friend with she communicate with using the first three communication tools, and those she does not contact using this tools, she did not consider friend nor did she have any need to stay in contact with them.

As you might suspect my view was completely different. I use all those tools, and many times I prefer communicating via Facebook as opposed to mail. Primarily because on Facebook all communicating is “person to person” and by that I mean my inbox is not filled with newsletters etc, that might make me forget or lose an email from a friend. I do agree with her that my closest friends are those I communicate in voice with, but that would never mean that I would consider dropping all my other relations. I love the fact that I can stay in touch and updated with some many of the people that I meet and talk with.

So what can we learn from these differences in use of communication tools and value of them?

Basically I have realized that I might want to see the irregular use of Facebook of a friend that this person might prefer me to contact them via the normal email or via phone call. Whereas, a frequent user might love the (1) after the inbox on their Facebook account.

Thus, take the time to look at what communication tools someone is using before you contact them and you might end up with a better conversation. As you are doing it on their terms!

I asked the question: “Do you value a ”normal” mail more than a Facebook mail?” on Twitter and got these responses:

As you see there was some misunderstanding of the term “normal” mail; I should have said e-mail. But I thank @Garthy30 @tomegnome and @mveilenstein for their answers, once again showing me that this is very individual.

Which one do you value more? And how do you go about contacting someone? Which communication tool is your default?

Filed Under: Musings, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

Try McAfee for Free: Benefits of the Partnership between McAfee & Facebook

January 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

From time to time, I help people fix various problems with their computers. Many of them use Norton Antivirus which at least used to slow your computer down. Therefore I recommended people to switch to another Antivirus software. Now it was a long time since I used Norton, so I do not know if this is the case anymore, especially as they recently released Norton Antivirus 2010, which has got a few great reviews.

However, I still recommend people to switch to McAfee Antivirus, the program that I have personally been using since I bought my last computer two years ago. I really like this Antivirus, because it only “contacts” me occasionally and when it does, I actually understand what it is asking for. Something that I have realized that other Antivirus software fails to do. Sure the program has many other benefits of using McAfee, but that is my personal favorite.

So why am I telling you all of this?Facebook McAfee Partnership

Here is why: In the Facebook blog the other day I found out that McAfee has a special offer on the McAfee Facebook Fan Page, where all fans get a six month complimentary subscription (Yes, that is correct complementary means free). Basically all you have to do is log on to their fan page “become a fan,” go to the tab “Protect Your PC.”

In addition they offer a reduced fee on the subscription after those six months for all the Facebook fans.

Now, they will ask for your credit card information when you sign up, but they won’t charge you anything. All you have to do is sign up for an account, fill in all your details, and download and install the software. (Before you do this, remember to uninstall any current antivirus software: here is why)

Now to the marketing:

Talk about a great offer and marketing campaign at a good time.

The offer is a result of a partnership between Facebook and McAfee, with the goal to:  “Through this partnership, the two companies have jointly created security solutions that include McAfee security software, a custom scanning and repair tool, and consumer friendly education materials that Facebook will make available to its more than 350 million users. In total, this is a first-of-its-kind security offering that represents a major milestone in the fight to secure the Internet and reduce global cybercrime.”

The benefits of the Partnership

  1. As almost everyone is a Facebook user today, they manage to reach a big audience.
  2. People like me will spread and recommend this offer making the campaign viral, thus even bigger.
  3. Facebook shows humanity by giving their users a way to protect their computers.
  4. McAfee reaches new potential customers, from which they can earn long term profit.

Now, I hope you believe my words and my phrasing of McAfee and try it immediately and please come back here later to share your McAfee experience.

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: , , ,

Try McAfee for Free: Benefits of the Partnership between McAfee & Facebook

January 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

From time to time, I help people fix various problems with their computers. Many of them use Norton Antivirus which at least used to slow your computer down. Therefore I recommended people to switch to another Antivirus software. Now it was a long time since I used Norton, so I do not know if this is the case anymore, especially as they recently released Norton Antivirus 2010, which has got a few great reviews.

However, I still recommend people to switch to McAfee Antivirus, the program that I have personally been using since I bought my last computer two years ago. I really like this Antivirus, because it only “contacts” me occasionally and when it does, I actually understand what it is asking for. Something that I have realized that other Antivirus software fails to do. Sure the program has many other benefits of using McAfee, but that is my personal favorite.

So why am I telling you all of this?Facebook McAfee Partnership

Here is why: In the Facebook blog the other day I found out that McAfee has a special offer on the McAfee Facebook Fan Page, where all fans get a six month complimentary subscription (Yes, that is correct complementary means free). Basically all you have to do is log on to their fan page “become a fan,” go to the tab “Protect Your PC.”

In addition they offer a reduced fee on the subscription after those six months for all the Facebook fans.

Now, they will ask for your credit card information when you sign up, but they won’t charge you anything. All you have to do is sign up for an account, fill in all your details, and download and install the software. (Before you do this, remember to uninstall any current antivirus software: here is why)

Now to the marketing:

Talk about a great offer and marketing campaign at a good time.

The offer is a result of a partnership between Facebook and McAfee, with the goal to:  “Through this partnership, the two companies have jointly created security solutions that include McAfee security software, a custom scanning and repair tool, and consumer friendly education materials that Facebook will make available to its more than 350 million users. In total, this is a first-of-its-kind security offering that represents a major milestone in the fight to secure the Internet and reduce global cybercrime.”

The benefits of the Partnership

  1. As almost everyone is a Facebook user today, they manage to reach a big audience.
  2. People like me will spread and recommend this offer making the campaign viral, thus even bigger.
  3. Facebook shows humanity by giving their users a way to protect their computers.
  4. McAfee reaches new potential customers, from which they can earn long term profit.

Now, I hope you believe my words and my phrasing of McAfee and try it immediately and please come back here later to share your McAfee experience.

Filed Under: Tools Tagged With: , , ,

Why You Should Track Notifications of Group Names – Current Issues With Facebook Groups

January 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I recently blogged about the Profile Watcher, and why the groups promoting it are not legit. After writing this post I found out that the creators of these groups have an alternative motive that I was not aware of.

Apparently they encourage Facebook users to join the group, and when they have reached a certain amount of members they change the name of the group. Name changes which might be far from what you would never choose to join voluntarily.

The Swedish Newspaper Aftonbladet recently wrote in an article that the group called  “See who is visiting your Profile with the Profile Watcher ,“ suddenly changed name to “People who have sex fantasies about our children.” Even worse is that many of the affected people might not have been aware of the problem, as they turned off the “Group name notification.”

To handle this, there are now discussion to implement a rule that will remove the possibility to change a name of a group after it has reached a certain amount of members.

But until then, here is 3 tips:

  • Check what groups you are a member of. To make sure that you know what groups your support, and that none of them have changed names.
  • Let Facebook notify you about name changes of groups. If you have turned off the notification for “Changes the name of a group to which I belong,” you should do go here and turn on that notification. (And just to be sure, do the same thing for events)
  • Think twice before you join a group. Even if you see the notification about the group change right away, perhaps you could avoid this issue by not joining certain types of groups.

Update 20/1/09:

I just found an update on Hans Kullin’s blog about what can happen: 200,000 Swedes joined fake Facebook group for Haiti

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , ,

A Traditional Promotion That's Buzz-Worthy

January 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I guess these pictures says more than all my words, but I’m still going to talk about it a bit.

This campaign is a contest to win an Alfa Romeo, which you can participate in if you shop in the Woluwe Shopping Mall in Brussels. (or at least with my beginner French it is.)

This is a Social Campaign based on traditional marketing, and here is why:

  • Eye-catching. The uniqueness of it, made people stop for a second and look at it. Most people, myself one of them, also took a few pictures, to pass on.
  • Buzz –able. Because of the look of it, people will tell their friends about it. Perhaps they will show them a picture and tell them what it is for. Thus, people will know about the campaign by word and might visit the mall because of it.

Now, if you log on to their website you can clearly see that this mall does not usually work with social media marketing, or any kind of active online marketing. They simply have a website where you can get information about what their open hours are, and what stores they have.

However, with a campaign like this (and hopefully, similar ideas in the future) their own social media efforts will not be as needed, as the visitors will do it for them.

Thus, this is successful way of making traditional marketing social!

You might say that this can happened with anything that is “out of the box.” Because, this is what we do nowadays, we share what we see through technology. Still, it is more difficult to convince people to spread your marketing message, than just any message.

What do you think? Do you have any other examples?

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: , , ,

A Traditional Promotion That’s Buzz-Worthy

January 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I guess these pictures says more than all my words, but I’m still going to talk about it a bit.

This campaign is a contest to win an Alfa Romeo, which you can participate in if you shop in the Woluwe Shopping Mall in Brussels. (or at least with my beginner French it is.)

This is a Social Campaign based on traditional marketing, and here is why:

  • Eye-catching. The uniqueness of it, made people stop for a second and look at it. Most people, myself one of them, also took a few pictures, to pass on.
  • Buzz –able. Because of the look of it, people will tell their friends about it. Perhaps they will show them a picture and tell them what it is for. Thus, people will know about the campaign by word and might visit the mall because of it.

Now, if you log on to their website you can clearly see that this mall does not usually work with social media marketing, or any kind of active online marketing. They simply have a website where you can get information about what their open hours are, and what stores they have.

However, with a campaign like this (and hopefully, similar ideas in the future) their own social media efforts will not be as needed, as the visitors will do it for them.

Thus, this is successful way of making traditional marketing social!

You might say that this can happened with anything that is “out of the box.” Because, this is what we do nowadays, we share what we see through technology. Still, it is more difficult to convince people to spread your marketing message, than just any message.

What do you think? Do you have any other examples?

Filed Under: Musings Tagged With: , , ,

Why the "Profile Watcher" and "Dislike Button" Groups aren't Legit

January 11, 2010 By 1 Comment

Lately, I see more and more of my friends joining groups on Facebook, which promise them that they will get a “dislike button” or that they will be able to see who visited their Facebook profile. So the message I want to send with this blog post is:

Why groups for “A dislike button” or a “Profile watcher” are not legit.

The Profile Watcher

Now, if you want to know why the” Profile watcher” does not work, I’m going to do my best to explain it to you:

  1. It is groups not applications. First of all this is groups and not applications that we are talking about. To be able to create this type of service they would have to create an application which can control who visits your profile page. An application that you would have to get and approve.
  2. You control what information applications get from you. In the Facebook Privacy Policy you can read that “You can control how you share information with those third-party applications and websites through your application settings.” This means that even if there were an application that was working, you would have to allow that application to show people that you had visited their profile.

Basically this means that to get this application to work both you and the people that are visiting your profile page would need to get this application, and then approve that the application can get this kind of information from your activity on Facebook.

I have read a lot about “visitor counts on Facebook profiles” on various forums and on the applications discussion board, where the general comments are “bullshit” or “Facebook privacy does not allow visitor count.” Ironically, I have to say that the first one of these are more correct from what I have read, as I have not been able to find any kind of statement about this particular issue in the privacy policy. Even though it is technically correct that “Facebook privacy does not allow visitor count” I am still waiting to find out where this is written.

The Dislike Button

First of all: There is a “dislike button” add-on available to Firefox users. Thus, all Firefox users which have installed this add-on can see what others dislike, which means that for them this is not an issue. Read more about this on Lifehacker.com.

Basically the first problem with the numerous “Dislike button” groups is the same as with profile watcher. It is groups not applications. Although this time, there are not any privacy issue that is the reason, it is common sense. Basically, the dislike button won’t appear just because you invite your friends to join the group, the groups are just created to market the person who created the account. There is an example of how on: Kramer’s blog.

Also, I do not know why Facebook have decided on not having a dislike button, because clearly people are interested in one, if you look at the petition group. However, if they did want to create one, it is not that difficult for them. They did the “like” button, right?

Some people still claim that they have heard that it has worked for other people, but I do not know anyone who have said so. Now, I cannot promise that there wont be a “Profile Watcher” or a “Dislike Button” for everyone in the future. But for now, please, think twice before you join one of these groups.

Friendly Reminder: Google or Bing the things that you cannot understand, or are not sure about. That is how I found these results.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,
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