More press today for Lead User Innovation (LUI) - this time in The New York Times
Of course, LUI is the driving force behind our work here at OneEyeDeer.
It's a good article that goes over the motivation for LUI, dispels some of the "exploitation of users" myths and also highlights some of the companies starting to work with their users.
Not bad for a few hundred words. Well done to the author Steve Lohr.
You can check out the article here - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/business/26unbox.html
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Is Get Satisfaction Evil?
I've just finished reading Jason from 37Signals' post on why Get Satisfaction is getting it wrong.
Essentially, the article says that the way Get Satisfaction is treating companies is akin to extortion. There's more to it than that, but that's at the heart of Jason's argument. He feels that the Get Satisfaction 37 Signals company page represents 37 Signals as not caring about their customers and as a result 37 Signals (and other companies in the same situation) are compelled to participate at Get Satisfaction.
Before I go on I should say that my opinions come from the following perspective:
With all of that in mind, here are my thoughts on the situation:
Perhaps the lesson here is there isn't a one-size-fits-all process for customer service and that Get Satisfaction needs to work out how to please different customer company segments.
On the other hand, maybe they don't want or need customers like 37 Signals - i.e. their market is companies who don't have efficient customer service portals or good customer service in general (then again, Zappos use them and they are renowned for their customer service)
In reality however, I think the real point made here is that Get Satisfaction is a service with great potential, that has been doing really great things in the market, but they need to be sure that they keep their un-evil hat on when making decisions that will impact either the community or the companies.
Fixing problems quickly is an admirable quality. But if Get Satisfaction can't figure out what the problems are by themselves, people will soon move on.
There's probably a lesson in that for all of us.
Essentially, the article says that the way Get Satisfaction is treating companies is akin to extortion. There's more to it than that, but that's at the heart of Jason's argument. He feels that the Get Satisfaction 37 Signals company page represents 37 Signals as not caring about their customers and as a result 37 Signals (and other companies in the same situation) are compelled to participate at Get Satisfaction.
Before I go on I should say that my opinions come from the following perspective:
- Get Satisfaction is in some ways a competitor of OneEyeDeer, though probably not a direct competitor. (I'm guessing they've never heard of us, so this might be news to them...)
- We're thankful that Get Satisfaction has managed to do so well in building awareness of the benefits of leveraging the skills, knowledge and experience that exist outside of the organisation
- We're big fans of 37 signals and have even bought their seminal work on developing web apps - Getting Real.
With all of that in mind, here are my thoughts on the situation:
- I completely understand why Get Satisfaction has pre-populated company sites. First of all it makes it easier for customers to start participating - i.e. for most well-known companies they don't have to actually start a site and for companies it's a simple way to get involved with little to no real cost.
- I also understand that a massive benefit of Get Satisfaction is that by aggregating customer service forums you get cross-pollination of skills and ideas etc. as well as a standardised process that customers and companies are familiar with. This is something that has driven our work at OneEyeDeer.
- I agree with Jason, however, there is a hint of "extortion" in the way that Get Satisfaction tries to force companies to be involved. The recent improvements made in response to Jason's post addresses this issue somewhat by making it clearer (as opposed to clear) that just because a company isn't actively involved on Get Satisfaction doesn't mean they don't care about their customers, but I still don't think it's enough. I agree most companies need a kick up the ass to start engaging more closely with their customers, but I'm not sure this is the perfect way to to do that.
- I'm still unsure about whether or not being evil is in the Get Satisfaction DNA (to borrow a Haque-ism) or whether they just got it a little wrong and by fixing it have demonstrated that they're really a team of good people who are keen to revolutionise customer service. I suspect it may be the latter, but the idea of pay or we won't show competitors adds, as an example, is pretty lame (I know that their paid services offer additional benefits, but that's the one Jason picks up on). Essentially companies are paying for something that is totally uncorrelated to the value that Get Satisfaction provides and that is a losing strategy for any organisation.
Perhaps the lesson here is there isn't a one-size-fits-all process for customer service and that Get Satisfaction needs to work out how to please different customer company segments.
On the other hand, maybe they don't want or need customers like 37 Signals - i.e. their market is companies who don't have efficient customer service portals or good customer service in general (then again, Zappos use them and they are renowned for their customer service)
In reality however, I think the real point made here is that Get Satisfaction is a service with great potential, that has been doing really great things in the market, but they need to be sure that they keep their un-evil hat on when making decisions that will impact either the community or the companies.
Fixing problems quickly is an admirable quality. But if Get Satisfaction can't figure out what the problems are by themselves, people will soon move on.
There's probably a lesson in that for all of us.
Monday, 23 March 2009
Constructive Capitalism Talk By Umair Haque
We're big fans of Umair Haque here at OneEyeDeer. His work on edge competencies, networks, communities and markets helped drive the creation of OneEyeDeer.
His insights into what's wrong with business today and how it can be fixed has further inspired us to continue our work.
Umair recently presented at the Daytona Sessions. You can check out the video HERE.
It's a long talk - just over an hour - but it goes through several key points meaning that you can watch it in sections.
I have a feeling that sometime in the future someone will be looking at this post (is that you?) and will check out the video and think - that's so obvious! Well let me tell you, at the time I'm writing this, the ideas, despite their obviousness, are perceived as radical.
Then again, if you're reading this post from the future and saying Umair's thoughts are obvious, then the world will be a much better place than it is now - so happy days :)
His insights into what's wrong with business today and how it can be fixed has further inspired us to continue our work.
Umair recently presented at the Daytona Sessions. You can check out the video HERE.
It's a long talk - just over an hour - but it goes through several key points meaning that you can watch it in sections.
I have a feeling that sometime in the future someone will be looking at this post (is that you?) and will check out the video and think - that's so obvious! Well let me tell you, at the time I'm writing this, the ideas, despite their obviousness, are perceived as radical.
Then again, if you're reading this post from the future and saying Umair's thoughts are obvious, then the world will be a much better place than it is now - so happy days :)
Minister for Innovation Kim Carr Mentions User-Led Innovation
In case you don't know, I'm also the founder/editor of an Australian-focused tech startup news/reviews blog called TechNation Australia.
Last week I posted a story on that blog about a speech that Kim Carr, Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, gave at the National Press Club. That post focused on a small portion of Mr. Carr's talk, but there were some other very interesting things he had to say.
For instance, during that speech it was great to hear Mr Carr speak of trying to borrow some of Europe's strategic innovation initiatives here in Australia including a special reference to user-led innovation policy in Denmark.
As we all know, words are one thing, actions another, particularly when it comes to politics. But it's still good to know that the head of innovation in Australia is at least aware of the potential of user-led innovation.
Kim
Last week I posted a story on that blog about a speech that Kim Carr, Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, gave at the National Press Club. That post focused on a small portion of Mr. Carr's talk, but there were some other very interesting things he had to say.
For instance, during that speech it was great to hear Mr Carr speak of trying to borrow some of Europe's strategic innovation initiatives here in Australia including a special reference to user-led innovation policy in Denmark.
As we all know, words are one thing, actions another, particularly when it comes to politics. But it's still good to know that the head of innovation in Australia is at least aware of the potential of user-led innovation.
Kim
Friday, 13 February 2009
OneEyeDeer Release v0.3.2 Is Out
Hey Everyone,
As usual, a massive thanks for all your hard work helping us beta-test OneEyeDeer. The amount of activity continues to flatter and surprise us.
As such, whether you’re an active poster, an occasional participant or an interested reader we can’t thank you enough for spending some of your valuable time at OneEyeDeer.
At the bottom of this post are the latest notes/changes for this release. Most are the direct result of feedback from the community so keep letting us know how you want the site improved. If your suggestions weren’t included in this release they’ll probably appear in the next one.
Also, if there’s something you don’t understand, for instance how the Red Buttons work, what Communities are about, how the ratings work etc. feel free to post your question as an issue in the suggestions community and we’ll answer you there.
Finally, we’re going to be putting more and more announcements/news here. So make sure you keep visiting us or add this blog to your RSS reader.
It’s Time To Recognise! + Surprise Rewards
Once again, while we can’t thank each and every one of you enough for your effort, it’s only right that we recognise the best contributors to the site. Below is the community’s top 10.
This time around, instead of just giving away medals to the top 3 (you’ll get those too, don’t worry) we’re going to be sending Sly, The Professor and oridental, special, limited-edition OneEyeDeer T-Shirts.
Make sure you check your emails guys, as we’ll be sending you the details.
ONEEYEDEER - V0.3.1 TOP 10 CONTRIBUTORS
1. Sly
2. The Professor
3. Oridental
4. rach3
5. Mr Happy
6. bigdave
7. frodosghost
8. Tim Bull
9. clint
10. ct8im
Release Notes v0.3.2
· Anonymous Posting of comments/issues from within main site disabled
· Added number of views to specs under Issue
· Pagination Fixes on Home Page and MyPad
· "Improve solution" and "Discuss Solution" Buttons added to solutions
· Improved ranking algorithm
· Changed position of comments box to bottom of comments rather than top
· Changed Community join process - must view community detail
· Improved Avatar compression code
· Added list of contributors to solutions represented as avatars (inside solutions)
· Added list of members of communities represented as avatars (inside communities)
As usual, a massive thanks for all your hard work helping us beta-test OneEyeDeer. The amount of activity continues to flatter and surprise us.
As such, whether you’re an active poster, an occasional participant or an interested reader we can’t thank you enough for spending some of your valuable time at OneEyeDeer.
At the bottom of this post are the latest notes/changes for this release. Most are the direct result of feedback from the community so keep letting us know how you want the site improved. If your suggestions weren’t included in this release they’ll probably appear in the next one.
Also, if there’s something you don’t understand, for instance how the Red Buttons work, what Communities are about, how the ratings work etc. feel free to post your question as an issue in the suggestions community and we’ll answer you there.
Finally, we’re going to be putting more and more announcements/news here. So make sure you keep visiting us or add this blog to your RSS reader.
It’s Time To Recognise! + Surprise Rewards
Once again, while we can’t thank each and every one of you enough for your effort, it’s only right that we recognise the best contributors to the site. Below is the community’s top 10.
This time around, instead of just giving away medals to the top 3 (you’ll get those too, don’t worry) we’re going to be sending Sly, The Professor and oridental, special, limited-edition OneEyeDeer T-Shirts.
Make sure you check your emails guys, as we’ll be sending you the details.
ONEEYEDEER - V0.3.1 TOP 10 CONTRIBUTORS
1. Sly
2. The Professor
3. Oridental
4. rach3
5. Mr Happy
6. bigdave
7. frodosghost
8. Tim Bull
9. clint
10. ct8im
Release Notes v0.3.2
· Anonymous Posting of comments/issues from within main site disabled
· Added number of views to specs under Issue
· Pagination Fixes on Home Page and MyPad
· "Improve solution" and "Discuss Solution" Buttons added to solutions
· Improved ranking algorithm
· Changed position of comments box to bottom of comments rather than top
· Changed Community join process - must view community detail
· Improved Avatar compression code
· Added list of contributors to solutions represented as avatars (inside solutions)
· Added list of members of communities represented as avatars (inside communities)
Friday, 23 January 2009
Beta Testing Update + Release v0.3.1
Well our second round of beta-testing has been going for a week now and we've been blown away by the response! (You can still sign up if you haven't yet by visiting www.oneeyedeer.com)
Over the past 7 days we've had over 230 contributions, or more than 30 a day! That's massive from a limited, hand-selected, beta-testing list of only 85 people.
Part of those contributions included the identification of bugs and suggestions, many of which have formed the basis of our latest release. That release (0.3.1) has now gone live, so why not pop into the site and check out the changes (there's a full list of release notes in the previous post)
It’s Time To Recognise!
While we thank each and every one of you who has contributed to the site, we'd like to especially recognise those who have been working the hardest to make OneEyeDeer better. Below is a list of the hardest working people on the block!
Top Beta-Testers
1. The Professor
2. sly
3. RJHunter
4. Kim
5. oridental
6. gevason
7. clint
8. Tim Bull
9. lacreme
10. Paul Annesley
Top Bug Finders
1. RJHunter
2. Paul Annesley tied with gevason
Top Suggestors
1. gevason and Tim Bull tied
3. frodosghost tied with Paul Annesley
If you're one of the top 3 in any category, you might want to check out your name next time you log in. We've added a little something to make sure everyone knows how big a help you've been.
If you're not on the list, don't worry, there's still a chance to get in on the goodies.
• We'll be rewarding our best contributors for the next release
• We're going to be rewarding the first 1000 active members of OneEyeDeer with a permanent symbol of your status on the site. Active means you’ve done something (other than sign up or visit) so get cracking!
• At the end of beta-testing, we've got some one-off, never to be repeated goodies that we'll be sending out to our best helpers
Special Request For This Release
This release we're asking that in addition to the stuff you've already been doing (which has been fantastic) you pay a little more attention to 2 particular features:
• The big red buttons that appear in the right hand sidebar when you click on an issue or a solution
• Communities
We would also like to know your thoughts on whether these features are useful and, if so, how to make them more usable (seeing as nobody really used them in the last release!)
That's it for now. Thanks again for all your help and hopefully we'll see you on the site soon.
Over the past 7 days we've had over 230 contributions, or more than 30 a day! That's massive from a limited, hand-selected, beta-testing list of only 85 people.
Part of those contributions included the identification of bugs and suggestions, many of which have formed the basis of our latest release. That release (0.3.1) has now gone live, so why not pop into the site and check out the changes (there's a full list of release notes in the previous post)
It’s Time To Recognise!
While we thank each and every one of you who has contributed to the site, we'd like to especially recognise those who have been working the hardest to make OneEyeDeer better. Below is a list of the hardest working people on the block!
Top Beta-Testers
1. The Professor
2. sly
3. RJHunter
4. Kim
5. oridental
6. gevason
7. clint
8. Tim Bull
9. lacreme
10. Paul Annesley
Top Bug Finders
1. RJHunter
2. Paul Annesley tied with gevason
Top Suggestors
1. gevason and Tim Bull tied
3. frodosghost tied with Paul Annesley
If you're one of the top 3 in any category, you might want to check out your name next time you log in. We've added a little something to make sure everyone knows how big a help you've been.
If you're not on the list, don't worry, there's still a chance to get in on the goodies.
• We'll be rewarding our best contributors for the next release
• We're going to be rewarding the first 1000 active members of OneEyeDeer with a permanent symbol of your status on the site. Active means you’ve done something (other than sign up or visit) so get cracking!
• At the end of beta-testing, we've got some one-off, never to be repeated goodies that we'll be sending out to our best helpers
Special Request For This Release
This release we're asking that in addition to the stuff you've already been doing (which has been fantastic) you pay a little more attention to 2 particular features:
• The big red buttons that appear in the right hand sidebar when you click on an issue or a solution
• Communities
We would also like to know your thoughts on whether these features are useful and, if so, how to make them more usable (seeing as nobody really used them in the last release!)
That's it for now. Thanks again for all your help and hopefully we'll see you on the site soon.
Release Notes v0.3.1
Release v0.3.1 is about to go live.
Below are the release notes. Thanks to all those who contributed feedback.
Release Notes v 0.3.1
Below are the release notes. Thanks to all those who contributed feedback.
Release Notes v 0.3.1
- Solutions can now be commented on rather than creating a discussion for a brief comment
- Notify users when they are posting as to prevent Anonymous comments
- Larger comment boxes to allow for better comments
- Better Display Name colours to differentiate from different user ranks
- Correct avatars now displaying for users creating discussions
- JavaScript removed for character countdown in Issue Titles
- Functionality to allow for posting issues straight into a community
- Location field added to Issue posting to provide for a geography of an issue
- Pagination now properly display for more than 10 pages of Issues
- Display of Company Names for Company Representatives
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