Category: Random Thoughts
Resisting temptation
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Having a blog is a great thing, it lets you write, get things off your chest and most of all share your knowledge with the world. However having a blog also runs the risk of using it to vent on occasion. One thing I have always been very careful not to do is write a venting post while enraged then regret posting it later.
This is one of the key reasons I have not been around on either of my blogs in recent times, university this last semester had me up in arms almost daily and to remain professional I decided to steer well clear of writing anything on my blogs. I am still pondering with the idea of actually posting about it all however at this stage I choose to wait until marks are released prior to taking that plunge.
Soon I will be getting back into things now that my life is returning to some level of normality.
Stuart
Twitter and the changing ways we communicate
Twitter is often referred to as the place of peoples mindless thoughts in 140 characters or less… However it does in fact have strong benefits over more traditional mediums of communication. Therefore today I thought I would look at a couple of the positives of Twitter and the two key changes in means of communication that I myself have recently experienced. These include the use of Twitter by companies as a customer service medium and also the ability for Twitter to enable groups of people to discuss a common topic in realtime (more on this later).
In recent months I have found myself turning to Twitter more and more often as a means of communicating and engaging with companies both large and small. The short nature of messages has allowed me as a consumer to provide quick and easy feedback to large companies. This in turn has allowed companies to get my feedback in realtime and manage it more effectively due to the nature of the short 140 character medium rather than a five page long email.
Lets take the first case I had which was with @Telstra, I was experiencing issues with my account and had become fed up with waiting on hold. A simple tweet to the Telstra customer service team and my problem was being worked on. Rather than having to use the phone I was able to discuss the issue over a period of several days with DMs (private messages) directly to the Telstra customer service team. The greatest thing was that there was no waiting on hold, and I could do things in my time and on my terms. I can say that Telstra actually has an entire team dedicated to managing the Telstra twitter account and they do a smashing job of this (so kudos to Telstra for a solid Twitter based customer service implementation).
The second way in which Twitter has changed the way we communicate is something we are seeing in increasing numbers of TV shows at the moment. TV shows such as @CanOfWormsTV have begun embracing the medium as a way for viewers at home to interact with the show as it is airing on TV. Never before has the viewer been able to sit back in the comfort of their own home and join in the debate and provide input and feedback to the show as it goes on. I have found myself actively being more engaged in a TV show such as Can Of Worms through my ability to join in the debate on Twitter and and more importantly engaging with other viewers at the same time.
Lastly the use of Twitter hashtags such as #Masterchef or #canOfWorms has enabled viewers to discuss a show as it goes to air. Just two nights ago I was voicing my strong opinion about theories about a certain TV show as I was watching it live. Twitter provided me a platform to voice my opinions and to hear and discuss others opinions regarding the same topic, it has provided a simple easy and flexible platform for anyone around the world to discuss any topic they wish and this doesn’t just extend to TV this includes events, performances, movie releases, holidays and the list just goes on.
So while some may view Twitter as 100% junk when used correctly it can be a very powerful tool both personally and professionally. I have some more stories of great twitter companies on my Technical Notebook blog if you are interested in a few more kudos as well.
So next time you look at Twitter and think “Oh really not this again” perhaps take a look outside the square and see how it might be useful for you too and if you aren’t already following me on Twitter you can give me feedback right now, shout out a hello or flame away on @StuartCRyan
Stuart
When you put something on the net be prepared…
… for anyone and everyone to see it. Recently as some of you will know I won a competition with Nova 969 to have an ad done up to find a date. While at work the other day I was informed that it was highly likely that it would be going out in the work newsletter and they asked if I was OK with that.
Obviously I had no issues, I am always very careful that whatever I post or put on the net is something that I would not have issue with my family, friends or workmates seeing. However unfortunately so many people these days do not think about what they are putting up on things like Facebook and Twitter and often it can come back and bite them in the bum.
So follow this simple rule next time you are about to post something online think carefully, would I have any issue if my family saw this, or if my boss saw this? If your answer is yes you may want to rethink posting your thoughts online.
Stu
Interesting challenge… can you save on petrol?
Anyone who owns a car will know that the liquid gold (A.K.A. gasoline or petrol) our cars seem to guzzle is just getting more and more and more expensive. So recently I decided to see just how much petrol I could save by running my car without the air conditioning.
Something so simple managed to get me almost an extra 100Km around the city on the same tank of fuel over a two week period. Coming into winter there is virtually no need to have it running so turn yours off for a week and see how much you can save.
So, are you up to the challenge? If so let me know and then check back here in a week or two and let me know how you went. It is time to save those pennies and save some petrol 
Stuart
Exercising the mind…
… or as I more formally know it, writing how-to articles for the heck of it. After recently purchasing a brand new MacBook pro and having a couple of weeks of evil issues I managed to find a dirty little work around to an issue (I won’t go into that here but if you are interested you can take a look here).
No sooner had I posted it that I re-read on the Apple forums and realised that a patch for the issue had been released not a couple of hours before. I first thought “bah what a waste of my time” but then I reflected and actually came up with a different view.
In fact I had not wasted my time, I had exercised my mind by coming up with a creative solution to combat a problem I had been having then documented that to hopefully assist others. So rather than looking at this as a FAIL I decided to look at it as a WIN!
So I just wanted to share, sometimes we do things and they seem like they were pointless but often it is not the result but the journey that gets us there that counts the most.
Stu
