I was cleaning up my e-mail listings the other day and was unsubscribing from newsletters I don’t read left and right. As I unsubscribed from something from Microsoft, I was given an error message instead of the neat little “Please allow 10 days to blah blah blah”. After taking a moment to look at the content of the error message, I realized that the issue was actually on the part of Microsoft’s e-mail provider and not Microsoft themselves.
Now, I took the time to find out what the details were and was able to do the unsubscribe process again without a hitch. However, it made me think about the fact that most people wouldn’t really take the time to investigate. They would simply see the error, mumble something under their breath about Microsoft and then complain to three of their friends about how Microsoft is going to get away with spamming them because they weren’t able to be removed from the mailing list.
Now, the point of this article is not to disparage Microsoft or their choice of mass e-mail partner. The idea is to remember that our vendors are a representation of us. Who we choose to do things for us, especially if it is directly customer facing, is an extension of ourselves as individuals and companies. Always make sure that the people you partner yourselves with are of the quality and integrity that you would expect out of your organization.
- C
When was the last time you even used a pen? Let me answer for you: The last time you needed to remember something really important. There’s one thing that all the technology in the world will never allow you to do, and that’s jot down a quick note on a dinner napkin or a cell phone number on the back of a business card.
Do you know what this little guy is over here on the left? Could it be a strange little oddity, or some sort of crazy new-age internet art? One of those weird digital paintings that allows you to see something when you go cross-eyed from staring at it? It could be something like that, but it isn’t. It just might be the most interesting, most talk-provoking item you can use in this day and age.