So I was thinking this evening while ironing in a hotel room… why do I “Protect my Tweets” on Twitter, requiring one to ask for permission to follow me. However I do not require that same level of identification on this blog.
- Is it the content is different?
I am not sure that is the case as I am aware that one can take something out of context and the idea of some obfuscation on the Internet. - Is it that I take more time to craft a blog post so it has more “content”, more signal to noise, so I am prouder of it?
That could be, but I am sure that Malcom Gladwell would say I am doing it wrong. But then again I disagree with Gladwell. - Is it that it is easier to protect a Twitter feed than it is a self hosted blog?
I am sure I can find a solution for that, make it a forum feed, require logging in… etc.
Any ideas or comments as to why? Should I unprotect my Tweets?
So a few days ago I posted a Tweet that said, “signal to noise is important, not just in audio but in life“. That post was an amalgam of someone’s tweet commenting on the palaver at their job result of the amount of Tweets I was getting from one stream. I realize that the single stream is not an indictment of all who Twitter, Twitterers?
I figured I would post here what I learned from a quick study over the past week. I am following 40 streams, 32 posted something in the past week, there were a total of 522 tweets, or an average of 16 tweets over the past week. However there was one person who posted 208 Tweets in one week, the vast majority of which were very repeative and redundant. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a graph worth?
40% From one stream
In addition the person also put down an identifier so that they would trend and are getting much of the information from AlertDeck. So that person is now not being followed now. The disappointing part is that they actually have something valuable to say; they have just started adding to much noise in trying to market themselves.
So my warning is that marketing via Twitter can be done, but if there is no content everything gets turned off. Stay tuned… I might decide to reveal who the offender is.
Oh yeah, I have also decided that Apple’s iWork’s Numbers ‘08 is not very powerful when it comes to collating data as I still had to do much manually instead of just doing a Pivot Table in Excel. I also still can’t activate half my applications…
So over the past few weeks I have had a few challenges with some products. So I figured I should update my loyal reader on what has occurred over the past few weeks, I have been pleasantly surprised. In sequential order:
So I had decided to upgrade the operating system on my Mac Book Pro to Snow Leopard. When I did that I received a warning on the battery being in need of service. So I checked the Apple site and was prepared for it not to be supported and having to buy a new battery. However since I have AppleCare, which is still in effect, after answering a few questions over the phone they indicated that it would be covered. The downside was that I would have to go into a store to verify it and find time to do that. With all the traveling I would be doing, I would not be able to do it for a few weeks. They indicated that as long as I kept it under 300 cycles on the battery it would still be covered – I was at 179 so it was not a problem. I made my appointment with the Genius Bar for last Friday, I showed up, was greeted at the door and signed in. About five minutes later I was talking with a Genius, explaining my challenge, and getting a brand new battery as well as instructions on how to condition it. I also got a few minutes of Snow Leopard questions since I was done early…. I was figuring I would not have that option I would have to do a 1:1 appointment but they volunteered. It was very easy and fast.
So the other challenge was my Jawbone headset, and replacement parts not being available. I sent the e-mail and got a response on Sunday, one day later. The response was very generic so I was not excited:
Hi there Brad,
Thanks for your e-mail!
While the accessories for the Original Jawbone are no longer available for sale, we would like to try and find a solution for you. Please call us during the week at 1-877-254-7426 and press 2 to discuss further options. Any of our Customer Service Representatives will be happy to assist you with this — we open to take calls from 6am PST to 9pm Pacific Standard Time.
Thanks! Have a nice day.
So I got around to calling today, the person was very apologetic and explained how the parts were obsolete because their supplier stopping building them. However they were going to send me a demo set of the suggested replacements (a $10 value on their website) that should fit but are not a direct replacement. No charge. They even sent me a confirmation e-mail indicating what we talked about and closing the loop. Completely different than I expected.
Hi Brad,
Thanks for calling! It was a pleasure speaking with you today.
Your accessory replacement has been initiated and you should receive it within a week. If you do not receive your package in a week, please reply to this e-mail and let me know.
Thanks again, Brad. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!
So maybe Customer Service isn’t dead. I know that SmugMug proves it isn’t dead, but then again based on a friend’s experience Comcast is proving that it might be hiding.
So I managed to break the earbud attachment of my Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth Headset
I figured I would check the support page on the Jawbone site and see if they listed a location to purchase replacements since Google, Froogle, and Amazon had let me down. The page had the following statement which made me chuckle:
If you have experienced earloop breakage on your first generation Jawbone headset (pictured below) whether in or out of warranty, please call 1-877-254-7426 or e-mail jawbone1support@aliph.com to learn about the options Aliph is offering you.
So I e-mailed them as I am not very happy about the idea that a $77.55 item I purchased on March 7, 2008 is already so obsolete I can’t even purchase replacement parts for it. We will see what the result is to that e-mail.
Well I think I have everything backed up, serial numbers written down, software deactivated, instructions at the ready, and got everything ready for the move. So it is time to do a complete fresh install of Mac OS on my MacBook Pro. I am even going to take my Windows Boot Camp and make it virtual. So the next few hours should be fun. I just hope I remember all of the passwords and stuff later when I go to put it back together. Just want to wait for the images to do a final backup and then reboot into Windows to virtualize it.