Even Twitter's had a long day

Verizon: I love the Droid. I hate the Web site. How do I register for My Verizon?

On hold with Verizon for the second time after a dropped call... the problem is not my new phone or your great employees. It's - guess what - the My Verizon Web site! This is a great example of how brand experience must remain consistent from the Web (great promo site), to the physical store (great customer service), to the product (the rockin' Droid), and then back to the Web (broken Web site for account self-service). After much research on the Android phones, I finally settled on the Droid. I've had it for 24 hours and I love it. I got great service from Steve Liermann at Verizon's Park Place Tucson store (where I set a record for number of contacts transferred). And then... I tried to register for My Verizon Business version. Big mistake.

I've completed the registration form six times (twice in Safari, four times in Firefox). The Verizon rep is experiencing the same errors. Either the form asks me to input the business contact number (already there) or the wireless number (already there). There is clearly a bug in the form since the error toggles. Plus common interface problems (fields for phone number entry) that sure do look like sheer laziness.

After an override by the rep we finally got the My Verizon account set up. Time lost: Nearly one hour.

Verizon: Your network rocks. The Droid rocks. Your employees rock. Your My Verizon registration experience does NOT rock. The little laminated card you gave me with registration instructions says, "we've got your back." Not so much! It says all I need is my phone number. Not true.

This problem could easily be solved. We at Interface Guru would be happy to help.

If this is what buying the Droid via ecommerce would have looked like, I probably would have given up. Verizon! Wake up! Love ya mean it but fix this Web site!

Do you play the game or does the game play you?

Over the past weekend, I had the opportunity to use my Nintendo Wii and explore a game called Silent Hill: Shattered memories. I found the game's use of the the interaction capabilities of the console noteworthy. I won't give a review of this game here; however there are many user experience and interaction concepts that are set forth in this game.

WARNING - major spoilers ahead for anyone looking to play the game.

1.) Adaptive psychological personalization. Before you get to the main menu, the game will give you the following warning:
The game tracks how you respond to certain criteria (as well as the in-game psychology tests) and alters major elements based on that data. The game’s monsters, major locations, even how secondary characters look and act will vary for each person that plays it.

2.) Wii Remote interaction. The biggest problem I have had with the majority of Wii games is that few titles fully integrate the Wii Remote capabilities into gameplay. This is not so in SH:SM. The main use for the Wii Remote is as the game’s flashlight (if the player waves the Wii Remote around, the main character will mimic the action in the game)…but that is not all. The Wii Remote also functions as a cell phone (the player will have to hold the speaker in the Wii Remote to their ear in real life to hear phone calls in the game – just like they would a real cell phone).

3.) Attention to realistic detail. You can also place calls in the game – if you see a phone number anywhere in the game the character can dial out to it. Very few of these phone numbers are directly related to the game’s main plot. They are simply there to increase the realism of the game environment. BELOW: The player can call something as unnecessary as a toy recall hot line.


4.) Natural actions. In SH:SM, a majority of the Wii Remote actions are natural actions. If a monster latches on to you from the side, you will have to make a sideways push motion with the Wii Remote to get it off of you.

5.) Cueing user interactions. The player is given control cues at the appropriate time in which they are relevant. The player is not overburdened with memorizing all possible Wii Remote uses at once. BELOW: The player is cued how to answer a call only when the phone rings.


6.) Real-world benefit. At the game’s end, the game’s psychologist will transcribe a detailed profile of the player’s personality. If you play through the game honestly, it is a fairly accurate representation of your psychological profile. BELOW: The start of a multi-page analysis of the player that runs over the game’s credits.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was released on December 8th, 2009 and bears a Mature ERSB rating (with good reason).

View a full walk-through of the game at this user's YouTube account.

- by Kyle Kulakowski

Coda: When should you worry about your reputation?

I was expecting blowback from yesterday's post on younger tech workers and ethical behavior.

It came.

When should you be concerned about your reputation and professionalism in a close-knit community?

BEFORE you take a action that will - rightly - make you look bad later.

My advice stands. Apologize.

As I stated in an earlier post: there can be no daylight between your policy (the way you act) and your PR (the way you want others to see you.)

Ethics and knowledgework: Do younger staff need a lesson on the Golden Rule?

This fall, I gave a talk at Tucson Startup Drinks on the need for legal formalities in small businesses. Those who own a business (i.e., incorporated, with employees and real obligations) knew exactly where I was coming from. Those who are currently employees had a different take - in my view, because they have never faced the painful and costly experience of having an employee or contractual agreement go bad, with all the attendant drama and chaos.

Recently, our good friends at Company A were compelled to terminate four employees who were conspiring - on company time and equipment - to start a competing firm.

Employees 1, 2, 3, and 4 are talented people. I liked them. They're also very young, and arguably got their start at Company A.

That start - and the visibility they began to acquire in a professional realm - was provided by Company A, whose president and owner has invested years of the sort of hard work that only other business owners understand. Taking risks, paying taxes, footing legal services, rent, insurance, and all the myriad not-fun chores that go into running a business.

The necessary termination of Employees 1, 2, 3, and 4 left Company A in the lurch during production of a very large project. (To its credit, Company A's remaining loyal staffers pitched in and made sure the project delivered successfully.)

Employees 1, 2, 3, and 4 immediately started Company B. As a parting shot, one of them posted a tweet slamming his ex-employer's blog with a link to a porn site.

Company B is now gleefully pursuing business, making nice to those who don't know the sordid details.

Interface Guru will never recommend Company B, no matter how good its future work may be, because they broke rule one: Do no harm.

Legal contracts and agreements - such as noncompetes and non-disclosure agreements - must be executed and enforced. But they are only as good as the ethics of those who sign them.

More seasoned employees are less likely to engage in this sort of nonsense because they know better. Enlightened self-interest, at a minimum, keeps more mature workers from burning bridges. Younger staff may feel immune. In time they will learn that, as that great philosopher Justin Timberlake would say, "what goes around comes back around."

This story could have had a happy ending. The future employees of Company B could have respected their employer - and themselves - enough to depart on good terms. They could have built on that relationship into the future.

Instead, they have insulted and damaged the company that gave them their start. And they've proen that they don't understand the sort of relationships that are the heart of sustainable, long-term businesses.

If Employees 1, 2, 3, and 4 were willing to deceive their employer, then start a competing business, how will they treat their clients? We're not about to let any of our clients, who we value for more than just the value of a contract, find out.

My advice to Company B: Apologize. And resolve to act ethically from now on. Else, one day you may well find the shoe on the other foot.

Life is full of hit-and-run types who seem successful. They may make money, but their consciences - if they have them - will never be clear. And at some point, everyone will know about the bodies they buried.

Ethics may not mean anything to some people, but they means the world to me, and to the good people that work for and with me.

Tony Silber on corporate culture: What most of US business needs to hear

I was blown away by Tony Silber's blog post, "When Corporate Cultures Break, They Can’t Be Easily Fixed" (12/02/09). Using publishing company fiascos to illustrate his points, Tony outlines the wrongheadedness that is destroying businesses across America. Sound too strong? I personally see this far too often. Decisionmakers are laying the groundwork for failure by refusing to adapt to post-Web transparency while retaining the worst practices of the brick-and-mortar days.

The Web has removed the emperor's clothes entirely. Poor business practices that hid behind PR companies are now exposed. Your policy IS your PR.

Notable quotes:

"These companies have been through too many cycles of change in ownership, changes in management, downsizings, layoffs, salary cuts, loss of talent, loss of spirit, loss of camaraderie."

"Job one should be fixing the culture."

"He fell into the idea of protecting his turf rather than working for everyone else."

"...firing a lot of experienced, talented, knowledgeable people..."

And the saddest part, from our perspective: These problems manifest themselves in the Web presence.

Truly, collaborate or die.

How rules of engagement protect your brand online

The common definition of "Rules of Engagement" (ROE) is a military one. From wikipedia: "Actions a military commander may take without consulting a higher authority, unless explicitly forbidden (sometimes called 'command by negation') and second, actions that may only be taken if explicitly ordered by a higher authority (sometimes called 'positive command')."

What the heck does that have to do with your Web presence? Everything.

Note the definition: Actions that may be taken without consulting a higher authority, and actions that may only be taken if explicitly ordered. Given the freewheeling nature of the Web, companies and organizations must create some sense of order so that - as my colleague Sean Fitzpatrick is bound to say - there is "freedom within structure."

We commonly find that companies that are otherwise well-run have never created Rules of Engagement for their digital media teams. The result: Dilution of brand values, and a lack of consistency that is obvious to the user. In other words, lack of ROE leads directly to poor user experience - or worse.

Companies that allowed the Web to grow "organically" - which is to say, with no rhyme or reason - struggle the most with ROE. Managers are loath to approach staff who have become accustomed to doing whatever pleases them on the company Web site. This is a serious mistake.

The ROE conversation (here are the rules we all need to abide by, in terms of workflow, approval, tone) is not an easy one, but it is crucial. Avoiding the conversation, and the subsequent rules, will inevitably damage your brand.

The Web is rife with embarrassing missteps that companies would never have allowed to see the light of day in print or broadcast. Protect your brand by creating ROE, and enforce those rules. The issue is serious enough to merit a signed agreement, with termination as a consequence if staff deliberately ignore the rules.

ROE are a natural byproduct of Web strategy. Let us know if you need help establishing them.