Mike and I have been working on the Auris blog project for a while – and are impressed with the open-mindedness that Toyota has shown in social media and the attitude of ‘lets go for it’. Think about it, the motoring journo’s are a tight bunch – and now there will be some strange outsiders from ‘publications’ that they have never heard of attending their prized event. Kudos to Toyota for creating a little disruption to the status quo.

Attending the launch in Durban today are Carl Nienaber of the GreenCars.za.net Blog, Durban blogger – Marc Forrest and our own Aston Martin driving Mike Stopforth. Charl Norman and/or his team from Carblog.co.za were also going to attend, but last minute schedule hiccups scuppered their involvement. Next time.

I look forward to getting the nuts and bolts detail from behind the scenes. Follow Mike’s trip on the Auris Blog from later today. I’m sure the Marc and Carl will also add to the mix during the week.

Technorati Tags: toyota auris, auris, toyota, car launch, south africa, durban, marc forrest, carl nienaber, greencars, mike stopforth

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It was a fairly easy setup, with great support from the Skyrove team. After some initial dead ends, the Reset button set me free.

We are now able to use our underutilised iBurst subscription at home without using up my more mobile, faster Vodacom HSDPA data bundle for arb browsing and weekend downloading.

It has also got me thinking – I’ll be taking my iBurst modem and Skyrove router to the coast soon and set it up there. Hopefully this will catch on we’ll find more Skyrove hotspots popping up temporarily during holiday seasons in destinations like Ballito, Umhlanga, the Vaal Dam, et al (just remember to change the Skyrove Map). Another minor incentive for iBurst to improve coverage…

Why leave the modem/router combo at home, when you can provide connectivity to others – lets call it spreading the love bytes.

I think Henk and his team are on to something with Skyrove – and its one of those great SA startups that deserve great support.

Technorati Tags: skyrove, iburst, hsdpa, vodacom

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It asked for nominations for entries into the Webware 100 – the best 100 Web 2.0 apps/sites on the web. All the nominations have been whittled down to 250 ‘possibles’.

Now, web users are being asked to vote for their best in each category – and these include Browsing, Communications, Community, Data, etc. The top 10 in each category will make up the Webware 100.

The great thing about the site is that it that it is firstly a Who’s Who of Web 2.0 and secondly its got a basic profile of each finalist.

The usual suspects are there – Widsets, Meebo, Firefox, StumbleUpon, et al. But the most fun is derived from exploring the ones that I’ve never heard of….like Tangler, a social network for discussing Web 2.0. Imagine that.

Technorati Tags: webware 100, webware100, web 2.0, web20, web2.0, widsets, meebo, firefox, stumbleupon, tangler

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• The original story
• The follow-up
• The response from JD

Pity there is nothing on the JD Group website that deals with the issue. The most recent news is an article from 2005. Surely this is some of the biggest news to affect the JD Groups customers and shareholders in a long time.

There are always going to be stuff-ups in business – whether it is dealing with customers, suppliers or partners. The difference comes in how the matter is dealt with and often this just comes down to communication. And this is where the real difference is – is that communication genuine and engaging, or is it just more corporate spin-doctoring.

Take eNatis for example – for weeks we heard that it was running at 95%. But speak to the people standing outside Langlaagte Testing Station that wanted to burn the place down. They would say it was the other way around. Government spokespeople – please don’t feed us drivel, as we can see straight through it.

An experience that I had recently when everything that could go wrong did. It was a Sunday night at OR Tambo International Airport. We were meant to fly on the 5:10pm Kulula flight to Cape Town. After a 3 hour delay (the plane was being fixed in the hangar as there was something wrong with the landing gear), we were given vouchers and took off. 2 -3minutes into the flight we hear what sounds like Superman ripping the wings off. You know that metal against metal sound. Not pleasant at 1500 meters, especially when the plane was bouncing like a bucking bronco.

Captain Kirk from Flight Command – ‘Sorry folk. We have a problem with the landing gear and have to return to ORT. We will be met by emergency vehicles, which is required by procedure.’ Fark. To cut (what seemed) a very long flight and terrifying story short – we landed (followed by flashing red lights from big yellow firetrucks), and were back in the terminal building at about 9:15pm.

Kulula kept us smiling, fed with biltong, sweets, etc, offered us drinks and kept us informed. They even offered people overnight accommodation if leaving at 11:30pm was too late for the weary travelers. The supervisor also took the smokers on a trek through the airport to find a suitable smoking area. On re-boarding, we were given additional discount vouchers – a nice touch.

So even after an annoying, frightening experience – I will still fly with Kulula. The staff were cheerful, they communicated and they attempted to make right. It is all about how you deal with stuff-ups that makes stronger bonds with customers.

Would SAA do the same? Not sure if their ground staff would be able to rustle up a hundred chocolates, drinks, biltong packs, and chips at 9:30pm on a Sunday night, and be able to dish out discount and accommodation vouchers. Don’t really like flying with them any more, so probably will never know.

Technorati Tags: saa, kulula, JD, jdgroup, carteblanche, carte blanche, mnet, travel, flying, airports, south africa, service

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This letter hereby serves to inform you that you really know how to make it difficult for me to be a customer – and that someone there is clueless.

As a potential business customer for landlines – I require a Business Line Transfer Application form (as I am taking transfer of a few lines from my landlord). Herewith, the steps I have been through this morning:

1. After a 15-20 minute wait and pressing the option that sounded most logical – I get through to the wrong department.
   1. Thankfully they were kind enough to transfer me to the correct department without me having to listen to that blasted Telkom message-on-hold theme tune, again.
2. Your Call Centre tells me to go to the closest Telkom branch to get the forms.
   1. ‘Ok – where is the closest branch?’ I ask.
   2. ‘Now that’s a question’ she says. ‘I’m in Durban, so don’t really know’.
   3. ‘I’m in Sandton’ I say.
   4. ‘You can try Fourways, um, um, or Rosebank, or how about Randfontein’ she offers. Randfontein? – No thanks, that’s only a 130km round trip.
   5. ‘Um, no thanks – I’ll go to Rosebank’.
3. I then ask if I can get the form off the Telkom website. ‘Yes’ is the response. ‘What URL’ I say.
   1. After the next 5 minutes of trying to get a coherent response from the phone jockey (you can imagine the URL versions I was told to try – nothing even close to the actual one), I give up and say – ‘Don’t worry, please email it to me’ – knowing that I’ll just have to find it on the Telkom site myself.
   2. I gave her my email address – carefully.
4. I eventually find the forms thanks to Google. This is where the fun really begins.
   1. After numerous (like 12) attempts I eventually get the form.
      1. I tried IE after thinking that the site didn’t like Firefox (which I’d expect).
      2. I restarted my browser thinking it had frozen.
      3. Picture this – I went outside with my laptop (holding it above my head) to get better Vodacom HSDPA signal.
      4. I swore.
      5. You get the picture.
   2. The reason that the form was so stubborn – its a 7.35MB file! For a 4 page application form!

Now read carefully please – instead of scanning an existing form and saving it as a crappy looking PDF – how about putting a properly created (in Acrobat) PDF version of the form online. 100kb max = happy potential customer.

Oh – and by the way, I’m still waiting for the emailed version of the form. But, I suspect that your mail server does not allow 7.35MB files to be sent out, does it.

Yours in waiting,
Frustrated (already)

PS – To top it all off, the Application Form is ‘broken’ – ie illegible on pages 3 and 4 where it has not scanned/saved correctly.

PPS – Change your on hold message to – “Please hold while we try and frustrate the crap out of you, again.”

Technorati Tags: telkom, customerservice, rant

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I’m using a couple of phones at the moment (one for each network) – and the experience is vastly different to say the least.

They are:

• Samsung D900 – my main/current phone on MTN. It is also by far the best phone I’ve had in 13 years.
• Nokia 6680 – for CellC
• Motorola V3x – on Vodacom
• Samsung Z540 – my phone before the D900

This has got me thinking. Each of them has great features, but equally, each is hamstrung by something. So what would I want in the ultimate phone – the perfect phone for me.

I use my phone all day, need real email capabilities, want super-fast connectivity. So, phone manufacturers – here’s my wishlist:

The Form

• The thinness and feel of the D900 – the sound of the slider snapping closed is fantastic
• Usability of the widely acclaimed QWERTY keyboard of the Blackberry – but, that slides sideways like the HTC P4350, iMate JASJAM, and Samsung F700
• Large clear screen with the resolution and sophistication of the Apple iPhone’s 320 x 480 pixel, 3.5 inch, 16m colour touchscreen marvel
• The legendary battery life of the Nokia 6680 – like 10 days standby
• HSDPA (up to 3.6 or 7.2 Mbps), Wifi g+n and the range of GSM data ranges (GPRS & EDGE) + Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 (and eventually when Wireless USB is available – that too please)
• 8GB on board solid-state memory/capacity – like the Apple iPhone
• I’m in two minds about a camera. A 2-3MP is probably all you need for happy snaps.
• Card slot for expandable memory
• Decent speakerphone
• Some sort of clickwheel – like SonyEricsson’s one on the P Series

The Features

• An OS that is super quick (meaning that it also needs a decent processor), that actually responds when you press a button like the D900 does – the delay is one of the main gripes that many people have with many of the new phones. Especially Nokia’s original phones in the N-Series.
• The option of both full web browsing that Opera Mobile offers, and typical dumbed down mobile browsing that Opera Mini or even a WAP 2.0 browser offers.
• Full feature, push email like Blackberry does – that integrates with Exchange, Google Apps (Gmail, Calendar, etc) without major server-side installation requirements.
• Viewer and basic editor for Word, Excel, PPT and PDF Reader
• Decent iPod-like music and video player
• Widget enabled – like Opera Mobile allows
• The predictive text of the Motorola MPx220
• Ability to have permanently connected IM – ie its always on in the background, even during calls.
• All this – and it must still fit into your pocket and not be a brick.

Phones that come close:

• Apple iPhone – needs HSDPA and a sideways slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
• Samsung F700 – has virtually everything, but its missing Wifi
• Samsung i600 Blackjack – needs larger screen and may be too ‘square’. Coming to SA in April.
• Nokia E90 – seems quite fat – but looks good.
• iMate’s Ultimate 7150 – too wide at 7cm

That’s enough for now. Apple is close – remains to be seen how OS X handles on a phone. Samsung, Nokia, HTC and iMate all seem to be moving in the right direction.

What have I missed – and what would you want?

* Update – The number keypad/QWERTY keyboard conflict has been solved. You really do need a traditional keypad to make it function like a phone. So – phone designers…what we need is a two-directional sliding mechanism – where the screen slides up like a Samsung D900 to reveal the number keypad. To reveal the QWERTY keyboard, a thin layer slides slideways like the Samsung F700. Obviously, only one keyboard can be revealed at once. And – here it is.

Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, samsung, hsdpa, mobile, nokia, D900, i600, HTC, iMate, E90, Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Blackberry

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The idea is great, simple and comes at the right time for Dell – who has been in the doldrums for the past 18 months or so. They seem to have lost their way with product innovation and customer service. This may well nudge them into action, rapid action.

Its also one of the first real applications of social media by a large, well-know multinational that engages their customers. And, at a time when they have lagged Apple and HP in product development, its a bold step to make themselves more open, communicative and engaging.

One of the first things I noticed on the site was the reference to the famed ‘conversation’ – the war-cry of Web 2.0ites and social media-ites (and well used by Hillary Clinton in her declaration video). In the top left corner – they list ‘other conversations’, that link to Direct2Dell, the Dell blog; StudioDell, their content and training hub that uses videos and podcasts well; and Dell Forums, their community support site.

In the few days that its been up (it was launched on Friday 16th Feb), it has garnered over 21500 ‘promotions’ on about 600 suggestions. For Dell the message is clear:

1. Offer Linux OS’s
2. Remove bloatware (or at least provide the option to have a clean machine)
3. Offer OpenSource options
4. Improve product design
5. No more offshoring – especially Indian Call Centres.

More power to Dell for embracing social media and the power of its customers. Now what are you going to do with it?

Technorati Tags: dell, ideastorm, dellideastorm, social media, web2.0

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An entertaining look at how we (you and I – us) have become more important in the overall schema of things. Enjoy.

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FNB has nailed their colours to the mast (in addition to their support of Homecoming Revolution, SA – The Good News and others). They too are fed up with crime and are wanting to make a difference by sending a clear message to Thabo Mbeki – by the public sending their crime experiences/stories to Mbeki, in the hope that the Presidency would sit up and take note. Sounds like a great idea. Well – that’s until the politicians got involved.

This is what the final paragraph says:

“Mr. President, I know you love this country as much as I do, so please make crime our Government’s Number 1 priority. As a committed South African I will be right behind you – because as our Nation’s history has shown, there’s nothing we can’t achieve when we work together.”

Doesn’t seem much wrong with that message.

Here is the Sunday Times article.
Here is the Campaign Briefing.
Here is the copy of the pamphlet.
Here is the TV ad script.

If the pressure included threats to move government accounts from FNB, their involvement with other big-business groups and the future treatment by the power brokers – then they would obviously need to consider the impact on their business, its staff and shareholders.

My view is that FNB needs massive support for this campaign – opening of new accounts, positive press, positive support in the blogs. Good on them to have the intention – pity them for the strong arming.

Look forward to the reincarnation of the campaign – hopefully it won’t be watered down into a sloppy bowl of porridge.

Technorati Tags: south africa, FNB, Thabo Mbeki, crime

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1. WTF is with the Kiwi rugby players and their bushy mullet hairstyles – think Caleb Ralph from the Crusaders? He’s like Billy Ray Cyrus meets Joey Rasdien
2. Has anyone traveled to an airport recently that does not feel like a construction site?
3. The Sports Cafe in Domestic Departures at Cape Town International Airport must be the worst restaurant in the country. Lousy service, questionable food (their chicken strips look and taste like hake) and the grubbiness factor (that greasy, grimy film on every surface) makes for a dodgy final stop before escaping to Joburg.
4. Some advice – only subscribe to podcasts that you really want to (and have the time to) listen to – they are bandwidth hogs and wasteful if you don’t listen to them. They also stack up quickly if you don’t listen to them – and end up being like those nagging varsity assignments that you were avoiding.
5. The Tim Modise Show SMS poll has been a fantastic display of 3 things – viral communication, the power of SMS/mobile phones and topics that people are passionate about. Its also the start of a groundswell. A plea for action directed at the Ivory Tower.

Makes you think, doesn’t it. Later.

Technorati Tags: south africa, cape town, podcasts,

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