Filed under: Blogging, Branding, Business, Customers, Technology, Trends | Tags: Add new tag
For me, Social Media has a rebellious freedom that I find really attractive. Being part of the blogging world has given me an insight that has been pretty eye opening. Personal blogging aside [alot of ego involved there it seems] the more ‘technical’ big companies become [entering the blogosphere through smaller social media companies] the more I think the original rebellious freedom part dissipates….
It may be that as a consumer I am skeptical that this is another platform to gain access to my thoughts and manipulate their PR using a customer base. Lets be real here, the broader corporate market cannot even use the basic media tools very well [there will always be work for smaller companies like us] so how the hell will they effectively use a blog? Raw, direct communication [would you trust that? Comments can be removed etc...mmmm..not sure I do]
Sure I probably sound cynical, and I am sure that there are the odd few that have a good customer connection strategy that will make it work BUT is that really something that the majority are thinking or can do? I just don’t want to see a flood of crap from big corporates entering the blogosphere as consumers. Lets try keep blogging real!
Posted by: Candice
Filed under: Branding, Business, Customers, Design | Tags: Funk that, Funkthat, web, Website
The Funk that! website is now up. We are proud of it, but realise we still need to get a few glitches ironed out..this is a work in progress..! Go check it out and give us your opinion… www.funkthat.net
Posted by: Candice
Filed under: Blogging, Branding, Business, Design, Technology | Tags: Funkthat, web, Website
WOW! We have been busy! Great for our small business but sad when we neglect our company blog! I have been blogging haphazardly on my personal blog about politics [so much 2 say there!].
We have been working [and reworking] our company website for way 2 long now! Just never seems right! SO we have finally decided to upload what we have, it will be complete in as much as your comments will be needed to almost finalise it! The reality it though, it will NEVER be complete.
So later this week we will take the plunge and push upload! Watch this space….Phase 2 will see a migration from this blog to our own….
Filed under: Business, Customers, News, Service in SA | Tags: Eskom, Load shedding, Service Delivery, SMME's, SMME's being strangled, Woodmead
I am not sure how Eskom calculates where they will be load shedding but it seems that Woodmead is currently getting the brunt of the cuts. We had 2.5 hours on Thursday and guess what… as I write this – on my laptop battery [Monday 14th Jan] -we are sitting in darkness again. The power went off at 8 and when I called Eskom they said they were not load shedding. I called again [5 minutes later] and spoke to someone else and they told me they were?! They have no idea what they are doing that is for sure, which is a little disconcerting actually…
I am not sure how other small businesses are finding this whole story but I must say it is killing us, computers and the web are our business. We now have to invest in a UPS to give us additional life over the period but the reality is, I can seem some business’s crashing… nice way for government to support SMME business. The fact that ‘bad planning’ is the excuse for this nightmare is in my view not the only problem, one of the primary reasons I am sure is related to greed…. I can just see the Eskom big wigs [and government officials] sitting around the boardroom table 13 years ago flicking their hands [and noses] up in jest with a Marie Annoitnette ‘Let them eat cake’… approach.
Now once again the SA consumer is left in the dark, fitting the bill for the billion rand + upgrade, waiting for this bunch of goons to get their act together and do we hear of any recourse being taken against the company? No of course not.. not whilst they are sufficiently lining governmental pockets!
I sometimes just wish that government would have delivery to its people as top priority instead of such intense focus on what ‘financial deals’ they can strike…. Actions speak louder than words, and I am tired of all the hot air…start delivering.
UPDATE: Power out again from 2.30-4.30pm then again from 6 till 8pm. So altogether – nearly 5 hours lost of work time…. unbelievable.
Posted by: Candice
Filed under: Branding, Business, Customers, Design, Technology, Trends | Tags: Business, Funk that, New Year, SMME
The Funk that! team is look forward to a busy 2008….The start of the year sees a new ‘funkster’ joining our team.
Welcome to Suerel who joined our web team this week [we can finally get someone concentrating on our website!]. We are looking forward to your creative input and comments on this blog!
One of our core business goals is to make a real positive difference in any project/business we touch. This year in addition to our existing business, we will focusing on offering more creative support to small/medium businesses. Its going to be a gr8, exciting year!
Here’s wishing everyone a great start to the New Year. May 2008 be a cracker!
Posted by: Candice
Filed under: Blogging, Branding, Business, Customers, Technology, Trends | Tags: Brand Terrorists, Branding, freedom, web, Web 2.0
Sadly, a company I know recently experienced a small taste of negative Citizen journalism in the Web 2.0 world. I have always been pretty outspoken about being a Consumer Activist, but I think there is a big difference between activism [for a positive outcome] and Brand terrorism.
The definition of a terrorist is widely documented in our time. Brand terrorists are people that will go as far as stretching the truth [they often have hidden intentions] and want to hurt…. its more like sabotage. In the case of this company, blatantly untruthful inclusions were made in this terrorists ‘case’ to his minions. This is unlawful BUT fear drives company responses in cases like this, as anything you say could be taken entirely out of context and make the brand appear as if they are guilty, not to mention how many more potential terrorists could then mushroom up that would spiral more out of control. Most companies are unfortunately still not seeing how dangerous these people can be. They spend their time building a portfolio of negativity for your brand with the intention of ensuring they plant the correct seeds in the minds of their followers. Its about taking the corporates down…its about winning and its cheap to do. The only tools these people need are: a large network, a computer, a sharp tongue and a gripe.
So this begs the question is this right? I am ALL FOR freedom of speech, but this is a form of online ‘gossip’ based in most cases on shallow facts. Even if there is an element of truth to some of it, lying is something I cannot stand. Recounting your own personal experience is one thing, adding all the extra colourful ‘add-ons’ to keep your audience at any cost is quite another. Advertising on a site also does not help the situation, I believe some people use ‘gossip’ stories to make their site sticky and increase traffic, so this kind of thing can pay….
In the end these terrorists are bullies that end up ruining things for those using the web platform/tools and are legitimately communicating to people/customers and clients. You can unfortunately not discount them and they are dangerous but we need once again to find the balance. This behaviour chips away at the web’s credibility…..eish it always takes just one…
Posted by: Candice
Filed under: Branding, Business, Customers, Funny | Tags: Cars, female purchasing power, Funny, SA
or NOT!!
This post was irresistible and a perfect example of how brands are still not taking the female purchasing ‘vote’ seriously enough [over 70% of purchasing decisions are now made by the female in the house]. It seems that everyone is not on the same page…this lot were reading a different book altogether!
Donna may of had good service when she brought her car BUT this is a pic of her new car keyring….
It really ’speaks’ to the audience… NOT. Total waste of money, it was removed instantly….
Filed under: Blogging, Branding, Business, Customers, Technology | Tags: Business, Customers, Technology
An article in the Harvard Business Review got me thinking about the ‘relationships’ that companies are building with their customers. It has become hard to miss [most brands have though] how necessary it is for companies to create an environment of choice for customers. Lets face it, the days of being tied into contracts for long periods of time [and still getting appalling service] are numbered.
Holding customers to the fine print, profiting from their confusion, ignorance and poor decisions BUT worse of all… penalizing them for things, is really no longer sustainable. In this country cell phone companies and banks are the worse culprits.
This approach is obviously very profitable for companies, providing things like guaranteed projected sales and great cash flow [and a lot more] BUT those sadly don’t benefit the customer, as poor service delivery is rife.
Today’s customers are more informed and NO choice is really the worst thing you can ‘offer’ in this new economy… it will leave you with REAL brand terrorists. Add the new digital tools available to the anger…. and WOLA you have an anti-brand revolution.
We have entered a credibility economy now more than ever and lets just hope that the SA brands start to respond favourably… Well done to Virgin Mobile for their approach…the revolution begins……
Posted by: Candice
