I’ll tell you a story.

We have been working with a development company, who support a various range of their own products. Products that one of our clients use.   Straight forward, when we have issues with their product we email their support line. The other day we discover that the client’s site was down, we trace the issue back to badly written script injection hack. Easy to fix.

This doesn’t normally happen often, but it does occur from time to time. Usually it’s a attack on the hosts server.

So immediately I began the process of isolating the cleaning the site.  No major issue.  Having daily backups of all our clients sites does help.

When the site was operational and all passwords have been changed I began the process of determine how this all happened.   Seems a vendor support password had been activated once a few hours before and a file uploaded then deleted.  Same time the site failed.

I contact the said support vendor.   Only when presented with evidence of the compromised systems (via the FTP and PHP log)  did they admit to the issue.   No assurance of the issue not happening again, no statement that they have changed their security procedures.  At least they said sorry, cold comfort really.

Now as a support company surely they have an obligation, if only from an ethical view point to inform their clients that their passwords have been compromised as soon as they are aware of the issue.  This would at least allow their client to vigilant and reset  any system passwords or the like.

It appears in this case, that the client (my client) was on their own, we have to discover the issue and work it out for ourselves.  Despite the fact that the issue is clearly their fault.   I know there are legal issues here, but putting those aside, there is the moral issue as well.

Trust and Obligation

If you consider that we have an extreme sense of trust with our clients.  After all we have a guardianship to look after their web.   We can control their information resources, the presentation and branding for their organisation online.   There is a distinct duty of care that we have with each client.

Besides the various legislative requirements of the privacy and client information, do we have an ethical obligation to look after a clients data?  Should we tell them when things go wrong that are under our control?   Should we be 100% honest with our clients and work  with them all the time.   Or should we just deliver our service and leave it at that.   Should we just play the deny everything game, until we are presented with evidence in an effort avoid any legal implications.

It may seem like a clear issue.

However, if you don’t tell your client,  this gives your  client the impression that you are just in it for  the money and aren’t interested in them in the longer term.  On the flip side  if you do tell your client of the issue they may perceive you as incompetent, in that you let it happen in the first place.  In a way your are damned both ways.

Still personally I have found that being 100% and up front is the way to go.   Clients will respect you for this.

Other Issues of Ethics.

Our industry is just full of moral choices.  Not just this duty of care and information guardianship.

As a User Experience Designer I know that I can use my skills to leverage the psychology of  design and in fact I can influence customers, leading or tempting them to buy goods that they  don’t really need.   Now just because I can do this, does that mean I should.  I can make a lot more money doing this, should I?

This also extends to what industries you will work with.   From my view I don’t work with the gambling industry, religious groups and businesses that use high pressure sales tactics at any cost.

It could be said that we just have to provide our services and that’s it.  All this duty of care  and information guardianship is just a load of rubbish.  It’s not like it’s in the contract or written anywhere.

This is true, to a degree.  Maybe an industry code of conduct wouldn’t go a miss for our industry.  Mind you I have yet to see any of the fledgling web industry associations move in that direction.

Still till that happens, we all have to make our own personal choices on these issues.

The burning question is what would have you done in the case above, not told your clients?   Also where do you draw the line, what type of work would you not take on?

Listening is one of those skills that no one really talks about, and yet listening is critical to User Research and general business as well.

You have to understand, and in some cases even become emotive, with the users you are listening to.  Yes we can all listen to some degree, but the reality is this will not be that thorough, there will be gaps, major things that you will miss or just did not understand completely.

It follows in the field of user experience listening is critical. Without it you just aren’t going to a able to understand the issues your users are telling you, or worse you will miss important information.

Hearing on the other hand is something we do all the time, it’s something that we frankly can’t turn off.  However listening is very different.  Listening is hearing with the processing of the information added in, this  takes a reasonably conscious intent.

This is demonstrated by the moment, we have all had, when we are not really paying attention and  stop listening to a conversation and are subsequently are lost as we try and tune back in again.

It’s Hard to Listen

Years ago I learnt the basic rules of listening, techniques  that can help you improve and assist you  with becoming aware of your environment when listening to people.  It’s amazing skills learn 25 years ago are still relevant today.

One thing stands out however -  listening is really hard work.  It doesn’t come naturally.   You have to train yourself to really listen and observe. Like any skill it also needs to be practiced or you will loose it.

Unfortunately we are not programmed  to be good listeners.

This is because our mind will wander off onto another topic, after it has processed about a 7 to 17 second sound bite of information.  During this processing period, your mind is already lining up all the mental, and sensory stimulus or distractions around you, just so it can tempt  you with something more interesting.  On a side note you also process and will form an option on what you are listening to in this 7-17 second time period as well.

Improving Your Listening Skill

What you need to do is train yourself to listen. To overcome this 17 second sound bite limitation.  That’s where these tips can help:

1. Focus.

   Give the user 100% attention – remind yourself what you are there to do, to focused on the user.

2. Remove Distraction.

   Remove all distractions, this includes phones, emails,  background noise, make the user the focus of your attention. Put a do not disturb sign on the door, and ensure your mobile is on silent mode.

3. Take notes.

   You will be doing this anyway, or should be.   Taking notes is a great reminder,  it gets you to automatically focus on the person, and distill what they are saying into key thematic elements.  Note taking is also great for sequential information collection and reinforcement as it forces you into a routine, that breaks the 17 second processing loop as  you are  filling it with the over lapping note taking processing.

4. Shut Up.

   You are listening, so you shouldn’t be  talking that much.  No interruptions, the user is telling the story not you.  Your only conversation should be with questions to clarify or investigate.   No options, no stories and definitely no soapbox rants.

5. Questioning is Good.

   We all know that it’s important to ask the right type of questions during an interview.   In fact you could have an entire post just on interview questions and strategy.  When questioning you don’t want to lead the person at all.  You need to ask investigative (open ended questions)  or confirmation questions that paraphrase what the user has just said.  It’s a good idea not to use your own words (and avoid the buzz words) – use theirs.  Don’t  evaluate by giving any option with a question.  Also watch your body language giving off the wrong non verbal cues.  Thinking up questions on the fly is initially not easy, but after a while you will discover that you have lots of time, and the right question instantly, more on this later.

6. Body Language.

   Yes there are going to be non verbal cues, and you have to be observant and pick them up. They could be a change in facial expression, voice tone, a postural shift or just hand actions.  These are all important and can indicate an emotion shift.  Watch for this, don’t be afraid to ask about it gently.

7. Silence is Good.

   It’s okay for the user to be silent and think about the subject at hand.  This gives you time to watch for those non verbal cues and the like.  Be passive, don’t interrupt the silent time, especially if they look like they are thinking. Patience is the key.

8. Give No Advice.

   Again it’s not about you, it’s about the user, let them find the solution, let them see the alternatives. Yes you may need to repeat their own alternatives back to them and ask  how the feel about them and such.   But this is not the same as giving your person option. The reason giving an option is bad is by doing so it will re focus the listening process on you and will give the impression that you are not listening at all as you have not helped them find the solution at all.

9. Remove Bias.

   Reset you mind for each interview or conversation, don’t go into one with any preconceived ideas, bias, prejudices or the like.  Remember that each person is different and you can learn lots if you just listen to them. Ensure you start without a preconceived option from maybe age, gender,  race, ethnic group, culture or previous contact.   You can’t assume you  know what they are going to say, want or even tell you, they are not you.

10. Learn to Say No.

    If you are really tired, can’t focus,  don’t even try and continue with an interview.  You are just going to ruin the results you get as they will be half hearted at best.  Better to reschedule for when you can give your full attention.  I find the best solution is not to overload the day with interviews,  testing subjects or the like.

11. Practice.

    I find it best to really practice listening very intently about 2-3 times a week at first, then after a while you will get better.  Ensure that after a listening session you take the time to review what you have done and note down the mistakes you made and what caused them.  Also it’s a good idea to  seek out colleagues to give you honest reviews on your listening skills.

More Bonuses

I have found after a while you become very aware when you are listening.  You notice lots of small details, and you will also end up with a large amount of dead time to think.  It’s almost as if by removing your conversation you have slowed down time, giving you these large slabs of free time in which to process the conversation and respond.  Use them wisely.

Another aspect of being a good listener is that you will show people that you care about them and will connect with them.  Remember once you find the topic people love to talk about, you often can’t stop them, especially when its a topics they are passionate about.   Yes this does apply to even ultra shy introverts as well.

Taking the time to listen to someone, will also make them feel good, wanted, understood, this will gain you a lot of allies in the long term.

Interestingly these tips can also be applied to general day to day life as well, so what you have learnt for user research has a number of carry overs.

Can you think of any more techniques you have used to improve your listening skills? If you can please add them below.

I don’t know about you, but I have been to face to face networking events where it’s basically been like pulling teeth to get the people in the room to talk and discuss what they do and the benifits it has for me.   There is nothing wrong with the event itself, it’s just some of the attendees don’t know how to network.

Networking doesn’t come easy, you can’t just expect to turn up to an event and it happens, you have to work at it. You have to build the trust and connections with people.  You have to get people interested in you and vice-versa.

We are all Lazy

When you are talking to someone you have not met before you have about 10-20 seconds to make a good first impression, that will hopefully spark their interest. It’s the first visual and verbal impression that counts. This is why the elevator pitch is so important.

To often people in the web industry do this so wrong, I too have been guilty of this as well. To be really honest you need to kill any techo-babble.

Often people not in your industry just aren’t going to understand the jargon or the like.  No it doesn’t make you look smart. No one wants to have to translate what you have said into something they can understand.  We are all basically lazy and would rather just turn off and stop listening to you.

Specialist job titles are as a no no too. They are just going to be meaningless to the average joe. Basically they are  show stoppers that can and often do stop the conversation dead in the water.

The only exception is when you are networking within your own industry. You can then use your special industry job title, like say “user experience designer”,  but then you have to add on what makes you different from everyone else. What is your speciality, the unique selling point, more on this later.

Giving People What They Want

What you have to so is ensuring the people you are talking to are interested in you, and want to continue the conversation about you and how you can help them.    Sadly you maybe the most knowledgable talented person in the room, but unless you can maintain that interest you aren’t going to get anywhere networking.

The key to doing this is to give people what they want.

We are self centered. Sorry but it’s true. All I really want to hear is what you can do for me.  I just don’t care what you have done or can do unless it pertains to me.  Don’t assme that what you want to say to people is what they want to hear, because in reality  it isn’t!

Therefore it follows you need to make the opening statement count. It needs to focus on the benefits for the person you are talking with, and  in a language they going to understand and relate to.

Saying, “Hi I’m Joe, I design web sites”, isn’t going to get you anywhere, compared to the approach of “Hi I’m Joe, I design web sites that double the sales and productivity of the business, by providing their customers what really want”.

Now it may sound a little bit wanky, but you have instantly told them what you do and how you do it.   It’s now that the magical response occurs, “So how do you do that?”  Getting to this point is what you want.

As opposed to , “Oh, my 11 year old nephew makes websites.” Instantly, you have been placed in the bottom draw, forgotten.

Building Your Profile Pitch

Now we all know how we should be doing it. That’s the easy bit.  The hard bit is working out what people want.

There are a number of techniques you can use here to help you determine  what people want to hear.  My favourite is a little visualisation exercise – first imagine you are in a crowded room, and you can over hearing all the various conversations around you.  Now imagine that you cane here the perfect comments that would make you think, “humm that’s a perfect client, I could help them out”.

Once you have this, you have the basis of an your pitch.   You just have to turn around the context and apply your own information.

Now you just need a good opening statement  for the profile pitch, a statement to sell you. You need to build something succinct that is all about you and what you do. Ideally this should be only a small paragraph, a few sentences.  I find this is best said in your own words as it will flow into the conversation better that way.

Ideally a pitch should be made up of the following elements :

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Overview of your services – a really simple top level overview.
3. Who uses your services – your target market, this would be your ideal client.
4. Demonstrate the way you overcome critical issues – from their business view point.
5. Key business benefits of  your services – what are the benefits to their business.
6. Unique selling point – why pick you over your competitors.

I always find writing a pitch hard.   Generally I  just starting and brain dumping ideas into a word processor, this I find  helps. Then I rework it over and over , refining as I go. Don’t expect the pitch to come easily first time around.  The first few drafts will just be way to long, and possibility way to technical.   Just simplify, condense, calarify and above all present it from the potential clients view, you will get there. This is a bit like writing for a web site.

The final pitch should be such that anyone, yes anyone, even the general public can understand it.  Also when you have one, practice it, practice over and over, but ensure you deliver it in a casual tone.

The Gotacha

Now the issue is you are going to have to develop several layers of pitch.

One for general business, one for semi-business social events, and one for your own industry.   The pitch will vary in techinical detail and presentation dependant on the audience, but the core will still remain the same –  it’s not about you but it’s about them.

That’s my take, what’s your tips for developing a networking pitch?

So the year has been and gone. A decade down. 2009 was a mixed year for me personally and business wise. It was an interesting year overall now I look back on it with hindsight. It was a year for discovering what I really wanted and achieving a few professional goals. However it wasn’t without frustration and disappointment.  Time to reflect on it all.

The Professional View

Despite all the doom and gloom with the 2009 global financial crisis, from the business perspective I did manage to keep things moving forward and the dollars rolling in. Which is very important for a freelancer with a family. However I’ll be honest I did find for the first time in 15 years, that I had no work in the pipeline for a few weeks. This was a bit of a shock from a business view point. But I took solace in the fact that others in the web industry where in a similar or worse situation.

Wrong Directions

One major thing last year frustrated me was my business. The market seemed to be pushing me into a direction that I was frankly not happy with. I have been designing and developing websites now on various levels since 1995, yes I was a generalist.

I have in reality lost count of the number of sites I have designed and developed over this time. I was finding the industry and market as a whole was pushing me into operated the business as a standard web design shop for a while now.  Still I get the impression there is no place for a designer/developer combo anymore.

However since 2005 I have been trying to move away from just the standard web design business and into the more specialised User Experience consultancy / design market. Problem is I don’t really think the local market is ready for this. Seems a lot of education is going to be needed in 2010.

So I see 2010 as being  the year when I take out all road blocks and focus on moving the business into this direction, away from the rest of the market.

The Personal View

One thing that 2009 did teach me – life is just too short. Way to short to be spent doing things you have grown tired of or even hate doing. It has made me refocus on ensuring both my family and professional life are more enjoyable. Sadly to achieve this I had to let a number of personal projects go – being on the Australian Web Industry Committee was one of them.

The importance of ones health was also re-enforced during the year. This I have always consider this to be of an extreme importance, however I have been a little slack of late.   Tis is now changing, which will be reflected in my coming changes in my business direction. No amount of money or anything is worth that much if you can’t enjoy it.

So the previous and upcoming year in review:

Major Events for 2009

• Speaking at several conferences and to professional groups throughout the year; I just love public speaking and educating people about the web.
• Starting up rock climbing (after a very long absence) lots has changed, for the better. Issues are still in finding climbing partners.
• Overcoming long term injuries allowing an increase in my training routines.
• Resigning from the AWIA committee, this was a personal low, but it was for the best.
• Writing more consistently with longer articles. Also writing more business focused articles.  This is something again I enjoy.
• Attending 5 major web events during the year; despite the economic downturn.  Played around with sketchnotes at these events too.
• Assisting AWIA in the organisation of several web events.  I will miss doing this.
• Running Freelance Coffee and attending UXBookclub (Perth) and the UPA Chapter

The Wish List for 2010

• To professionally read more, I really need to put aside several evenings a week to do this.
• Network more and socialise less. Sometimes networking meetings just become social meetups and have no long term benefit.
• Get into a consistent training routine. Main issue here is that I don’t yet have a training goal. Time will see on this one.
• Change the business direction away from the industry norm, as discussed above. Maybe I need to get back into longer term contracting to achieve this.
• Write at least one article a week. Considered doing Project52.  This should be easy, but reality will see.
• Take more photos. I have been really slack, need to take more photographs and just improve my skills. Especially considering the equipment I brought last year.
• Enjoy the simple things. Enjoy the quiet moments.
• Get more sleep!  Drink less coffee.
• Speak at more events, even outside of the web industry – I just get too much of a buzz out of this to let it go.

Yeah I know another year in review article, but in a way it’s good to reflect on what you have done or not done for the year.

What about you, what did you achieve?

Interestingly recently I had a very bad experience booking some accommodation. Out of anything that bad, can come some good.  It seems that sometimes we are just loosing sight of the fact that customer (experience) service  is in many cases more important than the products we are selling.   So I have put together this quick list of what went wrong and how any business can learn from these mistakes:

1. Answer correspondence

   If you offer a method of communication with your customer, be that email, phone, fax, sms, online chat, whatever,  ensure that you do in fact communicate with them and reply to any correspondence. Use an answering machine or voice mail for your phone would be a very good starting point.  Also review your recorded messages and auto response emails from time to time.

2. Keep information up to date.

   Ensure that the information you provide is current be that on your web site, or with a reseller or the like.  There is nothing worse than promoting services that you  no longer provide. You do all the work selling then just can’t deliver.  It just leaves bad feelings all around.

3. Computer illiteracy is not an excuse

   It is nearly 2010, saying that you don’t know how to use your website, or even your computer to check for emails is not an excuse. If you are in business you need to get your head around this technology. If you or your staff can’t then you really have to seriously look at why you should remain in business.

4. Appearance and business currency

   It is very important to ensure that you don’t give the appearance that you are no longer in business. This is essential in an online world. The web is littered with sites that are dead, abandoned businesses, that are no longer in operation. Still they appear in search engines. Usually the average Joe determines if the site is active or not based completely on the currency of the content and professional appearance of the web site. Having not updated your site in six or even  twelve months and having the same design as it had in 1998 isn’t really going to help you much.  Customers will just assume you are no longer in business.

5. Sell the Service

   To often people forget  to be able to present your best customer experience you have to forget about the products you are selling, and instead focus on the service that you provide in selling those products.   As people really like to interact with other people, so it’s often the service that makes the difference in relation to customer loyalty, not the product, but how you delivery it.  In an online world this can be little things in the design of the website or your delivery process that provides for  that perfect service.

6. Relate to your customers

   Your customers are people. Yes I know it’s hard to remember this sometimes, but they are. Often it pays to just stop for a moment and think about what your customers are seeing.  What does your business look like from their initial contact with you. Be that from your  website, phone or reseller to the final service (even product) provision. Try and relate and understand their feelings, concerns and rectify any nagging doubts they may have.  They will love you for it.

Regardless there will be some items that I have missed, feel free to add them below.

Any business needs to present itself in its best possible light to its customers.

With a new customer every aspect of the business is on display, under review constantly as the customer gains the confidence in that business. From the website, initial customer contact to service provision.

We have all done this, be it from the corner shop, a local cafe, a hotel, to ordering things online. It’s pretty much a given isn’t it, the initial user experience is everything. Or is it?

Recently I came across what  was a very bad initial customer experience – not that they aren’t that hard to find.

However I found myself pursuing with the experience, defending the vendor. All because of several recommendations from trusted friends.

The Experience

We were looking for last minute accommodation in a nearby town. Having reviewed the available accommodation on the local tourist bureau web site, we selected one that met our dates and various requirements. We were advised to approached the accommodation provider directly.  So we did…

This when the bad experience started. The website was something from 1998, plus it just didn’t seem to render correctly in any of our browsers, even Internet Explorer 6.  Okay this is not that unusual in the accommodation trade as secondary accommodation directory sites (like the tourist bureau) or reseller vendors like wotif tend to do all the promotional work for the accommodation. Still it was a little off putting.

Anyway we used their online form and emailed them with our requirements and requested dates.

Time went by, two, three, four days, other emails were sent – no reply.

Maybe they where no longer in business. A quick check on a satellite photo from last month on  Nearmaps showed they where still operational. Maybe they are just not that Internet savvy.

It was funny at this point I was making excuses from the vendor. Wanting them to shape up and be outstanding,  a beacon of customer service with a rough exterior.

So we resorted to the old school methods – the telephone.

We rang them, mid morning, usually the best time to get any accommodation provider I have found.  No answer, not even an answering machine.   It’s at this point real alarm bells went off.   I contacted the tourist bureau in question, yes they confirmed the business was still in operation, they suggested that we must have just been unlucky.

We rang at different times over the next few days, until we finally go someone on the phone. They explained in detail they were busy, and what did we want…

Clearly at this point I had somehow fallen into the set of Fawlty Towers.  After some strained conversation we determined that they didn’t have the accommodation we were looking for. And yet they were advertising that they did.  This fact they  were not in the least bit  concerned about.

After another phone call we learn that the same accommodation was available, just with one day difference. However they were clearly not prepared to tell us this unless we asked.

It gets better, to date we have never got a reply to the emails.

And finally it came time to confirm the booking, again it took several phone calls to reach one flustered employee. Who at least this time was helpful – Basil Fawlty mustn’t have been on duty that day.

The Trust Factor

Why did we even bother with this accommodation provider.  Why did we give them chance after chance.

It was the trust factor. It was because we trusted the reviews and recommendations  we had been given face to face from friends about the accommodation provider that really made us put aside the bad (well no service) that they were providing.

It’s something to consider, that recommendation factor, reviews, testimonials from real people, given freely, independently can be the key factor.

Despite all the bad experience and warning signs, all that is put aside, as appearances can be deceiving, but a word of mouth recommendation is worth pure gold!  This we should be using on the web, as small business embraces the social media of the web, the recommendation of your customers is king.

Something to consider.

Previously I have talked at length about burnout and knowing when you are working too much and how to step aside.  Friend Derek Featherstone has also written about burnout and finding some white space in our lives.

Kelly Goto at Web Directions South 2009,  last week, also spoke on finding more time between moments (YoYu).  Ben Buchanan explains YoYu really well too.   Everything these good people and I have said is true.

We all need to slow down, take stock of out lives.  Work out what is really most important.  What is the core things we value most.   Now don’t fog me off,  STOP now for a minute! Slow down!   If you were given six months to live would what you are doing now be important?…

No I didn’t think so.

It always comes back to family, friends and health.  Sometimes we need to remember this.   Everything else is really just window dressing.

It’s just no good churning out average work or not giving your best in  a zombie like haze of too much caffeine and lack of sleep.  We need to do what we do well.  As  we are building the future, as has been pointed out numerous times – corny I know, but very true.

Slowing Down

Now it’s been a busy few years for me personally.  I will admit publicly that it has not been easy.   Especially balancing family, health, business and community obligations.

The pressure to keep the money flowing for your family isn’t easy, it can be extremely stressful at times.  This is something that I know people without dependants will not understand.   I can try and explain it, but honestly, unless you  have experienced it you will not really understand the true nature of what it is like.  Now given that the web industry is mostly made up of people under 35 this makes people like me a minority.  Mind you that isn’t the issue at hand is it.

Now I’m a perfectionist, I’ll not be happy unless I can do something well.  I don’t work at anything half hearty, it’s 100% or nothing.   I apply this to every aspect of my life, it’s the way I am.

However of late I just haven’t been able to give 100% to all the aspect of my life.  So something to change, something in my lifestyle had to go.

This means that I too have been running this race towards burnout, like we are all doing.   When you do this something has to suffer.  In my case it was my health.   Recently I have been dealt a number of health setbacks, some of which I have recently overcome.   Others I’m still working on.  Something has to change and give.

Decision Time

Now I’m a great supporter of the web community, you all know that.  I really believe we can bring the web industry in Australia together as one group that can have a remarkable influence.  How so you ask.  Well it’s simple, we control the communications medium.   But I’m digressing.    My support for the global web community and it’s goals of best practice is not going to change now or in the longer term.  Just want to clarify that.

Sadly this week I have stepped down mid-term from the Australian  Web Industry Association (AWIA) Committee.

This decision wasn’t an easy one to make, I have been mulling over it for months.  There is a lot angst and guilt in making this decision.

However, I believe I have help shape, if only in a minor way, AWIA over the last three years into the professional organisation it is today, leaving behind a stable platform for the future.

Still at the end of the day, I wasn’t happy not being able to give 100% to the community.   So I have stepped aside for someone with more time and resources to take my place on the AWIA committee of highly professional web industry representatives and volunteers.

Don’t worry I’m not becoming a recluse or some such, I’ll be around.

Maybe Derek is right we should all be taking stock of our lives and slowing down a little.   Think about it.

Does small business really need online social media.   Is it really going to provide those instant  benefits that the media and some experts are raving about.

Online Social networkers (or media)  is now all the rave. It’s the new kid on the block, the dream that some many people in business are now chasing as the quick fix.  Now I have seen this wave of blind business hysteria all before, it’s nothing new.

What’s Old is New Again.

Back in last century when business really discovered that the web had benefits that could help extent and promote their business, there was a wave of businesses one after one all wanting to get online.   The primary reason was, just to be there, online, no real sound business logic was applied to any of the decisions back then.  They just wanted a web site, because it was basically there and other people had one.  It was the cool factor.  The need to follow the sheep.

No consideration was given to the on going costs in time and other resources that were required to run a successful web site.  In many cases they took up the web site challenge , had a web sites developed, placed it out on the web, and that was it.

So they walked away from the young seedling web sites and let them wither and die in the cold wilds of the brutal web.  

There was an expectation that somehow the sites would bloom and grow, flourish and dominate their environs.   The truth as we know it was far from this faerie tale that the business owners were expecting.

Have Things Really Changed.

Fast forward to 2009.  Have things really changed that much.  Sure people take a little more consideration into getting a web site now. Whether this is sign on the maturity of the web industry is another matter, still the fact is that people are considering a web site a serious venture in the most part.

However in the realm of social media, it seems as if every business now wants to leverage the likes of facebook, Twitter, Myspace, corporate blogging, Friendfeed, Linkedin or the like in order to get that edge over their competitor.  

Then the self proclaimed social media experts step up, with 5 minutes experience of dipping their toe into the online social media world (a bit like life coaches – even taxi drivers are life coaches now! – but that’s another story).    This plethora of social media experts is now urging business owners to make that final leap into the social media. Mostly will little personal experience at all in the medium.

All this without any real plan or consideration of the longer term implications that this is going to have on their business and its impact on time and resources.  

Without due consideration of what their customers are doing and if they are in the demographic of the audiences of these social networking sites at all.

Step Back, Smell the Roses.

Basically if you are in a business and you are going down this road or have just done so.
 STOP.

Yes right now, slam on the brakes, hard!

You really have to beware that like running a web site, operating a social media presence is something that will take up full time resources for your organisation. It’s not just about putting out the odd tweet or facebook status update every week or so.

If you are serious about committing to adopting social media for your business please consider the following:

1. Look for the market.

   Is there an existing market demographic or potential one that uses the social media you are looking at.  Not much good doing a social media campaign for “turbo charged motorised wheelchair driving grannies” on a youth social networking site is there.

2. Plan ahead.

   Set out a plan of attack, as you would with any marketing campaign, you need to consider all the following aspects below as well in this plan. In a way it will be like nothing you have done before. This is not like taking out an advert in the local paper or on radio. Social networking is not like traditional media at all.

3. Be Honest.

   Ensure that you are honest and straight with your customsers online,  remember you are building trust and you online reputation.  If you are false and hollow, your customers will see through this immediately.

4. Let go.

   You have to learn that in an online world of a social network you are not in control at all.  Your customers or audience are in control, they will dictate what and when they read your information.   If you try and control them, they will build their own network online behind your back where they can discuss the truth.   Yes that is right the online world is not kind, it does not care about your business.

5. Live it.

   You need to live the social media, don’t just dip your toe in the water of the social media world every few days or so with some statement or status update.  It is the companies that are living the social media that are winning peoples hearts and dollars.  But be warned this takes time and resources, there is no magic bullet here.

6. Be real.

   The person in charge of your presence needs to project their real personality into the social media.   If they are just projecting the corporate public relations and marketing spin the audience will tire of this pretty quickly.

7. Don’t hire a Social Media Expert.

   This sounds silly, but use someone that doesn’t confess to be a  Social Media Expert. There are just too many con artists and quick fix merchants out to make a quick dollar in the market. Hire someone that is already deeply entrenched in the social media world. A person that is across all these issues discussed here and more.

8. Start small.

   In the world of online social media, it is best to start small if you are unsure of the impact or if you even have an audience.  Maybe do some blogging, build an audience. Or maybe use twitter and present a personal approach, or look into services like get satisfaction.   Don’t try it all at one time, test and evaluate as you go, especially if your organisation is learning and new to this,  Nothing worse than you stepping away from a social network when you have failed at it.  It projects to the followers you leave behind that your business has failed or is failing.   Not something you really want.

9. It’s all or none.

   Social media is the type of thing where you can’t have only one division of an organisation embracing it.   You need to have the entire enterprise taking it on board.  By which I don’t  mean just paying lip service to social media – the enterprise needs at an executive level to understand and embrace the outcomes of the use of social media. If you don’t do this then people we see you as just playing at the game and not really that serious.

10. Understand it.

    Even if you do all the above, you still may not understand the basic principles as to why people even use various social networking sites.   Mainly it comes down to the desire to share and communicate, often for free.  As a business you have to truly understand that it is about paying it forward. A social networking site is not an advertising campaign, the ROI will not be the same at all. This is not your traditional world or traditional media.

In summary, the use of social media in business is like your web site, but more of a resource hog, best to start small and be real.   Remember the lessons of the past ignore good  advice and you will waste time and money or worse simply fail.

Freelancing can be really interesting, you get to often do different types of work  that can vary widely, from very hands on mundane tasks, to consulting, research and report writing, and everything in between.  Sometimes you can even get a section of a project that you can work on  at your own leisure, as long as you meet the nominated deadlines.  Other times you are just an extra pair of multi-skilled hands.  It’s never a dull moment.

Now I  have found over the years that with most project you usually reporting back to a project manager or the firm owner. They act  as your central laision, controlling all the usual client communications and interactions.  Leaving you to focus on what you do best and provide maximum return for their dollar investment.

Now from time to time you may be have to work in close liaison with a client on an aspect of the project, but at the end of the day the profitability and final decisions on a project are not yours to make as it’s basically not your project.  You just need to bring your section of the project  in on budget and everyone will be happy.

So what really makes it freelancing, the key I’ve found is really two fold:

1. You can do the tasks on your timetable, as long as they’re done in a professional manner, on time and budget. This is the key to freelancing, the being free to set your own agenda.
2. You are not response for the project as a whole, but just a segment, for example the CSS design, the Information Architecture or the usability.  Again you are free or responsibility.

That’s Not Freelancing

So when is it not freelancing.  Well this really comes down where your start to draw the line in the sand on your own freedom as a freelancer.

Still let’s consider a few examples, these in general I feel are not freelancing at all but its sibling contracting:

1. You are working 9-5 at the firms own or their clients offices filling in a role as directed. Just like an employee, but with none of the benefits.  No real freedom here, eh.
2. You are in complete control of the project, client liaison, profit, the lot.  All your boss (client) does is bill for it.   Even queries after the launch are your responsibility.   It’s like having a pseudo client.  Would be interesting to see where the liability angle lies on this one.

Hence with contracting the freedom disappears, as you are just like  another employee, but with different hiring and firing conditions.

What do you think is there a difference in the way you hire or are hired as freelancers or contractors.  Or are they one in the same as far as you are concerned?

The other day I went to get my business cards reprinted, you know it’s a thing you do from time to time, and with that process you naturally review the information on them.

Now I have two sets of business cards.  One set I hand out to the general business owners, potential clients and so on.  The other set I distribute to agencies, the web industry and IT people.

Why do I go to all this  trouble.  To start with business cards are cheap, ($88 for 1000).  I also discovered years ago that non industry people just didn’t get the specialist roles in which I worked.   Sure you can explain it to them, but at the end of the day unless you make an impression,  they will no understand the specialist terms, or job title on the business card.

So I have one set that is generic, I’m Gary Barber, Director, of  radharc a web design consultancy.   Then I have cards that are for  the web and related industries that understands, at least in part, what user experience, information architecture and usability is.

It’s interesting that the A List Apart 2008 survey shows tell us what we are calling ourselves, and it’s all over the shop, as you would expect.   As Craig Buckler points out it doesn’t really matter that much what we call ourselves, in the longer term, as there just isn’t established job titles in our young industry anyway.

Combine this point with Jesse James Garrett’s comments in his closing plenary at IASummit 2009, that have caused a little bit of a stir in the information architecture and interactive design community:

Information architecture does not exist as a profession. As an area of interest and inquiry? Sure. As your favourite part of your job? Absolutely. But it’s not a profession.

…there’s no such thing as an interaction designer either. Not as a profession. Anyone who claims to specialise in one or the other is a fool or a liar. The fools are fooling themselves into thinking that one aspect of their work is somehow paramount. And the liars seek to align themselves with a tribe that will convey upon them status and power.

There are no information architects. There are no interaction designers. There are only, and only ever have been, user experience designers…

…We are not information architects. We are not interaction designers. We are user experience designers. This is the identity we must embrace. Any other will only hold back the progress of the field by marginalising an important dimension of our work and misleading those outside our field about what is most important and valuable about what we do. Because it’s not information, and it’s not interaction.

We’re in the experience business. User experience. We create things that people use…. – Jesse James Garrett

As you can see, seems Jessie thinks we should all be User Experience Designers. After listening in full to the audio [M4A file] of this session, I tend to agree with him, I can see his point, in part.

However  I do find this debate very amusing.

Perth, Western Australia, the city which I operate from is not really on the leading edge with the latest trends in design. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful place, great lifestyle.  Just not Sydney, New York or London.

Just the other day I was quizzed by a friend over the term Web Architect.   He was 100% verbatim that I was pulling the wool over peoples eyes, as he knew I was not an Architect.   That’s true I don’t have a degree in Architecture, but we are not talking about the construction industry are we.   Then there is the term User Experience Designer, yeah that gets the same reaction.   So in my local business community anything other than web designer, as a title, is going to be looked on as being a little pretentious.

Sure it’s an education issue,  from a business view point it’s about educating people as to what an Information Architect or User Experience Designer is.   But after all these years, it’s just easier to call myself  a Web Designer and then explain my various specialisations that I can offer.

So it may work for you, Jessie, but locally I don’t think the term User Experience Designer is going to work outside of the web industry and large organisations.

Sometimes I do wonder about if I really fit in this User Experience community at all.   I  love to do the user research, the planning, the designing and building of user tested web interfaces, even down to the graphical design elements.  Being creative is in my blood.

Maybe I’m just a fool or a liar, or just a Web Designer.   All I know is I don’t develop  web sites, I can plan, design, implement and project manage them, just no server coding for me –  the rest  of the deal I do.

So what do we call all that?