For a while now I’ve been wanting to find a way to explain how I work and how my internet-self and experience could relate to work. Well, Teresa Wu has basically said everything I wanted to in her guest post on Chris Brogan’s blog. Her thoughts are spot on, especially concerning our behaviors that are misunderstood by the older generations.
“We’re often criticized for our restless job-jumping or our sense of entitlement. The truth is, we might play the game differently, but that doesn’t mean we’re not every bit as bright, innovative, and hardworking.”
“While Generation X continues to emphasize the importance of maintaining a professional online image, we who grew up using Facebook and MySpace as places to share our photos and lives with our friends don’t want to turn it into a purely professional arena.”
And so forth. If you are a Gen Y, bookmark this article in case you need to show it to someone who doesn’t understand you. If you are not from this generation and are often confused by us, take some notes.
Basically validation that they rock, Mashable has done a nice review of WeSeed.com. Adam Ostrow highlights WeSeed’s best points, noting:
“While it might seem like a tough time to be starting an investment website, WeSeed’s focus on education might actually be to its advantage.”
And…
“Essentially, the concept is to make you think like an investor – if you see something in the supermarket or think you may have discovered the next big fashion trend, WeSeed wants to help you translate those street smarts into investments.”
Damn straight. Check the rest of the article here.
I’ve always been a fan of Ikea. For the most part, I’ve always been OK with their ridiculous “layout.” Well, on black Friday they really grinded my gears. The only reason I ventured out on black Friday was for their special price on a bed frame. Being the lazy bastard I am, I slept in and didn’t make it there until about noonish. Nevertheless, a huge sign on their building proclaimed the frame I was looking for was there, for $199. Now I know I saw the deal for $99 in their ad; so confusion #1.
I walk in, and see a few signs for the frame on sale for today only at $99. OK, that’s the special I saw in the ad, so were good. As a somewhat regular ikea shopper, I head upstairs to find the bed frame for purchase. Upon reaching the second floor, the frame on sale greets us. In true ikea fashion, I write the location of the pieces and we head into the wearhouse to retrieve the sections of the frame. We get to the designated aisle, and no more frames remain. Damn, we thought. Sold out by noon. We ask a sales associate if they accept rain checks, and of course he says no, the price is only on in-stock items.
Nearly leaving, we head back to talk to a real customer rep, who tells us that there are plenty left in the loading area. Awesome! So we head over to the loading area, only to find out we need a coupon for which color of frame we want from the bedroom section.
Of course you have to walk through nearly the entire store to get somewhere, as we did finding the bedroom section. Going back through the maze is slightly more painful than each previous trip.
Finally, with coupon in hand, I received my bed frame after walking nearly a mile and going through the MOST ridiculous pain in the ass system I’ve ever encountered for an item that is still probably over priced.
To add insult to injury, we sat through a half hour traffic jam on the way home due to an accident on I-55.
Yeah, I won’t do that again next year. Not for any item.
Its quite amazing the influence the iPhone has had in its short life so far. Consider how many people now own one. Consider how many companies and developers have created applications designed for the phone. Consider how many third party companies offer covers, cases, skins, wallpapers and other accessories.
Despite the amazing breadth of influence the phone has, this product still comes as a very surprising invention. The inventor of the iYo Magnetic Induction Charger resides in Sweden, which has a pretty good reputation of green living and sustainability. Sweden is engulffed by darkness in the winter, rendering solar panels useless. This charger would appeal to those looking to charge their iPhone’s in a sustainable matter during the winter.
I don’t think this will catch on very much here in the states, but I dig this guy’s efforts and ingenuity.
Finally learned how to take screenshots from my iPhone. I’m always curious to see what apps people are running or what sites make it to their home pages. I won’t do an ‘app review’ because that’s been done a million times already. Instead, I will just share my new found excitement and let you see what I’m working with!
I subscribe to J.Crew’s emails, and often receive offers and discounts which I tend to trash immediately- I NEVER spend enough to actually apply the discounts. Today, however, I received something much different. It was an apology from J.Crew Chairman and CEO Millard Drexler, and President Tracy Gardner. Apparently, the retailer has been having some issues with customers ordering online and via phone.
I have differing opinions about the apology. At first glance, I thought how rare it is to see a sincere apology from a retailer, let alone a large company. I commended J.Crew for caring about customer experiences and making an honest effort to retain their business.
But as I’ve thought about it a little further, I’m not completely sold. I didn’t experience any problems or issues because I didn’t purchase from them online or over the phone. Should I be apologize to? Probably not. Admitting fault is always right, but J.Crew would have been far better served using their data to apologize to those actually affected by their ‘issues.’ Also, I question just how sincere the apology is; it is not written in the “you view” whatsoever, and simply makes excuses why issues occurred. It also leaves the customer very left out- what problems led to the issues? What ‘enhancements’ are being made that will improve customer experiences? J.Crew had an opportunity to be transparent with consumers and deepen existing relationships by offering more insight and perhaps better incentives to remain loyal customers. Instead, they went with a half-hearted email apology. Hopefully they know their customers better than I do.
I’ve had this theme for a little bit now, and I’ve finally taken the time to do something with the change in colors option. Each color now has a nifty themed header! Feel free to check them all out, and stick with the one that makes you feel best today. I plan on rotating headers in and out every few weeks- be sure to keep an eye out for new designs!
I’ve always been a fan of 
