Liz, Author at Successful Blog Page

6+1 Traits: Conventions –The 6+1 Secret Rules of Online Writing

July 11, 2006 by Liz

Writing for Online Is Different

Effective writing is writing that works. It follows a set of rules we agree on. We call those rules writing conventions, as in conventional writing. Where some writers can trip up is that they don’t realize that the conventions for writing for print are slightly different from those we use when writing online. The differences are small in nature, but big in impact. They can mean a reader stays to read or clicks on by.

Now I’m anything but conventional. Still I know the value of following convention to make my readers feel comfortable in knowing how to navigate through what I write. [Read more…]

How Sprint Pushes Customers Out the Door

July 11, 2006 by Liz

There’s Barriers, Then There’s Badly Broken

Yesterday I wanted to switch my son’s Sprint/Nextel account over to online pay. I knew the drill. I’ve done it before plenty of times on plenty of websites. I hit pay bill and enterred the data. They requested a BAN passcode. Huh? What’s that?

Under that picture was this disclaimer:

Note: The approval process can take up to 10 business days. If you have a payment due before then, please use another payment method.

I contacted Customer Care online as asked and got this reply 30 minutes later. [Read more…]

Net Neutrality 7-11-2006

July 11, 2006 by Liz

Net Neutrality Links

I’m adding these links to the Net Neutrality Page.

Good News Ã¢â¬â Maybe

We interrupt this series on Telecommunication Pricing to bring you an important message. According to a story in SaturdayÃ¢â¬â¢s NY Times, Federal District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan is considering major modifications to the already accomplished SBC/AT&T and Verizon/MCI mergers. WeÃ¢â¬â¢re going to mash that up with a quote from Vint Cerf who is now at Google.

Ã¢â¬ÅThrough the eyes of a layperson, the mergers, in and of themselves, appear to be against public interest given the apparent loss in competition,” the Times reports Judge Sullivan wrote. “In layperson’s terms, why isn’t that the case?Ã¢â¬Â

. . . follow the link to read the mash up.

A net neutrality movie: It Happened to Jane (1959)

Unlike the movie, we don’t have a Doris Day to charm “the meanest man in the world.” So it comes down to congress and the FCC in the United States, and similar government organs in your country. Grassroots activism seems the only course since it’s nigh on impossible to out-lobby phone and cable companies.

So:

What will you do for the Internet this week?

How will you defend your right to call unimpeded? And in private?

Who will you call?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE

Organizational Development 2.0 Style

July 10, 2006 by Liz

Organizational Development — What Is It?

If you went to business school, you probably learned about organizational development, but the world is changing and organizations are changing with it — at least the ones that have hopes of lasting. Listen in on this post by Gautam Ghosh.

The goals of OD in the the last century were to make workplaces more open transparent and honest. The focus was on generating authentic and non-threatening conversations. About creating workplaces where people were not merely ‘resources’ or ‘talent’.

Sounds a bit like blogging doesn’t it?

Yet, Gautam goes onto say that

However, the overall culture of organizational life never let these concepts come to fruition. Most organizations were and still are, places where your goals are set by others, your performance is judged by others, and your rewards are measured by others.

That’s where today’s enterprise loses the entrepreneurial spirit.

Gautuam goes on to make some great points about what today’s organizations are facing. You can check out his post by clicking the title.

Thanks Guatam, for this analsis.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

6+1 Traits of Search Engine Relevant Content

July 10, 2006 by Liz

Get Relevant

A 7-year-girl stands staring at a 27-car pile-up in which her dearest pet, a golden retriever, was thrown from the car onto hard pavement. The pup is in the road unmoving and ignored. A TV reporter — desperate for a Pulitzer — asks the child, “How do you feel now that your dog has died?”

The thoughtless question to the little girl is irrelevant to the story about the 27-car pile-up.

The reporter herself is irrelevant to the little girl. . . .

Unless the little girl caused pile up and killed puppy, her feelings (besides being obvious) just aren’t relevant.

Maybe that works on TV, but not the Internet. That reporter would have Google Page Rank Zero. Who’d do a Google search for a story on how that little girl felt? [Read more…]

ul and ol — The Secret Life of HTML Lists

July 10, 2006 by Liz

Things that Folks Don’t Tell Each Other

When I learn things, I pay attention to the things that folks don’t tell each other. They are usually obvious little details that people who know them don’t even think about. When they appear they can be a total surprise, or hard to look up, or interrupt when I’m in the middle of things.

I remember clearly the first time I wanted to make a numbered list in HTML. I didn’t have a clue how to do it. I knew it had something to do with those two tags — ul and ol, but that was as far as my knowledge went.

Now I know and if you don’t, I am going to reveal the dirty details, the secret life of making lists in HTML. [Read more…]