Blog

By Stefan Sojka

We operate in an industry that is built on an incredibly complex array of technology.  One of the most frustrating aspects for us and our customers is just how many different opportunities there are for technology to go wrong – on or off-line – with computers.

There are literally thousands of links in any chain between people on the Internet – even inside a single computer!  There are dozens of service providers.  Some we know about:

• Your ISP
• Your domain name registrar
• The company who built your computer
• The company who built your Website visitor’s computer
• Your Web developer – us

…and some we don’t:

• The owner of the submarine cable or satellite
• ISP installation contractors
• Server maintenance company
• Domain name authority
• Browser software developer community
• International Internet standards bodies
• Network router suppliers, like Cisco Systems
• The list goes on and on.

Besides all of the above, a successful Internet experience depends on the people at either end of the exchange.  Here are some issues that can and do happen along the way:

• Sound is used, but the end user doesn’t have speakers
• Visitors to a Website run an ancient browser, so the site doesn’t display correctly for them
• People run security software with settings that disrupt even safe activity
• An ISP’s DNS server has issues, causing some sites to be inaccessible
• An ISP like Telstra can get a massive surge of Spam and slow everything down
• Software gets installed and causes a conflict
• Website hosting software gets upgraded and some functions stop working due to a different configuration
• This list also goes on and on!

Over the past 15-20 years we have seen it all.  One day we will probably write a book about it.  Suffice to say we have come to accept technological issues as part of day-to-day life in the computer world.

When things go wrong, we are often the first people to hear about it, even if it is not our fault.  Sometimes we are not informed, when we should be – as customers think that perhaps their ISP is to blame.

What we would like to say about all of this is that we hope you understand a little about the scope of the industry we are all participating in.  We hope you accept that it is in the very nature of something so complex that things will go wrong.

In saying this, we are always here to help.  If you need advice or are becoming frustrated with a technical issue or service issue, please let us know.  We might just be able to help you work out where the real problem lies and who the real culprit is.  Sometimes it is something we can fix.  At the very least we can point you in the right direction.

If after we investigate a problem, we find it is our fault, we are bound to sort it out for you at no charge.  If it turns out to be one of the other many links in the chain beyond our responsibility, we will either recommend a solution, or arrange to fix it for you.  In these cases, we will charge a service fee for our time.

As one of your business service providers, we are here to help you manage this very complicated maze of technology that impacts – and helps – your business.  Nobody likes the ‘issues’ part of the equation – it certainly doesn’t seem very productive.  However, by effectively managing these inevitable problems, we do get to enjoy the huge benefits of the technology for all the times things are running smoothly.

With your understanding and our support, we can all move forward in this exciting digital world.

By Stefan Sojka

The following questions were sent via email to a range of digital media consultants, Stefan included, for an article about social media marketing in NETT magazine.  The answers were combined and edited to create the article, which took the form of a round-table discussion.  Here are Stefan's un-edited responses, as sent via email:

1. Across different companies, there’s a wide range of people responsible for social media marketing, such as PR firms, marketing departments, IT departments, executives, HR departments, ad agencies or even the receptionist who has a lot of friends on Facebook.  Who do you think should be in charge of social media marketing, and why?

Social media marketing must originate at the executive level, with the formulation of policy and guidelines founded on a deep understanding of the medium.  The traditional boundaries between personal and corporate communications do not exist and you will never control every single posting on every Website by every staff member, customer and potential customer.  Accepting this as the fundamental ‘Rule #1’ might force you to rethink your policies and guidelines considerably.

In a way, no-one is in charge of social media marketing – it’s a bit like the mechanical bull at the local pub that everyone is taking turns having a ride on.  The complaints department should go first, then customer support.  If customer complaints and issues are dealt with swiftly and comprehensively and a company posts as much helpful information as possible on-line, your ride will probably last a lot longer than the company spruiker.

In the end it will be a complex mix of players that will affect your social media marketing, from opinion leaders you’ve never heard of (who might already be working for you without you knowing) to the professional PR firm whose role it is to find out what is going on out there, make recommendations and orchestrate a diverse range of strategies, to be undertaken by whoever suits the role.  This is a world of networks, Google searches, videos, blog posts and comments.  You have to be active across all of it, with as much honesty and integrity that you can muster.

2. Should managers try to control what their staff say on social networks?  Should they allow them to access social networks during work hours?

You can’t control it, and you can’t ever expect to – the more you try, the more it will probably backfire.  However, employees need to realise that their own behaviour can easily backfire, too. What is a potential employer going to think if she/he reads what you are writing about your current boss?  What managers can do is encourage good communication skills, positive attitudes and lead by example.  What you give is what you get.  The more enlightened and constructive your social media contributions, regardless of what people say back, the better off you and your business will be.  You can build a successful business and a big following online, simply by blogging helpful, educational, informative material.

Access during work hours is controversial.  I allow it in my office, but I remind my staff how easily distracting and time-consuming it can be – and I also make sure I keep them so busy that they don’t have much time!  Chat is a nice relief in between work tasks and some of my team use it to source instant professional advice from their learned friends.  However, blogging, FaceBook and YouTube can become full-time occupations on their own.  There is a never-ending stream of material to view, read and respond to, so it is generally best left to after hours.

3. Do you think it’s acceptable to use the following techniques  – and why?
a) ‘Trusted avatars’ – pretending to be a real person not affiliated with a company to spruik that company’s products/services

This can work, but is quite risky, since it is difficult to do well.  I would rather be up front, make connections with integrity and hope for positive responses than get caught out and end up the victim of a humiliating public ‘outing’ campaign in a popular forum.

In small business, I think it is quite reasonable to participate in any conversation and admit that you own a business – it’s usually the first question anyone asks me – “What do you do?”  That is if they don’t already know, because they can read my profile.  So long as I can maintain a conversation that doesn’t always revert to me offering special discounts on selected products if they buy before the end of the month, most people will accept that I am a business person and be okay with that.  If they want to do business with me, they will ask.  There is no need to pretend.

b) ‘Seeding conversations’ – posing questions about a product and then answering the question using trusted avatars or sock puppets

This depends on the context, but this can work.  Kevin Rudd does this very well – he loves posing questions and answering them himself!  There would only be certain situations on-line where it would not appear contrived.  You can always point people to your Website's FAQ page.  Better to engage real people to ask real questions and provide genuine answers.  This can also backfire, if it looks and sounds like you have brought a ‘plant’ into the audience with you.  You might both get outed.  Larger companies can get away with this more, because it is more believable that many people would be out there asking and answering questions about their products.  Still, the answer should come from a genuine employee, like someone from customer support who identifies themselves and has a genuine reason for being in the conversation.  Seek out relevant existing conversations and blogs and participate as a genuine contributor.

c) Buying lists of ‘friends’ on social networks

We have done this in the past for clients with mixed results.  If the ’friends’ are sourced with a high likelihood of actually being interested in your products or services, it can work well, as you may get a proportion of them remaining friends and responding positively.  Chances are, however, that most of these kinds of ’friends’ are scammers and spammers anyway, looking for overnight Internet stardom by collecting thousands of random followers.  You might just end up wasting a lot of time trawling through all their spammy posts when you could be concentrating on your own valuable communications with a genuine audience.  Collect friends by all means, but be careful which circles you mix in – just like in the real world.

4. If you’re marketing a product, how do you introduce yourself into someone else’s conversation?  How should you declare your interest when you do?

I see two ways of achieving this.  The first is to ensure your profile/avatar information is honestly and accurately filled out.  That way, anyone can immediately click on it and discover what you are all about.  The second way is to bring it up at whatever time is appropriate, either by mentioning it in your post, or by answering truthfully when asked.  Be prepared, however, that the other person may then go off and Google you.  Also make sure that whatever you said prior to your self-interest being declared will not harm your reputation or credibility, once your identity is revealed.

By Stefan Sojka

The meteoric rise of Facebook into the frontal lobes of the Internet may have killed the whole concept of Website design.  It is interesting to note how much more popular FaceBook has become than MySpace, when MySpace promised so much more flexibility with design and customisation of your MySpace page.

FaceBook's Web design is essentially as plain and boring as you can get, yet nobody seems to mind or complain.  Why?

My guess is that it is because most people are not Website designers.  If you give them the tools to customise their Web page design, chances are they will make it look horrible.  Flashing stars, fireworks and clashing primary colours abound on MySpace Web page designs.  FaceBook's approach is to focus exclusively on the content; text, images, links and actions all done within the same boring desiign framework.

From a social networking point of view, this makes a lot of sense.  It keeps Facebook clean and user-friendly and basically prevents anyone from ruining it.  But do we really want an Internet with no design?  Of course not.  That's like saying all movies should be video versions of stage plays, or all food ought to fulfill basic nutritional needs and that's all.  Design is a fundamental faculty of human experience and evolution.

One must keep something in mind when it comes to Facebook's design/brand – it is Facebook's, not the members'.  They own the site, they profit from it – it suits them to have it the way it is and it works for them.  If they ever change it, it will be because they believe it will be more profitable to do so, not because they they think it will be cool to have more design flexibility for their users.  If they keep it, it will be for the exact same reason – it is more profitable to keep it that way.

Even though Facebook might be huge right now, it is not the entire Internet.  It is not the answer to all the world's problems.  It doesn't fulfill every human need.  It is a Website where people can post content, designed to maximise profits for Facebook.

The rest of the world, the non-Facebook world – you know; businesses, community organisations, individuals, social networks, associations and Websites – still exist, still have a future and are still quietly working away on their missions, goals and objectives.  Those objectives are most likely very different from Facebook's.  They may be to make the world a better place, not to rule the world.  They may be to make just enough money to have a good life, not to become the richest man in history.  They may be to have just enough members that each member feels an equal part of the entity, not just one of a billion 'users' feeding a marketing machine.  For them, design might still play a very important role.  Specialist Websites, special interest groups, small businesses, international organisations and media outlets all continue to require appropriately and artistically designed Websites.  Sure, they may all end up posting their links on the bland mass social media outlets, but they are links to the rest of the Web – the exciting, organic, ever-changing Internet, where ideas abound and new paradigms are created on a daily basis.  Facebook has killed Website design at Facebook, but click on any link that anyone posts on their news feed and you will discover a Web that is alive and well.

By Stefan Sojka

There is often a grey area surrounding computer programming as to who owns the rights to any intellectual property involved.  Before you enter into any Web development project, make sure you and the Web developer are very clear about the rights surrounding the project.

Some programming is provided with a limited single-use licence, since the code itself is owned by the programmers or the company the programmer works for.  Some programming may be owned by you, if you enter into the development under that arrangement – that you will have complete ownership and full rights to the code and any intellectual property.

Sometimes it becomes a legal and ethical minefield, because, while you may own the rights to the business process you are asking a programmer to develop, you may still not own their code.  This makes it very difficult if you want to take your business elsewhere.

Don't forget also that any Website or computer application depends on a whole range of third party software to run, such as server software, operating system, security software, firewalls and many other products.  Almost always your application will be dependent on all these tools to operate and you will be leasing, sub-leasing them or perhaps taking advantage of open source products.  Either way, you will not be in full control nor have full ownership of the entire ecosystem of products and services that you will be depending on.  Much like you might own a car but depend on roads, traffic lights and street signs to get around, owning or using a computer program puts you inside a much larger infrastructure that you can't always control, much as you would like to think you can.

In all matters of this nature, we recommend consulting a lawyer before taking any action.  As part of our digital media and technical consulting process, we can provide you with the range of considerations you need to be aware of.

Internet copyright law is still very much an evolving topic, so it is very helpful to have an experienced company working with you to highlight any issues that could potentially arise.