NezSez

Even before I started this blog, I’ve been gleaning the various tips and tricks that abound in the Blogosphere, so much like a baleen whale, taking them in huge volumes, trying to filter out the best ones. Here’s what I have thus far — I’m calling it the ABC’s of Blogging. Enjoy.

• Attract readers with compelling headlines
• Books - read them to help improve your writing
• Creative, insightful, or timely Content is what will keep your readers Coming back — Crappy Content will torpedo Clever titles
• Dedicate time researching for and thinking about your posts, Do spend more than ten minutes writing
• Edit, Edit, Edit — good writing comes from rewriting
• Find your niche, if you want
• Get into a habit of writing regularly
• Have a conversational tone in your posts and comments to build a welcome Haven for your readers
• Inspiration and Ideas for posts comes from everywhere — news, conversations, comments, so pay attention
• Jot down ideas in a little notebook that you keep close by
• Keep a regular schedule of posting to train your audience — consider an editorial calendar
• Leverage the power of a blog in your business
• Monetize your blog if you’d like, but Moderation is key — no one likes to be bombarded by ads
• Never spam — follow the golden rule
• Offer true value in your posts, Offer an e-book, Offer an RSS feed and Offer full feeds
• Profanity should checked at the door — your blog is Public and little People will find it
• Queen. Content can be Queen, too — blogging is equal opportunity, and many of my favorite bloggers are women
• Reassess your blog Regularly to see if you’re on the Right track, or if you need to Re-adjust your direction
• Stumbleupon and other Social networking tools can help people find you, but may not be necessary if you have good, clear content and some SEO
• Try to keep your stat-gazing to a minimum — Too much attention means you’re wasting Time
• Use humor if you’ve got the skillz
• Visit other blogs you like and comment meaningfully on posts when you have something to say
• Wordpress is your friend
• “X-it” the online world on a regular basis — go out, take a walk, talk to real live people, have a life
• Zee truth once again is that Content is King!

UPDATE:

• Yes, um…I deliberately left “Y” out to see if people actually read the entire thing, Yeah, that’s it, that’s my storY and I’m sticking with it!

Thank you so much for checking out my blog! If you like what you see, I'd like to invite you to subscribe to my RSS feed and maybe tell your friends about it. I'd really appreciate it!

The World is Full of Mysteries

Ever notice how much mystery plays a part in our lives?

“Peek-a-boo! I see you!”

That innocent game we play with a baby is probably the child’s first conscious introduction to mysteries. When the blanket is up, where did mommy go? When it’s down, oh, there she is!

From that moment on, we are constantly engaged in solving mysteries.

Going to school allows us to find the answers to the mystery of:

• spelling
• arithmetic
• whether or not Susie likes Calvin

Mysteries are what fuels scientist’s curiosity:

• Are birds descendants of dinosaurs?
• Who built the giant statues of Easter Island?
• What can we do to save this species from extinction?

Many of us face personal issues to which we seek answers, such as those offered by unscrupulous marketers:

• “Learn the 10 Secrets the Pros Don’t Want You to Know!”
• “Lose 30lbs in 30 Days!”
• “Get Rich Using these 5 Easy Steps!”

We seek out and are entertained by mysteries in stories such as:

• Sherlock Holmes
• Indiana Jones
• Harry Potter

Why are Mysteries Important?

If you don’t think mysteries are important, let me ask you the following:

• Have you ever seen a movie where you start realizing what’s going to happen before it happens? Ruins the fun, right? That’s like telling people Darth Vader is Luke’s father before they saw Empire Strikes Back in 1980.
• Or how about seeing a magician do a trick that you’ve already seen before? The effect is not as…magical.
• Or why a woman wearing revealing clothing that much sexier than if she was simply nude?
• When you go see an Opera, Ballet, Musical, or Play at the theater, what if they didn’t have a drawn curtain?

We Love the Tease

Ever hear advice about writing a cover letter for your resume? Or how about a book proposal, or any proposal. What about the opening minutes of a TV show? The inside cover of a book jacket? Magazine cover? Promotional mailer?

They all feature something short, quick and easy to remember — to tease you into looking for more.

The best ones present a compelling mystery, one which you are eager to solve.

The Quest for Knowledge

• If fiction, we have the “MacGuffin”, what director Alfred Hitchcock referred to as an object or person — SOMETHING! — that is being chased after, sought after, and fought over. That continued searching is what the viewer of his films get hooked on.
• In Dashiell Hammet’s Maltese Falcon - detective Sam Spade is after the “black bird”, a supposedly jewel-encrusted statuette worth millions. His partner is murdered, and various parties are all after the falcon. What’s going to happen?
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings - how is Frodo and his band going to destroy the One Ring, in the face of overwhelming odds?

In real life, we have the quest for knowledge.

• Buddha, in the process of becoming the Buddha, sought to answer to why humans suffered
• Leonardo Da Vinci, the Wright Brothers, and other dreamers sought out the answers to flight.
• We each all have our goals, and often wonder how we are to achieve them.

Mysteries engage our minds, our imagination, and our creativity.

The Mystery of Blogging

It even applies to our blogging.

Why do we ultimately subscribe to someone’s RSS feed?

To find out what’s going to be written next.

Have a great weekend!

I leave you with the following inspirational video clip:

TEDTalks: J.J. Abrams: The Mystery Box

It Starts at Home

When I hear about crimes — white collar, blue collar, whatever-color-collar — this first thing that comes to mind is how were these perpetrators raised? How were they as kids? What was life like at home then?

Certainly, they may have made mistakes as an adult/young adult that really set them on a wrong path — failure to foresee consequences of an action (see my post on alternate time-lines).

However, I bet a majority had detrimental habits that were instilled during childhood.

In fact, sometimes we do get those back-stories, and often we hear that the parents had no clue that their children were troubled.

To me, that’s shocking.

I hope I have SOME clue to how my kids emotional growth is developing.

A Disconnect Between Parents and Children

I know times are so much different than say the stereotypical nuclear family of the 1950’s. Today, because often both parents work and the media (cable/satellite TV, internet) and technology (computer, cellphones) are so pervasive, it is so easy to have a disconnect between parents and their kids. Parents are too tired when they come home, and kids are too busy in their little own world of video games, mySpace, etc. Interactions between them boil down to simple yes-no questions and answers.

One the the things I think is important is to talk to the kids and understand how they’re growing, especially emotionally and intellectually.

I try to find out as much as possible without being too nosy, and use regular utilize a topic to explain a appropriate principle. Thus far, these are the ones that have come up fairly often:

7 Principles I’m Trying to Instill in My Kids

1. Respectful Communication - Kids have motormouths that run a mile a minute, and when they talk, the speech is frequently filled with um’s and an’then’s. When that happens I always ask them to slow down. I also require them to stop talking when their mother or I am talking to them — sometimes I will ask them, “What did I just say?” to see if they were listening. I explain that they should wait to talk until they have understood what was told to them, and I want them to look me in the eye when they talk, not stare off somewhere.
2. Attitude is Everything - I will get more upset over a bad, whiny attitude than I will over something “bad” that they did.
3. Saying “I’m Sorry” - I do not want to hear excuses for everything. If you did something wrong, take responsibility for it. Know that everyone makes mistakes, and if you made a one, apologize, fix the problem if needed, and move on.
4. Keeping Promises - The reason to keep promises now is to become trustworthy. A few years from now, you’ll want to do things like go out on your own, stay out late, learn to drive, etc. If you’re not trustworthy by then, I will not let you do those things.
5. Anything worthwhile comes from hard work and effort - All the things that you want right now (toys, video games) require money. Money requires hard work. Right now, the older one is earning “stars” each week, a minimum of five, to get a Nintendo DS if he earns five or more stars for six straight weeks.
6. Learn to See the Bigger Picture - We use examples to see if the kids will see the bigger picture, in order for them to learn the concept of long-term gains. For instance, we normally ask that they read 60 minutes, and then they get to play video games for 60 minutes. Sometimes we’ll offer them 30 extra minutes of playing time if they read for just 15 minutes more.
7. What the Opposite of Love Is - As a kid what the antonym of love is, and he’ll probably say hate. However, I explain that the opposite of love is selfishness, thinking and caring only about yourself, not being sensitive to other people’s feelings, not sharing toys, not saying hi or thank you. Basically, you can squeeze a lot of negative qualities into that definition, in order to show how good love is. That way, we avoid the abstract concept of hate and demonstrate what love is.

I don’t know how successful my strategy will be, but I’m hoping some of these will eventually rub off on them and serve them well throughout their lives.

At the least, down the road, I want to be able to look back and be able to say, I was involved in my children’s upbringing, that I did my best, and I did have SOME clue to what they were doing.

If you have kids, or are around kids a lot, let me know what other principles I may have missed.

Or, if the kids are all grown up, how did they turn out?

photo by Mats Gullikstad

Catherine’s post and a recent one by James reminded me of recent thoughts on customer service.

It’s a Numbers Game

I say that the main reason we experience poor customer service is because it’s a numbers game.

So, what are the numbers and who is this game’s players?

The numbers are those following the dollar sign, namely profits. And the players are the shareholders who own equity in these companies. In an effort to show continued growth, company bean counters are ordered to cut costs, and the resulting emphasis on sales and profits mean that things like customer service often gets de-emphasized.

In a country with over 300 million people, these companies know that any disgruntled customer will be easily replaced by another unsuspecting one. The lure? Low prices. And I mean really low. So low that each item itself must have a very low profit margin. Which means everything must be sold in huge quantities in order for the company to show adequate profits.

An Example: Best Buy

A year or two ago, I bought a DVD box set of a movie trilogy (Back to the Future, if you must know) from my local Best Buy. However, once I got home and put in the first disc, I realized I had mistakenly bought the pan-and-scan version instead of the widescreen version (always preferable, imho).

When I went back to the store to request an exchange, the person at the return counter gave me a bunch of reasons why I can’t return it, e.g. it was already opened, etc. Mind you, I went in to EXCHANGE it for the widescreen version — it wasn’t like I was somehow pirating the video and RETURNING it. Anyway, after a polite conversation with a supervisor, I got my widescreen box. Still, the experience left a sour taste in my mouth.

Now, will I shop at Best Buy again?

Sadly, yes. But, not if I can help it.

As long as I and millions of others have that same attitude, then, I don’t see how a big chain will improve their customer service. There’s just no incentive. Companies like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and the like know that their low prices will inevitably draw you back (like, $30 for a DVD player?).

The Solution to Bad Customer Service

However, we’re not completely at the mercy of these companies.

• Try a different store branch - sometimes a different branch of a store will have more caring employees (see below for an example)
• Try a different store - instead of Best Buy, try Circuit City, or Fry’s.
• Try a local store - you may have to pay more, but the service can be better (see below)
• Shop online - there are a lot of alternatives online, but stick to the well-known retailers, and check www.resellerratings.com if you have any doubts

You’ll notice the one thing in common to these alternatives: Voice your displeasure by spending your money elsewhere.

The Importance of People

Through it all, the most important thing to remember is that the kind of people running your local whatever-store makes a big difference in the kind of customer service you may experience.

Even a different branch of the same store, for instance.

Union Bank is one institution I deal with on behalf of a non-profit organization for which I volunteer. I’ve had to call their 800 number on several occasions, and the experience is often less than stellar. In the East Bay, they have a physical branch I’ve visited. It has mediocre to poor customer service, depending certain alignments of the celestial bodies.

But the branch in South San Francisco is superb. I attribute this solely to the VP there, Laura, who seems to have the enthusiasm of 10 people. The other employees there are also very helpful, no doubt because Laura had a hand in their hiring, I’m sure.

You Get What You Pay For

This saying is true when it comes to customer service. For those places that sell cheaply priced goods, how much of that profit goes into employee salaries, product exchanges and returns and replacements, employee educational programs, and advancement opportunities and other incentives?

It seems like stores that have slightly higher prices are more apt to have better customer service, and of course, in high-end boutiques or luxury car dealerships, excellent service is de rigeur.

Caring About People, Not Profits

But whether it’s a low-end or high-end business, the key to good customer service is that a business owner needs to care about his or her customers, and also needs to hire people who also care about customer service. The businesses that are successful (in a good, tell-about-them-to-your-friends-kind-of-way) are the ones who care more about acquiring and keeping loyal customers, rather than caring only about short-term profits.

That’s how I want to be treated, and that’s how I treat my clients.

Take care of your customers, and the profits will come.

I’m not talking about hitting the lottery, or cashing out on stock options, I’m talking about being an average Joe or Joy, one who either works for someone, or who runs a small business.

My Idea of a Perfect Life

It is one where I:

1. Have a profession that I truly enjoy - a job that is stimulating, creative, and pays a little bit more than enough. I do not require vast wealth, just enough to live on, and to save for retirement.
2. Spend plenty of time with my kids - to show them the simple pleasures in life, the wonder of our world, the diversity of our culture, and that there’s more to life than TV and video games.
3. Periodically travel - to enrich my own experience of the world and its peoples.
4. Leave a positive stamp behind - what’s my legacy, will I leave this world a better place than when I entered it, how will people remember me? I hope that this blog will become something worth reading down the line.
5. Am fit in body and in mind - a healthy mind and body go hand in hand. Coupled with a good personal and professional accomplishments, I’d say that makes a perfect life.

Where I am

For me, I’ve only (partially) accomplished number 1.

I happen to be self-employed, and enjoy my chosen profession very, very much. It’s my fourth year in business, and I am not yet at the level I want (or need) to be, but certainly a lot farther along than what I originally conceived because I gained a business partner in second year.

I am working towards that first plateau almost every day of the week.

Which, of course, puts the rest of the list on the back burner. It’s not that I don’t do any of 2-5, but rather not I don’t do them in the amount I want — something about not enough time in the day…excuses, I know.

What about you? Do you think my basic criteria is too simple? What are your ideas of a perfect life? Are you living it?

Going with the Familiar, the Comfortable

• When we attend a class, we sit in the same seat
• We listen to the same songs on our iPod
• We order the same meal at our favorite restaurant
• We drive the same route to work
• We read the same blogs

Do these traits sound familiar? We ARE creatures of habit.

Physiologically, this makes sense. When we get into a habit, it is because we’ve discovered something safe and comforting, something that will not put us in the classic “fight or flight” mode, which means less stress. Less stress is good, right?

When Good Habits Do Bad

However, getting into a habit can also have detrimental affects. They can get us:

• Stuck in a rut - we do the same thing over and over again
• Blind to new things - we become unaware of changes in the surrounding environment, whether it’s the local physical environment, within or without the industry itself
• Into a sense of Complacency - we have a false sense of security that our way will always be the best way
• Unwilling to accept changes - we become conservative, unwilling to embrace new ideas or to see the writing on the wall
• Afraid to lose our comfort zone - we become fearful that we would lose our current status, and would do anything to ensure our habits remain intact.

These and other ill-effects can come from hanging onto an old habit (assuming it was good to begin with).

Periodic Check-up

So maybe I’ve begun to shout more at my kids, or the video store is unaware of Apple’s entry into movie rentals — whatever our habits may be, it’s a good idea to examine them from time to time with an objective eye, to see whether any change is in order.

It might do wonders.

A few clues as to what I believe is one of our most precious possessions:

• It bonds us with our family and friends.
• It is a conduit to our past.
• It enables our habits.
• People can perform great feats because of it.
• It can also debilitate us, if we let it.
• We laugh because of it.
• We cry because of it.
• We rely on it every day.
• Some people willingly deny it as a way to elude responsibility.
• Some people unwillingly lose it.
• It can become sweeter with age.
• Our other possessions are more precious because of it.
• It is more precious than any amount of money, for money would be useless without it.
• It is more precious than even the One Ring.
• It is what we are, it is who we are.

What is it?

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Our Memories.

Barbara’s comment on my Frame of Mind post reminded me of one of my philosophies of life:

• No Matter How Rich You Become, Someone Will Always Be Richer (unless your name is Bill Gates) - So, live your life without hurting others (and without whining), and maybe help those that are truly in need.

And here’s the corollary:

• No Matter How Poor You Become, Someone Out There Has It Worse - Everyone is entitled to some bad luck now and then, but it’s not the end of the world. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again (great tune, btw).

What do you think?

One of the plot devices in fiction that engages me the most has always been the “alternate time-line”.

Cause and Effect

The idea of changing causes and seeing the resulting effects is a staple of science fiction.

Films like Back to the Future, The Terminator, TV shows like Quantum Leap and (certain episodes of) Star Trek all have stories that focus on how key events determine a certain future, and if those key events were altered, the future would be altered as well.

And the idea is not limited to science fiction. You may have seen or read Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, or how about the similarly-inspired holiday “favorite”, It’s a Wonderful Life. In both stories, we get to see alternate time-lines, cleverly suggested as dreams.

There’s a whole list of alternate “history” stories listed in this Wikipedia entry.

What If? is a part of Critical Thinking

These tales all bring to the fore the question of What if? Indeed, the question of “What if?” can be used to generate entire stories. But it is also a way of exercising critical thinking. Only here, it is utilized in fiction, instead of real-life situations.

Baseball

Speaking of real life, the what if? scenario is perfectly illustrated in the American game of baseball. Like setting off a row of dominoes, a key play in baseball can result in a series of events (a player steals a base, causing the pitcher to throw to second, but the shortstop muffs the catch, and the runner from third scores so…) that gets one team closer to victory.

The interesting thing about baseball, unlike other sports, is that there is no time limit. Rather, the game is played until a key event occurs that results in one team having a 1 or more runs scored than the other team after the top of the ninth inning. Otherwise, the game can theoretically play for inning after inning, as long as the game remains tied.

This allows the game to have any number of key events. And in the end, the game announcers usually like to point out the “play of the game”, again, usually one of those key events (a crucial hit or a spectacular defensive play).

(I’m not a true fan of baseball, but I really appreciate that singular aspect of the game — that one play can affect the outcome of the game.)

Real Life Decisions

So because of my understanding, and appreciation of the fact we live in a “linear” existence, I often reflect on decisions that I have just made, or am about to make, and wonder about the resulting time-line that I’m “creating”.

I also like to look back on history, and ponder about key events that set the course of our current time-line.

It really helps to put things in perspective sometimes.

There are thousands (or millions) of sites devoted to finances, financial responsibility, getting/staying out of debt. Visit any self-help section at your local bookstore and you’ll also find hundreds of books devoted to the same topic.

I thought I’d sum up what I’ve seen, read, and (for the most part) practice - the number one rule to financial responsibility. However, to write only one sentence seemed almost like…cheating. So, in the interest of verbosity, I did some more thinking on the subject. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Earn More Than You Spend - the optimist version
2. Spend Less Than What You Earn - the pessimist version
3. Savings = Revenue - Expenses, where Expenses < Revenue - the mathematician’s version
4. Net Income = Gross Income minus Total Expenses and Deductions (you did save those receipts, right?) - the accountant’s version
5. Buy 1 less Cup of Coffee a week to save $20 a month - the conscientious Starbuck goer’s version
6. Every month, pay into your retirement, then your bills, then whatever’s left is extra - the Financial Guru’s version
7. Every month, pay into your retirement, then your bills, then half of what’s left can go into the “games” - the Reformed Gambler’s version
8. Every month, pay into your retirement, bills, and then buy ONLY one pair of shoes (that costs less than what you have remaining) - the compulsive shoe buyer’s version
9. Every day, save a dollar, spend the rest - the homeless person’s version
10. When you see a 10 dollar bill on the ground, DON’T pick it up - the Bill Gate’s version