Exploring communications

I have moved

2009-05-22T13:22:00.002+10:00

My blog has moved to www.verb.net.au/exploringcommunications/

Please pay me a visit! Cheers, Claire

WoopseBay... wrong words!

2009-02-23T10:41:00.004+11:00

I recieved two emails from eBay today (technically, one came last night and one this morning), the first had the subject line of "10% off voucher inside to say thank you". It made me think 'thank you eBay, you too are appreciating your customers and giving back in a small way in hard times.'

To be honest I was a tad surprised, but figured there'd be some catch to it as this particular brand just doesn't seem to represent honesty or community-focus to me at the moment. Which is strange given the nature of its whole structure, without its community, it basically wouldn't exist! When I try to pin point why I feel like this about the brand, the outcome is that it's a combination of some 'dodgy retailers' as well as confusing and inconvenient changes to payment and feedback processes.

So... back to the emails - the second one, would you believe, says this:

Subject: IMPORTANT: CORRECTION TO EMAIL REGARDING 10% OFF VOUCHER

Dear xxxx,

A short while ago, you received an email from eBay which incorrectly contained
the following words in the subject line: "10% off voucher inside to say thank
you".

The subject line of that email was wrong, and occurred as the result of a
technical error. Please note that there is no voucher or discount from
eBay.com.au associated with that email or otherwise applicable to you at this
time.

eBay sincerely regrets any inconvenience and thanks you for your understanding.

Regards,
The eBay Team

Technically, the email is right because the first didn't actually have a voucher or anything in the email - it was just in the subject line. So obviously overnight there was MAJOR panic in the particular halls/desks responsible for this email as the first was sent without proofing... then the second sent in a panic without any thought for the recipients. Even the wording makes me feel insignificant and like perhaps someone else might be 'applicable' but certainly not me. Plus the fact that they blame it on a technical error... come one now, I think this one might have been human error yeah??

As a writer, I understand that proofing is such a critical element to any piece of writing. In spite of this, I too am guilty of not doing it enough and appreciate there is always a chance of human error. However, this incident goes far greater than just a proofing issue and could have been rectified in a far more effective way. I think the brand custodians need to have a long hard think about how they are portraying themselves as slowly but surely they are eroding their trust and community and one day they'll wonder where their listings went.

My del.icio.us tag cloud as a work of art

2009-02-20T13:20:00.004+11:00

Well as 'a work of art' might be taking it a bit far, but i did have fun playing with the colours, fonts and layout... go to http://www.wordle.net/ to create your own beautiful word cloud - thank you @KateKendall for sharing.

Like it or lump it... like all words change over time.

2008-12-23T15:26:00.003+11:00

This morning as my #1 kid added a new word to his repertoire (to my shame it came straight from Ben10 via Cartoon Network)... and the word was 'like'... but not used in the traditional sense of the word, but in the more youthful sense where you just like add it into like the sentence that you are like using because like it sounds like really good. Whilst I was the word grated on my nerves as I heard him say it, I was instantly transported back to my father giving me a hard time about it when I was in my teens.

So it has prompted me to write this post... not just in the exploration of the word 'like', but generally about how words change over time. It's what excites me about language; the way it evolves and how a generation can have such an impact on how words are used.

According to the Oxford Dictionary 'like' has a few meanings... which depending on your interpretation actually includes the way my son used it… although I am sure it wasn’t in there when I was a teenager and I am sure it doesn’t mean to add it more than once to a sentence. The origins of the word date back to the 13^th and 14^th centuries, with the 1500s seemingly being the first use of the word in its form as it is today. So it’s been around for a very long time… no wonder the meaning is flexible and Generation X started playing with its usage.

So how does language evolve in this way? The abundance of International television, mainly from the USA has had an enormous impact on the Australian vernacular. However, it seems the influence on the use of words or expressions can come from varying influences. For example, according to Angus Stevenson (www.askoxford.com) the expression 'go pear shaped' (meaning to go wrong) supposedly comes from RAF slang, first written in the early 1980s but most probably in use a few decades before that in reference to the shape of a fighter plane after it has crashed into the ground or a novice's attempt at a perfect circle in the air.

Considering the way communications has vastly changed from the early 80s, the impact online communication will be having on language would be significant. Just the impact of the TXT message has change the way I write emails and communicate with friends, family and colleagues. I've been told I am the queen of the succinct TXT msg and I am secretly proud of that.

Another avenue in the online world has been the advent of social media, more specifically the requirement to get our point across in 140 characters; delivered instantly to many. So perhaps my son or one of his generational peers will be studying the impact all this has had on language in 20 or 30 years time.

Whilst many have been scared or pessimistic about the impact technology is having, handled in the right way I see enormous benefits not just to you in your immediate community but for the world, in bringing us closer to share and communicate. Whilst there are segments of the technology world that have valid opponents, I am hoping the greater good will prevail and the impact my grandchildren (gosh I hope I get some one day) will experience will only enhance their communication and the way they use words and language. Perhaps they will more easily be multilingual... or perhaps even a new language will evolve, and I am not talking techno speak, but with common use words in one language being used by those of other nationalities. Of course, we have plenty of that already in existence… some words are just better said in their original language: hors d’oeuvres, hasta la vista (if you’re a Terminator fan), à la carte or annus horribilis.

I look forward to watching how my native tongue evolves and as I sit in my rocking chair trying to understand my grandkids in 30 or so years I hope I take as much pleasure in learning and using it as I do now.

Plurking or tweeting... which is your choice?

2008-08-28T14:34:00.005+10:00

I have been swaying back and forth between Plurk and Twitter over the last three months... After a rather strong addiciton to Plurk initially, i broke free and had a break. It was needed as i had become emotionally invested, not through sharing personal information, but i had started to lead a virtual world in some ways and that kind of scared me.

So i went back to twitter, but not in an involved way, more as a voyeur. Then just this week i returned to the plurking world... to anyone who knows it, you'd know that my kaarma was 0.00... a terribly uninspiring return... but i started conversations again... and my old mates commented and i felt a part of the community again.

To me something about plurk seems to embrace someone like me far more than Twitter, which seems to generally be a very individual and less engaging flow... I am not saying either is a failure, but acknowledging that as they are structured differently they will engage people differently. For my way of interacting i feel i learn more and have more time to browse with Plurk... but some very important failings stop me from being completely positive about the experience. The fact that you can't track conversations you're in makes it very hard work.

Either way, both have been pretty good at enabling me to be short n sharp with my point. A friend commented the other day that i was the most succinct txter she knows. I am pretty sure she wouldn't have any tweople or plurkers as friends... so i wonder if this has had an influence. I think this is a new topic to be explored next post...

Tai Tai Life: The next President? I don't think so.

2008-08-28T14:30:00.000+10:00

Tai Tai Life: The next President? I don't think so. Mrs Tai Tai this sounds like a very interesting course... but wow what a tricky situation you've put yourself in by having that particular case study - will the other person know that they were the other party in scenario? Good luck. BTW i don't think you've put in the comments option - do it in settings i think. This was the only way i could comment.

New design

2008-08-28T14:23:00.002+10:00

Welcome to my new design... hopefully this is a little bit more embracing the feel of this blog... and more pleasant to visit. The graphic encompasses the social, communications and cyclical aspects of communication. Let me know what you think.

Cloud computing... no... Cloud Parenting!

2008-08-11T17:55:00.003+10:00

As i drove to swimming lessons this morning, I zoned out of the banter/screeching going on in the back seat and was productively planning the rest of my day. Then i had a slight light bulb moment of 'hey - how did i plan that so clearly... normally it feels much harder'.

It's a little hard to explain to non-parents (and this certainly is not an anti post in anyway shape or form) and even non-full time caring parents that mostly your brain is just a fuzzy mess of absolutely everything... but it's not due to a lack of brain cells or capability, but because there is so much going on it's like a one of those clever visualisations of what the connected SocialMedia world looks like... a bit of a jumble really.

I recently read a friend's posts about her busy life, but from the different perspective of a Hong Kong mum. One thought that really struck home was the comment that she's busy by choice, I assume she meant that unlike her Aussie friends who were just bloody busy due to lack of help, she had the hired help to enable her to do it all.

I am not sure that's totally true that we are busy without choice; much of my busy-ness is 'self-inflicted' because I want to do it all. However, i have had to set self imposed limitations on the amount of things i get involved in - basically and inbuilt barometer telling me to stop or it will affect my family.

Over the last year, i have had to conciously focus on not getting so worked up, stressed and busy because it was affecting my family. My husband, who's job is rather stressful, was being affected by my stress, as were my kids... it's been a physical reaction for my husband with his skin being the outlet of the stress. The kids behaviour was their outlet... So I assessed and changed. But a big thing i've noticed is that it's affecting my 'clarity' so whilst my 'cloud parenting' is partially due to my busy-ness it's also because i have become less 'stressed' about it all... kind of 'mushy mum brain'. Hmmm... perhaps there is a switch i can turn... on 'Focussed Working Busy Mum' to 'Chilled out Happy Smiley Good Wife and Mum'... i'll let you know if i find it!

Welcome to Exploring Communications...

2008-07-15T13:31:00.001+10:00

These are my ponderings about how the communications in my sphere of influence are changing and how my sphere is growing exponentially as a result of my involvement in social media.

I have worked in the communications industry for 15 years in public relations, journalism and corporate writing. My blogging is not only a personal interest but an imperative to staying relevant in this growing world of social ineractivity.

I hope you enjoy and that my thoughts spark discussion amongst your networks... and i'd love to hear your thoughts whether you agree or disagree.

To blog or micro-blog???

2008-06-30T15:24:00.003+10:00

I am sure i am like many new bloggers... start a blog for a good solid purpose... write a few blogs... and then... well... run out of time.

It's what i feared when i started it, but didn't realise that as i embarked on it i would become addicted to alternative outlets. I have become a micro-blogger!! I started my addiciton with Twitter, and then it progressed to include Plurk... and i must say Plurk has kept my interest. I have not only 'met' some interesting people and learned some interesting things, from information about social media to some very amusing discussions about a toddlers reaction to Plurk.

Whilst i still agree there is a very valid reason for having a blog (I am currently writing an entry now, so i must), it sometimes feels like I am writing to no one but me. Which is okay in itself, but part of my purpose of of blogging, is to engage in discussion about the changing landscape of communications. I am finding i am getting far greater interaction via networks such as Plurk and Twitter. It will be interesting to come back to this in six months and see what i am using then! No doubt it will be something different... perhaps a hybrid Plitter?

If you'd like to interact with me in the micro-blogging world (www.twitter.com or www.plurk.com) you can find me as 'verbaw' - just connect to me and i'll accept your friendship! But by all means leave me a comment - it'll make me feel like it's being read by at least one person other than me!

Learning to trust... or not...

2008-05-09T13:35:00.003+10:00

The more I adopt social software and transact online the more I am discovering I have to trust people i don't know and may never meet... which doesn't come naturally to me in any way shape or form. It's certainly not a bad thing as imagine what an impact this will have for global communications over a period of time.

If you look at my previous world of social interaction... as a cancerian, I have a hard shell in which i can hide. Perfected over years it had become quite effective when required... But that was for 'hard copy' social interactions... now i am having more and more 'soft copy' social interactions it's a whole new ball game; with new rules, a new language and far less geographic boundaries.

Just over the last week i have had a number of interactions with eBay purchasers, emailing, calling and coming to pick up items won. Some of these interactions have been positive and some not so positive. In order to make the transaction possible i needed to have a certain degree of trust in these people. Add to this interactions I have with Twitter, Facebook, Brightkite, Blogs I realised that I am actually communicating far more with people I don't have any physical contact with than with the people I know in person.

Then this leads me to think about the value of a hard copy as opposed to a soft copy, interaction. Do humans need to have hard copy interactions to exist as 'normal' human beings... if all you had were soft copy social networks how would humans evolve differently? What will happen to our language and what will my two and four year old be doing when they're in their thirties???

When I was young I was taught not to trust strangers... but what do i teach my children, now that I am having to cross my traditional boundaries. If people followed these traditional boundaries then all these fabulous online communities wouldn't be germinating. I am not really sure there is an answer to this pondering... but it's been good exploring it.

Diary of a writer

2008-05-07T14:28:00.002+10:00

I went to see a memory evoking play at the ensemble just recently, about a cab driver during the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It was very humorous and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who was in Sydney at this time.

I don't often get to go out to plays (as a mum I don't go out much at all really - stop the violins... I am okay about it... really!), and so it was rather intense sitting in the theatre in the round, while this almost soliloquy unfolded to a world that I totally related to. Coupled with the fact that play was structured like a daily diary, it interestingly was also quite familiar territory to my new 'social' interactions online.
Note to self: I must endeavour to see more plays as mixed media helps to expand the mind!

Time for some words...

2008-04-16T16:12:00.000+10:00

Well this is my very first post and rather than completely stress over the amazing points I could make, I will use this opportunity to just banter about why I have finally made it to blogging.

My main barrier to entry was the fact that i really didn't feel like i had anything of general interest to say... it's certainly not to say that I have no confidence in what i have to say... just that i wasn't really quite sure what people wanted to hear. The inner 'professional writer' in me was planning for my audience rather than just writing.

However, since embarking on the micro-blogging world of twitter (www.twitter.com - find me @verbAW), i have come to the realisation that if you don't start communicating you don't really know what it's about.

So here I am... embarking on a new world of communication with the aim of staying relevant:

Personally - so that when my kids start communicating online I will actually understand what is going on; and
Professionally - because as a writer, I could find my income source dry up if I don't get involved in the relationship economy/web 2.0/social media.