In fact, they’re the only sensible option.
Some people say that custom-built computer systems involve too much cost, time and risk. They say that it is better to take pre-existing, off-the-shelf products from software companies, and then adapt your business to make use of them. I disagree. In this current technological environment, custom-built applications are not just feasible, but they are more beneficial than ever. Read More »
Apparently these days they do research into research. Fair enough. In Australia, we charge tax on taxes, victimise victims, and lots of other amusingly repetitive-sounding fun.
Not only that, but some bastard has been plagiarising! Naughty boy! It’s because of filthy cheats like him that I have to wade through 15 pages of “Plagiarism Policy” at work, uni and home. (“Oh wow, you would not believe the dream I had last night.” “Pat before you tell me, remember the plagiarism policy. You’re not allowed to have dreams that are the same as TV shows.”)
So plagiarism is apparently a huge problem, understated by all accounts. In fact, plagiarism is so prevalent that someone will plagiarise an article about plagiarism! What will we do about it? Read More »
Brad Isaacs writes at Lifehacker that as long as you keep notes, you can avoid a lot of problems with communication and expectations. For example, taking notes on your boss’ requests helps you “prove” your understanding of the request to them, when they expect something different a week later.
But notes are no more reliable than human memories, from the point of view of other people. There’s two issues: people record their mistaken beliefs (sometimes they just plain lie in their notes), and people forge notes.
Sure, you can accurately record that “On Monday 11 a.m., Wendy asked for a green TPS report to be finished by Wednesday at 3 p.m.”
However, so many things can go wrong. In one scenario, Wendy asked for a red TPS report, and you wrote it down wrong. In another scenario, Wendy needs the report by Tuesday; you deliberately wrote down Wednesday so that you can take your time. In another scenario, Wendy never asked for any report; you just wrote it down (on Thursday) to make it look like you did lots of work this week.
Having said that, notes can be really useful when appropriate. In my line of work, we take notes on our our work and our clients. Since our stakeholders are happy to assume that our computer systems are reliable, our notes are taken to have been written in accordance with the time stamp. Notes also help the organisation to give evidence, even when the individual who wrote the notes has moved on. In any case, the courts will only believe the notes to the extent that they trust the individuals who wrote them, and the organisation that produced them as “evidence”.
So yeah, notes are great for reminding yourself of things. But all they prove to other people is that you like to take notes. Even then it’s not conclusive proof.
What is piece-rate pay? Have you even heard the term? I hadn’t, before tonight. It’s basically any system where you are paid in proportion to your output, rather than by the hour. For example, telemarketers who are paid per call, salesmen paid by commission, and bloggers paid per affiliate sale.
Employees are often scared of being shifted off hourly rates, on to piece-rate pay. Yet there are sometimes opportunities to earn far more through piece-rate systems. So let’s look at why they might be scared.
Fear of piece-rate pay comes from two sources:
It occurred to me that Al Gore is a fantastic example for people who want to make money through Internet marketing. Here’s my hypothesis, let me know what you think:
He’s become the master speaker on global warming. The go-to guy for that market. Like a niche blogger, he attracts crowds every time he opens his mouth about his specialist topic. His job is to jet-set around the globe, light a hot fire under people’s butts, and get the word out about the inconvenient truth of global warming.
So what, he’s an effective public speaker, a former vice-president of his country, and he wants to make a difference in the world. What’s that got to do with Internet Marketing? Or even internet marketing, for that matter.
Well, here’s my idea:
Credibility. Al Gore has credibility. Whether you’re a pot-smoking Democrat, a baby-eating Republican, or simply not an American, people all over the globe take Al Gore seriously. Sure, not everybody does. Not everybody takes Ed Dale seriously. And not everybody takes the Chaser boys seriously. But, like a good niche blogger, Al Gore does have credibility: that means that when he opens his mouth and talks about global warming, people listen. If Al Gore had a blog about global warming, people would subscribe to it. (I think he does, but I couldn’t find it.)
Frequent communication, without explicit selling. How many check moves do you personally get every week from Al Gore. Well, if you’re me, he rings up every second night crying for me to come back to him. But even you probably still get all kinds of communications from him. You watched his movie. You saw him in the newspaper. If you’re in the US of A, you listened to his campaigns and decided not to vote for him. But in any case, you still hear Al Gore’s message all the time. But does he say things like “buy my book”, “I sell carbon credits”, or “HOW I HALVED MY CARBON FOOTPRINT IN TEN DAYS”?
Products. Did you even notice, or did he sneak it past you too? Al Gore, and his companies, sell seminars, movies, carbon offsets, consulting services, and who knows what else. He has commercial relationships with hybrid car manufacturers. Every time Al Gore promotes his climate change cause, he also promotes these products. It’s a big conversation with the world, and every time he communicates, it gives the world a chance to buy his products.
Profits from not only the products, but also the communications themselves. This point is where Al Gore is like a blogger with Adsense on their blog. See, Al Gore’s speaking tours are great for the cause, and great for promoting his products. But they also provide for him financially. He makes money in the process of encouraging people up to make money off them… even if the people at the seminars and cinemas don’t end up buying carbon credits or hybrid cars… a true money machine.
Oh yeah, and YouTube. Everybody loves YouTube, even if the YouTube data centres are just big blocks of carbon-burping electricity-guzzling non-recyclable something-something I need beer! My rants are lame, but this video is funny.
Well, wouldn’t anyone agree that Al Gore is the ultimate (hybrid-fuel) Internet-marketing idol?
