C3

Hi – My name is Bob MacKie. I spent many years in the Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) business and some of that involved discussions with Consulting Engineers. I had already done a post on web based customer communication and business in general when my friend Ken Sinclair asked me how web2.0 might affect the constituents and readers of AutomatedBuildings.com who are involved with computerized control of HVAC as well as other automated services within buildings. This post which has been published in AutomatedBuildings.com allows me to put forward some ideas about how web technologies might affect communication and collaboration in the design, construction and service of commercial buildings.

Communication and Collaboration

It does not seem that long ago that the fax was the latest cool tool for communication.   However, relatively recently, I cancelled the phone line for my fax machine. I was not using it anymore, all I was getting on it was ads for promotional items and the line was ridiculously expensive. I have been scanning drawings and illustrations and emailing photos for some time. Anything that does not fit on my flatbed scanner, I ship. (I must admit that I still drive to the library to pick up a book; but that’s because I like libraries and I like books. After a hard day at the laptop screen, it’s nice to settle down with a book before I watch a downloaded movie.)

Communication technologies have changed and evolved a great deal over the years. Some technologies have longer lives than others. Mail will probably be with us for many years to come but use is declining. I would not want to be working for a newspaper or magazine these days.

Even collaboration has changed over the years. It used to be that when working on a project; to attend a meeting or conference; you got in your car, then a plane, then another car, then a hotel, then you had your meeting (at which the participant’s average contribution was the reciprocal of the number of participants at the meeting and if there were more than three people involved everybody could not see the drawings at the same time), then you reversed the process to go home. Now people are meeting online, participants are multitasking with side chats or dealing with other issues online while topics not pertinent to them are being discussed, everyone can see the drawings . . . and photos . . . and video . . . and web links. When the meeting is over, participants close their laptop, walk into another room and have dinner at home.

New and different tools help communication and collaboration to change;   but most importantly, the users have to change. Twas ever thus; imagine a business man who took the time to draft a letter or telegram to a colleague or customer; to have to get used to dealing in real time . . . on the telephone. Although there were huge advantages to getting feedback and answers to questions right away; the telephone must have been daunting at first to some. I can see the parallels with the situation today. There would have been early technology adopters willing to pay big bucks for early telephone prototypes and put up with poor service. Then they would have to deal with the fact that many of their customers and colleagues did not have telephones or had them but didn’t like to use them. After all, telephones were new. It seems odd now, but people had to learn how to use telephones.

What do you say when you pick up? (Social protocol)

Can others hear my conversation? (Security protocol)

Finally the attitude – “If he wants my business he will damn well come and see me or write a letter. I am too busy to deal with this new stuff!” (Customer protocol)J

Nice Tools but who is using them?

There are some slick tools out there. Probably more than you thought. Have a look at this mind map of the Best Online Collaboration Tools of 2009. On second thought, maybe don’t bother; there are so many it’s hard to fit on one page and still be able to make out the fine print. There are plenty of tools and more coming. Google is currently testing Google Wave. It’s all the rage amongst the geeks, and for good reason. Some say it could replace email. Replace email . . . I just got the contacts in my Outlook organized and synched with my IPod . . . is there no end to this! No, there isn’t.

Adoption of these changes is more about people than technology. I was listening to an interview with a bestselling author that likes to write longhand and use a typewriter. He, of course, being a bestselling author, has that option. I also understand he is a workaholic that hardly ever stops writing.

As far as adopting these tools go, I am lucky. I like this stuff so I spend lots of time, maybe too much time, checking out all the new tools. I am a little unusual in that regard for a man that saw one of the first telex machines being displayed at Bell in his early twenties. I am an early adopter and apparently a statistical anomaly. My children are digital natives. They don’t need to adopt these tools, they grew up with them.

When people talk about Web2.0, they are really talking about a social phenomenon. It is not about technology, it is about being willing to use the technological tools to publish your pictures on the net, to put up your restaurant review, to answer someone’s question on a forum, in general to participate socially on the web. For anyone that wants to see how researchers are classifying folks on the web, have a look at the book “Groundswell” by Forrester Research or click here for a quick synopsis of their classification.

The answer to the question is lots of people are using these tools. Facebook has more than 300 million active users.

But that’s got little to do with the construction business right? Facebook is how you keep in touch with friends.

That is for the most part true. Forrester just came out with a study on “State Of US Workforce Technology”. The Executive Summary states:

“Gen Y is four times more likely to visit a social networking site at home than they are to use one for work purposes. But if they are unable to bring their Social Computing habits and sensibility to work, Gen Yers can at least use their personal mobile phones to text to stay in touch with friends and communicate with colleagues. In fact, mobility is the defining difference of Gen Y at work: They are much more likely than their older colleagues to use smartphones for work purposes.”

So the young folks use their smartphones for work and I assume that is for more than making phone calls, although I am not prepared to pay Forrester US$1749 to find out exactly what they are doing with them. However, 300 million people using Facebook is a lot of people, period. They are using the web, posting comments, sharing ideas, likes and dislikes and 70% are outside of the US. This is a worldwide phenomenon. It is also not only the gen Y/echo baby boomer/younger folk – the fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older. There are a great number of people using social networks. If you are not convinced watch this. Still not convinced?

Linked In, which is a much more business oriented site, passed 50 million users in October. That is a lot of people too. Half are from the US; 11 million are from Europe and India. With 3 million users, India is the fastest-growing country as of 2009. (Source Wikipedia Nov 23, 2009.)

There is a shortage of good business sites that appeal to communities of practice in a business environment. For example, HVAC controls people go to AutomatedBuildings.com to find out what is happening in the industry, but where do they go when they want to post something themselves. Imagine you have a job problem or question in front of you that you need an answer to. Your buddy at the next desk is out. You don’t want to ask your boss. You can’t contact your supplier rep.  You have tried the supplier’s web site but you are really looking for whether somebody has tried a different solution. If there was a web site for HVAC controls people with a forum; you could post your question and get an answer. There are a number of companies that are doing this right now. Dell is one. Their customers and users are a large part of their customer support.

It works. I will keep you posted on this. I should have more news next month on community of practice software.

So What?

Technology have always been changing – trains to planes; mail to telegraph to telephone to fax to email to Wave. (I will come back to Wave at the end). Businesses change too or at least they do if the folks in them decide to change.

So what is the big deal?

This is not a crisis; it is an opportunity. Take the time to have a look.

For software, there are companies like Aconex that specialize in collaborative technology for construction firms; also known as document sharing.  Google “Online Document Management Construction” for a wealth of software. You can also go to Capterra; look in the left column; tick “Collaboration Management” and then click on “filter now” and you will have a list of 50 different software packages. No shortage of software to choose from.

Are you an expert from afar? Large companies with experts from afar can take advantage of these tools provided the expert from afar is willing to do so. Time management does not have to mean typing on your laptop on a plane with your elbows tight to your sides while hoping the person in front doesn’t put their seat back. (Bob’s addendum to Murphy ’s Law – airplane application – the probability of the person in front of you putting their seat back is directly related to the sum of how important the document is plus how late you are to submit it.) Also, sitting in your car on a Sunday afternoon driving to Lower Podunk so that you will be on time for the Monday morning meeting is not time management.

See that twenty something kid Tweeting his/her friends via his/her cel phone . . . they are digital natives. They will feel quite comfortable in a virtual meeting or contributing in a webinar. Learn to use the technology. A web cam costs $50.

Green buildings are from green companies? How many internal company meetings do you drive to . . . so you can sit and listen . . . do you get to see the drawings? I saw a neat sign the other day “Fight terrorism – ride a bike”. Whether you care more about cost of gas or cost to planet; it makes sense to web commute and collaborate.

I will wrap up here with another tool that is coming along that seems to nicely combine communication and collaboration called Google Wave. It is simple to use but not easy to explain. Probably the best explanations are the videos that are out on YouTube. You can find the links on my site. Rosy is a Google Wave add on that does translation in real time. Again it is best to see the video and imagine what that might be able to do for your business someday where you and your customer or client do not use the same language.

Invitations to use Google wave are hard to come by right now; but if you do get one  . . . Wave me at robertbmackie@googlewave.com . If I don’t respond, email me at RobertBMacKie@gmail.com . I am only waving with a few folks right now because Wave is in beta testing and outside emails are not yet integrated. Also I have to use my Google Chrome browser because Dimdim, which is a free video enabled web meeting site I like to use, balks at the Google Chrome add-in window on the Internet Explorer 8 browser working with Windows 7 operating system. However, Dimdim assures me that glitch will be sorted out by next week. Isn’t this stuff fun! Actually, it can be. Of course there will be glitches and frustrations along the way, similar to that tough telephone adaptation your father or Grandfather had to go through . . . you however will be required to adapt more quickly.

A Quotation, a Colloquialism and Amusement:

“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”  - Darwin (2009 is the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth)

“Adapt or die.” – Colloquial form of the quotation above.

Amusement – If you haven’t seen the web site “The Darwin Awards” – in their words – “Honoring those who improve the species…by accidentally removing themselves from it!” it is worth a look.

How C3 can Help

C3 can help the people within your business adapt to, become familiar with, adopt and use Web2.0.  It is a major change in communication and collaboration . . . one that can possibly improve your customer relations.

There are lots of possibilities . . . contact me and we can discuss pragmatic possibilities.

Thanks for your time,

Bob, Salt Spring Island

Hi – My name is Bob MacKie and this post is about corporate reputation, trust, Web2.0 and “word of mouth” becoming “word of web”. 

Web2.0 – A Major Paradigm Shift for Business

I recently listened to a video called Building private-sector diplomacy from the McKinsey Quarterly.  McKinsey is a large US consulting firm and the video was of Richard Edelman a Public Relations expert in New York who was talking about corporate reputation and trust.

I think he hit upon some of the key differences that managers in today’s business landscape face. He talked about:

•  Being solely profit motivated as in the Milton Friedman model no longer applies – shareholder value includes reputation and mutual social responsibility.
• You can be a great communicator but actions must match words.
• Business is accustomed to talk at people and is not participating on social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Companies must have their own media and include the good, the bad and the ugly.
• A democratic and decentralized world is foreign to companies. We have the knowledge and you don’t, so we will decide; no longer works.
• There is a dispersion of authority – people now have to read something 5 times before achieving belief. Not so long ago it was two times. It is a lack of trust environment.
• Evening news has 1/3 the viewership it used to. Society is not authority driven, it is experience driven.
• People share things on social networks because it will benefit the next person.  Some have described this as the move from an information to a collaboration economy.

The key components here speak to a huge communication difference driven by what is called Web2.0. The fact that communication was always from corporate or organizational authority figures to the masses was not because people (the masses) had nothing to say . . . they just had no way of saying it other than to those they came into contact with. Corporations always knew the power of word of mouth in purchasing decisions and reputation. Now there is the power of word of web by blogs, wikis, reputation and review capabilities on ordering sites such as Amazon all over the internet. 

Web2.0 and Your Customers

Google “nike site:youtube.com” and you will get over 735,000 hits. (Which I have a hard time believing; but  . . .).  That includes many Nike ads that I am sure they would love to have people see on YouTube; but it also includes one titled “Human trafficking in Nike’s sweatshop factory in Malaysia” that they are likely not so happy about.

Your customers can now be heard.  Maybe you should be talking to them. There are lots of possibilities . . . contact me and we can discuss pragmatic possibilities.

Thanks for your time,

Bob, Salt Spring Island

Click here to link to a McKinsey study on Business and Web 2.0.

Customer Communication and Web2.0

Hi – My name is Bob MacKie and this post is about web based customer communication and your business.

Web Based Communication – Good or Bad for Your Business?

You have undoubtedly noticed that the internet is changing the way people communicate in some fundamental ways. There are good and bad aspects to this; however, it is important to realize that the good and bad aspects are not attributes of the technology itself but of how it is used. Of course choosing the right technology can have a major effect on how it is used; but the main point is there is nothing intrinsically right or wrong, useful or not about the technology itself.

Some people have learned how to use web based technology effectively and some find it exasperating and irritating. It is important to your business to ensure that your customers are not in the latter category when receiving communications from the people within your company. To gain competitive advantage and to build good relationships with your customers it is crucial to pay attention to web based communication. You may feel that many or even most of your customers are not web friendly. The truth is that it is especially for those customers that you have to ensure your web communications are top notch.

Web Communication Channels and Competition

I am not just talking emails here. Web based customer communication includes your web site, how your customers order their products, how you distribute your literature and finally and most importantly how your employees communicate with their customers via email, web based meetings, web based training, web based promotions . . . the list goes on. You may not be using many of these communication channels but you can rest assured that if you are not over the next few years your competitors will be. And . . . they will be able to communicate at lower cost and often more effectively than you. You must incorporate web based technology or become less efficient and effective than your competition.

How do I know this? I have seen it happening as I imagine you have. Research supports us. Web traffic is forecast to increase close to 50% per year over the next few years. This is not just Facebook traffic, video downloads and porn. Business to business traffic is growing as is business to consumer traffic.

Your Customers are Talking – Are they talking to you?

The major shift however is not business to consumer or from your business to your business’s customer; it is consumer to business, customer to business and amongst customers.  Never before have individual customers and consumers had the ability to communicate and collaborate with you; rate and discuss you with others in public forums that are open to anyone. Let me give you one practical example. United Airlines broke a singer’s guitar. After compensation was turned down, he wrote a song about the incident and put it on YouTube. It went viral. In a few months there were over 5 million views.

There are web sites where customers are encouraged to rate restaurants, doctors and hotels. There are forums where people discuss their problems and search for solutions.  This is part of what is called Web2.0. The Wikipedia article on Web2.0 notes that the 2006 TIME magazine Person of The Year was “You.”  That is, TIME selected the masses of users who were participating in content creation on social networks, blogs, wikis, and media sharing sites. The cover story author Lev Grossman explains:

“It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people’s network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It’s about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.”

How C3 can Help

C3 can help the people within your business adapt to, become familiar with, adopt and use Web2.0.  It is a major change in communication and collaboration . . . one that can possibly improve your customer relations.

Give me a call . . . surprised I’m not suggesting an email? Well, you can do that too, but a call is more personal. Actually, we could Skype or use MS Live Meeting or GoToMeeting if you subscribe. If you don’t use a web based meeting service, we could use one of the free services.  Then if you have a web cam we could talk face to face . . . sort of . . . really we will be virtually face to face.

There are lots of possibilities . . . contact me and we can discuss pragmatic possibilities.

Thanks for your time,

Bob, Salt Spring Island

Here is a link to a McKinsey study on Business and Web 2.0:

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_and_Web_20_An_interactive_feature_2431?pagenum=1#interactive