Tag Archives: technology

July 9, 2012 · 9:38 am

Goal-Line Technology And Your Business

The lords of international soccer recently gave their approval for the use of technology that can tell if a ball crossed the goal-line for a goal.

a soccer goal, shot on the German »Chambers Le...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Revolutionary for soccer but the same technology has been in use for tennis for quite some time. We’ve all seen the cool animations CBS provides during the U.S. Open although frankly I’d rather see another McEnroe tirade than an absolutely correct call.

The use of technology to improve upon the imperfections of human officials is widespread.  The NFL uses TV replay to get things right, as does the NHL and, to a more limited extent baseball.  Be that as it may, there was an interesting quote in the Reuters report on the introduction:

UEFA president Michel Platini is among those who fear that Thursday’s ruling will open the floodgates for other forms of technology to be introduced.  “I am not just wholly against goal-line technology, I am against technology itself because then it is going to invade every area of football,” he warned last week.

Sounds like quite the Luddite, but he’s not alone.  Baseball doesn’t use technology to call balls and strikes although it seems possible.  Other sports don’t employ technology, preferring to let the quirks of human referees remain part of the game.  What does this have to do with your business?

Your business might be in the same boat.  Developing strategies without planning a set of KPI’s to measure progress is the same mentality.  Not having a system in place to capture, analyze, and report on what’s going on the digital world is as well.  You wouldn’t dream of operating a business without some sort of financial reporting yet we often ignore many other pieces of vital information that could help us make the correct calls.

The technology in place won’t end all of the questionable goal calls in soccer.  That’s OK – we’re still talking about some of them (The Hand of God goal) 25 years later.  But if we’re to be talking about our businesses 25 years from now, we’d do well to take advantage of every piece of information we can.

You agree?

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June 28, 2012 · 9:25 am

Out Firefoxed

A few days ago, videos stopped playing nicely on one of the computers we use here at The World Headquarters.

Image representing Firefox as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

It happened right after a Firefox update. Now, while it’s not a computer (or browser) I use very often, other team members use it regularly and they need to watch videos from time to time. I spent the better part of an hour diagnosing the problem (since I’m the I.T. guy around here) and after reading a lot of web postings in which Mozilla blamed Adobe (it’s a Flash problem), and vice-versa (it’s fine on other browsers) and where they both blamed Real Player, I’d had enough. I had spent several more hours updating video drivers, uninstalling and reinstalling components, tweaking settings, rolling back to old versions, and wading through the general snark that’s around the various support sites that mention this issue. No, it’s not resolved, but it’s not an issue any more. I installed Chrome on the damn thing and that is that.

So here’s the broader business point.  According to Adobe’s site, the issue is fixed.  Mozilla says the same since they give you a few workarounds.  How can I sum that up politely?  Hogwash?  A load of crap?  Who are you going to believe – me or your lying eyes?  The very last thing we as businesspeople want is for our installed base (customers to you non-tech types) to migrate to an alternate solution (blow us off for a competitor, in English).  I’ve been using Firefox since the early days.  I’m now gone forever, and I understand I’m not alone.

How would I have handed it?  Transparently:  we have a problem, we don’t have a fix that works for sure so we’re suggesting you roll back to an earlier version – here’s the link as to how to do it.  I’d say it loudly and in as public a way as I could.  I certainly would NOT suggest users turn off high-end video acceleration (those cards are expensive), uninstall other software, disable virus protection (seriously?) or muck about in configuration files that are best left to people with Computer Science degrees.

Stuff happens.  It doesn’t go away when we deny it, minimize the issue, or suggest things we don’t know for sure will solve the problem.  The only thing that does go away are customers.  We’re happily watching video on another browser.  People have choices about most products.  Keep that in mind and work hard to earn their trust and business.  You’ll need it when the fan is turned on and something hits it.

Thoughts?

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June 6, 2012 · 8:20 am

Where Have You Been?

Miss me?  The screed was silent the last two days.  I did what for some is the unthinkable – I took a break.  For the 18th consecutive year, 11 of my dearest friends and I went away to play golf.  At least, that was the original idea.  It turns out, however, that the trip is more about hanging around with the other guys, laughing, playing cards, eating too much, and generally decompressing than it is playing golf.  All of us are over 50; some are over 60.  Everyone is in a senior position within their business and industry.  Everyone carries a smart phone of some type and most everyone had a laptop along on the trip.  What was interesting was how some of the guys chose to use them and this is the point I’d like to make today.

I often rode in a van (we travel with 4 guys in each van) with a guy who immediately got on the phone to do business as soon as the door to the van shut.  An efficient use of time but it had a couple of negative effects.  Obviously, we had to turn down the music in the car and couldn’t talk very loudly to one another.  More importantly, it was a subtle reminder to those of us who were trying to tune out the “real” world for a couple of days and enjoy the benefits of a vacation – lowered stress, avoiding burnout, etc. that the rest of the world hadn’t taking a break and maybe we shouldn’t be either.

A couple of other guys jumped on their laptops to do business in one suite apart from the rest of the group and it wasn’t a 5 minute mail check – it was an hour or more each day.  Where I drew the line was the guys who were taking business calls on the golf course.  Fortunately, each time they did it there was a $5 fine paid into the group’s pool for tips, etc.

This isn’t a rant against the technology.  Instead, it’s a rant against those of us who can’t take a break.  I like to think of myself as a responsible businessperson but part of being responsible is putting in place a support system to handle stuff when you’re not there (or get sick!) as well as communicating to others that you are taking a break.  The break helps you better serve them, keeps you fresh, often generates news ideas and helps you live longer (there is research!).

Where have I been?  Recharging my batteries.  Thanks for caring!

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