Just about everyone here in the office is a gadget hound.
We love reading up on the latest time sucking gizmos that seem to pop up daily. So, when it was announced that Google TV would soon be available for purchase, our own Digital Media Director, Matt Zumstein, decided he would take the plunge and buy one.
Below is Matt’s experience with Google TV:
I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about a new product coming out as I was with Google TV. A TV/box that could stream the Internet and allow consumers to interact and download any application in the Android store, what’s not to get excited about?
The first day it was available to the public I reached out to a buddy of mine at Google who granted me a 20% discount, even more reason to get excited. I ordered the Sony blue ray Google TV that night and counted the days until it arrived. My wife and I had already created plans to cut cable and stream directly from Hulu and CBS interactive.
The day it arrived, all I could think of was coming home and playing with my new toy. Setting it up was not difficult and took probably twenty minutes. I quickly jumped on Hulu only to get the dreaded error message:
“We see you are trying to access Hulu through Google TV. Hulu is not currently allowing streaming through Google TV but we are working hard to bring you Hulu Plus”.
As multiple obscenities left my mouth I realized the kids were in the other room and I needed to tone it down.
I quickly checked CBS.com, ABC.com & NBC.com only to receive the same error message. My wife and I looked at each other in disappointment but tried to stay optimistic. We went on TBS.com, TNT.com & HGTV.com and found videos we could stream; however the experience was not the same.
TNT videos minimize at every commercial break and you need to manually put back onto full screen.
We also checked out Youtube only to find the quality of the videos on an HDTV was poor at best. We even tried to stream from Fancast which a lot of bloggers were saying was the current work around.
Our first reaction was to return the product immediately since there was no value for us. But again we wanted to stay optimistic about a product I spent the last three weeks dreaming about. Realistically we knew that Google would not strike a deal with the major networks anytime in the near future. But we thought maybe we could justify our purchase with the app store.
Quickly we found out there was no app store, just 8-10 pre loaded applications (most of them paid apps).
While having Vevo as an app and being able to stream from Netflix was cool I couldn’t justify the $400 purchase to my wife or even to myself. It was time to return it.
I called Sony up and stated my case and let them know Google TV was blocked from all the major players. The first person I spoke with told me I could return it but I would have to eat the $10+ shipping cost. Maybe I was a little emotional from my recent disappointment but that was not the answer I was looking for.
Next I was told that I would need to speak with someone from Sony’s technical service department to confirm that the product was not as advertised. After being bounced around a couple departments I finally reached someone who could help me, but unfortunately my phone died and I had to start the process all over again. It was just one of those days.
Finally I spoke with someone at Sony but they swore they could stream Hulu, which I quickly correct by pointing them to several blog postings stating otherwise.
At last I convinced them it was false advertising when I asked them where I could stream the program “Community” which was advertised on all of the TV’s on their website.
Long story short, I spent about two and a half hours with at least five people in customer service and I think I am finally going to be able to save that $10 shipping cost I was so adamant on saving.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that the technology is present to stream anything on the web and even download apps specifically from the Android store (Google TV says coming in early 2011 now). The future versions of this product will definitely be something to get excited about, once all the major players are on board.
Personally I am going to wait till version 2.0 or 3.0 comes out before I take a risk on this again.
But until then I’m rating this product 2 out of 5 stars.
Posted in
interactive,
technology Tags:
communication,
customer service,
google,
googletv,
interactive,
internet,
sony,
television,
video,
youtube
One of the best things about the social media space is that there is always something new to learn. During my recent travels I picked up quite a bit of knowledge at a conference called BlogWorld and New Media Expo. It is held annually in Las Vegas, and as far a big conferences go, it’s a real value.
This year was no exception. I took a book worth of notes while I was there, and thought I would share some highlights from Scott Stratten’s keynote.
We’ve shared a presentation of Scott’s here on our blog, and I’d recommend checking it out if you are not familiar with his presentation style. He pretty much set the stage for the entire conference.
You are always marketing
- Marketing is not a task, if you have a potential engagement w/ a customer, consumer, anyone, then you are marketing.
- Everyone in your company is a marketer
- Stand up for what you believe in when you blog. Blog when you have something to say.
- Your blog is your marketing department.
- If you don’t get people or like people, don’t use social media.
Enable the sharing
- The reasons why people share things have not changed. How they spread it has.
- People don’t spread “meh”, they spread amazing and awesome. Be amazing and be awesome.
- Your job when blogging is to get people excited when you do post and want to share it. Make people stop what they are doing and read your post.
- It’s not your job to tell someone how to consume you content. Your job is to to get them to consume it, period.
What’s New in Social Media Scott?
- Forget about “what’s new in Social Media”. Let’s focus on now.
- Social Media doesn’t change the fact that 1) relationships take time and 2) we need to still focus on products and service.
- If you do not have your blog mobile enabled, you are stopping the spread. You are losing readers. Don’t make people jump through hoops to read your content, because they wont.
- Social Media success doesn’t exist. It amplifies what you have – good or bad. If your products or service suck, then social media makes your product suck more.
The Deal w/ SEO
- Rule #1 – write great freakin content.
- The more you engage, the better you will be with social media. But you have to put in the work. You can’t short cut relationships.
- If you are a business, then your social media channels are an extension of your customer service.
- If you are online, your customers will expect you to be immediately present.
ROI
- We hold ROI to social media much harder. What is the ROI of talking and networking? Doesn’t matter if you believe in social media.
- The time issue is the big one but the return of social media is not immediate.
- If your market is people and your niche are humans, then they are there. If you don’t want to be there, then don’t use social media.
Closing Statements
Scott ended his keynote with a request to ignore the haters.
The people who bait you. Let them hate you. Do what you love. Follow your passions. Don’t feed the haters.
He also stressed that one the best things in business is to have someone give you honest and substantial critical feedback.
—
Solid stuff.
I’ll share more from BlogWorld as I clean up my notes.
Scott recently published a new book, “UNMarketing”, and is currently on a book tour. Picture taken by Allison Boyer for BlogWorld Expo
Posted in
events,
social media Tags:
blogging,
blogs,
blogworld,
communication,
conferences,
content,
customer service,
how to,
marketing,
mobile,
products,
relationships,
roi,
SEO,
social media,
speaking
In a world of Google Business reviews, Angie’s list, personal blogs and countless restaurant reviews on sites like Urban Spoon, I simply don’t understand why ANY business would not try at least to provide the best customer service as possible.
There is a huge amount of power and importance that comes with a referral, more so than any amount of advertising or promotional materials can achieve. Everyone who interacts with your business could potentially talk about you to someone they know, or post a review online – so why not make that reference a positive one?
Customer service does not have to be large gestures, more often, it’s simple courtesies. You’d be surprised how much it means to simply acknowledge a customer or to thank one for his or her business. You can offer free samples, email an update on a project, follow up to get input, or just offer advice, whether or not it results in a sale.
Internal customer service is important as well, because happy employees make customers happy. Treat your co-workers as you would a customer. Offer to help when they are busy, cover a shift, stay late with them to finish a project on the deadline. By having a strong internal customer service, it will result in a stronger external customer service.
No one can make everyone happy all the time – you will receive a bad review. Once you find these bad reviews, respond immediately and decisively. Contact the reviewer to see if there is any way you can fix the problem. If there is no solution, acknowledge the problem and tell them how you are going to change things so that problem will not happen again.
Good customer service is ultimately good for business no matter what business you are in. So make sure it is a strong part of your business and your culture. In a world driven by reviews and referrals you can’t afford not to.
Posted in
general Tags:
customer service,
reviews,
word of mouth
Recently I came across this presentation by my friend and social media/marketing professional, Scott Stratten.
Scott has a style all his own when it comes to talking about the social web and how we all need to start thinking differently when it comes to communicating online. Check out his presentation as he talks about:
- Getting people to your door
- Making it easy for them to open that door
- Using social media only if you are going to be there too
- How social media is an extension of customer service and communication of your brand
- How too many companies are faking passion and authenticity
- Selling Social Media as Influence
- Why social media doesn’t cure sucking (think BP)
- Why emotion is the new vehicle
- The three pillars of the social web: Know – Like – Trust
- How ROI is not the point
- Building relationships and creating life long value
- Owning your platform, and owning your content
Scott has a new book, “UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging” due out this fall. He will also be stopping by Detroit’s Social Media Club during his Unbook Tour in September.
Posted in
social media Tags:
authenticity,
business,
communication,
content,
customer service,
detroit,
emotion,
marketing,
passion,
realtionships,
social media,
social media club,
social web,
trust
Just about everyone here in the office is a gadget hound.
