I’m a Customer and I Have a Question … Should I …

March 23, 2009 at 11:06 pm · Filed under Communities, Product Management, Web 2.0, Web Apps, social media, social tools

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… 1) send an email, 2) try to call ( into the hell of “Press 1 for …, Press 2 for …” ) or should I just 3) put it out on Twitter ?

Well, it seems that Salesforce.com is getting ready to bet on Door #3 above.

It’s not too much of a stretch to wonder how quickly this will affect the call-center work force of the future. 

Here’s the direct quote from Salesforce.com’s SVP of customer service and support:

“While $20 billion of software is being spent on call centers, the customers are somewhere else,” he said.”

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Salesforce jumps on the Twitter-for-CRM bandwagon

By Caroline McCarthy

“Twitter customer service: It’s the hot new thing that all the kids are doing! Salesforce has added a new application to its “app exchange” so that clients who use its Service Cloud product can better wrangle Twitter for customer service purposes. It’ll be available this summer.

With the app, called Salesforce CRM for Twitter, clients can monitor Twitter messages that pertain to their company, aggregate the replies and conversations around those messages, and then respond to the inquiries and complaints and whatnot.

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Read the whole CNET article here … 

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“5 Big Ideas for Getting All That Work Done” - recording of The AppGap webinar now available

March 19, 2009 at 10:44 am · Filed under AppGap Tips, Product Management, Talent Management, Technology Management, Webinar

As you know if you’re a regular reader of this blog, The AppGap last week hosted a discussion called “5 Big Ideas for Getting All That Work Done.” Moderated by AppGap contributor Anita Campbell, who was joined by leading commentators Jonathan Fields and John Jantsch, the webinar explored and shared insights on handling workloads that, in many cases, have only increased and gotten more stressful in these challenging economic times.

The major takeaways the discussion sought to explore:

• How to automate what you hate
• How going virtual can help
• How being “social” at work is good for business
• How to reframe what you do
• And how to get your head in the cloud, i.e., move more work to the web

See the end of this post to access the recording of the great conversation - hit play to hear it in place or download it as a podcast for later listening.

We hope you find it of interest and want to take the opportunity to point you to several other webinars The AppGap has hosted: Should your Business be friends with Facebook? from last June and a broad discussion on The Future of Work from early last year.

 

 Standard Podcast [59:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Protecting (or Retrieving) Your Laptop

August 1, 2008 at 10:37 am · Filed under Distributed Work, Product Management, Reviews, Security

( This is a cross-post from the Future of Work blog.)

One of the real downsides of this “Age of Mobility” is the risk of losing your laptop - or, more likely, having it stolen from a coffee shop or even an office. It’s especially a problem as these devices get smaller and smaller, and we become more and more dependent on them

Well, today’s [July 31] San Francisco Chronicle included a short note about a new, free software package that you can install on your laptop to help you find it when it’s gone missing (”One Way to Keep Track of your Lost Laptop“).

I guess it works sort of like LoJack for cars - it reports the laptop’s Internet Protocol address and other locational information. And if your laptop is a Mac the software (called Adeona, after the Greek goddess who protected travelers and children and ensured their safe return) will even take a picture of the person using it. Makes that little built-in webcam really useful!

Anyway, I just downloaded the software and installed it on my MacBook. It’s a small package, doesn’t take up much room on the hard disk and seems like a great idea. Of course, it’s one of those things I hope I never have to use.

I believe there are also plans to develop similar kinds of security products for smaller mobile devices like cell phones and pda’s too.

Seems like an essential component of the future of work to me.

Review: With Mindjet MindManager Pro, Say Goodbye To Your Whiteboard

January 30, 2008 at 7:04 am · Filed under Collaboration, Distributed Work, Product Management, Reviews

Mindjet MindManager Pro 7

From Mindjet, Inc.; free for 21 days, $349.00 to purchase

Summary: A step-by-step project manager for any size business

Requirements: Windows XP/2003 Server/Vista

Whether you are manager of a corporate department or a small and growing private professional practice, your decision-making workflow probably doesn’t flow all that differently.

I’m anticipating that you identify goals, research and obtain information that will facilitate these goals, organize this information into actionable items, and then communicate these items to your colleagues, staff and business partners.

Mindjet MindManager Pro is a tool that will help you track, and actually map, this data.

With interfaces that don’t look all that different than the multi-function office suite software you probably already are using, Mindjet MindManager Pro is more than just a project manager or scheduler. It comes with map templates, multi-map view options, filtering tools and product alerts that do more than just chart project-related thinking and planning. It helps you along with the actual processes that product management entails.

In that vein, the real utility of this product is its ability to guide you through project management creation slides in a step by step manner. No more whiteboards!

Topics and sub-topic tree structure and navigation is a given, as well as integration with PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel and Word.

MindManager Pro 7 is the newest version of this software. It offers a free, 21-day trial period but costs a one-time $349 fee after that. I predict you will be so hooked, you won’t want to go back to your whiteboard, and will easily find a way to justify the modest expenditure.