Stardust Global Ventures

Last night, Ken and I got invited to a call on twitter. There is a new service by our friends Stuart Henshall and David *mrblog* Beckemeyer, called Phweet.

Their ‘About Page’ looks like this:

About

* Have you ever wished you could just Talk to your Twitter friend?
* Have you ever wanted to spontaneously set up a Conference Call with your Twitter friends?
* Have you ever felt irritated that you have to turn on a separate client to accept a Call?

Phweet lets you accept calls with one click from your Twitter page or Twitter clients. Phweet is a simple service where you don’t need to download or share anything more to talk. The call is contained within a PhweetUrl; a smart link that calls you. And you can share who you are talking to in real time without having to reveal or exchange phone numbers or other identities.

Last night what I saw on my twitter feed was this: stuarthenshall @sherylbreuker http://phweet.com/45bs This is a new type of Phweet. It works like a watercooler or “coffee talk cafe”. You can visit at … …

Once joined, this is what showed up in my twitter feed: Sheryl Breuker joined @stuarthenshall http://phweet.com/45bs with @mrblog @phoneboy @andrewhansen @phweeter @kencamp @asaunders.

The interesting thing about this is that it really supports the idea Ken and I had with our last podcast a few weeks ago. In it we talked about the uses of hyperconnectivity and what that can mean for our lives in the future.

I wouldn’t take anything away from Stuart and David by saying we thought of it first, obviously we didn’t, but I would like to point out that for those of us using these tools, tools like Phweet are revolutionizing our world.

Kudos to David Beckemeyer and Stuart Henshall for providing a great new way to stay connected!

Technorati Tags: David Beckemeyer, Stuart Henshall, Phweet, hyperconnectivity,

I was browsing through some old posts on Digital Common Sense and found this post from January. At the time I wrote this, Sheryl and I hadn’t seen The Bucket List, but it was a phenomenal movie – deep, thought-provoking and emotionally touching.

Several months have gone by. A personal experience last week while in Raleigh with Sheryl, and some time to let things sink in have given me pause to reflect on my personal bucket list more than once. I look now at what I wrote last January and admit with some guilt that I haven’t done enough to do the things I told myself I would.

Consider this a personal recommittment to my short Bucket List as I think about the future Sheryl and I share together. That future, our life, is the single most important thing there is.

It’s easy to let less important things become the time consuming focus of our everyday life. It’s far too easy. The squeaky wheel gets the grease syndrome allows mundane or routine trivialities to detract our attention from the things that really matter. It’s important to focus every day on what matters to you in life.

Jeff Pulver started this in his post The Bucket List 2008 Meme.

In the movie “The Bucket List“, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman decide to make the most out of what time they think they have left. In the movie they compile a list of things they still wish to accomplish, giving them some much-needed motivation and a desire to still stay young at heart.

In the spirit of the movie, and in the spirit of trying to make 2008 be the year that we all start to do some of the things we would like to accomplish one day, I thought it would be fun to reach out to friends across the blogosphere and ask them to share some of the things on their “Bucket List” they hope to remove during 2008. For some of us, these are not necessarily our “New Year’s Resolutions”, but rather things we have been meaning to do for some time that we WILL get done in 2008

I read Jeff’s post with some interest because of a book that crossed my eyes recently. The my pal Andy tagged me in his The Bucket List post. It’s something I’d like to spend more time thinking about, but feel like I need to just react quickly. I find my focus isn’t unlike Andy’s, with a blend of work, health and personal goals.

• Sheryl and I launched Stardust not very long ago. I want to invest some real effort into making it a success. I’m not quite sure how to do that given the full time job I have that gets in the way sometimes. But it’s one of the most important things on my horizon, certainly from a career perspective. We have to be very discerning about the conferences we attend and maximize our value.
• Last year I learned I’m diabetic. While I’ve done pretty well with diet and fine with medication, I still struggle finding or making the time to get the exercise I really need. This year I’ll change that. More focus on health.
• I’ve been finding my way back to music recently. I’ve begun spending time in the evenings with my guitar and it nourishes me in a way I can’t really describe here. That’s something I won’t easily let go of again.
• Friends are becoming more important to me as I grow older. I’m going to pay far more attention to my rfriends that I have in the past. This year I lost a couple of good ones, and the realization how short life is hits hard.
• In the past few months, my relationship with my sons took a pretty hard blow. It’s beginning to mend now, but I know there’s a long way to go. I’m going to work hard to improve those relationships based on open honesty and integrity.
• Those who know me well enough know that in the past year, Sheryl and I found one another and began a new life together. First a foremost, above all else, more important than jobs or work or technology or brainstorms, I’m going to focus on loving this incredible woman who’s sharing her life with me. I’ll spend every day being the honest man of integrity who stands by her side, fights battles as her partner, supports, loves and cherishes her. She’s a precious treasure and I won’t let a day go by that I don’t make her know how much I love her and appreciate her.

And I suggest that those of you reading this and feeling so inclined, simply tag yourself and participate. I’m not going to single you out. Just jump in and join me in optimistic looking ahead to the future

As I did last January, I’m avoiding the meme-spreading approach, but I do encourage each and every one of you who read this to personally refocus on what matters to you and commit to your own Bucket List.

Technorati Tags: Bucket List, goals, commitment, Sheryl, Stardust, Stardust Global

How Bad customer service can lose YOU a customer for life. Enterprise Car
Rental: A Case Study

We just returned from a trip to Raleigh for business. We talked about it before so it’s no surprise. We spent 2 days there without a car of our own because we both had business that didn’t require driving much. Thursday we decided since there was a business meeting in Durham, friends to connect with, and personal sight seeing we wanted to do, we would get a car to take care of our needs. We stayed at the Raleigh Hilton on Wake Forest Road, and they directed us to Enterprise, the closest car rental to the hotel.

We got the car and proceeded with our plans of meeting with colleagues for dinner, returning to our hotel until the following morning.

Next day business was concluded around 12, and we decided to take a drive to the Atlantic ocean, Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, about 2 1/2 hours of driving one way. Neither one of us had been there so thought it was worth our time and out we went.

Along the way we made a quick stop where we determined it was too hot and we were regretful to have not brought shorts or something cooler to wear. We quickly decided to make a little jaunt off the main freeway to Dunn, a little town just down the road a few miles.

After making our purchases we hopped back in the car, heading back to the freeway to complete our journey. About 10 miles down the road we got a low tire warning. We pulled over and checked the tires. Sure enough, a tire was flat.

We changed the tire but as it was one of those little donut tires, knew we couldn’t go traveling a long way. Sheryl started calling the number on the rental agreement, got a busy signal for about an hour, so then called the 800 number listed for after hour calls. They told her to take the car to a Firestone or Goodyear dealer where they have contracts. We found a gas station along the road and stopped. The attendants at the gas station helped locate a dealer and we took off back to Dunn, the town we had made our purchases in.

Upon arrival at the Goodyear dealer, Perry Brothers, they took the car right in, even though it was only 15 minutes until closing for them. About 5:30 they came back and told us they had been unable to contact Enterprise where we had rented the car. They had the same trouble we had with the line being perpetually busy. The tire dealership had, by now, been officially closed for a half hour.

Here’s where it gets sticky.

Enterprise only authorizes replacement of tires with used tires in the original agreement. In order to get a new tire, they have to speak to the dealer who rented the car. That wasn’t possible because they were inaccessible. That left us with the option of a used tire, but they didn’t have an exact fit in a used tire. What were we to do?

Ken gave the tire dealer the 800 number and she called it. That customer service rep refused to authorize the replacement. Now we were going to be stuck with a car that was undriveable on the freeway, and the tire dealers were closed. We were about 40 miles from our hotel.

We were both pretty annoyed. We had wasted all this time for something that should have been a simple fix. Not only had we had to change a tire, we were now stuck in a little town, incapable of doing what we rented the car to do, and Enterprise was refusing to budge.

Back to the phone. Ken call the 800 number again, and told them we were furious. He explained to them why we weren’t contacting the dealer who rented the car and what the situation was. Finally, after a lot more wasted time, Enterprise agreed to authorize the tire change. The tire dealer in Dunn, and their customer service woman, Tabitha, was outstanding. They had kept the shop open waiting for the go ahead, where in record time the tire was replaced and we were then able to get on our way. Big kudos to them and all their patience and help.

Not so Enterprise. We have agreed, at no time have either of us had so horrible a renting experience. It is one we would not like to repeat anytime soon.

We would like to make a suggestion to Enterprise. Change your policy to allow for authorization of tire changes particularly when the originating dealership is unavailable! Some things are just no brainers. You don’t rent a car to people and then leave them stranded in the middle of nowhere to fend for themselves. The only options should not be used or nothing. That simply doesn’t make sense and your criteria needs to be changed.

We are suggesting all our connections choose another company to rent from. We will not be renting from Enterprise in the foreseeable future.

Technorati Tags: perry brothers tire service, enterprise rent-a-car, dunn nc,

My friend, Rich Tehrani from TMCnet, just blogged this commercial. I don’t know if the length of the commercial is a good idea, but the content is truly funny.

Rich writes:

The second installment of the Microsoft Bill Gates Jerry Seinfeld advertising campaign is surprisingly better than the first. It is just as confusing but there was something about it which compelled me to watch and have real interest in what the characters are all about. After a short amount of time I admit I threw in the towel as to trying to understand some of the characters.

I should also mention the ad was 2:30 long making it five times longer than a typical commercial.
 

Here’s the full link.

Technorati Tags: Rich Tehrani, Bill Gates, Jerry Seinfeld, , TMCnet, Microsoft,

We’ve had a hot and humid week here in Raleigh. At the airport now and getting ready for our flight home.
When we get back, we’ll tell you all about our horrendous experience with Enterprise Rent-a-car. It was the worst of a lifetime.

We’re in our seats and headed to Raleigh with a plane change in Minneapolis. We’re really excited about this trip.
It’s also a very special day for us. Today is our anniversary. We met in person for the first time one year ago today, although we’d known each otheer for quite some time before that.
Today a business trip, but our lifetime together grows more wondrous every day.

Our friend Chris just release a short eBook entitled Personal Branding for the Business Professional in PDF format. It’s only about 15 pages, so an easy read.

This book is heavily based on extracts from Chris’ blog, but compiled in a great and useful format.

For the skeptical among you who haven’t really fully embraced the ideas around personal branding, or those who aren’t completely comfortable with the value of social networking and social media tools, this is a great tool for learning. It’s the sort of thing Sheryl and I share with our clients all the time as we help people find ways to deliver their message in the interactive communications universe

I just can’t resist sharing Dilbert, thanks to Adam over at Emergent Chaos.

In the interest of continuing conversation around good PR, and the companies who excel, today I’m compelled to point out a company who just seems to get it all wrong time after time. I’m fed up and just dumped them into the blacklist here.

And to the poor folks at ORecX, I hope you see this and some of the other commentary that will doubtless follow. I could say more, but I’ll try to let SSPR simply slink away rather than blast them with details on just how badly I think of them.

Here’s the email exchange:

Dana,

Please remove this email address from your mailing list.

SSPR has repeatedly sent messages like this couched with phrasing like “you were in contact” and such. I have not. I have never expressed any interest in this product, nor do I have working relationships with you or your firm. Nor, based on the methds used by SSPR and the documentation about the company reputation, will I use anything you ever send. I’ve actually just blacklisted your domain, so you needn’t reply.

I will post your email, and this reply in a public blog post, alerting my colleagues to my position on SSPR. If you feel the need to comment, you may do so in public, in full open view. Email from your domain now goes into the blacklist abyss.

Ken Camp

——————————————————————————–
From: Dana Nelson [mailto:dnelson@sspr.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 1:21 PM
Subject: Re: Open Source VOIP call recording program cuts costs for SMBs

Hi Ken,

I was just notified that you were in contact with one of my former colleagues regarding OrecX’s open source call recording software, Oreka TR.

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you and I hope I can be of some assistance to your needs. Please let me know if you would like more information (case studies, white papers, demo press release, etc.) or to arrange an interview with Bruce Kaskey, CEO and cofounder of OrecX.

Since it has been a long time, here is a brief description:

Oreka TR is the first open source based VoIP and TDM call recording system for SMBs. It allows organizations to improve customer service by recording and retrieving phone calls without disrupting operations, exhausting annual budgets, or paying for extra implementation services that never get used.

The open source platform allows for all-call, on-demand or selective recording while providing managers with options for live call monitoring. Because it is open source, it can be modified to fit any business needs.

Again, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.

Best wishes,

Dana Nelson
SS|PR
(847) 415-9322
dnelson@sspr.com

We’re going to be visiting Raleigh, NC next week for a few days. We’ve got a couple of important meetings lined up, but will be there from Tuesday through Saturday.

If you’re in the area and would like to talk about what we can do for you and your company, please get in touch. Our contact info is all readily available or you can find us on Twitter (SherylBreuker & KenCamp).

Look forward to seeing you while we’re there!