Kerstin Baker-Ash

Au Revoir, 2008!

While people are gearing up for a boozetastic New Year's Eve, I thought it would be a good time to go through a quick year in review; posts I've been particularly proud of in 2008 and a condensed recap. Tomorrow, I'll avoid the trap of making 2009 predictions; I'm a horrible gambler (I don't gamble, maybe that's why) and I can't even predict how many hands I'm going to get in a bridge game. I'll leave that to people a bit more clairvoyant than I am.

We started off the new year with our good friend Michael in New York City, freezing our tushies off on a boat at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. After a fairly eventful trip back home, including an unexpected flight to Boston (to stack up on Celtics gear, maybe?), we moved into our new house in Hertfordshire. In March, I was lucky enough to go to SES in New York City, where among other things, I started Twittering, got myself a blog, and started on this journey. SES NYC was pivotal in a number of ways for me; I networked within the industry, I heard a lot of very intelligent people speak, and I got myself up to date with my pet project; social media.

I dipped my toe in the blogging water very carefully. My first post which dug a little deeper was Managing Accounts for Multiple Markets, where I discussed overcoming the difficulties in differentiating between English-speaking markets. I asked more experienced folks to collaborate more with newcomers or outsiders in the industry in Three Requests; unfortunately, making a name for oneself in the United Kingdom seems frustratingly tougher. I think this has a lot to do with the geography of exposure; there aren't a bucketload of European SEM conferences like there are Stateside, and it's one of my goals for 2009 to try to get a bit more exposed and engaged with my peers in the industry. In June, I spoke at my first SES conference - conveniently held in my hometown of Toronto.

I kind of fell off the blogging horse for a while. Work, life and more work made it difficult to blog as much as I'd like on my personal blog, so I resolved to get back in the saddle. In December 2008, I actively tried to blog as much as possible, writing posts on the train and then adding some photos and links when I got home in the evening. I made several sarcastic posts about the British government's VAT reduction (which a bunch of retailers haven't opted into), and looked at how Google was getting into the holiday spirit.

Not much of a huge post, eh? Tomorrow, some of my goals for 2009. Happy New Year, everyone!

The Medium's Message: How Bias Shapes Our Perceptions

I work in an industry where messaging is king of the universe; entire companies' marketing strategies hinge on getting out the right message to the right people at the right time. Consider post-holiday PPC ad copy from BMI Baby (an airline based in the UK). Their audience is largely made up of bargain hunters, so they play to that with compelling ad copy; their offer ends midnight tonight. It's not surprising that media news outlets pioneered the play to your audience model with a bias shaped collaboratively; Fox News appeals to people with a right-leaning persuasion, and people of a right-leaning persuasion flock to Fox News.

Certainly, my own bias informs how I view the world. While most of us would like to be considered open minded, it's difficult to extract your culture, nationality, religion and upbringing when adding perspective to any issue or project. When working in the travel vertical, I found that re-wiring my brain to say "car hire" instead of "car rental" took a bit longer than expected (thank goodness that didn't apply when I had to drive a car on the other side of the road, but that's another post). Of course, I have a uniquely Canadian need to tell anyone who will listen which actor in the movie is Canadian (answer: all the best ones), and I know that my North American-ness can ruffle some more proper British feathers from time to time. So that's a personal leaning, but when do major news outlets shelve bias or bring it out for all to see?

The situation in Israel and Gaza is hard to ignore. It is, with one exception (CCTV China), the leading story on every news channel I have access to in the United Kingdom. From channel to channel, the message differs significantly. Take Fox News as the first example. Generally perceived to be taking the side of Israel, Fox proclaims that Hamas militants have started firing fresh rockets into southern Israel:

France24 generally seems to be sympathetic towards Israel (I was surprised), with messaging that indicates Israel has strategically targeted Hamas' power base:

Moving a centimeter to the left, Sky News leads with a banner on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calling for an immediate ceasefire (although the correspondent was speaking live from Ashkelon):

Several times in the past, the BBC has been accused of rampant anti-Israel bias, often drawing fierce condemnation from other media outlets and journalism watch groups who have gone as far as accusing the BBC of a campaign to vilify Israel. Last night, while briefly mentioning verbally that Israeli action was a result of continued rocket fire into Gaza, the news ticker read that Israel was continuing its attacks on the Gaza Strip, suggesting to the casual channel surfer that there wasn't another side to the story:

On the far side of the pro/anti Israel bias, Al Jazeera was quick in its condemnation of Israeli military action by telling viewers that Israel was continuing its "assault" on Gaza for the third day in a row:

Of course, people don't expect pro-Israel reporting from Al Jazeera. They have sculpted their message for maximum audience outrage factor, and have fed their audience's pre-existing bias. Similarly, audiences don't expect Fox News to be pro-Gaza; they pander to a post-9/11 red, white and blue audience who generally vote Republican and are very tuned in to the perceived threat of terrorism. No news issue seems to polarize more than the Arab-Israeli conflict, and it's a good time to take a reading of the more centric news outlets and our own shaped bias from the news we choose to watch.

This post isn't supposed to be a criticism of Al Jazeera's anti-Israel bias nor is it praise for Fox's pro-Israel bias. It's more to enlighten us to the different ways things can be perceived depending on how our bias dictates our perception. It's something to consider when we shape our own messages, whether that be in business or in casual conversations or even across the blogosphere. I'm interested to see how much of our message is tailored to both medium and audience, and how we perceive to be perceived by the way we make our points.

Fisticuffs on Boxing Day?

Are you one of the shoppers that was on Queen Street in Cardiff, curled up with your sleeping bag and mug of tea, at 3am this morning? If you are (or are even thinking about going into town today, anywhere in the UK), I salute your patriotism and shake my head at your nuttiness. Think about it rationally - there are other shopping days. Most people have a computer. The sales at Next aren't that spectacular. Forgive me my cynicism, but I doubt I'd risk frostbite and a sore bottom for £7 off a throw pillow.

When is the UK going to see a situation like the post-Thanksgiving rush in the States; people injured and in some cases even trampled to death, all in the name of consumerism and must-have junk that will (I guarantee you) end up cluttering your shelves and cupboards until you re-gift them in next year's secret santa. Sure, you can get a cut-price DVD at Zavvi, but the savings that marketers entice you into aren't really that enormous. Switching continents, why are you braving heart-attack inducing crowds to get a Pottery Barn ornament for $1.50 from $3.00? 

Sure, I've done a Boxing Day sale. Once. I lost faith in humanity after that day, witnessing adults shoving each other like children at the popular swingset over a set of Egyptian cotton pillowcases.

To be fair, I'll do my bit of Boxing Day consumerism, looking for sales but not getting my hopes up. All of this will be done online though - I have a couple of things on my to-get list (a bedroom furniture set, a rug and an egg poacher), but nothing that can't wait for a week or eight if I must physically enter a shop. I'll also be spending time with family, rather than getting aggravated after another person takes the parking spot I signaled for. There are bargains to be found online without needing to go to a shop; John Lewis started their sale on Christmas Eve, with other major feeling-the-pinch retailers following suit. Why not do us SEM folks a favor and www it this year?

I hope those of you who braved cold weather and even colder fellow humans have a productive Boxing Day.

The Christmas Post

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. I hope you have a very meaningful Christmas, filled with friends and family and loads of turkey.

The Holiday Post

It feels funny to not be in Canada this time of the year. I find myself nostalgic for the snow (even though you've probably heard me say I really like not having snow), singing in the alumni choir for the annual Toronto Children's Chorus holiday concert at Roy Thomson Hall and spending time with my rather large and wonderful family.

I guess it's a bit better to be away - I have an equally wonderful family that I've been lucky enough to marry into, and their traditions are different (in a very nice way) from the ones I grew up with. Sharing the holidays with my husband is more important than our geography, but it's hard not to think about what you're missing out on back home. Since moving over to this side of the pond, it's nice to have a break back home to reminisce with friends over coffee and find you haven't aged (read: become more mature) since high school. There's a sort of disconnect one feels being removed from the culture and local scene for a while, but it's also nice to have people clear their home schedules just to see you because you're in town for the holidays.

To be fair, I've been back quite a bit over the past year. I started 2008 in New York City, tacked on two weekends in Toronto between SES NYC, spent time in Toronto for (surprise) SES Toronto, and flew back in October to visit family and celebrate the wedding of my friend Ali to Brian. I feel like I've stamped my passport frequently enough with trips back home to see my family (and my family coming over here). The coming years might not yield as many trips back to the old homestead, but it sure is nice to know that you're welcome in two places concurrently. So, whatever you celebrate - have a very happy holiday season.

How to do Customer Service Well

It's nice when you can give an example of excellent customer service, frustrating when the need arises to call people out on questionable marketing or highlight examples of people not doing their job properly. So it's my pleasure to send a big kudos to the folks at LogMeIn, who have shown an amazing level of customer service, seeking and retention. 

Back at the end of October, I read a post on Barry Schwartz's blog about a new remote access app for the iPhone. Recognizing the value that this could present to me (and my family), I applied for the beta, and crossed my fingers to get an invite. I wasn't invited for beta testing - no big deal, I'll wait for the real thing to come out in the app store (along with MacGourmet). In all honesty, I pretty much forgot about it until last night, when I received an e-mail:

In what should be a shining example for any app developer, LogMeIn thanked me for my interest and said that although I wasn't accepted to the beta testing program, they'd like to make it right by sending me a complimentary t-shirt. Where's the catch? I honestly couldn't find one. I live in the UK - they can even ship there.

By engaging with me and expressing interest in my potential custom, they've made me a fully fledged customer. I look forward to installing the program on my grandparents' computer, so that the next time  they tell me the e-mail is broken I can sort the problem out in two shakes of a lamb's tail (my grandfather's phrase, not mine). Forgot that powerpoint presentation USB stick you were working on from home last night? No problem - log in and e-mail a copy to yourself. The features list on the app reads like a wishlist for people who use multiple machines (or just want to play poltergeist with unsuspecting spouses). It also marks an important milestone for iPhone users - I think that applications in LogMeIn's vertical make using iPhones in business an even more enticing proposition; it's not just for fanboys (and girls) anymore. It's not that I ever thought poorly of the app or the company; they've gone out of their way to let me know that they feel their app is unique, helpful and genuinely worth the £17.99 (it certainly seems like it is). It's the perfect example of how to do customer service well, even when the potential customer hasn't reached fully fledged status yet. They've also turned me into a brand and product evangelist, just by offering a hello and some schwag. Kudos, LogMeIn.

Google Gets Into the Holiday Spirit

I'm not sure what to think of this. On one hand, it's very nice seeing your holiday symbols pop up on search results, but on the other hand, it might be another sly way to direct searchers to paid listings. In any case, it's nice to see that Google is incorporating nearly every major holiday into the SERPs:

 

Google - as inclusive as you are this holiday season, you've forgotten a very important holiday off the calendar. Fail:

Happy Hanukkah

The first night of Hanukkah - a little video of our lighting. Happy Hanukkah and Chanukah Sameach, everyone!

6 Types of People at Your Office Holiday Party

I'm into lists of late - might be because of the end of the year madness. I thought I'd compile a list of people you might meet during the course of your office holiday party. A big disclaimer: thankfully, none of the people listed are actual people I work with; rather they are liberal composites of holiday parties past and intended to be satirical and over the top. Enjoy!

1. The Guy/Gal Who Knows Everything: Try as hard as possible not to be cornered by TGWKE. Extracting yourself from this conversation takes extreme skill, and newbies usually resort to "excuse me, I have to visit the facilities". Big mistake! The best way to counteract TGWKE is to have a firm buddy system in place, ready to extract each other should the need arise. Hand signals are also good ideas, but these intricate social nods have to be worked out well in advance. Start planning for your 2009 holiday party now.

2. The Sucker-Upper: This particular person can come in male or female form, but they display slightly different behaviors depending on their gender. Men are the ones that are first to the bar, grabbing everyones drinks orders and personally delivering the first pint to the big boss. Women, not jostling for pint position, usually stay close to the boss the entire evening, constantly reminding said boss how thought provoking his or her big ideas are. Both men and women Sucker-Uppers usually stick to one corner - in effect blocking your boss from other conversations throughout the evening. May also be combined with TGWKE, purely for sucking up purposes.

3. The Unhappily Married Couple: One of the more sadly entertaining personalities at any holiday party, the unhappily married couple are the ones who constantly bicker with each other during the meal; they make snide remarks about each other to anyone who will listen. When dessert has been cleared up, they part ways, each choosing their own corner of the dance floor and roping unsuspecting members of the opposite gender into some bizarre, boozy dance. Extra points if they have an all-out screaming match on the dance floor. No, it's not nice to make fun. But a word to the wise - try to limit your drinking if you come as one half of an embattled couple. It's saves the "D'oh!" in the morning.

4. The First Jobber: This is his/her first job out of university. It's free! S/he can't believe that people give out free booze at parties and is determined drink the bar dry and get the most out of the free alcohol on offer. It's free! They usually end up praying to the porcelain deity early on in the evening, or managing to get aggressive enough to punch someone. It's free! By the time you get back to the office in the new year, they've handed in their notice without so much as a goodbye... till they show up for their going away drinks, where the above behavior is repeated on a grander scale. It's still free! Weeeeee!

5. The Too Deep in Conversation for You: TDICFY is waaaaay beyond office politics. They cloister themselves away in a deep, dark corner with another member of staff, talking about the theory of relativity or why Madame Bovary was the seminal novel of womens' rights. Even if you wanted to speak to him/her (you don't), you would be hard pressed to interrupt their discussion on the weakening state of the yen and its relevance to the global robotics industry.

6. I'm Still Working: The office party isn't complete with a person who is glued to their blackberry, checking e-mails, responding to e-mails, sending e-mails and generally looking down upon the plebs who have decided to have a casual afternoon. The company still needs to be run - and you're the (wo)man for the job. Often found alongside the TDICFY or the Sucker-Upper. Their clothes might say party but their demeanor definitely says business. They abstain from alcohol, and scoff when rounds of shots are offered up. They're also experts at avoiding TGWKE.

Have a wonderful holiday party season, and enjoy the egg nog.

BBC iPlayer FINALLY Available for Mac

The Beeb has finally, after 18 months, let us Mac users download Spooks, Heroes and Top Gear on their iPlayer. It's still in Beta, but they expect to release a real version in February 2009. Interestingly, the BBC have said that they're not developing their own content delivery system, but working closely with ISPs to move the market there.

Fat chance, given that most of us are stuck in 1905 (that's not a mistype - I mean 1905) with copper cabling for broadband. I tried to download Spooks on our Wii a couple of weeks ago, and it took 12 hours for a program that lasts just one hour. The quality was poor, and it was jerky and jumpy. It also doesn't have the high quality you'd expect from a "high quality" download; it's pixellated, not suitable for big screen televisions or those larger than about 30 inches to be honest. Not a huge incentive for us to use the iPlayer, but I look forward to the day that we get upgraded and are actually able to play YouTube videos longer than 3 minutes without crashing our broadband connection.