Update warning ...

... but at least I can read it.

As you might expect from a publication called 'Internet Retailing', this website addresses the issue of the user not having the latest version of software by offering a 'limited functionality' version. I would still prefer the older version, but this is better than nothing.Footnote: I was able to a read the online publication - it seems - with nothing missing, omitted or not working ... so why did I need Adobe 10, and why wasn't the site developed in version 9?

Well, I'm convinced ...

... OK, so I lied - I'm not.

This email is trying to get me to join this registry by suggesting that I am 'being considered for inclusion'. Wow, what an honour ... inclusion in a registry where the MD uses a gmail address instead of that of the organization and that cannot even address me by my name.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses ...

... but make sure they have Adobe Flash Player 10.

Yet another in my growing list of websites that insist on using the latest versions of technology that I can't download onto my computer - see it's that old locked [virtual] door ... again.

As a footnote - I have said previously that many folk like me do not have 'administrator' access to their work PC and so cannot upload new software without calling in someone from IT support. Well ... I finally got round to arranging a visit, but our IT guy said that Adobe Flash Player versions 9 & 10 are not [yet] secure enough for them to run on domain/networked computers - so I can't have 10 [Note that it is OK for independent computers, so I'll have to look at these websites at home].

public service - password protection?

I'm assuming it was some kind of temporary glitch, but today it seems that the BBC didn't want to add me to Terry Wogan's listening figures.

it's that old locked [virtual] door ... again

It's quite ironic that just this week my e-marketing lecture included a section on how stupid [yes, not bad management or poor design - STUPID] it is to design websites that require software that not ALL users have - and up popped an example.

But this story gets worse - this is the 'above the fold' view of the website that was on my screen. So I thought 'something is amiss here' and noticed that the page had room to scroll down [the red arrow is my addition].
So I scrolled down a bit and got this message

As I have said before on this blog [and a thousand times in classes/seminars etc I do not have administrator access to my 'work' computer - it's very common in the workplace] so I cannot download 'adobe Flash Player 10'.

So guess what, you people at academia.edu that were responsible for this stupidity - all that work you did to publicise the site to such an extent that it came up on my radar - it was wasted.

Might your website have been useful to me? Don't know. Might I have made a meaningful contribution to the site? Don't know. Might I have added a link from my website and advised students to access it for its content? Don't know. And do you know what - we will never know.

Oh and by the way you will see a spike on your site visitors from the UK this week as I will be telling all my students to take a look at an example of online stupidity. And finally, talking of looking at your site's metrics - I assume you don't need to be told that all of those visits [and how many others?] will show up as 'bounces' from your front page ... because you have locked the door.

See also previous comments on the subject in this blog - 1 & 2.

email - [still] the poor relation of customer service? #2

I'm beginning to think that this might become a continuing subject for my complaints [see #1 about ASDA]

On my credit card statement for this month there was payment that I did not recognise. So I rang the Post Office’s credit card services. They were very helpful, but ultimately I was asked to write in to request that they pursue the issue further. Yep, write a letter and post it to an address in Dublin.

It’s 2009 – wouldn’t an email address not only be easier for all concerned? If nothing else, it would give both parties a digital record of the communication.

this ad gets your attenshun

On the face of it this is an ad with a call to action - but the response to the call was not a click, but to sign a 'pledge' using your cursor. As you can see, that's not too easy - but seconds after this screenshot I was taken to the next stage of the the ad.

good typo practice

I wrote about SEO for misspelled words in this entry: spelling and typo opportunists - well here is an example of good practice.

For reasons known only to itself, my laptop was playing with the 'number-lock' facility, so when I pressed the 'o' key, I was getting a '6'. I noticed this whilst searching for the Ford website - and look at the SERP I got on Google:
Yep, those clever Ford marketers had realised that this might be an error made by searchers, and had bought the keyword 'f6rd' - well done, full marks.

PPC landing page waste

I was looking to hire a car, so I searched on "car hire Sunderland" and got these 'sponsored ads' on Google.
So I clicked on the top listing [yes, the one that cost the advertiser the most] and arrived on this landing page:
What a waste of my time and the advertiser's money. This wasn't a landing page for car hire in Sunderland - it wasn't even for car hire in Great Britain. Needless to say, I didn't bother filling the details for a quote - and I booked the rental with another company.

confused? You will be

My car insurance is due and as my current insured has bumped up the price [I don't get the online 20% discount offered to new customers - why is it that new customers get a better price than an existing one? But that's another rant] so I went online to check-out the prices. Now, here in the UK, Confused.com has been running a big ad campaign to get people to use the site, with 'users' [read : actors] going on about how easy it is to use and that you can state what cover and conditions you want.

I did this, stating quite clearly that I wanted a £250 excess and legal cover.

As can see below, not one of the 'results' met this criteria [to save space I have shown only the top returns. If no one could meet my criteria they shoul say so - and suggest I ammend my criteria, not show me a whole load of quotes that I have not asked for. So much for the 'usability' they make so much of in the adverts.