Help improve the Alberta Cancer Foundation website. New site coming - need feedback. Please join our user panel. http://ping.fm/rXKFt

Magazines will survive - at least until we can do good holograms. After working at a screen all day, I don't want to flip through an e-mag.

Join the Alberta Cancer Foundation's website advisory panel: http://ping.fm/mSlQT . We need your input. Thanks.

When you go to a charitable foundation website, what are you looking for? What do you expect/want to see?

Trying to track down a copy of Nancy White's "Momnipotent" CD. I had it on cassette but I'd love to get a CD copy for my brother.

Video is nice, but it takes longer than skimming an article. Is this an age-based bias? Market with video to kids; but often print to 40+ ?

A while ago I said spam would kill Twitter. Still think so. It is getting worse by the day. They've got to find a way to stop it.

Apple still impresses

I confess: I've been an Apple resister. I never bought a Mac (mainly because my business clients didn't use them, so it kept life simpler to use the same software as they did), and, until now, I held out against an iPod, convinced that they were overpriced -- that you were just paying for the brand.

Well, after a half-dozen cheaper imitations that were a pain in the butt to use, I finally broke down and bought one. Not the latest, I admit (I'd love to have an iPhone, but I don't want something that is only a music player to be as huge as the iPod Touch, so I got a nano.). Setting it up and syncing my podcasts (the main thing I use it for) is SOOOOO much easier than on any of the alternatives I tried. (Including the Zune, which wouldn't recognize my Windows XP computer!)

Wow, do these guys get presentation: not only is the device sleek and beautiful (and in my favourite colour -- a rich purple), the packaging was amazing. In a high-quality transparent case, you open it like unwrapping a present, delicately unfolding the paper to reveal the attachments and mini manual.

But even better was my experience with the iTunes store. I'd tried to install iTunes a couple of years ago and not been impressed -- it hogged too much space and slowed things down. Not this time. It was a bit time-consuming, but easy. And it is seemlessly integrated with my iPod's syncing and podcast tracking.

Now for the best part: I had a couple of gift certificates that had been kicking around for ages. I tried to redeem them, but it didn't work. Apparently their code system has changed in the intervening year or two. So I wrote to customer service. I had a reply the next day, written in a friendly, personal manner. The note from Karla said:

Dear Tema,
Thank you for the information you provided. I apologize for any frustration this issue has caused you but I'm happy to let you know that your iTunes Gift Card's redemption code is [....]. I have verified that this is a valid, active code. Please follow these instructions to redeem your Gift Card: [followed by clear steps].

Since that was so easy (and her instructions worked perfectly), I replied and included the info on the second card that hadn't worked. RAther than making me submit a new ticket, I got this lovely reply:


Hey Tema,
No problem, I'm happy to let you know that your other code is [...].

This should take care of it. Remember, we want your experience to be as enjoyable as possible. Should you require further assistance, please feel free to contact us again. Thank you for choosing the iTunes Store and have a wonderful day Tema!

Sincerely,
Karla
 iTunes Store Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes
Please Note: I work Sun-Thur 9:30am-6:30pm CT
-----------------
I was particularly impressed by that little note about her working hours.

An altogether delightful experience, that could easily have been a negative one with a different vendor. Makes me feel happy to spend money at their store. So, I'm off to download now...

Web design rfp posted at purchasingconnection.ca (RFP AB-2009-01988: Website Redesign). Deadline is 1:00 p.m. Mtn. time on May 26.

Instead of wasting a screen with eng/fr choice, walmart.ca lists key categories in both languages on the same entry page. Smart!

Have you heard about SeedsForFood.org? You mail them dried seeds from fruits you eat like melons, and they are grown in Africa by refugees.

Handy questionnaire for helping you select web design software: http://ping.fm/AzD8Q

Found a great web-based tool for planning & teamwork. Simple, clear. Testing it and so far it looks good. http://milestoneplanner.com/

End of a roller coaster ride

Today is the last day of Web Mystery Shoppers. I started the business, which developed one of the first systems to do remote usability testing, in 2001. The Royal Bank of Canada was my first client (thank you to Martin Stevens for having confidence in me!) and got me to think way bigger than I originally had -- 300 testers on a project-type-big!

With the help of various programmers, we developed a super management tool that let us recruit and manage over 70,000 testers world-wide, and run hundreds of website tests with statistically significant sample sizes. That web-based management tool also made it possible for me to get some great staff (thanks especially to Theralynn Dube and Cherry Riffin!) who enjoyed the flexibility of being able to work from home much of the time.

I have also benefitted from great mentors and advisors, particularly Dan Chugg, Felix Fridman, Ken Gordon, and Patty Breton who got me safely around a lot of the bumps and potholes. I have learned so much from them, and am honoured that they were willing to give so generously of their time.

The many clients I've worked with have been great! They were consistently positive about the work we did, and it is because of them that I've found it so hard to reach this point of deciding to close the business. But in any business as software-dependent as this one, there comes a time when you have to do some major reinvestment to keep ahead of the curve. And I have concluded that this is not the right time to do that.

So, on to the next venture. I'm still doing e-strategy/marketing consulting, and right now my main focus is on moving the Alberta Cancer Foundation website from it's current confused state into an easy-to-use site that will encourage more people to donate to helping fight cancer.

And, as ever, my mind is constantly bubbling with ideas for new businesses, so who knows where I'll be in five years! Meanwhile I'll continue to blog on web-related issues, customer service improvement, and the impact of technology on our lives.

Am I the only person who'd rather skim a site or white paper than have to watch a video? Much harder to skim a video.

More on content in business blogs at: http://ping.fm/JY235

How personal should business blogs be? I think you have to strike a balance; find a way to link your personal story to some valuable info.

Meet the Men: Edmonton's Power Communicators. Register now to win $50 gift certificate from Edmonton City Centre shops. www.cwc-afc.com