Monthly Archives: January 2009

Twitter first, ask questions later

Following the recent plane crash in the Hudson River there’s been quite a bit of discussion about how Twitter was the first place people shared what was happening. In the weird way human interest works, this ‘shock news’ was good stuff.

This morning Wellington had a rather unique powercut that wiped out much of the city’s power for quite some time. I was amused that my response to this situation was to drop a tweet on my phone to explain there was a powercut in Island Bay.

As a result I found out other Wellingtonians I follow on Twitter were also experiencing power issues. This was useful information and assured me the powercut was not just my issue.

About 20 minutes later Radio NZ broadcasted that there’d been a powercut in Wellington.

The Internet was designed and built by the military to ensure communications could not be broken by one fault. If one part fell over the network would find another route for the information flow.

I thought it interesting that when the power went down in my town, I went to Twitter on my mobile. And with Twitter now overtaking Digg in marketshare visits last week I’m not alone.

Perhaps something Civil Defence and other emergency services should take note of?

Whose Vodafone?

For the third month in a row I’ve been sent a text by Vodafone informing me that my bill of $x.xx is “due immediately”. And that I’m lazy, and a technical luddite. I’m also in trouble, and if I don’t pay up now, my credit record will be downgraded and I may have to find a new carrier for my beloved iPhone…

Ok, so perhaps I’m adding a bit of artistic flair to the communications there, but the latter points are what I feel in that instant moment when I get those text messages.

“Due immediately” creates a horrible feeling for me. I realise Vodafone want people to pay their bills on time, but I always do. So why put a rocket up me when they don’t have to?

How’s “Hi Mike, Just a reminder that your January 2009 invoice of $x.xx is waiting for you at Vodafone.co.nz/myvodafone. Thanks.”

How hard would that be? They know my name and that I pay on time. All up it’d create a much nicer customer experience.

Well, it would if myvodafone worked (it’s been loading for the whole time it’s taken me to write this post).

It’d also help if the cost savings Vodafone make by no longer sending invoices were passed on to the customer. Many other companies who are encouraging people to move away from printed/posted monthly invoices and are doing so by offering a credit as an incentive, rather than charging extra to those who wish to remain with the standard invoices.

If it’s going to be “myvodafone”, then what’s in it for me?