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Jon Udell considers the limits of the question “How do you know this person?”

If you don’t read http://blog.jonudell.net/, you might consider adding it to your blogroll.


Of interest is one of his latest posts on how Facebook wants to know how you’re connected to people, and how one seemingly logical choice is missing…



“Like other social applications, Facebook wants to know how you’re connected to people. So it asks: “How do you know this person?” …  


The choice I usually want — “Through the Web” — isn’t available. One friend coerced “Met randomly” by adding “The web as a conversation engine” — but that’s an unsatisfactory workaround. There was nothing random about how we met. Given our shared interests and our online expression of them, it was inevitable that we would come into contact.


“Through the Web” should be a first-class answer for “How do you know this person?” 


I’ll reckon, it’s difficult to know anyone “through the web.” You can stumble upon or find people through the web, but you come to know them through interaction as a result of an introduction via the web. And as the cartoon that my old boss (shameless name drop), Trip Hawkins, shared with me one afternoon far too long ago calls out “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog.”


So, perhaps the question is better put: “How do you know this canine?” 😉

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Had a Customer Service Nightmare? Tell 20/20 and ABC News all about it…

Forget YouTube or MSN Soapbox… go right to the big time… ABC News’ 20/20 Is Looking for People Who Have Recorded Bad Customer Service



“Have you or anyone you know experienced really bad customer service? And did you record it (on video or audio tape) before July 10, 2007? If you have a compelling story and are willing to tell it on camera, we would like to hear from you.


“Please fill out the form below and an ABC News producer may contact you.”


Visit the page for a link to the form.


Tags: Customer service, customer support 

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Spiceworks IT Desktop now on Windows Vista

Spiceworks IT DesktopA few weeks ago I noted that Spiceworks IT Desktop — a very cool and free utility — really works on Windows XP… but at the time of my post it did not run on Windows Vista. (PC Magazine said in a recent article that this is one of their favourite free small business tools.)


I recently received a post fofrm Jay Hallberg at SpiceWorks, who informed me that “on June 25 (just a couple of days after your post) we released Spiceworks 1.6 which now runs on Vista.”


I’ll be downloading it tonite (late… as the weather is pushing 100 degrees today) and trying it out, managing a network of PCs and IP devices on our home network.


 

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Reminder: Daylight Saving Time ‘Fall Back’ later in the States… and New Zealand this year

Keep in mind that the Daylight Saving Time ‘fall back’ is later this year by one week, in the US and Canada on November 4th, rather than on the last Sunday in October. For more on this, check out the Microsoft DST 2007 Support site. Geekzone NZ notes that the government in New Zealand “announced in April that the period of daylight saving in the country was being extended to 27 weeks.”



“From this year, daylight saving will start on the last Sunday in September and end on the first Sunday in April the following year. Accordingly, the next period of daylight saving will start on Sunday 30 September 2007 (when 2:00am becomes 3:00am) and end on Sunday 6 April 2008 (when 3:00am becomes 2:00am).”


“Deputy Secretary Keith Manch says IT providers will want to test their systems with the required changes before daylight saving commences on 30 September.”


That’s a small window of opportunity to update products, systems and services, ‘though not as short of a window as Western Australia provided late last year (about a two week warning).


A personal note for those in government: IMHO, if you are considering changing the observance of DST or Summer Time in your country, figure on at least a year (perhaps even two) to ensure that not only vendors but those IT professionals impacted by the changes have enough time to make the appropriate decisions.

Microsoft New Zealand has a website up to provide information and links to updates on the upcoming changes to DST in New Zealand at http://www.microsoft.co.nz/timezone. “IT managers and users are invited to check this website regularly.”


And if you thought that Daylight Saving Time and parsing the various time zones around the world was hard, here’s an interesting note from Cathi on the time is observed in East Africa…



“In Swahili time, the day begins with sunrise so one o’clock in the morning is actually OUR 7 a.m. This difference in time system makes it very hard for the children to understand the English system, a system used throughout the world including in business.”

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Of interest: Project Kesho brings teachers to East Africa

First off, enjoy what some are saying is the luckiest day of the year



Project Kesho is a non-profit organization founded by our son’s elementary school teacher, Cathi, and her husband, Ian. It’s “dedicated to improving the tomorrows of East African communities through the education of today’s children.” This group of young adults is spending time on the ground in Iringa, Tanzania, East Africa this summer to help improve access to quality education and improve the lives of children halfway around the world from sunny Washington. This summer, they are joined in Africa by anothegr teacher from our son’s school, Amie.


I’m cleaning the garage this weekend while our kids slip and slide after a week at the beach, and these young teachers are spending the summer doing some real good.


The group has set up a blog to provide updates on their activities in the region, at…


http://www.projectkesho.blogspot.com/



“Project Kesho is focusing its programming efforts during 2007 on one small community located in Iringa, Tanzania. Iringa is located in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. It is the political, economic, and cultural hub of this region of Tanzania. The town is located along the Tanzam Highway, which stretches from the capital city of Dar es Salaam, along the coast of the Indian Ocean, and all the way through Tanzania to the country of Zambia. (This highway eventually continues all the way to South Africa.)”


Live EarthSo, take a look at the good work Project Kesho is doing when you take a break from the vide feeds from Live Earth…