Hey Yahoo! 99.9% Uptime Isn’t Good Enough

For nearly an hour this morning I tried accessing my Yahoo! Mail account without success. I thought my iPhone, and then my laptop was the cause. But I was able to get into GMail easily. Hotmail was ready. AOL was as simple as tapping my mobile screen. Sadly, Yahoo failed.


A quick social search on Google and Twitter revealed it wasn't just me having issues accessing the website. The comments were pouring in by the tons about the problem. Perhaps this tweet said it best:





That's right folks, Yahoo, Inc. is laying off nearly 700 employees today from the US locations (Washington Post 12/14/2010). Two weeks before Christmas. Employees will be notified upon arriving at work and will be asked to leave the premises immediately (D: All Things Digital 12/13/2010).

happy holidays from Yahoo!

Please note: this comes just weeks after reports of Google planning 10% pay raises across the board in the new year (ComputerWorld 11/11/2010).


Look, I know business is just that - business. Nothing personal. And without knowing the details of the severance package, I really can't hold a grudge against the iconic company. But I can be ticked off that my Yahoo Mail was down!


What happened? Did you fire the guy who's in charge of the server when he walked into the door? Bad things can happen that way. Next time, wait until the end of the day and buy him flowers, give him chocolates, present a bottle of wine and a box for his belongings. Then send him a boat load of money and tell him bon voyage only after you've hired and trained his less experienced but cheaper replacement.


When the site finally loaded in my browser window, here's what they had on the homepage:

Were you trying to tell us something? C'mon people! Please say the editor was asleep at his desk when this was approved for today's news banner. 

its good to see you runningman

Layoffs happen. I volunteered for one last year at AOL. I loved working at AOL for six years and I still have immense respect for my former colleagues. Also, CEO Tim Armstrong DOES look like superman! AOL was upfront and communicated to their employees that layoffs were coming. They offered a pretty good package as incentive to voluntarily leave.  Or employees could take their chances on having a job in the New Year.  Good move, AOL.


Yahoo, what are the lessons learned today?  This, if you are a major public corporation and big time player in the online search, portal and global internet service business, 99.9% uptime isn’t good enough. Yahoo is now my text book example that the .1% chance of your services going offline could occur at the worse possible moment.


Or perhaps they themselves had too much egg nog at last night’s party?

was this posted before or after your announcement?

Best,
Parker

Putting It All On the Line

Hey there, Parker here with my 2 cents about Wikileaks.  TV, radio and web (face it, who reads print anymore?), is all about Julian Assange.  He put it all on the line in as literal the term as possible.  He used the always on and always accessible power of the internet to eavesdrop (hack) sensitive, need to know, information and post it.

I don't agree with the cries of 'campaigner for truth' defending Assange because he showed no discretion or concern for the leaks and his audience, respectively.  I don't agree with his arrest either.

I do, however, agree with the 'need to know' status of some information.  In the case of the February 2009 leak regarding the US request for a list of key global facilities vital to national security.  That knowledge was important to our government but should not have been available for anyone with a computer and wi-fi connection.

The leak was not necessary and had the potential to cause harm and destruction on a mass scale.  Can you imagine the #hashtag used for that Twitter feed?  Exactly!

The world wide web has afforded us opportunities to learn about global events with a tap of a mouse.  We see how it can jeopardize the ability to protect information that concern public safety and security.  And we are witnessing in real-time online opinions from both sides of this situation.

I admit I'm a Snooki fan

Paris Hilton's perp walk, Lindsey Lohan's car crash and Snooki's drunk dancing was on the web as fast as the developer could code the streaming video.  Foul play wasn't called then because the object of attention in each case WANTED the publicity.

But the public need not be privy to the type of data collected for key UN officials and those who manage the requests for such bio and technical stats.  In the extreme case it undermines the very purpose of having the policy – to provide security for the officers and the United Nations organization itself.

Assange is all over the web and his fans are raging against the injustice for his trumped up charges (I agree the charges are trumped up). But in the short-term, Wikileaks seems to have done more harm than good for the very public it is supposed to represent.  Definitely not a win-win for either side.

That’s my rant for today.  In a 24 hour news cycle I’m sure tomorrow’s rant will be much different.

Best,
Parker

Twitter, Twitter Everywhere!

bird designed by Gopal Raju 

Hey there, Parker here. I like Twitter. I like staying informed on what's happening on the subjects and industries I follow. @SteveCase appeals to me because of his philanthropic efforts and research. @WebMarketing123 provides valuable insights I can use in my day-to-day work activities. I can count on @omar_k_mills (he screens followers, but is definitely worth it) to always put a smile on my face so I look forward to anything he tweets.


But then there are a few users that have gone into Twitter frenzy and are over-saturating my timeline with too many updates.


Companies showcasing their expertise may actually lose followers simply because they are posting white papers, articles and insights every 13 minutes. I've followed, then un-followed many of them because they typically send 20 new tweets within a 15 minute window. (True story, I just timed it).


Don't get me wrong, a lot of the links point to useful information and I would take time to read it all if I could. But too much information dilutes the message you want to get across. Rather than thought-leadership, the perception is regurgitation.


Since Parker (me in the 3rd person) is a solutions-oriented person and this blog is about my observations, rants and raves in online marketing, here are my suggestions for a better Twitter experience:


Following: if you're serious about properly using the Twitter platform try to pad a little time in-between tweets. Maybe once an hour? Or, how about limiting it to only 4 or 5 meaningful updates during business hours?


Followers: If you do not wish to stop following, I suggest you take advantage of the 'Lists' feature in Twitter. You can organize the users you follow into various lists then instantly access the 140 tweets they've sent that day at your leisure. (Be aware you will be limited to just 20 lists).


That's my rant for today, folks.


Best,
Parker

What's in an Email Signature?

Hey there, Parker here.

There's a lot to be said about your email signature.  You are not only signaling a close to a correspondance, but you're telling people more about your self than you may realize.

For a long time I would simply say "Thanks, Parker" and leave it at that.  No follow-up contact information, not even my email address or my full name.  (Okay, I still sign my emails "Parker" but I now include every way possible for the recipient to reach out to me).

This is because not everyone sends or accepts a vCard.  Some folks get the information they need and delete their emails to keep an organized inbox (I'm guilty).  Many people are using their mobile devices to send and receive their emails so why not let them view your website or return a call with a tap of the screen?

It's easy and it is the right thing to do in our modern world.

But there's another advantage to properly using your email signature - promotion.  That's right!  You can leave your name, number, email address, website, social media URLs and a quick tag line about your recent award, recognition or innovative product launch.

Simply put, use the email signature to your advantage and view it as yet another other tool in your marketing arsenal.



Best,
Parker