Sounds like a funny thing to say considering I’m in that business. It’s just that I’m particular.

• I don’t want to be the guy holding the brush while you tell me where to paint. I want to be the guy painting something based on your stated goals and requirements.
• I can’t promise next day turnaround on every request. I can promise an organized process and reasonable time estimates.
• I can’t promise we’re the cheapest and I’m sure we are not. I can promise that we’re fair about our billing practices and usually go above and beyond what we bill.
• I can’t promise we’ll jump on every tech bandwagon. I can promise that we’re always testing new ideas and we’re open to new ideas.
• We won’t do everything you ask without question. We will always provide advice and guidance.

At the end of the day, we don’t want to deliver something we’re not proud of. eLocomotive isn’t here to turn the crank. Some people are looking for that. They need someone else.

Those that want to excel; that want advice; that are willing to take advice; They need us.

I was amused by this quote I saw on someone’s Woot comment:

“There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand Binary and those who don’t!”

Since Convey Computers moved into the building, things have really started to get geekier. I did my part with the C++ refrigerator magnets but they really elevated things with the “Decaf” and “!Decaf” signs.

I may be working on a Saturdays but at least I’ve still got my sense of humor.

I was at the iPhone Tech Talk in Austin on Monday and left fairly impressed. Reading this post by Seth Godin reminded me of what I’ve been thinking all week. Much of the information was what I expected to hear but I learned 3-4 small things that make a huge difference in how I view the iphone and what I do with it.

It’s going to make a huge impact in mobile web applications. It’s not the big screen and the standards based browser that makes the iphone great (although they help). It’s these little enhancements that give my work new leverage. Now I’ve just got to decide what to move first.

I got an e-mail from Pandora with some tips to make my radio station better for me. It reminded me of an e-mail I received from Mint after a lapse in visits.

These kind of e-mails are well timed and effective. I know because both prompted me to get back to the service and I’m not one to read unsolicited e-mails.

While I’m not a proponent of unsolicted e-mails in most cases, a strategically timed one may just re-engage your website visitors.

After Tuesday’s presidential debate, some people create “That One for President” t-shirts based on a comment Sen. Mccain directed at Sen. Obama.

• Zazzle
• Cafe Press

Sometimes I forget how much power the internet gives us and this was a good reminder. Some entrepreneurs went from idea to market in a couple hours. Services built around the internet provide marketing, billing, production, and delivery on the fly. That’s real power and benefit for a business willing to use it.

If you’re going to sell online, take credit cards and if you’re going to take credit cards online, go all the way. Don’t just take the order and process offline. It’s rife with problems, security issues, and just annoys me.

Ever since we left apartment living, I’ve ordered Dogi Pot bags online. These particular bags are for picking up after your dog. They seemed to be targeted at commercial customers but I like them so I’ve been ordering online. Thing is: I’m out, I’ve been out for weeks, and if the online store processed my card properly, I would have some now.

I typically order 3 boxes. At 200 per box, it’s nearly a year’s supply but I spend less on shipping. About a month ago, I ordered online and completed the transaction as expected. I even got a confirmation e-mail. After a couple weeks, I contacted them for an update and found out that my order had been cancelled. The credit card number I entered was invalid. They said they sent an e-mail but I didn’t receive it.

Had they connected to a payment gateway and processed the order online, they could have verified my card details before the transaction completed. I would have had an opportunity to correct my typo and the bags would be here now. They didn’t. They let the whole transaction process. They let the online store e-mail me a confirmation of my order marked as complete. Then someone manually took my CC number and typed it into a terminal for processing.

I know I’m not a big customer but I also know I’m not the only one with this problem. I’ve seen customers try this in the past. Don’t run your store this way. I can think of 3 open source online stores that will connect directly to most online payment gateways off the top of my head. You could also run a Yahoo or Amazon store.

Talk about a usability failure. Make the customer experience seamless. Make me happy.

I was interviewed by DFWReporting.com a few weeks ago for a special project we’ve been working on. It’s called DaZooMo and it’s a mobile website for the Dallas Zoo.

I first got the idea while at the zoo with my family. I saw a 14 year old walking from exhibit to exhibit text messaging. I think venues like the zoo offer a great experience but they’ve had trouble connecting through newer technologies. You get a map at the front gate and that’s it. No information about when the Gorrila’s being fed much less a connection with your social networks. There are some generic iPhone apps looking to do this but I think there’s something special about building an app around specific locations. So I built it with help from the eLocomotive team.

DaZooMo has basic information from Wikipedia about the animals, a daily calendar, and links to FB, MySpace, etc. We’re also about to add an SMS group so you can text with others at the zoo. It was fun and we’re working on the State Fair now.

Watch the interview here http://www.dfwreporting.com/index.php?track_id=AcyVYIW3RQ

Here’s a great write up on marketing in virtual worlds.  http://gigaom.com/2008/09/19/virtual-world-marketing-that-works-my-top-3-tips/

Use Crowdsourcing to cast a wide net and hope for great individual ideas to emerge. (Use Case 1)

So you want new ideas or product feedback? Wonder what your team is missing or what key feature would make your customers happy? Opening yourself up to feedback from customers, potential customers, and critics is a great way to fish for ideas. You’re likely to get a lot of repetitive thoughts and shallow insight. If you’ll wade past this sea of ideas, you’re likely to find some real insight.The key here is to devise a way to identify the best ideas. If you expect a small group of participants, you may be able to monitor it by reading, searching, and sorting. If you expect a large number of contributors, you better have a built in plan to organize the thoughts. You could use a Digg style voting system for comments. You could also build in a relevance engine to group thoughts. You or another reader out there, may already have a better idea of how to manage it. A few startups are trying

Crowdsource when you need an average of opinions (Use Case 2)

This is a great use for Crowdsourcing. If the information you need is an average of a particular group, crowdsourcing is a great idea and the web offers all the tools necessary to do it. It’s a lot like polling.

Crowdsource as a way to get “buy in”.  (Use Case 3)

It’s like taking a poll and then responding to the results. If you’re looking for support in a new initiative, a poll (or survey) is a great approach. People feel connected to the idea when they can contribute. This only works if you’re willing to take the follow up step of addressing their ideas and concerns. You don’t always have to do what they ask, but you need to address the underlying ideas and issues.

Bonus: Crowdsource to kill an idea.

Ok, maybe I took Fountainhead too seriously but I think there’s great potential to ruin an idea by giving in to a group vote. Groups aren’t great for all personality types, they can make a great idea seem too far out of main stream. Also, some exceptional people won’t contribute because the reality of daily life keeps them pursing work that pays. Sometimes you need an expert; someone exceptional in their field and you need them to deliver. There are perfect scenarios for crowdsourcing but don’t look to groups to do all the work for you.

After talking with one of my clients recently I was stumped. They want to include personal details about their team but it just didn’t seem to fit with the company’s brand or business model. I realized we might be missing a key ingredient: Why do those personal details matter?

Take me in relation to eLocomotive. I could tell you that I was a Honda certified mechanic before I went to college, that I love hiking, or that I have an extremely athletic mutt that still acts like a puppy at 8 years old. None of this seems relevant in the context of eLocomotive.

I do tell people things like:

• I’m an entrepreneur at heart and that spirit makes increases my understanding and interest in your business. Three of my mother’s siblings ran separate, successful businesses. So did my grandfather. When my wife’s parents were telling her to do well in school so she could get a good job and work there to retirement, my mother was telling me I’d never be happy or secure if I didn’t run my own business. I work with a lot of start ups and single owner businesses and this speaks to them.. They know I mean it when I say I love business and that I’m interested in theirs.
• A thirst for innovation drives me. My grandfather taught me a valuable lesson that’s always stuck with me. He told me that he was never the strongest or the fastest but he was always able to devise tools that made his jobs easier. That put him ahead of others on the job site and made him successful. That’s what technology is to me. I love building tools that make it easier to run your business.

It may not be relevant that I’ve played soccer since I was 4. It probably is relevant that when I was young my father’s company installed AS400s and I started working on computers when I was 8.

Telling a story in your website is much more compelling than stopping at buzzwords. If all you say is the facts of what you do you risk becoming a commodity among your customer’s websites. Find a way to bring the relevant personality to your marketing and your website.