Today's preoccupations

Today's OETD word of the day is 'debt'. Will I ever sort out my financial future? Why do I have a fascination with organisation and no ability to organise myself? I think I might be allergic to my pillows. I need to go on holiday, but don't want to go anywhere by myself. Would a holiday in London be enough? How does one brand target a demographic online that the whole rest of the world is targetting as well? Why don't clients do the obviously right thing to do even if they did it before once and it didn't work? I should take my SLR camera somewhere interesting this weekend. Should I spend my holiday looking for a new place to live or am I okay where I am? I need to create a file structure for the department. How do you provide helpful performance feedback to someone you think is a superstar without either gushing or nitpicking? Does my increasing preference for classical music mean I'm getting old? Could I really give up coffee for tea? When I flirt, does anyone notice?

Surfacing

From the madness of the last month. Pitches (won, hurrah!) new joiners to the team, too many projects, long lost friends in town, general mayhemania. So, today feels like the first day I'm surfacing. Floating towards the sunlight, taking in a cleansing breath, and shoring up for whatever is next.

So, what is next?...

Beautiful video interface

HBO Voyeur

Out of curiosity I ordered my UCD transcript. I couldn't quite remember what my GPA was and began to wonder if I was mis-remembering my brilliant scholar days. It's actually quite good. I got quite a few As in things I didn't remember taking(Advanced Composition? German Society?) Only one C, but I remember that class was a class in Jane Austen from 3-5 in the afternoon and it was too hot and sleepy to be interesting. I've never cared for Austen anyway. Considering I was working at the time I'm impressed...

An experience...

I have a cyst in my eye. Sounds worse than it looks but looks better than it feels. Yesterday I want to my GP for an 'emergency' appt. I checked in at reception and was told to wait in the 2nd floor waiting room. For four hours. Then the locum doctor left. Packed his files and coats, looked at me apologetically and left me sitting alone in the waiting room without saying a word. I was livid. When I went back to reception who said that I hadn't been checked in when I clearly had.

I wrote an angry letter and the doctor, who I've never met, rang to explain that it was a computer fault. Clearly not simply a computer fault since the locum saw me sitting alone in his waiting room for four hours. And the worse bit is there's very little I can do and seemingly no one to blame. She was very polite about it and it's nice she called, but she managed to strip me not only of my right to be angry but the option to do anything about it, and clearly wasn't ready to listen to my complaint just to anticipate its excuse. I could navigate the maze of the NHS, but even if I could figure out how to make a complaint (which bizarrely isn't apparenton the new 'I have a choice' website) I anticipate being met with indifference.

This is why we must invite people to give feedback in the digital experiences we created. Because even when there's little that anyone can do about it people want to be able to rail against whatever slight, bad service or injustice they perceive. And it's a better salve to be able to empathise with our outraged customers than to make them find other ears for their complaints. But more importantly, it should demonstrate that we listened. Whether automated or personalised the response should be specific, should empathise (it's terrible we wasted your time) and where possible be actionable (if you experience this again simply...)

Or, provide exemplary service in the first place. Western Eye Hospital saw me in 15 minutes and the doctor was clear, concise and listened to my questions.

So now, if I'm wearing an eyepatch, you know why.

On the growing use of Facebook

I recently spoke at an Ogilvy training conference in France. I didn't receive a single email afterwards, but have had seven people send messages and add me as a friend in Facebook. Might it be the new and de facto business communication tool for digital natives?

Educational as well as entertaining

Michael Bierut tells us why everything he knows about design he learned from the Sopranos.

My favourite:

On creative blocks:
"My advice? Put that thing down awhile, we go get our joints copped, and tomorrow the words'll come blowing out your ass."