Thanks to all our Flower Power customers. On your behalf, we just donated $1,000 to eradicate mice off the Antipodes Islands, which matched dollar for dollar by Gareth and Jo Morgan, means thats $2k towards the million dollar target.

We think its a pretty awesome cause, and love the fact that instead of thinking the problem with our environment is too big, Million Dollar Mouse, plucks off a small part of the problem, that we can actually fix.

So good on you all, Keep buying Flower Power through Powershop, and we’ll keep you posted on all the good your money is doing :)

Some other great causes Flower Power customers have donated to:
$5050 for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal
$1,000 to the Wellington Hospitals and Health Foundation

And don’t forget, you can get $50 free power, just by signing up :)

Disclaimer: It occurred to me as I was wondering if I needed to pack my own lunch, that I had never, until late last week, been to an actual real life conference. This means I have nothing to compare Webstock to, though anecdotal evidence suggests that most conferences struggle to contain their participants whereas Webstock cant seem to get rid of them :)

I have always hesitated to go to Webstock. Years in the Wellington tech community has led me to believe I already am aware of the movers and shakers and already interact with the people I really respect. I sort of thought another back patting love fest might be a little too incestuous for me (arrogant, I know, but Ive been to a fair few… Probably the downside of living in a small city)

The cost was also prohibitive. I have customers all over the world, the $1k surely would be better spent heading their way and drumming up more? Or if I need a mental break, that would go a longway towards martinis on a tropical beach somewhere.

So, you could say, I was a hard sell.

But given my recent state of mind, I figured I should stop treating Webstock like an either/or and just go.

And it was nothing like what I expected. I probably should have realised that after there was some ‘email issue’ that resulted in the whole community not only getting a bunch of internal information, but in the entire community blacking out any mention of what it might be. About the most unusual sight on the internet.

Im not really sure how to explain the sense of joy and motivation that settled over me as one of my idols Kathy Sierra took to the stage. From there, the mass of 850 people and 900 Apple gadgets were taken from refugee camps in South Africa, to the store room at Zappos. We faced our own mortality, and questioned everything from the big decisions around how to live a meaningful life to how to prioritise an inbox. We were amazed at the map of tweets following the earthquake in Japan, and shocked at the reality of how much of our information could be lost forever if the website we entrust with it, folds.

The funny thing is, as much as I’m sure Ive convinced at least half a dozen people to go next year, Im unconvinced Webstock actually NEEDS anyone else – the conference sounds like it’s sold out year after year.

But if you do get in early enough, it’s well worth going to – even if you have to fly across the world to get here. From what I hear, some of the speakers even want to come back, just to participate.

Thanks @milesfinlay for pointing out this brilliant article on customer service.

I completely agree. People enjoy working with other people. Regardless of whether they are the cleaner or the CEO, there is no joy in working with people in an isolated business situation. It’s probably why people generally form groups of friends at work.

I think it boils down to whether or not you value the time you spend at work enough to form real relationships with the people you work with. I wonder if that’s the only downside to this article, because you can’t teach the ability to genuinely care about the people they work with, and you can’t fake that type of great customer service.

Disclaimer: I did design this app, so am very biased :)

However, it IS cool.

iPoint2 is super simple, all it does is allow you to plot locations, and then, wherever you are, it will point to any of your saved locations and tell you the direction and distance you need to go to get there. We kept the interface suitably simple so it doesn’t get in the way of quickly adding points or viewing one. The only extra cool thing we added, was the ability for you to take a picture or upload one of each place, which the compass overlays. This personalises each of your places and can provide a visual reference for those of us who like that sort of thing :)

BUT what’s cool is how you can use it.

One of the initial thoughts is for all those praying to Mecca – it’s a very simple way of always knowing which direction to face. Or your favorite fishing spot, where your car is parked, where your best friend lives on the other side of the world…

What’s even cooler, is that as people have started to use it, they have come up with their own benefits. As this AppShopper review writes:

“Say you’re vacationing in an exotic location and want to head back to your hotel but also meander around a little on the way to see the sights. Or you’re exploring a large park and want to keep track of where you are in relation to the park’s entrance. iPoint2 is perfect for these types of situations and many others.”

I love it and highly recommend spending $1.99 and getting yourself pointing in the right direction.

For anyone who’s interested in their own mobile app, iPoint2 was developed by the geniuses at Able Technology

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Again, from Amy…

After the recent unveiling of the scam that is glossy magazine pictures, the air brushing, the before and after shots that completely transform the subject… ‘Fotoshop by Adobe’ is a breath of fresh air.

This video rips into everything that we clearly believe about beauty products and celebrity photo shoots… While also making you laugh at yourself for buying into it all. When you switch a real product with Fotoshop, the whole idea of these ads suddenly just seems really lame.

Check out the video and the behind the scenes action here.

A few years ago, when we set up Flower Power on Powershop, one of the big drivers was being part of a big change in an industry that seems to quiver in fear at the thought of progress.

Powershop is a huge success story, with around 40,000 customers by the end of August this year, New Zealanders are really embracing the power that they have to control their energy bills, and enjoying significant savings as a result.

We set up Flower Power to jump on that revolutionary bandwagon. Flower Power has always been about the power of the masses (as an aside, it’s very hard to write a post about ‘Power’ as in electricity, and ‘Power’ as in control without getting the words all confused). As part of that, we have always wanted to get a picture of what our customers/supporters believe in, and do some cool stuff on their behalf, that none of us could do on our own.

The big, obvious one, is supporting people and organisations within our communities in a way that can go beyond the $20 donation that most of us can afford. At the beginning of this year, we wanted to get started, and then the second earthquake in Christchurch hit and there was absolutely no doubt that in New Zealand, the one and only option we had was to give a lump sum, on behalf of all of us to those who were suffering. So every single one of you who has bought Flower Power, contributed to the $5050 donation we made to the Christchurch Earthquake appeal.

Time has moved on, and christmas is fast approaching. We thought it was high time we resurrected our Facebook page and get it to start doing what it was meant to be doing all along – being the place where we could all get together and do some cool things. So this time, we’re leaving the choice to you: who do you think deserves a $1,000 boost this christmas? All you need to do is nominate them and encourage others to agree with you.

Whatever group gets the most votes after nominations close on December 5, will get a $1,000 cash to cover some of the extra costs christmas brings.

So get nominating: On facebook or go to our website and click that nifty banner at the bottom of the page to enter your favorite.

And if you have any ideas about what we could do in the future, we’re always open to them… And thanks for believing in power to the people!

We launched the GPI website earlier this year. The GPI is a fantastic project that aims to measure how well we as a region are doing on a number of social, environmental, economic and other measures. More accurate than just measuring GDP, it’s part of a growing trend to look at a more holistic measurement of progress.

The team at the Wellington Regional Council were a joy to work with, and their enthusiasm and the results they have achieved are thoroughly worthy of this award.

My favorite part of the press release

“The GPI provides comprehensive information, largely through its innovative website, about the overall health of the region and how it’s doing economically, environmentally, socially and culturally. It enables anyone with an interest in the region to see and understand where improvements in well-being are being made or where efforts need to be focussed to make improvements.”

It’s actually quite hard to create a website that provides such different levels of detail over such a large area and translating a lengthy report into an interactive view was an interesting challenge. Im really happy with the result, and stoked that it’s being recognised as part of the success of the wider GPI project.

In my attempts to keep my brain going beyond the 25 year mark (when apparently everything stops), Im thinking of diversifying into property.

Well one property, to be precise. I am basically after a place that I can rent out for the next few years until my liver explodes from living in town, then move in and start this brilliant new life of puppies, spa pools and outdoor pizza ovens.

My search so far has been somewhat enlightening.

Since my memories of my experiences buying my apartment had started to fade, and combined with my awareness of how much Agents make, I think I sort of assumed there was some sort of standard around customer service…

However, so far, the lowlights have been:

• Abysmal advertising that lacks any sort of basic info, no general awareness at all on the area and property (I’m talking insulation, rental rates for tenanted properties, pictures in ads etc etc). There is no standard information, and while I’m aware it’s somewhat up to the owner to provide it, surely a checklist wouldn’t be amiss?
• Awfully presented homes. Dripping windows, tenants that are not only at home, but in their rooms with the doors closed and hostile expressions. Once again, owners issue, but if I was an Agent, i would be strongly advising hiring a cleaning company and incentivising tenants to be absent. Surely, once you’ve paid Agent fees, marketing fees and legal fees, what’s an extra couple of hundred dollars to present your house in a way that might add value? And for an agent, creating a network of complimentary suppliers surely can’t be that hard?
• Totally dis-interested agents. Either no response to emails, or when calling for an appointment, being met with a frosty “I’m busy this week.” I’ve actually twice now requested that maybe someone else in the office might have time, and then had them begrudgingly organise a replacement.
• And then there’s the lovely woman who had a fight with her husband on the phone 2 minutes after meeting us at the door over where he had put the spare key.

All this is a very low time in the property market. I thought Agents would be less arrogant and more eager, but it definitely seems a few missed the invention of the internet and haven’t cottoned on to the fact that we all now KNOW that market is in a slump.

I am aware that Agents work for the seller (though, it seems logical that there is a gap in the market for those who work for buyers – I’m almost at the point that I will walk away from a place simply because I can’t stand the idea of the Agent in charge getting a commission despite, it seems, trying as hard as possible to avoid a sale.) I can’t however see how any of the above is doing anything for ANYONE. Actually anything.

Which has prompted several conversations about what the job of an Agent should be. I know the likes of 200 Square are trying to address the same questions, and I know one Agent who is clearly passionate about changing the industry, but it’s a slow moving beast. My apartment was a private sale, and I’m unconvinced Joe Public has enough negotiation experience, which combined with a lack of emotion towards their pile of bricks and mortar means that doesn’t seem to work overly well.

I’m sensing that my usual strategy of thinking of a better way and running with that, is probably not going to happen here, nor is my guerrilla warfare plan of dropping notes in owners houses, when they have a particularly bad agent. But what to do….?

Just accept ridiculous commissions?

Just heard from Michele about some early buzz around MyLawsuit.com.

Michele and I ‘met’ several years ago now, and we designed the initial screens for MyLawsuit. Michele is a true inspiration (just read the articles to see what she gets up to!) and I love the concept of a website that helps the little guy in the legal world. With a limited, yet hugely painful experience of the reality of legal battles, I very quickly realised that even if you are 100% in the right and/or you are fighting to regain something someone took from you, it costs a FORTUNE in time, emotion and finance…

Michele (like all my favorites clients) has a very unique and very cool view on her industry, you can see a lot of her personal ethics in the product. I love the fact that she’s trying to remove the terrifying legalese that you are normally subjected to, and run a very open and transparent process to connect lawyers with clients. Its an industry full of sharks and awesome to see someone who’s not afraid of taking them on!

In my attempt to become carless, I was left in an awkward position, where my insurance expired 1 week before the car was sold.

I rang AA (who I have written about my love for several times) and they said they were happy to give me 2 weeks leeway, but if I was one of those uptight people (which I am!), I could renew my insurance and as soon as I cancelled it, they’d refund me the 51 weeks.

In the meantime, I casually mentioned a minor error on my policy (I own my apartment, don’t rent it) The lovely man was very apologetic and said Id obviously been paying way too much (apparently people are less likely to damage stuff in their own house – which is actually an interesting point of its own). So he went about organising not only my car refund, but my contents refund for the entire time I’d been with AA (I would have been happy with just this year since technically it’s my job to look at my policy!)

So Im about $130 up because of them (that’s on top of the car refund).

In a world where despite social media and the like, companies (especially insurers) have a bad rap with customer satisfaction, Im more than happy to once again recommend one of the cheapest, friendliest and most helpful companies Ive ever had the happiness to pay money too :)