The reason Im not a millionaire is because when people say things like ‘how about we make a website where people can upload and share video on the internet’, my first thought is ‘no one would possibly ever use that!’

It ruins YouTube for me. Every time I go there (or hear the word ‘Farmville’), I remember that I have no understanding of people and what’s important to them.

The internet moves so quickly, but we adapt quickly. You actually have to sit and focus on how life used to be a year/2 years/a decade ago to realise just how differently we behave and socialise and buy stuff now.

People are starting to ask me more and more about running social media campaigns. Everyone wants a Facebook Page but few people know how to avoid trying to stuff new media full of old marketing techniques and even IF they manage to get people ‘liking’ them, the impact of all that time and effort on their bottom line is minimal at best.

The good news is that IF you are likable, interesting and offer something of value, you can get a lot of eyes on your brand/product/service for small change, the bad news is there is a fine line between try hard and popular beyond your wildest dreams.

For those of us who find the whole thing fascinating, it’s really cool to watch marketers becoming more clever with how they use social media to attract customers, and watching customers using and enjoying the power they have gained to ensure companies are answerable to them.

When my contents insurance came up for renewal recently and I looked at my State bill and thought “geez, even with all my no claims bonuses, loyal customer bonuses, multi policy benefits etc etc, it still looks like a tonne of money!”.

So the ring around started. I really only rang two other places (AMI and AA). What shocked me however, what that straight off the bat, for the SAME plan (or better), without a long history or any extra benefits, both places were significantly CHEAPER than State.

When I moved my car insurance across too, the savings ramped up even more – in the end I settled on AA and insuring everything PLUS adding an AA membership to the bill, it still came to less than my old plan.

And because I’m me, I rang State to give them a chance to beg me to stay with them and to offer me extra discounts to match these new players… and what did I get….?

“Nope, sorry, we’re just more expensive.”

Sort of funny, but a little bit sad, because I think State runs in the family, we’re big, enduring fans. I have only ever had good experiences with them, and I trust them… and now I’m no longer a customer.

Lets hope it doesn’t come back to bite me in the bum when I drop my iPhone in a toilet and AA wont cover it…

Just to turn a corner and be confronted with stairs that go SO HIGH up the hill, that you can’t even see the top of them from the bottom. And even for actual elite athletes, they are a good 3 minute end to end endeavor.

These stairs are HIGH.

And because it’s wellington, there are actually several different types of stairs making up the full number. So you are running nice little ones, followed by massive ones, followed by ones that look somewhat crumbly.

It was my third attempt last night and for the FIRST time I managed to run the entire way up the stairs. Jelly legs took on a whole new meaning, as did the term ‘running’ (which sort of became more like a stumble).

Quite fun though! But it’s actually only a 5km run. For us. Obviously other people run up the stairs numerous times re: they are VERY competitive (and have legs of steel).

Which is all fine and good. I don’t really mind explaining to someone that I don’t have their FTP details because we don’t host their website, or that the URL bar in their browser is different from their Yahoo search bar, and that is why their ‘website doesn’t work’. I don’t even mind calling Telecom on behalf of a client who is convinced our email accounts are down because they didn’t understand the different SMTP details they needed to switch between internet suppliers… or being termed the ‘IT people’ for ALL IT related matters (including email, Word issues, Outlook issues and any other generic PC and laptop issues people run into).

I actually don’t mind any of that. It reminds me that we are the technical elite and our audiences struggle with this stuff far more than we think.

But what I HATE is that a lot of people who ring us about stuff that is no relation to what we do and that I actually cannot help them on, get STROPPY.

We are very nice. We go out of our way to Google their particular ‘my computer isn’t working’, ‘my email is ‘stuck” etc issue and offer any support we can for free, on the basis that I get they don’t get the difference and a couple of minutes of our time can make someone elses day a million times easier.

So it REALLY ANNOYS me when there is an issue that is so entirely unrelated to us that my only answer can be ‘I’m really sorry, you will have to call you actual IT people/internet provider/website host’ to be met with…

Not a ‘thanks’,

Not even an ‘oh sorry!’

But a very suspicious and often angry reply.

I know what I don’t know. And when I don’t know it, I assume the fault is at my end and anyone who even attempts to help me is doing me a favour. I don’t understand why people think it’s ok to get angry with someone who has taken time out of their day out of the goodness of their hearts to HELP them.

GRRRR.

To be honest, I wouldn’t WANT to live in a world without lies. I have no issue with the small lies we say to smooth over harsh realities. I also think story telling is confused with lying, in the examples of Santa and the Tooth fairy, there is something to be said for teach children to imagine a world that isn’t right there in front of them. Im unconvinced there are any long term downsides to believing in Santa as a child. I also don’t think there’s an awful lot wrong with the odd ‘no your pimple isn’t noticeable’, ‘you did really well!’, ‘oh no one would have noticed the spinach in your teeth’ kind of lie… In some circumstances, when there is really nothing to be done for it, isn’t it best to attempt to make someone feel better?

But this leaves the question, where IS the line? As Rowan pointed out, we are the first to cry foul in sports games when the OTHER team cheats, but turn a blind eye when WE get away with something untoward. We also complain loudly when someone short changes us, but how many people actually speak up when they are given TOO MUCH change?

I know when someone is caught out for lying, their apologies seem to be more focused around their regret at getting CAUGHT rather than the regret they feel for being a slime ball in the first place. But then I also wonder if this isn’t so much about lying as it is about the need to believe that no matter what you do, you are a good person… Which makes it hard to acknowledge the times that you’ve caused more harm that good.

Hmm so no really resolutions on the subject, but thanks Rowan for supplying something to think about in any spare moment I’ve had in the past few days… :)

With two official teams in our pack, we’re hoping to raise $10,000 per team. Which means you will soon start to be invited to a whole bunch of events… Some initial ideas have included: Beach house holiday auctions, going on Oprah, running a speed dating event, movie nights, Zumba classes with the Australasian Zumba champ (yes we have hookups), and a LOT of eating and NOT eating.

Some of these activities (i.e going on Oprah) are less realistic than others, but one that we’re really starting to throw around is the $10 food challenge. Some of us are more keen than others, some of us are writing blog posts to warn the world about the hideous, awful person they are about to become living off $2 of food a day for nearly a week…

And ALL OF YOU need to get prepared for some fairly serious attempts to take money from you! :)

One is the infamous ‘scuseme guy’ the other is a newer, younger man, who sits slumped in the doorway, holding a sign that says he is hopeless and homeless and anything would help.

Because I have had the firm (and potentially un-examined) belief that in New Zealand, there is NO REASON to be homeless, I have walked past both these men many times).

But the other day, we were talking about loan sharks and suddenly it hit me, that a person can get themselves into a lot more bother then having NO money. They can have negative money and a loan company with a hold over them. And in ANY country, when you have basic living costs coming in, and massive loan repayments going out, the spiral is downward and sharply pointed.

Then I started thinking, even outside of this, there are probably numerous ways to fall from grace. Especially when you don’t come from a comfortable middle class background with parents and family (and friends) to fall back on in times of financial crisis… And a basic understanding of finance, delivered simply by living in a world full of people WITH money and good incomes, and savings and investments.

Quick smart I stopped feeling a sense of anger when I was asked for $2.

But I am now wondering WHY are people homeless in New zealand. I know there are people who prefer to live on the street, whose lives are lived there. I know there are people who may suffer a mental illness and/or may be unaware of the services available to them… But does that cover everyone? Do I have a man sitting on my doorstep who is so discouraged, so hopeless and so alone that he feels the streets are the only option available to him?

I wonder if we had a little more understanding of the reasons, as a community, we might be a little more supportive….

I have been plagued in the last few years with major regrets and this horrible feeling that I too have been at a point in my life where I made a life changing decision. I remember the day precisely. I have had this awful nagging feeling that I should have chosen the other option and that by running with the choice I made I severely mucked up and my life will never be quite as good as a result. It all sounds very dramatic and while it’s not, having THAT DAY in your head, and having the outcome lead to some pretty big bad times, it’s really hard to come to grips with your decision and wonder…

So this book really hit home and I have been mildly obsessed with seeing how things turned out. I felt (weirdly) that my destiny was going to be determined by the outcome of the book.

And the outcome of the book was that despite the often rocky journey that was the result of both different choices she made on her life changing day, life pretty much followed the same path.

It sounds stupid, but when I closed the book this morning, I felt an immense sense of relief and a lifting of guilt that my one bad decision can be overcome by the sheer force of living a life. The point of life is the MAKE a decision when you need to and run with it and that maybe there are no right or wrong answers.

One part of my job is promoting the Let’s Carpool website that was launched  last May in the Wellington Region. Over the last few weeks I’ve been getting my head around exactly what the programme does and what makes it different from other carpooling programmes. Luckily for me, I think it is pretty impressive with some very grunty software behind it that does a number of cool things. Not to mention that it’s New Zealand’s most popular commuter carpool programme.

Not only do you get a map of your commuting route with all the potential carpoolers located on it, it gives you the ability to really personalise what you want. You can state if you don’t want smokers, if you just want to travel with people of the same gender, only fellow employees, or with people that are within 1km of your home intersection. It’s a powerful programme and it works. People who are making trips like Karori to Lower Hutt or Island Bay to Porirua who realistically don’t have many options other than the car, can now share their costs with others going that way. 

Currently we have 1400 people using the website and a recent evaluation gave us positive results but also some good ideas for where to now. The most important thing is getting more people using it…obviously that’s the key ingredient for making sure everyone has a possible match. We seem to have passed a kind of tipping point in about March so that now its pretty rare for a person with normal commuting hours to not find at least someone going that way. But the more the better!

If you’ve got any great ideas for us about Let’s Carpool please let us know…either here or you can email me at claire.pascoe@gw.govt.nz. I’m keen to hear marketing suggestions, technological suggestions (given a very modest budget), and any other type of suggestion you might have.