Just like everyone else, I am always on the hunt for a good deal on connectivity.

I have a 4mb line with an ISP and I pay per GB so when I saw an article showing how bandwidth prices are coming down – I got very excited.

I immediately found the Service Providers in question and sure enough for a cheap price (belowR500 per month) you can get uncapped and unlimited ADSL with Torrenting !

WOW !!!

I signed up on the spot – but unfortunately there is not “lived happily ever after”

It all went pretty pear shaped.

Firstly, there is no”instant activation”. You complete the online sign up form only to be told you have to download a PDF file and complete the form and manually fax it back to their office. They then approve the application and create your account.

Ok – so after giving them my banking details so the debit order and completing the form and finding a fax machine I thought I would be set.

Wrong…

I get an “activation email” which has my username and password. No instruction. Just the company log and info. fortunately, I know that I need to open up my ADSL router and set in the details there but what about other non-IT people ?

So I put in the details and wait for it….NOTHING. No connection, no IP address, no internet.

I put in my old ISP details and it works perfectly which means there is nothing wrong with my line and ADSL router.

So I call their support line – Oh my goodness – PAINFULL !!! eventually I get through to someone who can do nothing, refused to try help and could literally string this sentence together “I will get someone to call you” – big surprise  – no one called.

So I sent an email to their support – eh….no reply. So I resend that email – no reply. So I send it from another email account in case it was blocked or got lost in the SPAM – no reply. I phoned again their support and when the guy started with “I will get someone to call you” I gave up.

I emailed their Accounts people and told them I want to cancel my account – guess what ? no reply.

I emailed them again and again and after the 3rd email – I got a one liner saying “ok”

thinking it was over, I then get an SMS on my phone that they took the money off my account anyways – WTF !!!!

I mailed them again and they said “nothing they can do and cant refund it”

I lodged a dispute with my bank and the money was returned to me.

So AFTER all of this – the lesson is simple: You get what you pay for.

“Price is what you pay – but Value is what you get”

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I was fortunate enough to be published in the August issue of Jewish Life under the Business Upstart section !

This article is a profile about me (allow me some indulgence here) and the business I have started over the year which now all form part of Swift Holdings

The article is available here

Tell me what you want, what you really really want…

So, the question is: why have media planners not embraced Mobi and run with it like it was expected? It is a question that has been doing its rounds around many boardroom tables, Internet sites and water coolers around the country.

So what is the answer? Why are media planners and Ad Agencies NOT including Mobi in their ad campaigns?

There is no simple answer to this question (as expected). However, over the past nine years, I have seen some common trends as to why mobile marketing is not being actively offered by media houses.

These can be summarised into the following:

It’s a matter of trust

The problem: The Mobile marketplace is very fragmented.  Sourcing the right mobile partner is very time consuming in a market where media content providers over promise and under deliver resulting in unhappy clients.

The solution: There is a misconception that mobile is a new marketplace. This is incorrect. Mobile is NOT new. Mobile marketing has been around for many years and this channel has matured over this time. 

Find a mobile partner with a track record. The mobile partner must be able to show you examples of work. Not in a ‘death-by-PowerPoint’  presentation. But on a ‘live’ phone! Your mobile partner must be able to be your single point of contact for the mobile world.

Information and the lack thereof

The problem: Media planners lack consistent, accurate, quality information about what Dot Mobi can offer their clients.  To make matters worse, even the sources of information seem not to agree on the various mobile aspects.

The solution: The mobile landscape is changing very fast – faster than the web. New opportunities, new facilities, new phones are evolving all the time (remember your first brick phone with a tiny screen and no colour?) Whilst the information might seem to be contradictory, it might not be. Your mobile partner should be able to walk you through this maze and understand how to deliver your client’s brand to the various phones – even the old ones!

(see above for choosing the right mobile partner)

Campaign measurement

The problem: Campaigns need to be measured. If this information is available at all, it is usually in a format that is confusing, not in line with industry standards and the agency spends the better part of the day trying to decode the report to see if it is successful or not.

The solution: Campaigns are measured in clickthrough rates – following the Internet model. However, for the mobile world, this is the wrong unit of measurement. Mobile marketing is all about creating brand awareness and engaging with the consumer – not about clickthrough rates to the products home page.

Mobile is about a captive audience, viral marketing and an engaging experience.

No money in it

The problem: Media agencies charge based on media buys. Therefore, by comparison with traditional media (TV, radio, print), mobile marketing is not profitable for the agencies.

The solution:  Typically an agency would charge the client a percentage of the media spend  and provide the consulting time free of charge.  For mobile marketing, agencies will need to adapt their thinking and learn how to charge for the mobile consulting time as well as the mobile marketing spend.

Agencies are constantly under pressure to provide their clients with the latest and best new thing. Mobile is the answer – and it attracts the related expertise charge that comes along with it.

Mobile advertising is a growing channel that is accessible at all levels of media campaigns.

Mobile phones, by their nature, are always on and always with the consumer providing far more opportunities for interaction compared to TV or the internet.

Your consumers are mobile – are you?

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We know them as cell phones, other parts of the world refer to them as Mobile Phones – call them what you wish but one thing we all agree on – these Mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives.
For this reason, mobile has become a unique marketing channel. More and more companies are realising that it is essential to develop a mobile communication strategy.

Unfortunately we have all experienced the strange SMS on our mobile phone at weird hours of the night offering us a “buy one get one free thingie in Blikkisfontein” deal on products and services we have no urge to purchase (not to mention that even if we wanted it, we don`t live in Blikkiesfontein anyway).
These unsolicited SMS`s have irritated customers to the point that the marketing campaigns have a negative effect – customers are leaving.
Learning from the mistakes of how advertising emails (SPAM) have plagued email inboxes around the world, it is imperative that mobile marketing doesn`t follow suit.
So here lies the dilemma – a mobile phone is a very personal device so how does a company wishing to make use of Mobile Marketing ensure they don`t upset their customers?

The Solution ….. .Mobi !

.Mobi sites are specifically designed websites that are optimised to work on mobile phones. The consumer simply enters the Mobi url into their phone and can then access the Mobi site. Mobi sites are not `regular` sites just made smaller, but the sites are custom-designed to serve a purpose for the mobile customer.

As there are so many different manufacturers of mobile phones and so many different phone browsers, the developers of the Mobi site need to be able to cater for all of these. Your regular website designer doesn`t have to take into consideration a screen that can be flipped sidewards however mobile phones have the ability to be viewed in landsape and portrait mode.

Therefore, a Mobi site will need to be developed by a Mobile development company with these specific skills. Saying this, Mobi sites are not necessarily a costly development. Mobi sites range in complexity from the very simple to the very integrated – it all depends on the company`s needs and being guided by a Mobile professional.

One can deliver a rich content experience, in full-colour, direct to consumers without invading their privacy. These campaigns range from promoting a single product or campaigns launching new services to one that reinforces the brand by way of a promotion.

"I believe that mobile Marketing is most effective when it is done in conjunction with the company`s marketing strategy. Mobile Marketing can be `once-off` in nature (example: promoting a specific event) or Mobile Marketing can also be `sustained presence` in nature where Mobi sites are permanent sites for the brand to reach their consumers.

.Mobi allows brands/companies to be where the consumers are – at their fingertip no matter where they are. Being available to your customer allows for instant-gratification to satisfy an urge which is converted into a sale.

To illustrate this point: our client, a well-known weight management company, has contacted us with a dilemma of how they can attract more members. After some consultation and research, we have discovered that most of us promise ourselves the same thing: “this year we will lose some weight and exercise more (and this year I mean it!)” Therefore, we have created a Mobi site for the company that instantly allows a new member to work out what their Goal Weight should be and if they are not at Goal Weight, the Mobi site informs them where their nearest Group meets. It also allows them to contact the Group Leader in order to make an appointment – all this happens within seconds, direct from their mobile phone.

Since the introduction of the Mobi site, membership has increased nationally. Both new and existing members use the Mobi site in order to keep in touch with the Weight Management company and follow-up research has shown that the brand is more on top of their minds now that they can access it from their phone.

If you believe in the power and value that the internet can bring to your business then try typing your web address into your mobile phone…..frustrating isn’t it?

The Web has revolutionized how we interact with and publish information, however surfing the internet using one’s mobile phone, whilst being quite convenient, can be a very frustrating and time-consuming exercise if trying to access a non-mobile compliant website. The result is often that people then prefer to wait until they are sitting at a PC than have to try to scroll down and across on their tiny cell phone screen. Added to this is the problem that the majority of South Africans do not have access to a PC yet they more than likely own a cell phone which is a much cheaper means of accessing the internet.

According to Liron Segev of Swift Telecoms, “The problem that exists is that websites have been created to work with powerful PC’s, with a 17” screen, a mouse and a keyboard which means that traditional websites do not function or display correctly on mobile phones. Hence the creation of .Mobi websites whereby a dedicated Mobi site is created to deliver your information to a mobile phone anytime, anywhere there is cell phone coverage, without the current frustrations of non-mobile compliant websites.”

The .Mobi phenomenon has already been widely accepted in the international arena however the need is only now being recognised for South African internet users with larger companies slowly starting to establish a mobile presence.

“Currently a third of the world’s population access the internet through a mobile device. By 2010, it is predicted that this figure will increase to half of the world’s population. This number is twice the size of internet-connected personal computers. Historically, technology has been slow in filtering down to South Africa however, with Mobile, we are leading the way. Corporates have embraced mobile technology such as SMS and now Mobi sites are the next revolution which is going to change the way we do business and how we live our lives.”

According to Segev, mobile development isn’t simply website development made smaller. “A different set of skills is required to take into consideration phone browsers as well as the different makes and models of mobile phones, making .Mobi sites a more involved programming process. Also, a company’s requirements need to be taken into consideration when developing a .Mobi site. We need to be smart when working with mobile applications so we tend to encourage corporates to only feature the necessary content, thereby preventing the user from having to sift through unnecessary information and creating a positive interaction with the site for the user, resulting in immediate gratification.”

For more information, visit www.swifttelecoms.co.za or www.swiftholdings.co.za

We have always heard that we need to install the latest firewalls, make sure our anti-virus is up to date, disable and uninstall all unnecessary software etc. etc – all this in order to protect our company’s sensitive data.

Remember the weakest link in the chain – your own employees…

we can attempt to stop all hacker attacks from external to the network, but there is not much that can stop an employee with the correct security access from making copies (be it soft or hard copies) of your data and walking off with it.

in this economic time, when companies are downsizing and cutting job, employees are unsure of their future. SOME are taking some steps to copy sensitive company data. This can be used to start a new job, start own company and in some cases – just for revenge !

“People are worried about their jobs and want to hedge their bets,” he said.

“Our study showed that 59% of people will say ‘I’m going to take something of value with me when I go’.” “

check out this new story by the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7902989.stm)

<Gulp!>

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I just read a great article about passwords – they analysed 28 000 passwords that were stolen from a US website and this is what they found :

“It found that 16 percent took a first name as a password, often their own or one of their children, according to the study published by Information Week.

Another 14 percent relied on the easiest keyboard combinations to remember such as "1234" or "12345678." For those using English keyboards, "QWERTY", was popular. Likewise, "AZERTY" scored with people with European keyboards.

Five percent of the stolen passwords were names of television shows or stars popular with young people like "hannah," inspired by singer Hannah Montana. "Pokemon," "Matrix," and "Ironman" were others.

The word "password," or easy to guess variations like "password1," accounted for four percent.

Three percent of the passwords expressed attitudes like "I don’t care," "Whatever," "Yes" or "No."

There were sentimental choices – "Iloveyou" – and their opposite -"Ihateyou."

 

My additional 5 cents on this – not only must you use a nice long password but also dont use the SAME password for each and every website that you visit.

Its amazing how many people use the same password again and again and again – all it takes is one slip up ….

So if you are reading this and you know that your password is on this above list – CHANGE IT !!!

there is a great book called the 4 Hour Work Week – this will change your life !

Amazon Linked

Get it , read it and implement it !

I read it 5 times and still refer back to it frequently…

So you think that life is hard ?

So this new Credit Crunch making things too tough ?

So you can’t make ends meet ?

So you think you had enough and can’t go on ?

….you have to watch this….

 

unless you have been in a cave somewhere (Osama ?), you will know that more and more people are using their mobile phones to browse the net.

However, since most websites are designed to work with desktop/laptop devices, they either simply do not work or don’t display correction on the mobile phones.

this means that 1.3 billion mobile users in the world can not view these websites.

this is where companies like Swift Telecoms (www.swifttelecoms.co.za) come in – they will evaluate your company’s mobile strategy and will design a Mobi site for you !

Make no mistake – more and more devices are able to browse the web. Even new digital cameras have the ability to upload images directly onto Flicker or You Tube.

the Mobile Internet revolution is starting – just make sure you are not left behind…