Video or Text-Based Web Pages?

In previous blog entries, I have written about the way different communication channels influence the message received. We have known for a long time that the medium is the message. (See also Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium Is the Massage). One of the principal concepts behind the message inherent in the titles of books (including McLuhan’s) is that communication channels are themselves “messages.” The original discussion about this concept focused on the differences being communicated by print media and television. the movie, Medium Cool, was based on McLuhan’s concept that video was a “cool” medium, one that forced viewers to think . . . → Read More: Video or Text-Based Web Pages?

Customer Service

While we don’t always get good customer service, I hope that we (you and I) always do our best to provide it. This blog post is a follow-up to my previous post on Gas Pains. When I wrote that blog entry, I had received less-than-wonderful customer service from #Napoleon Fireplaces and blogged about my experiences attempting to get a new plastic knob to control the gas valve on a Napoleon gas log insert. You can still see much of the discussion on Facebook, although at this point you’ll need to search for it.

To summarize, the original gas knob, . . . → Read More: Customer Service

Gas Pains

This blog is not about eating too many beans…. Some gas pains are worse than others.

This is the story of my experience attempting to replace a $2 plastic knob on a Napoleon gas log fireplace. You may have had a similar experience with one product or another, or you may encounter something similar in the future. In the days before social media, sharing similar stories with a sufficient number of people to influence corporate behavior would have been extremely difficult if not impossible. The sharing part is relatively easy now. What remains not so easy is influencing corporate . . . → Read More: Gas Pains

Old Dogs and New Tricks

An alternate title for this blog entry might be “Adjusting to Social Media.” Many of us who are older “dogs” at this point haven’t really caught up with the changes in forms of communication that have occurred in recent years. Some of us are making the effort. Others aren’t. If you’re a student of communication, you’re probably familiar with Morris Massey, who has used the lens of generational differences to help individuals understand the communication process. Where we were when, especially in pre- and early adolescence, influences the principal frames through which we view the external environment. When I was . . . → Read More: Old Dogs and New Tricks