Getsatisfaction - how satisfying

We're launching a new service soon - MoZoop - that will allow users to transfer contacts from one phone to another - for free.

It's a completely different market and business model from Esendex but is a great opportunity to try some new techniques and technologies.

I saw the founders of Getsatisfaction talk a few years ago and had hoped we'd get an opportunity to try their service at some point - and this is it.

Getsatisfaction.com/mozoop was live within about 10 minutes. Although it's going to need sufficient volume to get the support community going, it seems like a really powerful tool and I look forward to using it in the weeks and months ahead.

Call for Involvement

For a couple of years now I’ve been involved with the Strategy Implementation Board of the UKTI ICT Marketing Strategy – there’s a punchy title!.

Definition of scope has been difficult – “Technology” covers areas as diverse as a company like Esendex that delivers a service via the internet, to hardcore chip manufacturers. Representation on the Board is equally diverse – from the IBM and O2s of the world down to SMEs like us.

Nonetheless, there’s a real will to do something – and a sense of traction.

As part of this initiative, there is now considerable effort, led by Many by Many, into investigate setting up an independent network that helps companies identify and engage in profitable markets outside of the UK. On the basis that larger organisations probably [ think they ] know what they are doing, the focus will be on the SME sector.If you’ve any views, or would just like to keep a watching brief, please join the UK Technology Global Markets group on Linked In

I'm not sure I recognise myself

A very learned article about The Economic Sociology of Triathlons by Brooke Harrington - first time I'd heard the word Panopticon!

An interesting read - but am I part of a self selecting group of affluent, highly motivated individuals, who spend countless hours forging bonds through the competitive, grueling, and socially cohesive ritual of endurance athletics?

Sounds alright to me!

Phonepay Plus Fines – Are They A Deterrent?

Esendex is one of a relatively small number of directly connected Premium Rate SMS “service providers” in the UK: we connect directly to each of the UK networks and provide services to other “information providers” – those with content.

However, we’re also a relatively small player in this market – primarily because the financial penalties for getting it wrong are high and would potentially endanger both our brand and our core Business SMS business.

Phonepay Plus regulates all premium rate telephony services in the UK, including Premium Rate SMS.

The regulatory structure is heavily weighted towards the “Service Provider” with the rationale that the relatively small number of Service Providers are strongly incentivised to only do business with reputable Information Providers – in practice the industry should be self-correcting given the strong sanctions available to Phonepay Plus and the Networks themselves.

Whilst this structure would seem to make sense,Phonepay Plus continue to ratchet up the fines that they issue. Today’s adjudications included fines for £40,000, £80,000, £140,000 and even £160,000. I believe the largest fine issued is £250,000!

A large element of these fines relates to breach history, i.e. they’ve done it before. All those parties included in today’s adjudications had been fined several times before.

Clearly the incentive scheme isn’t working. 3 scenarios spring to mind:

1. There’s enough money in dodgy PSMS to afford the fines
   
2. The fines aren’t being paid, or
   
3. The fines can be passed off to the Information Providers (a standard contractual clause) and there’s a large enough supply of financially strong Information Providers willing to take the risk on yet another dodgy SMS scheme.

Or am I missing something?

Business SMS - Still a Valid Business Communication Channel?

Sending and receiving of SMS via a PC as part of day to day business communications, aka Business SMS – is a rapidly growing channel. Users typically take advantage of Web SMS or Email to SMS tools, or integrate their own systems with a Business SMS service using an SMS API.

The Mobile Data Association recently published an excellent report highlighting its use by SMEs in particular. As an indicator of the growth of this sector, Esendex’s own traffic is growing by almost 100% pa and other SMS providers report similar growth.

However, there is also a view that SMS will be overtaken by communication channels such as Mobile Email, Instant Messaging or social media tools such as Twitter. There are certainly some staggering statistics around Twitter – Hitwise reported this month that their traffic was 500% up on the same period last year – despite their outages.

But one needs to be careful to strip the “US effect” within these statistics and the underlying assumptions. With a “Receiver pays” model, texting just didn’t take off in the States and alternative channels have been relatively more successful here than elsewhere in the world. This and the desire to spot the next “big thing” has contributed to a US-dominated investor sentiment which has trickled down to a general market view.

Even so, this misses the point that SMS is already a global phenomenon: it is the most widely used data application in the world with 2.4 billion active users. That doesn’t mean that SMS, and Business SMS in particular, will necessarily replace other communication channels – it should be viewed as part of the mix.

First Posted: ArticlesBase.com - Business SMS - Still a Valid Business Communication Channel?

A Coach can make a big difference

Esendex has sponsored elite triathlete Richard Stannard for a couple of years now. Consequently he hosts training / advice sessions for any members of the team doing the Esendex Last Minute Triathlon and was in yesterday taking a (very hot) run session.

Neither Adam or I could make it as we were tied up in start-of-year finance sessions, so we went for a quick swim at lunchtime with Richard instead.

I’m a reasonable swimmer, and pretty good at self-motivation – both essential skills for anyone who sets up their own business.

But being coached made a huge difference. I was able to push myself harder than I’d have ever managed on my own. We only covered about 1,000m but I’m not sure I’d ever swam as hard.

It left me exhausted – but also incredibly motivated and busy scribbling swim sessions all evening.

I assume this is why so many proper athletes use coaches.

And I believe that the same principles apply in business: by “coaching” those that work for you, rather than simply directing, you can help them achieve far more than they would on their own.

It only works if you have the respect of the other party but just like in sports, whilst the best managers / coaches were not necessarily the best athletes in their time, they do need to have a complete understanding of the subject.

And to flip it round, whether it’s to achieve a new 1,500m PB or move your business forward, one also needs to be open to being coached oneself – and that coaching can come from both colleagues and external resource.

Escape from Alcatraz –my race

3 alarms went off at 3:45am this morning.  Unfortunately I’d been awake for over an hour anyway!

After breakfast of bananas and energy bars I set off to cycle to the Marina Fields to set-up transition.  At 4:30am San Francisco is very dark and very empty.  A brief panic about whether I’d missed something was soon put to rest when another bike came out of a side street.  And slowly, like some carbon-fibre cycling zombie film, the procession grew as more and more cyclists appeared.

Transition was dark – people were using head-torches - but before long I was on the bus to board the boat and to be “body-marked”.  I’m not sure this has much practical use but it certainly makes you feel like a proper triathlete.

The boat ride out was packed but fun with all us first-timers pumping anyone who’d raced before for more information.

Eventually we were holding right off Alcatraz Island.  After prayers! and the Star Spangled Banner, the hooter went at 8am sharp and we were off.

In what could only be described as orderly chaos, nearly 2000 swimmers were off the side of the boat in 6 minutes and swimming for shore.

The effect of the current is amazing – you head straight for shore but finish up over a mile down the beach.  The water was clear and not too cold but the swim was brutal. Talking to people afterwards, apparently the current wasn’t as strong as previous years and added 8-10 minutes to the swim.  But the water was turbulent and as the swimmers fanned out so we seemed to cut across each other.

I took another swimmer’s arm down-stroke on the back of my head just as I gulped for air. After a brief up-chuck I was off, again finishing in 47mins, just inside the top 50%.

Despite the hills the ride was a lot of fun, although I took the descents fairly easy: I had to catch a plane in about 8 hours time and didn’t want to miss-it.  (I did see one very bloodied faller being attended to at the bottom of one descent, validating my caution).

And then to the 8m run. Bloody Hell! Stairs, hills, trails, a mile on the sand and then the bloody sand ladder.  By this point I was struggling and it was very much a case of survival.  That said, the support from other athletes, volunteers and onlookers was amazing and probably what got me round.

Us Brits tend to be a bit sniffy about Americans but only in America can an onlooker shout “You Guys Are So Tough” to a straggling bunch of runners and mean it without being at all condescending.

My Finish Time: 3:49:53

- Nearly 20 minutes over my prediction.  Although I could claim a bit from the swim in truth I just didn’t have the run legs.  However, I’m not disappointed.  I finished with nothing left in the tank so I’m pretty happy that I gave it all.

My time on the Sand Ladder was in the top 10% overall.  This seems counter-intuitive given my creaking run but I suspect that it was down to the ladder being less crowded by the time I got to it.  Still, I’ll take what I can!

BTW: Winning elite men’s time was 2:07:25, winning elite women’s time was 2:21:23