Time Warner Cable: You Call That PR?

Time Warner is having some negotiation issues with channel providers. It's not new; it happens because everyone wants more for less. This round of cooperation turned into much less and led to a few channel blackouts. Okay, we understand.

But then I got this email from Time Warner. See if you can spot the terrible copywriting that stinks of an angst-ridden, petulant tween blogger:

On July 9, 2012 Hearst Television chose to black out their signals from Time Warner Cable customers rather than continue negotiations, and despite their CEO saying just two weeks earlier that broadcaster blackouts are unfair to consumers.

...

Q: Why is this happening again? It seems like this happens all the time.
A: Unfortunately, these kinds of disputes have become more common over the past few years. Cable TV prices are rising and one cause is higher fees being demanded by greedy broadcasters – as their advertising dollars decline, they want cable customers to make up the difference. And if we don't agree to their outrageous demands, they take away their programming. We don't think it's fair for TV stations to hold programming hostage for our customers, and we are working hard to keep the programming on our lineup while also trying to hold down the cost of TV.

Q: Why shouldn't I just go ahead and switch to DirecTV/Dish/FIOS/AT&T now?
A: Switching makes no sense; most of these contract blackouts are over within a matter of days. But switching isn't really the answer — any provider you switch to may eventually face the same kind of blackout threats. In fact, the American Television Alliance reports that broadcasters have blacked out signals in nearly 100 different cities since January 2011, with customers of DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FIOS and other major cable companies suffering actual or threatened blackouts. We think blackouts are unfair to viewers, which is why we continue to negotiate hard on your behalf to try to keep prices down.

Q: Will you be crediting me for the channel(s) that go dark?
A: Remember that customers do not pay for channels on an individual basis — they pay for a package of channels plus the technology and service required to deliver those channels. So we do not typically offer a credit for channels that have been blacked out.

This is considered Public Relations? This isn't even high-school level persuasive writing. "Greedy broadcasters?" "Outrageous demands?" So, being the gadfly I am, I went to Time Warner Cable's website and submitted a query along those lines: Was it really a good idea to take a serious issue with many facets and turn it childish and churlish in an open letter to all of your customers?

I even received a timely response. Tell me if this sounds familiar (emphasis mine):

On July 9, 2012 Hearst Television, the owner of several stations in our Midwest Market and one station in Hawaii, chose to black out their signals from our customers rather than continue negotiations - despite their CEO saying just two weeks earlier that broadcasters? blackouts are unfair to consumers.

Time Warner Cable is always negotiating new contracts with TV stations and networks. We've reached hundreds of agreements with other broadcasters without public dispute, and what Hearst is demanding is out of line.

We think it's wrong to put viewers in the middle of business negotiations. We know our customers are tired of these public contract disputes-and so are we.

Unfortunately, instead of continuing negotiations Hearst TV has chosen to black out there signals from our customers. They are demanding a 250% fee increase for the exact same programming, most of which is available for free over the air or online. We don't think that's fair.

There is more, but I think a rehash with spelling errors is enough to get the point across.

Time Warner has its issues (with cable and internet and customer service), but I've never seen both an angry PR letter and a customer service response that was so obviously ignorant of the original communication. They literally responded to a concerned message about an unprofessional communication with another unprofessional communication. When I posed this question to their Facebook page, my post was quickly deleted.

I'm not interested in an apology or creating a mess for them when they're already dealing with one. More than anything, this is a teaching moment:

1. If you're sending out a mass email to your customers that deals with a topic you are no happy with, argue your point with the facts, not name-calling invective. You will appear the petty fool and nothing more; you've already lost.
2. If you are offering to receive emails from customers and respond to their concerns, read their emails. Respond appropriately. And check your grammar.

Cincinnati Bell - Family & Technology FAIL

My wife and I have a 14 year old daughter. With having a 14 year old daughter comes some of the complications implicit in raising a teenage girl. Namely: goofy boys. They're mind-boggled, silly, and still growing up. Yes, even I was one once.

And boys will be boys. Prank calls will be made. But there is a line. And this is where technology comes in and Cincinnati Bell falls flat on its face in the protection of families.

Origins

Since there have been phones there have been prank calls. I'd bet after the famous "Mr. Watson come here I want you," when Watson was settled back in the other room the second call was "Watson, is the refrigerator running?" (anachronism noted - I can't even do Prince Albert in the Can!). So on occasion, if we get a prank call with some boys goofing off, I don't pay much mind and just hang up.

But about 2 months ago, the calls - though still rare - started to become more malicious. They started edging towards the middle of the night. And knowing my daughter was not allowed to talk on the phone that late, became targeted at myself and my wife with specific reference towards our daughter. Last Saturday night / Sunday morning was the last straw. Someone called our home and when I told them our daughter could not speak, they proceeded to become - let's just say sexually explicit. It was not nice. And as the father of the 14 year old girl, I was not happy.

The Research

I called Cincinnati Bell on two different occasions because the simple fact is that despite the caller(s) using *67 to block their identity, there's a server somewhere with that phone number on it. And living in a small community with responsive parents, the easiest way to deal with the situation would be to get the phone number and have a parent-to-parent talk. Not happening.

Harassing phone calls are a crime as soon as they're made, so Cincinnati Bell's policy for harassing - and even life-threating - phone calls is as follows:

No prior harassing calls made can be tracked (read: looked up). Period. It is my responsibility to talk to the police and file an official police report. It is the police department's responsibility to contact Cincinnati Bell and request a tap on the phone. At that time, Cincinnati Bell will place a tap on my phone (read: press a button or click a checkbox) for 21 days. It is my responsibility, when the next harassing call comes through, to myself make a phone call to a special voicemail box to log the time of the call as well as keep a written record. At the end of that 21 days, they will remove the tap and forward the list of phone numbers to the investigating officer. And then it becomes a legal matter.

However, if the calls become more threatening or more graphic or more frequent, nothing still happens for those 3 weeks. If the pranking trolls don't call in those 3 weeks? Nothing. I'll have to wait for another harassing call, file another police report, rinse and repeat.


The Conclusion

This is both lazy and unacceptable on the part of Cincinnati Bell. It would be like if your house was robbed and you had the license plate of the getaway car and the police said "Here's our policy: I know you've been violated, so we're going to install a camera across the street. If they come back, leave us a voicemail so we can timecode the rough time of the crime, and after three weeks we'll take a look. If they don't come back in that window, nothing we can do. But we'll come back to put up that camera if they come back after that."

They have that number on file somewhere that can easily be referenced with knowing the time of the call(s). Once there is (reluctantly) police involvement, there should be no issue of digging backwards. Unfortunately for all of their customers, with Cincinnati Bell, an efficient method of family protection is not anywhere on their agenda.


So what are your thoughts? Should retrieval of a phone number be available to civilians? To police upon request? Is the 21-day tap reasonable? Is Cincinnati Bell protecting privacy or being lazy? What if it was your child?

Lots of issues here - can't wait to hear your thoughts!

The Dynamic, Spooky Truth of Google

Spotted in this month's Wired (18.05):

Found, Then Lost

In his article about Google ("Inside the Box," issue 18.03), Steven Levy used the phrase "mike siwek lawyer mi" as an example of a search that showed Google's power and effectiveness - how easy it is to find an individual lawyer in Michigan! But since the article was published and blogged about, those links crowd out Mr. Siwek, and his Web site no longer appears in Google's top search results. So very ironic.

And that me blogging about the letter discussing the blogging that changed the dynamic will also have an effect? Downright spooky.

Reminds me of that time I took over Jaguar Grooming in Cincinnati, Ohio...

Weekly Inspiration: Growth!

It was inevitable. You're looking for inspiration and there it is right in front of you: Spring. Printemps as the French would say. (Sorry, listening to Rock Velours on Sirius right now.)



If you have to ask why Spring is inspirational, you have bigger problems than what I can address in a blog post.

But here is Spring in Cincinnati: green, growth, color, leaves on trees, the odors of the flowers, life!

Yes, life! Everywhere you look: life! Things that have been dormant for months are coming out, returning, energizing.

And in that is this week's lessons:

1. Business building: Whether you're new or been around for awhile, take advantage of the lesson of nature to grow. The tree knows it only has a few months to make the most of the new season; act like it, act like your only growth can happen now. Fire yourself up, energize yourself with the wonder outside your window! And get out there and get it done.
2. And if you're in business now and lagging behind and can't seem to find your place, the message is the same: DO IT! NOW! Nature and energy and growth is all around you; borrow that drive, see it and follow it. You have no excuse except...nothing. Do or do not. Now's your chance.

Spring is the best time of the year to build a business, to grow an existing business, to drive yourself to make it bigger and better, to rein in quantity over quality.

It's yours to use. You can succeed or fail any time of the year. But now's the time to take a good look around and shout to the heavens "Success!" and make it yours.

So make it yours.

Newport on the ...Browser?

I'd like first to wish all my readers a wonderful and prosperous 2010: I think we're in for one heck of a year. Or at least I'm willing to make it successful!

This past weekend I traveled over the river to Newport on the Levee to see Avatar in IMAX 3D (and it was worth every cent of the parking and the $15/per ticket and wearing glasses- Amazing! But that's a separate post. This is a short one.).

When we were driving towards the packed parking garage, I noticed the Newport on the Levee logo on a sign. I noticed it over the summer, but this reinforced my insight and I had to post about it. Here's what I saw:



And the first time I saw it, it took me 0.3 seconds to relate it to what I thought that logo looked like.

Anyone else?

Okay, I'll just spill it:



To be clear: I'm not claiming the logo designer stole or even drew inspiration from the Netscape logo before putting together the Newport on the Levee logo. But I found it similar enough to be just a little uncanny.

Do you have any thoughts? I'd love to read them. Simply comment. And I'll respond :)

Friday Videos: Fishin Kitties, LOLCats, Gaga, and, Well...

Fishing Kitties

Adorable joy from the Cincinnati Zoo - Fishing kittens. This is not your average LOLCats.




I Can Haz Pancakes?

Um, but this is.... Sorry.




Lady Gaga

Did you see Lady Gaga's VMA fashion statement(s)? Do you care?




And Then There's This...



See you next week with more video fun!

Friday YouTube: BBC, Reading Rainbow, Cincinnati Cheetah

BBC Embarrassing Revelation

Making the rounds one chuckle at at time.




LeVar on Geordi on Reading Rainbow

You read that right. I was reading fellow Cincinnatian and geek Kelly's blog post about how Reading Rainbow has been on for 26 years and the last original show had been aired. And then I remembered this episode:




Cincinnati Cheetah: World Record!

This has nothing to do with Cincinnati cougars. That's a whole other blog.

Social Networking in Cincinnati

I've been doing a great deal of networking over the past few weeks and have had some excellent experiences and met fantastic people. Here's a quick guide to some of the events and groups I've been interacting with.

Cincinnati AMA
The Cincinnati chapter of the American Marketing Association has over 600 members in the Cincinnati/NKY region. With about a dozen monthly events planned around SIGs like Business-to-Business and International Marketing, there are plenty of opportunities to get to know people in your niche in both structured learning environments and more social mingling that the Young Professionals group gravitates towards. The fee is reasonable and scaled for business size, but non-members can attend just about every event.

Tristate Business Network
TBN's mission is to bring businesses from all over the Tri-state area together to meet, network and help each other grow business relationships. They have a monthly speed networking event (90 seconds - go!) and daily - yes, I said daily - meeting and networking opportunities in and around greater Cincinnati. With over 200 official members and a constantly changing flow of visitors, TBN focuses on giving first. A modest membership fee is worth the friendships and connections.

New Media Cincinnati - Second Saturday
If you don't know about this one, check out the New Media Cincy site. A relaxed gathering every second Saturday at the Pub at Rookwood organized around new media of some sort by Daniel Johnson, Jr., you can see some of the Twitter traffic by searching #newmediacincy. Event is free, food and drink are attendee's responsibility.

Jelly Cincinnati
This is the #CincyTweetup coworking event that takes place at Crossroads at Ridge and Madison once a month. "The idea here is to have folks who work in many different job functions working together in an open environment. The expectation is that creative juices will flow and new friendships will be forged." Honestly, more networking happens than actual work getting done, but there are people coming and going all day and always someone interesting to talk to and learn from. Was started by @researchgoddess (we'll miss you!) but is now headed up by @hellogerard and @blecount. Event is free.

Market and Profit (MAP)
Twice a month a speed networking event (where you're the only in your field in your group) followed by open networking and a meal. Excellent turnout every time. Very small fee to attend (joining group is free) and another great way to meet professionals and business owners in Cincinnati. Keep abreast of the events through the Linkedin Group. Over 600 Linkedin members.

Social media helps you get out your message and helps to build your presence for your face and your brand online. But nothing substitutes meeting people face to face and growing real-world relationships. Remember: A smile and a handshake is worth a thousand tweets.


So where do you go to network? What groups do you belong to or mingle with? I'd love to get your feedback.

UPDATE!
Thanks to some great feedback through Twitter from @newmediacincy and @hellogerard, we've got some more resources to toss in there, and some things I needed reminding of:

Job Search Focus Group
The Job Search Focus Group of Hyde Park is often lauded in Cincinnati as one of the most extensive "in transition" groups in the region. I was able to attend once and the resources and networking are great; if I ever moved from owning my own business to in transition, that's the first place I'd stop. Follow some of the Tweeting with #jsfg

Cincinnati Social Media
Follow the tweets at #cincysm. And set your alerts! The Enquirer event coming up 9/9 knocked down 50 seats in 45 minutes and the Social Media Breakfast usually goes faster than that.

Resources for Women
I've heard nothing but good things about the Cincinnati Women Bloggers (@cinwomenbloggers), Girlfriendology (@girlfriendology), and the women's publication Cincy Chic.

Additionally, Breanna Gaddie's Networking With Passion blog is always a great read, and Krista Neher created a post a while back that covers some of the items I did not in this post.

Oh, and Thursday, August 20th is networking at the Hofbrauhaus in NKY at 11:30 (thanks @justinrains

Anything else? I'm always up to update!

Joe Kowalski and RetainingWallExpert and Gary Sullivan

I don't usually throw out my clients as blog subjects, but a good friend and client of mine, Joe Kowalski, runs the site RetainingWallExpert.com. Joe is a brilliant engineer here in Cincinnati and I've been lucky enough to work with him in the past couple months through EJM Designs Limited to develop some interactive ideas and implementations for his current site.

Joe has quite a following here in Cincinnati and nationally for what he does, so it's exciting from a personal and local event to find that he's going to be live on "At Home with Gary Sullivan" tomorrow morning at 9am. National audience, national exposure, and his business and talent gets the recognition it deserves.

And if you're not in Cincinnati, it's surprisingly difficult to find affiliates that have picked up Gary's show, but you can listen live at WKRC's website or, of course, on the actual radio at 550 AM.

Joe Kowalski, RetainingWallExpert.com and local Cincinnati entrepreneur on Gary Sullivan Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 9am.

I'm always happy when someone makes good for themselves, especially when they're local, and it's a friend of mine.

Have a great weekend!

Results on a Niche: Jaguar Grooming in Cincinnati, Ohio

I recently posted about gaining a niche. That niche was for Jaguar Grooming in Cincinnati, Ohio.



As you can see, a search on Google for "jaguar grooming cincinnati" popped me up at #1 (minus the sponsored links, of course).

Because it's so specialized, "jaguar grooming" itself only tops my post by a single Flickr account with an actual jaguar grooming itself.

But that's the crazy thing about the internet and Google rankings. This post itself will alter the results I am currently reporting upon. Which is another lesson: SEO and internet rankings are always in flux.

So grab onto your niche. Own it. Figure out exactly what your customers or clients are searching for, make it a part of your site and blog and Twitter, et. al.

Make it yours.

Local Cincinnati Poll: Abbreviations?

I've been living in Cincinnati for a little over 18 months now and I love this town. But I'm finding it difficult to locate a standardization when it comes to a "proper" abbreviation of Cincinnati. So through my Twitter account and using twitter.polldaddy.com, I created a poll.

So, local or not, what do you think the proper abbreviation of Cincinnati is or should be?