Category Archives: Fun

I got promoted! – email mistakes, part 1

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email mistakes

In this post, I want to show the email mistakes that can be made when you don’t check the sendto name in an email.

Awhile back I got an email from a bakery in Bath, England, informing me of the fact that I had been promoted!

The sender of the email confirmed that I was ” promoted to “Head of Production”, effective immediately.” Further to that, I had an increase in salary to £9.80 per hour! And it was back-dated.

Dear Mark

Further to our discussion earlier this week, and in recognition of all your hard work and commitment over the last two years, I confirm that you are promoted to “Head of Production”, effective immediately.

This is accompanied by an increase in your salary to £9.80 per hour, back-dated to…

This new role is an important one for the company

The email continued to explain my new responsibilities, etc.
(Here’s a redacted version of the email.)

While I was very pleased to hear about the promotion, I did the right thing and informed the sender that I was not the right person. I ensured that I kept my signature in so that it was very obvious that I wasn’t the person that the sender thought I was.

email mistakes - response #2

Thanks for the email! Great to hear … Unfortunately, I think that this wasn’t intended for me. :O)  No harm done. I’m just letting you know (if you don’t already).

I didn’t hear from the sender again …
 (however….see what happened next in Umm…I don’t think that I’m the person you think I am – email mistakes 2)

 

I’m not the person you think I am – email mistakes part 2

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The continuing saga of the email mistakes that can be made when you don’t check who’s in the recipients list.

Following on from “I got promoted! – email mistakes, part 1“, I was surprised when another email from the same sender arrived in my inbox – 3 weeks later.

I was a little bit frustrated as I had already told this person that I wasn’t the person that they thought I was. In my response to the email, I didn’t say precisely that they had made a mistake, but I dropped enough hints…

Unfortunately, the person I responded to didn’t pick up on these…

The initial email:

email mistakes - 1st email

Staff Rota Up to and Including Christmas

Please can everyone review the updated rota in the office, as it goes up to the Christmas holidays and let me know by Tuesday 1 October if there are any issues with it.

Thanks

 

My response

Maybe I was too subtle. I thought that there were enough hints to show that I wasn’t the recipient that the sender thought I was.

email mistakes - email 2

hi dxxxx,

I’m unable to get to the office to check the Rota. (I’m based in New Zealand) 😉

 

D’s reply email:

email mistakes - 3rd email

Hi Mark

But you will be back before Tuesday to review it – won’t you!!

Enjoy the sunshine – gloomy here.

D

 

At this point I decided that I had to be more precise…

email mistakes - email 4

No – afraid not. As mentioned, I’m based in New Zealand. I live here. (In other words, I think that you’ve got the wrong person.)

🙂

 

Again, I never got a response…

 

A love letter to Stitcher

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alone.jpg

 

Stitcher is a service that allows you to “Listen to over 40,000+ radio shows and podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, Android or PC -anytime, anywhere”. I discovered Stitcher about two week ago, and I feel in love with it immediately. Then a problem struck and Stitcher was gone for several days.

Below is a letter that describes my feelings

Dear Stitcher

Even though it was only been a short time, I’m so glad that you came into my life. You and I seem to be such  great fit. You completed me.

Every evening we would go walking together. I would listen intently as you told me stories of the world. You educated me, and introduced me to people who had their own interesting stories. Because of you, I became a new person. A person that I liked.

I loved that we always traveled together, and that you were always there for me. You knew exactly what I needed. Sometimes I needed to know what was happening n the world. Sometimes I needed advice and inspiration. And sometimes, I just needed to relax. Whatever it was, you always came through. And I loved you dearly for it.

And then, Stitcher, you were gone… You didn’t tell me that you were going, or why. I wasn’t even sure if, or when you were coming back. I felt pain. I felt loneliness. I felt lost. Oh, why did you go? Were you OK? Were you hurt? Or was there another reason that you left? I searched for answers, but there were only hints and rumors.

Dear Stitcher – you were the world to me. I didn’t know how I was going to handle this “emptiness” that I was now experiencing.

But you know what happened, Stitcher? After a short period of feeling sad, and sorry for myself, I started looking for something else that could fill that space that you left. It wasn’t easy. You were perfect. All the others failed in comparison. But I needed something that would educate, and entertain me the way you did. And I found it. It wasn’t able to give me that warm feeling that I got when I was with you, but it was able to help me from feeling so lonely.

Stitcher, I have heard from friends that they have seen you around, and that you seem to be doing OK. And I’m really happy for you.

I’m not, however, sure if I’m ready to let you back into my life. It still hurts too much.  This might change over time. I might be able to love you again, as I once did. You will always have a place in my heart, but let me go through this process. Time has a way of healing everything, and I truly hope that we will be together again one day.

With All the Love in my Heart

– Mark

 

 

 

MarkJOwen predictions for 2016

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ogRib

What follows is a small selection of my predictions for this year…

  • There will be change

In 2016 expect things to change. This won’t happen for everything, but for the things that do change…expect it.

  • Some things will become less popular

This year there is a very good chance that some things will become less popular. You’ll see a movement of the crowd away from these things and there will be less conversation about them in the various channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc).

  • There will be growth

A lot of movement is expected this year. Growth will be observed in many different areas (with some surprises).

  • Expenses will continue

Something that will most likely affect big companies, small companies, and individual consumers alike. Expenses will continue to occur, with no sign of a turn-down in this area.

  • Discoveries

At some point in the year, something will be discovered. The item discovered, or the person making the discovery, might, or might not, be publicly announced.

Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ

(Please note: these predictions might, or might not, be accurate. No responsibility will be  taken for any consequences that arise from using these predictions as a foundation for planning one’s future, life, finances, weddings, conception or education.)

"Work-life balance" is so wrong!

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jungle_shaman_by_alla_holod-d6h8af2_640

When I hear someone talk about “work-life balance“, I fight back the urge to push the person to the ground and slap them over and over, while screaming, in a high-pitched, maniacal, way “Shut up, shut up, you silly person!”

The reason I get this urge is because the whole “Work-life” balance thing is a load of crock. It works on the idea that “Work” and “Life” are two separate things.

Well, my friend…they are not. “Work” is part of “Life“. You cannot separate them. It’s not as if you stop living when you go to work. It might feel like it to some, but, whether you like it or not, you are STILL living.

Andy Clark describes it well in his video on YouTube. It’s well worth a look. He points out exactly what I stated above – that “work” and “life” are NOT separate things. And, in the comments, was this …

Just the fact that the expression puts “WORK” first says it all.

Writing Functional Requirements for the Paper-clip

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black1

David Ordal mused, back in 2008, about what would be necessary to write the functional requirements for the humble paper-clip.

He feels that it should be an easy task, and promotes the idea of “keeping it simple”. The less detail there was the more creative the developers could be.

While I find the idea of writing functional requirements for a paper-clip amusingly fascinating, it’s interesting to take a look at the “short-form’ requirements for this “paper binding device”. Is it really enough? Or is what David describes an “agile” way of looking at it?

Go read David’s article now, and then come back and tell me what you think. The comments at the bottom of his post are also rewarding to read.

Downtime messages – When "making it personal" makes it personal

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walle

NZPost has a tracking facility (as most postal services do). One of their offerings with this tracking service is to send automated tweet notifications from a Twitterbot when the status of a tracked item changes. Pretty cool, definitely handy. 

To set this up requires “following” @nzposttracking. You are automatically followed back and send you a direct message when the status changes.

On the Twitter homepage I got to read some of the public tweets that this account has been sending out…

NZPostTracking_tweets

These “friendly” tweets that were sent out, for “routine maintenance“, made me smile.

 

eve_2

5 MarkJOwen Predictions for 2015

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predictions_2015

What follows is a small selection of my predictions for this year…

  • There will be change

In 2015 expect things to change. This won’t happen for everything, but for the things that do change…expect it.

  • Some things will become less popular

This year there is a very good chance that some things will become less popular. You’ll see a movement of the crowd away from these things and there will be less conversation about them in the various channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc).

  • There will be growth

A lot of movement is expected this year. Growth will be observed in many different areas (with some surprises).

  • Expenses will continue

Something that will most likely affect big companies, small companies, and individual consumers alike. Expenses will continue to occur, with no sign of a turn-down in this area.

  • Discoveries

At some point in the year, something will be discovered. The item discovered, or the person making the discovery, might, or might not, be publicly announced.

Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ    Φ

(Please note: these predictions might, or might not, be accurate. No responsibility will be  taken for any consequences that arise from using these predictions as a foundation for planning one’s future, life, finances, weddings, conception or education.)

 

2014 in review

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 19,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

The best no-bullshit "Rules of Networking"

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136489044

The question was asked, on Quora,  “How do I get better at networking?“

There were 38 answers. The response that got the most upvotes, was the one by Zach Freedman. Someone who tells it like it is. His response was certainly different from the other responses, and garnered the most comments (and, as mentioned, upvotes)…

  1. Networking is bullshit. You don’t “network”, you meet people. Get out of the results-oriented mindset and enjoy the conversations. Be a goddamn human about it. Put down your phone, because…
  2. Comfort zones are bullshit. The only network worth having is one that has a diverse group. Wide and shallow is the name of the game. With a wide network, you have more interesting conversations, more options for solving problems, and more ears on the ground to spot trends. Grow some balls, leave your silo, and make friends with people who are utterly unlike you. Twitter and Facebook shield you, which is why…
  3. Social media is bullshit. Talk to people in the real world. A lot. Expand your options using meetups, clubs, mixers, and getting friends to drag you along to their social stuff. Try and talk to everyone at the event. Ignore your business cards, because…
    Business cards are bullshit. There’s exactly one reason to use a card – you take their card because you want to follow up on something they said. They like old Benzes and you have a friend who collects them? Ask for their card, write “Connect w Jeff re Benzes” on the front, pocket the card, and follow up with it. Don’t give out your card unless asked, because…
  4. “Let’s talk later” is bullshit. They’ll never follow up with you. The ball is firmly in your court. If the conversation went well, call them back within two days, link them with what you wrote down, and check in every two weeks or so. Two weeks?! Yes, because…
  5. You never stop selling. You never stop shipping. Your life is vibrant, fascinating, and fast-moving. Every week, you have new people to connect and new developments to tell others about. And you do so.

Your regular contact builds friends. Your excitement makes them want to listen. Your activity spreads the word that you get things done.

Conversations aren’t “How are you doing? Fine, how are you?” They’re real, visceral, and worthwhile. Most importantly, you’re actually helping people, and that’s why you start networking in the first place.

 You can read the original in Quora here.