Eli the Computer Guy

Archive for the ‘Advice for Newbies’ Category

Truthiness is a term coined by Stephen Colbert.  It is defined as something that seems like it should be true.  Kind of like saying the sun revolves around the earth.  It is completely false, but it sounds like it should be true.  Learning to speak in truthiness can be a lifesaver for a tech.

What many techs do not realize is that people hire them for more then their expertise.  Not only are techs expected to fix problems, but they are also supposed to make people feel more comfortable about the situation.  When you arrive on scene everyone is supposed to feel better because, ‘the expert has arrived.”

The problem is far too many techs have no knack for making people feel comfortable.  They are so utterly honest that it sends the client into convulsions of fear.  When asked what the problem is they’ll say they have no idea.  When asked how long it will take to fix they fall back to shrugging their shoulders.  Being that the client is predisposed to distrust “geeks” this does not help anything.

Now on the other hand when they ask you what the problem is you say something “truthy”.  They can nod their head, act like they understand, and let you go about your work.  They feel comfortable because the expert seems to have a handle on things.  The expert has explained to them a problem that seems like it should be true.  He has laid out a course of action that seems practical. So the client smiles inside with confidence that the problem will be fixed.

Now what you told the client, and what the facts are may have nothing to do with each other, BUT the client will now give you breathing room so that you can figure out what the hell is going on.

At the end of the day when the problem is fixed you can explain the problem and solution truthfully.  They will ask about what happened to your original “truthy” explanation, and you can shrug it off because the problem is FIXED.  And all the client really cares about at this point is that the problem has been fixed, and while you were working he had the utmost confidence in your skills. 

The end result is that he is comfortable with you fixing his problems.  So you will either get a pat on the head as an employee, or you’ll get called back for more work if you are a consultant.

Of course for the to work you have to FIX the problem!  And of course always remember to, “Under promise, and over deliver.”

Way back in the day’s when I was still in college earning my degree in criminal justice many of my professors had a saying that they routinely beat into our heads. Whenever a student had a question that had no “right” answer many professors would frown, or smile, and then say, “Better to be judged by twelve, then carried by six.”

Essentially this meant that if you can’t find the “perfect” course of action for a situation then you choose the one most likely to allow you to not get hurt or killed.  If you end up in front of a jury as a defendant … well at least you’re alive…

I use this mentality a lot in business, and I see where the failure of other small business people to do so ends up hurting them.  My main focus in business is to create a successful business.  A successful business requires acquiring clients through sales and marketing.  So in this vein I basically do whatever seems apt to get me clients.  Whether it’s knocking on doors, cold calling, or walking up to random strangers and throwing them my pitch.

Many other business people refuse to do this.  They worry about what other people will think of them, or if it is “proper” to bring up their business.  They are so scared of offending someone they just sit and wait for someone to come to them.  This is a recipe for failure.

My view is that if I don’t get clients my business will die.  I’d rather risk being judged by people and have a successful business, then to dodge the possibility of offending anyone and watch my business die.

One issue I run into as a business owner is that I can lose track of the different actions that I do for my advertising schemes.  I’ll put out a call to action to ask for good reviews, or become fans of my Facebook page and after a week or two I forget exactly when I did this.  This becomes a problem when I get a sudden rush of visitors to my site, but I can’t put my finger on what exactly brought the increase on.  I have turned to WordPress.com to help me out.

I have created a PRIVATE blog on WordPress.com.  This means that search engines don’t look at it, and you have to log into the site to view the content.  I then type in little notes on what I do, and then add those notes to specific categories.  Now in the future I will be able to look back on what I did, and exactly when I did it.  So if I’m thinking about sending out a new Email Blast, but I’m worried I’ll annoy my clients I can just take a look and see how long it’s been since the last one.

This is incredibly easy to setup and use.  It’s one of those ridiculously simple tools that can bring huge results.

Check it out at http://www.WordPress.com

Side Note:

You can also use it for things like dieting, sleep journals, etc…

Way back when I was getting my degree in Criminal Justice we were having a class that was discussing why some minority communities seem to constantly struggle in a society, and why some seem to flourish.  One of the arguments that my professor made was that if a minority group acted as a true community they succeeded, where if they act as a bunch of individuals they had a much harder time.

He gave us the example of the mythical “Jewish Dollar”.  The idea as he put it was that whenever a dollar enters the Jewish Community the idea is that the dollar should pass through ten Jewish hands before it leaves the community.  By doing this it ensures that the one dollar actually acts like ten dollars within the community.  (this goes into a bit of economics)

So if an outsider (me) goes into the local deli for a sandwich.  The owner would then use the money I paid to pay another in his community for dry cleaning.  The dry cleaning person would then use the money to buy a cup of coffee from another person in the community.  That person would then go to the community hardware store and buy some paint, etc…  So this amount of money then goes to pay ten different businesses within the community.  This then improves the businesses, and helps the employees and owners.  Since everyone within the community is on the same page this is a self reinforcing cycle.  You help your neighbor so that he can help you.  Your neighbor’s wife’s aunt helps your wife’s aunt so that you will help her.

This is a lesson that small business owners are wise to heed.  We are our own minority community within society.  By helping each other out we end up helping ourselves out.  I go to the same place every day to buy my coffee.  Not because it’s the best, but because the cafe’ is in my businesses’ neighborhood and by going there everyday I reinforce a relationship with the owner.  I go to the same places for lunch.  Again not because the food is always the best, but the act of buying from the same local vendors is an act of marketing and neighborhood improvement.  If I want my community to be able to afford my services, then we need a figure out a way to make sure they are profitable enough that they can.

By faithfully helping fellow local businesses, by going to sometimes tedious business parties and commerce committees you ingrain yourself into the community. 

At the end of the day the more important you make yourself to the community, the more the community will work to make you succeed.

The new Google Chrome OS is revolutionary, but not for the reasons most people talk about.  There are numerous other free, open source, stable operating systems that anyone with an Internet connection can download and use.  What makes Google’s Chrome Operating system relevant in that it is GOOGLE’s operating system.

However much people may argue to the contrary people like huge, well known, brand names.  Big brands make people feel comfortable.  People are willing to try new things from big brands because they figure the experience won’t be that bad.  They may not keep using a product or service, but they are willing to at least give it a try.  When people test products or services from no name companies they fear a boogie monster may jump out and eat them at any time.

When Google debuts’ the Chrome OS two things are going to happen.  The first is that lots of people will give it a try.  Some will love it, and some will hate it.  This is not the important part though.  The second thing that will happen is that these new users will gain their first experience with the mysterious Linux operating system.  To most users Linux is some ethereal thing that only computer geeks can use.  By using the Chrome OS they will break the fear barrier that surrounds Linux.  They may end up hating Linux, but they will no longer be so afraid of it.

As the popularity of the Chrome OS spreads more and more people will become acclimated to the idea of a non-Microsoft world.  Again they may not like it.  They may even hate it, but they will be comfortable in those feelings of hate.

I have found that users are much like my dogs.  They are scared crapless of things they don’t understand.  When you try to get them into new scary situations they just freeze up and won’t do anything.  You can’t reason with them.  You can’t entice them with a treat, and screaming only makes things worse.  Now when they are confronted with things they know, but dislike.  They get angry, bark a lot, but they still end up doing it. They’ll tell you how much they dislike the new thing, but they’ll bitch about it while they are using it.

So that’s why Google’s Chrome OS is important.  Decision makers will start looking at cheaper options to Windows that have big brand support and they’ll start to test them out on their poor unfortunate users. (Make no mistake I like Linux for some things, but it has a long way to go.)  The users will bitch, whine and moan when they are forced to use the new Operating Systems.  But… they will use them.  As long as the Operating System does what the decision makers need done they will continue to force their users to use it.

And that in a nut shell is why I think Google Chrome will really start the Linux revolution.  It will probably be a mess, but it will be Google’s mess.