Disqus - Latest Comments for TerenceEden

Re: Getting introduced to Vodafone 360

TerenceEden — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:33:04 -0000

Re: Should You Validate Your Twitter Following?

barneyc — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:42:57 -0000

Like yourself I am right onto keeping an eye on followers; as you suggest i) to see if there is anyone worth following and ii) to chop spammers off at the knees - that's like a community service surely.

And I'd agree that where the following number is excessive that attention is not going to be forthcoming but still I can't say that I'm that bothered if "bob from boston" is following me even if he does have 14,000 followings and is convinced he is an "SEO Guru."

Quite simply maybe Bob does get something out of following me, only he knows (and with the new Twitter lists managing that volume will only get easier surely).

The point I think I'm getting towards is that who I follow matters most to me. Reciprocity from clever, meaningful and conversational folks is greatly appreciated but by no means expected. Indeed I follow people whom I consider thought leaders and most assuredly do not expect them to follow me back.

But does validating me as a human have any real benefit to the followed party and does it place a barrier to following by interupting the otherwise simple process?

As I mentioned on Twitter earlier to @graphiclunarkid I can see some benefit in validating bots as there are some that one may want to be followed by; services that one accesses by Twitter messages. One suggestion is to only allow following by bots where you follow them but that assumes you need/want to follow.

I am beginning to think that a process not dissimilar to OAuth whereby a token is passed to a service which enables their bot to follow/interact may be useful - but that thinking is by no means fully formed - yet.

Love "sleb" BTW

Re: Should You Validate Your Twitter Following?

TerenceEden — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:31:04 -0000

Yes, you should validate your followers. Two reasons, firstly to see if there's anyone too shy to @ you who may be worth following. Secondly, to cut spammers etc off at the knees. Thirdly to stop you looking like a total arse.

If I see that you have thousands of followers, I assume one of two things
a) You're a "sleb"
b) You're a multi-level-marketer, spammer, self-help guru or politician. In which case, I don't want you showing the world how awesome you are by following.
c) You're a feed, in which case, I'll add you to my feed-reader.

I regularly trim my followers. I'm only interested in those who are actually interest in me. If you're following 14,000 other people, you're not really following me, are you? You may just as well be on the public feed or have specific searches set up.

Re: Nokia N900 and BBC iPlayer – it’s bad news folks!

smstextnews — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:43:35 -0000

Nice one Terence I'll try that out!

Re: Nokia N900 and BBC iPlayer – it’s bad news folks!

TerenceEden — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:37:30 -0000

Either http://linuxcentre.net/getiplayer/ or http://po-ru.com/projects/iplayer-downloader/ should be able to run on the N900. They're command line tools which will download the MP4 versions suitable for iPhone playback.
I'd assume the media player has the codecs & horsepower needed to display the vids once downloaded.

Not ideal, but a good stopgap.

Re: Understanding The Power Of Social Media

peterrockcliffe — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:57:40 -0000

This is a fascinating debate! I am afraid for me there appear to be two areas of concern with this subject.

Over the last thirty years I have become more despondent about the media and its vitriolic destruction of people who are initially celerated and then systematically destroyed. The standard of reporting is neither balanced nor fair. It panders to the masses, the lynch mob mentality and the need for people to find scapegoats for all the ills of the world!

Human nature is very complex. We are often victims of our knee jerk emotional responses. In my experience some of us have great capacity for compassion and a deeply held desire for social justice and fair play. But our emotions are often toyed with in an attempt to derive a reaction often grossly out of proportion to the real events.

There are clearly forces at work here that are an abuse of power, however it is not entirely obvious how anyone could control them at an individual level.

TFL do have responsibility for safety and a duty of care to fare paying passengers. As a regular but infrequent traveller on the London Underground, happily I have witnessed few if any episodes of this nature although I am aware that these stories are not uncommon and there are times when individuals can lose their self-control.

Those of us who read these reports and felt the anger that an elderly gentleman should be abused in such a way, have a tendency to react by responding, RT-ing, spreading the word until there is a furore fueled by the media who see an opportunity to sell papers to bolster their flagging profits.

The social responsibility issue is a moot point. Do we have the 'right' to report and publish whatever we deem as an injustice? Well I would say "Yes" providied that we present the facts, all the facts in an unbiased, socially responsible and impartial way but how can we exercise constraint once the genie is out of the bottle? JM reported the issue and used the tools at his disposal to dissemminate the story. Whilst I may not agree with his motivations or his lack of even-handedness, I would uphold his right to speak out. The difference is could he have spoken out in such a way that was just and fair to all the parties concerned?

Whilst I do not condone the utterances of Ian the CSA, which went far beyond what would have been reasonable in the circumstances, I do appreciate that what he said and did in the heat of the moment could have been more restrained and I trust that TFL will deal with him proportionately, allow him to train to a better standard of self control so that he can manage his anger in what must be very stressful circumstances.

The foregoing perhaps makes me look more impassive and self-controlled than I actually am. When I first viewed the video and read the reports, I felt anger at the way this passenger was treated and felt that it was completely unnacceptable. Perhaps it is because at some time we have all been abused by an official who has exceeded their remit and acted reprehensibly. But here's the rub! Over the last twenty years of using the Internet from newsgroups to blogs and commenting, I have learnt self restraint. I no longer feel it is necessary to immediately react to something for which I may not be in possession of all the facts. In fact I go so far as to say that I refuse to be manipulated for someone else's agenda without undertaking a modicum of research to try and ensure that my perspective is objective.

I have become so cynical of media manipulation that I no longer accept at face value what I read in papers or see on TV and moreso what I find on the Internet. My point is this! We are all to blame for what we have allowed and even tacitly supported in our society. Individually we can say we are blameless but everyone of us who is franchised to vote in our electoral system is culpable for what our society has become.

As Terence Eden said we all have so much more 'power' at our fingertips than ever before. The problem is how do we exercise that power for good? As somone who experienced bullying in childhood it is easy to fall into the trap and believe in our divine right for vengeance against someone that we perceive to be in the wrong. But what if we are wrong? Are we willing to accept the consequences of actions and the reverberations that they can carry around the planet?

A few years ago I worked with a Chinese consultant on a big project. She was fiercely proud of her country and the way it dealt with some of it's social problems. I had reacted to the treament of the Falun Gong without having a complete understanding of the subject and to a Western mentallity it seemed that the Chinese stated was acting extremely harshly. Although initially angry and hurt that myself and colleagues thought negatively about China, she attempted to educate us and explain why the State took such a dim view of this quasi religious sect. She did not try and coerce us into taking her point of view. She just wanted us to see her Governments side of the story.

A short time later, I read a story in the UK press about a woman who was a Jehova's Witness who died in childbirth whilst refusing a blood transfusion. The medical staff wanted to save her life and that of the child. I felt mixed emotions about whether she had the right to refuse the blood or whether the NHS had the right to enforce their Hyppocratic Oath to save her life. The media of course made a big issue of the story.

Sadly there isn't always a right or a wrong answer to every trouble in society. We do not all have the capacity to take a balanced or mitigated view, therefore when we do speak out, we have to ask ourselves who are we actually serving and what deep seated motivations are we trying to respond to? If Ian is culpable and the elderly passenger also bears some responsibility for what led up to the incident, do we really have the right to set in train a chain of events without being responsible for the outcome?

For John's sake, I hope that the outcome is proportionate. For the rest of us, I hope that we can live with the consequences of our postings. Most of all I trust that we temper our virtual pens and swords with virtue and restraint.

Re: Understanding The Power Of Social Media

TerenceEden — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:10:59 -0000

What you're talking about is sousveillance - watching from beneath. As I wrote about in my article about your social media adventure we now have much more power.

But I do wonder if we have figured out how to wield this power responsibly. I don't doubt that your actions were correct; it's always a good idea to expose bullies. But when I read some of the over-reactions that people have posted on your blog, it makes me deeply uncomfortable. You're not to blame for their reactions, of course, but is it possible to have a subtle and nuanced conversation with the baying of a mob behind you?

Regarding media rapid response - I think it's the sort of thing that can only happen after the first incident. When I took a photo of a police van parked in a disabled bay - I was highly impressed with Surrey Police's use of social media to apologise and put their side of the story. I suspect that TfL will have to implement this kind of SMR (social-media-relations as opposed to PR).

It will take some time for everyone to adjust to a world where what once was gossip can become news.

Thanks for highlighting this.

Re: Ian From The London Underground Vs An Elderly Man

Tony Balmforth — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:16:07 -0000

Thanks for a well-reasoned argument. Unfortunately I can't agree with you that 'Ian' shouldn't lose his job; I very much doubt that he is capable of rehabilitation. Of course, it is very unlikely that he will but there is a good chance that he will experience some repercussions just as a result of his YouTube fame. This is the kind of society that we have built in the last 40 years and it is like pushing water uphill to change it.

Re: giffgaff gives the goss (on pricing)

twitter-1995371 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:45:41 -0000

So true :-D

Re: giffgaff gives the goss (on pricing)

facebook-682902775 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:42:01 -0000

I kind of like the idea that everyone working in the industry talks in a sort of wideboy builder style.

Re: giffgaff gives the goss (on pricing)

TerenceEden — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:32:21 -0000

Top industry tip - whenever you see "First month FREE!" or "Get FREE xyz when you buy abc" it should translate to "Billing? The original project plan said nuffink about billing, squire. Dave? DAVE! How long will it take to integrate into billing? 6 weeks? As it's you, we'll put a rush on and do it in four. What do you mean the advertising space has been booked? Can't you sponsor X-factor a different week? No? How should I know? Why not give it a way for a month? Yeah, for free. Call it a trial offer or sumfink. Right, you show me where you billing system is and Dave will get the monkey wrench and soldering iron. Milk two sugars for me, ta."

100% FACT.

T
(Excluding anywhere I may work, obviously)

Re: Ian From The London Underground Vs An Elderly Man

TerenceEden — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:52:46 -0000

The pro-gun lobby often says "A well armed society is a polite society." The implication being that you don't go around being aggressive when anyone could pull a gun on you.

With the rise of sousveillance - where we are all the watchers - I wonder if we'll see a rise in professionalism and politeness. Because, you never know who is recording for posterity.

There are two problems
1) It relies on those higher up to do something. If this Ian chap doesn't get disciplined - you have achieved nothing. Similarly, if after all the videos of police abuses of power (G20, climate camp etc.) no officer gets punished / the rule aren't changed - it's all been for naught.

2) I think people should be polite and professional because IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Not because they're afraid of being punished. Call me old fashioned, but I want to live in a world where people are respectful to one and other - not merely afraid of being caught out.

Well done for filming it. I hope that "Ian" doesn't lose his job - I hope that he realises what an arse he has been and learns to treat customers with a bit more respect.

T

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

whatleydude — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:46:25 -0000

"As much as I love Mippin (they're a major technology provider behind http://vodafone.com/myweb )"

Um.. is that a Really Mobile exclusive?!

:D

(that's kind of awesome btw)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

whatleydude — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:41:12 -0000

I appreciate the in-depth response, I do.

However I only have one answer to one of your questions. Which is:

"So, should we show links to the games, music, apps etc? Or should we remove them? Or should we show them, but on download present a warning that what you've bought may not work and there are no refunds if we don't support your phone?"

Yes. You should.

"We don't recognise your handset as a Vodafone Live! handset, we think the best service is X but cannot guarantee it will work 100%. If you'd like to talk to Vodafone about upgrading to a Vodafone Live! handset we do support, please call 08700 700 191 from your handset or click here to carry on."

Give the user the choice, offer to up-sell them AND include a call to action.

Surely this is a better option than just having the service bork everytime I need to check my trains?

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:38:06 -0000

In a word, yes.

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:31:16 -0000

I quite agree. As much as I love Mippin (they're a major technology provider behind http://vodafone.com/myweb ) they're not selling anything. No one rings their call centre up to complain when something isn't compatible.

As I've said - I'd like to see a better basic version. But without being able to sell content through it, there's little incentive to do so.

T
(These comments are my preciouseses - no one else's)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

JayTay — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:17:46 -0000

"Then another one with updated firmware (have to keep the old firmware to test that with new features)."

That must be why Vodafone's Nokia firmware updates take so long (or never arrive).

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

danlane — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:51:30 -0000

But in this analogy Vodafone aren't a car manufacturer they are a road! If I buy a car I expect to be able to drive it on any road. It's not like James has turned up in a speedboat.

Mippin don't have any issues supporting every handset, perhaps Vodafone's acquisitions team should have a whip-round?

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:36:11 -0000

To make the inevitable car analogy, if you buy your car from Ford but fit after-market wheels - they can't guarantee Ford tires will fit any more. Vodafone UK does what it can to support non-ranged handsets. Pop over to the Vodafone forums and you'll see plenty of people getting the right settings etc.

However, I would agree that there needs to be a better "text-only" version of live.

Regarding implementing it. Without going in to all our internal structures - Vodafone live runs in UK, France, Germany, South Africa, Romania, Austria, Netherlands and a dozen other countries. I'm not saying that running a mobile portal is like dealing with the United Nations, but making changes can be "complex".

Vodafone My Web is a completely new product specifically designed to work with as many handsets as possible.

T
(This is all my opinion and not that of any FTSE listed company)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:26:55 -0000

"Requirement 4.7.11: Our homepage must look like a cryptic re-encoded URL for anyone that doesn't have a precisely on-range device" - you've been rifling through our bins again ;-)

No, it shouldn't look like that. As you can see from the train times images - it should be getting a basic version which we can ensure works on every phone. So, yes, the front page for N86 should be filed under "bugs".

This is the first time in 6 years, to my knowledge, that C/B have crossed over.
T
(My opinions are my own and not those of any corporate behemoth)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

bensmith — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:48:55 -0000

Point taken, but there are plenty of smarter ways to test devices and handle the complexity of different firmware than just going out and buying them all...

And if the real answer is "we don't support non-vodafone handsets" why not make that clear to the SIM-only customers who are told they can bring their own handsets... or present that message to the user when they try to access the portal.

I can see why making every service available to every handset is not a worthwhile commercial activity, but if non-operators can manage even a fall-back to a crude text-based service with a bare-minimum spec (which is what we do) then I suspect Vodafone can muster at least that.

I'm sure it's not malicious - just the propositions people creating products that the technology doesn't support. I look forward to the 'better way' of Voda 360, but if it wasn't a reasonable expectation of Vodafone Live, what's changed now?

(but thanks for commenting - do appreciate the benefit of your views on this)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

jamesgpearce — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:21:33 -0000

Terence,

I, for one, understand the pressures you're under here :-)

But that bottom right image makes no sense. As you say, carrier portals are highly complex... but they are also precisely specified and well designed.

Unless there's a document somewhere that says:

"Requirement 4.7.11: Our homepage must look like a cryptic re-encoded URL for anyone that doesn't have a precisely on-range device"

...then I would say it's a bug.

If it didn't occur to anyone to see what the page looked like on other high-end devices (and let's be honest: that would have been strange, as non-portfolio devices often correspond to high-revenue, influential users), the unfortunate conclusion is that this behaviour is either a) by design, or b) short of some basic extra QA.

Falling back to any sort of simple XHTML experience would have been something. Now you don't have 'an angry customer ringing up demanding a refund', but 'a bemused professional user writing incredulous blog posts, read by thousands'.

At some point the C/B analysis crosses the same threshold.

Anyway, looking forward to the 360 philosophy. That sounds, to some extent, more enlightened ;-)

Re: Vodafone Live!, not available on the N86

TerenceEden — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:08:26 -0000

As regular readers will know, I work for Vodafone Group - but I don't speak for them.
However, I was the Production Manager for Vodafone live in the UK for two years, and Product Manager for Portals at Vodafone Group for a similar length. So I speak with some knowledge.

Theses comments haven't been checked, approved, censored or filtered by anyone at Vodafone. If you buy or sell shares based on my ramblings, you're a fool :-)

There are several reasons why non-ranged phones like the N86 don't work with live.

Firstly, Vodafone UK don't stock the phone. Sounds like a minor problem but it presents them with all sorts of challenges. Not least buying the (unsubsidised) device. Then another one with updated firmware (have to keep the old firmware to test that with new features).

Then there's testing. Every extra device and firmware variation slows down the testing and acceptance time for any new feature or release.

We still support the Sharp GX-10 - the very first live phone from about 6 years ago. True, it doesn't support mobile TV, but all the services that it can support need to be tested on it for the frightening amount of customers who can't/won't upgrade.

So, as you point out, why not just assume the N86 is basically the same as the N85?
Well, what's the difference between the N95 (original firmware) and the N96? Surely they can't be that different...?

As you know, they are. That presents us with all sorts of rendering challenges - what resolution do images have to be in order to stay readable? Can the device handle this bit of CSS, that bit of JavaScript?

Take a look at this list of Webkit "support" on mobile. http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2009/10... Similar handsets yield wildly different results.

Then, there's content delivery.

Does the N86 support a higher bit-rate for music than the N85? Or do we serve up a low quality file we know will work but sounds rubbish?

What's the screen resolution? Do we send a wallpaper that's too big or too small?

Do games and application work on it? They've been rigorously tested on the N85 - so will they work on the N86? Sure?

In all those cases, you've got an angry customer ringing up demanding a refund. That costs Vodafone money.

So, should we show links to the games, music, apps etc? Or should we remove them? Or should we show them, but on download present a warning that what you've bought may not work and there are no refunds if we don't support your phone?

Do we create a "generic" version of the portal? If so - do we make it lowest common denominator? Well, that's what you're seeing. A text only page that should be viewable by all. Except the N86 obviously has an issue rendering it...

Or, do we stick up a banner saying "Why not pop along to a Vodafone store and buy a compatible handset"?

As you can see, there are a myriad of issues Vodafone would have to deal with. Our latest corporate report will tell you how many million mobile internet customers we have. Is it worth our shareholders' money to support a few dozen* N86s ported over from Orange? (*I have no idea how many are on the Vodafone UK network.)

Yes, an N86 customer may buy some content - but enough to make it worth our while? They may choose to get a compatible phone next time - or they may decide to import a Chinese no-name iPhone rip-off with a lousy browser and kick up a fuss when it doesn't work.

However, were taking a different approach with the replacement for live, Vodafone My Web - http://www.vodafone.com/myweb - we're allowing practically any phone to access it. As you pointed out yesterday, it's still buggy on the N86 - and for many of the same reasons. That's why we're not automatically redirecting all traffic to the site - yet.

Here's a good test - see how many different makes and models of phones access http://thereallymobileproject.com - now buy and test all of them to ensure you get a good & consistent experience on everything from an unreleased smartphone to a GX-10.

In fact, I can guarantee that even on a relatively simple site like yours, there will be rendering bug/quirks on some of the handsets you have about your person. However, no one is going to ring you up demanding a refund if something goes wrong with TRMP.

Device compatibility is hard - products like WURFL & DeviceAtlas make some problems go away, but ultimately, it's a difficult problem that can't be solved without a massive time & money investment.

Could Vodafone live handle it better? Undoubtedly. That's why we're moving to My Web.
Much like your McDonald's manager, My Web will support non-ranged handsets. It will also support non-Vodafone customers. So if you're, say, a T-Orang3 customer with a Casio 5173i - you'll be able to use our services.

T
(Written on a turbulent train, so please excuse any typos!)

Re: Poll: What’s the best network for the iPhone?

yahoo-YKPCUC36ZZDKMFGLJZOLP7HTNA — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:06:34 -0000

Why should the iPhone 3G / 3GS need EDGE when other smartphones and mobile broadband users haven't required it? O2 rolled out EDGE for the first iPhone because it was a 2G only handset at a time when smartphones running competing OSes were 3G, HSDPA or even HSPA capable. The other networks will only be getting 3G capable iPhones.

EDGE support on Vodafone would be nice - there will be few data users that never go into places that lack 3G coverage. I just can't see Vodafone or any other network replacing non-EDGE capable 2G gear now. 2G roll out has been essentially complete for some years, and I would think there has to be a strong business case made for any 2G network upgrades (such as a new corporate contract in a location where there are coverage problems).

There might be areas where 3G roll-out is a long way ahead and EDGE is 'low hanging fruit', requiring minimal expense to enable. Apart from that, where is the return on investment?

One outcome of the Digital Britain process should be permission for O2 and Vodafone to refarm 900MHz spectrum to 3G. That should make 3G roll out economically feasible in areas where it has so far been too expensive. Of course, refarming reduces capacity on 2G, which leads to a chicken and egg situation. So far, users who have no interest in data haven't had any justification to pay extra for a 3G capable handset (unless they want to use '3' or really care about 3G video calls and are prepared to pay the outrageous prices the networks charge for them). The networks may have to tempt especially the heavier voice users to switch to 3G handsets in order to refarm spectrum without adversely affecting the 2G network.

Vodafone has femtocells - but the justification for them is rather slim from a user point of view. There's no price break for traffic going via a femto, which is hopefully something that Vodafone will rectify once they've proved Access Gateway as a product. I have 3G coverage at one side of the house and not the other, but as my handset uses Wi-Fi in the house for data, the only benefit of a Vodafone Access Gateway would be for voice traffic at home to benefit from the better 3G voice quality.

I am a happy Vodafone user with a HTC Touch HD (yes - Windows Mobile - please don't shoot me, Ewan) that I bought outright. I get great value compared to what I was paying a couple of years ago with a SIM Only contract plus unlimited data (I managed to get the £5/month version even though I'm on a 30 day contract), Vodafone Family and the 50 MMS pack.

With the market moving more to smartphones and mobile broadband, I'd like to see thought given to better quality data coverage, using 3G at 900MHz or EDGE where appropriate, also price breaks for traffic via femtocells. It doesn't matter which handsets and smartphone OSes are being talked about - though if the iPhone focusses thinking at the MNOs, that's no bad thing.

Pricing of traffic via femtocells may be revisited if there's any changes in termination rates.

Re: Poll: What’s the best network for the iPhone?

TerenceEden — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:06:09 -0000

I've noticed that *some* Vodafone 2G sites have been upgraded to EDGE. Not sure if it will be a nationwide roll out.

(I work for Vodafone, but not in network design, these are my personal views)