Comments on: cloud bottlenecks & humanification

By: xocai

xocai — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:45:16 +0000

They have that advantage if they given it away by trying to compete with the big stores by emulating the big stores.

By: Steve Ellwood

Steve Ellwood — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:42:44 +0000

Hey Tomas!
Unless he’s changed his mind Hugh says on the front page
“If people want to use my cartoons for their own stuff, or just help support the cause, the best thing they can do in exchange is consider buying a bottle of Stormhoek, if and when they come across it. Or failing that, I really appreciate it when people add the gapingvoid widget to their blog. ”

By: Tomas

Tomas — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:47:05 +0000

Hi Hugh,
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while now, and although i’m online most of my days, i don’t care much about leaving ‘a footprint’ like a lot of the prominent web guys.
and i definitely don’t leave many comments on blogs despite my opinionated nature unless it really means something to me.
But I saw your cartoon today (utterly789.jpg) and although i saw it before, today it hit me at exactly the right time. I work for an online company in south africa (which i know you can locate on a map unlike some people) and i’m not getting rich doing it but your cartoon, simple as it is, just hit the target. I love what i do for exactly that reason. in fact, i put the cartoon up on the plasma screens at work to make a point.
anyway, what i wanted to ask is if there is any way for me to get/buy/license that specific cartoon from you in order to print it in A3 format and put it in my house as a reminder of what matters to me.
i would greatly appreciate it if you could help me out.
Tom
(ps: no need to post this comment on your site)

By: alan p

alan p — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:34:14 +0000

You may have noticed Dell is trying to trademark Cloud Computing for itself. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/04/dell_cloud_computing_trademark/ Thoughts?

By: Gordie

Gordie — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:03:28 +0000

Talk about a jumping off point for further exploration…
One reason small businesses have an advantage over big box stores and chains is that they are human-scaled, or in your term, humanified. At least they have that advantage if they given it away by trying to compete with the big stores by emulating the big stores. But even if they did, it’s a lot easier to come back from that precipice than it is for the big stores to reverse their momentum.
This is not to say that some big online stores haven’t simulated humanification to varying degrees. Amazon interacts with its customers almost as if they’re human. Just as the used bookstore owner may have recommendations for you based on what she’s sold you in the past, so too does Amazon. Amazon is probably pushier about it, but they understand the value of suggestive selling. Way better than fast food restaurants, where it was probably pioneered.
Excellent kernel for further thought and discussion. Thanks for putting it on our plates!

By: Lee Bryant

Lee Bryant — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:26:13 +0000

Hi Hugh,
I agree that the twin challenges of de-commoditisation and humanisation are part of the key to companies like this developing the kind of new relationships we all want to see.
You have tried the blue monster thing, which is a kind of internal advertising campaign, to galvanise people inside large companies. I think we need to complement this with a number of other techniques to humanise the organisation and take internal brand engagement to a new level if we are to move forward.
I wrote a longish post about this recently based on a talk I gave at Reboot: http://www.headshift.com/blog/2008/07/free-the-battery-humans.php

By: Susanna

Susanna — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:33:21 +0000

Your comment on “humanification” made me think of the Wendy’s ad campaigns featuring Dave Thomas. A brilliant actor he was not, but giving customers a chance to get to know the head of the company was a smart way to make a giant fast-food chain appear less corporate and more like a family business.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:20:20 +0000

“Humanification”? Yesiree. Spot on. M