I was thirteen years old when I first saw it on TV.

An army of blue-gray drones march in lockstep through a long tunnel into an auditorium filled with more drones dressed in futuristic, grey drab. All eyes are transfixed on a big-blue image of a man speaking from a theatre-sized screen, extolling the virtues of its ‘Information Purification Directives.’ Suddenly, a woman in orange shorts and a tank top runs into view carrying a large sledgehammer. She spins to gain momentum and hurls it at the image, causing a large explosion.

Confused, I turned to my dad and asked what this was all about. He said something like: “Well, IBM is being portrayed as a Socialist company that controls minds and stifles creativity, and we’re supposed to reject that.”

The TV scene was from Apple’s 1984 Superbowl ad, and it was a clear shot at Big-Brother, IBM. Apple portrayed itself as the small, underdog hero and IBM the Orwellian, thought police.

But this does not represent today’s IBM – or Apple for that matter.

Today’s Big Blue is the antithesis of Big Brother. It’s ‘Big Open’. A transparent, nimble, collaborative organization known more for listening and engaging customers than for dictating to them. While ironically, some say Apple now resembles Big Brother given their propensity for tight controls.

And that’s why IBM — not Apple — represents the future workplace.

While Apple has been wildly successful, IBM’s Social Business is much more attainable and sustainable than what Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky describes as Apple’s genius led, culture of fear. For the genius is always, as Benjamin Disraeli and later Peter Drucker predicted, succeeded by a “lieutenant of Marines” who understands the business but nothing else. So the company is only left with an innovation vacuum.

In IBM’s social business culture, the genius lies in the 400,000 employees who are free to create circumstances that enable their associates to build on each other’s ideas. Its genius lies in fostering innovation through co-creation with its employees, suppliers, partners and customers. Remove one genius, and there are thousands more in the network to fill the vacuum.

Bottom line: IBM’s Social Business is creating real shareholder value. Allow me to make the case.

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Two years ago, had you invested $10,000 in IBM, your investment would be worth over $14,000 today. That means in just 2 years, IBM has created over $60 billion in shareholder value. To put that in perspective, that’s more than the total market value of Hewlett Packard.

The company has been so successful it attracted the world’s most successful investor, Warren Buffett who has long avoided investing in technology stocks. Buffett felt IBM’s management had done “an incredible job” and subsequently accumulated more than 64 million IBM shares, which represents a stake of 5.5 percent.

Another sign of success is how IBM’s competitors are reacting to it. After Oracle missed its latest revenue expectations, Business Insider’s Matt Rosoff wrote about Larry Ellison trash talking IBM. That’s usually a sure sign of fear.

IBM has been so successful in its last few years, that it’s outperformed the S&P 500, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Google and Oracle. Among the world’s largest technology companies, only Apple under Job’s stewardship has outperformed IBM. But without Jobs at Apples helm, where would you invest your money?

Is IBM’s Social Business the Reason for IBM’s Success?

To hear IBM’s Vice President, Sandy Carter’s perspective, IBM’s social culture is partially if not directly responsible for IBM’s success: “Our employees use social computing tools to foster collaboration, disseminate and consume news, develop networks, forge closer relationships, and build credibility. As a result, they’re better informed and prepared to take action on behalf of IBM.”

Carter also likes to cite an IBM Business Value Study where companies that use social business tools outperform the non-social group (in terms of EBITDA) by 57 percent. She takes it a step further to say that, “If you’re not transforming your company into a social business, plan to be out of business.”

I believe IBM’s Luis Suarez agrees with Carter, citing how the 8 million strong IBM-run developerWorks customer community is helping IBM technicians improve IBM’s products: “It’s a rich innovation ecosystem with a direct channel of communication between customers and developers on how to fix IBM products and make them better.”

Leading By Example

Work creates a unique social bond – it is the interface between people, technology and culture. Work’s social bond must also evolve. It must responds to market conditions and customer demands. There isn’t a large company that does this better than IBM.

It may be too early for some organizations to come to grips with social business as a strategy. They are stuck in a corporate dystopia, ruled by the equivalent of an Orwellian inner party which condemns individuality and transparency as thought crimes.

But I’m having a great deal of fun with the knowledge that we’re watching a near-extinct species: the command and control organization. I understand how a business historian must feel when she observes a corporate anachronism; much like the giant music publishers, unaware of the digital disruptors that built new business models and ultimately forced the publishers to play by the new rules.

This in fact is my key takeaway from 2011. That old business must evolve into Social Business. That companies need to be social internally and externally. That business leaders need to create and foster a culture of collaboration and transparency, without retribution. That social organizations outperform their non-social competitors. That rapid innovation is the key to future business success.

That is IBM.

Saddened by the loss of an individual who has brought great joy and anticipation back into our lives.  He’s the only individual I know of where millions of people tune into his product announcements.  He’s earned that level of attention by bringing to market products that create emotional bonds with the owner.   So, out of respect, I spent a few hours putting this tribute together for him. 

I appreciate everything he’s done for us.  

The Apple versus Microsoft product debate has been a constant, four decade campaign. There are proponents on both sides. While recently Apple has emerged the trendier of the two, does having trendier products translate into superior customer support?

In the last few months I have met with both the Apple and Microsoft teams in charge of web-based support. While both teams are talented, their approaches to web-based customer support are much different.

The Apple Online Customer Support Team

My discussions with Apple can be summed up by what one Apple Executive said during our initial pre-meeting call, “We’re Apple so we are doing  it (web based support) better than anyone else.”

As such, Apple was not too forthcoming with information. For example, when asked an innocuous question about their future campus (this is public information), one employee said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”  The others quickly tried to change the subject to something safer like mundane statements about the traffic and weather.

It appeared to me that the team was suffering from a type of information Stockholm Syndrome. Where information is held hostage, however benign, and its victims are emotionally and irrationally bound to its corporate policy.

The team is literally shocked into believing that their strict privacy and security protocols around products extend into customer support.   I’m not sure how this can possibly be good for Apple’s customers.

The Microsoft Online Customer Support Team

In sharp contrast, my discussions with Barbara Gordon, Corporate Vice President, Customer Service and Support for Microsoft were completely open and transparent.  When asked about their approach to customer support, “We want to give our customers the ability to get resolutions to their issues with the least amount of work possible.”

Barbara went on to add, “We are always thinking about how we hold ourselves accountable for increasing customer (support) expectations.” She went on to explain how they measure first call resolution statistics and other key metrics in real time to ensure Microsoft is meeting their customers’ key challenges

Given how open Barbara and other team members are with answering questions and listening to feedback, it appeared to me that Microsoft is constantly checking the pulse of their support communities to ensure they are providing best-in-class customer support. Seems like the better approach.

So given that backdrop, how do the two companies compare?

Comparison#1 Microsoft’s Community Driven, Social Support

The key to Microsoft’s social support is their MVP Program, its social recognition program for active support users, and its Questions and Answers site. But throughout most of Microsoft support sites, there is an active social component that enables non-Microsoft employees to provide support for Microsoft customers.

The example above shows how non-employees can help Microsoft answer support questions and are rewarded with support badges.

Microsoft has over 4100 MVP’s that are certified to provide support to its customers.  According to Toby Richards, Microsoft’s General Manager of Communities and Online Support, these MVP’s are thirty times more active than the average user.  In fact, Microsoft considers them a “tremendous asset that provide support in multiple languages across 98 countries.”

Comparison#1 Apple’s Community Driven, Social Support

Apple’s community and social features are limited to their Support Community forums.  While they’ve improved significantly, they are still limited in functionality as one can not add videos or pictures to clarify answers.

Apple is using a point system to reward users for contributing to its forums. The similar people widget on the right column is a convenient feature in order to connect with similar users.

Apple does not have an MVP program, but does provide a searchable and filterable leader board to find community support experts. While a huge step forward, it is still difficult to discern a contributor’s true expertise.

Comparison #1 Advantage: We’ll give this round to Microsoft because of the MVP program and the fact that they have socialized most of their support sites to encourage users contributions.

Comparison#2 Microsoft’s Support Feedback

The key to any great support site is the ability to monitor the site for customer behavior. For example, how do you know if the site is satisfying customers? How do you know if the support solutions are accurate?

Microsoft has done an admirable job of asking for feedback or comments on almost every support article.

I’m told they are also monitoring the site using analytics and sentiment to evaluate behavior on articles, forums, and other support sites. What’s missing is a mechanism for displaying other support articles that are similar or that other users have rated highly. This makes the likelihood of finding a support solution that much easier and faster.

Comparison#2 Apple’s Support Feedback

In contrast, Apple’s approach is to provide other methods of solving a problem. While an advanced feature, they are missing an opportunity to accept contextual user feedback for increased intelligence to support their customers.

In fact, while I was searching for a solution for an iTunes issue I was experiencing, the proposed solution turned out to be wrong. Yet I had no mechanism for providing Apple feedback or correcting the information.

Comparison #2 Advantage: Microsoft has the better solution for feedback, but needs to examine Apple’s strategy for related content.

Comparison#3 Microsoft’s Technical Documentation, Videos, Tutorials, etc.

Most of the technical documentation on the Microsoft support sites are article based. These articles take the form of tutorials, videos, or information related to a specific support topic.

Below is an example of an article. Notice the Contextual advertising on the right-hand side. This is a smart revenue generation component that alerts the reader to other products or services available from the company.

Also, note the “See Also” widget on the right-hand column. This contextual help widget links to other instructive content on the support site. This benefits the reader by displaying other areas where the reader can obtain a solution to their problem. This widget should be auto-generated by analyzing the behavior and feedback from previous readers.

Comparison#3 Apple’s Technical Documentation, Videos, Tutorials, etc.

Most Technical Communication professionals understand that PDF based documentation manuals are a 90’s artifact; yet Apple appears to have saturated the site with them.

Fortunately, Apple does have some articles related to the products they sell.  When there is an article, the layout is slightly superior to Microsoft due to the related articles, related videos and related discussion widgets.  The language bar is also a nice to have on the left hand side.

Comparison #3 Advantage: While both Microsoft and Apple have done an excellent job in building support articles, Apple is still leveraging PDF documentation for a lot of its support. Inferior in many ways, PDF is difficult to search, difficult to index on search engines, and most people find it difficult and time-consuming to read through an online manual to find the solution to their problem. They want interactive support content.

Moreover, again, Apple does not have a mechanism for feedback except a 5 star article rating system which is the equivalent of watching the Dancing with the Stars judges post performance scores without the commentary.  What are you going to learn?

While Microsoft has some room for improvement, they clearly have taken a superior approach to focusing on articles over PDF manuals and allowing article feedback in order to understand how to support their customers better. Advantage Microsoft.

Comparison #4 Microsoft Support Search

Search is the primary tool customers use to find the solution to their problem.  So a robust search solution is a must when providing best-in-class online support.

Microsoft does an excellent job of guessing (or “Best Bet” below) the solution based on the search query. The side bar Answers and Fix-It widgets are also a reminder of where one can find more information on the subject. The auto-search function (similar to Google’s) in the search bar makes finding popular search terms much easier.

Comparison #4 Apple’s Support Search

No evidence of PDF results. Just a fantastic search layout that enables the reader to quickly narrow down to the solution they are seeking. In the right column, contextual product information for the search term is an excellent method for giving the reader more ways of discovering solutions.

Comparison #4 Advantage: Both miss the opportunity to apply a social layer to search by identifying MVPs or experts on the search subject. But both do an excellent job of providing search results and filters. I’m going to call it a draw. Advantage Apple & Microsoft.

If you ever wondered what a best-in-class search solution looks like, examine Apple’s or Microsoft’s.

Comparison #5 Microsoft’s Look and Feel

Most of the Microsoft support sites are well laid out and easy to navigate. The main issue they face is the need for a uniform look and feel. Also, the designs are a little dated (with the exception of Answers) and can use some updating.

Comparison #5 Apple’s Look and Feel

Most of the support site has the Apple look and feel. And that is a good thing. The site looks easy to use – and it is. Apple is the Queen of design, and it shows in her work. The layouts are well designed. The images are well designed. If you ever wondered what design royalty looked like, it is Apple’s support site.

Comparison #5 Advantage: For me, Apple is the clear winner here.  The simplistic design and ease of use outweigh some of the content limitations.

Summing it all up

After tallying the results, Microsoft is the clear winner with a 3-1-1 (win, tie, loss) outcome.  Which for our purposes is a 3X category victory for Microsoft.

Summary on Apple

While Apple has a better design and user experience, it does not measure up to its rival’s content and social infrastructure. Their belief appears to be that they want to tell you how you need to be supported. Which aligns with my experience with the team.

Apple is also behind on its Social construct. As far as I can tell, they do not have a single employee solving customer issues on Twitter.  Moreover, their lack of customer feedback mechanisms are a glaring weakness.  They just can not seem to get social right (via Business Insider/CNN).

Still, they have one of the best support sites on the web. Apple lets their products do the talking but don’t model your social strategy after them.

Summary on Microsoft

Microsoft admits they need to learn from their customers, and they have built a support site to match.  While not perfect, they do an excellent job overall in providing support across their numerous and diverse product lines.

Microsoft has numerous support professionals monitoring Twitter and other social outlets. Their approach to social is superior to Apple’s and their MVP program is best in class.

Microsoft needs to improve their design and make their support sites more homogeneous.  They also need to keep pushing the social boundaries and continue to add more social features.  But in the end, they probably still have the best online support site on the web.  Most technical communicators agree.

I remember a time when the only way to buy music was to drive down to the local music store and purchase a cassette tape.  You had to buy the whole album then.  Yes, I’m serious.

When the tape got old or the music fell out of favor I threw it away, listed in the classifieds (if I had a complete collection of used music) or traded it with my friends.  Back then, music quality deteriorated with every press of the play button so selling or trading used music was rarely a viable option.       

William F. Buckley, Jr. once said, “Life can’t be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years.” He failed to anticipate that, with developments in new technology the years are actually much greater and the price negotiable.

It’s just that now the medium has changed.  Tapes are an artifact of the past – replaced by zeros and ones and delivered digitally.  The rules have changed and companies like Redigi are trying to invent new business models.      

What is Redigi?

The short answer is Redigi is to digital music as eBay is to goods.  In other words, Redigi is a marketplace to buy and sell used digital music. 

Is that legal?

According to Redigi CEO, John Ossenmacher the answer is yes.  Ossenmacher claims that while we take for granted that we can buy and sell books, CDs and DVDs, their digital cousins don’t enjoy the same rights.  “They’re just digital bits on a storage medium.  So instead of storing content on CDs/DVDs the content is stored on a users hard drive.  But it’s exactly the same digital bits,” says Ossenmacher. 

In fact, Redigi has created a method for legally transferring purchased songs from one individual to the next. This personal license transaction is handled through Redigi when the two parties agree to the sale. Redigi removes the digital goods from the seller and transfers it to the buyer. The seller no longer has access to the music.

According to Ossenmacher, Redigi is smart enough to recognize pirated content or copied content. It will not allow those digital goods into the marketplace to be resold.

So if it is legal, will be people use the service?

Imagine the ability to obtain the same music found on iTunes at less than half the price. And since digital music doesn’t fade, you are getting the same tune with the same personal use license. Moreover, you can help finance the purchase by selling the music for which you no longer have an interest.

Like any marketplace however, the challenge is two fold. First, you need to attract sellers with saleable music inventory. Even if Redigi were to quickly secure thousands of sellers, the “hot” tunes will be in limited supply due to their popularity. In contrast, iTunes has an endless supply of music it sells and can guarantee delivery.

The second challenge is making it easy enough for both buyer and seller to complete a transaction. It needs to be as easy as buying music from Amazon or iTunes. Participants do not want to involve themselves with jumping through numerous legal hoops to buy a $0.25 song. It needs to be a straightforward process for buyer and seller.

So why can not this be done? Today you could sell your computer hard drive or mp3 player with digital music on it. Isn’t that a legal transfer?

Note for a rebuttal to the legality of selling used digital goods view this article by Chris Meadows

Will the record labels go along?

According to Ossenmacher, the answer is yes. “Record labels are hurting in terms of profitability. But if things go well for Redigi, they will go well for the record labels,” he exclaimed. In fact, Redigi plans to give them a sizeable cut of the proceeds on every sale.

But why would record labels want to receive a portion of a $0.25 song when it can earn higher revenues with a new $1.29 song from Amazon or iTunes?

“Because,” says Ossenmacher, “there is a direct correlation between price and volume.  Redigi is providing a unique marketplace for digital music where users can turn in music to buy new music.  Therefore we believe the market will expand significantly thus driving higher volume and revenue for the record labels”

Why the long tail effect will increase overall digital music sales

People will pay more money and buy more goods if they believe there is a secondary market for them.  Examples include the automobile and consumer electronics marketplaces.  

But today, without a viable secondary market for digital goods, people are less likely to buy a long tail song. Because if they do not like the song they have just wasted $1.29 on a tune they will only listen to once. However, if they could quickly resell the song or collection of songs, the likelihood that the buyer will take a chance on an questionable purchase is higher.

In effect, the long tail effect will positively effect overall digital music revenue by effectively mitigating the perceived purchase risk.  I always wanted to do that to a sentence.

So is Redigi a threat to Apple’s iTunes?

Assuming Redigi clears the legal hurdles, there will be a short term negative impact on iTunes and Amazon music sales. Since the music is essentially the same whether it’s used or new, why would anyone buy new music at 3x the price if it could be found in the Redigi marketplace?

Paradoxically, in the long term, I believe Redigi will have a net positive impact on music sales because people will be more willing to buy long tail music knowing there is a marketplace to resell it.  

Personally, I hope they do succeed as I have a lot of music that has been on the virtual shelf for years. Having the ability to sell it to people that will enjoy it makes sense to me.

What do you think?

I am constantly in search of iPhone applications that make my job easier.  Especially if they involve enterprise functionality.  Unfortunately, my research has revealed very little in terms of value despite there being over 100,000 apps on the App Store. 

There is a big opportunity for Apple to build a corporate focused app store for those wanting enterprise level apps.  Meanwhile, below is the best of what I’ve been able to find and use.

App #1 Mocha VNC for iPhone and iPod

The name stinks but the app doesn’t.  Connect with your computer even if away from the office.  Forget to bring home a file?  No problem, just download or email it to your self from the iPhone.  

APPLICATION DESCRIPTION

Mocha VNC provides access to a VNC Server. Using your iPhone, you can connect to a Windows PC or Mac OS X and see the files, programs, and resources exactly as you would if you were sitting at your desk, just on a smaller screen.

App #2 Skype for Iphone

Skype allows very inexpensive video conferencing and calls to landlines.  A good app to connect with other business users.  I use Skype frequently for chat and calling overseas.

Your boss or clients will be happy when you keep the cost down using Skype overseas.  I use it as a WIFI phone when travelling outside of the US.  Calls are at a fraction of the price then international rates.  

App #3 Cisco WebEx Meeting Center

Using Cisco’s WebEx technology, businesses can share documents, make presentations, and collaborate with employees—or customers—around the world. Now iPhone 3G users can join in as well, thanks to Cisco’s free WebEx Meeting Center app.  Follow a presentation remotely and on your phone.  You no longer need to be at your desk. 

One question I have is how does the audio work if you don’t have a landline handy?

App #4 Evernote

Evernote for iPhone lets you create notes, snap photos, and record voice memos that you can then access any time — from your iPhone, computer, or the web.  EverNote works like your brain would- if its contents were exported to your iPhone.  The ultimate micro content management system.  This app comes in handy.  

App #5 Yammer

Use the free Yammer iPhone application to stay connected wherever you are. View, post and reply to messages, and use the Directory as a mobile address book for your Network.

It answers one simple questions, “what are you working on?” This is Twitter for the Enterprise. 

App #6 SalesForce.com

Thanks to streamlined navigation, you can quickly perform tasks or find what you need in Salesforce CRM right from your mobile device. From pop-up reminders to customizable layouts, Salesforce CRM makes it easy to do more on the go.  I frequently use this app to check the sales and marketing team progress.  I tend to look at dashboards, but occasionally I will dive into customer accounts.  

App #7 Gist iPhone app

First, read this great write up on Gist on the iPhoneCTO web site.

Gist puts all the news, updates, and information about your contacts and their companies in your hand.  Their latest iPhone app release is up and available for download on the iTunes App Store.  New features include:

1. Share articles v
   ia Twitter – share news, status updates, and other information Gist finds for you directly to Twitter.
2. Set individual or company importance – adjust importance directly via the app (previously this had to be don via the web application).
3. Filtered dashboard – filter by importance, article type, and entity type – create the view you want on the dashboard with improved filtering.
4. Event detail map directions (via Google Maps App) – get detailed directions to your next meeting with tighter Google Maps integration.

App #8 iThoughts Mind Mapping

Need help connecting the dots?  This smart little app can help you to build innovative ideas or extend existing ones.  BTW: I found a good blog on mind maps by Clark Quinn.  Worth a look.

iThoughts is a mind mapping tool for the iPod Touch or iPhone. It enables you to create, view, edit, upload and download mind maps in Freemind, MindManager, Novamind, XMind and OPML compatible file formats. It can be purchased from the Apple iTunes AppStore.

App #9 Oracle Business App Suite for iPhone

Oracle was the first company to deliver business class applications to iPhone.  Now Oracle has 5 business intelligence apps on iPhone:

Note you’ll need an Oracle Enterprise license.

* Oracle Business Indicators

Business performance information

* Oracle Business Approvals for Managers
Access relevant business intelligence reports

* Oracle Mobile Sales Assistant
Access information your sales organization needs on a mobile device

* Oracle Business Approvals for Sales Managers
Access to relevant business intelligence reports

* Oracle Mobile Sales Forecast
Provides real-time visibility into individual’s or organization’s opportunity pipeline

App #10 EnCamp for Basecamp

Get projects done. On the Go.

Encamp is a native iPhone application for managing Basecamp projects. Wherever you go — you always stay connected with your projects and tasks.

Basecamp’s best companion

With Encamp you’re working right on your projects – no need to trigger synchronization. All changes are immediately reflected in your hub, clients receive your comments and responsible parties are notified on delegated tasks.

Finally…

I am sure I’ve missed a few.  Do you have any suggested enterprise iPhone apps for us to check out? I am generally looking for highly rated apps that help business people make decisions and get work done.  

I finally joined the ranks of other recently-new-Apple-users (RNAU’s) today and bought a new iPhone 3G S. I’ve never much cared for the hipster company before, but I just couldn’t resist the allure of the new iPhone with video. What struck me today as important though was not the cool new phone but the customer experience. Starting with the first interaction with Apple on their website and ending with a paperless receipt, the process was smooth and stress free.

Throughout the process I was stunned by how at each step of the way the right answer or information was given to me before I had to ask. It was almost as if they were reading my mind. Knowing Apple the corporation as I do (I did some work for them at A.T. Kearney), they probably have customer service experts break down the entire buying experience into detailed actions, then optimize them for maximum customer satisfaction using interactive focus groups. Meanwhile, someone at Apple is managing the entire process to make sure that end-to-end the process is efficient and hassle-free.

Being inquisitive, I asked my one-to-one in-store counselor what training they received as part of their on-boarding process. He told me that they spend a weekend learning about Apple, participate in daily coaching, and have weekly product training courses. I am fairly certain Apple has profiled the ideal retail associate and look for those characteristics in their new hires. Starbucks is another company I know that does this type of profiling.

After this “WOW” experience I began to think about how the encounter with Apple can be translated into developing a similar experience for online technology companies. First of all, every individual brings a series of expectations to each encounter. You may or may not be cognizant of those expectations. Whether they are specific or general, distinct or nebulous our experiences are shaped by our past interactions. Nevertheless, every prospective client approaches every experience with some level of expectation. It’s just the way the human mind works.

Using Apple as an example, how do they exceed expectations and how can an online technology company learn from it. Let’s assume your company’s prospect has already decided to purchase your product or service:

Above is of course a general example. I believe it demonstrates how you can transform the average experience into a “WOW” experience. If you think about it, contemplating every detail of a process for maximum customer satisfaction can really be applied to anything—a romantic date, teaching an arcane school subject, a 4 year-olds birthday party, or even a trip to the DMV. Okay scratch the last one, sorry I got carried away.

Not everything in life needs to be WOW (that’s a lot of planning, research and focus groups), but when your purpose is to impress your spouse, customer, stranger etc. why settle for anything less than WOW? You’ll stand out like Apple and become a company/person that everyone wants to be associated with.