Another new Software as a Service (SaaS) idea that might work for some of our business customers is Avatars.
Avatars are a digital representation of people. You find them all over the internet these days, in virtual worlds and increasingly in commercial use for customer support.
A more recent innovation however is the use of these Avatars to sell your products. In pre-sales not post-sales, as it is a very different area because people are less tolerant of poor quality voice or images.
We set one up recently to welcome new visitors to saasu. If you have any feedback let us know. It’s easy to get one for your own site.
The downside of course is (more…)
Too often we all get caught up with business and forget to make time for the important things. Spontaneously spending time out on the water recently (see nifty professional looking video that anyone can make) was a worthwhile endeavour and prompted some of the big questions in life -
- Why did it take so long for Captain Cook in his ship ‘The Endeavour; so long to find the world’s best harbour in Sydney?
- Why are yachts always ladies?
- Why don’t we do this more often ?
- Why is it so hot?
- How does animoto let you make such great videos in under 10 minutes? Why don’t we use it more often? Why doesn’t every small business use it on their website when it is sooo easy?
The thing I love about the net is unfortunately the thing I also dislike about it. You can meet people online from all around the world but at the same time you don’t often get to meet them face to face without great expense. Last week was different when I travelled to Perth, I met some great customers, giving me a chance to put faces to weblogs and avatars. (more…)
Phil over at Vincenze’s pit points out the potential pitfalls of pie charts. His conclusion:
So the next time you’re preparing a presentation, stop and ask yourself; what message am I sending my viewers when I use a pie chart? Ultimately, the one thing you can be certain of is that it won’t be a clear one.
Check out his post for a really clear example of why they’re problematic.
Garr Reynolds looks at some alternative ways to present data, including a brief discussion on the pros and cons of pie charts, when reviewing a presentation by Whole Foods Market’s CEO, John Mackey.
While we’re on the topic of data visualisation (incl. charting), I’ve come across a few related links recently:
And lastly - Seth Godin has had a thing about bad PowerPoint for a while. Now he has found some research to back it up.
Update: Oh - I forgot this one: Periodic Table of Visualisation Methods.
Kathy Sierra posts 5 tips for (keynote) presenters and authors: Better Beginnings: how to start a presentation, book, article… [via Leisa].
The 5 (read Kathy’s post for the full details):
- Do NOT start at the beginning!
- Show, Don’t Tell
- For the love of god, DO NOT start with history!
- DO NOT start with prereqs
- MYTH: you must establish credibility up front
Feb 1
Peter
