Harry Potter – Literary masterpiece or literary menace?

I will try to keep this short, mainly due to the fact that I seem to be in the minority but I think its worthwhile saying anyway. I am already getting fed up with the pre launch hype surrounding Harry Potter. At every turn on the high street there are offers of half price purchase if you reserve your copy now or free posters with every pre order. This hype can only get worse as the expectant world is launched towards the 21^st July when the 7^th and thankfully the last of the Potter collection is released.

I cant believe that these children’s books which all three of my kids have read, have such widespread appeal in the grown up world. My sister is a fan, my mum raves about them and she really is of an age when she should know better!, my partner has read them too (several times) and as for me? I resisted temptation to rush out and buy or borrow a copy until the fourth book was published, then I bought myself the rather swanky box set with adult covers (no, not that sort of adult cover, but if you want to catch a glimpse of the schoolboy stud then you may still be able to catch Radcliffe baring all in the West End). It took me about six weeks to read the Philosophers Stone, but I refused to be beaten no matter how mind numbingly boring it was.

Is it only me that thinks JKR has created a clever money spinning cult that seems to have infected every sane human being? Someone please tell me that they aren’t as good as everyone says, I cant bear the thought of being wrong on this one despite running the risk of being pelted with screwed up balls of paper as I walk through the office on Monday.

Harry Potter is not only boring but he’s well past his sell by date. Hooray for the fact that this is the last book for I do not care one bit if its him or any off the other characters who die . It will be a blessed relief if he should meet a sticky end. The real downside to all this is that there is still three, or is it two more films to release before the franchise is complete.

Her writing is not special, her characters are ok if you are approaching puberty, but can someone please explain what it is that makes this such a runaway success. Personally I don’t think that she has done the literary world any favours, but she has probably done for the English economy what Abba did for the Swedish economy in the 70s and 80s. Fingers crossed Harry meets his Waterloo, I would dearly love to say I’m not bothered but I guess the fact I have written this proves otherwise. I did say I would keep it short, I failed on that one but at least you are guaranteed it is shorter than then next book.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd 

A blog about about business and roses

For the last couple of years UFindUs as a business we has grown at a fantastic rate, the result being that we have a wealth of industry knowledge that many will envy. Each day brought about new challenges, a bigger customer base and sometimes more headaches. In some respects we grew faster than our infrastructure and over 12 months ago we made a conscious decision to speed up the development of what goes on behind the scenes in order that we could the business forward and develop new products which will truly set us apart from the crowd. At this point I would like to make a quote, copied and pasted from another blog I came across but sadly can’t remember who it was to give them credit for it.

‘Pruning is an important and necessary step in growing roses. Pruning keeps the plant healthy. It promotes new growth, removes dead, broken or diseased canes and trains roses to a desired shape. Pruning encourages flowering, either more blooms or larger blooms, and is essential to keep modern rose varieties blooming repeatedly all summer long.’

Maybe referring UFindUs to a rose bush is erring towards the poetic, but we have done a lot of pruning this last year, cutting out the dead wood, training new stems to grow in the direction we want them to. We have started to see all the buds begin to open with the launch of two new directories, Smilelocal and MoreUk. Both have different markets, Smile is aimed at the under 30’s with a bright funky feel and MoreUk is aimed at the 50 plus age range, with instantly enlargable text and a simpler more functional feel to it. Both sit side by side with UFindUs to create a formidable presence on the search engines. There will be an abundance of larger and more fragrant blooms to come in the following months and years. The sweet smell of success can only get stronger for our customers as they really reap the rewards of all the extra exposure that we are now able to offer.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs

Declutter to get moving.

My own little pied a terre finally went on the market last week. The result has been chaos, not just a bit of chaos, but heap loads of it.  You know how it is, you get an idea but you just don’t realise how wide reaching the consequences are going to be. A week and a half later and I am still packing stuff up to put into storage, touching up the paintwork and doing the garden so that it has “kerb appeal” As an ex estate agent I spent 18 years advising people on what to do to make their houses saleable, and to be fair I made a damn good job of it. I also hasten to add I was doing this long before Anne Maurice would attempt mass hypnosis of the tv viewing public with her husky American tones.  Question: How much can you cram into a drawer divan, an under stairs cupboard, an airing cupboard and other assorted storage spaces? Answer: Too much. I am swamped with much treasured items that I just couldn’t possibly part with and yet I am happy to have them rot away in the darkest recesses of my home. I think the time is right to fill a few bin bags or have a car boot, but like many others with great intentions I can imagine saying, “aawwww I cant get rid of that, I’ve had this for years”. Its like groundhog day, I remember being in the same situation when I moved 2 years ago. Maybe the best thing is to get a friend to sort it for me, if I haven’t used it by now I obviously don’t need it.  I hope that the pain I am going through now will reap the rewards when the house gets sold ultra quick because it has been given a quick makeover and de-clutter. I guess it is a bit like running a business, you have to keep it fresh and focused on what you want to achieve.

Why I blog and why you should blog.

“How often do you need to blog?” this was a question put to me this morning as I stood propping up the drinks machine in the staff canteen. “Errm, well I don’t know” were the first words to come stumbling out of my mouth, “I don’t really HAVE to write a set number, but I do like to blog most days”. “Oh right” came the answer at which point our conversation ended as we were interrupted by one of our sales staff getting their morning Kenco Really Rich fix, with added sugar.

As I wondered back to my desk I was left thinking that it wasn’t the first time I had been asked this question. Can it really be that people don’t understand what I do and what blogging is all about. Just doing a quick trawl on Google I came across another wordpress blog which was quoting in excess of 60million blogs as at May last year. Does anyone have any more up to date figures on the total number of blogs out there?

I am one of many millions of people out there who enjoy chatting in general but who want to perhaps talk to a bigger audience who maybe share the same interests. My blogs started last year when the firm I work for, UFindUs, asked me to start to write some information about our business directory so that people could start to see what we were achieving, in essence it was just another form of self promotion. Over the last 8 months however I have started to change what I write about, self promotion is great but boring! Sorry guys (I hope that isn’t you I can hear choking on your coffee Stuart) What I want to do is have a bit more fun with what I write about, try to make it more interesting and make my subject matter bit more diverse, but at the same time, I can still let you know about what happens at UFindUs when there’s something to shout about.

Perhaps more importantly its about creating dialogue with our customers, not just for dealing with customer gripes but to exchange ideas, have a bit of fun or share experiences. I’m sure that of all the different professions we have registered with us there must be a few funny work stories to share. If you have spent a couple of minutes reading this then spend a couple more and share your thoughts on here, Me and the rest of the people who regularly read my site look forward to hearing from you.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs

You don’t have to have a technical mind to appreciate the technically minded

I wrote a few weeks back about the work that our developers do and how we are currently having all our web software fully redesigned in house so that it becomes web based rather than pc based, a big asset as we can make changes which become instantly available for our customers. I keep threatening Stuart the developer in charge of this project that I will to go and have a look at what has been done so far.  

There are two reasons for this, the first one is that I genuinely do have a passion for UFindUs and want our customers to be able to get the best from what we can offer. Secondly if I am being honest I am just plain nosey. I once did a course in networking and have my City and Guilds certificate to prove it. My motivation for doing the course was the fact I love pottering on a pc and I wanted to do more than just scratch around the surface of computing. Sadly I soon discovered that in actual fact it was not what I thought it would be and I couldn’t wait to get through the course. This has only served to increase my admiration of the technically minded and fuel my curiosity and indeed excitement about the new products they create. I hope that some point soon I can see what’s being going on in there and share some of it with you prior to the full launch.

Graham Armstorng – UfindUs  

Microsoft Surface – bringing ideas to the table

On any day in UFindUs development studio you can almost hear, if you can manage to get in past the security swipe card door, the ticking of minds far greater than mine as they dissect, examine and rebuild the really cool programmes that go to make up our directory and the other techie systems and gizmos that we are lucky enough for them to furnish us with.

 

If you zoom out a bit you will see this same thing happening not only up and down the country but right across the globe as we continue to hurtle forwards at breakneck speed. Whether this is always good for mankind is another matter but at least our own contribution in the shape of the UFindUs directory does serve a practical purpose.

 

Where will it end? I guess it probably won’t end, techies will keep on developing, gadgets, widgets and systems for as long as the earth keeps spinning. For those who work outside the box, our own guys included, the results can make a real impact on the domestic and working lives of millions of people.

I thought it would be nice to share something I came across that Microsoft have developed. They call it Microsoft Surface.

 

When I first came across a this video clip I thought it was a scam, but its not. Take a look yourself and feel free to share your thoughts on this clever piece of kit.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs

I’m busy doing nothing…..except blogging

I got to work this morning and was ready for a busy day, there was so much I wanted to do that I felt like I would burst with excitement. I do actually get excited about my job at UFindUs, its a great job that when it all goes well gives me loads of satisfaction, and I can honestly say that of anywhere I have worked this has to be the best.

All is not well thought, as a technology firm dealing with “new media advertising” we pride ourselves on delivering the goods to our customers, and I think it’s a safe bet that most of us here feel this way. Keep on top of things as they come in and its great, however you find that the telecoms provider who supply the “juice” that powers our phones and, by default, out internal network, messes up then the backlog soon builds up. Fortunately all our Company and customer sites are dealt with from fire, bomb and everything else proof datacenters so there’s is no chance of disruption there.  The worst thing of all is that although we have the ability to create sophisticated software, data management systems and cutting edge marketing products in house which we can fix and tweak at a moments notice as soon as it’s out of our control then we are helpless.

I am assured that this intermittent problem should be fixed before too long, in which case I will post this blog when I can get online again before getting my head down to clear the backlog that will no doubt be building up, not just for me but for everyone.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd

The phones are back up and so is the network. I can now access the information for the 2 reports I need to do , answer the 33 emails of assorted importance and attend a meeting updating me on our ever changing SEO strategy. Looking on the bright side my enthusiasm has been restored along with the phones and I feel ready to tackle anything this afternoon, as I cast an eye round the office I can see 60 other people who look like they feel the same way too.

Scissor Sisters vs Hoyt Axton – Terry Wogan Rocks!!!

I just love the drive into work, time to reflect and relax before walking through the double doors at UFindUs Towers.  Driving along Morecambe promenade I have buildings on my right ranging from severe decay to outright splendor and then on my left, one of the most stunning views across the Bay to the Lakeland Hills, complete contrast all round and yet it all fuses together perfectly. Today however I was in the mood for a change from the usual silence, so I turned the radio on expecting to listen to the mix of insults and general abuse that Chris Moyles dishes out on a daily basis. His rants, sandwiched between some pretty good music, can be quite amusing.

I pushed the button and turned the volume up as the Scissor Sisters proclaimed their lack of interest in dancing, great for really getting you buzzing first thing. However all was not as I had expected and instead of a bit of Moyles, I got a lot of Wogan. I never listen to Radio 2 so all I can imagine is that my parents had changed the channel when I took them out for lunch on Fathers Day. I haven’t listened to Terry Wogan since my childhood when my Mum treated him with the same reverence as a religious icon and we were forced to eat our toast in absolute silence when he was talking. Those happy (and they were happy) memories stopped me from reaching to push another button to get the Radio 1 fix that I thought that I wanted. I drove on and listened. 

The man is a genius, he uses his programme to bring a smile to the faces of hundreds of thousands (possibly millions, but I don’t really know) through his verbal blogging. Where others, like myself, convey their ramblings, thoughts and opinions via the keyboard, he verbalizes his thoughts with such dexterity and aplomb that I was smiling within seconds as he read out listeners emails, and used his two trusty radio companions as the perfect foil for his Irish humour. A truly skilled wordsmith, highlighting a complete contrast between the two sister radio stations. One offering the throwaway insults of Mr Moyles, and the other the gentle poking and prodding from Mr Wogan which left me smiling and laughing as his wit spilled out of the speakers into my own safe haven.

The second contrast of the day and I have only been on the road for 10 minutes.  Even within his own show he provides yet more contrasts, making me wonder how many others could truly pull this one off. Sandwiched between the Scissor Sisters and Kelly Clarkson is Hoyt Axton. Who? I know, I had to Google him when I got into work to find his name out. His song, which is more familiar than his name, once more took me back to the breakfast table of my youth. I bet you remember “Della and the Dealer” if you are over 40, but enough about age, lets move swiftly on. I know far too many of the words to this song, but the resultant mish mash of modern pop with this 70’s country and western hit worked so well. Put it all in the mix and Terry Wogan really does rock. I never thought I would be blogging about Wogan but he’s made my day already. I think there’s enough room in my life for both radio stations to share my morning drives on the occasions I need them.  Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd

“Customer service” or “servicing the customer” should be a no brainer

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH (deep breaths) Why is it that the simplest things can sometimes turn into a real nightmare? My mortgage statement arrived from my bank and, as I have just my house on the market, I paid extra attention what was on it. When I called them to clarify something on the statement I ended up on hold, straight away without even talking to anyone! 16 minutes passed where I was subjected to listening to John Denver, how I wish those country roads would take him home!. At last I got to talk to a person, a flesh and blood proper person, sadly my telephone saviour was not the person I really needed to talk to and so I reluctantly went back on hold for another 7 minutes. By this time I was slowly succumbing to the lilting tones of Mr Denver and at one point found myself quietly singing along to Annie’s Song.  Hooray I was through to Alan, a really pleasant guy who seemed to sense my frustration even though I had resisted the temptation to bend his ear about it. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH, the computers were down and would I like someone to call me back. As I had various meetings planned for the afternoon, I offered to call them back.  I could have kicked myself later as I had a further 10 minutes of delightful country tunes and it was humming Rocky Mountain High for the second time that day finally convinced me that I needed to nip into HMV next time I was in town to see if I could pick up his greatest hits. I was through at last to a charming girl who once again explained that I really needed a different department, by this time I did point out that they perhaps needed another customer option on their phone system! Whether she felt sorry for me I’m not sure but I was transferred instantly to the right department who were equipped with fully operational computers and who were able to answer my question within 2 minutes.  Why is it that when we have all this technology at our fingertips to make life far more efficient it very often ends up not only getting in the way of people doing their job but really rubbing the  customer up the wrong way. It reminded me of when we used to put our own customers in exactly the same position as my bank still does to its customers. Fortunately for UFindUs those days are long since gone and are just a distant memory. The real issue is the fact that “customer service” is easy to provide from a company point of view but to really get to grips with “servicing the customer” is a whole other ballgame that sadly lots of firms find too much to take on board.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd

Heat or cool, the office air con dilemma.

I just hate those summer days that just don’t seem like summer! What’s happened to the sunshine, last week I sat melting at my desk by the window, now I sit and freeze as no one can seem to agree on what setting to put the air con on.  It is almost impossible to get it so that everyone in the office is happy. It just goes to show that the UFindUs micro population is probably quite representative of the general public as a whole.  My own job here means that I tend to deal with some of the more serious complaints but to be fair it’s a bit like the air con situation, everyone’s expectations are different. If we are going to come unstuck then it tends to be because we haven’t managed them well enough and not because the service they have isn’t working correctly. I come across customers who try to change their websites without really knowing what they are doing tend to change the keywords, it’s a bit like having the window open as well as having the air con on at the same time. The same goes for customers who insist they haven’t had any work from the UFindUs directory but they get calls generated from their website which we put on the first page of the search engines for them, this probably equates to no one understanding why the air con isn’t working because they know its been turned on but they didn’t realize that someone else had turned it down because the far end of the office was freezing.  Sometimes I wonder if its just me that sees all this going on, then I remember that I too can be someone’s customers who had something explained correctly to me but I just didn’t grasp it at the time (or occasionally I didn’t listen to what I was told), although I would be more inclined to think that it just wasn’t explained to me properly in the first place and they are of course the ones at fault. Yes that’s it, they are at fault and I just can’t be wrong!  

I guess that makes me human! That’s a relief, because I am going to walk past the air con controls and nudge the temperature up because at this moment in time I am seriously contemplating putting a fleece on to combat the Arctic conditions that have been induced by a web designer who was going into meltdown surrounded by computers over on the far side of the room. 

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd