It's been a couple of weeks since I officially posted on my blog. It has been a busy time, with lots of projects and work for my job, and keeping busy with all my other activities. This has made it difficult to take any time to think about my blog, and has made it more difficult to write; now that I've decided not to spend have a page rambling on about various, random topics I'm finding it difficult to write.
This is particularly ironic, because after staring at this post for 10 minutes, I decided to just start writing and see what happened. I've produced more by rambling on about not being able to ramble in 5 minutes than I have in the last two weeks. I guess I just find it easier to dive into my writing and experiment with my postings. Perhaps what I really need to be focusing on is my editing and learning how to chop things out.
And speaking of chopping, my Karate sensei is quite the rambler (ba da dum...ching). Don't get me wrong, he is a knowledgeable and dedicated master; but last Tuesday, our "couple minute" discussion about Master Yama (the founder of Kyokushin karate), ended up segwaying (45 minutes later) into a discussion about atomic bombs. I think I know how I hurt my back this week; sitting up straight for an hour is a killer. He then announced that he wanted to have similar discussions at least once a month.
But seriously, as my Dad often says, "Every experience is a learning opportunity": I just try to reflect on how these times are excellent for teaching me patience (which I have very little of). I find few things more trying than coming home from work and sitting up straight for an hour when I really just want to beat something with my fists.
Of course, I just hope that you don't want to do the same when reading my blog entries.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
A boy and his blog
So this week's post has been extremely hard to write, which is ironic, because of how much more I've thought about this post than the last one.
I had an excellent discussion about the nature of my blog this past week, and came to some interesting conclusions:
First of all, the old adage holds true: If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
I wouldn't say that Mom hated the last post, but a general loathing wouldn't be far off. After talking with her about the last post, I agree with her assessment - the last post stunk.
Of course, unhappy moms have a truly incredible ability: To emotionally club you, all the while saying it in a very sweet and completely different way that makes you feel like that it is your fault. Being clubbed as I was, the conversation we had is somewhat hazy, but it went something like this:
Jon: "Did you read my blog post?"
Mom: "Yes." (terse tone; translation: The parts I could slog through.)
Jon: "Didn't you like it?"
Mom: "Well... It really wasn't my favorite." (guarded tone; translation: I hated it.)
Jon: "Oh..."
Mom: "You know I always love what you write... but..." (quick, upbeat response; translation: It was really, really bad)
Jon: "But...?"
Mom: "Well, it's just that I know you can do better." (soft, hurt tone; translation: You have shamed with me with your awful writing. How dare you subject your mother to such drivel! Don't you love me, after all the sacrifices I have made for you?)
Yeah, all of you know what I'm talking about. I suspect wives have this ability, as well, but I can only offer anecdotal evidence.
But seriously, she raised some good points - namely that the last post did not accomplish what is both my greatest strength and ultimately, the purpose of my blog: to be funny and to entertain my readers. It is not my intent to be long-winded, boring, or whiny - all of which could describe my last post.
That being said, sometimes making your unhappiness known can garner results - and of course, for those who read the last post, I'm referring to the fact that Stardock has kindly agreed to refund my money after I sent them a very nicely worded worded letter describing my complaint.
Hmmm... I think Mom might be onto something.
I had an excellent discussion about the nature of my blog this past week, and came to some interesting conclusions:
First of all, the old adage holds true: If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
I wouldn't say that Mom hated the last post, but a general loathing wouldn't be far off. After talking with her about the last post, I agree with her assessment - the last post stunk.
Of course, unhappy moms have a truly incredible ability: To emotionally club you, all the while saying it in a very sweet and completely different way that makes you feel like that it is your fault. Being clubbed as I was, the conversation we had is somewhat hazy, but it went something like this:
Jon: "Did you read my blog post?"
Mom: "Yes." (terse tone; translation: The parts I could slog through.)
Jon: "Didn't you like it?"
Mom: "Well... It really wasn't my favorite." (guarded tone; translation: I hated it.)
Jon: "Oh..."
Mom: "You know I always love what you write... but..." (quick, upbeat response; translation: It was really, really bad)
Jon: "But...?"
Mom: "Well, it's just that I know you can do better." (soft, hurt tone; translation: You have shamed with me with your awful writing. How dare you subject your mother to such drivel! Don't you love me, after all the sacrifices I have made for you?)
Yeah, all of you know what I'm talking about. I suspect wives have this ability, as well, but I can only offer anecdotal evidence.
But seriously, she raised some good points - namely that the last post did not accomplish what is both my greatest strength and ultimately, the purpose of my blog: to be funny and to entertain my readers. It is not my intent to be long-winded, boring, or whiny - all of which could describe my last post.
That being said, sometimes making your unhappiness known can garner results - and of course, for those who read the last post, I'm referring to the fact that Stardock has kindly agreed to refund my money after I sent them a very nicely worded worded letter describing my complaint.
Hmmm... I think Mom might be onto something.
Friday, September 4, 2009
A Shout Out to Stardock
So this week has been pretty miserable. It turns out that I managed to contract a bacterial respiratory infection during my recovery from my viral infection last week. Essentially, I managed to be as sick as I have ever been during the past 6-7 years of my life. Miserable.
To help pass the time, I purchased a video game that I've wanted to own for some time and have been playing the demo for a couple of weeks: DemiGod.
It's a fun game, but I did so knowing full well that in all likelihood the game would immediately go on sale after I purchased it.
I bought the game on Sunday.
Guess what? Yes! Lo and behold, today I received an e-mail from Stardock (the company that sells the game) advertising DemiGod (This weekend only!) for 50% off. Needless to say, despite being glad I had something to help pass the time this week, I was somewhat miffed.
So I fired off an e-mail this morning to Stardock explaining how I had just purchased the game and how I would like for me (and Peter, who I convinced to purchase it, as well) to receive the discount.
You might wonder why a company would do this, but I think it was actually rather reasonable request, considering the circumstances: I've owned the game for less than a week and because it seemed like a reasonable time to finally buy it. Beyond that, however, it is a good business decision.
Not only is Stardock known for trying to support gamer/consumer rights as a company, but I'm a darn good customer.
After purchasing their original game, Sins of a Solar Empire (an excellent strategy game, by the way), not only have I purchased the expansion for Sins, bought Demigod, and used their on-line purchasing service to buy another game (Dawn of War: Dark Crusade), but I've convinced no less than 5 people to buy Sins and its expansion, one person to buy Sins, and had a hand in two other Demigod purchases. All in all, if Stardock were to refund the 50% off ($20 apiece to both me and Peter), it would represent less than 8% of the total revenue I have generated for them so far (approximately one year). And since I am now writing about it on my blog and exposing more and more people to their company, it could be an exponentially bigger amount.
Essentially, I represent the type of core consumer that is known for making or breaking companies - those consumers that use word of mouth to entice, or discourage, others from using a product.
I'm not going to lie, Stardock's software is not always flawless or bug free, and their purchasing service sometimes has real issues. But in general, their software (espcially their games) are well-crafted and extremely worthwhile, and if they are willing to put their money where their mouth is, to put customer loyalty and satisfaction first, that says a great deal about them as a company. It also tends to keep people like me with them and recommending their products to my friends and family.
This is especially important now, for a smaller company like Stardock, which is trying to make a successful launch of its on-line purchasing engine, Impulse, and trying to grab market share from the current industry leader (and honestly, less buggy) Steam (from Valve Software, an excellent company). In this day and age of total automation (which is definitely good), it is nice to know that there is still someone on the other end sometimes making sure things don't go totally wrong, and willing to work out the problems that do arise. That means a lot to consumers, even ones who love the ability to have video game purchasing boiled down to a few button clicks (you don't even have to wait for it to come in the mail - you get it NOW).
So far, all I know is that they have recieved my e-mail and are reviewing it and that it usually takes two business days to respond to e-mail requests (via automated e-mail responder; it did provide a ticket number to track the issue should I not hear from them).
I'll keep you posted as I learn more, but either way, this will be a valuable lesson about the free market. Either I will be happy, and I can guarantee Stardock will be happy... or I will be disappointed, and Stardock - well, they won't be happy.
The customer is always right - and people like me guarantee it.
To help pass the time, I purchased a video game that I've wanted to own for some time and have been playing the demo for a couple of weeks: DemiGod.
It's a fun game, but I did so knowing full well that in all likelihood the game would immediately go on sale after I purchased it.
I bought the game on Sunday.
Guess what? Yes! Lo and behold, today I received an e-mail from Stardock (the company that sells the game) advertising DemiGod (This weekend only!) for 50% off. Needless to say, despite being glad I had something to help pass the time this week, I was somewhat miffed.
So I fired off an e-mail this morning to Stardock explaining how I had just purchased the game and how I would like for me (and Peter, who I convinced to purchase it, as well) to receive the discount.
You might wonder why a company would do this, but I think it was actually rather reasonable request, considering the circumstances: I've owned the game for less than a week and because it seemed like a reasonable time to finally buy it. Beyond that, however, it is a good business decision.
Not only is Stardock known for trying to support gamer/consumer rights as a company, but I'm a darn good customer.
After purchasing their original game, Sins of a Solar Empire (an excellent strategy game, by the way), not only have I purchased the expansion for Sins, bought Demigod, and used their on-line purchasing service to buy another game (Dawn of War: Dark Crusade), but I've convinced no less than 5 people to buy Sins and its expansion, one person to buy Sins, and had a hand in two other Demigod purchases. All in all, if Stardock were to refund the 50% off ($20 apiece to both me and Peter), it would represent less than 8% of the total revenue I have generated for them so far (approximately one year). And since I am now writing about it on my blog and exposing more and more people to their company, it could be an exponentially bigger amount.
Essentially, I represent the type of core consumer that is known for making or breaking companies - those consumers that use word of mouth to entice, or discourage, others from using a product.
I'm not going to lie, Stardock's software is not always flawless or bug free, and their purchasing service sometimes has real issues. But in general, their software (espcially their games) are well-crafted and extremely worthwhile, and if they are willing to put their money where their mouth is, to put customer loyalty and satisfaction first, that says a great deal about them as a company. It also tends to keep people like me with them and recommending their products to my friends and family.
This is especially important now, for a smaller company like Stardock, which is trying to make a successful launch of its on-line purchasing engine, Impulse, and trying to grab market share from the current industry leader (and honestly, less buggy) Steam (from Valve Software, an excellent company). In this day and age of total automation (which is definitely good), it is nice to know that there is still someone on the other end sometimes making sure things don't go totally wrong, and willing to work out the problems that do arise. That means a lot to consumers, even ones who love the ability to have video game purchasing boiled down to a few button clicks (you don't even have to wait for it to come in the mail - you get it NOW).
So far, all I know is that they have recieved my e-mail and are reviewing it and that it usually takes two business days to respond to e-mail requests (via automated e-mail responder; it did provide a ticket number to track the issue should I not hear from them).
I'll keep you posted as I learn more, but either way, this will be a valuable lesson about the free market. Either I will be happy, and I can guarantee Stardock will be happy... or I will be disappointed, and Stardock - well, they won't be happy.
The customer is always right - and people like me guarantee it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
