Posts tagged punch

Poor treatment

Poor treatment published on 15 Comments on Poor treatment

Can you imagine treating your doctor this way?

Unfortunately, this is how many web developers and software developers are treated regularly by clients.
Due to website development being a pretty new occupation, there are still a lot of people out there that do not understand what goes in to making that cool website, or that awesome online application.

I have personally been on the receiving end of some pretty ridiculous and outright stupid requests by clients.
It is so common, that sites like Clients From Hell are able to exist and be filled with stories which at first seem totally fictional. But they are not.
But go and speak to someone who works in web development and ask them about horror clients. Every one of them will have a story to tell you.

My theory is that because the average person only sees the front end of websites, they have no idea of the coding work and time it takes to create a good web product. They do not get to “look under the hood” and see all the scripts, calls, CSS styles, etc.
If they did, there would be more understanding that this is REAL work, not just a hobby people do on computers in their spare time.
(Also, many “discount” operators such as outsourced development teams & unqualified designers help to perpetuate a myth that this work is cheap & easy to do)

Think about industries where customers have a better understanding of who the end result is produced:
– Customers would not tell a mechanic to throw in free extras just because they are in the engine anyway.
– Clients would not ask an architect to totally redesign a building plan once it is done, by 9am the next day, because their 6yr old son did not like it.
– House painters are not asked to re-paint a house for free, because the colour now looks different when viewed in the morning sun.
– Lawyers are not asked to work on a case for free, just because it may look good in their resume later.

Sadly, elements of all these things exist within the current client-web developer dynamic.
I, for one, hope this changes soon.


Facebook in real life

Facebook in real life published on 5 Comments on Facebook in real life

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you did the things that you do in facebook, in real life?

Obviously, a lot of what you do online happens in a virtual space only. However, social media has interactions with real people and real lives, which is why it is so popular.
Interactions, comments and relationships that occur in the virtual arena can easily crossover to your real life and influence it.

For many people, the relationships they create & maintain online via social media networking, actually is a real life interaction as well – even if they have never met the person at the other end of the click.
Their online networking is just an extension of how they connect to people.

Everyone has heard stories of people meeting online and marrying, or having a relationship that destroys their real-life relationship.
Also on the rise, are the stories of people adding comments to sites which are then unintentionally found by the subject of the comment. Mostly, these interactions do not end well.

Modern social networkers can actually sometimes have an inability to distinguish between the online and offline worlds.
This can lead to some disturbing results, but at the same time, may lead to amazing groundbreaking discoveries or ideas.

But overall, I find that the things we do to friends online would normally have us arrested if we tried it in real life!
Go on – test my theory.
Go and steal your neighbours cow and see what happens…….

Social Miscommunication

Social Miscommunication published on 6 Comments on Social Miscommunication

If I had to pick one factor that was responsible for most conflicts — I would choose miscommunication.
Why? Because miscommunication can create other factors that may lead to conflict.

It happens when one side doesn’t communicate enough information to us, or we misinterpret the real meaning of their words.
This is a becoming a common problem now-a-days because social networking relys so heavily on type-based communication which is ‘asynchronous communication’, meaning that people do not communicate in real time.
Type-based communication does not allow for an immediate feedback response, so our minds have to interpret what the other person is saying based upon their typed words alone.

The delay in response, as well as other factors such as spelling and incorrect use of grammar or punctuation, can greatly increase the chances of miscommunication.
Not to mention that tools such as twitter, plurk & facebook require users to be succinct in what they type. This can suck out any intended meaning or remove other context that will clarify what is meant.

I have been victim to both misinterpreting what was typed & the context in which it was intended, as well as having others read a totally different meaning into what I had posted.
I am sure I am not alone in this.

Like this one time, I thought that @aplusk actually wanted me to follow him because he understood what twitter was all about……..

Content Footer

Page Footer