Time for tough

This text is published by the Journal Tribune Five Days and can be read in pdf here

Many entrepreneurs have been missing in this virulent crisis, which last year ended with more than 200,000 companies, the role of Official Credit Institute (ICO). The ICO has long been a political tool, managed by one another, sometimes so embarrassing. This would not be so bad if at least at critical moments have given up for our companies and our entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately this has not happened, the Official Credit Institute has left in the hands of banks risk management, which has resulted in 2008 and 2009 in surreal situations in which there was much money available to large companies and solvent, usually not needed, while the market was closed for those who had problems of liquidity, working capital and unpaid. Tarde, years late, but finally reaches the expected announcement that the ICO will limit their activity to cover a spread of bank interest rate and finally assume the financial risk of operations, leaving out the banks.

This is a historical claim, in an era where our banks have not kept pace than expected and have not transferred the credit to the company as needed. But throughout history, yet happy, I do not know if it will be until there is concrete, but in this case two. First, it scares me to see that there will be a public competition to select a bank to manage such support to SMEs and freelancers. This means that even long before we see this project become a reality in the street and we run the risk that win in the end only the usual: the benches.

Secondly, this move comes two years later. It is true that the administration tends to be slow, but usually does in this case is trivial. Hundreds of thousands of businesses and business projects have ended up fueling the sleep of the just in the last two years and have had to close their doors. If all goes well and keep faith, this is the time of the tenacious, all small and medium businesses that have endured Spanish, who have struggled and have gone for their projects, often burning their savings and assets. Maybe we could predict that the tenacious achieved be the first to start seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Tags: five days , crisis , Empreendedores , ICO , traditional media

Public relations and success in social networks

This text is a public forum for World Economy and Business and can be read in pdf here

I'm not the best person to make a guide to update the old code of ethics for this age of internet social networks, but my time observing the phenomenon in silence and drawing many conclusions. I would at least list the guidelines that I believe are necessary to avoid literally attacking your contacts and damage the image of your business or service. Public relations and marketing in social media like more or less, but it is a clear trend in the coming years and, in many companies, due to the rush, go with the left foot and there are certain things that the user does not forgive.

The great social media revolution is to put in the same plane to the message sender and receiver. Enigualar roles. So, companies that want to work this concept correctly have to demonstrate good use of public relations and customer service issues often neglected. It is a most uncomfortable position for the sender of the message, used to not having to listen, but also more fair and that will portray the quality of customer care products and services.

Public relations is important because of the need for real two-way communication in social media. The user not only demands a good service or that this is interesting also feel a participant in it and in fact so, as it is part of the generation of content. The user is not a passive, not just the view, now creates and therefore feels part and demand. These are some of my conclusions:

◗ The medium is not the end, only the initial part of the road. We must not fall into the trap of creating channels of communication with your potential users through Twitter, Facebook or MySpace to communicate offline only, this does not mean your company have adapted to these channels nuevostiempos.En few years will be created by default the difference lies in who's handled properly and that is what complicated. Open accounts and groups to abandon them or use them with little success creates a negative perception on the part of users.

◗ Organize, create and bring something
You can do on Twitter, Facebook, wherever ... but adds something. If the community sees that you're an actor engaged in the conversation partner, not an entity created to promote a product, possibly when you do some marketing capillary action and perception will be much better.

◗ We have to dispense the information, for example, if you reside in a certain region, it is advisable to send data from the area who compete, no other distant countries.

◗ If you mess up, apologize, laugh and be original. The field of social networking is very new to almost everyone, so it is quite possible that mistake. Interact, learn and, if necessary, apologize. There is nothing more unpleasant than a company that pulls forward rolling
once all blunders, avoiding recant.

◗ If something goes wrong, do not minimize errors ocultes.No dont go away and come back if there are problems when they are resolved or limit yourself to say "to report to the responsible." If something fails gives the face, acknowledge, explain and even take it a certain philosophy and sympathy with the user.

◗ Learn, improve your learning servicio.Pero that you must do solo.Deduce.No you can openly ask "how improved it," unless there is confidence to do so. The aim should be to communicate, meet, learn from the user.

◗ Maximize your success offline. Aprovechatusaciertos offline advertising for use in social networks like Facebook. The result seránmiles of fans willing to receive communications and you new listings and promotions.

◗ Listen and use feedback to support and help r. That is one of the differences between promoting social networks
made in USA and Europe. In the U.S. support "chasing" the user wherever he is. The key is to listen. Often a user does not like a service or do not understand, and always appreciate that there is interest not to refute, but to listen, tell you that your complaint or request falls on deaf ears and extend the information provided, if necessary.

The director of a company, however large, not only wasting your time listening to a user, but also receive valuable feedback and rewarding will not find in any focus group. In fact, you loyalty, lets see it is flesh and blood and makes the prescribing of service on many occasions. Finally, one last comment. I have great doubts whether channels like Twitter and Facebook should be maintained by an agency or someone from the service. For me, an agency can take perfectly, provided you know very well the service, has immediate access to the company and holds a representative who can should be required to provide personal attention, with decision-making included.

A stimulus, positive living

This text is a forum published by El Diario de Levante and can be read in pdf here

To a stimulus each individual responds differently. We are currently going through a time when many people are getting the bad news that are out of work, which is something tremendous and we can wound to sink. But at the same time, although it may be paradoxical and without making the slightest claim to demagoguery, we can accept it, touching the bottom, reflect and take a step forward.

The positive stimuli are pure pleasure, not learning them. Only live and enjoy. Negative stimuli, however, are what make people grow, which may force us to look for what might never before we set ourselves to find: ourselves. Every day we are all subject to tens of stimuli, which increase over time largely due to technological progress.

The barrier of distance, for example in rural areas, has historically been a brake limited interaction with third reduced the number of stimuli to which they respond. But today's physical location is no longer relevant and thanks to technology and communication options. Everyone can now respond to many more stimuli than 10 years ago. "Man does not open shop without a smile." So says a Chinese proverb that I believe we should try to apply in day to day.

Faced with adversity, one can take the path of complacency and suffering or face arrest and life with dignity. Meet people with problems, but problems of truth and see the dignity and joy, even coldness, with often face them, it's worth. So, people like Randy Pausch we can model as a positive response to stimuli and joie de vivre. His career is to think if one is sinking, depressed, or simply address a particular problem.

The last lesson

On September 18, 2007, Professor Randy Pausch and scientist had to give a talk to over 400 students and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University, fulfilling an academic tradition called Last lesson (Last Lecture). What nobody expected was to begin his presentation with a terrible announcement: suffering from pancreatic cancer was spreading through his body and doctors only gave him three to six months.

The left boot moved to all attendees. "It is what it is and we can not change," Pausch said, and continued the conversation quite naturally, with a simplicity that many marked forever and made him a celebrity in the network. The title of the paper, "How to truly fulfill the dreams of your childhood" made clear what was going to be a plea to the effort, perseverance and love of life. During his presentation did not want to talk about cancer, but of life and how to live, how to achieve childhood dreams.

To try to stop the cancer and enjoy their children, this professor was subjected to aggressive surgery and experimental chemotherapy. But the disease ran its course and nearly 10 months after announcing it, Pausch died at his home in Chesapeake, 25 July, at age 47. He did always face adversity and becoming a role model.

Tags: Daily lift , face adversity , encouragement , positive thinking

Rangers Review

This text is a forum published by El Diario de Levante and can be read in pdf here

The rise of the social web creates parallel events around "One of the most curious is the business initiatives whose activity is to" control "measure, analyze and escalate the behavior of millions of users in forums, social networks and blogs. Not too many years the power of social prescription that was attributed to the Internet was limited. Many companies have had to learn to base clubs and now the concern about monitoring what is said and generate positive opinion - or minimize the negative - a fact by many companies.

The network has finally become a prescriber itself in a validator of opinion through which we take the temperature of products and services based on opinions of others, sometimes not so innocent and spontaneous as we believe. Imagine that you are between the two items to make a purchase. Introducing both in Google and received on the first page of results negative comments of one of them, based on the "experience" of various usurious who discourage social networking and forums, highlighting the weaknesses of the product. The sale is on a plate

Possibly we were convinced, based on these results, it was not the ideal product for us. What the user should also know is that, often, a rival company can stand behind those comments in the network, to general limitation to its own brand and harm competition. This work began even to be professionalized.

The "manipulation" of anonymous and spontaneous views this as the agenda. For example, several film producers hired, weeks before a premiere, companies responsible for generating positive opinion of the film that will open billboard, trying so have the best possible reception and that the opening weekend a success. These specialized companies are immersed in thematic blogs, forums and social networking specialist, having your experience and recommending the film.

And so the network surfer screen to decide if viewed not convinced that possibly will stay worthwhile. On the other hand, there are also companies that are starting to go a little further and engaged in pouring negative opinion on others. These cases, if you manage to prove to a judge, they can be regarded as unfair competition practices. His mechanics buzz marketing to talk bad about products, companies or services that are our direct competition, leading to dirty their image.

Tracking and monitoring of these activities will occupy the new companies of social intelligence, capable of capturing trends, tabular views and real-time reporting of social networks - like Facebook, or Twitter Tuenti - and in forums. Knowing these views becomes critical in the online and offline strategy of many products. So, we will know the extent to which someone may be unethically attacking our brand or we can detect focus group as a spontaneous tendency for users, which will tell us really think of us, in a more raw and real he always manifested in a focus group. Bear in mind that what we read may be real. And that everything we write will be monitored

Tags: enterprise social intelligence , user opinions , trends in users , watchers reviews