Best Living - Community Manager's blog

June 21^st is Dad’s Day.  Although my grandfather is no longer with us, every year my mom and I would get him a new electronic gadget.  My grandfather was the genesis of my love for technology.  All his life he struggled with vision problems.  In his later years it was difficult for him to read his favorite electronics magazines and technical journals, so I would read them to him.  He loved his big television and his reel-to-reel audio player.  Together we would watch my two favorite movies, The Sound of Music and the Wizard of Oz, over and over again.  I never grew tired of watching the same movies with him and he was happy spending time with me.  We wore out several VHS tapes!  Fortunately, today we have blu-ray DVDs which are far more durable.

 

For Dad’s day this year Best Buy is having a special sale that starts today and runs through Monday.  There are several great televisions ranging from about 37” to 52” inches on sale and a couple blu-ray players.  When I was growing up in South Florida, Best Buy didn’t have any store down there.  Due to his failing eyesight, my grandfather was always looking for bigger televisions with sharp pictures for both himself and he was paranoid that poor picture quality would hurt my eyes.  I know of no medical information that would support that, but those were his fears. 

 

I wish he were here today to see the successful woman I have become and to see all the awesome technology advances that have occurred in the last two decades.  If he was here today I know he would have a 50”+ HD television, blu-ray player and slick sound system.  But tucked away in a corner, I know he would still have his old reel-to-reel audio player…at least I still do.

I have loved technology as long as I can remember.  Before my father retired, he was an electrical engineer.  While an intelligent man who can debate anyone on any current political issue or match wits over calculus problems, he has always been baffled by the most minor technology problem.  As a child when the tv would stop working I would hear him bellow “Gina” and I would rush to his aid.  Usually the culprit was dead batteries in the tv remote, occasionally a loose wire. 

 

When I need to purchase presents for holidays and birthdays, I always think about the latest and greatest technology.  However, my Dad doesn’t like techie-geek gadgets.  My mother told me to get him an old-fashioned shaving soap brush.  Well, okay but I also wanted to give him something that came from the heart.  Something that could only come from me.

 

I decided to give him memories. He came up to visit for a week and has been helping me around the house, fixing stuff.  Since we don’t get to see each other often, I bought an Insignia HD camcorder.  The unit is small, lightweight and easy to use.  It has a 5 megapixel resolution (that means the video it captures is clear to see), has a three inch swivel LCD screen that allows you to see the images you are filming and has a powerful zoom feature (8x digital).  It also films in HD which I think is very cool but when I told my father, ever the engineer, he asked if that had anything to do with hydraulics! 

 

Time slips by so quickly.  I know every time my Dad looks at me he sees a five-year-old, little girl in pig-tails ready to start kindergarten.  I want to remember the time I spend with my father.  Making videos captures these gentle moments so that I can share them with him and others.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking at the Community 2.0 conference.  The event brought together a diverse group of individuals who work with social media.  I gave a broad presentation that covered many of Best Buy’s social media engagements – from this Community Forum to Twitter to Ratings and Reviews – I did my best to highlight the wide range of the great and exciting work that Best Buy does with social media.  If you would like to view the presentation I gave I you can click here to view the deck. 

Yesterday, there was another great overview of Best Buy’s social engagements posted on the website “We Are Social.”  If you are interested, you can click here to read it.

As Best Buy’s community manager I have been on this journey for the past fifteen months.  My team and I live in the blogosphere every day.  We do our best to showcase Best Buy as a concerned and connected retailer.  We are accessible and transparent via our Forum, multiple Twitters and other locations.  Furthermore, we put insights we gather from social media into action.  This has been an exciting journey and I hope to continue to expand the horizon of social media at Best Buy.

The Best Buy Communication's team has launched a new blog: http://www.bbycommunications.com/bestbuyblog.  I posted a comment to their site expressing my opinion about this new endeavor.  It is copied below:

 

Best Buy provides other avenues to “peek behind the Best Buy curtain.”  We transparently display our wins and challenges with customer service on our bilingual Community Forums (http://forums.bestbuy.com and http://forums-es.bestbuy.com).  There is also some great discussion between our customers and our BlueShirt and Geek Squad agents about the products we sell.  The Community site has the Red Ring of Death blog (http://tinyurl.com/BBY-RROD), which is about gaming situations, and the Best Living blog which comments on social media (http://tinyurl.com/Gina-BBY).

Best Buy Connect (http://www.bestbuyinc.com/connect) displays feeds from our employees’ personal blogs and Twitters. Our Chief Ethics Officer boldly blogs (http://www.kathleenedmond.com) about ethical situations that arise within the company and transparently discloses how they are handled.  Our YouTube channels (http://youtube.com/bestbuy and http://youtube.com/bestbuycommunity) showcase a deeper look behind the curtain by allowing the online community access to videos from our company leaders as well as other spotlights.  We Twitter in English, Spanish and French and have a presence on Facebook and MySpace.

We traverse the blogosphere, seeking out customers in need of assistance and then engaging them in dialogue; for example: http://tinyurl.com/BBY-penguin and http://tinyurl.com/6f6ua4.

While these online locations as well as this new blog provide glimpses into the workings of Best Buy, they are all on disparate sites.  So how are customers supposed to find all this great information?  Perhaps now that Best Buy has many corporate business teams and stores leveraging online tools to support customers, we should look at creating a Community Portal that would provide a centralized repository to locate all these endeavors.  Additionally, our weekly flyer, which is probably our largest weekly distribution to our customers, has, to the best of my knowledge, never mentioned these engagements.  Furthermore, I don’t believe our in-store signage has either.

I love the passion of our employees who are launching each of these engagements.  However, I fear that our customers will not be able to find the content they are looking for in the nebulous milieu of the internet.

For those who haven't read Allan's great post about Best Buy's new recycling program, I'm re-posting it on my blog.

 

 Hi Everyone,

 

This summer, Best Buy® rolled out a green initiative to 134 of our stores where a customer could bring in most of their old consumer electronics, and the Best Buy® store would recycle their old electronics for free. There were three categories where the customer was charged a $10 fee per item, but in return they would get a $10 Best Buy® gift card; the customer was not charged the $10 fee if the item was an exclusive brand (private Best Buy® label) item or in the state of California. The customer was limited to two items per day per household.  TVs larger than 32 inches, console TVs, air conditioners, de-humidifiers, microwaves, and appliances are not accepted by this program. If the customer wanted to recycle a desktop or laptop computer they were required to remove the hard drive first, which could be done by the customer or by the Geek Squad for $19.99. If you want to see a video on how to remove a computer hard drive yourself you click here. 

 

As of November of 2008 this initiative had removed 110,000 items from the waste stream, and I am happy to report that due to the success of this program and the positive feedback we have received from our customers, we started rolling this program out to all of the Best Buy® stores in the United States on 1/18/2009. As of Today 2/15/2009 this recycling program is in place in every store in the United States.

 

I was lucky enough to have lived in one of the test markets and had the opportunity to use this program first-hand, and I loved it. I was going to a Best Buy® store anyway to do some shopping, and I had an old TV that had been sitting in my basement forever so I brought it with me and I paid the store $10 to recycle the TV for me and they gave me a $10 gift card. Because of this program, Best Buy® offers recycling options for almost all of the electronics products we sell, and if you’re interested in seeing all of our recycling options you could find them on BestBuy.com.

 

Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate

 

http://forums.bestbuy.com/bb/board/message?board.id=Recycling&thread.id=18

Last week Econsultancy posted a story on their website with a salacious title: "WalMart, Best Buy shun social media."  As this Community website proves, that is a fallacious statement about Best Buy.  Less than an hour after the story posted, I commented, "Actually, we embrace social media."  I pointed out that their own website wrote a story just two months ago about Best Buy's open API.  Econsultancy's Editor-in-Chief and CEO commented on my posting.  Others from Best Buy and our partner Carphone Warehouse added their comments about the work they do with social media.  In a comment from the author about the article he stated, "I neglected to do a proper Facebook and Twitter search. My sincere apologies. No[t] sic very professional and certainly not the way I want to start a relationship with your company."  While I accept his apology, I continue to grow wary of the power of unfiltered communication.  Too bad Econsultancy had not read my last blog, which was precisely about how inaccurate statements can quickly spread on the internet. 

 

This false story was Twittered and picked up by Google Alerts.  While myself and other Best Buy employees have debunked the claim, the title has not changed.  Therefore, this grossly inaccurate statement will remain on the internet indefinitely.  Furthermore, Econsultancy has not written an article that discusses Best Buy use of social media.  We are a large brand and utilize many social media avenues.

 

Today, many print-base newspapers are going out of business due to the internet's rapid means of transferring information.  However, newspapers were staffed by journalists who were accountable to their readers, their company and their shareholders.  While there were occasions when incorrect information was printed, upon discovery corrections were made and the newspaper's reputation suffered. 

 

Where is the accountability in the Web 2.0 world?  Many point to the community.  However, I am skeptical that the "community" can watch all websites and see every Twitter statement that flies across the internet.  My team and I caught this false statement about Best Buy; there will be others.  While we remain ever vigilant, I fear we are heading to a new era of yellow journalism - grab a citizen's or brand's name, make an accusation and then poison the public with a toxic accusation.  In a medium where anyone's opinion and lack of research can be accepted as fact, I worry what the potential consequences.

Today anyone can go online to voice their opinion.  Increasingly these opinions transcend the online space and modify events.  It was only a few months ago that an ad on Motrin's website offended mothers by comparing the carrying of children in baby slings to a fashion statement.  Outraged mothers (and others) quickly jumped on Twitter, and their outrage spread to YouTube and blogs.  Within days Motrin pulled their ad.  Congratulations to social media for quickly bringing this to the attention of Motrin.

 

Last week Bloomberg reported that Blockbuster hired a firm that deals with bankruptcy.  People on Twitter picked up this story and started Tweeting that Blockbuster was filing for bankruptcy.  This went viral within a few moments and their stock fell to $0.17.  Blockbuster put out a press release saying that they did hire the firm to help with capital initiatives, but reports of bankruptcy were entirely false.

 

Twitter is a rapid means of communication that is unfiltered.  Anonymous people can say whatever they want without repercussions.  When there is limited or no accountability, what measures are there to protect individual citizens and corporations from false, libelous or slanderous accusations? 

 

As fact and opinion blur, the consequences to individual lives will increase.  Will the next false viral rumor cripple a brand to a point from which it cannot recover?  How many jobs will be lost over a fallacious statement?  These concerns highlight the imperativeness of brands actively monitoring their perception in the blogosphere.

 

I love social technology.  And I am happy to join the online conversation on behalf of Best Buy.  Joining the conversation today is more important than ever for brands to survive and thrive in the world of Web 2.0.

Today Best Buy announced an organizational restructure which unfortunately will result in about 250 layoffs of corporate employees.  I am saddened with the loss of these colleagues.  Best Buy remains a strong company and will continue to grow even during these troubling economic times.  Today there will also be about 210 job postings which will create new opportunities for some employees.

 

My team and I have not been impacted.  We will continue to support the users of this Community Forum.  My team and I will also continue to engage on Twitter (Gina_BestBuy, BBY_Community, BBY_Comunidad, BBY_Communaute, RewardZone and BestBuy_Outlet); Facebook; Get Satisfaction; the Reward Zone Community Forum; as wells as dialogue with customers on their personal blogs and forums. 

 

I view engagement in the online space as a huge growth sphere for Best Buy.  It also helps gain insight into our customers’ experiences and provide actionable items to business teams so that we can make the changes necessary to improve and enhance our customer experience.

 

 Today is a day of change.  Tomorrow is a day of action.  And the future will be one of growth and opportunity as Best Buy continues to expand its brands, deliver quality Geek Squad services and provide an overall inspiring customer experience.

I spent most of Valentine's Day weekend playing Wii.  I am not much of a gamer; however, in an effort to relax more, I am trying to invest more time in non-work activities.  I've started reading books which provides a wonderful escape.  Gaming enhances the reading experience by providing not only a textual experience but visuals and sounds to enhance the escape experience.  My first gaming system was an Atari 2600.  Twenty years ago a small color palette, quirky sounds and flashing graphics pasted as state of the art.  Today's gaming landscape is 3-D, high-definition and multi-sensory experience.  One surprising outcome of playing the Wii is the soreness in my upper body.  Playing Wii tennis, baseball and golf are giving me quite a workout.  Remarkable for a machine that basically alters flashes graphics and sounds.  And more importantly, I’m relaxing.

America’s offerings for consumer electronics decreased last week when Circuit City announced the liquidation of its remaining 567 US stores.  While they are a competitor of Best Buy, I take no satisfaction in watching a major US company file for bankruptcy.  Sadly, 34,000 Circuit City employees, our neighbors and friends, are losing their jobs.  Unemployment is especially troubling in such a challenging economy. 

 

This is a time of economic readjustment for the US economy.   Americans have gone through these types of changes before.  I have complete confidence in our country and my fellow Americans to weather the changes ahead.  America rests on a bedrock of hardworking people who have a firm understanding of responsible behavior; therefore, we shall progress as a country and a society.

Trying to slow down my ever tech life, a friend gave me an old-fashioned, fireplace popcorn popper for the holidays.  So after years of having microwaved or movie popcorn, I tried to pop popcorn in my fireplace with it.  It was quite the adventure.  First, the popcorn popper (which is not sold at Best Buy) was difficult to put together.  I had to drill its wood topper just so I could get a screw in to hold it to the top of the popper.  I oiled up the popper and put in popcorn kernels.  Within a couple of minutes I heard the first "Pop!"  It was bit challenging holding the heavy popper in the fire.  I had to gently rock it from side to side to get the popcorn to pop evenly.  After a plethora of popping sounds, I decided to take it out of the fire. 

 

The natural popcorn was a nice change from microwave and movie popcorn.  I added a little sour cream and onion popcorn seasoning and feasted on my hard labor.  Afterward when I began to clean up I realized the popcorn popper's bottom was melting black paint on to the floor.  I cleaned up and put the popper in the kitchen.  It then got black paint on the stove and popcorn bowl. 

 

Consequently, I've decided to use the popcorn popper as a decoration. It was nice to try the low-tech way of making popcorn, but I missed my microwave.  Come to think of it, I think I will go pop myself a bag now.

The Holiday season is a time to reflect on the past year with those closest to us who can help point out our mistakes and our triumphs.  Hopefully we move into the New Year a little wiser so that we do not make the same mistakes and also a little braver so that we still charge ahead when the future is unknown. 

 

At the beginning of 2008, I was offered the opportunity to become Best Buy's first Community Manager and help usher the company into the Web 2.0 world.  There was no certainty that this would be a successful endeavor or a permanent position.  Best Buy didn't have a forum or blog.  The company had never Twittered and most people thought that was a risqué term.  When I was presented with the opportunity to jump into the uncertainty, I did so wholeheartedly.  That is, I took the path less trodden by. 

 

I launched a blog, began Twittering and helped the company move toward having a community forum.  There were many internal partnerships that needed to be built, and policies needed to be updated to be relevant in a Web 2.0 world.  I rolled up my sleeves and dug in.  As I moved, I made sure to build a path for both English language and Spanish language conversations to start taking place online.  Today, both languages must work in tandem for Best Buy to serve its diverse customers. 

 

Achieving the launch of this community forum was the largest hill to climb.  I recall having a conference with a senior director who looked me in the eye and said it wouldn't happen this year.  Doggedly, I continued.  One of Best Buy directors had been trying to get the company to launch a forum for years.  He was instrumental to this forum existence.  Finally, on September 18, 2008 the community forum launched. 

 

My team and I manage and moderate this forum.  My team of eleven is, in my opinion, comprised of some of the company's best employees.  They are dedicated to championing customers, tirelessly researching questions and striving to create an online community experience for customers.

 

This forum is not for Best Buy.  It is for our customers.  We launched it to connect customers with Blueshirts, Geek Squad Agents and each other.  This forum provides a platform for us all to dialogue in an open and honest manner.  While I know not all users of this forum may believe that, I do and so does my team. 

 

That's why I get up every morning and go to work so that I can help foster meaningful communication in an ever-evolving, tech-filled, complicated, and confusing world.  We all need assistance from time to time with life and technology.  This forum and our other online community engagements are to help all of us adapt to an e-powered world,one that is turned on and tuned in 24/7.  To some, the new e-world is a realm full of techno-stress and frustration.  If you are ever struggling trying to figure out how to make it all work together, that's what we are here for.  To help and assist to the best of our abilities.  So let's keep the dialogue going in 2009.  Devices are only going to get smaller and more feature-packed, which translates into complication.  We're here.  We hear you.  Let the conversation continue.

 Best Buy stores occasionally have special, after-hours events. On January
4, 2009 the Best Buy Inver Grove Heights, MN location will host an after-hours
event from 8:00pm to 10:00pm to celebrate El Día de los Reyes, which
is the celebration of the arrival of the three kings. At the event they
will be serving hot chocolate and rosca de reyes, and the store will be
filled with festive Latin music. They will also have a piñata filled
with candy. The store will be staffed with Spanish-speaking representatives
who will be answering questions and giving demonstrations of products. The
Three Kings will also be making a personal appearance so you can take your
picture with them!

This Holiday season I had the pleasure of giving many gifts to my friends and family.  While I also received many presents, the gifts I enjoyed the most were the smiles and hugs I received.  While Best Buy doesn’t sell smiles and hugs, it does offer many entertainment products that help bring people together to enjoy a shared experience.  In the last few days I have spent many hours in front of my tv playing DVD games with family.  Challenging each other at trivia games is fun, entertaining and educational.  I’m not the trivia buff I used to be, so I have learned that in the new year I might want to brush up on my factoids.

Recently Geek Squad launched a new website for questions about specific product models or sku numbers: https://supportopedia.com.  The website is for customers and Best Buy and Geek Squad employees to come together and answer specific product questions.  The team of Community Connectors who moderate this Community Forum (http://forums.bestbuy.com) also assist on the Supportopedia.  By using Best Buy's open API (available at http://remix.bestbuy.com), the product models that are available on Supportopedia mirror the products on Bestbuy.com. 

Every month I like to change the image on my desktop.  I also like to have a calendar to quickly access.  Therefore, I sometimes take one of my digital photographs and add a calendar on it.  I use Adobe Fireworks to manipulate the photo and then use the text tool to add the calendar.  If you would like to download my December ’08 calendar for your desktop, click here.

Despite the lackluster economy, customers came out in droves for the Day After Thanksgiving day sales at Best Buy and other retailers.  Kudos to those of you who braved the long lines on your quest to find the product you desired.  With the Holiday shopping season off to a good start, I guess it is time for me to start my shopping.  I have family and friends to buy for and, of course, my dog too!  I can't forget her. 

 

I love giving gifts.  Making my friends happy fills me with the holiday spirit!  While my wrapping skills are remedial at best, I still enjoy the challenge of using scissors, tape and ribbon to conceal the joy I give to people.  This season I think I am going to focus on giving DVDs, music and food.  People like to escape from the worries of daily life, and movies and music let them do that.  Food...well once you escape, you usually get hungry so it is good to bring along some sustenance! 

We are one week away from one of the biggest shopping days of the year: The Day After Thanksgiving!  While I do not know what doorbuster deals Best Buy® will have, I'm sure a lot of people will line up for them.  For those who choose to attempt to take advantage of the sales, please remember to be safe.  Also, the doorbuster specials have limited quantities.  Once they are sold out, there are no longer available and there are no raincheck options. 

 

I have never partaken in the Day After Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza as a shopper.  However, when I worked in sales I did have to get up very early so that I could assist customers when the doors opened.  Nowadays working in Best Buy's department of Consumer Relations I still have to get up early to be here at corporate to help support the stores. 

 

For those of you braving the crowds on the Day After Thanksgiving, please remember to be safe, be smart and have fun.

 

For additional information, please check out our Holiday Survival Guide.

I just finished watching The Snake Pit, a 1948 film starring Olivia de Havilland.  The film tackles the controversial topic of mental illness treatment.  Having studied and taught psychology ,this film has been on my list of movies to watch.  The film gives a shocking portrayal of the state of mental illness in the 1940s and graphically shows electric shock
therapy.  The film concludes with a happy ending brought about by Freudian psychoanalysis.  Clearly the film is dated.  De Havilland gives a tremendously daring performance.  While it is common for actresses today to bolster their resume by playing non-glamorous roles, during the 1940’s de Havilland took a significant risk playing a disturbed woman and being filmed with minimal make-up.  While she was nominated for an Academy Award, she did not win.  Best known for playing Melanie in Gone With The Wind, her career spanned the twentieth century and she is one of a handful of actress to bring home two Academy awards for best actress (1946 To Each His Own and 1949 The Heiress).  I am looking forward to her return to the silver screen in I-59 South which is set to start filming next year.

In the lilting light I walked as it became night across a meadow lacquered in fallen, multi-colored maple leaves.  Only in dreams had I imagined such a wondrous sight.  Bathed in the chilly autumn breeze, I slowly strode on.  The leaves beneath my feet crackled like an open fire. My hands, growing numb from the chilly air, sought refuge in the caverns of my pockets.  Alas, I realized amidst autumn’s splendor, I had neglected to bring my digital camera.  As more leaves gently gave way to the forces of gravity, I sighed since I could not capture a slice of nature’s majesty.  But then I remembered...the cell phone in my pocket had a built-in digital camera.  Oh joyous night, you shall be remembered forever thanks to my trusty friend!  With the light fading, I feverishly snapped away.  Photographs store so much more than a mixture of pigments.  They are tangible capsules of life’s moments, large and small.  Therefore, I shall not forget my glorious autumn walk.  I think I’ll walk again tomorrow.

Ever been on airplane with the lights down low, frantically trying to finish that big presentation you have to give as soon as you land, but keep hitting the wrong keys on your laptop because it so dark?  Blue Label™ to the rescue!  Recently, Best Buy® launched a new line of products called Blue Label™ based on feedback the company has received from customers.  You asked.  We listened.  The new line launched with two new laptops.  The Toshiba E105-S1402 features a backlit keyboard, approximately 5.5 hours of battery life and a weight under five pounds.  The HP Pavilion dv3510nr also features a backlit keyboard and weightless than five pounds.  Both laptops have two-year limited manufacturer’s warranty and come with a full year of anti-virus software pre-loaded.  To learn more please visit http://www.bestbuy.com/bluelabel. 

 

Quick Stats                                             

 

HP Pavilion dv3510nr Entertainment Laptop

o    Backlit keyboard for viewing in low light

o    Up to 4 hours of battery life from a single charge

o    Less than 1.41" thin

 

Toshiba Satellite E105-S1402

o    Backlit keyboard for viewing in low light

o    5.5 hours of battery life from a single charge

o    1.2” thin

o    4.99 lbs

o    14.1” diagonal widescreen TruBrite® TFT LCD display at 1280x800 native resolution (WXGA)

The Autumn winds of change have started blowing the multicolor leaves off the trees, leaving the lawns a speckled pageantry of radiant hues.  I was walking in the woods absorbing all the mastery of Mother Nature when I came to a fork in my path.  Of course, I took the one less traveled by.

 

Business is also at a fork in the road: to listen and dialogue transparently with customers or to remain in stagnant silence ignoring the mounting voices.    Where once faceless corporations dictated a prescribed doctrine, now the winds of change have blown open the doors to the corporate halls.   Web 2.0’s bi-directional approach allows for communication between consumers and producers for the first time.

 

This blog is only one example of Best Buy’s engagement.  We have Community Forums in both English and Spanish which serve as platforms for Best Buy personnel, Geek Squad agents, customers and the online public to share their experiences about technology.  My team and I join the discussion.  We also engage with individuals on their own personal blogs, Twitters and forums that are not associated with Best Buy.  Our CMO Barry Judge has his own Twitter (http://twitter.com/BestBuyCMO) and his own blog (http://barryjudge.com/).  I also Twitter (http://twitter.com/Gina_BestBuy), and we have a Spanish language Twitter (http://twitter.com/bby_comunidad).  Our Reward Zone program has a forum as well on their website (https://myrewardzone.bestbuy.com/).

 

Best Buy has decided to join the discussion.  One of the first outcomes of listening to customers is our new Blue Label products.  You spoke.  We listened.  Based on customer feedback about laptop issues, Best Buy partnered with both Toshiba and HP to create laptops with features that customers wanted such as a backlit keyboard to make it easier to see the keys on the laptops.  I wish mine had that!  You can join the discussion about Blue Label on our Community Forum.

 

Blue Label is just the beginning when it comes to the power of co-creating with our customers.  It is my sincere hope that we engage in an honest, constructive dialogue.  I know traveling down this path will bring about both challenge and change, but that’s okay.  After all, I always choose the path less travelled by

Today Best Buy expands its presence in the digital world by launching both an English and Spanish language Community Forum.  While the emphasis is on customers helping each other, we will have a bilingual team of moderators both at corporate and spread throughout the field dialoguing with customers in the Forums.   The forum is for our customers and employees to share their experiences with technology…the good and the not so good.  Together we can learn from each.  I welcome you to join our conversation about technology and life integration.  Let’s create meaningful communication together.

Originally posted: Monday, August 25, 2008

WoLF

Best Buy has several Employee Business Networks (EBNs) to help its employees connect with each other and the community. One of the EBN’s I am a part of is WoLF – Women’s Leadership Forum. Last week WoLF held it annual conference in Boston. It was a powerful and moving experience. Many of the company’s executive leadership were in attendance, which was pretty cool.

WoLF resides on a firm foundation of company support and grows through its three pillars: commitment, network and give back. Throughout the world, there are WoLF packs and dens comprised of groups of passionate women and men who, to paraphrase Gandhi, want to be the change they wish to see in the world. For example, I am passionate about increasing female recruitment and retention, and WoLF has helped by supporting my efforts.

 

Without knowing it, WoLF was a great gift that Best Buy gave me (and many other individuals). I have been with the company for just less than two years. Yet through becoming involved with WoLF, I was able to meet people, network and build solid partnerships. This work helped pave the path to my current position.

 

Therefore, I would like to say a deep thank you to Julie Gilbert who founded WoLF in 2004. You didn’t know me, but you knew me. You saw the struggles of those who work tirelessly but achieve slowly - those who are stray wolves, but rise each day to challenge a world full of preconceptions. I found a home at Best Buy in part because of you. Thank you. You started a movement. I am happy to devote my time to help it grow and prosper.

 

To learn more about WoLF, please check out their website: http://wolfinspires.com/.

Originally posted: Monday, August 4, 2008

I thought I was losing my mind

I have worn the same shirts for probably about a decade. Okay, so fashion isn’t my thing. Tech-toys are. A few weeks ago I noticed my shirts were fitting a bit tighter. I thought this was odd. Occasionally, my pants have felt a bit tight, but my shirts? Then it got more severe. I was having difficulty buttoning some of my shirts. Frantically I rushed to look at my upper body in the mirror. Sadly, I had not become buff overnight. I kept craning my neck to see what the problem was. Did my shoulders suddenly get wider? Days later it happened again. If I could manage to button a shirt, gaps of skin were being revealed. I hadn’t gained weight; as far as I could tell, my shoulders weren’t any wider. What was going on? I assumed it was the first stage of madness.

 

Then a light bulb went off in my mind, the dryer! I’ve only been in my new place a few months and every time I dry clothing I have to keep them in the dryer for at least two full cycles. Ah, ha! I rushed down to the basement to glare at the culprit. The dryer sat there lazily and a bit dusty as it has for the past twenty-five years. Upon investigation, I determined that yes; the dry was the guilty offender who shrunk my shirts.

 

Well, at least I know what my first major upgrade for my new home will be. I’ll start saving up and checking our financing offers for a washer/dryer pair. Too bad Best Buy™ doesn’t sell shirts; I am in need of several.

Originally posted: Monday, July 14, 2008

The Power of Steam

The carpets in my new place are a bit dirty so I decided to buy a carpet steam cleaner. Since I am allergic to carpet cleaning solution, I was a bit hesitant to use the sample cleaning solution it came with it. So I began by just using water. That worked okay. The power of the steam was able to extract a bunch of dirt from my carpets. But my dog had made a few boo-boos on my carpet so I decided to increase the cleaning power by using the cleaning solution while wearing a face mask to protect me. The cleaning solution did result in a better cleaning job, and it was able to remove the boo-boos. So far I have done one room, and it looks remarkably better. I’m off to clean another…

Originally posted: Monday, June 23, 2008

Koeksisters

Although I love to use technology to help make my life easier, every once and a while it is nice to roll-up my sleeves and get my hands dirty by doing something the old-fashioned way. A friend of mine is originally from South Africa. I like to help her make original South African food. Today we cooked koeksisters. They are a traditional doughnut-type desert that is coated in syrup. They are very sweet and sticky.

 

Instead of using an electric mixer or food processor, we decided to make them the traditional way. We sifted the flour, then added butter and mixed the ingredients by hand. This was a slow, but fun process. We then added water and continued to stir the mixture by hand. Again, it was slow and messy, but also fun and relaxing.

After the dough had risen, we did return to using modern conveniences to deep-fry the koeksisters. She has a gas stove and they fried up very nicely on it. We coated them with syrup and chilled them. Then it was time to reap the rewards of our efforts – they tasted delicious! The syrup left my fingers sticky, but what’s life without a little mess.

If anyone wants the recipe for this awesome treat, let me know.

Originally posted: Monday, June 16, 2008

A Few Wii Moments of Fun

While I love technology, I am not much of a gamer, although admittedly, back in the day, I was the highest scorer on the Ms. Pac-Mac arcade game at the Coral Springs roller skating center…oh, that dates me. With the exception of chasing Pac-pellets and ghosts, I lack hand-eye coordination.

While I try and warn people about this, they don’t listen. Last week I was hanging out with a bunch of friends, and I stunned them with my atrocious Nintendo Wii skills. I could see my friends inwardly cringe as I attempted to control two objects – the Wii remote and the Wii nunchuck – at the same time. Fortunately, they were all very patient. Since my hand-eye coordination is so bad, they thought I would do better with the Wii Fit, which basically turns your entire body into a game controller. Sadly, I performed no better.

 

But that’s okay! We had fun, and that’s all that matters. Games are meant to bring us together. They give us a few moments to slip away to another place - to transcend reality and approach upon special places in which we have magical powers or superhuman strength… places where we can live out our fantasies or just escape the harshness of reality for a few sweet hours. Come to think of it, I haven’t chased any ghosts or gobbled up any Pac-pellets lately. Maybe I should carve out a few moments from my hectic life to return to the simple pleasures gaming offers. Maybe I can play Ms. Pac-man on the Wii?

Originally posted: Saturday, June 7, 2008

Have you ever walked in a waterfall?

 

Two weeks ago, a friend and I went to Wisconsin to explore Willow River State Park. I love nature, and after the long, cold Minnesota winter, it was great to get outside and enjoy spring’s mastery. In a matter of a few weeks everything went from being dark and dank to lush and green. Now that the ice in the bodies of water up here has melted, I was able to walk in the Willow River (which is pretty cool because there are shallow parts right in the waterfall). Although the sun was shining brightly, it was only about 55 degrees outside. Undaunted, I stepped into the waterfall. The ice-cold water numbed my toes. I sat on a rock and kept my feet in the freezing water…I kept looking down and counting to make sure I still had all ten toes. After a while, my friend and I dried off our feet and went for a hike.

 

The next day I had a cold and a sunburn. How was I supposed to know? I’m orginally from south Florida, where you can walk in the ocean year-round. I learned an important lesson: no matter how beautiful it is to walk in a waterfall, my health is more important.

The beautiful park and weather also made for breathtaking pictures - okay, I had a cold so basic functioning was breathtaking in itself!

 

One of my passions is digital photography. I have a few cameras – both digital and 35mm. The one I like to use the most is my twin-lens digital camera. While twin-lens reflex cameras have been around for about eighty years, digital twin lens cameras have only been on the market for two years. Twin-lens cameras have two lenses that both have the same focal length. Since I prefer to take pictures of landscapes and nature, I have found that the images I capture are richer, more vibrant and give the viewer a feeling of actually being at the location they are gazing upon.

 

I’m going for a walk now...don’t worry, not in an ice cold waterfall this time!

Originally posted:  Sunday, June 1, 2008

Cleaner teeth, but with drool

A few weeks ago I got an electric toothbrush. I decided I wanted to get one last year, but I generally move slowly on acquistions. Well, I am very glad I got it. It is great! After I brush my teeth with it my mouth feels all fresh and clean just like when leaving the dentist’s office after a cleaning. (At least, that is what I recall it felt like…it has been about five years since I went to a dentist. I guess I’m probably overdue). The electric toothbrush times itself so I now always brush for two minutes at night. Way cool. Being the nostaligic I am I haven’t retired the old non-electric toothbrush. A few years ago a friend gave me a great tip about how they brushed their teeth and I followed his suggestion – I brush my teeth in the morning sans-electirc in the shower while I wash my hair. I know it sounds a bit weird. But it works for me. Anyway, I think the electric toothbrush is way cool, I just haven’t figured out how to stop droolling while I use it. It’s late. Time for bed, but first I need to go brush.

Originally posted:  Sunday, May 18, 2008

 

To Sling or not to Sling

I am pondering how to get the best out of my television. I like to watch tv, but it seems like I am never available when the stuff I want to watch is on. For awhile I have been using my DVD recorder to record the programs I am interested in. I then watch the disks when I want at home or I sometimes take them to the gym with me and watch them on my portable DVD player. However, I am looking for a better solution.

I am thinking about getting a Slingbox which is a device that streams your tv’s programming and allows you to watch it where you want, on your: tv, computer or mobile phone. All you need is a high-speed internet connection for it to send you the content you want to watch. An attract feature is that there is no monthly fee. However, Slingbox does not record the streaming video so I am not sure this the solution to my problem. I guess I will keep pondering. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

Originally posted:  Monday, May 12, 2008

Best Buy & Carphone Warehouse

Last week, Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse announced a new joint venture extending their previous partnership. Carphone Warehouse is the world’s leading cellular phone provider. According to information released by Best Buy, they are planning on having Best Buy branded stores and websites in Europe in 2009. This new endeavor will allow Best Buy to benefit from Carphone’s tremendous knowledge, which I think this is totally awesome. I look forward to seeing the two companies work together to fulfill European customers’ technology needs.

Originally posted:  Sunday, April 27, 2008

Satellite Radio: Nostalgia vs. Time-Traveling

I currently have both Sirius and XM satellite radio. I have been listening to Sirius for years. I recently bought a new automobile and it came with XM. I always assumed they were basically the same. Well, I was mistaken. They both have some nice benefits. I enjoy listening to older music. While both Sirius and XM provide this music, they do so in different ways. It appears to me that Sirius plays more well-known music while XM plays a wider selection of music from a specific genre. So for example I like to listen to the 1950s channel. On Sirius they play the major hits by the well-known artists of the period whereas on XM they play a wide assort of music from the time period that is less well-known. Listening to XM makes me feel like I am listening to a radio broadcast from fifty years ago. Great music, but I only barely recognize the artists and they play few hits. Sirius on the other hand appears to play a smaller assortment of music, but I recognize the songs and the artists. It’s cool that for right now I have both Sirius and XM so I will continue to listen to the different versions of satellite radio depending on what I am in the mode for: time-traveling with XM or listening to old familiar favorites with Sirius.

Originally posted:  Sunday, April 20, 2008

Electrolux

Best Buy recently started carrying Electrolux appliances. That is way cool. Electrolux was founded almost a hundred years ago in Sweden. I am in the process of furnishing my new place and I am totally psyched at having Electrolux appliances as an option to purchase. I am looking for a modern look in my new place and I think Electrolux products are very fashionable. I especially like their stainless steel. It looks very clean and crisp. I think when I decide to redo the kitchen in my new place I will want to go with stainless steel.

Originally posted:  Friday, April 11, 2008

 

Maintaining Connections Through Technology

Relationships are the most valuable asset in life. They are the currency of emotional well-being. Too often we neglect our personal relationships due to work, stress and the demands of modern life. However, to assist me in staying connected and maintaining important relationship bonds I maximize the plethora of technology tools that are available.

Originally posted: Saturday, March 29, 2008

Human Innovation: The Epiphenomenon of Multilayer Computer Communication

In my spare time I am working on my doctorate. I have been doing this for a long time. It is a very slow journey. Over the past decade I have witnessed how the education industry has changed. I am sure we all remember the days of going to school with pen and paper in hand ready to regurgitate whatever the all knowing teacher told us. However, that is not the world we live in anymore.

Education occurs in a multifaceted manner in a multitude of ways. While teachers are still tomes of knowledge, they are no longer the only standard bearer of it. The interactivity of the web has created the ability for people to collaborate together on a scale never seen before in human history. Technology has ushered in an evolution of knowledge transmission. Knowledge and information are no longer only imparted in a uni-directional manner, one of static dogmatism. Rather knowledge creation is a by product of the interaction of individuals who collaborate online together.

Interesting…the new manner of human relationships is an unexpected epiphenomenon of bits and bytes flying back and forth on the super-highway of human ingenuity.

Originally posted: Friday, March 21, 2008

A Snowy Start to Spring