Embracing technology, glitches and all
Technology has transformed and, by and large, improved our lives. Cooking is easier with microwaves. Many of us can't imagine life without the information available on the Internet. DVRs change the way people watch television.
But when good technology goes bad, watch out.
For much of last week, our e-mail server was down. We couldn't send or receive messages. If that wasn't bad enough, the people who sent us e-mail weren't aware that their messages had not gone through. They assumed we had received them even though we hadn't.
For a company that is rapidly opening up doors to readers and customers, this had the effect of slamming those same doors in their faces as they walked through.
It's not the way we want to do business. We apologize for the inconvenience and the missed opportunities on our end. And there were some.
* Most of the letters to the editor we receive come via e-mail. Many people who have e-mailed us their letters now think that we're processing them for publication. In fact, we may not even know they exist.
* Some advertisers send ads via e-mail. When we don't get the ads, we're annoying customers trying to build a business to say nothing of leaving money on the table.
* News releases that routinely come to us through e-mail didn't reach their destinations.
* We publish e-mail addresses at the ends of our local stories so that our writers are more accessible to you. And many of you take advantage of that. We weren't very accessible last week. Thank goodness for the telephone.
We apologize for the silence on our end. We weren't ignoring you or being rude. We just couldn't hear you. We have it fixed now. But if you tried to send us something by e-mail last week and you haven't heard from us, please send it again or call us.
It's somewhat ironic, then, that last week we launched two new services that are possible specifically because of new technology.
Last Wednesday, we introduced a redesigned newspaper and online classified section called Triad Marketplace. We think that it will help make buying and selling stuff simpler and easier.
The big headlines are these:
* Individuals who want to sell items priced at less than $1,000 can advertise for free for seven days if they place their ad through our Web site.
* The type size in the paper is larger, making the ads easier to read.
* Some print ads feature a web ID number and are highlighted with a gray screen that indicates a "click & buy" item. When readers see the merchandise in the paper, they can use the ID number, find it online, and get more information about it or buy it immediately.
* The display ads in the newspaper classified section are also online.
Catherine Kernels, classified advertising manager, led the team that redesigned our classifieds. Here's what she told me:
"From the printed newspaper's perspective, the primary reason for the redesign is to build readership. Generally speaking, classifieds are an entry point for young readers, a key demographic for newspapers. And women, also key to our success, do most of the shopping. Enter Triad Marketplace.
"With free ads we hope to create critical mass. At its most basic level, ad count equals selection, and selection equals a marketplace, which is vital for buyers and sellers. Selection will attract more buyers to read more often, which leads to results for sellers."
Those buyers and sellers are also readers, and with more readers contributing to the marketplace of ideas that is a newspaper, we all benefit.
We also have added Legacy.com to our online obituaries. It features daily searchable obits, with photos, video and audio opportunities. If you sign up for "obit messenger" and register a keyword, you will be notified by e-mail if that keyword appears in any of 200-plus newspapers.
Its most popular feature, I think, is the guest book, in which you can write your own remembrances of the deceased. (To understand the power of this registry, at this writing Saturday, Coretta Scott King's guest book has 11,282 entries.)
Occasionally, technology lets us down, but we remained committed to using all the tools we have to serve you.
Comments (7)
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BTW, how much does a redundant Exchange server cost these days? Or offsite business critical backup service?
These used to be "unnecessary protection" but not anymore as you note how we almost can't do business when our technology bites us.
Posted on February 5, 2006 8:18 AM
No clue about cost, Sue. The server we had was ancient and should have been replaced long ago. We have the redundancy now.
Posted on February 5, 2006 8:59 AM
The News and Record is long overdue in writing an article about the naming of our schools. We now have 18 schools named after a compass point. How many more will we have? In the next couple of months the BOE will be naming the new "Northern Middle School". I appears to be a done deal. Why does the BOE turn its back on names like Edward R. Murrow and Dolley Paine.The naming of a school is an opportunity to recognize a real role model. Your effort in the past to endorse Edward R. Murrow is greatly appreciated. We now need round two.
Best regards,
Posted on February 5, 2006 9:36 AM
Thanks, Joe. I'll pass the suggestion along to our education writers. You know, though, that the school board doesn't always listen to us. :)
Posted on February 6, 2006 2:12 PM
Joe,
We actually did write about this several months ago when the school board decided on the names of the new Northern schools.
I know you are passionate about this issue and I respect that. But the overwhelming majority of folks in the northern part of the county wanted these schools to be named Northern High and Northern Middle - and the majority rules, in this case.
Posted on February 6, 2006 4:21 PM
On further review, the board officially has only named Northern High. They haven't formally decided on the name Northern Middle, but I would be shocked if they named it anthing else. That's what people in that community have said they want, plus it fits the pattern established in other parts of the county where the middle and high school have matching names.
Joe, you may have better luck with this on the third bond referendum.
Posted on February 6, 2006 4:51 PM
re "click and buy" - please make VERY sure that the participating businesses (or shopping cart software, or whatever) isn't emailing buyers' credit card info in plain text "behind the scenes", while touting their "secure, trustworthy" status up on their website. I tried to buy something online recently and through a glitch found out that this was occurring.
Posted on February 7, 2006 3:49 PM