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Posted on December 7, 2007
The Rise of Web Surfing
BY JENNIFER EUBANKS
Surfing (the kind with ocean and a surfboard), has seen a rise in popularity over the past few years. Part of this popularity can probably be attributed to the ease with which the internet provides surfers with valuable information. What once required more guesswork or actually going out to physically inspect the ocean, can now be done from the comforts of home.
Surfing blog sites will often talk about what they have encountered each and every day, and in what spots. Bigger, more commercialized sites, such as Surfline, provide links to webcams, reports, forecasts, and other news that can help a surfer decide when and where to catch their next wave.
Being the sole member of my company who lives in a beach town, I was inundated last weekend by reports of an "epic swell" that was expected to hit the coast of California mid-week. Talk of the huge impending surf popped up everywhere, from localized blogs, to local newspapers, from local news to widely circulated newspapers. Everyone had something to say about the topic, which is interesting considering that I don't believe I've ever heard traditional media focus so much attention on high surf advisories in past years. Certainly one would want to be aware of when it is dangerous to be walking along the beach, but in the winter, the majority of people who would dare venture out in the cold are those who go to partake in the sport of surfing. More likely is that in this increasingly digital age, the media has noticed how much is out there in terms of online resources for surfers, and want to cash in a bit.
Like many other niche groups on the internet, surfers have a lot of resources from which they have formed a community--there are forums, swell charts, video, podcasts, reports updated several times daily, blogs to share experiences, and of course Flickr and Youtube to post all those photos and videos you took to share that perfect barrel with friends and other like-minded individuals. When the swell peaked on Tuesday and Wednesday, photos were almost instantly available--something that validates the hype of the day, while getting to share and compare experiences from all over the coast.
The ease with which one can find information on surfing can easily correlate to the increased number of people out when the surf is at its best. Gone are the days when one had to get up before dawn and see what was in store and then use word of mouth. Now with live webcams, the conversations revolve not around "is it good today" but "what time should I meet you there?"
Beyond Blogs: Moleskine Goes Where the Conversation Happens
BY JASON CORMIER
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| My Moleskine reporter's notebook -- which is holding up well, despite frequent abuse. |
Moleskine notebooks aren't fancy. In fact, this brand's reputation hinges almost entirely on quality, and on a vocal, dedicated community of customer evangelists -- such as Merlin Mann of the popular productivity site 43 Folders.
Therefore, when sharply worded complaints about Moleskin's quality and service erupted on the 43 Folders Google Groups forum on Aug. 15, Modo & Modo (manufacturer of Moleskine notebooks) had a pretty big problem.
Apparently, some Moleskine notebooks started falling apart after just a few weeks or months of use. Some owners of these defective notebooks tried contacting Moleskine US, but got no response. Later, it turned out that Moleskin US is not the US distributor for this brand. The official US distributor is Kikkerland Design Inc. But in the meantime, these customers believed Moleskine was ignoring them. Not good.
Clued in by e-mails, Moleskine maker Modo & Modo began checking out the online complaints. On Aug. 30, the company posted a sincere apology on its blog. They offered an explanation of their late response: they're a small company, and in Italy everyone's on vacation in August -- not a great answer, but an honest one. They also offered clear instructions on how owners of defective notebooks could get their problem addressed.
Even smarter, Modo & Modo posted the full text of this statement onto the 43 Folders forum where the complaints arose. It's interesting to note that, despite earlier frustrations aired in that forum, all the responses to the company's apology were positive and supportive.
This story demonstrates the importance of three lessons for all organizations who understand how conversational media can help make or break your reputation...
