Meet the personGet to know themUnderstand how you fit togetherImportance of foreplay
necessary part of your social media arsenal is that you control it and all of the content therein. This assumes that you to host your own site & have access to all the data. If it is hosted or managed by someone else then your data is at risk if the relationship breaks down or their business has a failure.
Social media & social network presenceSocial networks and social media are the elements that bring website or blog content alive. These are tools that enable sharing of messages with communities of people who are interested. They also provide an opportunity to move from a monologue publishing style to a conversational dialogue style of interaction.
This kind of monitoring should be setup and reviewed regularly.Regular participation, care and feeding of social media is necessary as it is now part of the marketing mix. Social media and social networking are part of both the place and the promotion of a brand or product.Online should be monitored similar to the way we used to monitor customer feedback, newspapers and magazines in the past.
Valency = the capacity of one person or thing to react with or affect another in some special way, as by attraction or the facilitation of a function or activity.
Ability refers to an assessment of the other's knowledge, skill, or competency. This dimension recognizes that trust requires some sense that the other is able to perform in a manner that meets our expectations. Integrity is the degree to which the trustee adheres to principles that are acceptable to the trustor. This dimension leads to trust based on consistency of past actions, credibility of communication, commitment to standards of fairness, and the congruence of the other's word and deed. Benevolence is our assessment that the trusted individual is concerned enough about our welfare to either advance our interests, or at least not impede them. The other's perceived intentions or motives of the trustee are most central. Honest and open communication, delegating decisions, and sharing control indicate evidence of one's benevolence. [Source: http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/trust_building/]
1) What is it and what does it do?With this question you can find out how much the person recommending it actually understands. If someone can’t explain what the proposed technology is and what it does in plain English be very suspicious. Seek alternative perspectives if they are unable to answer this question in a way that makes sense. I always say – “if you can’t explain it to someone’s grandmother so she can understand what it is and does then you don’t understand it properly yourself”.2) How does it work?Don’t be afraid to openly ask “Can you explain to me how it works?” It is similar to the previous question but digs in more on the functions that it can perform and how it does so. Uncovering assumptions – such as that the proposed technology assumes access to high speed broadband – is critical. These assumptions generally add unanticipated cost to implementation of the solution.This question also uncovers information about potential extra costs. For instance, if an application is hosted in the cloud (a.k.a. software-as-a-service or SaaS) then you will need likely need an extremely reliable and robust internet connection.3) How does it make or save money for me?This is an important question. Often the person suggesting technology for your business does not correctly understand its profit model. The revenue model for your business in relation to the new technology needs to be clear, otherwise calculating the payback period is impossible.4) How long is that payback period?Strong and confident off-the-cuff answers to this question are invariably wrong. A sensible answer to this question will depend upon a number of variables, some of which are particular to your business, time and place. I have seen more dodgy payback assertions than I’ve had baked dinners. It’s worth digging into this question and doing a proper ROI analysis.5) What are the indirect costs of this technology?Often the focus is on the capital cost of the technology and little consideration is given to the total cost of ownership during the life of the asset. Indirect costs include:External costs: hardware and software maintenance (a good rule of thumb is 20% of original capital cost annually adjusted for CPI), additional support, ongoing minor enhancement requirementsInternal costs: this is usually the cost of time for staff to look after or use the technology; sometimes the technology adds new tasks that must be considered & often these tasks require some level of technical skill; also often overlooked is the possibility that you will need to take on new staff to run the technology6) How updateable is this technology?This is a big question. If there are improvements in the technology will you have to buy a new model or can the existing model be upgraded? Given how fast technology innovation cycles move these days, being able to upgrade or expand the technology is key to having a decent useful life for the asset.7) Who else uses it & how do they use it?If nobody else is using the technology yet then there needs to be compelling answers to all of the other questions. Further, if there are no other local users (i.e. in your country) then the support infrastructure might not be there ready to offer effective support. There is nothing worse than the support help phone line being in a timezone that is opposite to your own.