Steel Kaleidoscopes

eBay Conflict

I'm dealing with my first eBay conflict.

After years of casually making purchases and entering auctions on the world's largest flea market, my level of trust has been compromised.

With dozens of outdated DV cassettes, I need a camcorder to upload family memories onto a hard drive. My initial camcorder no longer plays back tape (it still records) so I looked for one on eBay (you can't buy these new any more and they are expensive to fix).

The seller, in his description, said the camcorder was used but functional. In other words, it works.

So I spent $75 on the camcorder and $5 for shipping, eagerly awaiting my purchase so I could get back to my DVD cassette project.

The camcorder arrived and it doesn't work. I can't even insert a cassette.

I contacted the seller who basically told me I was SOL.

He said it worked when he shipped it.

Um, no it doesn't.

I asked for a full refund and he basically told me in so many words I was SOL.

So I escalated the badly behaving seller to eBay customer support.

They told me to work it out with the seller. If I don't get resolution, they will intervene and make a decision.

We'll see how this plays out.

eBay in motion. What happens when things don't work out?

Facebook 'Happy Birthday' Conversion Rate

So I had a birthday last week and was pleased to receive 36 birthday wishes from friends.

But it got me wondering: Since I have 155 Facebook friends, is 36 birthday wishes a good number?

What is the ideal Facebook "Happy Birthday" conversion rate (FHBCR)?

With the 36 friends who wished me a happy birthday, my conversion rate was 23 percent. But do I count those friends who wished me a happy birthday beyond the 24-hour window of an official birthday?

And what about those friends who simply gave me the classic thumbs-up "like"? Is this an indirect conversion?

My 23 percent Facebook "Happy Birthday" conversion rate got me thinking. Is there something I can do to improve? Should I spend more time with my Facebook friends? Should I be commenting on their pictures of dogs?

Would it help if I acquired more friends? That could make the conversion rate more challenging but if I choose my friends based on how active they are online, it could help inspire some green shoots.

Ah, psychographics. What if a 23 percent conversion rate means that a lot of my friends simply didn't log on to Facebook on my birthday? You would think that would create some indirect conversions, but perhaps if someone misses a birthday they feel bad, kind of like the feeling you get browsing the belated birthday cards in CVS.

I feel good about the 36 friends who wished me a happy birthday. But I'm OK with the 119 who ignored it. It's probably all about timing.

Kudos to Google

Very cool concept and design by Google on its home page today to recognize the birthday of Robert Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer.

Prog rock wouldn't have evolved without it.

Turn your sound up and record a few bars.

Blog Comments

If you're reading this, you either know me or randomly stumbled upon this post.

If you've been here before, thanks for visiting again. If you're new, welcome.

That said, the blog hosting software I am using (Typepad) recently made changes to comments for additional security. If you'd like to post a comment, you'll need to clear your cache (browsing history). 

If you don't do this and try to post a comment, the site just hangs.

As always, I appreciate your visit and comments.

Enjoy your day.

Siri

Siri has been patient with me.

The studious, seemingly proper woman inside my iPhone 4S seems pleasant enough.

She gives good directions, points me to relative online content and even engages in small talk.

But when the little person who lives in our house hijacks my phone and asks Siri silly questions, Siri gets annoyed.

Yet, she's patient.

I'm just waiting for one of her responses to be, "isn't it time you handed your phone back to your daddy."

Windows 7

So I upgrade to Windows 7, Office 10 and IE9 all at once.

No worries.

It takes a few tries to find the function keys that have moved.

But the one change I still struggle with is finding the "delete" key in Windows 7.

It was moved to the bottom of the keyboard and in its place is "page up."

So you can guess what I keep doing as I edit documents, spreadsheets and copy.

Yup. "Page up" over and over and over.

Gimme another day.

The Social Jetset

How do we keep up with it all?

With message boards and system operators (sysops) in the rear-view mirror, we contemplate strategies for Pinterest and Google+. Even Facebook and LinkedIn seem passé as the Twitterverse explodes with commentary, coupons and front-door e-commerce.

This blog, faithfully attended to since 2003, sometimes seems like popping in a cassette.

But it will always be a blank portrait to fill, a canvas for free thought, an outlet for creative writing and random thoughts.

Somehow, we find a way to keep up with it all.

One Fewer Resource Today

Wikipedia goes dark in an effort to protect the free and open Internet. This will have an impact, but if Google followed suit, there'd be chaos.

Generation Flux

Baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials and now ...

Generation Flux.

Interesting read.

The best managers are adaptable and resilient.

iPod Touch

So we got the little person who lives in our house an iPod Touch for Christmas.

She's been badgering us for the Angry Birds game, something she can't play on her Nintendo DS.

So now she has Angry Birds. And, of course, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and the soundtrack to "Enchanted."

But this also gives me a chance to slip in some of the music I enjoy, to see if it catches on when she hits shuffle.

Just curious how she'll react to the Beatles, Elton John, Madonna and Jethro Tull.

We'll soon find out.