Future of customer experience

I can just see it now that some of my friends are probably going “uhhh Mike, what are you talking about?” So I work for a company that focuses on customer experience.  It sounds like this weird concept to some of my friends, but it's really simple in that we help companies deliver their services and assistance to their customers in most effective ways. I particularly focus on online customer experience and have had the opportunity to learn a lot about natural language technology and how this technology can help companies with the customer serving objectives...again, another term that would make my friends ask

“Mike really? What are you on over there in Amsterdam?”

Natural language technology is actually used to make computers act more like humans. Maybe you've seen the new Siri in action on the iPhone 4S.  Ask Siri "where is the closest bar?" and it will give you a decent response that's probably even more accurate than a friend's.  But rather than explaining what natural language is, the company I'm working for, RightNow Technologies (*currently being acquired by Oracle), just made a video about how natural language technology can be used to create some pretty cool customer experiences that are shopping, looking for information and of course finding that perfect gift for an anniversary. 

Look for Pamela at 2:52 to see natural language in action. Anyhow, this video had me thinking that this type of technology is not so far into the distant future.  Who knows who will be serving you in a few years to come. Pretty cool stuff, hope you enjoy!

The Future of CX (Customer Experience) envisioned by RightNow.

my writing drug, rain drops

Recently I've been working on a new gig at work to write four product summaries. Cool assignment, but funny when thinking about expectations versus how things ran in the past. If I remember correctly, earlier efforts to accomplish the same task took the team 2-3 months. I was given 2 weeks to deliver drafts of all four.

Rain drops, no dubstep

I've tried writing to all types of music.  Even found "Concentration Music" on Spotify....which wasn't so bad. But for some amazing reason, the rain mixed with the dim lights really helped me focus and churn out some paper content.  I was able to finish earlier than anticipated, that I even made a little video to capture the sound....while trying to be a bit of an artsy. I'm definitely no Van Gogh. note to self: save the dubstep for weekends

Erupt in my Office

If only someone in the office erupted like the Grimsvötn Volcano, among colleagues. What would that eruption look like? Someone described a volcano as,
Volcanoes are just like very hot hot tubs. They produce magma, ash and lava. Lava can reach 2000F.
And so if we took each volcanic element and matched them with a personal trait:
  • Produce magma (energy core) - Volcanoes generate violents amount of energy and heat.  You stand close, and you feel it.
  • Ash (far-reaching residue) - Towns nearby become covered.  You don't stand close, yet still, you feel it.
  • Lava (redefine) - New landscapes are born.  Doesn't matter where you stood because now you're standing better.
If someone in the office were to raise the temperature to 2000F, colleagues are going to feel it, locally and externally.  When the the energy becomes high enough, after gathering heaps of enthusiasm, stronger values and strategic visions will be born.

So who's ready to turn up the heat?

And some amazing video capturing the Iceland Eruptions from Eyjafjallajökull last year. Wonder if we'll see the same for Grimsvötn

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull - May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.

Gaijin on the Block

haha this is my classic.  This is one of the first videos that I made with imovie which was in 2005.  My first glimmer hope of becoming a rapper...or at least having fun editing videos. This was when I was in Okazaki, Japan.  I stayed here for 3 months discovering the complexity of the Japanese language as well as the amazing fun times of karaoke. This was my attempt of remaking a song that I thought was kinda cool at the time.  Times sure change :) and make me laugh when looking back.   Boyz N Da Hood Dem Boyz door jujucalisious