The Industry’s Voice

When monitoring any kind of industry, a variety of reports are generated, ranging from overviews, to project details, meeting-actioned memos, emails, chats…all of these, in some form or the other, reflect the status of the industry in operation…in writing. Black on white, if not in actual ink, my personal choice is Ariel, and 10pt allows for more descriptive concept stating…I’m sure you understand and get the picture.

Personally, I write about service in operation, the industry’s voice, in all its facets and on all the different levels. The industry is huge…service consists of so many ideas, with so many interlinked levels on which these ideas are expressed. People who are recording, creating, and publishing content operate all the tentacles of this ‘information-web’, all of them offering service, in dealing with each other.

Which, for editing purposes, in writing about the monitoring process and its findings, involves many hours of sourcing, scanning, reading, analyses and publishing of best-in-practice content that represents a view of, and into, global and local markets.

Regardless of the type, or format of interaction, when it happens, service is an observable action yet, it cannot be measured, as it is not only intangible, it is also too varied. Thankfully, many people are specifically writing about the service process, giving me/us a look at their perception of service, as part of their position within a specific business sector, perhaps as part of being an educator, or as a researcher, etc… and, they know their topic, in general, if not specific. They also have experience in actual operations…on a variety of fronts, on interlinked levels and find themselves in the habit of jotting things down.

These ‘personal and weblogs’ writings speak loudly to those who monitor the industry’s content, as it soundboards the service industry, reflecting patterns of use, re-use, and eventual regurgitation of recycled topics, such as when the occasional, exceptional and insightful contributions, become an over-posted / quoted / extracted press release, sort of topical, kind of relevant etc.

Nevertheless, the accessible mix is exhaustive, to say the least. Mining and using this ‘database’ of information to create content is already stretching many companies tightly, as management try and either stay ahead and on top of what’s being written by contributing, or they employ / outsource full-time, content writers.

In the process of monitoring an industry’s voice

A picture emerges when one identifies topics of interest to the consumer, gathers all the writings on what service is, where it can be found, how the whole journey is discoverable, the technology that enables the customer to experience service (good / bad / irrelevant), recordings of someone’s thoughts

It is a magnificent process when you get busy with and in it…this monitoring. Moreover, to have the skills and ability, inclination, time, and passion, to actually write about it, as it happens…is no mean feat. Everyone who takes pen to paper (finger to keyboard) and assumes the responsibility of passing on information about service, contributes to building its picture by educating, sharing insights and new knowledge is to be applauded.

It is important though, to remember that service and customers/consumers/users are ‘joined at the hip’, in a manner of speaking. It does not matter which industry or sector of operations you are affiliated to through your employment, nor is it about any monetary value we can directly attribute to service (remember it is insubstantial / indefinable / indescribable / intangible).

Simply put, service, for everyone, and experienced by everyone, occurs at each point of interaction between us. As much as it is public, service, as experienced by consumers and providers, in my opinion, exists between every one, on all levels. The picture that has emerged, after almost six months of monitoring and research, is that of a bubbling, creative, innovative process, reflected in both ‘good and bad’ interactions that we are creating AND as a Wordsmith, for me the bonus is that we’re writing it down, informing and educating consumers, call centres and solutions providers.

What is your bonus?

Gish-gallop of information

Writing in the public arena comes with responsibility…regardless of the gish-gallop we have to wade through.

And this is not just aimed at bloggers – it is aimed at everyone. Corporate writers…listen up!

So you write ‘cos you get paid? And you spin it the way you’re told, in order for us readers to not understand just how many companies own each other, while seemingly in direct competition to and with each other?

Take the Apple vs Samsung ‘child’s play’, the bantering between little boys scenario they’re creating at the moment…so they’ll change the perception we have of them.

Bloody – brilliant, yes, kudos to the team who think-tanked this spin. However, when you consider that, should one of the 150 companies, who own the rest of the companies on the globe, crash, it could very well topple the little tower they’ve built. And because they hold the majority of whatever you need to survive on the planet, they’ll be ok…

And in the interim there’s the gish-gallop of information we are bombarded with, that we don’t question before reposting or even blogging about. Nobody seems to question the facts and for me, trained in old-school journalism basics, that’s a problem.

If you’re going to write about anything, to then publish it in the public space comes with a huge responsibility. I say huge because to me that’s a lot but you could call it gargantuan. The basics state very clearly that, in order to inform and educate you have to present the facts, from every point of view, in order to create a clear, factual, picture. Yes, words and pictures. When accurately investigated, researched and written down properly, your reader should be presented with as complete a picture as possibly of the actual event, person, happening and specifically, news.

The online information overload has muddied the water considerably, and I find very few investigative journalists, more bloggers than ever, and the ‘in-betweeners’, who click, and like, and share, and post, and re-blog, and like some more of whatever they’re fed. Being labelled as a conspiracy theorist may be what’s stopping many of my fellow authors, who do not comment; who absolutely use spellchecker or Grammarly; and who plod through too much information, looking for the facts, tracking the flow of money, investigating legal routes, sifting through the gish-gallop…after hours, mind you, nobody pays you for facts and investigations – unless you think so many cents per word can feed a freelancer.

As for those who blog, randomly post and share, without a thought as to the responsibility that comes with the dissemination of information, you are perceived to be fear-mongering and gossiping and perhaps, carrying the responsibility of these attributes will make you question the validity of the facts you are bandying about.

Reader, you also have a responsibility. If and when you do read ‘facts’ about whatever, dig a little deeper, question not just the facts, but their origin and accuracy. I would urge you to tell the authors to check their facts. I am fortunate to have a mentor who raps me on the knuckles when he finds me publicly penning or sharing stuff that’s not factual and accurate (excuse: gish-gallopping makes finding facts a little problematic). Being a friend though, he always includes the facts in the knuckle-rapping, still teaching and reminding me of the basics. Thanks Mike.

Ode to living

Ode: a lyric poem (?!)


Ok. So, when I say I'm writing an ode to living, someone must sing it. Neat. I don't know much about commercial music but, through years of exposure my perception of what music is, is nicely balanced by a personal preference for either 'white noise' or the sounds of nature.


I therefore grant permission to anyone who finds anything they wish to use, to do so. Change it to suit and belong to its use. Once taken, it's yours, so be responsible with the use of the words you've chosen to represent yourself with to your audience.


Having just recently started my first attempt to pen an ode to living, I am actively listening because it's the bones I am developing, from which the skeleton is evolving and then the big write will happen when I'll put the meat on 'em bones. (Apologies to all non-meat eaters for the analogy, but it works - as does the photo below of the goat in the pothole...checking things out.)

Right now though, in my listening, I am hearing so much that does not add value to our living. The aggression, at times, pulses around me, feeding in and on itself and I feel as if it's my first time out in the sea, with the waves threatening to wash over me, lift me and dump me...


'Fighting' back is an instinctive reaction and at times it takes actual control to still the bubbles before they rise to the surface and pop. Meditation helps me to focus and turn aside this tide of anger that threatens to consume all in its path, and I have to actively disengage from the process, step away and aside, to breathe.


The thing is...living and working in the city, after life in a rural setting, you may fight it...but eventually you have to adapt and take cognisance of the fact that life moves to a decidedly different, seemingly endless 'thrumm' wherever humanity congregates. All the senses are bombarded by a focused myriad of sounds, sights, smells, tastes and textures and the eventual numb-down leaves the spirit vulnerable.


This constant onslaught is not something everyone can deal with. Take time to sift through the debris left inside your mind after subjecting yourself to it's full force for a few hours. Think of how you 'feel/think/act' after a day of actively participating in peak hour traffic in the city centre (driver or passenger; public or private), in order to do some shopping on pay-day or month end (hyper or super store, not corner cafe).


...and...?


don't know about you but me, I'm going back to listening - with filters on this time or I'll bite someone - because as I said, I am in the process of writing an ode to living and I know that all I have to do is keep listening...the good stuff will surface, just wait and see.