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.

Talk, talk, talk...

Sometimes, when you least want to, you're confronted with a situation where you have to talk,and talk, and talk before you are able to action what you're talking about...and it's frustrating, infuriating and at times, debilitating.

In some of these situations the talking starts off with an explanation, then you have to answer questions because the explanation wasn't clearly understood, and then you have to expand on the explanation, when you realise your 'audience' still doesn't quite grasp what you've explained.

This is all good and well when talking to strangers, they don't know you, so can't be expected to understand where you're coming from. But when it's family and close friends, you have to ask yourself whether you are not being heard or understood, or are they who are listening, actually listening?

Good manners in conversation dictate that you first listen and then question or comment, but this 'etiquette' flies out the window with friends and family. There's interruptions, misunderstandings due to not listening to a full sentence or concept you are trying to put across, and pre-empting what you want to say, and my best...you don't have to say anything, they already know where the conversation is going.

Perhaps the solution is to simply stop talking, just do, no explanations, no conversations...no interaction - is this possible? I wonder...perhaps it should be tried and tested and if it works...bliss!

There's this thing that I do...it's called LIVING!

So true...the time thing. It's been more than six months since my last post, and my journey has twisted and turned in the most fascinating and enjoyable ways.

At first it meant going off-grid, into the mountains at Hogsback, and spending time reconnecting with nature. The harsh reality of seeing indigenous forests being 'invaded' by commercial tree plantations, was a most unwelcome intrusion though.

Wandering through the forests on the mountains at Hogsback, I learnt to recognise where young saplings were being removed so that locals could stay alive by carving walking sticks, other bric-a-brac and for making fires for cooking...the process means the forest does not have a chance to mature and the old trees are dying, with no young ones to replace them as they fall...our indigenous forests are in trouble!

I also saw a pack of hunting dogs, illegal but not mangy looking, and wondered at the life the dog handlers lead...similar practices are prevalent at home in the Transkei and I suppose, everywhere else in the rural parts of our country.

The difference in altitude meant the plant species were not at all like the ones at home, although some of the herbs and little wildflowers, found on the mountains in Port St Johns, also have a home on the Hogs.

The cottage where I stayed and cooked for a friend is set in a magnificent garden, and the property has a variety of fruit trees that are literally torn apart in the process of being ransacked by both baboons and Samanga monkeys, as they circle the area in search for food.

An online search and picking of people's brains, managed to get me a few different recipes for what to do with plums, and plum chutney, jams and jelly was all the rage while the season lasted. The fruit spoils rather quickly though, and needs a lot of sugar to satisfy my sweet tooth, but I even managed to gift some friends and family with a bottle or two.

At times, with tiny mushroom 'forests' sprouting at the edge of the verandah, or river frogs inhabiting the pond we completed, it felt as if I was living in the land of the faeries...with insects abounding, cicadas screeching their lovesongs and Loeries swooping in for a closer look at my leopard-crawling antics as I tried to capture wild bees burrowing in the lawn.

 

And just when the food gardens started to flourish and my hands almost got used to reconnecting with mother earth...a twist in the road appeared.

The retreat to Hogsback had to be cut short when I was invited to further my studies and do my Master's degree...an ongoing process, in which I will hopefully manage to find a way for thousands of Masters and Doctoral theses to be made more available to the public, so that dedicated student research can serve a better purpose than just gathering dust in a library.

Fact of the matter is though, that not all basic needs can be fulfilled by 'growing your own' and the commute between Hogsback, home in the Kei and Durban, in pursuit of 'making a living', certainly made for some interesting encounters and realities. Loads of new friends resulted and if you've ever wondered what to do with a little money and time on your hands...pick a spot somewhere in our beautiful country and then take a taxi or a bus, or several if the journey requires it, and make the journey! Believe me, on your way there and back, you are bound to meet people from all walks of life, with living experiences that are simply amazing, and when you take the time to listen to their stories, your life will be all the richer for it, and it does not have to cost an arm and a leg.

With still no electricity at home, and having recently been asked to write full-time for a web-portal as columnist, the last leg of my previous journey took me to Gauteng and brought an understanding of how to make better use of who I am and what I know and can do.

What I have gained will take some time writing down, but mostly I have reaffirmed that living is not written in stone, instead it lies in DOing and BEing all that I can, all that I am. It is no longer about finding a job or work...rather it is about making myself available and being open to where I can apply my skills and the work and jobs find me.

The shift in planetary energy is both invigorating and depressing...to say the least...and riding its tidal wave, is allowing me to experience the essence of a little song I made up for my children, so many years ago...

There's this thing that I do
it's called LIVING
There's this thing that I do
it's called LIFE

Just take a breath and see
it's easy as can be

There's this thing that I do
it's called LIFE!

Long time...

...it's been almost three months of trundling through work (the actual paying kind) and with electricity in short supply, online time has been limited, to the exclusion of anything even remotely resembling leisure.

...and the words keep tumbling, running me ragged with their persistent call to be penned or at least articulated in some form, way or manner.

...while my mind does the usual sorting and filing, referencing and storing...to hopefully be able to later extract and apply as, where and when needed.

So much to say and never enough time...so much to do it's almost a crime to not pursue each and every item...and they're all so worthwhile.

The point though, is that if you know how to say it, know how to write it down, sooner or later you have to succumb and just do it!

...a bit like now...it may just be waffle, but it's happening at my leisure.

Letter to reader

...i've known this all along,

you see,

at the start of my writing

I was mostly

who you now are

- a reader.

But the more I write,

the more I have to write

to write it right...

because I

make my writings

public.

What I publish

for all to see

and think about

maybe mention to someone

or use a phrase or a sentence

to build a scene

create a scenario...

...my words do not belong to me

once I have written them down

and allowed them to be read

they belong to you

the reader.

when my words

make pictures in your head

or touch a chord

tug at a memory

make you think

or when they don't

the only way I will know this

is when you tell me.

So it is time...

...to respond

in writing.

It is important to me

to know what your thoughts are

as important as it is

for you to practice your writing

This way we can both

practice this art

of writing

it right.

I await your response.

Helen

the Author

#talk, #tome, #intext

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.