Mikronet Weblog

One of my great pleasures is the meetings of our local network – we meet face to face, have something to eat and exchange news and help each other with whatever we can.

This month we tried something new - Artist Iben Hviid is a member and kindly extended an open invitation to come to Nysted where she’d show us the newly erected  IN SITU art celebrating Nysted’s anniversary – the town was issued with a trading charter in 1409.  Nysted is a charming town, with a good harbour and a bathing beach.

Six modern artists were invited to contribute to IN SITU, accommodation was arranged and they were meant to spend 6 weeks getting to know the town, then erecting pieces of art which reflected Nysted and its people.

The first one ‘Pest’ was a wooden hut with graffiti on the walls, a torn easy chair and what was meant to look like vomit on the floor and walls. There were 3 holes in one wall, behind this were t.v.s showing various films. One scene was of nude people and a blow-up doll, and the easy chair could be moved so that even little children could see the film…. It represents the decay of Nysted and its people.

The next exhibit was a grey rendered wall made of chipboard. This was for the display of citizen’s  comments on how to improve their town and environment. It was completely devoid of comments …

The next one was a series of rigid plastic sheets, in various shades of grey, set up in off-set frames. This represented the shades of light cast through the fishing nets in the harbour and also how the view was altered by these same nets being hung up to dry.

The next exhibit was a series of glass pictures, displayed in the window shops. I really liked those, maybe because they are a more familiar concept.

Then a set of windows greyed out to emphasise the lovely doors – that one was good, although I did not really understand the idea.

The final one was a play hut, all crazy angles with big canvas sails, a tv, recording facilities, stairs up to the top of the erection and the walls were made like crazy paving so the kids could use it as a climbing frame. It was made in collaboration with the local school kids to illustrate that there is nothing for young people in Nysted.

After we had looked at the exhibits and Iben had explained (because I was rather critical as to  the artistic contents of some of the pieces) that the importance of art is to arouse wonder and discussion, we went to the beach where most of the group had a dip, then round to Iben’s house. We sat on the terrace and talked and ate till quite late, it was a super evening.

The artists have achieved their goal of arousing discussion and getting new thoughts in people’s heads. There has been heated discussion in the local papers, and now in the national media – none of it favourable.

But it was a super evening and I hope we can arrange many more for the group now that Iben has taken the first initiative. I recommend that other groups try the experiment of using a summer evening to go and experience something different.

Helen

I have my broadband connection with TDC and have had comparatively few problems – until this week when I suddenly could receive mails, but not send any.
I have a mailbox with TDC – that works, but the mailbox that is linked to my home pages etc. refused to allow me to send mails. So I contacted my webhost and asked them to fix the problem.
They explained that it was TDC that had somehow put my address on a spam filter and that I would have to contact TDC to get off the ’black list’.
So I called TDC, who told me (very patiently) that they do not support Outlook, but that there is a detailed set of instructions on how to fix the problem on the TDC homepage.
When I asked why I had been put on the blocked list he said that it was something that TDC had set up a couple of years ago and it was just chance that I had not been inconvenienced earlier.
Well, I think it is outrageous that -
 1. They treat their customers like that, and
2. That I had not been informed by TDC that this system had been set up and warning us that problems are very likely.
I have not tried to sort out resetting the mailbox – I know it’ll take much longer than expected ….

As an information professional I was interested to hear the results of the report*  covering a Survey on Outsourcing which documents the perceptions, needs and concerns of information professionals regarding outsourcing of information services.
This survey concentrated on information professionals, but I think the findings are applicable to many other tasks that could be outsourced, especially as more and more firms are looking for ways to reduce their in-house costs.

The full report can be purchased  and obviously the contents are copyright, but I think the following snippets (cut from FreePint’s newsletter) support  the concept of setting up a quality scheme amongst us micros:-

• The most common services to outsource are generalist and specialist research services; the least common are presentations and legal support
• Those who are outsourcing give high satisfaction ratings for quality and cost-effectiveness
• For those who are not outsourcing, concerns about cost and quality are the most important factors influencing their choice not to outsource.

Helen

*´Survey on Outsourcing´ A VIP Report published by Free Pint
Limited, June 2009 ISBN 978-1-904769-59-0

En stor del af min arbejdsdag består af solo-lektioner med mine klienter i stemmetræning.

Tidligere brugte jeg rigtigt meget tid på at lave aftaler med mine klienter og skemalægge mine dage. Skemaer, som ofte blev ændret, fordi mine klienter er travle mennesker, der måske har brug for at ændre i deres egne planer.

Efter nogen overvejelse besluttede jeg mig for at prøve et online bookingsystem. I begyndelsen var jeg lidt bekymret for, om bookingprocessen skulle blive for upersonlig men alle mine klienter har taget godt i mod systemet og synes at det er blevet enklere at booke tider hos mig.

Efter jeg havde undersøgt markedet fandt jeg et svensk system,TimeCenter Online Bookingsystem, som også fungerer på engelsk, idet en del af mine klienter er engelsktalende.

Systemet bliver ikke integreret i min hjemmeside men linker videre til min side på Timecenter, www.timecenter.dk/voxhumana, hvilket gør det meget nemt at komme igang med at bruge systemet helt uden brug af programmør osv. Ja, man behøver ikke at have en hjemmeside selv men kan bruge Timecenter som sin hjemmeside, hvis man vil.

Bookingsystemet giver mulighed for:

• at jeg kan planlægge hvornår jeg underviser og oprette de ledige tider i systemet
• at mine klienter kan booke og ændre tider 24 timer i døgnet
• at jeg får en e-mail hvergang der er sket en booking/ændring i kalenderen
• at mine klienter får en e-mail med bekræftelse på at de har booket en tid
• at mine klienter får en påmindelses e-mail, enten dagen før deres tid eller om morgenen på selv dagen. Derudover kan de også få en sms-påmindelse 2 timer inden aftalen.
• at mine klienter kan skrive en besked til mig i bookingsystemet hvis der er noget særligt de ønsker at arbejde med i den næste session

Derudover har bookingsystemet en mulighed for at man kan føre journal over sine klienter.

Jeg har nu brugt bookingsystemet i over et år og det har sparet mig for rigtigt meget arbejde med at booke og ændre tider.

Mine klienter synes at det er et meget professionelt system og at det også sparer dem for at vente på at jeg melder tilbage med deres ønsker om aftaler. Mange af mine klienter booker nu flere tider på sammen gang og derfor bliver min kalender hurtigere fyldt op end tidligere.

Klaus Møller

www.klausmoeller.dk

Just a very brief advertisement!

While doing desk research on existing ‘best practice’ and quality initiatives for micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs, I came across some articles which, judging by the titles, sounded very relevant.
These were not available from our local library, but ever helpful, they sent off for copies and these were duly posted to me, remarkably quickly. I am always really impressed by the high standard of help the libraries offer!
And, as an added bonus, while I was in the library, a local artist was arranging an exhibition of his paintings. He was really interesting to talk with – I recommend even more visits to your local library, you never know what ‘added extras’ you’ll come across.

For et stykke tid siden begav jeg mig ind i den jungle, der hedder Nyhedsbreve.

På min nye hjemmeside www.klausmoeller.dk skule jeg selvfølgelig have et Nyhedsbrev, så jeg kan kommunikere med nuværende og kommende klienter.

Da jeg begyndte at undersøge, hvilke muligheder der er på markedet, blev jeg noget overvældet. For der er et væld af løsninger men ikke alle lige tilgængelige.

Efter en del research kom jeg frem til hvilke krav jeg har til et Nyhedsbrev:

• Det skal være webbaseret, altså ikke noget med at skulle installerer software på min egen computer
• Det webbaserede Nyhedsbrev skulle være let at designe, helst ud fra et udvalg af skabeloner, som man så selv kan udbygge med eget logo, billede osv.
• Systemet skulle kunne udsende en artikel/rapport til nye abonnenter  med tips og tricks om hvordan man får en mere overbevisende stemme
• Tilmeldingen skulle være let at gå til for nye abonnenter

Jeg valgte at bruge www.constantcontact.com, som kan levere det som jeg har brug for til en rimelig pris.

Min beslutning blev tildels taget pga af jeg selv abonnere på forskellige Nyhedsbreve og en del af dem bliver også udsendt igennem www.constantcontact.com

Det eneste jeg skulle have hjælp til var at integrere Nyhedsbrevet på min hjemmeside. Man kan meget let genere den thml-kode som så skal sættes ind på hjemmesiden.

Constantcontact.com tilbyder at man kan prøve systemet gratis i et stykke tid, så man kan se om det er noget man har lyst til at bruge.

Klaus Møller

www.klausmoeller.dk

I’m spending spare moments doing desk research on quality systems for micro enterprises, but I’m easily sidetracked. So when I read that gap analysis could be a valuable tool, I naturally had to find out more about this method of assessment.
The definition is straight forward:

Technique for determining the steps to be taken in moving from a current state to a desired future-state. It begins with (1) listing of characteristic factors (such as attributes, competencies, performance levels) of the present situation (”what is”), (2) cross-lists factors required to achieve the future objectives (”what should be”), and then (3) highlights the ‘gaps’ that exist and need to be ‘filled.’ Also called need-gap analysis, needs analysis, and needs assessment.

Sounds good.
I know the present situation really well, so 1 is covered. I also know “what should be”, but I’m somewhat vague as how to achieve this aim. 2 is definitely more difficult! Does 3 refer to the gaps in the market for my services, or the gaps in my performance? Or both? I’d really appreciate some comment on this.
Meanwhile I’ll have some fun trying to determine how to achieve future objectives.

Helen

Jesper Klit har skrevet en meget spændende og brugbar bog om kommunikation: Personlig Gennemslagskraft, med undertitlen: Syv Stærke Vaner Fra Verdens Bedste Kommunikatører.

I forordet skriver Jesper Klit: ”Bogens bærende præmis er: At hvad enten du er international koncernchef eller leder af en vuggestuen, så har de brug for at anvende din personlige gennemslagskraft til at kommunikere effektive og dermed få ting til at ske. Ved at blive bevidst om de teknikker, der styrker og forstærker kommunikationen, kan du lære at skrue op for din personlige gennemslagskraft. Og denne bog giver dig en detaljeret indblik i de syv stærkeste vaner fra nogle af verdens bedste kommunikatører”

Som det fremgår af uddraget af forordet, så har Jesper Klit skrevet en bog som rammer meget bredt, idet vi alle kommunikerer og vi alle kan blive bedre og mere bevidste om hvordan vi kommunikerer mere effektivt.

Jeg synes at Jesper Klit har skrevet en meget anvendelig bog, fordi han gennemgår, stort set alle, aspekter af hvor vi kommunikerer med hinanden.

I gennem en række spændende og letlæste kapitler får læseren indblik i, hvordan man bedst planlægger og udfører sin kommunikation.

De syv vaner som Jesper Klit går i dybden med er:

1. Kend dig selv
2. Planlæg dig til succes
3. Sig det samme som din krop
4. Sæt dig selv i scene
5. Involver dit publikum
6. Design og fortæl historier
7. Træn din personlige gennemslagskraft

Bogen begynder med, at læseren selv finder ud af hvilken kommunikationstype han er og hvilke områder man derefter kan udvikle.

Derudover giver bogen i bred indsigt i kropssprog, selviscenesættelse og hvordan man involverer sit publikum.

Der anvendes teknikker fra coaching og NLP, ligesom der også refereres til forskellige resultater fra forskning i kommunikation.

Hvert kapitel afsluttes med forskellige opgaver til læseren, hvor man i praksis kan lære sig selv at kende som kommunikatør og få stillet opgaver, som er med til at træne og skærpe læserens egen kommunikation.

En fin ting ved bogen er at der efter hvert kapitel, er en opsummering af det stof man lige har været igennem.

Det fremgår tydeligt af bogen at Jesper Klit er en meget trænet kommunikationsrådgiver, som både i teori og praksis gør rede for stoffet i bogen.

Bogen er krydret med historier og anekdoter fra ”den virkelige verden” og det gør stoffet i bogen meget levende. Og derved får man som læser også mulighed for, af og til, at trække på smilebåndet over de forskellige historier. Bogen refererer også til en række kendte personer, mest politikere, og giver eksempler på hvordan de kommunikerer.

Som stemmetræner er jeg vant til at arbejde med en lang række af de samme principper, som Jesper Klit bruger men det har været dejligt, at få et stort overblik over både teori og praksis i kommunikation.

Den eneste anke jeg kan have mod bogen er at der ikke er et register som ville gøre det meget lettere at finde tilbage til enkelte emner osv. igen.

Som der står i bogens forord, så kommunikerer vi alle og derfor vil alle kunne bruge bogen, til at få indsigt i egen personlige kommunikation og få redskaber til at forbedre kommunikationen.

Jesper Klit: Personlig Gennemslagskraft, Børsens Forlag, 2009

Mere info på www.personliggennemslagskraft.dk

Klaus Møller

www.klausmoeller.dk

It is really important to keep one’s skills up to date, particularly when working as a free agent who does not have daily input from colleagues   working in the same environment.
Last evening I participated in an e-seminar on “ Performing Effective Freedom To Operate Searches on STN”.
Although I have been doing FTO and other patent searches for many years, I always learn something new  - of patent searches, patent law or advances in the databases’ search facilities.

For instance -It is becoming important now to use multi-language terms when searching, as more and more countries’ patents are being added to the databases.

This particular training session was most helpful in that it covered all the various aspects of FTO  e.g. the reason behind the various complex processes that are required for a comprehensive search, instead of focusing only on the methods of searching and the command language.
It made me focus on the fact that what is evident to me could be unclear to my clients and in future I’ll make sure that this aspect of the FTO is communicated clearly.
I can really recommend good on-line training. Updating of skills, experts to hand to deal with questions – and no need to travel!