Articles of Engagement – What We’re Reading

How to Manage Your Own PR – inc.com

Getting the most PR bang for your buck – by doing it yourself. Good advice.

On this Safari 5 Reader Hysteria – nikf.org

We’re mostly an Apple shop here, and so jumped over Safari 5. I am loving the Reader featured described here, but apparently the fact that it strips out ads and annoying flash content is upsetting some media companies. But as Nik says in this article:

Perhaps instead of flamebait posts of ‘Apple are out to get us’ media companies should be asking themselves ‘how did reading content online become so sucky’?

Soledad: Home Alone Again (Naturally) – beendoonsolong.com

Bonny Doon Vineyards is a great example of a company that looks at the conventional wisdom within it’s industry and turns it upside down. This is a great article (though a bit heavy on the wine-nerdery, so be ready) by Randall Graham, the owner, about selling one their vineyards; an example of how to talk to your customers like intelligent people and be open about your business decisions.

So, it is unfortunate that I had to sell when I did, but like it or not, the universe seems to be giving me instruction in how my actions might be more congruent with my stated beliefs/values.

Does Everyone Deserve Great Customer Service? – socialsilk.com

Good question. Interesting article about handling customer service over social channels; and whether amount of followers should play into it.

Related Question: Does Social CRM Favor Your Worst Customers?.

How I almost ignored our single best source for customer feedback. – jacksonfish.com

Love this, love this, love this. A personal tale from a business owner who learned so much about his own business when he stopped outsourcing support calls and started answering them himself. Required reading for anyone who owns a business.