I started getting on local BBS's when I was 13, eventually moving to newsgroups and the web (my first experience on the web was through Lynx!). My social skills through high schools may have suffered because of this (maybe I wouldn't have had any either way), but the online community gave me a place where I felt empowered, and because of this 'anti-social' behavior throughout my teenage years, I now have a beautiful wife and a wonderful son, I own my house and have a brand new car. I don't make a lot of money, but my wife doesn't have to work and can stay home and raise my child right, and I'm 21. I couldn't possibly ask for more at this point in my life, I'm now a functioning part of society whereas all the "Jocks, preps, and cheerleaders" from my high school days, who were graced with the social skills that are required to be popular in high school are working at part time entry level jobs and (maybe) going to college.
I could sit here and list all the positive impacts that this "social parricide" has had on my life, but I'm sure most of you understand. If anyone disagrees with me, please let me know...I'd love to debate this with someone!
Being in the Tech Support area at a major software company I thought I'd share my 2 cents. Our company consists of 32 total employees. The largest single department in our company is the Tech Support/QA department (Every TS Rep also does QA). By integrating the two departments we guarantee that any and all Tech Support rep needs to have a very good working knowledge of the product, since it's on our shoulders to test every aspect of the product.
I'm in charge of answering all incoming phone support for our Windows platform (our product sells in both Mac and Windows versions), and we generally deal with developers. When I answer the phone I don't even ask for serial number to verify that the person on the other end is in fact a paying customer. I don't have to because I'm knowledgable enough to be able to answer any question with a minimal amount of effort, and that means that I can easily manage the call volume and still leave room for 'Non-paying' customers. This equals out to superior technical support, more appreciative customers, and over all more business for the company. So lets review what we've learned here:
Combining the QA department with the TS department guarantees knowledgable staff, higher pay and a more cost effective solution for the company. Higher pay equates to happier workers. Knowledgable workers equal out to more work done in a day. Add to this situation that we mostly deal with intelligent customers (developers), and we VERY seldom have upset customers, and if a customer is upset, it's not because of Tech Support.
Maybe more small software companies should think about this model...
This may sound pretty stupid to some of you out there, however if you want legal proof that you used the name at a certain time, write a document stating that your company is currently using that name, then send it to yourself through the United States Postal Service. A federally recognized time stamp will be placed on the envelope and as long as the envelope remains sealed you have some proof that you used that name before that specific date.
I work for a WONDERFUL company called MindVision Software. Here we have kind of a mix of flex time and shift time. Basically, how it goes is you need to be there from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They even allow us to come in before 9:00 and stay after 5:00. On a normal work day I choose to come in at 7:30 AM and leave at 5:30. However, when I NEED a day off, I get it. When I need to take off for an hour or two in the afternoon, it's not a problem. The way it works is that the employee shows an actual DESIRE to work at the company by abiding by its rules, and putting forth some extra effort to accomplish your daily job responsibilities. On the other hand, MindVision shows its appreciation by giving us great benefits, giving us an awesome atmosphere, allowing us time to ourselves if we need it.
Basically, the point is that we WANT to work here. I don't think being allowed to come in whenever you want is going to make you want to go to work any more, it's just going to allow you to wait 'till the last minute to put in your 8 hours. I think companies seriously need to work to earn their employees' devotion and employees need to seriously work to appreciate the job that they have.
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I started getting on local BBS's when I was 13, eventually moving to newsgroups and the web (my first experience on the web was through Lynx!). My social skills through high schools may have suffered because of this (maybe I wouldn't have had any either way), but the online community gave me a place where I felt empowered, and because of this 'anti-social' behavior throughout my teenage years, I now have a beautiful wife and a wonderful son, I own my house and have a brand new car. I don't make a lot of money, but my wife doesn't have to work and can stay home and raise my child right, and I'm 21. I couldn't possibly ask for more at this point in my life, I'm now a functioning part of society whereas all the "Jocks, preps, and cheerleaders" from my high school days, who were graced with the social skills that are required to be popular in high school are working at part time entry level jobs and (maybe) going to college.
I could sit here and list all the positive impacts that this "social parricide" has had on my life, but I'm sure most of you understand. If anyone disagrees with me, please let me know...I'd love to debate this with someone!
Being in the Tech Support area at a major software company I thought I'd share my 2 cents. Our company consists of 32 total employees. The largest single department in our company is the Tech Support/QA department (Every TS Rep also does QA). By integrating the two departments we guarantee that any and all Tech Support rep needs to have a very good working knowledge of the product, since it's on our shoulders to test every aspect of the product. I'm in charge of answering all incoming phone support for our Windows platform (our product sells in both Mac and Windows versions), and we generally deal with developers. When I answer the phone I don't even ask for serial number to verify that the person on the other end is in fact a paying customer. I don't have to because I'm knowledgable enough to be able to answer any question with a minimal amount of effort, and that means that I can easily manage the call volume and still leave room for 'Non-paying' customers. This equals out to superior technical support, more appreciative customers, and over all more business for the company. So lets review what we've learned here: Combining the QA department with the TS department guarantees knowledgable staff, higher pay and a more cost effective solution for the company. Higher pay equates to happier workers. Knowledgable workers equal out to more work done in a day. Add to this situation that we mostly deal with intelligent customers (developers), and we VERY seldom have upset customers, and if a customer is upset, it's not because of Tech Support. Maybe more small software companies should think about this model...
This may sound pretty stupid to some of you out there, however if you want legal proof that you used the name at a certain time, write a document stating that your company is currently using that name, then send it to yourself through the United States Postal Service. A federally recognized time stamp will be placed on the envelope and as long as the envelope remains sealed you have some proof that you used that name before that specific date.
I work for a WONDERFUL company called MindVision Software. Here we have kind of a mix of flex time and shift time. Basically, how it goes is you need to be there from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They even allow us to come in before 9:00 and stay after 5:00. On a normal work day I choose to come in at 7:30 AM and leave at 5:30. However, when I NEED a day off, I get it. When I need to take off for an hour or two in the afternoon, it's not a problem. The way it works is that the employee shows an actual DESIRE to work at the company by abiding by its rules, and putting forth some extra effort to accomplish your daily job responsibilities. On the other hand, MindVision shows its appreciation by giving us great benefits, giving us an awesome atmosphere, allowing us time to ourselves if we need it. Basically, the point is that we WANT to work here. I don't think being allowed to come in whenever you want is going to make you want to go to work any more, it's just going to allow you to wait 'till the last minute to put in your 8 hours. I think companies seriously need to work to earn their employees' devotion and employees need to seriously work to appreciate the job that they have.