Thoughts and observations incurred managing the IT department for a medium sized call center.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Warning re: reunion.com

This week I received an invitation from a trusted associate to connect through social networking site reunion.com. I believe in the value of such sites (I am a member of both Linked In and Plaxo), so I decided to investigate. However, to my dismay, during the process of signing into their site, an email was sent out to every contact in my address book without my permission.

I did not approve of the message being sent and I do not approve of this company’s approach to increasing its membership. While not an actual virus, their approach to increasing their membership is almost viral and has started to receive some negative press (see this recent LA Times article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus16apr16,1,4041604,full.column).

Because of this, I caution you not to use reunion.com. If you have already set up an account, follow this link to remove your account. We mustn't allow their shifty approach to increasing their membership numbers be rewarded.

Shame on Reunion.Com

Friday, April 25, 2008

My first post - platform agnostic

I don't want to start of with blogging with a rant, but I can't help it.

I'm tired of sitting across from vendors, playing buzzword bingo, and listing to them telling me that their solutions are platform agnostic.
I don't want to be accused being a pedant, but I feel a need to right this wrong.

Websters tells me that agnostic comes from the Greek agnōstos unknown, unknowable, from a- + gnōstos known, from gignōskein to know.

Well, I think that truth is not that they don't know, but that they don't care. Is it possible, then, that a better word would be apathy? (Greek apatheia, from apathēs without feeling, from a- + pathos emotion )

So, let's start a movement. Next time someone tells you something is platform agnostic, gently correct them and tell them that the solution is actually platform apathetic.

We'll see if it catches on...

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Dan Wallis is the Director of Technology at KP OnCall, a nurse triage call center that handles over 1,000,000 calls per year. A dynamic leader, Dan is experienced with managing teams to develop successful technology hardware and software solutions aligned with organizational goals. Since 2000, Dan has utilized this experience to help KP OnCall to grow over 500%. His leadership and vision has been instrumental in meeting the demands of such dramatic growth. The driving force behind many of the call center’s business process improvements, Dan consistently extends beyond IT to be an integral part of the entire organization. For more information, please go to www.danwallis.com.
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