December 24, 200938,000,000 plus hits on tech blog illustrates a New (Rule) Dynamic of Communication
“Is it me?” I wondered as I tried to find properties in Word 2007. It was simple in Word 2003. Help was characteristically unhelpful. So once again I conduct a Google search to learn what I thought should be straightforward information. Misery loved company, so I was pleased to discover that the blogs were full of people who shared my frustration. I had to read through several comments and complaints before I got to the answer, ( Alt f) but at least I found the answer. It was certainly faster than help would have been.
One commenter noted:
It’s amazing that Google has this listed with 38,000,000 plus hits.
Microsoft might want to pay attention to the chatter and find a way to be the hero instead of the chump in these quests.
What’s the New (Rule) Dynamic of Communication we see in action? It’s like the architect who builds a building but waits to see where people create paths before she builds sidewalks. The sidewalks go where people want them, not where people decide they should be.
If Microsoft paid attention to the ways people get information from bloggers like the blogger who helped me find properties in Word 2007, they could discover how to make their own help helpful.
So the New Rule is to answer the questions people are asking, not the ones you think they should ask.
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if companies had a live chat help desk from their site? Or at the least, a great FAQ section? I agree that we, all of us, should actively listen and answer the questions being asked.
Comment by Ashley — December 28, 2009 @ 11:45 am
I should have that on my homepage!
Comment by merylrunion — December 28, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
I could not agree more! Word 2007 is so frustrating! Maybe they will come up with something better in 2010. If they had any competition they would have suffered greatly.
Comment by Matthew — December 29, 2009 @ 10:06 am
In my case, it’s mostly a use issue… I like most of the features but don’t find the instructions of how to use them to be helpful.
I just discovered that one of my colleagues, Dawn Bjork Buzbee, has a “geek speak becomes people friendly” webinar on Word 2007. I might bite the bullet and take it. http://www.softwarepro.com/
Comment by merylrunion — January 12, 2010 @ 8:23 pm
One of the new keyboard shortcuts in Office 2007 is to press the [ALT] key which displays labels on the Ribbon. The Microsoft geeks call these “Key Tip Badges”. Then type the letter/number combination to move to the next level of commands or options. As Meryl mentioned, [ALT] + F opens the Microsoft Office Button in the upper-left corner. You can, of course, also click once on the Office button with the mouse. From there, choose Prepare > Properties to change the properties of a Word document or Excel worksheet.
I’ve heard from a lot of people who freaked out trying to find the file management commands that are found under the File menu in Office 2003. The Office button looks like a fancy logo–not the critical feature it is in Office 2007! FYI-Office 2010 builds on the same new interface, and so, don’t expect another dramatic change although you will now be able to customize the Ribbon.
To learn more about the new features in Microsoft Office 2007:
Webinars: http://www.Office2007Webinars.com
Videos: http://www.Office2007Videos.com
Book: http://www.Office2007Book.com
Comment by Dawn Bjork Buzbee — January 24, 2010 @ 10:46 pm