Email Happiness

If you're using Microsoft Outlook as your email client, you must check out Xobni, which just launched an app called Insight that will totally transform your email experience. Think Google Analytics for your inbox. This is by far one of the best applications I have seen. Period.

I signed up for the beta release months ago and now after a few weeks with Xobni, I can't imagine life without it. Usage statistics, instant email search (faster than Google, I promise), and threaded conversation views are just 3 of the the features in a long list that will bring you, once and for all, some email happiness.

Here's why I'm posting. With Xobni not yet open to the public, you must have an invite. I have 5 to share with the first 5 readers who post a comment. This is a limited-number offer.

UPDATE: All the invites are gone.

Finalist at the Canadian Blog Awards

Major Persuasion has been nominated in the Best Business Blog category at this year's Canadian Blog Awards.

Voting is now open for the 2nd and final round of voting. Please take a moment and cast your vote here.

Thanks in advance.

My Results from CBC's "Test The Nation"

Before I divulge my score from Sunday night's Test The Nation on CBC, I need to thank everyone involved, especially Molly, for getting me a spot on the show. First, I was a substitute for the Blogger Team, then I almost joined the Celebrity Look-alikes gang as Ben Stiller, but finally, I was honoured to play for the Cabbies!

My score - 52/60, the highest, by far, on my team.

Congratulations to all. It was a blast!

CBC's "Test the Nation"

Last night, on live TV, I made my national TV debut as a contestant on the CBC's hugely popular Test the Nation quiz show. At the mid-way point of 60 questions, I was in the top 5 (of 216 contestants). It was a huge thrill to be a part of such a production and it reminded me of a previous game show experience when I lived in LA and participated in an episode of Win Ben Stein's Money where I was leading through two rounds but just missed making it to the head-to-head round with the host, Ben Stein. Here are my results from Win Ben Stein's Money:

Episode #2054

First Aired: 1998
Contestants: Heath, Peggy, Reed
Theme/Costume: None
First Round Results: Heath $600, Peggy $0, Reed $400
Second Round Results: Heath $600, Reed $1100
Best of 10: Reed 5, Ben 5
Ben defends: $2900
Reed wins: $2100

As soon as I have the results from my appearance on Test The Nation, I'll post them.

Great Customer Service is a Gift

I believe the next great battle for the fickle consumer's dollar will be fought on the customer service front. Outstanding customer service is one of the most valuable intangible "gifts" that a company can offer.

As Joe Sharkey tells it in his article entitled Travel Bug, the big airlines are a classic example of how an industry just simply isn't getting it when it comes to customer loyalty. “When an airline makes a big mistake, they want to give me more miles. They don’t understand: I really don’t want to get on your plane under the conditions you’re subjecting me to. Give me good service instead.”

And from Arrive, Amtrak's surprisingly well-written in-train magazine, here's a wonderful piece on what some of the best companies - think Zappo's with their legendary free back-and-forth shipping - are doing to keep their customers happy. Enjoy.

Street Smarts

How do you reduce the traffic fatality rate to zero in a city that sees 22,000 cars pass through its main intersection each day? Simple. You remove traffic signals and curbed sidewalks, road signs and most street markings.

"'It works well because it's dangerous,' said Hans Monderman, the Dutch traffic guru who pioneered the theory, which he likens to skaters navigating their way around one another on ice – when there are no lanes and no green lights, people take responsibility for their actions and become better decision-makers. Now other EU cities are trying it: Bohmte, Germany; Ipswich, England; Ostend, Belgium; Ejby, Denmark; and Makkinga, the Netherlands, where a sign at the town entrance reads Verkeersbordvrij (Free of traffic signs)."

Question: is there a principle of persuasion working here to encourage better driving by removing traffic signals and road signs? Of course there is. My vote goes to Consistency, because without the traffic signals, you are forced to take an active role in the safety of all drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

From The Walrus, Canada's Magazine of the Year, read the entire Street Smarts series here.