As I type this I know its all happening but every other moment, I go Really?
So here is what happened to all of us today - Walt Mossberg (below with Steve Jobs), the Personal Technology Columnist of The Wall Street Journal, reviewed the CrossLoop software and Marketplace of Helpers. It was an extremely detailed, very well written and objective review - it shouldn't surprise us since Walt is know for exactly that for the many many years he has been reviewing technology products.
The entry on him on Wikipedia says "Walt Mossberg is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers on information technology. In 2004, in a lengthy profile, Wired called him "The Kingmaker", saying "[f]ew reviewers have held so much power to shape an industry's successes and failures"". He was also named as one of the 100 most powerful/influential people in the world by Vanity Fair for 2008!
He is the highest authority, in my opinion, in terms of technology and the most trusted brand.
Walt's stamp of recognition is going to do wonders for all us. This also means we are now going to be discovered amongst millions!
The Wall Street Journal has the second highest circulation in the US with over 2Million readers
Online, they have 17M unique visitors a month
They have the most number of online paid subscribers - over 1M
They are one of only 2 newspapers in print actually growing
Here is an in-depth segmentation of their audience
If you want to read Walt's past columns, they are all here for free
His personal video review of CrossLoop below (link here)
Walt discusses CrossLoop on Fox Business News below (link here):
I dont think we all at CrossLoop can thank him enough for this opportunity but nevertheless, a HUGE..No, HUMONGOUS, Thank you from all of us to Walt!
I also want to take this moment to thank the CrossLoop Helper who provided Walt with such
a great experience - the prompt response, the permission-based approach to
solving problems mentioned by Walt and of course, the expertise to solve the
problem. It made a big difference.
Note that one never knows the significance
of the next customer so the best we can all do is treat everyone in the best
possible manner!
I need some more time to digest what just happened so rest assured another post coming soon on this milestone real soon...on a blog near you!
About a little over 48 hours after our Series B funding announcement, here is the exciting and very positive feedback we received about our story through all these outlets that covered us. Impossible to list them all in this post so the following are a few examples, a collage and a location to read them all.
On behalf of everyone at CrossLoop, we thank all the reporters, bloggers and media professionals who stopped to listen to our story and then helped us tell it! Oh - and I don't want to forget my father, my mother, my brother, my cats Romeo and Cleo without whom all this would.....
Signing off on my 100th post (!!) - Good Afternoon and Good Luck!
We started our journey with a desktop screen sharing software to help and get help on one's computer. It became immensely popular because it was:
- free and
- worked and
- was grandma-friendly
With the mission of enabling anyone to get help on anything, easily, immediately and cost effectively, we then began to complement our technology with people who can help, who want to help and who like to help. We embarked on this phase in December along with El Dorado last year with our Series A funding announcement. The fundamental notion was to provide all that was necessary to get computer help - technology and people who cared about the Customer.
The next phase of our journey came when we opened up our Helpers, over 5,000, to everyone in April.
Now we have over 11,500 Helpers signed up on our Marketplace - the largest one-stop shop in the world for all computer tech support and training needs!
Now we get to celebrate another big milestone as a small company - we are proud to announce our Series B venture financing of $6M led by Venrock along with El Dorado!
We welcome Rich Moran from Venrock to our Board. Apart from authoring the best seller Nuts, Bolts and Jolts (his 6th book), Rich has appeared on NPR, in Fast Company and he also writes a personal blog here.
First and foremost, we recognize that our CrossLoop Helpers and consequently us, are first in the people business. Rich brings a rich background with expertise on organizational effectiveness and social science and very very importantly - he does it with humor. We love that since we are all about being a FUNomenal company!
Along with Rich, we are also very excited to welcome Andre Haddad, the CEO of Shopping.com (an eBay company) to our board! His Bio is here.
From an experience perspective, we are a marketplace where we want Customers to find the most relevant Helpers for their needs. Andre's rich entrepreneurial and international experience through iBazar (a leading European marketplace, which he co-founded and eBay acquired in 2001 for $140M) and eBay, brings tremendous knowledge and experience to all of us since we have Helpers in over 130 countries and total users in over 190 of them!
Both Rich and Andre bring a lot of deep and relevant professional experience to us and we all at CrossLoop look forward to working with them closely and bringing their best to all our users.
Finally - a little trivia which makes this a very exciting milestone for me personally. I started my career by selling enterprise CAD/CAM software on SGI boxes in India. One of those that I sold a lot of was a software called I-DEAS from a company called SDRC - Venrock was an investor in SDRC!
I am sure many of you know Dmitry – I’m sure that
if you’re reading this blog you have at least exchanged a few emails with him
at some point. Dmitry spent a good part of this past summer in
Switzerland. A truly unique story happened to him in the middle of Geneva
which we wanted to share with you. I’ll pass the “keyboard” over to Dmitry to
have him tell you himself…
Hey all! Dmitry at keyboard… back in U.S. and loooving it! I
have just finished telling the story to the team, and was very much excited to
share it with all of our fellow crossloopers!
Grocery stores in Geneva close very early – usually around
6pm. So all grocery shopping needs to be done either before work in the
morning or right after work. One of the days I was standing in line at a
grocery store to check out, and happened to notice a random guy in front of me
with a “Think Geek” T-shirt. “Very interesting” I thought… My French is
practically non-existent, I started a conversation with him by a casual:
“Se va?” (How are you?). He spoke english, we started chatting – turns out he
is in IT industry, moved to Geneva from Canada, and has been a HUGE Crossloop
supporter for close to 1.5 years now! He was beyond excited to meet me of
course, he has told me that he has been trying to spread the word in
Switzerland amongst his buddies, but “screen sharing” is not as popular there
right now. He uses Crossloop to make some money on the side currently, but
mostly just helps his family and friends. Imagine, meeting a random stranger at a
supermarket, in the middle of Geneva, who happens to be a die hard fanatic of Crossloop and
has been trying to promote us! Gave me that warm feeling inside that we must be
doing something right!
To finish the story – a few weeks later, I was talking to
building IT managers at the foyer (dorm) I was staying at in Geneva. What
do you think – yes they use Crossloop as well to do troubleshooting of the network
issues! I was so truly amazed by these two encounters this summer that I
absolutely HAD to share it with all you fellow crossloopers!
Signing off here, and passing the keyboard to Mrinal to do
the finishing touches on the post… Good afternooooon & (mrinal take over
now)
The alps was to create a dramatic imagination for a very small and big incident - a classic where the adrenaline rush is at one of the highest for us. We are a small company and in a world of about 6B people (and 2B personal computers) what is the probability of adventitiously meeting not one across the Atlantic, but two who already know your company and product.
Stories like these drive us everyday and Dmitry's definitely made for a fantastic summer for us - we had to share this with all of you. Thank you all for doing what you do to support us.
Does he get another trip to Switzerland to collect more such stories? uh no - I think we need diversity and a different perspective so I am going to try.
We are seeking a passionate person for the following role so if you like to make a difference, challenge conventional wisdom and explore a FUNomenal opportunity, read on:
Presentation Lead
As the lead web
presentation engineer, you will own and drive the presentation layer of
our website (http://www.crossloop.com). You will take hard problems and
make them look breathlessly easy to our customers. And you’ll have a
lot of fun doing all this.
With over a million users, CrossLoop is a
well-funded, venture-backed consumer, Internet company that is
fundamentally changing the way people get help on their computers.
We’re tearing down this unfriendly, fragmented, and inefficient market
and replacing it with something that makes it a breeze to get your
computer fixed no matter where you are. At the same time, we’re
allowing people all over the world to help others and turn their
knowledge into cash.
Primary Responsibilities
You will be responsible for the front-end development of the website.
You’ll work on innovative transaction systems, clever social
applications, and some very compelling distribution widgets. You will
work with the engineering and product teams to own and drive a frequent
and predictable website update process. You will create and have
ownership for rapid deployment environments and you must provide
guidance and leadership in this area. You will contribute significantly
on your own, and you’ll also grow and manage a team of presentation
engineers. This position is based in the San Jose / Campbell area, with
a need to visit Monterey at least once a week - and oh....you get to have meetings with Tom running on this trail. You are of course welcome to take a golf cart or a bike since Tom is known for 80+ marathons!
Requirements:
Qualified candidates will have the following background:
BSCS or related field
7+ years experience in website development and/or application development
Complete mastery of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, and Flash.
Experience with building internationalized and multi-lingual websites
Experience in developing and working in rapid web deployment environments
Prior management experience desired
Strong design aesthetic, sense and grounding. We would like to see samples of your work
Previous focus on building high-quality products
Ability to work productively with minimal supervision and in a distributed environment
Should be able to hold conversations during the course of a marathon .... just kiddin ... only Tom runs and we are all striving hard at the start mark right now
Hope to empower millions along with you so write to us at jobs at crossloop dot com
I am pretty active on Twitter [you might get me faster there than anywhere else sometimes] so here are a few conversations of people sharing some of their tech support "experiences":
Tech support today is absolutely inefficient - not a single person owns Anne Manning's problem apart from herself.
No one is accountable for making Chris Ediger's delighted, happy and satisfied. The one providing support has no reason to take care, treat Chris right so that he returns, so that he builds a relationship with the Helper. He probably even has no idea about the real identity of the person helping him.
What about Vick? Any of the CrossLoop Helpers with Verizon or Linksys on their profile would have probably cared more and saved him a few hours of invaulable time.
Similar to Chris above, no one is listening to 'basscom'. No one cares enough to make him happy, give him what he wants and provide personalized service
The above are only a very very few of the pain that consumers go through everyday - some like Mike go through an experience that you can only hope does not happen to you.
The above, and many millions more, are people who not only need a better solution but people own their problem, who own their success and care.
Why are we all at CrossLoop different? Because a CrossLoop Helper's personal business is solving the customers technical problems! CrossLoop Helpers are real people, real names and with measurable brand and track record (on their profile).
I strongly recommend that you use Twitter as a personal tool to help these people - they need you. Here is a nice short blog post by Valeria Maltoni on doing business on Twitter. You are also welcome to follow me there since I also make myself available there for all CrossLoop users [You will be surprised how many there are]
CrossLoop Helpers like Nik Butler (His CrossLoop Profile, which has some excellent customer testimonials from people with accounts, is here) are extremely active, making themselves very accessible and engaging with the potential customer. He is a really good example.
At the end of the day you don't build relationships with the dealer who sold you the car, but you absolutely do with the person who services it - Yes, we are all in the people business.
Pretty much anyone who has had a computer has experienced a range of emotions first hand so it was neat to get my hands on some specifics based on a survey, conducted by Geek Squad, reported by Pocket Lint here:
Three-quarters of people have hurled a gadget in a fit of rage(73%)
The same number have admitted to swearing (75%) or losing their temper
with their computer
A stressed out 1 in 10 people say they've turned to alcohol to cope
with technology meltdown, while a fifth of people admitted to simply
turning off the gadget that has gone wrong and hoping it will fix
itself
Now only If they only knew about our over 11,000 Computer IT Support Helpers or even the over 700 in UK ..... I think I have a lot cut out for me so I should get on with it!
Here are the details on the new Console our engineers rolled out yesterday that some of you may have already noticed. Once you log in into your CrossLoop account on the web, you will see a new 'Console' tab - this now replaces the 'Sessions' tab. Your Session activity can still be viewed from the Console tab by clicking on "See My Session Activity" under the right hand side section on 'Latest Activity' - shown in the screen shots further down.
Console Tab once you are logged in:
Until now, all Contact Messages from Customers, were sent as notifications to the Helper through a simple client notification and via email to the account registered with us. This is a significant productivity enhancement of your business process. It serves as a management tool that allows you to be better organized with them. Now you not only get the client notification and email, but can find it all organized in one place in your CrossLoop account. This allows you to have all the contact details and content of the messages at one easy place for all things CrossLoop that enables better follow up, repeat business and context for proactive relationship building with your Customers.
Here are the screen shots:
Console Page [Click on the green 'See My Session Activity' to review your session history]
[This is a trend analysis that I did yesterday before Google announced their Insights for Search feature today. Its an awesome coincidence!]
One of the things I play around and spend a lot of time around is on the notion of 'discovery" and "intent" since nothing happens until you have users/customers. That led me to start exploring the categories "desktop sharing" and "screen sharing" since our very core product that has become so popular in a very short time for helping was launched 'screen sharing' software.
Remember we launched CrossLoop as a "screen sharing" software in November, 2006.
We progressed over time and launched a Computer "Help" Marketplace but at the core of it all is our "screen sharing" software. I always felt 'desktop sharing' was a popular notion so went around investigating what people are searching for on Google Trends and here are some very interesting results as an outcome of that:
For "All Regions" and "All Years", Google Trends shows that 'desktop sharing was searched for 6.2 times compared to screen sharing. Screen sharing appears on the radar a few months after we launched.
Specific to 2007, the ration of screen sharing versus desktop sharing drops to 1:3.24 - still for "all regions"
Now, lets introduce CrossLoop to these trends and you will see where I am going with this:
With CrossLoop in 2007 for "all regions", it looks like this with 'crossloop' ahead of 'screen sharing' and 'desktop sharing'. [Note how the trend line of 'screen sharing' aligns with that of 'crossloop' below]
Finally, when I look at 2008, crossloop breaks away significantly - almost twice that of both categories!
Conclusion: CrossLoop really made 'screen sharing' go mainstream as a mind share and intent amongst users worldwide and it has become synonymous to it.
[Apologies to email subscribers who are seeing this 'again' - the earlier one was a draft 'published now' due to my trigger happy fingers. This one is complete with pictures and a proper introduction]
One of the things we have done from the day we launched CrossLoop was listen and learn to all our users, to people who know us, our Advisors or anyone who could share some 'best practices'.
With that same core value, we thought it would be very powerful to have CrossLoop Helpers share their best practices with others.
I am personally a big fan of the two questions Will Smith asks in the movie (when he is desperately seeking employment and sees a guy park his Ferrari) The Pursuit of Happyness, especially the second one - 1) What do you do and 2) How do you do it?
There will be a series of CrossLoop Helper Interviews on this blog and I couldn't think of a better person to start with - Marcus Clarke's (pictured with his son Connor here), currently #1 Helper on the CrossLoop Marketplace. Here is his response to "How Do You Do It'.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself
Marcus: I am
first and foremost the proud father of my soon-to-be three year old boy named
Connor Clarke.I am the lead support
technician for Storage Commander, a popular self-storage management program
developed by Empower Software.I also
created and currently maintain their web site.
Q: What are some of the things you do, to get new customers?
Marcus: I mainly
advertise through word-of-mouth.My wife
is a great help by posting my CrossLoop Badge on all of the message boards she
visits and through her MySpace bulletins and comments.She also has a big voice with Mommy-groups
and playgroups throughout our area and the people she meets through social
groups and the Internet.You would be
surprised how many people are looking for someone who knows what they are
talking about when it comes to computers, and will not charge you an arm and a
leg to get answers.
Q: What do you do to get repeat customers?
Marcus:Repeat customers return if they like your
work, your personality, and how you speak to them about the problem they are
having.Being courteous, respectful,
patient, and knowledgeable about what you are talking about are the most
important factors in obtaining regular customers.
Q: Do you always give free estimates?
Marcus:I will always give a free estimate to
someone who requests it.I do clarify
that an estimate is just that, an estimate, and that it may not be the actual
full price, depending on the amount of time spent on a job. [His Rate card pic below]
Q: What are some of your best practices to get the business after the
free estimate or a lead comes in?
Marcus:Response time is key.It is difficult to address computer issues outside
of work, being that I work full-time.However, the new built-in feature that notifies you when a customer has
sent you a message is extremely helpful in dealing with this.
Q: How have you built your brand with CrossLoop?
Marcus:I keep myself logged in whenever I am
connected to the internet.I advertise
myself as an experienced remote technician who can quickly connect to your
computer and fix problems that you are experiencing.CrossLoop allows for a quick connection, but
it more importantly opens up remote technical support to those with less
knowledge on how to use computers.
Q: What are your favorite marketing tools that CrossLoop provides and
you use frequently?
Marcus:CrossLoop is the first company that enables
me to quantify my skills through my CrossLoop sessions. The CrossLoop badge is
the best marketing tool provided by CrossLoop, as it shows the metrics: number
of connections, your rating, and your picture; it also links the customer to
your profile for more information.You
can attach it to e-mails, message boards, and pretty much anything Internet
related.It is an effective personal
banner to advertise your abilities and experience which translates to a
‘portable reputation’. This enables the Customer to make the best decision.
Q: What are some tips that you would share to get the highest customer
satisfaction?
Marcus: Respect
your customers, even when they are difficult, and use your patience to wade
through communication problems on either end of the conversation.Fix a problem so that the customer does not
have to come back to you soon to fix the same problem, so that when another
problem arises, you will be the person that they call.
Q: Like adding a personal photo, do you have any recommendations for
one's CrossLoop profile?
Marcus:Fill it out completely.Add a picture of yourself!That is one of the best features of
CrossLoop, as it creates a quick talking point, and it causes the customer to
become more interested in who you are, which starts a connection between
you.Otherwise, fill out your pricing,
and add a thoughtful description to your profile. [Snapshot of his profile]
Q: Do you ask you customers to create an account and leave testimonials
after a session? Why?
Marcus:Depending on the level of experience of the
customer, I may or may not ask them to create an account.Many people who need help with computers do
not have an e-mail address, or are uncomfortable signing up for an account. I leave it up to the customer to leave a
comment after the session; however, it is greatly appreciated. [His Customer testimonials on his profile below]
Q: What are the top two frequent problems you solve for customers?
Marcus: The most
frequent problem I encounter is that the customer’s computer is running too
slow, normally due to too many programs running. The other frequent problem I
run into is spyware infections.
Congratulations to Marcus for a remarkable achievement - if you need help with your computer, contact Marcus Clarke through his profile here.
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