Shaw to launch new 'Online Community'

[Kritiker]

Although my second registration attempt, on the same basis as the first, was successful, I am unable, after all, to participate tonight so, apparently, I will be getting a short summary email tomorrow.

A few more details for you. Once your registration has been authorized you'll receive further instructions.

... The meeting is a teleconference call combined with an online webinar. To participate, please call 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx and enter access code xxxx#
In case you receive an automated e-mail from GotoWebinar with a different phone number, please ignore. 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx is the correct number.

You can log into the webinar at x:xx PM by clicking xxx. You can also cut and paste the address into your web browser. You will be asked to download the webinar software from Citrix, a secure vendor, in order to participate.

If you have trouble joining the webinar you can still participate in the phone call. Simply dial-in using the phone number and access code above. ...

This gives you some idea what to expect.

buckycat, don't wait too long or you won't be able to participate tonight. It's my guess the folks running the webinar are not on Mountain time.

[envirogeek]

I'm not optimistic that a Shaw run community forum will be helpful. The DHC site is one of the few independent or company run sites that has maintained a generally good tone. On a Shaw operated site how many "You could have spent Jim's 25 million on customer service..." posts will they allow before they start deleting posts and animosity builds. From my experience with other company run forums, the good ones are few and far between.

For example, the Rogers Community Forums - the Rogers reps stick totally to the company script and any real assistance or troubleshooting value comes from the other customers. El Gato used to have a very useful forum with participation from company representatives, although again most of the information came from other customers. Eventually El Gato not only shut down the forum but they nuked it altogether - many years of a useable knowledge base gone overnight.

Although I agree with Hugh that independent forums should be supported, ultimately customers will go wherever they are getting real answers. If the Shaw Online Community has substance people will use it.

[tux]

^^ I agree, I don't have high expectations for a Shaw-run forum. A lot will depend on user participation, employee participation, and how well [or poorly] they moderate the online forum. Even under optimal conditions, it will take a lot of time and investment before it becomes as useful as DHC (if it ever gets there).

One of the poll questions that Shaw asked was who you'd expect to receive help from on the Shaw Community forum. CSR, other Shaw employee, or other community member. I don't think the front-line CSRs would have much to contribute other than the scripted talking points, but other Shaw employees may, and community members definitely would.

[shawsean]

Hey guys, sounds like there's some legitimate concerns here so just wanted to provide some clarity. We've never believed in censorship and always stressed transparent communication - if you've ever been to our Facebook page you'll know what I mean. As long as users follow our House Rules (i.e. no inappropriate language, attacking other users, spamming etc.) then conversations can continue to flow freely and we encourage that. Keep in mind, the real goal of our community is to provide our customers with technical support and that's exactly why we've invited you guys to join us and help us as product experts.

Our intention with the Shaw Community is not to compete with forums like Digital Home. We like that there are other third party sites available to customers and there are no plans to change how often we participate in them, and we'll continue to provide support on Facebook, Twitter and other forums as well. I really enjoy the conversations happening here and I will definitely continue to be a part of the Digital Home community.

We know we can’t just design and throw up a community and make it successful - you really have to work with your customers to help build it. That's why we're running this beta period and inviting a broad range of users is to tell us what works and what doesn’t. That way we’re more prepared when it comes to launching it to the public. Whether you realize it or not, your participation will be critical to whether the Shaw Community succeeds.

Cheers,
Sean

[Jetranger]

First look at the 'community' site looks quite impressive. There are all kinds of options for support and discussion. It looks very well thought out with some good titles of areas to direct you to what you are looking for. Somewhat like the Shaw.ca website so a certain level of continuity there.

What we are being shown is a 'beta' site so not everything is operational and I am assuming some of the existing content is for 'representative' purposes. I haven't been able to determine exactly what levels of 'anonymity' are available but this should become apparent in short order. I have sent an email question that hasn't been answered yet but that was late this afternoon. The company hired to perform this 'beta test' might keep business hours and I may have to wait until Monday for an answer.

[Kritiker]

I just had a few spare minutes so I signed in to the Community and took my first look.

I am underwhelmed. I see a busy page, a pretty page, including headings for TV, Internet Phone and Lounge but mainly I see a reverse chronological list of Trending Topics.

Then what? The headings are reasonably descriptive and I'll follow them at some point but, where is the discussion structure, the hierarchy? Perhaps it's there but it is not immediately obvious to me.

I'll check back later but, at this point, I am in no rush to do so. It doesn't look, at least to me, that the digitalhome forum has anything to fear from the Community.

[PaulB]

And therein lies the challenge for Shaw. What is "quite impressive" to one person is merely underwhelming to another.

[Kritiker]

Indeed, PaulB, therein lies the challenge.

Different people look for different things and bring different backgrounds/perspectives to their evaluation.

Pretty, doesn't cut it for me. I look for functionality, breadth, depth and above all, a predictable structure to the way information (of use to me), features and functions are presented. If it's useful for me and pretty, great. If it is merely pretty, not-so-much. [Aside: That is my problem with the Gateway UI too.]

At this point I was merely commenting on the discussion aspects. The others I have neither the time, nor the immediate inclination, to explore at the moment but I will do so soon.

These are early days for the Community so it will be interesting to see in which direction things develop.

[shawsean]

@Kritiker - I'm definitely looking forward to your feedback once you've explored the Shaw Community a bit further. We want to ensure the browsing experience is as functional as possible.

Cheers.

[Kritiker]

Oh you'll get it, have no fear.

I'll post there too - just can't get to it for a while yet.

Thanks.

[Kritiker]

Hi Shawsean,

Here are a few of the promised comments.

I just went back to the Community and am disapointed at what I am seeing there.

I do not like the discovery approach to navigating web sites. I do not want to have to learn what is what and what is where by trial and error. I want a site structure and navigation buttons that take me from place to place in a logical way, without my having to hunt for them..

I am sitting here, staring at the home page, wondering where to go next. I'd like to see the discussions but all I see are the Trending Topics. This isn't really helpful. I want a listing of threads, along the lines of what I get here. I'd like to find an appropriate thread to post some comments, the ones I am posting here, but cannot immediately see where I would do that. Remember, I don't want to have to hunt to find it. I want to be led there.

I just changed some of my details and preferences. Looking at the home page now I cannot immediately see how I got to the preferences/options pages. Oh, now I remember - I had to mouse over everything on that page to jog my memory - I had clicked on the user name I am using there.

After I changed the settings (picked an avatar, changed some privacy settings), there was no link on any of those pages to take me back to the Community home page and no breadcrumb, either.

I managed to create a comment. I am not sure where I did it. Then I discovered a spelling mistake but couldn't see an edit button. So I posted a second comment, commenting about the spelling mistake. I have no idea where either comment actually went. [Edit: It seems I commented on my status.]

[Edit: I subsequently found that responses to a post have edit and delete buttons but not, it seems the original post.]
[Subsequent Edit: Even though there is no edit button on the bottom of the original posts, the edit button in the Actions list on the right does work. Great. But inconsistent.]

I am now looking at my activity and the only comments showing there are the automated just joined the community and the one commenting about being unable to correct the one with the spelling mistake. The comment with the actual spelling mistake isn't showing up.

In all this, there is no link back to the Community's home page. [It feels a bit silly using the antiquated term home page, but I am not sure what else to call it.]

I clicked on a few things, got to the Lounge and there was what I was looking for - the navigation breadcrumb, Home > All Places > Lounge. Clicking on Home took me back to the home page.

I'd have made these comments on the Community site itself, but am still not sure where I would have done so.

Addendum:
OK, I just posted a question and, my (fictional) first name and last name were used to identify it, not my screen name. Is this because I am logged in or does everyone s it? Well, it seems that was because I was logged in. Once I logged out, only my screen name showed up. Good.

Now, in trying to log in again, I find that my browser's ability to remember login data is disabled - clicking on the Username field does not bring up the username that I use. This is a regrettable trend that I have noticed from a number of web sites, such as the Community, where it is hardly necessary, in contrast to financial sites where I find it quite acceptable. This is not so good.

Even if I cannot edit the actual post, at least I can edit the tags. Good.

There does not seem to be a place for posting general, Community-related comments, only ones aimed at TV, Internet, Phone and Lounge - oh wait - maybe that's it. I'll try it.

[harryt]

Anyone know what software they are using?

I've run/modified forums and message boards for 10+ years. So, if shaw is looking for some expertise, be sure to look into chatting with me.

[Jetranger]

It says "Powered by JIVE" at the bottom and there is a lot of the existing formatting from the Shaw.ca site right now. I wouldn't expect that to change as far as look and feel goes but the 'forum' part is definitely a work in progress. It takes a little getting used to and there are some tweaks to be made for sure but so far it doesn't look too bad at all.

[shawsean]

@Kritiker - thanks again, like I said on the Shaw Community your detailed feedback was really appreciated.

@harryt - Jetranger is correct, the Shaw Community is powered by Jive. Same software that Apple, Dell, Best Buy and many other companies use with great success.

@Jetranger - Thanks for the positive feedback

Cheers.

[audacity]

Well, I started my first thread on Shaw's Community site just now. I'm curious how the mechanics of the forum will work out.

Originally Posted by shawsean

We've never believed in censorship and always stressed transparent communication

I was feeling particularly irreverent a couple days ago and was about to make a "how-to" post for the Shaw Community "Internet" forum on how to leverage Shaw's wonderful internet service in conjunction with free OTA signals so that people could "cut the cord" and save money on their monthly cable bill. As far as I can tell this wouldn't violate any of the "House Rules". If I were to make such a "how to" post, how long to you expect it would survive on Shaw's Community Site?

BTW, that is what stopped me from doing it, I didn't want to put a couple hours into a detailed/informative post and then have it purged right away by a admin.

If you say that there is no problem with such a "how to" post, let me know and I'll go ahead and make it.