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Personal Experience of Time Tracking for Technical Documentation
Conferences or webinars devoted to discussing technical documentation are held on a regular occasion. However, there is still a gap in the discussion for debating the specific problem of estimating and tracking efforts for technical writing projects. Why? Unlike time and effort tracking for programmers, testing engineers and other software developers it is particularly technical writer’s effort tracking that provokes this debate. Let’s find out why.
Managing documentation development projects
Sooner or later the range of software products and product versions the company develops becomes so large that all changes and updates cannot be annotated by software engineers themselves. Technical writers provide full documentary support to new products and update releases, whilst continuing to support old versions.
Technical documentation projects are managed very differently from company to company, but in most cases the general consensus of project management in this case runs like so. The product owner or project manager sends a request of documentation to the head of development, whose role is to control and manage software engineers assigned to the products or projects.
Why is it so difficult to track efforts of technical writes
Technical writers often act as part of the development team as well. So, is there any difference in estimating and tracking the efforts of software engineers and technical writers? Yes, and the main difference is that technical writers are rarely assigned to only work on a single product at one time. It is usual for the documentation to be produced for several products at once according to their release schedules. While all products are managed by different product owners, the documentation may be requested at any development stage, during product testing or even a few months after the product has been launched. So the timeframe and workload expected of the technical writer to produce quality documentation may differ accordingly. If the product is on the early development stage, you may need more consultations with the product owners and subject matter experts (SME), more reviews and further document amendments. An example of this could be when the final UI design may vary from the earliest decision, and you need to update product screenshots before the final release date.
It is beside the fact that tasks always come from different departments and a different set of managers, some managers even fail to include documentation of the development stage into the project plan. This often makes it difficult, even if they do include the documentation they often forget to put in a timeframe for evaluation and verification for completed work. It is then down to the technical writers to handle this problem as well, this may often lead to rushing projects and working overtime.
The difficulty of documentation development very often does not correspond with how many technical writers you have at your disposal in your company. If you have more than two writers, the hope is that all tasks arrive on their manager’s desk. Life of a writer then becomes a lot simpler, but life of their team leader becomes harder, this is the only difference.
How to clear up tracking and counting the efforts of technical writers? (our experience)
Believe it or not, it’s actually very easy. I’d like to share our experiences on how we overcame these issues. We recently decided as a company to evolve by using our corporate simple project management software solution, Actionspace. This now allows us to manage technical writing projects more efficiently.
Assigning tasks and time planning
Imagine you have two technical writers, their team leader and several product owners in your company. When a request for the documentation comes from any of the product owners, the team leader enters Actionspace via any web browser from the PC, laptop, tablet or phone. In just a few simple clicks, the task for producing a set of documentation can be created; a deadline can also be set, attaching files and providing a link to the feature request in the Team Foundation Server (TFS) or any other version control solution your company uses. Using the ‘To’ field the team leader can select the name of the technical writer they would like to assign to this task. Within the ‘CC’ field the name of the manager who requested the documentation can be indicated, and in the field ‘Planned Time’ he can enter the number of hours allocated to this job.
If the task includes producing a set of documents, it could be split and allocated between several technical writers, each writer assigned to certain set of documents. In addition to this you can also specify effort estimations for each subtask. The job will only be considered as completed when all the documents in the set are created and the corresponding subtasks in Actionspace are marked as completed.
Pic.1 Assigning several writers to the project
Working on tasks and time tracking
The technical writer receives an email notification about a new task, enters Actionspace; from here they can review the task, evaluate the scheduled deadline and time estimations. If there is enough information to start working on the document, the writer accepts the task which triggers the task status to change to ‘In Work’, which allows the manager to see its progress and assure that the writer has started the work. Furthermore, the technical writer can inform the manager about issues with the task or delegate the task to a colleague. At the end of each working day, the technical writer reports actual hours spent on the task in the specified area and all of this data is automatically stored in the system.
If a technical writer has any questions, these can be added as comments; from here the team leader will be notified by email. The technical writer can also send tasks to the team leader or the product owner. For example, the writer can allocate the time for document reviews and evaluation, ask for help in installing a new software or even ask to be introduced to the product they are tasked to annotate.
Progress tracking and issue control
The technical writer together with their team leader can view all planned tasks in the Actionspace calendar and schedule work based on certain dates. Prior to the scheduled date, the system will automatically send a reminder to the employee concerned. In addition, the team leader can continually track progress of the developing documents, add comments or extra files. The product owner can also track the task progress.
When all the documents are created, the technical writer logs the actual time of the completed task. The team leader receives an email notification and an in-system notice about the task completion; from here, they can check up the actual efforts.
Pic.2 Progress tracking via dashboard
Reporting and performance evaluation
When it is time to count labor costs and efforts (for example, to calculate employee bonuses) the technical writers’ team leader simply enters Actionspace and generates a report. This process will include start dates and end dates, as well as estimated and actual time for all projects in the chosen period. With filters, the team leader can generate a report on all employees, a specific employee, on one or all of the projects, over a specific period and on one or all of the tasks allocated.
Pic.3 Employee performance reports
Generated reports can then be exported to a Microsoft Excel format and forwarded to upper management for further use.
What results we received
Actionspace’s simple tools have enabled our managers to avoid the monthly manual routine of counting technical writers’ efforts on all active projects. This in turn helps to evaluate employees’ performance and compare time spent on projects.
From our experience, to help satisfy all needs and improve effectiveness of technical writing projects the solution should be easy to use. However, it must also have features robust enough to create tasks, set deadlines and responsibilities, plan and track time and efforts, and generate performance-related reports. The solution should not be too expensive and, preferably, it should be web-based to allow for remote working. A working example of this is the online web-access to Actionspace that has allowed us to use it for geographically distributed projects. Team members can be connected in different local offices, even home offices, and the team leader manages the process from our headquarter. This is a very efficient way of working.
In summary, the proposed approach to tracking time and efforts of a technical writer may not be ideal; however, it has already significantly helped us to streamline the development of software product documentation. It helps us to remember to allocate time for document review and evaluation, and to arrange more effective collaboration within geographically dispersed teams of product owners and technical writers located in different offices.
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Guitar Hero Live lands on iOS with a new mobile instrument bundle
From 9to5Toys.com:
Guitar Hero Live has hit iOS today in what is being billed as essentially a full-on port of the console game. The highly-anticipated virtual band title also launched on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this morning. Activision has opted for an in-app purchase model for this title. The iOS version is available for free to download, but only includes two songs. If you’re after the full catalog, you’ll have to purchase the full game or grab the new iOS bundle that includes a guitar controller.
It’ll take a $49.99 in-app purchase to secure all the songs available on Guitar Hero Live for iOS. The guitar bundle can be had for $99.99 at T-Mobile (or with monthly financing, if that’s your thing). It includes a six-button Bluetooth LE guitar, strap and everything needed to redeem your music within the app.
The new Guitar Hero Live for iOS comes with single and multiplayer modes. There are over 200 songs available today, all of which are playable via touch controls or the add-on guitar. Guitar Hero Live’s add-on hardware is compatible with Lightning-capable iOS devices.
Be sure to head over to 9to5Toys for the latest iOS deals and freebies each day.
Source: Touch Arcade
Filed under: Apps, iOS Tagged: app, Console Game, Guitar Hero Live, iOS, New Release
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What’s Your Project Management Style?
Everyone has a different approach to any job, and project management is no exception. There are a variety of ways to get things done, and all of them are correct provided you’re consistent. If you’re looking to strengthen your skills and boost your consistency, it helps to determine exactly what kind of project manager you are. You’ll be able to perfect your approach and better explain your personal style in future interviews.
Authoritative
Authoritative managers sit in the most comfortable chair, but are happy to listen to their teams. These managers possess the most knowledge, and will gladly inform their teams about the complexities of a project. They naturally command respect, and team members are glad to give it to them.
Democratic
Democratic managers are the best with empowerment. They recognize the strengths of their individual team members, and tend to trust their judgment when it comes to the area of their personal specialties. While a democratic manager will gladly hold everyone together, they also offer a greater amount of freedom to their team members, who are generally motivated by the trust placed in them.
Coercive
Coercive managers are very tough, and some heads may bump together. This management style works best with inexperienced teams who are otherwise unsure of what their expectations are. These managers allow the least amount of freedom, instead driving the project to completion according to their own immovable vision.
Affiliative
Affiliative managers are essentially phantoms. These managers deliver clear instructions and check in occasionally, allowing their teams to work at their desired pace. For projects that don’t have stiff deadlines with team members who have already proven their mastery of their abilities, these managers are essentially the glue that holds everyone together, however loosely that may be.
Pace-Setter
Pace-setters are essentially human stopwatches. This type of manager focuses specifically on the completion of work as it relates to a desired timeline, and the most important thing is that the work is done. When working on a complicated project, pace-setters tend to favor speed over quality. With simple projects that don’t involve many intricacies, a pace-setter does a good job of keeping everyone on track.
The Best Style
No style is the best style overall. Different projects may require different approaches, and some styles work better than others. Shifting styles constantly is not a viable option, because your team requires you to be thorough and consistent. If you’re coercive one day and affiliative the next day, you’ll drive everyone crazy. You need to create a balance that will translate well across the board.
Conclusion
The most important aspect of how you run a project should not be your style, but how your style pairs with who you are as a leader. Every leader should be encouraging, motivating, and fair. A good leader will never make their employees feel confused or suffocated. Whatever your style may be, placing it into the context that you’re a reliable leader that your team will easily be happy to follow is always the best strategy.
You also need to consider the nature of the jobs you’ll be working on. If you’re coming in to manage a team who has already established am exemplary success record, you can’t treat them the same way that you’d treat a band of first-timers who are still learning the ins and outs of their job. Your style may need to evolve over time as you get to know your team better, and they’ve gained more experience in their roles.
What’s your project management style? Are you consistent with your team, or do you bounce around?
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: iPad Air 2 64GB $490, Seagate 4TB Portable HDD $150, Dell 34″ Curved Monitor $650, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Get a 64GB Wi-Fi iPad Air 2 for less than Apple charges for 16GB: $490 shipped (Reg. $599)
Seagate 4TB Portable USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $150 shipped
21:9 Displays: Dell UltraSharp 34″ Curved $650, LG 34″ Curved $720, more
Save $20 on select Kindle e-Readers, deals start at just $59 with free shipping
Gold is Best: This one-off Macintosh is a must see with its walnut enclosure and shiny keyboard
More new gear from today:
Games/Apps: PS4 Nathan Drake bundle w/ Guitar Hero Live $399, The Witcher 3 $32, R.B.I. Baseball 15 $2, freebies, more
- Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-inch Solid-State Drive: $144 shipped (Reg. $164+)
- Daily Deals: RAVPower 3-Port 26,800mAh Power Bank $40, Denon HEOS 5 Wireless Speaker $199, more
- Media: Peanuts Holiday Collection HD Download $5 ($60 value), Spider-Man Blu-ray Trilogy $14, more
- Networking: TP-Link AV1200 Powerline Kit $53 (Reg. $80), Linksys 802.11n Wireless Extender $30 (Reg. $36)
- 2.1-Ch. Home Audio: LG Soundbar 120W (refurb) $65 (Orig. $149), Harman Kardon 200W $120 (Orig. $200)
- Acer Chromebook w/ full HD display 1.50GHz/4GB/16GB SSD: $249 shipped (Reg. $279)
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Headphones + Blue Yeti Blackout USB Mic $200 shipped ($300+ value) wp.me/p1xTlR-IvN https://t.co/O9BBlDKAbh
—
9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 20, 2015
More deals still alive:
Ticket To Ride goes free on iPhone for the first time in years (Reg. $2)
- Jawbone UP Move Splash-Proof Bluetooth 4.0 Activity Tracker: $20 w/ in-store pickup (Reg. $50)
- Display your iPhone 6/s w/ this Mpow Car Air Vent Mount $5 shipped (Reg. $9)
- Save on apps, games, movies and more: $100 iTunes Gift Card for $90 shipped
- OtterBox SYMMETRY Series iPhone 6/6s Case $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $40)
- Aukey 3-in-1 clip-on smartphone camera lens kit $10 Prime shipped (Reg. $16)
- The original Bluetooth-enabled August Smart Lock drops to $199 (Orig. $250)
- App Store Free App of the Week: Sky Gamblers Air Supremacy
- Apple’s new 4K & 5K iMacs already seeing the first price cuts and tax-free options
- Apple is dishing out free downloads of the award-winning puzzle game Shadowmatic
- HGST Touro 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive $40 shipped (Orig. $69)
- Amazon slashes prices on Levi’s jeans for Men, Women and Boys
- Griffin Technology merch credit 50% off
- Adjustable iPad mount for $17 Prime shipped (Orig. $30)
- D-Link PowerLine AV+ Network Extender Mini Adapter Kit $20 shipped (Reg. $35), more
- Aukey adjustable wireless selfie stick w/ Bluetooth $6 Prime shipped (Reg. $11+)
- RuggedTec FlashBang mountable Bluetooth Speaker/Flashlight: $28 shipped (Orig. $79)
- Sony SRSX3 Portable Bluetooth/NFC Speaker: $60 shipped (Orig. $140)
New products & more:
This mini Segway hopes to take-off with its affordable price tag and compact design
You’ll have to hurry to grab one of these limited edition Fallout 4 Xbox One controllers
- Waylens is the iOS-connected dashboard camera you’ve been waiting for
- It took about 500,000 LEGO bricks to put this life-size Batmobile together
- These futuristic looking headphones could be straight out of the Transformers movie series
- Amazon and Toys R Us give a peek at this year’s must-have holiday gifts
- NBA 2K16 hits iOS and Android with new gameplay, controls and updated graphics
- Minecraft: Story Mode launches on iOS and Android with a new multi-episode campaign mode
- Electric Jukebox doesn’t want to be Spotify or Chromecast, so what is it?
Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Best Buy, curved, Daily Deals, Dell UltraWide Monitor, free apps, Gold Box, iPad Air 2, Seagate Portable Hard Drive, video games
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Apple Pay gains over 70 new bank and credit union partners in the US
Apple Pay is picking up a huge wave of newly added banks and credit unions across the United States to support the mobile payment service. Following a couple dozen more banks lighting up earlier this month, Apple has added over 70 additional participating banks to its list of active partners including HSBC in the US. These are the latest banks that now work with Apple Pay:
Achieva Credit Union
Alcoa Pittsburgh Federal Credit Union
Alliance Credit Union
AmeriServ Financial Bank
APCO Employees Credit Union
Bank of American Fork
Bridgewater Savings Bank
Community Bank & Trust
Cross Keys Bank
Directions Credit Unio
Eagle Bank
East Texas Professional Credit Union
Eastman Credit Union
Eaton Family Credit Union
FedEx Employees Credit Association
First Bank of Newton
First National Bank of Granbury
First Northern Credit Union
First State Bank of Colorado
First United Bank
First Western Trust
Fleur de Lis Federal Credit Union
Generations Federal Credit Union
Guaranty Bank Trust
Hastings City Bank
Haven Savings Bank
Heartland Bank
Heritage First Bank
HomeTown Bank
HSBC
IH Credit Union
Impact Bank
Jeanne D’ Arc Credit Union
Johnson Bank
Kennebec Savings Bank
LBS Financial Credit Union
Lewiston State Bank
MainStreet Bank
Marlborough Savings Bank
Marquette Savings Bank
MAX Credit Union
Members First Credit Union of Florida
Merco Credit Union
Miami Postal Service Credit Union
Monson Savings Bank
Ocean Communities Federal Credit Union
OceanFirst Bank
Omni Community Credit Union
One Bank & Trust
P1FCU
PeoplesChoice Credit Union
Perfect Circle Credit Union
Phenix-Girard Bank
Planters Bank & Trust Company
Point West Credit Union
Public Service Credit Union
Quest Federal Credit Union
Red Crown Federal Credit Union
Semiconductor of Maine Federal Credit Union
Service 1st Credit Union
SIU Credit Union
Solarity Credit Union
Solidarity Community Federal Credit Union
Sterling Bank & Trust
Team One Credit Union
Texas Dow Employees Credit Union
The Park Bank
TMG Financial Services
Velocity Community Federal Credit Union
Western Rockies Federal Credit Union
Whitney Bank
York County Federal Credit Union
That massive wave of new partners comes just as signs that Apple Pay in Canada is getting ready to launch. Just a week ago TD Canada shared on its website that Apple Pay is coming soon. That detail comes after 9to5Mac and others have reported that Apple is targeting Apple Pay in Canada for this year. China has also been a clear target for Apple Pay launching. Apple Pay is currently limited to the US and UK, which joined this summer.
Adding new partners in groups ranging from a dozen to nearly a hundred certainly helps Apple’s claim that its mobile payment service is continuing to see double-digit growth each month.
Apple Pay supports contactless payments in stores using iPhone 6 and later as well as Apple Watch which works with iPhone 5 or later. Apple Pay also supports purchases in apps on iPhone 6 or later as well as iPads with Touch ID. Starting with the recent iOS 9 software update, Apple Pay added support for Discover cards, retail cards, and loyalty cards. Passbook, where Apple Pay lives on iOS, gained a new app icon and name, Wallet, to reflect the change.
Filed under: Apple Pay Tagged: Apple pay, Apple Pay banks, Apple watch, banks, credit unions, HSBC, iPhone 6, mobile payments
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How to Create Useful Content: 12 Steps to Follow Every Time [Infographic]
Gearing up to create your next piece of marketing content? If you want it to stand out from the rest of the noise on the internet, you have to be focused on producing something both delightful and engaging.
That said, there’s some planning to be done before you jump right in. What’s the purpose of this piece? Where can you fit in credible data and examples? Who’s gonna edit it once you’ve written — and rewritten — your draft? How do you plan to spread the word about it so, you know, people actually read it? You need a strategy.
To provide you with a process, check out the infographic below from Ann Handley and Visually. They’ve stolen valuable tips from Handley’s latest book, Everybody Writes, on everything from planning to publishing. (And check out our content creation kit to learn how to create powerful content in more detail.)
How To Maximize Change Management Success
How To Maximize Change Management Success
By Daniel Lock
Managing a change initiative through to a successful conclusion is fraught with pitfalls. Here are three key change management techniques that help make the road to your desired conclusion far easier to navigate.
Leverage the power of rational self interest
At a key level, corporate business and change management are […]
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Opinion: As a $1B business, Apple Music appears to be off to an impressive start
The big question mark over Apple Music has been how many customers would choose to try it out, and – crucially – how many of them would be willing to pay for the service once the free trial ended. Tim Cook answered both questions yesterday, revealing that the service currently has 15M subscribers, of whom 6.5M are paying customers.
There are still plenty of unknowns, of course. We don’t know the split between individual and family subscriptions, and we don’t know how subscribers map out across the countries – both of which we’d need to know to accurately calculate how much Apple is earning from the service.
But if we do a back-of-an-envelope guesstimate and say that the split between solo and family accounts reaches 50/50 and that the costlier countries like those in Europe cancel out the cheaper ones like India, then a monthly subscription of $12.50 times 6.5M customers gives us $81M a month. Multiply that by 12 months, and we can say that Apple Music is likely to be bringing in somewhere around a billion dollars a year …
That’s a small business in Apple terms, of course. But not a totally insignificant one. Again, let’s do some approximations …
Apple unfortunately doesn’t disclose its revenue from music sales – it tucks that number away inside the $20B a year business called ‘Services,’ which includes all other iTunes sales (apps, movies, etc) as well as Apple Pay, AppleCare and a bunch of other miscellany.
But I very much doubt that music downloads amount for more than half of that revenue – and probably substantially less. So at best, music downloads are worth $10B a year. Already, streaming music is worth 10% of that. That’s a very impressive start.
And it is just the start. The relative trajectories – music downloads falling while streaming music grows – has been a visible trend for years now. Billboard suggested a couple of years ago that 2012 may have been ‘peak iTunes‘ – a theory supported by later numbers.
Apple Music will of course be significantly accelerating that trend. I know that I haven’t bought a single track since I signed up to Apple Music – I’ve merely used the ‘Add to my music’ option to add streamed albums and playlists to my music library without purchasing it. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. So that ~$10B will be falling even as I write.
It doesn’t take too much imagination to see a point – some years down the road – when Apple Music subscriptions will exceed revenue from iTunes downloads.
Ok, so Apple Music is doing well at a time when streaming music is taking off, but how well is Apple doing against the competition? Again, I suggest the answer is: rather well.
Let’s compare Apple Music to the streaming music market leader, Spotify. Sure, Spotify currently has over 20M paid subscribers – three times as many as Apple – but it’s taken the company seven years to get there.
Spotify took almost four years to hit 4M paid subscribers; Apple comfortably beat that in as many months.
We do, of course, need to throw in a few provisos. Apple has, after all, taken just a single monthly payment so far, and I’m already extrapolating that to full-year revenues.
The biggest unknown is how many free trialists simply forgot to cancel their subscription before Apple started charging them. Personally, I’m organized about these things. Any time I sign up to a free trial, I immediately add a note to Calendar a few days before the first payment is due. That alerts me to make a decision so that I have time to cancel if I don’t want to pay. But not everyone is that organized: there will undoubtedly be a bunch of people who saw that first payment leave their account, muttered something under their breath and then cancelled.
But this has been a high-profile launch, with a well-advertised three-month trial. I think the vast majority of people will have decided long before the trial ended whether or not it was worthwhile.
I wasn’t an easy convert for Apple. I have a relatively large library of my own music, and I was happy with Spotify. My first impressions of Apple Music weren’t great – though they had improved somewhat within the first week of use. But by the time I needed to make a decision, I was sold.
From our poll at that time, I was far from alone: more than half of you, some 58%, had decided to hand over the cash.
And remember that there is one crucial difference between Apple Music and Spotify: with Apple Music, you don’t have the option of remaining a free subscriber for longer than three months. So the 8.5M people who are still trialling Apple Music have yet to reach the deadline. Given that all the evidence so far is that a significant chunk of trialists opt to stay on as paid subscribers, Apple is going to end up with way more than 6.5M customers in the course of the next month or two.
Cook said yesterday that he was “really happy about it, and I think the runway here is really good.” It’s hard to disagree with that assessment.
Filed under: AAPL Company, Apple Music Tagged: Apple, Apple Music, iTunes, Music, streaming, subscriptions, Tim Cook
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PSA: Beware 1Password web features can leak your browsing history, may show up in Google search
AgileBits has promised to beef up the security of 1Password after a Microsoft software engineer discovered that details of which websites you visit are unencrypted and indexed by Google if you use the 1PasswordAnywhere feature. Dale Myers said that he discovered this by chance after a sync problem led him to investigate the files used to store the metadata.
It turns out that your metadata isn’t encrypted [allowing someone to] go through and find out exactly what shady sites I have accounts on, what software I have licences for, the bank card and accounts I hold, the titles of any secure notes I have, any anything else I’ve decided to store in there.
While passwords remain secure, privacy is placed at risk and the data obtained could, says Myers, be used in a phishing attempt.
Thanks to people having links for easy access to their keychain on their websites, Google has indexed some of these. A simple search brings up results. By looking at one of these it was a simple matter to identify the owner of the keychain and where he lived. I know what his job is. I even know the names of his wife and children. If I was malicious, it would be easy to convince someone that I had compromised their account and had access to all of their credentials.
AgileBits said that the decision not to encrypt metadata was taken back in 2008, when decryption on mobile devices involved significant performance and battery-drain issues, and that it introduced a secure file format in 2012, but that it didn’t want to break compatibility with older versions by making that format the default.
The company said that work on making the secure file format the default was already in hand.
We’ve already started making changes to use OPVault as the default format. In fact, the latest beta of 1Password for Windows does this already. Similar changes are coming to Mac and iOS soon, and we’re planning on using the new format in Android in the future. Once all of these things are complete, we will add an automatic migration for all 1Password users.
For those who don’t want to wait, the company has posted instructions for manually migrating to the new format.
The 1Password iOS app was updated last month with a new design, new password-generation features and iOS 9 features. If you’re not yet using a password manager, check out our how-to guide.
Via Engadget
Filed under: Apps Tagged: 1Password, 1Password iOS app, 1Password Mac app, 1Password vulnerability, Encryption
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High battery usage by iOS Facebook app may be due to background audio usage; company promising a fix
Facebook has told Gizmodo that it is working on a fix after complaints that its iOS app is continuing to account for high battery usage even when the app is supposed to be sleeping.
We’re looking into this and hope to have a fix in place soon.
The company responded after a Medium post by product developer Matt Galligan, who noted that the app was continuing to draw significant amounts of power despite having background app refresh disabled. Others then chipped in on the issue, prompting Facebook’s response.
It had been suggested that the high battery drain might be due to the Facebook app continuing to use Location Services in the background, but the company told Motherboard‘s Jordan Pearson that this is not the case.
A Facebook spokesperson emailed over the weekend to say that the battery drain issue “is not caused by improper background location collection,” and that the team continues to investigate the issue. “We are not collecting background location on iOS unless Location Access is set to Always on your device and you have enabled Location History in the Facebook app.”
Federico Viticci over at MacStories noted that the app had been showing high levels of background audio usage, even with background app refresh off, linking to others who had spotted the same thing.
On my girlfriend’s iPhone, for instance, iOS 9 reports 5 hours of on-screen usage for the last 7 days, and another 11 hours of background audio usage with Background App Refresh turned off.
My guess is that Facebook is hijacking audio sessions on iOS by keeping silent audio in the background whenever a video plays in the app.
Facebook has not commented, beyond its confirmation that Location Services are not the culprit. The company recently updated the app to support 3D Touch Quick Actions for status updates and photos on the iPhone 6s/Plus.
Screengrab: MacObserver
Filed under: Apps Tagged: Facebook, Facebook app battery drain, Facebook app battery usage, Facebook iOS app, Facebook iPhone app, iOS, iPhone
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15 Google Doc Features You Didn’t Know Existed (But Totally Should)
A few years ago, as I was scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook News Feed, I came across an article that would change the way I ate ketchup forever.
It was a super short article by FoodBeast that showed how most people have been using those small paper ketchup cups completely wrong all our lives. Turns out you’re not supposed to use the cups as is, but rather, you’re supposed to fan out the sides of the cup to increase capacity, like this. (You think you know a ketchup cup, man.)
As a marketer, this got me thinking about what other tools we might be underutilizing. Sure, you may have been using Google Docs for years and years, but it’s likely that there are useful features that you’re yet to uncover. For example, did you know you can look at a document’s entire revision history to figure out what was changed and when?
There are a lot of sweet features Google Docs has to offer that aren’t on many people’s radar. Let’s uncover some of those features. Here are 15 of the most useful ones you’ll wish you knew about all along.
15 Hidden Features of Google Docs
1) Templates
Why start from scratch when you could use a template? Whether you’re using Google Docs to write your resume, draft a project proposal, craft a business letter, formalize meeting notes, or design a brochure, you can bet there’s a template for that. In fact, there are templates for almost all your business needs. And for every category, you’ll find multiple templates to choose from.
This feature isn’t exactly hidden, but it’s often overlooked. You’ll find all these templates at the top of your Google Doc homepage. Click More at the top right to browse through all the options.
2) Navigation Sidebar
Writing a long document with a lot of subsections that readers may want to jump to? The handy “Table of Contents” add-on automatically creates a navigation sidebar. Simply click through the headers and subheaders in the sidebar to easily jump from place to place in your document. It can be a little slow if your document’s really long, but it does the trick — and it’s still better than scrolling.
To find the add-on, click here or open your document and click Add-ons from the menu at the top of the page. Choose Get add-ons… and search for “Table of Contents.”
3) Clear Formatting
If you’ve ever pasted text into a Google Doc from another location, you’ve probably encountered formatting issues. It can happen for a variety of other reasons, too. Instead of editing that text manually to fit into the correct formatting, you can simply highlight the offending text and go to Format > Clear Formatting right in the toolbar. Boom: It’ll format the foreign text to fit with the rest of your document.
4) The Research Tool
The Research tool is a godsend for anyone writing something in Google Docs that requires online research. Why? It allows you to research and refer to information and images online without every having to leave the document. That means no more clicking back and forth endlessly between tabs.
You can open the Research tool on a computer in one of three ways:
- Open your document and open the Tools menu at the top of your screen, then click Research from the dropdown menu.
- Right-click on a specific word and select Research.
- Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Cmd + Shift + I (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt + Shift + I (PC).
Here’s what it looks like when I right-click the phrase “Welsh corgi” in my document:
When I choose “Research ‘Welsh Corgi,'” the Research tool appears on the right-hand side of my document. It looks like this:
When you first open the Research tool, it might show you topics related to what it thinks you’re working on based on what you’ve written already. You can either research those suggested topics by clicking on them, or you can type in your own search terms in the search bar.
You can also choose what type of content you want the tool to spit back when you search a term. Use the dropdown menu next to the search bar to see the different types of information for that topic.
Here’s what each type means, according to Google Support:
- Everything: Text and images related to your topic from any source.
- Images: Images related to your topic found on the web.
- Scholar: Educational information related to your topic that you can read, add to your file, or cite in a footnote.
- Quotes: Quotes related to your topic that you can add to your file.
- Dictionary: Definitions, synonyms, and antonyms related to your topic.
- Personal: Results from your personal documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and photos that you can open, cite, or link to from your file.
- Tables: Data presented in tables related to your topic that you can open, cite, or export.
Right now, the Research tool is only available on computers and Android mobile devices. (Learn how to use the tool on Android devices here.)
5) Suggesting Mode
While the capability to edit and make changes in a document is great, there are times when you only want to suggest changes — without actually making any. That’s where “Suggesting” mode in Google Docs comes in handy.
It works a lot like Comments in Microsoft Word. First, switch from “Editing” mode to “Suggesting” mode by clicking the pencil icon at the top right of an open document, and then choosing “Suggesting.”
From there, anything you add, delete, or otherwise change will show up as colored marks in the document, accompanied by details on the righthand side such as the name of the suggestor and a timestamp.
Image Credit: Google Support
6) Comments
If you want to ask questions about, make notes in, or highlight changes you’ve made in a Google Doc you’re working on, you can leave comments directly in the document. The comments can act as a conversation thread, as people can reply to them and carry on a conversation. You can close the comment thread when it’s done. You can also edit or delete your comments at any time, or others’ comments if you own the document.
To add a comment, highlight the text or image you’d like to comment on. Then, choose Insert from the menu at the top of your screen, and choose Comment from the dropdown menu.
From there, a blank comment will appear on the right-hand side of your screen.
Tag People in Comments
Want to comment on a document and get a specific person’s attention? You can do that by tagging them in your comment. All you have to do is add an @ or a + sign, and then begin typing their name or email address. Google Docs will give you a couple options based on your Gmail contacts, and once you’ve submitted the comment, it’ll notify that person you mentioned by sending them an email.
If that person doesn’t already have access to the document, you’ll be asked to choose permission levels for them.
7) Footnotes
Footnotes are quick and easy things to add to your Google Docs, but not many people know about them. To add a footnote, put the cursor in the part of the document you want the footnote to appear, and go to Insert > Footnote. From there, simply type in to your footnote whatever you’d like, and click onto the document to save it.
8) Revision History
Speaking of revising content … have you ever wanted to see all of the changes you (or someone else) made in a Google Doc? Better yet, have you ever wanted to go back in time and revert to an earlier version of your document? Thanks to the Revision History feature, you can. And it’s awesome.
All you have to do is open the document and go to File > View Revision History. A panel will appear on the right-hand side of your screen showing an overview of who made changes and when. For a more in-depth view of the changes that were made, click the detailed revisions button below the overview list.
9) Voice Typing
Have Google Chrome as your browser? Have a working microphone either built in to your device or connected externally? Then you can “type” in a Google Doc using just your voice. To indicate a punctuation mark, simply say the name of it out loud, like “period,” “comma,” “exclamation point,” or “question mark.” To begin a new line or a new paragraph, say “new line” or “new paragraph” out loud.
To get to voice typing, open a document and click Tools from the menu at the top of the page. Choose Voice typing… from the dropdown menu. When you’re ready to speak your text, click the microphone or press Cmd + Shift + S (on a Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + S (on a PC) to begin recording.
Want to voice type in Google Docs on your phone? Voice typing only works for computers, but many iOS and Android mobile devices have built-in microphones you can use with a document.
10) Keyboard Shortcuts
There’s something so satisfying about knowing the keyboard shortcuts for whatever application you’re using, and Google Docs has a ton of them to choose from. A lot of them are the same as in other applications, such as Cmd + C (Mac) or Ctrl + C (PC) to paste, or Cmd + B (Mac) or Ctrl + B (PC) to bold something. But it has a few unique ones, too. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Shift + T = Create a new document.
- Ctrl + Alt + M = Insert a comment.
- Alt + I (in Google Chrome) or Alt + Shift + I (in other browsers) = Open the “Insert” menu.
- Hold Ctrl + Alt, press N then H = Move to the next heading.
To display the list of commonly used shortcuts while you’re working in a document, press Cmd + / on a Mac, and Shift + / or Ctrl + / on Chrome OS or Windows. You can also just click the gear icon in the upper left hand corner of your screen and choose “Keyboard Shortcuts” from the dropdown menu.
11) Create Your Own Shortcuts
Google Docs may have a lot of shortcuts available to us, but what if we want to make a few of our very own? To create custom shortcuts, go to Tools > Preferences > Automatic Substition. You might find there are a few in there already (like changing 1/2 to ½), but feel free to add in some of your own.
12) Conference Calls
Google Docs is a collaborative platform — and the “UberConference” add-on makes it even more collaborative by letting you conduct an audio conference call right from the document. All you have to do is turn on the add-on and invite your friends or colleagues. When they accept, everyone will be able to view and edit the document while participating in a conference call.
To find the add-on, click here or open your document and click Add-ons from the menu at the top of the page. Choose Get add-ons… and search for “UberConference.”
13) Image Editing
Once you’ve inserted an image into your document, you can still edit it within the document. Click the image in your document, and the toolbar at the top will change to all the tools you can use to edit your image. Crop it, mask it, add borders to it … there are a lot of possibilities in there.
Below are two examples of great image editing tricks: cropping and adding a border. (And if you ever want to reset an image back to its original form, simply select the image and click the “Reset Image” icon in your toolbar.)
Cropping Tool
Select an image in your document and click the crop icon in your toolbar. From there, drag and drop the blue handles until you’ve cropped the image to your liking. To save it, click “Enter” on your keyboard or just click back into your document.
Borders
To add a black or colored border to any image, select the image and click the line color icon in your toolbar (which looks like a pencil). Select the color you want the border to be, and voilà! To save it, simply click off of the image.
14) Dictionary
Ever written a word and wanted to double-check you’re using it correctly? What about writing a word that you want to find a synonym for? Instead of opening up a new browser window, you can look up the definition for that word right inside your document — as well as get synonym suggestions.
All you have to do is highlight the word, right-click on it, and choose Define. The Research tool will look up the word on the internet for you, and its definition will appear on the right-hand side of your screen.
15) Language Accent Buttons
Gone are the days of memorizing accent shortcuts (and getting them wrong), opening up international keyboards and clicking keys manually, and copy/pasting from other documents. If you ever find yourself writing in a language other than English, the “Easy Accents” add-on could save you a lot of time. It lets you insert accents for 20 different languages directly from a sidebar in your document.
To find the add-on, click here or open your document and click Add-ons from the menu at the top of the page. Choose Get add-ons… and search for “Easy Accents.”
Have you tried any of these hidden Google Doc features? Share with us in the comments.
Are You a Good Fit for Native Advertising?
Almost overnight, native advertising has emerged as a viable revenue stream for leading media companies like Digiday, Forbes, Business Insider—the list goes on. But what about smaller, niche publishers? Is native advertising a numbers game, or is there value in helping advertisers reach a smaller, niche audience?
The answer is far from black and white and depends on the unique consideration of your audience and advertiser partners. You need to take a step back, evaluate your position in the market, and determine whether native fits into your core strategy. This process of analysis may surprise you: even if you’re a small publisher, native advertising may be the perfect way to build upon the value that you deliver.
Here’s Why Publishers of All Sizes Should Consider Native
Worried That Your Reach is Too Small?
For many brands and media companies, native advertising is a numbers game: the goal is to reach as many eyeballs as possible. You may think that as a small publisher, you’re unable to deliver the high view counts that advertisers expect to see. But there’s more to the story.
There are many publishers who are in your exact position. Why not sync up with them to create a unified native ad offering? You can share traffic across platforms, cross-promote your ads to one another’s mailing lists, and split ad revenues based on the proportional value that you’re delivering. You can also work together to keep costs down. There’s no reason why native should be limited to the big media players.
Think Native is Too Expensive for Your Advertisers?
Smaller publishers will often appeal to smaller advertisers who have limited budgets for top-of-funnel advertising. Sponsored posts are challenging to produce and can cost thousands of dollars as a result—much more than display ad placements. When your advertisers compare the two based on cost alone, display and native, they’re likely to shy away.
When it comes to native, however, cost is only part of the equation. The fact is that you can’t compare the two mediums, display and native, because they have very different use cases. Display is a megaphone-style technique for broadcasting a marketing message. Native, on the other hand, provides a platform for media companies and advertisers to converse with their audiences in-depth.
When communicating the value of native to your advertisers, prioritize quality over quantity. Native can be more expensive than other forms of advertising, but the quality of leads and clicks will be higher because audiences will be more engaged. With native, you appeal to human nature, not eyeballs.
Wondering Whether Audiences Will Pay Attention?
It’s no secret that digital audiences ignore anything that looks like an ad. Study after study shows the prevalence of banner blindness online: people are clicking away from marketing messaging, no matter how good it looks.
The bottom line is that people are on your website to browse your great content. The best way for your advertisers to make an impression, as a result, is to fit into that ecosystem. In the wake of ad-blockalypse, native advertising is one of the few formats that can still break through to readers—particularly on mobile where pop-up and display ads are even more obtrusive. Just take a look at the reasons why consumers ignore banner campaigns: often, the value proposition isn’t strong enough to strike an emotional chord.
Native is integrated into your website’s core browsing experience. It really is another article on your website and when executed well, is something that your audience will enjoy and even share.
Final Thoughts
By now, you have a stronger understanding of what the first paragraph of this blog post was hinting: every publisher can be a strong fit for native advertising.
If you’re not sure how to get started, talk to your advertisers and audience. Understand how these two groups’ interests align, and develop a native advertising program that is unique to your own media ecosystem. There’s always an opportunity to reach and engage your advertisers’ target audiences in engaging ways. Listen, learn, and help your sponsors create great content.
9 Instagram Tips and Tools for Marketers
Are you using Instagram for your business? Want to get more from your marketing efforts? Improving your Instagram content and boosting engagement can be as simple as adding a few tactics and tools to your marketing routine. In this article you’ll discover nine tips and tools to improve your Instagram marketing. #1: Tailor Images to […]
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8 Dos and Don’ts for Creating Effective Infographics [Free Ebook]
Data is everywhere around us, and yet, it is generally difficult for us to comprehend and remember isolated numbers.
When put into a story, however, data becomes much more relatable. (The human brain can process images 60,000 times faster than words.) For this reason, infographics have become increasingly popular among marketers around the world. But with this surge in usage, it’s important to make sure your infographic does the job it’s supposed to do: drive traffic, build awareness, and generate leads for your business.
HubSpot recently teamed up with infographic creation platform, Infogram, to create the ultimate guide to infographics for marketers: How to Start Generating Leads With Infographics. Below we’ve compiled some of the ebooks best tips for creating effective infographics to help your brand devise a strategy that resonates with your audience.
The Dos and Don’ts of Infographic Creation
1) DO: Keep it simple and to the point.
Try to break down your message into one, strong sentence. From here, you can use data to support what you’re trying to say. But remember: Less is more.
This simple chart tells a big story. Thanks to the contrasting colours, it easy for the reader to immediately understand just how scarce fresh water is. This is an approach you’ll want to make note of if you want your readers to focus on a specific data point.
2) DON’T: Try to say too much with one chart.
Poorly formatted, unorganised data won’t get you very far. To create more effective charts, stay focused on categories that help you make your point. Arrange the data from those categories in a way that is easy to grasp to avoid something that looks like this:
3) DO: Surprise the reader with an unexpected twist.
Have some unusual information on your hands? Use surprise as a means of increasing alertness and focus.
If you can make the reader question their previous beliefs, open their minds to new ideas, and then fill the gap with your information, you’ll find that it’s much easier to hold their attention. Check out the chart below for an example of how to present uncommon knowledge that may surprise the reader.
4) DON’T: Use boring titles that tell everything in the first sentence.
In the image below, the headline leaves nothing to the imagination. The main argument of this chart is known to most people. That said, why would they want to read more?
Instead, focus on creating an enticing headline that leads with the promise of new, valuable information.
5) DO: Use concrete visual metaphors.
Show data to support your point. Detailed, data-driven arguments convince the reader faster and are much more likely to be remembered, recognised, and shared.
The chart below visualises the job hunting process in a very clear way: 200 people apply for a job, seven people advance to the first stage, three get the chance to interview, and one gets hired. Thanks to the use of the human icons and color coding, it’s easy to understand this sequence with just a quick glance.
6) DON’T: Use weird formatting to visualise data.
Be careful with funky data visualization formats, as they’re not as easy to read as traditional formats.
While the following chart is certainly creative, we’d argue that a simple bar chart would convey the information in a way that makes more sense to everyone.
7) DO: Make your message believable.
Make your message believable by using customer quotes, testimonials, expert support, and of course, good data. The following quote from a happy customer serves as a great example of how social proof lends credibility to the infographic.
8) DON’T: Show dry numbers without context.
As we’ve mentioned before, good stories are emotional. In fact, it almost doesn’t matter what emotion your message arouses, as long as it makes them feel something.
Data can be used to start conversations and incite curiosity, when used correctly. However, the data in the following chart lacks both emotion and context. This leaves the reader wondering if the sales figures shown should be perceived in a positive or negative light.
An effective use of charts and infographics can dramatically improve the performance of your marketing content, as well as the persuasive character of your business presentations.
For more tips on how to leverage the power of infographics for your business, download How to Start Generating Leads With Infographics today.
How to Boost Your Influence Using Your LinkedIn Profile
Is your LinkedIn profile working for you? Want to build a presence that supports your company role? While many people think of LinkedIn as a place only for jobseekers, salespeople and recruiters, LinkedIn can help employees build a influence around any business role. In this article you’ll discover three ways to build a LinkedIn presence […]
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Popular Ultimate Ears (UE) Bluetooth speakers get new ‘Block Party’ sharing feature
We’re big fans of the Ultimate Ears lineup of speakers from the $89 Roll (review), to the $199 Boom 2 (review) and the huge $299 Megaboom (review). Today the company announced a new firmware and software update feature which allows multiple iPhones and Android apps to share music on one speaker or a set of paired speakers. Called ‘Block Party”, it seems like a great way to let party goers share their music on one device. I’ve had a working speaker and apps for about 24 hours and the feature seems to work in a simulated environment (hard to get a party going on a Monday afternoon).
Losing control of your speaker seems like the only downside to this new feature from Ultimate Ears which will roll out on 3 of their devices today. Press release follows:
Ultimate Ears Continues to Unlock New Experiences for Music Fans
UE Introduces Block Party: A New Way to Make Music Social
NEWARK, Calif. — Oct. 20, 2015 — Today Ultimate Ears has once again reinvented what a great speaker really can be by making its award-winning lineup of 360-degree speakers even more awesome with the introduction of Block Party for UE BOOM 2, UE ROLLand UE MEGABOOM. This new feature gives music fans a new way to share and experience music.
Through any UE app, the Block Party feature lets three friends connect to a single UE BOOM 2, UE ROLL or UE MEGABOOM and use your favorite music services to share songs through the same speaker. Music fans are now in control like never before, with the power to channel their inner DJ by controlling the playlist and discovering new music all night long.
“We live in a world with multiple music services and devices,” said Rory Dooley, general manager of Ultimate Ears. “With Block Party, we’ve made it as simple and as easy as possible for you to share your music. Through the app, we make our already awesome speakers better over time as we continue to unlock more ways for you to get the most from your speaker, from Double Up to Tap Controls and now, Block Party.”
Plus, today’s app enhancement brings the much-loved UE BOOM 2 Tap Controls feature to UE MEGABOOM, so you can leave your phone in your pocket and play, pause and skip songs directly through your UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM, simply by tapping the top of the speaker.
The latest ground-breaking capabilities of the UE speakers build upon what the app already provides, including the ability to wake up in the morning to your favorite music through the alarm clock, custom-tune your speaker using the five-band equalizer, remotely turn on and off the speaker and pair multiple UE speakers through Double Up.
Pricing and Availability
Block Party is an app and speaker enhancement and is available on UE BOOM 2, UE ROLL and UE MEGABOOM through the UE BOOM, UE ROLL and UE MEGABOOM apps. Tap Controls is an app enhancement available on UE BOOM 2 and UE MEGABOOM through the UE BOOM and UE MEGABOOM apps. The app enhancement is expected to be available through the iOS® and Android™ app stores on October 20. For more information, please visit www.ultimateears.com.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Block party, UE, Ultimate Ears
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Tim Cook says new Apple TV coming next week, reveals 6.5m paying Apple Music subscribers
As expected, Tim Cook today took the stage at the Wall Street Journal Digital Live conference for an interview. During his time on stage, Cook discussed a variety of topics, ranging from iPhone to Apple Watch and to Apple Music. The main points are below:
- New Apple TV available next Monday, Oct. 26, shipping later that week
- 6.5 million paying Apple Music customers, 15 million total subscribers
- A focus on CarPlay in the short-term, but the car industry is at an “inflection point for massive change”
First up, Cook was asked about Apple Watch sales. Apple has notoriously not officially offered up any sales numbers when it comes to the device, and when asked if it ever would, Cook said he doesn’t plan on it, saying the numbers would help competitors:
“We are not announcing the numbers. This is competitive information,” Cook said. “I don’t want to help the competition. We shipped a lot the first quarter, then last quarter we shipped even more. I can predict this quarter we will ship even more.”
Regarding the future of Apple Watch, Cook said that perhaps the biggest area of growth for the device is the health aspect. “People love the health and fitness aspect of Watch,” Cook explained. “That’s certainly been true for me. The health aspect of the watch has a long product road map ahead of it.”
More interestingly, Cook was asked if there would ever be a Watch that doesn’t have to be connected to an iPhone. In his typical fashion, however, Cook only said, “I don’t want to tell you that.”
Regarding the iPhone, Cook was asked how Apple can speed up its innovation and if it feels like it needs to move away from the “S” release cycle. Cook responded, however, by saying the iPhone 6s has just as many innovations as the iPhone 6 did and that Apple feels pressure to innovate every year.
The interview then shifted focus to Apple Music. Cook announced that Apple Music has 6.5 million paying customers, a far cry from the 20 million Spotify has. Nevertheless, Cook said that people love the human curation aspect of the platform. For himself, Cook said that he was in a rut, listening to the same songs over and over before Apple Music was launched.
Next up, Cook discussed Apple TV. Most notably, the Apple executive revealed that the fourth-generation model will be available next week. Orders will start on Monday with the device shipping later that week. Cook called the current TV industry “terrible and broken” and explained that it has to be “brought up and modernized.” He went on to say that “the starting gun has been fired,” thanks to Apple.
The Apple executive was then asked about cars, a market that the company is rumored to be entering before the end of the decade. Cook didn’t delve into too much detail, however, and rather focused on Apple’s existing CarPlay platform.
“When I look at the automobile, what I see is that software becomes an increasingly important part of the car of the future. You see that autonomous driving becomes much more important. It seems like there will be massive change in that industry. We want people to have an iPhone experience in their car. We look at a lot of things. Our model is to reduce that list to a few. We will see what we do in the future. I do think that industry is at an inflection point for massive change, not just evolutionary change.”
Cook was then asked about privacy and Apple’s relationship with the government. Cook explained that Apple will not make trade-offs in customer experience to save costs when it comes to privacy. He also noted, however, that Apple’s strong commitment to privacy holds it back when it comes to features like predicting locations and analyzing photos.
“We are not making a trade-off with customer experience. Our view is that you can have both. We think encryption is a must in today’s world. No back door is a must. You can’t have a backdoor that’s only for the good guys. Any backdoor is a door bad guys can exploit. No one should have to decide privacy or security. We should be smart enough to do both.”
Cook and the interviewer, Gerard Baker, then got into a debate over the possibility of a backdoor being a way to stop all crime. Baker argued that should there be a backdoor, crime would be greatly reduced. Cook, on the other hand, wasn’t buying it and defended his position that there is no reason for a backdoor. “If there was a way to expose only ‘bad’ people … that would be a great thing. But this is not the world,” said Cook. Baker even referenced 9/11, saying that had the FBI been able to construct a panopticon with total access to all information, it very well could have been prevented.
The final topic of the night was centered around Apple’s role in the public life. Cook explained the company’s role in the environment, human rights issues, education, and more. One reason Cook cited for wanting to take a role in public issue is that “government isn’t working well.”
“We’re a global company, so I think we have a responsibility to be a great global citizen. Each generation struggles with treating people with basic, proper human respect. It’s so bizarre, I think. I’ve seen this growing up. I’ve seen in today. I’d love to help be able to push the ball over the line. Because I think the world would be so much a better place if we just treated people well and treated them with basic human respect. We want to give back. Our culture is to leave the world better than we found it.”
Cook cited Steve Jobs as his main inspiration for wanting to improve public life.
“Steve formed Apple to change the world. This was his vision. He wanted to give technology down to everyone and empower everyone to use it. He wanted to take it out of the glass house, the corporations, the rich people that had the technology. That is still our drive.”
The WSJ then asked a somewhat bizarre question about whether Apple’s efforts to appeal to the mass market and take a stand on social issues would drive away some of its customers. Cook, however, said that that’s not a worry for Apple.
“If we piss a few people off, at least they’ll say, they made a great product, and I may not agree with this or that, but I respect that they’re trying to leave the world better than they found it. At least, that’s what I hope they’ll say.”
Filed under: AAPL Company, Apple TV Tagged: Apple, Apple TV, interview, privacy, Tim Cook
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Tim Cook joins Council for Sustainable Urbanization to fight climate change in China
The Paulson Institute today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook is joining its CEO Council for Sustainable Urbanization, run in conjunction with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. The Council for Sustainable Urbanization was initially formed nearly a year ago and includes 17 CEOs from various companies around the world.
The main effort of the CEO Council is to advance China’s green transformation and to help the country hit all of its climate goals. In a statement, Cook reiterated Apple’s ongoing goal to run its global operations on 100 percent renewable energy:
“Apple is committed to running our global operations on 100 percent renewable energy and we’re working hard to reduce emissions throughout our global supply chain. We look forward to participating in the CEO Council’s effort to advance China’s green transformation and hope to do our part in helping China reach its climate goals.”
Other notable figures on the CEO Council include IBM CEO Virginia Rometty, Alibaba chairman Jack Ma Yun, Walmart CEO Dough McMillion, GM CEO Mary Barra, and Honeywell CEO David Cote.
The CEO Council will hold its second annual meeting in Beijing on October 22nd and it’s likely that Cook will be in attendance. This year’s goals include focusing on projects to scale clean energy technologies in China. The meeting later this week will allow for all of the members to discuss ways to advance that project in a timely manner.
Earlier this year, Tim Cook and Lisa Jackson attended President Obama’s Chinese State Dinner, sitting at the President’s table with other tech heads like Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, and Bob Iger. Climate change and America’s efforts to help China were hot topics at the dinner, likely lending hand to Cook joining the CEO Council today.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, china, environment, Tim Cook
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