Calling all e-consultants...

We are creating a viral marketing device - some sort of quiz to test how much of an 'e-geek/e-bore' people are. The aim is that people think it is so earth-shatteringly relevant, clever and amusing that they forward it onto loads of their colleagues. Bob's your uncle - loads of free marketing...

As such, can you ALL please submit 3 or 4 questions to me (or more). These should be about subjects/topics that would be directly relevant to us weirdo e-business types.

It might make it easier to think along 3 categories: Lifestyle, Expertise and Experience. 'Lifestyle' might be sth like "Does your family describe your job as 'works with computers'?" or "How many pairs of baggy combat trousers do you own?". Expertise would be linked to specific professional topics, eg "What do you think when you see ASP?" (Egyptian snake, scripting language, hosted application solutions). Experience would be generic career-type issues, eg "How many times have you been made redundant in the last 3 yrs?" (0, 1-2, 3 or more) - discovering how much of a cynical old-timer people are in this game.

Please post your ideas as a reply to this message or e-mail them to me direct. We're keen to get this thing together over the next 3-4 weeks so, allowing for design/programming time, I'd like to have the questions & copy in place by next week (w/c 16 July).

Thanks guys 'n gals,

Sam

Here's a whole load I thought of today, some better than others. They're all in the Lifestyle or Experience categories - I think you can pick Expertise/Knowledge ones straight from our quiz?

For most of these the answers are Yes or No, where Yes scores plus 1 point towards being more of an e-bore and No scores nothing.

Lifestyle questions:

- Have you interrupted a meeting to accept a call on your mobile?
- Do you get a small kick out of the way you can synch your PDA with your laptop?
- Have you ever beamed your contact details via mobile to another mobile?
- If you lose access to your electronic diary do you have no idea what you're supposed to be doing?
- When you lose your internet connection at work do you think you might as well go home because you can't work?
- Can you remember the last fax you sent or received?
- Has a friend or cab driver ever asked you for your advice in buying or fixing a computer?
- Have you ever complained to someone that "you'd forgotten what it's like to have to use a 56kb modem again"?
- Do you find it perfectly acceptable to send e-mail thank yous rather than written cards or letters?
- Do you think that if only your granny had e-mail you'd write to her much more often?
- Over time have you standardised around a single user name / password combination such that if someone found it out they could access most of your life?

Experience questions:

- Did you watch at least 10 minutes of the program "Attachments"?
- Have you ever thought that if you could go back in time, one of the things that you would do is buy up all the key domain names?
- Have you ever felt the slightest bit frustrated that you didn't think of the blindingly obvious Hotmail idea?
- Have you read "e." by Matt Beaumont?
- Have you ever explained to someone that actually it's safer to shop online than it is to hand your credit card to a waiter in a restaurant?
- Do you find that whilst you used to forward on jokes to friends that this is a bit beneath you now?
- Have you discussed more than 5 times when the market upturn might come?
- Do you own at least 3 domain names which you've done nothing with?
- Have you uploaded more than 10mb of files from company drives as useful information to take with you if you get made redundant?
- Do you have at least 3 Yahoo log ins, none of which you can remember?

I had something slightly different in mind….and it may not fit in to the concept you are trying to develop. Anyway, I thought something along the lines of what Vanity Fair do each month ie: select four profiles and give a list of comparative attributes.

So, in the e-business realm, the profiles could be something like:
A: E-business CEO/MD
B: Programmer/Techie
C: E-commerce manager/web producer/project manager
D: Techno Pleb/e-Luddite/old economy worker

The possible characteristics/response-to-scenarios of the four profiles are then compared:

When the subject heading of an all-staff email reads “Urgent company restructure brought about by change in market sentiment” you:
A: Wonder if your secretary used tactful wording in the body text this time.
B: Look up “sentiment” in MS-Word’s thesaurus.
C: Start clearing your desk.
D: Hope that your workstation will move closer to the coffee machine.

When you see a Microsoft ad you think:
A: “The Caymans”
B: “Linus would never cheapen himself with mainstream advertising.”
C: “I wonder when they’ll start hiring again.”
D: “So they’re getting into the travel business as well!”

You commute using:
A: Something big and German
B: Micro-scooter
C: Where the hell to?
D: The same route you’ve used for the past 10 years

In 1999-2000 you wore:
A: Gucci, black V-neck cashmere, with chinos
B: Mucky, black V-neck “Megadeth” with cargos
C: GAP or River Island
D: Suit, shirt, tie – M&S 1998 range

In 2001 you wear:
A: Something big and Italian
B: Mucky V-neck black Megadeth with cargos
C: KFC or Burger King
D: Suit, Tie, shirt - Next 2000 range

Etc…Etc…you get the idea.

On 21:05:53 24 July 2001 Sam wrote:
>Like it. All are good - half are VERY good. Think Ash has
>practically done my job for me...
>
>On 18:48:43 24 July 2001 Ashley wrote:
>>Here's a whole load I thought of today, some better
>than
>>others. They're all in the Lifestyle or Experience
>>categories - I think you can pick Expertise/Knowledge
>ones
>>straight from our quiz?
>>
>>For most of these the answers are Yes or No, where Yes
>>scores plus 1 point towards being more of an e-bore
>and No
>>scores nothing.
>>
>>Lifestyle questions:
>>
>>- Have you interrupted a meeting to accept a call on
>your
>>mobile?
>>- Do you get a small kick out of the way you can synch
>>your PDA with your laptop?
>>- Have you ever beamed your contact details via mobile
>to
>>another mobile?
>>- If you lose access to your electronic diary do you
>have
>>no idea what you're supposed to be doing?
>>- When you lose your internet connection at work do
>you
>>think you might as well go home because you can't
>work?
>>- Can you remember the last fax you sent or received?
>>- Has a friend or cab driver ever asked you for your
>>advice in buying or fixing a computer?
>>- Have you ever complained to someone that "you'd
>>forgotten what it's like to have to use a 56kb modem
>>again"?
>>- Do you find it perfectly acceptable to send e-mail
>thank
>>yous rather than written cards or letters?
>>- Do you think that if only your granny had e-mail
>you'd
>>write to her much more often?
>>- Over time have you standardised around a single user
>>name / password combination such that if someone found
>it
>>out they could access most of your life?
>>
>>
>>Experience questions:
>>
>>- Did you watch at least 10 minutes of the program
>>"Attachments"?
>>- Have you ever thought that if you could go back in
>time,
>>one of the things that you would do is buy up all the
>key
>>domain names?
>>- Have you ever felt the slightest bit frustrated that
>you
>>didn't think of the blindingly obvious Hotmail idea?
>>- Have you read "e." by Matt Beaumont?
>>- Have you ever explained to someone that actually
>it's
>>safer to shop online than it is to hand your credit
>card
>>to a waiter in a restaurant?
>>- Do you find that whilst you used to forward on jokes
>to
>>friends that this is a bit beneath you now?
>>- Have you discussed more than 5 times when the market
>>upturn might come?
>>- Do you own at least 3 domain names which you've done
>>nothing with?
>>- Have you uploaded more than 10mb of files from
>company
>>drives as useful information to take with you if you
>get
>>made redundant?
>>- Do you have at least 3 Yahoo log ins, none of which
>you
>>can remember?