I recently started a private blog, writing about things involved with running Software Testing Club and working towards my personal aims of running a flexible and sustainable business.  The highs, the lows, nitty gritty details that I normally wouldn’t write about online.  Perhaps an odd bit of Rosie humour in there too!

It’s not something I will publish immediately, but hopefully within the next year or two there will be enough information there to make it somewhat interesting.

Keep me motivated by registering your interest over on LeanPub - http://leanpub.com/rosiesherry

For Software Testing Club stuff I use MailChimp.  And the Chimp is so lovely, almost makes my heart melt.  I wish I had one of my own!

But seriously, in a non-serious kind of way it’s like I have been building up this relationship with a non existing chimp.  Everytime I login into MailChimp (sometimes daily), I get a greeting like one of these:

I mean, how could you not develop a bond with something like this?  I am always interested in what Mr MailChimp has to say, even when it is a really pointless and funny link to a YouTube video.

All of this messaging continues throughout their brand.  For example, when I send an email campaign they tell me how awesome I am and give me a ‘high five’. Or when new people sign up to our mailing list they say ‘Nice’.

Every time I use their software I end up smiling at one point or another.

I raised my first support question to them the other day (I had a problem with getting a form to appear on my website which is run on WordPress), and it’s probably not surprising because I am writing this blog post, but their response made me smile as well.

Here it is:

Their language made me happy. Their simple response made me happy. And of course a direct simple solution was there too.

But most of all, and I don’t know why it pleased me so much, but their customer support matches their online branding/ethos/thing-a-ma-jig.

I think this is cool.

Nope, this is not a new years resolution.  Just my ideas at this stage which are likely to adapt and evolve.

Blog more on Rosie Land

I’ve been a bit slack here for the past couple of years.  Part of it has been personal reasons. Other parts has been the ‘confusion in my head’ of who I am, what I do and therefore what should I write about.

I’ll probably blog on topics and challenges that I will be facing in the year to come – (lean) startups, business growth, community building and the social web.

Perhaps even software testing stuff too (!), but even this I’ve started to shift over to The Testing Planet website.  I am interested in lean startups and testing.  So hopefully will have some juicyness for that this coming year.

Software Testing Club

Blog more regularly on @testingclub blog – with a plan to update frequently and openly on progress we are making.  I’d really like to become more transparent and open with things we are doing.

I am also increasingly having more intimate conversations with people within @testingclub.  I plan to reach out more.  I have started this and am loving the feedback I am getting.  It is really helping develop our thoughts for moving Software Testing Club, Testing Planet and Minsitry of Testing forward.  Lots of this is via one to one email or a private Google Group we have set up.  If you are interested then drop me an email.

Twitter is cool, but…

I’ve had issues with Twitter for a while.  I find it too hard to keep up with all the good stuff and then even harder searching for stuff.  I will still be there, trying to keep up, but just feel like I can’t give it justice, haven’t done so really for the past year and a half.

I mentioned this in my last post.  This year my focus will be on blogging and on Google+.  Add me to your circle(s)!

Mama Sherry

In case you are interested in my personal life, you can follow me on Mama Sherry. Having a new addition to the family has really given me the incentive to start something more personal to help me remember and to help pass on to the kids.  I keep kidding myself that I’ll remember all these things that happen in life, but the reality is I don’t.

I’ve also started using Path for those things that I just can’t share online!

We use DropBox for producing The Testing Planet. Being a virtual team it is very handy!

One thing about working virtually is that it can be quite hard to know if someone has started on something or what stage they are on a certain project. With The Testing Planet it is a case of managing, editing and creating lots of images and files – very well suited for DropBox.

The handy thing is I get automatic updates of things that are happening. If a new file has been added, edited or removed. It’s quite handy because I can then know:

• who else is involved in the reviewing, editing and designing of The Testing Planet
• if articles are being submitted (or not!)
• articles are being edited
• when new images have been created
• the progress of the publication as a whole

And all of this without actually sending emails or chatting with anyone. I can just see it all happening.

Thomas Harvey called it Drop Box Stalking. I like that term

• The Software Testing Club didn’t just grow on it’s own.
• The Software Testing Club Meetups don’t just happen.
• The Testing Planet isn’t a 5 minute job.
• The Brighton Girl Geek Dinners I once organised, didn’t just happen on their own.
• People don’t flock to coworking spaces just because they exist.
• Events don’t just happen.
• Blogs don’t just become popular overnight.
• Successful business are not founded on just good ideas.
• You don’t become good at what you do in a day.

All of these take time. Consistent hard work. Sometimes talent.  Sometimes innovation.  But most definitely a commitment to make something happen.  It’s all too easy to just give up.  To do that ‘important job’ another day.

You will find this across many things in life. A business. A career. A hobby….And it doesn’t mean you won’t fail, your chances are just that bit higher!

(A bit of a reminder for myself)

From Guy Kawasaki – full original list here.

1. Experts are clueless.
2. Customers cannot tell you what they need.
3. Jump to the next curve.
4. The biggest challenges beget best work.
5. Design counts.
6. You can’t go wrong with big graphics and big fonts.
7. Changing your mind is a sign of intelligence.
8. “Value” is different from “price.”
9. A players hire A+ players.
10. Real CEOs demo.
11. Real CEOs ship.
12. Marketing boils down to providing unique value.
13. Some things need to be believed to be seen.

As Software Testing Club has grown we’ve opted to work as a mean, lean, virtual machine.  How do we do this?

• Google for email, RSS, document collaboration
• Yammer for conversations.
• Highrise for a CRM
• FreeAgent for accounts
• Dropbox for documents
• Mailchimp for email marketing
• WordPress for making websites
• Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ for Social Media and Communication
• Ning for Social Network
• Wufoo for forms
• PayPal for online payments
• GoPlanApp for managing projects
• Skype for chats
• Flickr for images
• Bit.ly for shortening some links

Tools wise, I think that is all.  Of course this doesn’t mention the many hours and late nights spent and constant evolution of putting things into action

How often do you go to a website or read about an organisation that makes claims like:

• we are the first…
• we are the largest…
• the most popular…
• the fastest growing…

Don’t let these types of words fool you.  It doesn’t mean they are any good.  And actually in many cases they can mean a bad thing.

• Is launching something first the best? What if what you launched is a pile of &*(£*? or what if you launched it first many years ago and it is now so out of date that nobody can bear looking at it?
• Why is being the largest best?
• Most popular? According to whom?
• Growing pains can happen from growing to fast…

I enjoyed watching this video. Worth checking out the other videos from Standford’s ecorner.

About the video

Stanford Engineering lecturer and FLOODGATE partner Ann Miura-Ko offers insight into the democratization of innovation in the Internet age, and its affect on investment cycles. Additionally, Miura-Ko speaks candidly about the need to test business models, her firm’s desire to be an advocate for “thunder lizard” entrepreneurs, and the challenges of achieving true work/life balance.

The 5th Edition of The Testing Planet is out.  Currently available to print, ebook, Kindle paid subscribers.  Free version coming out at the end of the month.  Go get it before the rest of em!