Regular readers will know that our oldest is off to another deployment to the Middle East. Being there is a lonely business and family can only write so many letters and cards.

I’m reaching out to you for a helping hand. I’d like you to show your support for him and his team, to let them know someone back here cares.

His mailing address is simple. You’ll notice there’s no unit identification, no rank, nor branch. That’s the military’s new take on security.

Steven Jordan
Box 5
APO, AE
09391

Postage is regular continental US. The typical delay is now under two weeks. We’ve seen it as quick as a week.

He doesn’t know I’m putting out this call for letters and cards. So it might not hurt to mention you know his dad. Ha.

Cards and letters would be great. Of course cookies and candy wouldn’t be turned down.

He’s expected to be there 6 months to a year. I’ll keep everyone posted on that as he knows more.

Favorite things: peanut M&Ms; Donald Duck; customized car stuff (pictures, articles, etc)

Thanks in advance. If you’re not shy, I’d love to get pictures of sent items to post on the blog.

Cheers,
Todd Jordan, proud military father

Received this card yesterday. Wow. That’s me on the front flap. Wild huh? I mean, I have postcards with my picture on front for ME to send. Never received one before from someone else like that.

Oh, the concept isn’t new, but rarely has it been done so well. This card is one of thousands you could create with Send Out Cards. I’ve used this service already and really enjoyed the ease.

So how can you find out more? Just send a tweet off to @chriscree or @timsomers. Either of those gents can hook you up with a trial account. You’ll be able to click and send a card within minutes.

It’s fun and easy, believe me. Bonus is that it saves addresses and events.

Contact those guys today and report back and let me know how it goes.
Todd
@tojosan

Akoha – it’s about missions and being social, but it’s also about cards, a game, and an online component. It’s not like other games though, and it’s not one you play by dealing the cards setting around the table. Unlike Pokemon, it’s not a video game either.

Akoha, www.akoha.com, is guided by a few simple rules.

1. Do the action on the card and claim your karma points.

2. Share photos, recordings, and videos about the action.

3. Pass on or forward the card to someone else.

Cards I recevied included a good mix of actions such as buying someone coffee and making someone smile.  None of the actions is extravagant, requires lots of money, nor an excessive amount of effort.  Likewise none of the actions needs to be done online.

The focus is on practical and in person time with another human being.

I’m quite pleased with the action cards I received. Many of these things are ones I do routinely, have done recently, or would love to do.  Just reading them made me smile.

Heck, as recent as last week I gave flowers, gave a book and made someone smile. Woot! I’m on my way.

Another aspect to this game is the part I’m not sure I care about, leveling up.   As you complete actions and register them on the site you receive karma points.  Accumulating certain amounts of karma points causes your level to go up.

From the site:

Levels

There are 15 levels in all and you’ll need to earn a increasing level of karma to reach the next higher level. As you reach higher levels you’ll also need confirmations from others before you’ll be able to level-up.

You get a card, take the action, register it on the site. Now what? Now you give the card to someone unsuspecting victim, um, friend, and get them involved.  Heck, give one to a perfect stranger.

Each card has it’s own unique identifier and is tracked on the site. Once I pass a card on, I’ll be able to see when it gets completed again.  Now this is a bigger reward for me than seeing myself level up like a wizard in a role playing game.

What are your thoughts on this sort of game? Would you play?  Would you feel comfortable telling someone you were playing? Would you pass on a card or horde them for yourself?

Be warned; you might be receiving one of these goodies in the mail.

     It’s Mother’s Day weekend, so of course that finds me buying a card on the busiest day for it.  My wife was off to buy some clothes while I shopped for her card.  At her suggestion, I chose the American Greetings store.

     Right away I spotted the perfect extra to go with the card, long stemmed crafted flowers.  Picking those up, I also quickly found the perfect card.  One of my best shopping experiences at a card store. This particular store, though small, is well used by us, so I wasn’t surprised at this. What surprised me was the counter experience.

     The young lady behind the counter took the flowers and the card and began ringing them up.  Still things are fine at this point, but then a 2nd counter person takes her place, and she ran off to the back of the store for something urgent.  I’m still good though, as the new clerk finishes ringing me up, and mentions a discount.

     I told her thank you and then went to use the credit card machine. It was hung up. It showed a total but not the one matching what she’d just said, and the credit/debit click spots weren’t working.  We agreed I’d just let her scan the card behind the counter, and I handed it over.  She decided to check the total first.  That’s when it suddenly went down hill.

     The manager showed and um, how should I say this, ‘took over.’  She took my credit card from the other lady and chastised her, and rudely took over at the register.  The manager proclaimed she’d have to re-ring the whole thing and in a loud voice, declared to the clerk, “..if he’s going to argue about it, let’s do it over.”

     Talk about an oh my gosh experience. To watch her treat this other employee rudely was embarrassing for me and the employee, but to be spoken of in the third person and have it stated I was arguing, was almost too much.  Had they not had my intended purchase behind the counter, I’d have walked out immediately.

     I then mentioned to the manager that things were fine and that I had not argued with the clerk.  She uttered something about having re-ring and had the clerk help her ring the items.  The manager then explained to me how she was going ring the flowers and proceeded to do so.  To wrap up the effort, she grabs a stray sticker off the counter, and was about to ring it up for me too.  She then asked if it was mine. It took me a moment to realize what she’d done and was asking, and to add to the confusion, she asked me a few times repeatedly if this was mine.

     Once I realized what it was, I told her no. She completed ringing it out and read me the total.  It was the same as the previous total.  Again the card reader was hung. I showed her the reader.  Her response? A quick lecture about how they couldn’t reboot the reader until there were no more customers, and appeared to shrug and sigh at that, before asking me for my card again.

     I took my receipt from her, signed the slip and left.  And so here we are.  To the lessons learned during my visit to American Greetings.

• Don’t treat us impersonally or talk about us, we will remember it
• Don’t treat others rudely, we are empathetic and will feel like you did it to us
• Your image isn’t what you sell, it’s how you sell it
• If things don’t work right, it isn’t our fault, and don’t make us feel like it is
• Overall the experience we have should be one that welcomes us back again

     Though not profound, these are key to how you run a blog or a business.  I find I forget about the overall experience at times.  If I want readers back, they need to feel welcome to be here.

     What have your shopping experiences taught you about blogging or running your own business? How would this experience have affected you? Would you shop there again with other choices?  Share with us.

((* the image is by merfam, and is licensed through Creative Commons))