Hip, Hip Hooray! Telstra Exchange is One Year-Old today
Filed under: birthday, communications, news, social media, social networking, Telstra Exchange
On Telstra Exchange, and out there in the big, wide webosphere, it’s just another blogging day. But, as the team behind Telstra’s corporate blog, today, we’re pretty excited. Our baby’s turning one.
12 months ago, we launched Telstra Exchange with a blog from our CEO David Thodey. In that first post, David talked about his hopes for Telstra Exchange and what it means for the company.
So 12 months on, how is the site performing? Is it all we hoped it would be?
12 months in review
Since launch, Telstra Exchange has played host to almost 100 bloggers, who’ve penned nearly 300 blog posts. Over 7,000 comments have been published to those blogs.
If there is a pot at the end of the blogging rainbow – the comments are where it’s at. The comments on Telstra Exchange come from real people, our customers, potential customers, our shareholders, our staff and the media.
Over the last 12 months, these 7,000-plus comments have:
- Created an avenue for us to better understand, know and help our customers
- Provided direct feedback, encouragement and insight
- Alerted us to potential issues
- And occasionally, dished out the bad medicine required to help us change for the better.
So to everyone who’s been part of that conversation – to everyone who’s read, followed or commented on a Telstra Exchange blog, and especially to the Telstra Exchange bloggers themselves – Thank you.
We wouldn’t be here without you.
The site has grown in other ways too. Since launch we’ve added a host of new features designed to make it easier for people to connect with us, and our content, online, including:
- A featured video panel and a video wall
- Facebook Like buttons on blog posts
- Additional subscription options including RSS feeds for comments
- Nested commenting, for comment replies
Where to from here for Telstra Exchange – the next 12 months
As Telstra changes to truly re-orient around our customers the way we communicate and do business online will also change. For our team, that will mean opening up the way we create, build and manage Telstra Exchange to better cater for what our users want and need.
Basically we need to do more asking and listening before we build stuff – and not after.
To that end, later this year, we’ll be kicking off a user survey to find out a little more about our users:
- who you are, how and why you use Telstra Exchange
- what you like about it, what frustrates you about it
- what we’ve got right and how we could do things better
- what you want more or less of
- what you think about our ideas for new functionality and content
We’ll use those insights to help shape how Telstra Exchange evolves over the next 12 months.
In the meantime, please feel free to share your ideas and feedback here. Happy Birthday T-EX!!
Meet the proud parents – the team behind Telstra Exchange
Given we’ll be asking you lots of questions over the next few months, we figured it was probably only fair to start by sharing a little bit about who we are. So here goes… We are:
Brendan joined the team, and Telstra, in March 2010. Brendan loves diversity and this is what is served up to him every day as our online publisher and customer engagement manager. He spends his Telstra days publishing media releases on the About Telstra website, preparing and publishing the blogs on Telstra Exchange, writing his own blog and supporting and helping out our ever growing team of Telstra bloggers.
Brendan also has the Herculean task of moderating the Telstra Exchange blog comments and assisting with any related customer complaints and feedback.
Mick Doherty
On paper, Mick is our Web Architect. Off the record, we like to think of him as our Mr Wolf (ala Pulp Fiction). You know – the dude who comes in, cleans up and solves problems. He does stuff like:
- Fix things that are broken
- Research and experiment with new online trends, tools and applications
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Measure and analyse our performance (web analytics etc.)
Mick joined the team in February 2008.
Tania Elliott
Tania is our Online Communications Manager. The mother of a two-year-old, she’s often sleep-deprived, short-tempered and has a tendency to call a spade a spade. She also has Microsoft Project and is not afraid to use it. Given that Brendan and Mick do all the real work, Tania is kind of like the navigator, or (softly, softly) enforcer.
Fortunately or unfortunately for Brendan and Mick, Tania has a particular passion for user-centred design and great attention to detail (it says so on her CV and everything). Tania has been with Telstra since 2005.
Mike Hickinbotham
As Telstra’s first employee designated to work in social media, Mike is Mr Social Media at Telstra.
Mike has helped lead the way in developing Telstra’s customer support on Twitter, drafting and rolling out Telstra’s 3Rs of social media engagement for employees, an internal idea generation site and Telstra’s Facebook page.
Mike also recently created the strategy and implemented the HTC Desire Social Review which recruited 25 people to participate in a two week review of the HTC Desire handset.
Kristen Boschma
Kristen Boschma is Head of Online Comms & Social Media. In reality she is more like the gooey, white stuff in the middle of the Oreo biscuit; she tries to make everything hang together in delicious harmony.
She spends her days:
- trying to find new ways to make our customer’s online life with Telstra easier and better
- thinking deeply about social media strategy
- being amazed and delighted by the creativity that arises when smart people and elegant technology are encouraged to spend quality time together
- making sure good ideas rise to the top
- ensuring the incredible range of talents in her team are fully utilized
- occasionally pursuing kooky ideas
- on Twitter (@kristen_boschma).
- Connect with Kristen on Telstra Exchange
As far as reporting lines go, Dan isn’t officially part of our crew, but we borrow his expertise and enthusiasm whenever possible.
Dan Michael
As far as reporting lines go, Dan isn’t officially part of our crew, but we borrow his expertise and enthusiasm whenever possible. Even though he is definitely Gen X he likes to act a little Gen Y, especially on Facebook where he moderates and posts to the Telstra page. He is currently considering getting a mouse installed as a replacement for his right hand.
Dan lends a mouse-hand by:
- Being Brendan when he’s on leave
- Publishing, moderating, ideating and creating lots of good stuff
- Blogging on Telstra Exchange
- Moderating the Telstra Facebook page
- Connect with Dan via LinkedIn
Rachael Falk
The fancy lawyer lady up in Sydney, Rachael keeps us out of trouble (as much as is humanly possible). She has also been known to provide legal training on defamation, copyright and other important online legal stuff in rhyming couplets.
She occasionally comes out with strange “what if” scenarios and we tell her that she’s had too much ‘Fretty Bran’ for breakfast. Of course, the day any of her crazy ‘what ifs’ come true, we won’t be able to reach her quickly enough!
And we secretly count ourselves endlessly lucky to have a corporate lawyer who gets social media.
Oh … and as our official team lawyer, Rachael feels you need to know that “some of the images on this page may have been, ever so slightly, digitally enhanced and may not match exact features of the team”.
Got a question for one of us, or the whole team? Here’s your chance.
Kristen and the Telstra Exchange Team – Congratulations and Happy Birthday. I doubt any of us who were blogging on the predecessor (nowwearetalking) would have imagined the Exchange to develop into the fun site it has become. Thanks for the opportunities and support, and thanks for the many laughs and late nights! Looking forward to another great year ahead
WOW one year today. A HUGE Happy Birthday to you TEX. I can’t believe you have been in my life for a year already. How time flies. (Oh is that a segway to my Passing Of Time blog here in TEX) You are already so smart, funny and intelligent all at age 1. Can’t wait to see how smart you are by age 2.
On a more serious note, TEX has been so fantastic. It has unleashed some stuff I never new I had. The team at TEX are so helpful, encouraging and engaging. Simply put.. BRILLIANT… I thank-you each and every one of you.
Wow, Congrats.
Just want to say i wish the Telstra store staff had the same knowledge as the Exchange team. Im sick of walking into a store and they don’t know what i am talking about even know its written here.
Guys, congrats on reaching this milestone. You’ve all done a fab job. TEX is awesome!
As at writing this, my husband has still not received his latest Telstra account.
Hippy Bath day Peoples!
As ‘Johnny-come-lately’ to the TEX blogger role, the interactions I’ve had with the team, the other bloggers and the wider TEX community have been some of the best in my Telstra career to date.
Let’s keep up the good work, open communication and diversity of opinion that this blog has become known for, and enjoy the ride!
I’m raising my virtual glass…
M@
As a new Telstra customer, I just wanted to say I really appreciate what TEX is, and I also appreciate the Telstra presence on Twitter. I would never have seen myself with Telstra a few years ago, but the company is improving and I like it.
There is just one thing, one thing, that I really really wish worked properly – call usage. I have a $49 cap plan with a HTC Desire and I find it very difficult to track my call usage. I had to purchase an app off the Android Market just so I could tell how much I’d spent by using the call records stored on the phone. The online billing (Calls yet to be billed) service is absolutely terrible, and wrong. For instance, last month it said I’d spent $180, but I’d actually spend $300 according to the app in my phone. I rang Telstra who confirmed the $300 was correct, but couldn’t tell me a convenient way to check usage. The online billing does not show all the calls which means it’s just crippled. I REALLY wish Telstra had a simple way of checking the cap usage (You’ve used $300 of your $400 available), a bit like 3mobile, my previous carrier. Please look into it and please fix it. Please, please, please.
I have a new I phone 4. Can I get visual voicemail and if not why shouldnt I change plan to someone who can provide it?
thanks, Ngaire
Hi Ngaire, I’ve just heard from the product guys that we’re close to a solution on visual voicemail. Thanks for your input and patience everyone – we hear you
Hi Brendan,
I’m not sure if all the people celebrating Telstra Exchange’s Birthday are Telstra employees, but they DO sound enthused.
2 quick issues I’d appreciate feedback on (you have my email):
1. I’ve posted previously to a thread on ‘TEX’ where user feedback is provided to the office of the CEO. Unfortunately on returning to ‘TEX’ I cannot find the thread.. Has it been removed? Can it be made more prominent on the site?
2. I have paid Telstra $360 for the use of a rental wall-phone over the past 10 years. Since I no longer use the phone I decided to return it to Telstra and ask them to stop charging me. To avoid any issues or conflict I first rang the (overseas) call centre. They advised me of the phone details, that I had to return the phone to a telstra shop and gave me a “Reference Number” to quote. I asked 3 times for the call centre person to repeat the reference number and repeated it back to ensure it was correct. In the Telstra Shop… That Reference Number is invalid. You’ll have to call the help-desk. Mr Thodey Sir, This is not rocket science. It’s a Telstra wall-phone. It’s exhorbitantly charged and I’m not asking for those exhorbitant charges to be refunded. I simply wish to return the phone and stop the charges. Why is this simple task so difficult in the Telstra organisation?
Signed
Garry Disappointed.
Hi Garry, Geez, Sorry to hear you’ve had a bad experience trying to return that wall phone. Garry, I can help to get this fixed if you email me a countact number. Brendan.
Just heard back Garry. Glad you got this rental phone issue sorted. Brendan.
Hi Brendan.
I’ve sent my contact details via the standard Telstra form in the link above. I will be interested to monitor the response.
To your comment “Geez”, I said a few more inappropriate words when I discovered I had trouble returning a wall-phone.
It makes the other issues such as Billing problems look much more difficult to resolve.
Thanks for your offer to assist, even though I’d prefer you didn’t have to.
Kind Regards,
Garry
[ To clarify my comment above for other readers: Although the link in Brendan's response says "email me" it's a link to the standard Telstra contact form ]