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Anna Akhmatova

Early life



Anna Akhmatova in 1914



Akhmatova was born at Bolshoy Fontan in Odessa to Andrey Antonovich Gorenko and Inna Erazmovna Stogova. Her childhood does not appear to have been happy; her parents separated in 1905. She was educated in Tsarskoe Selo (where she first met her future husband, Nikolay Gumilyov) and in Kiev. Anna started writing poetry at the age of 11, inspired by her favourite poets: Racine, Pushkin, and Baratynsky. As her father did not want to see any verses printed under his "respectable" name, she chose to adopt the surname of her Tatar grandmother as a pseudonym. Many of the male Russian poets of the time declared their love for Akhmatova; she reciprocated the attentions of Osip Mandelstam, whose wife, Nadezhda Mandelstam, would eventually forgive Akhmatova in her autobiography, Hope Against Hope.



In 1910, she married the poet, Nikolay Gumilyov, who very soon left her for lion hunting in Africa, the battlefields of World War I, and the society of Parisian grisettes. Her husband did not take her poems seriously, and was shocked when Alexander Blok declared to him that he preferred her poems to his. Their son, Lev, born in 1912, was to become a famous Neo-Eurasianist historian.



Silver Age



Anna Akhmatova with her husband Nikolay Gumilev and son, Lev Gumilev, 1914



In 1912, she published her first collection, entitled Evening. It contained brief, psychologically taut pieces which English readers may find distantly reminiscent of Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy. They were acclaimed for their classical diction, telling details, and the skilful use of colour.



By the time her second collection, The Rosary, appeared in 1914, there were thousands of women composing poems "in honour of Akhmatova." Her early poems usually picture a man and a woma n involved in the most poignant, ambiguous moment of their relationship. Such pieces were much imitated and later parodied by Nabokov and others. Akhmatova was prompted to exclaim: "I taught our women how to speak, but don't know how to make them silent".



Together with her husband, Akhmatova enjoyed a high reputation in the circle of Acmeist poets. Her aristocratic manners and artistic integrity won her the titles "Queen of the Neva" and "Soul of the Silver Age," as the period came to be known in the history of Russian poetry. Many decades later, she would recall this blessed time of her life in the longest of her works, "Poem Without a Hero" (194065), inspired by Pushkin's Eugene Onegin.



Saint Anne Mosaic, Marian Year 1954, by Boris Anrep



Mosaics in Ireland and England



Following the breakup of her marriage, Akhmatova had an affair with the mosaic artist and poet Bori s Anrep (1883 - 1969) during World War I; at least 34 of her poems are about him. He in turn created mosaics in which she features. In the Cathedral of Christ the King Mullingar, Anrep mosaic of Saint Anne is spelt Anna. Additionally, the saint image bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Akhmatova in her mid-20s.



Anrep also depicted Akhmatova in a mosaic entitled Compassion, located in the National Gallery in London.



The accursed years



Nikolay Gumilyov was prosecuted in 1921 and subsequently executed for activities considered anti-Soviet; Akhmatova then married a prominent Assyriologist Vladimir Shilejko; at the same time she began affairs with the composer Arthur Louri, who set many of her poems to music, and the theatre director Mikhail Zimmerman. She then married an art scholar, Nikolay Punin, who died in the Stalinist Gulag camps. After that, she spurned several proposals from the married poet, Boris Pasternak.



After 1922, Akhmatova was condemned as a bourgeois element[citation needed] and was rarely published between 1923 and 1930. She earned her living by translating Leopardi and publishing essays, including some brilliant essays on Pushkin, in scholarly periodicals. All of her friends either emigrated or were repressed.



Only a few people in the West suspected that she was still alive, when she came out with a collection of new poems in 1940. During World War II, when she witnessed the nightmare of the 900-Day Siege, her patriotic poems found their way to the front pages of Pravda. After Akhmatova returned to Leningrad following the Central Asian evacuation in 1944, she was distressed by "a terrible ghost that pretended to be my city."



Upon learning about Isaiah Berlin's visit to Akhmatova in 1946, Stalin's associate in charge of culture, Andrei Zhdanov, publicly labelled her "half harlot, half nun", had her poems banned from publication in the journals Zvezda and Leningrad. Her son spent his youth in Stalinist gulags, and she even resorted to publishing several poems in praise of Stalin to secure his release. Their relations remained strained, however.



Although officially stifled, Akhmatova's work continued to circulate in samizdat form and even by word of mouth, as she became a symbol of suppressed Russian heritage.



The thaw



After Stalin's death, Akhmatova's preeminence among Russian poets was grudgingly conceded, even by party officials, and a censored edition of her work was published; conspicuously absent was Requiem, which Isaiah Berlin had predicted in 1946 would never be published in the Soviet Union. Her later pieces, composed in neoclassical rhyme and mood, seem to be the voice of many she has outlived. Her dacha in Komarovo was frequented by Joseph Brodsky and other young poets, who continued Akhmatova's traditions of Saint Petersburg poetry into the 21st century.



In honor of her 75th birthday in 1964, special observances were held and new collections of her verse were published.



Akhmatova got a chance to meet some of her pre-revolutionary acquaintances in 1965, when she was allowed to travel to Sicily and England, in order to receive the Taormina prize and an honorary doctoral degree from Oxford University (she was accompanied by her life-long friend and secretary Lydia Chukovskaya). In 1962, her dacha was visited by Robert Frost. In 1968, a two volume collection of Akhmatova's prose and poetry was published by Inter-Language Literary Associates of West Germany.



Monument to Anna Akhmatova in Saint Petersburg near Kresty Prison



Akhmatova died at the age of 76 in Moscow. She was interred at Komarovo Cemetery.



Akhmatova's reputation continued to grow after her death, and it was in the year of her centenary that one of the greatest poetic monuments of the 20th century, Akhmatova's Requiem, was finally published in her homeland.



There is a museum devoted to Akhmatova at the apartment where she lived with Nikolai Punin at the garden wing of the Fountain House (more properly known as the Sheremetev Palace) on the Fontanka Embankment, where Akhmatova lived fro m the mid 1920s until 1952.



A minor planet 3067 Akhmatova discovered by Soviet astronomers Lyudmila Karachkina and Lyudmila Zhuravlyova in 1982 is named after her.



Works



Poetry



Anna Akhmatova: Poems (1983)



Anno Domini MCMXXI (1922) - rus



Evening (1912) - rus



Plantain (1921) - rus



Poems of Akhmatova (1967)



Poems of Akhmatova (1983) (trans. Lyn Coffin)



Rosary (1914)



Selected Poems (1976)



Selected Poems (1989)



The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova (1990)



Twenty Poems of Anna Akhmatova (1985)



White Flock (1914)



Anna Akhmatova's Grave in Komarovo (photo b y Aleksandr E. Bravo)



Examples of poetry



Grey-Eyed King (1910)



Hail to thee, o inconsolate pain!



The young grey-eyed king has been yesterday slain.



That autumn evening was stuffy and red.



My husband, returning, had quietly said,



"He'd left for his hunting; they carried him home;



They found him under the old oak's dome.



I pity his queen. He, so young, passed away!...



And overnight all her black hair turned grey."



He picked up his pipe from the fireplace shelf,



And went off to work in the night by himself.



So now my daughter I will wake and rise --



And I will look in her little grey eyes...



And murmuring poplars outside will be heard:



Your king is no longer here on this earth.



Song of the Very Last Meeting (1911)



My chest grew helplessly cold, But my feet were light and deft, I pulled a glove on my right hand- The one that was meant for my left.



It seemed the steps were many, But I knew - there were only three! Amid maples, autumn's whisper Pled softly: "Die with me!



My fate so fickle and evil- Has coldly betray me anew." I answered,"My dearest,my darling Mine too.I will die with you"



The song of the very last meeting. I glanced at the darkened home. In the bedroom the candled were burning With an indifferent, yellowish glow.



My Way (1940)



One goes in straightforward ways,



One in a circle roams:



Waits for a girl of his gone days,



Or for returning home.



But I do go nd woe is there



By a way nor straight, nor broad,



But into never and nowhere,



Like trains ff the railroad.



Courage (1942)



We know what trembles on the scales,



and what we must steel ourselves to face.



The bravest hour strikes on our clocks:



may courage not abandon us!



Let bullets kill use are not afraid,



nor are we bitter, though our housetops fall.



We will preserve you, Russian speech,



from servitude in foreign chains,



keep you alive, great Russian word,



fit for th e songs of our children's children,



pure on their tongues, and free.



References



^ Anderson, Nancy K.; Anna Andreevna Akhmatova (2004). The word that causes death's defeat. Yale University Press.



^ a b c d James, Clive. "Anna Akhmatova Assessed". Clive's Lives. Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/2159089/.



^ In na Achmatova and Mullingar Connection - broadcast on RT 4th May 2008, the poet Joseph Woods recounts the story of the mosaics. Relevant section begins at timestamp 4043.



^ For English-language commentary on the relationship between Akhmatova and Anrep, please see Wendy Rosslyn, "A propos of Anna Akhmatova: Boris Vasilyevich Anrep (1883 - 1969)," New Zealand Slavonic Journal 1 (1980): 25 - 34.



^ Elaine Feinstein, Anna of All the Russias: The Life of Anna Akhmatova (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 2005), p. 83.



^ N. N. (Nikolai Nikolaevich) Punin Diaries



^ Harrison E. Salisbury, "Soviet" section of "Literature" article, page 502, Britannica Book of the Year 1965 (covering events of 1964), published by The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1965



^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (5th ed.). Berlin; New York: Springer. p.253. ISBN 3540002383. http://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&printsec=frontcover&hl=ru&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad;&pg;=PA253.



^ http://max.mmlc.northwestern.edu/~mdenner/Demo/texts/gray_eyed.html



Bibliography



Feinstein, Elaine. Anna of all the Russias: A life of Anna Akhmatova. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005 (ISBN 0-297-64309-6); N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006 (ISBN 1-4000-4089-2).



Poem Without a Hero & Selected Poems, trans. Lenore Mayhew and William McNaughton (Oberlin College Press, 1989), ISBN 0-932440-51-7



Reeder, Roberta. Anna Akhmatova: Poet and Prophet. New York: Picador, 1994 (ISBN 0-312-13429-0).



External links



Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Anna Akhmatova



Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anna Akhmatova



Anna Akhmatova by John Simon



Site for documentary - Film About Anna Akhmatova by Helga Landauer and Anatoly Naiman



Russian and English text side by side, translated by Andrey Kneller



Anna Akhmatova at the Wikilivres



Akhmatova website with biography, video



(four translations)



The Obverse of Stalinism: Akhmatova's self-serving charisma of s elflessness by Alexander Zholkovsky



Akhmatova: brief biography, Requiem, links



Anna Achmatowa - Works in Russian, German and English at the eLibrary Projekt (eLib)



English and Russian text of "Requiem," translated by Lyn Coffin



English translations of Lot's Wife, Three Periods of Memory and "They're not my kin who left the land..."



English translations of Clenched My Hands..., Grey Eyed King, My Guest, You amuse me... and December 9th, 1913



Akhmatova on Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide Committee - Gariwo



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Categories: 1889 births | 1966 deaths | Eastern Orthodox victims of Soviet repressions | Russian poets | Russian World War I poets | Russian-language poets | Soviet poets | Victims of Soviet repressions | Russian women writers | Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia | Russian Orthodox Christians | People from Odessa | Translators to Russian | Translators from Italian | Translators from Bengali | Russian victims of Soviet repressions | Ukrainian poets | Russians of Ukrainian descent | Ukrainian women writers | Eastern Orthodox Christians from Ukraine | Ukrainian Orthodox Christians | Ukrainian victims of Soviet repressionsHidden categories: Articles containing Russian language text | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from July 2009





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Dancehall Sound Systems Bios Part 2

DJ14K's Tapes R Us continues to bring you, the sound system fan, info on some foundation sounds from way back. Some of the happening sounds may still be performing today, but we should never forget them as they are responsible for growing the Reggae vibe world wide.

Here listed are sound systems starting with the letter B. See if you remember some of these sound systems.

Baron Turbo Charged was a sound hailing from the city of Hulme England. The sound started with dances around 1974 with Barzy and Wizzy Dan. They did some small dances through out there career but remained a fixture at the Moss Side Youth club inna UK. They seemed to faze out in the early 90's though.
Black Harmony sound system was a roots sound that played out dances in the 1970's. Its main DJ was Jah Stitch who can be found on many 7" singles from the same time period. This particular sound is NOT to be confused of the one outta the UK from the 1980's.

Black Scorpio is the child of the owner and record label of the same name Jack Scorpio. It started in Kingston and continues to show and prove from time to time in the Dancehall areans. Some of the DJ's who would perform on Black Scorpio are Yellowman, Sassafrass, Barrington Levy, General Trees, Bounty Killer, Johnny Osbourne, and many more.

Black Star formed inna Kingston 6 and ran for about 10 years starting in 1979. Owner, Smokey Don would feature regular DJ's on the set like Brigadier Jerry & Tiger.

So much can be said for Dancehall sound systems and what they advance to the Reggae music world. With out them so many of us would not know some of the artist noticed. They make it possible for us to hear the latest music and find out what's going on in a different part of the world.

It is our obedience to make sure we still support any sound system that promotes love & unity and spreads the word of Reggae music anywhere!

















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Valentine Gifts For Women

It seems gifts for her on this special occasion will really help speak out the true love. We have brought you great ideas and definite things that will speak your words of love on this special day of valentine. Whether it is time love or an old gold love our featured gifts and ideas will make your day and your woman will be pleased of you.

For many people, Valentine's Day is a day they both look forward to and dread. Many people spend weeks and months worrying about buying the perfect Valentine's Day Gift. However, there are many Valentine's Day gifts that are both special, but also relatively simple.

1. Bunch of beautiful roses is a traditional way to say 'I love you'. Scent of roses makes your all past dissolved and it is a lovely gift for a woman to make her feel she is some one really loved.

2. Make your woman pleased by jewels; woman love to wear ornaments and a heart shaped pendant is worth. Nothing counts more than a gift of he art shaped pendant. A variety of metals are available at reasonable prices.
3. Woman love to have sweet, so on valentine don't forget to give her box of chocolates, that will make her mind sooth of your love. When selecting chocolates, the dark ones are really great!

4. This idea is for an old couple, when you know woman's choice, you can go for a stunning perfume that will make her pleased.

5. Music helps you get more indulged in the love on this special day, of you woman freak she will love to have Apple ipod by which she will every time play the song that reminds her of you.

6. Gold is great, women love to wear and gold and gift of gold on valentine is a proven symbol of love. A bracelet or gold earrings are good choice in the range of gold ornaments.

7. Sexy and soft lingerie is also a preferable choice for your woman on valentine occasion. See of you can get branded lingerie of perfect color.

8. The last but not the least featured gift is a diamond ring, the real way to mak e a promise of love forever. Diamond ring is always valued for being a love symbol. You can get designs of your own choice at the diamond shop.

Valentine's Day gifts do not have to be sentimental, so long as they are thoughtful. For the adventurous type, an experience gift could be just as special a Valentine's Day Gift as something romantic. If your partner is into rock climbing, a climbing weekend together will both give you the chance to spend some time together, and also be a thoughtful Valentine's Day gift.

All these ideas and gifts are considered from long time and are evergreen. You can think of gifting one or more things on these special occasions but these are featured gifts that have its own value and have no matter with quantity. Valentine gifts for her are important, and more important is to know your woman's choice.





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Inna Zobova Horoscope

Introduction of Inna Zobova

Inna Zobova was born on June 28,1976 in Khimki (Russia).She is a Russian model, actress, and former beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned the Miss Russia 1994.She has appeared in advertisements for Herms, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Penny Black, Roberto Cavalli, Dana Buchman, Armani, Christian Dior, Comma, Laurel, M&F Girbaud, La City, L'Oral, Guerlain, Marella, Malizia, Lancaster, Burberry, Lancme, Zappa, Nivea, Galeries Lafayette, and Piper Heidsieck, and has worked with photographers like Michael Thompson, Raymond Depardon, Eric Traor, Ellen von Unwerth, Mario Testino, Satoshi Saikusa, Paolo Roversi, Steve Hiett, Vincent Peters, Franois Nars, Raymond Meier, Luis Sanchez, Marc Hispard, Thomas Shenk, and Michael Sanders.

Horoscope of Inna Zobova

According to Horoscope,Inna Zobova is a brave person by nature, meaning thereby that Inna Zobova is bold and risk taking. Inna Zobova is in the habit of telling lies according to her convenience. Inna Zobova is fond of music and like it very much. Inna Zobova has a flexible personality, Inna Zobova can adjust in any environment whether good or ordinary. Inna Zobova is kind and of helping nature. It happens rarely that Inna Zobova refuses such a help even if Inna Zobova does not know the person. Inna Zobova tries to help everyone whether known or unknown even if Inna Zobova has a little discomfort.

Astrology of Inna Zobova

The reason behind this was that events in the human life were affected by the changes in the positions of the planets and other celestial bodies which were central to the field of astronomy. Later on, the two subjects distinguished themselves, astronomy out of which solely constituted the study of astronomical objects without any mention of influences they have on humans. Astrology has dual purpose. One purpose of it that it acts a method to select the correct month, the correct date and the correct time to begin a prosperous event so that one gets the desired result out of it. The other purpose of it is to utilise it to study the fate of a human being.

Inna Zobova's Match Making

Inna Zobova's Match Making is done to ensure a harmonious, well balanced and successful married relationship.Horoscope Matching or Kundli Milan, as it is called in India is a novel and unequalled method of ascertaining compatibility of a man and a woman and to see if they are suitable for each other to be tied in matrimony. Match making is done to ensure a harmonious, well balanced and successful married relationship. It is this reason why Indian marriages were so long lasting and successful over the years. In recent past, the percentage of successful marriage relationships had fallen significantly. This was because of the growth of love marriages in which the mutual compatibility & gun milan was often ignored.





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Jamaican D.J or Dance Hall Music

D.J is an acronym for Disc jockey. Over time, this acronym came to represent a musical style derived from reggae music. This form of music involves lyrics chanted over a beat. A synopsis of the evolution of Dub music should shed some light on the nature and structure of D.J or Dance Hall music. Dub is derived from the Version, "B'' or flip side of vinyl polymer reggae recordings. The versions had only the instrumental accompaniment of a song. Dub was not a musical arrangement but was formed from studio techniques, which entails the engineers extending the bass and drum patterns making it the main body of the "B" side replacing the vocalist as the center of attention.

Deejays such as Papa Michigan and General Smiley first used the dub section of vinyl polymer records altered by the various studio engineers to chant their lyrics over. This act of chanting is referred to as "Deejaying inna rubba dub style". As time progressed the Deejays laid their own rhythmic patter ns to chant over. It was at this point that Deejays acquired the capital letters D.J that represented the newly formed form of music. Later on the term Dance Hall music was also used to represent, and used interchangeable to mean the same musical form.

Features of DJ or Dance Hall music

The lyrics used in the performance of D.J or Dance Hall music are usually of a social, political, economic, and sometimes humorous nature. During the 1990's the lyrical content of many Dance Hall songs took on a sexually explicit overtone or what some people refer to as "Slackness". In addition, they also refer to issues such as apartheid in South Africa and black history. For example Brigadier Jerry- Free Mandela and Ernest Wilson & Briggy - Them Free Mandela Others compose lyrics that exploit female.

On the other hand, performers also used Jamaican proverbs, melodies of Jamaican and Caribbean folks tunes, nursery rhymes used in children's games and wise Jamaican sayings for example," A Nu everyting yu du, yu fe mek pickni see''. (Interpretation: It is not wise to allow children to see all that an adult does). They also used the lyrics of American Rhythm and blues, Ballad or pop music and chant these over an accompanying reggae rhythm. For example, Ninja and Tingas remake of the song I believe the children are the future by Whitney Houston.

The use of the voice

Starting from the days of the plantations, repetition has been a main feature of Jamaica's popular music. This element is also one of the main characteristics of D.J or Dance Hall music. The repetitions are usually of single word or phrases. These phrases are repeated at different points throughout the performance and may constitute a chorus. D.J style is considered "half- talk- half sing". The speech pattern is quite rhythmic with syncopation as another feature. Look at the following example which is normally repeated a number of times in the song.

All an / pull up selector now / come down entertainer/ all an pull up selector now/ Come

Down entertainer.

Most times, "nonsense" words are used to fill in when there is a break in the instrumental accompaniment. Other times, high pitch "siren" sounds focusing in the nasal region or low pitches that are sounded in the throat are utilised. Another use of the voice within this musical form is the sliding effect that can be heard in some D.J pieces. These sliding sounds can also be used as" fill-in", also, rhyming of words has also become a feature of D.J music. However this is not unique to D.J but also appears in other folk forms in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The overall style of speaking in D.J or Dance Hall music is a mixture of English and Jamaican Creole.

Vocal Intervals

Ettu is a Jamaican folk form that originated in the parish of Hanover. It is a socio- religious form, where the presence of the ancestral spirit is invited to ensure the success of everyday undertaking. This is done through a ceremony called a "play". The intervals between notes of the songs used in the play are quite close to the tonal center. This type of closeness of pitches to the tonal center is also evident in D.J music. In D.J, there is a tonal center chosen by the performer which often see ms to have no relationship melodically with the accompaniment. The range of pitches used in the Ettu play may not surpass a major 2nd, a major 3rd or a minor 3rd above or below the tonal center.

The question could then be asked, are there filterage or hereditary factors that cause two forms of two different periods to have approximately the same sort of intervallic relationship? One thing that is outstanding is the similarities they do have. The voice is used mainly as a melodic instrument, especially when the performers "redo" American Popular music over a selected reggae rhythmic accompaniment. This kind of integration takes the listeners ears some time to get accustomed to, especially when a chord or melodic line introduced within the accompaniment has no direct link harmonically with the performers tonal center. Rhythm plays a very important part in D.J music and especially in the way the instruments are used.

Instrumentation

D.J music involves the u se of the following instruments: drum set, drum machine, piano, synthesizer, bass and rhythm guitar and now computer software. Sometime sound effects are introduced in D.J pieces. These special effects are normally used during a break in the vocal line. The sounds of bongos and hand claps, and cowbells are sometimes heard; these are produced by electronic means i.e. synthesizer or computer software which have these sound programmed in their memory bank.

In a live performance, either all these instruments are employed or combinations. These instruments are also utilized when a band is laying tracks to accompany the Deejays. The use of these instruments will depend on the creativity and inventiveness of the engineer involved in the production, the wishes of the performer or the leader of the band. Most dancehall music displays a characteristic use of Instruments which retain some of the rhythmic features associated with traditional reggae music.

Reference

A Study of the Evolution of Jamaica Popular Music, Jamaica School of Music (1986) Music of the Americas lecture notes

Jahn, B., & Weber, T. (1992). Reggae Island, Jamaican Music in the Digital Age, Jamaica, Kingston Publishers Limited

Obrien, K, & Chen, W. (1998). Reggae Routes: the story of Jamaican Music Jamaica; Ian Randle





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Call Center Management And The Big Social Media Mistake - Business - Management

One of the major discussion trends in call center management circles today is social media and how to leverage these new communication methods into increased sales and customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, many companies make a critical error when implementing social media--they neglect their other lines of communication, including the phone system.

Give Customers More Choice

Social media seems new, but it's merely a different facet of a challenge that has always faced companies. Each customer has a preferred method of communication, and if the business doesn't support it, that customer will find someone who does.

Call center management used to balance phone contact with only postal mail and walk-ins. As technology improved, organizations had to decide whether to support other forms of contact such as faxes or email. The social media explosion has created many new communication avenues in a short time, but the fundamental issue is the same. If you don't give your clients the options they want, they won't be your clients for long. Social media adds to rather than replacing other forms of communication.

Don't Neglect Your Phone System

Years ago many companies aggressively tried to push their customers to use web sites and phone menu systems rather than talking to agents. These systems were cheaper to maintain than a trained staff, but in many cases these efforts backfired. The inability to reach a human being became frustrating to clients, and businesses found they were losing customers to competitors offering a more personal touch.

It doesn't mean these systems are bad, in fact many clients prefer them, but they must be integrated as part of a comprehensive call center management philosophy that expands rather than narrows customer choice. Service centers need to be sure not to make the same mistake with social media. Social media complements a phone system, but doesn't replace it.

Customers Expect More

In the days when the only other contact options were letters or in-person visits, the phone system offered advantages of immediacy and convenience. Since then, new lines of communication have opened up but rather than making call center management easier, they have made it harder. Clients want more from their phone agents. They are less tolerant of long hold times, multiple transfers, or giving the same information several times during a call.

Call center management faces huge challenges today. Agents and managers have an array of information tools that has improved their ability to service customers but has also raised expectations. Companies that aren't using the best software tools as part of their telephone systems look archaic and out of touch compared to these new forms of communication.

Telephone contact will be here to stay even as still-unimagined technologies appear. However today's phone centers are very different from those of a decade ago, and call center management must accommodate and embrace all new communication methods as part of an overall system of service.





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Will Call Center Management Software Improve Your Business? - Business

Call center management software is becoming increasingly popular, even with businesses that have only a few workers. More often called "contact centers," call center management software has the ability to control and handle the many different needs of businesses today. Many features include instant routing of important customers to the best agents, reduce holding times for customers, and offer more efficient scheduling of employees and detailed reporting. Your call center management system will help your customers and corporations talk to each other by managing their interactions. It is said that by using the right call management center software will have an immediate positive impact on your business and customer satisfaction. By not making your customers wait, being able to connect them immediately with the right service people, will improve customer perception. Now days, with technology making things faster and faster, customers' expectations are high and they expect yo ur business to be on its toes and have the information they want--yesterday! The best thing you can do is upgrade your system with good call center software, and keep your customers happy. Happy customers spend more money.

Your investment can reduce your costs, depending on which call center system software you buy. The sooner your business is able to handle more calls, the sooner you can start making more money. Efficiency is key and a call center system can provide a wide selection of reports that give you detailed information, from live statistics on hold times and drop-off rates to yearly overviews of the entire operation. This will help you find out which employee is successful and which ones may need a bit more training. It is suggested before you call a dealer or go online looking for the best call center management software to fit your needs.

* How many requests do you handle per month?

* Where do your requests originate from? (phone, fax, email, web, online chat?) How many to

* What are your primary calls? (Inbound or outbound? sales or service? internal or external?)

* How many agents handle these calls? In how many locations?

* What metrics do you currently use to measure performance?

* What phone system are you currently using?

* What systems will the call center need to connect with? (Existing phones, databases, CRM, etc.)

* What's your budget for this purchase?

* What IT resources are available to help integrate and maintain the system?

* How will you measure the success of the new system?

Hopefully some of these tools will help you decide whether you need or want to get into call center management software. These are just some of the idea's out there that can help you decide. Always check out your different options that are out there for you to decide.





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