Have an account? Log In

User:TedErnst

AboutUs (2006 - present) edit

I'm responsible for organizational development here at AboutUs. I also think of this as organizational health or organizational vitality. Not only do I make sure we have a plan, that everyone knows the plan, and that everyone is following the plan, I am constantly looking at how to improve "how we work together."

Before that I worked for about 10 weeks in the Sales team, making phone calls to people interested in promoting their businesses with AboutUs.

Before that I was a member of the Community Staff, working with other staff and the community at large to help each people here realize their goals.

Ted playing go!

Motivation: I'm here with AboutUs because it's time for us to emerge from our pre-humanness. One piece of that is self-organization. Humans have been self-organizing for thousands of years, and yet in recent history, we've self-organized into unhealthy hierarchies. Here at AboutUs, we're working together in a do-ocracy. What do you want to DO today? We can help. My personal passion is building the social tools we need to work together, for the benefit of us all.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (2001 - 2007) edit

Youth Housing Assistance Coordinator

WikiIndex.org (2006) edit

Worked with MarkDilley, RayKing and JohnStanton to barnraise.

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights (1995 - 2001) edit

Supportive Housing Administrator

AmeriCorps Supervisor

Chicago Youth Centers (1994 - 1995) edit

AmeriCorps Supervisor

Chicago Cluster Initiative (1993 - 1994) edit

Intern

Princeton University (1989 - 1993) edit

Other edit


Test edit

This is a test, only a test: Category:Model Railroading

My Influence Us Comments edit

edit ShelleySchoepflinSanders's Comments on ChaosCafeAndParlor.com

  • ShelleySchoepflinSanders (delighted) : Love the organic vegetarian food, the atmosphere, the great tables, the friendly staff, and the commitment to socially responsible eating. Would LOVE to see some waffles on the Sunday Brunch menu! 20:32, 17 February 2008 (PST)
    • TedErnst's reply : I didn't see waffles on the Sunday brunch menu today, but they did have pancakes. 00:43, 3 March 2008 (PST)


edit TedErnst's Comments on ChaosCafeAndParlor.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : Brunch today was fantastic. And when the server apologized for the wait before we got our water, I felt more emotion from a server in any restaurant I've ever been in. Thanks for caring so much! 00:44, 3 March 2008 (PST)


edit TedErnst's Comments on Wretch.cc

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : Please do not send spam email to promote your blog. 11:11, 5 March 2008 (PST)



edit TedErnst's Comments on Squa.re

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : I'm a bit frustrated that one of the support email addresses for AboutUs.org (support, info, help, etc) is somehow on the Squa.re email list and seemingly no way to get it off. Help?! 14:20, 11 March 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on AudioGoLessons.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : I really get a lot out of these lessons, and there are enough free ones to know that the paid ones are worth it! It also doesn't hurt that the paid ones are only 1 euro. :-) 11:08, 6 April 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on 12Listen.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : This is a test of the "old" influence us. 22:52, 4 May 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on ArtOfTea.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : I'm delighted that Steve is asking great questions! 07:06, 20 May 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on HiddenNetwork.com

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : I'm frustrated by spammy emails from HiddenNetwork.com. Please send email only to people that have opted-in! 11:48, 22 May 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on SparKassler.de

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : I'm frustrated by the spammy link exchange email you sent me. Please stop that kind of practice! 14:49, 22 May 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on RegulasJoyOfMovement.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : I feel really good in Regula's classes, because they're so small. Regula gives tons of individual attention to her students. 14:21, 31 January 2008 (PST)

edit TedErnst's Comments on IncidentReport

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : 502 proxy error saving http://www.aboutus.org/User:hkvibes 10:21, 11 June 2008 (PDT)
  • TedErnst (frustrated) : proxy error Proxy Error. . The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. The proxy server could not handle the request POST /index.php. . Reason: Error reading from remote server. . : trying to save DailyBuzz 15:54, 7 June 2008 (PDT)
  • TedErnst (frustrated) : 502 proxy error saving edit to DailyBuzz 12:35, 6 June 2008 (PDT)
  • TedErnst (frustrated) : 502 proxy error http://www.aboutus.org/Category:OperationsTask 14:58, 4 June 2008 (PDT)
  • TedErnst (frustrated) : 502 proxy error saving a AboutUs.org edit 01:41, 4 June 2008 (PDT)
  • TedErnst (frustrated) : 502 proxy error saving a DailyBuzz edit 00:20, 4 June 2008 (PDT)


edit vmirzaye's Comments on MeZuZahStore.com

  • vmirzaye (frustrated) : There customer contact center number DOES NOT work! I called Aron Sheifer directly and he hung up, telling me "I have the wrong #". The site charged my credit card 3 times, incorrectly. DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THEM!! 11:19, 27 May 2008 (PDT)
    • Aaron Shaffier's reply :

      This comment was obviously posted by someone who has something personal against me is running a competing website. Perhaps they are the owner of one of the several sites that has popped up in the last years that try to imitate ours and draw off of unsuspecting customers. Here is why I am sure this is the case:.

      1. In the post, my name is mentioned as Aron Sheifer. My correct name is Aaron Shaffier. What is interesting about this is that my friends and acquaintances call me by the Yiddishized form 'Aron' or 'Arun'. Also my last name, although spelled Shaffier, is pronounced Sheifer. If this was some random customer who found our site on the internet, and purchased and then had a bad experience, their only knowledge of my name would be what is printed on our website. The very way that they spell it proves that they know me personally or are in my business field and know of me from colleagues.

      2. They claim to have called me personally. How do they have my personal number? I live in Israel! We have an employee in Oxnard, CA who deals with all phone calls. I sometimes will deal with issues that have been emailed, but I do not answer the phones from Israel.

      3. Why would we charge their card 3 times? All of our orders go through an automated system which is linked in with Authorize.net, one of the largest credit card processors on the internet. We never once have had an issue of a card being charged multiple times. It is very clear that this person who is either a competitor or has some personal vendetta against me is trying to invent a nightmare story that will be sure to scare away customers. From a psychological point of view, you can understand their intent from their conclusion, "DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THEM".

      4. They say that our phone number doesn't work. Unlike most websites, we do not bury our customer service number on some page that you have to search for. We post it loud and clear on the top of EVERY page on our site. If you are wondering, try giving a call yourself. I cannot say that we answer it 24/7. After all we are not Walmart of Costco, we are a small website selling a niche product and we have one person doing customer service part time. But the number does work and if you leave a message you will get a return call. In addition we offer email customer service as well as Live Chat that is often available. (Also posted on the top of every page).

      In any case, despite the obvious bad intent of the this person's post, I would like to thank them for giving me an excuse to share all of the reasons why you should feel great about shopping at our site. I believe that the truth is something that can be seen clearly by anyone with open eyes and that any person who reads the childish post and my reply will see which one is true. 01:34, 16 July 2008 (PDT)
      • Aaron Shaffier's reply : Please view my post regarding this at http://mezuzahstore.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/16/mezuzahstorecom-has-enemies-imagine-that/ 04:26, 16 July 2008 (PDT)
        • TedErnst's reply : Hi Aaron. When I click on the link for your blog post, I get a "redirect loop" error in my browser. Any idea what's up? I'd love to read your post! Also, I cannot find a link to your blog from your site itself. Is that a bug or a feature? ;-) Fixed now. Yay! And sorry about the bug where your reply didn't show up. I've fixed it. 06:28, 16 July 2008 (PDT)
          • Aaron Shaffier's reply : Thanks for pointing this out. I just did an edit to .htaccess on my site and it seems I made an error. I have corrected it and the url should work fine. Also you can go directly to the blog at http://www.mezuzahstore.com/blog. . The page is linked from the home page but it is not featured prominently so you may have overlooked it. . Thanks. . Aaron Shaffier 07:14, 16 July 2008 (PDT)


edit Marcia Flynn's Comments on AboutUs.org

  • Marcia Flynn (frustrated) : I'm totally frustrated 00:19, 28 September 2008 (PDT)
    • TedErnst's reply : Hi Marcia. Could you say more about what you're frustrated about? If it's About AboutUs.org, hopefully we can help. 09:09, 28 September 2008 (PDT)


edit Don Hall's Comments on AboutUs.org

  • Don Hall (delighted) : Appart from Monday 20th October 2008 of your desk callender I have found it to be very stimulating 04:41, 22 October 2008 (PDT)
  • Don Hall (frustrated) : The puzzle on your desk calender dated Monday 20th October 2008 appears to be wrong. If you follow the question the answer is wrong, but if you follow the direction of the arrow then the answer is correct 04:38, 22 October 2008 (PDT)
    • TedErnst's reply : This is AboutUs.org. We don't have a desk calendar. Which company/website are you trying to reach? 10:28, 22 October 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on Yammer.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : Yammer is awesome. Its basically private Twitter for a company, but better, actually. The reply function works well. It's a great way to stay in touch at work, answering the question "What are you working on?" 13:24, 22 October 2008 (PDT)


edit TedErnst's Comments on RealityCheck-Coaching.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : Jennifer asks fantastic questions! I am so excited to be beginning a coaching relationship with her. ~~~~~


edit TedErnst's Comments on BuyDomainPortfolio.com

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : This domain appears to be violating the AboutUs license by copying content without attribution. Also, hotlinking logos from AboutUs is way not cool. Please stop this behaviour! Tue Dec 02 10:13:14 UTC 2008


edit TedErnst's Comments on JustGiftAlready.com

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : Sounds like a pyramid scheme, which works great for those that get in early and make their money before the whole thing comes crashing down. People that haven't yet sucked money out when it crashes are left holding the bag. Please stop exploiting greedy people! Thu Dec 11 16:13:31 UTC 2008
    • briankhunt's reply : If you go on the site frustrated Ted, You will read that this is totally legal. It is not a pyramid or ponzi, Period. It is a one time gift and you gift without want. It comes back to you. You should look at the site and see that it is a blessing, not a greedy , exploiting scam site you think it is. READ.. and you will not be frustrated. Thank you, Brian Hunt http://www.justgiftalready.com Mon May 04 20:24:16 UTC 2009


edit TedErnst's Comments on MyCareerLeaper.com

  • TedErnst (frustrated) : Please don't send spammy email to us. As you know, we have no Jay Kevin here. You seem to be just shooting in the dark. Please stop! Here's what we got from you today:. 
from	Lydia Price <34a6aef246835f106e7404aa342708a2>
to	Jay Kevin <122af40c5b055311abbd897384dbd2d9>
date	Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 7:59 AM
subject	Jay, question
mailed-by	mycareerleaper.com

Hi Jay, I hope you are well.
Question - could you try us the next time.
you have to cut any staff? We are exceptional
at finding separated. employees new positions
and reducing your litigation risk. Our site.
explains how we do it better. Let me know a
time we could speak in the. next few days (I
will call you then).

Lydia Price
President
CareerLeaper

1100  Abernathy Road
Reply for Removal
Atlanta, GA
678-427-6771
www.MyCareerLeaper.com
Mon Feb 16 16:46:41 UTC 2009


edit TedErnst's Comments on ErnstSeed.com

  • TedErnst (delighted) : Love the name! :-) (No relation to myself) Fri Mar 13 15:32:30 UTC 2009