As I was enjoying my Sunday newspaper on my couch (yes I actually still read a physical paper.. how dare me?) an article about Social Media and "friending" caught my eye. The article was questioning how many "friends" were actually "friends" and whether the 5000 cap on Facebook was meaningful. It's a thoughtful question. Apparently social psychologists put the cap at 150 due to physical limitations in the brain. The human brain is just unable to handle more than 150 friends. I thought I can relate to that, then also thought that it must sound Greek (no offense) to most Generation Xers.
What the article was mixing was the actual meaning of "friends" and the social networking meaning of "friends". In social networks it seems that we dont need to have a cap, unless it's a technology limitation as was clarified by Facebook techies. However, the "real" friend is a whole other meaning. Seems like with Facebook, and the verbalization of the word, the meaning is getting more and more blurried by the second. Friending. De-friending. hmm.
In my mind there's a very precise, real "friend-test" that I've come to learn over the years. Actual friends as it were without fail have passed the test.
What is an actual friend? Do we even know anymore? There used to be a time when friends were scarce. They were valuable. The word was reserved for the most special ones in our lives. We'd use the word to refer to our confidants, people we'd have our most sincere conversations with. They would be those who would share in our joys and sorrows. People we would laugh with, cry with, heck even cry for. In the social world, it's more like anybody we know or ever crossed paths with, in some cases anybody that those who we crossed paths with crossed paths with. We have our colleagues as our "friends" and even our bosses!
In the "old" meaning of the word we couldn't wait to share our pictures, jokes, thoughts with our friends. On Facebook, how many times do you stop and consider just who you have on your list before you post your picture on the beach dancing in your bikini and beer bottles around you? How many times did you reconsider before updating "what's on your mind" with your latest rant?
In the "old" meaning of the word, we would know many of our friends' preferences. Trivial preferences like what restaurants they would prefer (never go to Indian with Mary she gets hives), what colors they like (John always has something green) etc. So, how many people on your list know your food preference?
In the "old" meaning of the word, you would actually have conversations. You know, the verbal kind. Stay in touch. Tell me what you're up to. In the Facebook era, it's on status updates. We seem to know that our "friend" is sitting next to a drunk guy who fell asleep on the subway this morning, but failed to realize that she had accepted a new job and relocated to New York 6 months ago...
The word "friend" has become more synonymous with "acquaintance" and less so with "loved one". We have a virtual feeling of being connected, when in reality our connection is only over written word. We pass eachother online, give eachother virtual pokes, and send the occasional smiley face. With hundreds of people on my friend list I wonder how many of them I can call on to help me move? That's how big our "friend" list should actually be. ;)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Yes. One thing I've been saying is, boycotting BP is really not going to do much.
First off, the CEO is gullible enough to deny the extent of the impact the spill is going to have. But most importantly, he's just one man.
Yes, BP is the one that drilled, and yes they are the ones who were collecting the cha-ching while harming the planet. He's not the last man who's going to want to cash in on some unexplored territory.
Remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill? The problem is we havent learned anything from it. Although the spill was much different, the underlying damage and the reason why it took so long to respond was the same.
With the Exxon Valdez spill, nobody had a back-up plan. The politicians who signed the bill did not consider a plan of action for a place that is so remote in case of such a disaster.
Well, with the BP Spill, nobody had a real back-up plan either it seems. Sure there were writings on paper, and documents to show this and that. But no due dilligence. We now know that nobody had actually tested the emergency shut-off feature that everybody was so confident about. We also know that nobody tested their backup to the blowout preventer, which was covering the well in the deep-water with a subsea oil recovery system.
The article in the NYTimes: New Ways to Drill Old Methods for Clean-up about sums it all up. The questions that come to mind are why wouldn't newer prevention and safety technologies be used?
It seems from all of this that we need to be speding more time and money on prevention, safety and clean-up technologies, even if it means we need to spend less time on discovery!
First off, the CEO is gullible enough to deny the extent of the impact the spill is going to have. But most importantly, he's just one man.
Yes, BP is the one that drilled, and yes they are the ones who were collecting the cha-ching while harming the planet. He's not the last man who's going to want to cash in on some unexplored territory.
Remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill? The problem is we havent learned anything from it. Although the spill was much different, the underlying damage and the reason why it took so long to respond was the same.
With the Exxon Valdez spill, nobody had a back-up plan. The politicians who signed the bill did not consider a plan of action for a place that is so remote in case of such a disaster.
Well, with the BP Spill, nobody had a real back-up plan either it seems. Sure there were writings on paper, and documents to show this and that. But no due dilligence. We now know that nobody had actually tested the emergency shut-off feature that everybody was so confident about. We also know that nobody tested their backup to the blowout preventer, which was covering the well in the deep-water with a subsea oil recovery system.
The article in the NYTimes: New Ways to Drill Old Methods for Clean-up about sums it all up. The questions that come to mind are why wouldn't newer prevention and safety technologies be used?
It seems from all of this that we need to be speding more time and money on prevention, safety and clean-up technologies, even if it means we need to spend less time on discovery!
It's still Spilling...
There doesnt seem to be an end in site. The oil is still gushing into the ocean...BP is now trying the Topkill Procedure. Apparently some want to be extremely optimistic to already announce that it has been successful. But not so fast! The oil has been gushing for over a month, and just because it's "maybe" slowed down, does not mean that anything was successful. Afterall, who knows the power of the oil beneath the ocean floor, who knows that it will not rupture the "topkill" solution at some point?
Hopefully there are others asking these questions and monitoring mechanisms will be put in place.
Then the questions will still remain:
What is the actual volume of the spill? What is the plan for clean up? What are the short-term consequences vs. long-term consequences that we're facing? What can we do to prevent or at least minimize them?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website provides lots of valuable information on the spill. Their Office of Response and Restoration page gives an up-to-date analysis to the extent of the spill.
Here are images of the spill from April 25th through to May 25th from NASA's Earth Observatory:
Note the oil slick towards the right, appearing quite contained but already extremely noticeable for a 5 day spill.
This second image is just from a week later.
Cant notice much of a change due to the changes in water current and winds:
Cant notice much of a change due to the changes in water current and winds:
This third image is from a week after that, so that's 3 weeks after the original spill:(May 11,2010)
This fourth image is 4 weeks (MAy 17, 2010). The spill is getting more and more noticable even from space!
And finally, the very latest:
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Gulf Oil Spill - 4 Weeks On
It has effectively been over 4 weeks and the world is still watching as the earth is literally bleeding under the Gulf of Mexico.
We have brought the system to such a level that we cannot even do whatever it takes as soon as possible, skipping any bureaucracy to stop our own mess!
It's mind-boggling, heart-wrenching and absolutely sickening to see how politicians are arguing over the urgency, and getting engaged in "he said/she said" discussions instead of actually taking action. You don't have to agree on the amount of the spill, you dont have to agree who is responsible, you dont have to get the lawyers involved in courtrooms. The spill is not happening in any of these buildings, it's out in the Gulf. OUR Gulf! YOUR Gulf!
Get out and DO the work. The government, and the powers up there need to hire the most expensive scientists from MIT, Harvard, UCLA (you get the point) and fire the lawyers and the politicians in suits. We need to hire the specialists and geologists who actually understand what's going on and can actually determine how much oil is leaking, where it's going and what the actual risks are, not to mention that they can actually DO something.
They should even hire Kevin Costner, after his idea of the oil/water seperator technology.
You definitely need to fire the CEO's who actually:
"BP CEO Tony Hayward told Britain's Sky News on Tuesday morning that he didnt think the spill would seriously hurt the Gulf ecosystem. Read more..." This is a MONTH after his own failure.
Once the well is plugged and we stop the damage we're causing to mother earth, then you all can go back to your respective rooms and argue and discuss until you turn blue in the face. Meanwhile I hope you also remember to hold accountable ALL the politicians who voted for this BP Proposal without a sufficient backup plan!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Feb 25
Toyoda is not a criminal - we shouldn't treat him like one
As is stated in the Washington Post - the hearings are mostly the clash of cultures.
A criminal investigation is underway for Toyoda?
Comments like "I do not feel it reflects sufficient remorse" is really out of proportion. We are dealing with a different culture, none of us experts of it. The last thing Toyoda would want is to see somebody die because of his product. We've had numerous recalls with cars, strollers which also caused deaths and happened quite recently and we tried to stay away from blaming a person. We are dealing with a different culture and it's time that we show them our tact.
We are hardly in a position to judge remorse, it's our country who is providing bonuses to people who actually caused a national breakdown and loss of life savings for many around the globe.
Toyoda and his people are expressing much more remorse than we saw from any of the bankers. They are expressing their willingness to cooperate and change. We are trying to start a criminial investigation on them, still letting our own hawks collect bonuses that are coming from our taxpayers' money.
I'm not saying that Toyoda shouldn't be held responsible. He is responsible, and he is taking the responsibility - he's traveled halfway around the world to face it. But we are so used to people denying responsibility that it seems we have no clue how to handle a situation when the person actually does take responsibility.
Let's keep this in context, let's not lose our focus and see what we can do moving forward to fix these problems. Let's analyze the system that caused this, the reasons that this happened without getting into attack mode for a change.
With all types of recalls going on in so many different industries and companies (Avandia - GSK, Health Valley Granola Bars, MacLaren Strollers, Toys, Chrysler...) it's time for us to start reviewing the system and the way that we are doing business - rather than using this as grounds to point fingers, increase ratings, earn votes and forget about the underlying problem until next time.
As is stated in the Washington Post - the hearings are mostly the clash of cultures.
A criminal investigation is underway for Toyoda?
Comments like "I do not feel it reflects sufficient remorse" is really out of proportion. We are dealing with a different culture, none of us experts of it. The last thing Toyoda would want is to see somebody die because of his product. We've had numerous recalls with cars, strollers which also caused deaths and happened quite recently and we tried to stay away from blaming a person. We are dealing with a different culture and it's time that we show them our tact.
We are hardly in a position to judge remorse, it's our country who is providing bonuses to people who actually caused a national breakdown and loss of life savings for many around the globe.
Toyoda and his people are expressing much more remorse than we saw from any of the bankers. They are expressing their willingness to cooperate and change. We are trying to start a criminial investigation on them, still letting our own hawks collect bonuses that are coming from our taxpayers' money.
I'm not saying that Toyoda shouldn't be held responsible. He is responsible, and he is taking the responsibility - he's traveled halfway around the world to face it. But we are so used to people denying responsibility that it seems we have no clue how to handle a situation when the person actually does take responsibility.
Let's keep this in context, let's not lose our focus and see what we can do moving forward to fix these problems. Let's analyze the system that caused this, the reasons that this happened without getting into attack mode for a change.
With all types of recalls going on in so many different industries and companies (Avandia - GSK, Health Valley Granola Bars, MacLaren Strollers, Toys, Chrysler...) it's time for us to start reviewing the system and the way that we are doing business - rather than using this as grounds to point fingers, increase ratings, earn votes and forget about the underlying problem until next time.
Feb 24
Solar News:
Chevron adds solar power to area mine
Always great to see the "brown energy" companies taking green steps!
Being Human and the Toyota Recall
You can read the media reports on Toyoda's testimony and interrogation in front of the house committee at CNN and/or NY Times as well as other news outlets.
I agree with Toyota's new commercial: "Good companies fix their mistakes; great companies learn from them". Though the sentence is not complete. "The greatest companies learn from others' mistakes". This whole situation should be a lesson to ALL companies, not just in the auto industry but in others as well.
Toyota's deepest mistake, as they've been admitting, is to put growth in front of safety and customers. Business today, as we know it, is purely based on profit and money. Maybe we can take that focus as being just a tad overblown at this point. Everybody is after the "material" earnings - such as market share, revenue, profit - while practically nobody is paying attention to the "human" earnings - loyalty, customer satisfaction, safety and service - or the human touch as it were. Performance, of employees and businesses alike, are all based on profits, nevermind the hurt you cause to others in the process. After years and years of this "corporate culture" we've come too close to being literal. So now we make it news!
I do feel for Toyoda though. Of all the times that this could have happened, it's right at the edge of the recession, a time when practically all automakers are struggling and looking for any scapegoat or diversion from themselves. Of all the companies that this could have happened, it's to a Japanese firm in a US environment. There are again too many dynamics for any of us to claim any objectivity on the matter. This is the global and dog-eat-dog world that we've created, and they are the voluntary players.
People, both employees and customers alike, are being treated as if they're robots. In today's world, the more out of touch you are with your human side, the more "professional" or "experienced" you are seen as being. The first places the companies look at cutting costs is Customer Service, QA, Testing, HR etc. These are seen as "overhead" expenses - not necessary. I hope that this situation with Toyota will have at least a few reconsider their priorities.
To bring the point across, look at the companies who are highest in quality. They are also highest in loyalty and even in profits! In the auto-industry BMW and Mercedes, never took their cars to be something they werent prepared to support. They are high-end cars. They are expensive. They listen to their customers. They still have true customer service. They still care about the quality of every single car that leaves their lot. They didnt say they were going to make a car that was going to cost $10,000 for the Jones' to buy. They focused on their markets. They focused on their signature service. They did not lose site of their customers while keeping their eye on the profit target - as Toyota seems to have admitted.
The greed that has become synonymous with our times and the lack of the "human-touch" seems to be a damaging combination in the long run.
Chevron adds solar power to area mine
Always great to see the "brown energy" companies taking green steps!
Being Human and the Toyota Recall
You can read the media reports on Toyoda's testimony and interrogation in front of the house committee at CNN and/or NY Times as well as other news outlets.
I agree with Toyota's new commercial: "Good companies fix their mistakes; great companies learn from them". Though the sentence is not complete. "The greatest companies learn from others' mistakes". This whole situation should be a lesson to ALL companies, not just in the auto industry but in others as well.
Toyota's deepest mistake, as they've been admitting, is to put growth in front of safety and customers. Business today, as we know it, is purely based on profit and money. Maybe we can take that focus as being just a tad overblown at this point. Everybody is after the "material" earnings - such as market share, revenue, profit - while practically nobody is paying attention to the "human" earnings - loyalty, customer satisfaction, safety and service - or the human touch as it were. Performance, of employees and businesses alike, are all based on profits, nevermind the hurt you cause to others in the process. After years and years of this "corporate culture" we've come too close to being literal. So now we make it news!
I do feel for Toyoda though. Of all the times that this could have happened, it's right at the edge of the recession, a time when practically all automakers are struggling and looking for any scapegoat or diversion from themselves. Of all the companies that this could have happened, it's to a Japanese firm in a US environment. There are again too many dynamics for any of us to claim any objectivity on the matter. This is the global and dog-eat-dog world that we've created, and they are the voluntary players.
People, both employees and customers alike, are being treated as if they're robots. In today's world, the more out of touch you are with your human side, the more "professional" or "experienced" you are seen as being. The first places the companies look at cutting costs is Customer Service, QA, Testing, HR etc. These are seen as "overhead" expenses - not necessary. I hope that this situation with Toyota will have at least a few reconsider their priorities.
To bring the point across, look at the companies who are highest in quality. They are also highest in loyalty and even in profits! In the auto-industry BMW and Mercedes, never took their cars to be something they werent prepared to support. They are high-end cars. They are expensive. They listen to their customers. They still have true customer service. They still care about the quality of every single car that leaves their lot. They didnt say they were going to make a car that was going to cost $10,000 for the Jones' to buy. They focused on their markets. They focused on their signature service. They did not lose site of their customers while keeping their eye on the profit target - as Toyota seems to have admitted.
The greed that has become synonymous with our times and the lack of the "human-touch" seems to be a damaging combination in the long run.
Feb 22
Delayed bu here it is:
I was away on the weekend so there seems to be more on my mind today than before. It's amazing how differently we perceive news, and other things when we are not stuck in the office. Or at least that's true for me.
If you don’t want to read about my rants, here are links to my Solar Power page, which I write most about. Today's highlights in Solar:
Solar News from around the web:
Governor Rendell: New Solar Energy Investments to Help Businesses, Municipalities Conserve Energy, Cut Expenses
""We are making tremendous strides in bringing more solar capacity on line," said Governor Rendell. "By December 2010, Pennsylvania will rank in the top five states for solar in terms of megawatts operating. With the programs that we have in place today and the funds made available to us through the federal stimulus, this will bring our total solar capacity to nearly 60 megawatts or enough to power 7,200 homes."
This article is absolutely right on:
The Clean Energy Gold Rush
We need to change -- quickly. The U.S. must create policies that support long-term, stable demand for clean energy production to encourage companies to invest and create jobs.
My rant of the day:
Tiger's Apology or Nike's?
I just have to get this off my chest. I was at the airport on Friday when ALL channels were broadcasting the Tiger Woods apology. The PHL airport was silenced, everybody was just listening to him. It was almost like the President was announcing war or peace or something. Then again, I doubt that our generation would pay as much attention to that type of "news" anymore. People would be much more skeptical about that than Tiger's words.
It was amazing how everybody was so attuned the whole time to what he was saying. I was sitting at a bar, waiting for boarding. Before his broadcast started, there was a lot of chatter, people were asking waiters and waitresses to bring one thing or another to their table and that they were in a hurry. Everybody forgot about everything once the broadcast started. I was amazed.
People said that it was a heartfelt apology. I felt that the statement he read was not for you, or for me. Why do you or I care about his personal habits, and problems anyway? He's a golfer, not a senator that represents us. Why is it not such a big deal when there's a dog killer on a football team, but it's SO huge when there's a golfer having affairs?
This hype is all around the sponsorship. Tiger Woods, is not "just" a golfer anymore. He's a brand. He represents products and brands. That's how he makes most of his money, not just from tournaments. Losing the brands would be a huge financial loss to him as well as high cost for the brands that are behind him. This is the power of marketing in the 21st century. That is why he had the Nike spokeswoman sitting next to his mother rather than his wife, close friend or anybody else. I thought even that was a statement: He's first represented by his mother, then by Nike.
This was Nike's apology to its consumers. Apologizing that they had a sponsor who was not true to their values.
Maybe that explains why there isn't a Nike apology for using child labor in China? Why is Tiger's affairs more important to them than their lack of social responsibility?
Perhaps I wasn’t interested in Tiger's apology because first, I am not a golfer, second, I am not a Nike fan at all, third, I am much too aware of the hypocrisy and double standards that surround us today to take that statement as heartfelt. When did the dog fighter ever apologize before joining the Eagle
I was away on the weekend so there seems to be more on my mind today than before. It's amazing how differently we perceive news, and other things when we are not stuck in the office. Or at least that's true for me.
If you don’t want to read about my rants, here are links to my Solar Power page, which I write most about. Today's highlights in Solar:
Solar News from around the web:
Governor Rendell: New Solar Energy Investments to Help Businesses, Municipalities Conserve Energy, Cut Expenses
""We are making tremendous strides in bringing more solar capacity on line," said Governor Rendell. "By December 2010, Pennsylvania will rank in the top five states for solar in terms of megawatts operating. With the programs that we have in place today and the funds made available to us through the federal stimulus, this will bring our total solar capacity to nearly 60 megawatts or enough to power 7,200 homes."
This article is absolutely right on:
The Clean Energy Gold Rush
We need to change -- quickly. The U.S. must create policies that support long-term, stable demand for clean energy production to encourage companies to invest and create jobs.
My rant of the day:
Tiger's Apology or Nike's?
I just have to get this off my chest. I was at the airport on Friday when ALL channels were broadcasting the Tiger Woods apology. The PHL airport was silenced, everybody was just listening to him. It was almost like the President was announcing war or peace or something. Then again, I doubt that our generation would pay as much attention to that type of "news" anymore. People would be much more skeptical about that than Tiger's words.
It was amazing how everybody was so attuned the whole time to what he was saying. I was sitting at a bar, waiting for boarding. Before his broadcast started, there was a lot of chatter, people were asking waiters and waitresses to bring one thing or another to their table and that they were in a hurry. Everybody forgot about everything once the broadcast started. I was amazed.
People said that it was a heartfelt apology. I felt that the statement he read was not for you, or for me. Why do you or I care about his personal habits, and problems anyway? He's a golfer, not a senator that represents us. Why is it not such a big deal when there's a dog killer on a football team, but it's SO huge when there's a golfer having affairs?
This hype is all around the sponsorship. Tiger Woods, is not "just" a golfer anymore. He's a brand. He represents products and brands. That's how he makes most of his money, not just from tournaments. Losing the brands would be a huge financial loss to him as well as high cost for the brands that are behind him. This is the power of marketing in the 21st century. That is why he had the Nike spokeswoman sitting next to his mother rather than his wife, close friend or anybody else. I thought even that was a statement: He's first represented by his mother, then by Nike.
This was Nike's apology to its consumers. Apologizing that they had a sponsor who was not true to their values.
Maybe that explains why there isn't a Nike apology for using child labor in China? Why is Tiger's affairs more important to them than their lack of social responsibility?
Perhaps I wasn’t interested in Tiger's apology because first, I am not a golfer, second, I am not a Nike fan at all, third, I am much too aware of the hypocrisy and double standards that surround us today to take that statement as heartfelt. When did the dog fighter ever apologize before joining the Eagle
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Toyota Recall Campaign
Here's a campaign in the making... How do you think Toyota is handling the recall? What's working? What could they have handled differently (aside from the obvious "avoid mistakes")?
I like this commercial that has been appearing on TV. They are doing a good job admitting, accepting and addressing the issues.
I like this commercial that has been appearing on TV. They are doing a good job admitting, accepting and addressing the issues.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Prius brake fix near, Toyota tells dealers
Prius brake fix near, Toyota tells dealers
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So when should I expect a recall from Toyota?
One of the things that Toyota might be able to improve on is to increase their direct communications with the individual car owners. Except for what I see in the news, I haven't heard from the dealer or from the company to indicate whether my car will, in fact, be recalled, and if so when?
This is definitely a test of communications and marketing for Toyota. They need to make sure that they handle this situation without ANY mistakes.
They have been upfront about the situation, but maybe a little too soon than necessary? What if the recall notice was first sent out to the owners and THEN to the media?
There seems to be many hazards with communicating too much with the media first. Let's see if we can sit back and follow the whole story, hopefully my Prius gets fixed sooner rather than later.
Im waiting for my direct communications, when we call the dealers, of course they are overwhelmed because of the volume of calls that they are getting about the recalls and pretty much everybody asking the same thing. It's time that we hear directly from THEM.
Posted using ShareThis
So when should I expect a recall from Toyota?
One of the things that Toyota might be able to improve on is to increase their direct communications with the individual car owners. Except for what I see in the news, I haven't heard from the dealer or from the company to indicate whether my car will, in fact, be recalled, and if so when?
This is definitely a test of communications and marketing for Toyota. They need to make sure that they handle this situation without ANY mistakes.
They have been upfront about the situation, but maybe a little too soon than necessary? What if the recall notice was first sent out to the owners and THEN to the media?
There seems to be many hazards with communicating too much with the media first. Let's see if we can sit back and follow the whole story, hopefully my Prius gets fixed sooner rather than later.
Im waiting for my direct communications, when we call the dealers, of course they are overwhelmed because of the volume of calls that they are getting about the recalls and pretty much everybody asking the same thing. It's time that we hear directly from THEM.
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