Personal Taste

I really have sworn off lists of “how to” or “the lessons of” anything to do with the internet, twitter or blogs…so I am really not sure why I read this but I did find it interesting.

Moving on to more important issues, we were having a conversation recently with some friends about TV and viewing habits. I was (and remain) shocked at how many of my friends watch reality shows - regularly! So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, Survivor, Intervention, etc… I laughed and chirped that I had no interest - that was met with a comment about me being a snob. Honestly, I’m not really sure how my lack of interest in so called “reality shows” makes me a snob but…

In fairness, I have seen bits of some reality TV and, while not horrid, they simply did not appeal to me. This in the same way that overly gruesome horror films are of no interest.

The whole conversation has made me wonder if our entertainment choices are a reflection of our personality or of our mood.

The truth is that while I don’t watch a lot of television I can and do get involved in certain programs. Currently I look forward to watching Parenthood on Tuesday nights and Treme on Sundays. Most shows I lose interest in fairly quickly – since both of these are new, I am still involved and both seem to have some staying power. They may be my new Sopranos, or Entourage.

I have recently written about my current “go to” blogs. Some of my current “other” entertainment choices: I am reading Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey (which, 25% in I am liking), and the previously referred to 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace by Wayne Dwyer (which was recommended to me and I am struggling through). My current leisure magazine of choice is Vanity Fair (current issue not as good as the last) and in my car I have been listening to David Sedaris (reality listening at its funniest) as well as my iPod on shuffle (almost always the case)
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Maybe the choices are a reflection of both personality and mood.
Cheers and have a great day,
George

Spring Resolutions

Resolutions have become a New Years Eve tradition over the years. I am not sure when or where the practice started but I suppose it makes sense - a look back at the year past, a look forward to a new year, a new start, a fresh outlook on the future. Interesting to me is that spring seems to be an equally popular time for new beginnings without the same formal approach and without the retrospective analysis. I think people are generally more motivated – tossing off the winter coats and hats and embracing the outdoors. We are outside, getting gardens prepared for planting, cleaning out the clutter and reorganizing life. I think most people resolve to make change in the spring.

For me, the change of seasons also brings renewed business vigor of sorts. I’ve found in the last few years that the winter season is broken up more then it used to be. Business seems to wind down in early December and really does not start to reawaken until mid or even late January. Only then to be followed by a lapse caused by spring school break. I suppose the long cold winter and lack of sunshine leads to this winter “snooze” – perhaps it’s a lack of vitamin D.

Speaking of spring and new starts, one of my favourite links is the Springwise monthly newsletter. If you haven’t checked it out, I strongly recommend it to anyone with an entrepreneurial or creative streak. The publication focuses on business ideas being launched around the world and many of them are, in a word, great. I saw an article a few weeks ago that fits nicely with the topic of social media and linking people though an on-line resource to real capital and real opportunities. It happens that the “crowdsourcing” referred to in the article is one of those great ideas born out of the social media revolution and there are lots.

Unfortunately, as I grow bored with Twitter and Facebook I need reassurance that there are people out there doing more with the offering then writing about how to do social media better. This just seems more interesting and to me, motivating.
Embrace the season and make a sober spring resolution.
Cheers and have a great day.
George

Overwhelmed

I had written an entire post about technology and how an initial idea and application often gets morphed into something entirely different. I used the GPS as an example. When I reread and edited the post, it just seemed boring and without any real purpose. I was speaking to the question of whether a particular technological advancement was seeking to solve a problem or address a need. Or conversely, was it simply another piece of fluff?

As technology evolves, so does the way it is used. Twitter for example was designed to be a social networking tool. For me, I see it used mostly as a networking tool for business. I did a quick summary of activity and have found that 90% of the tweets I get are links to articles on business, media and social networking. I know it has much to do with the people I chose to follow but I haven’t found a lot more opportunities. As for the business links, I do want to keep up but am frankly overwhelmed. I was in meetings for most of the afternoon yesterday and returned to over 100 Tweets. And I only follow 43 people! Most of those messages are from people who in some way earn a living related to social media. Add that to a slew of telephone messages (yes I still get a few) and emails and the challenge is on.

For me, I may have reached a point where trying to keep up is an impossible task. How many articles can be written about the same basic things? I thought that I had an “aha” moment with Twitter a couple of months ago but now I am not so sure. Maybe, it’s a novelty that is little more then fluff!

I am turning off Twitter and Facebook and heading home to read a book and maybe a good magazine article. There was a time when I could have totally zoned out but my Blackberry keeps me constantly connected – clearly technology can be great but…

Cheers and have a great day!
George

Milestones and Inner Peace

For me, 2010 is quickly becoming the year of the milestone birthday. I cannot keep count of the number of people I know who are turning either 40 or 50 this year and in the last 2 weeks I spoken to 3 acquaintances who just had 30th birthday bashes. I am not entirely sure why but decades are often marked with introspection. I guess it is simply that we are given cause to evaluate our lives at momentous times and I suppose, adding a decade counts as such.
In my parents generation, the angst of life in your 40’s and 50’s was called a mid life crisis and was something that was fed with a sports car or largely ignored as a passing feeling. Something not to be concerned with or fussed about. Our generation seems determined to evaluate and look at potential ways to change.
Of course, our parents also grew up in a world where loyalty to a company was admired and rewarded, where you were defined not by who you were as a person but what you did for a job. It was a time of security with good health care benefits and pension plans, available jobs and all sorts of potential for anyone interested in working hard.
I was speaking with a friend of mine last week about this issue and he told me about a book that helped him called “10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace” by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Like many people I know, he is concerned about his life going forward, about job security and long-term finances, about happiness. I laughed and commented on how times had changed, wondering what our fathers would think about us having a beer and discussing happiness and “inner peace” – they would never have done it… or would they?
As an addendum to my last post and as part of this post, I want to add a blog/ site called Escaping Mediocrity to the list of sites that I follow regularly. I suppose I am attracted to it as part of my self-evaluation – my own attempt to find inner peace. It’s kind of a life-coaching site and interesting enough that I keep going back.
Cheers and have a great day.
George
PS – I saw this today (tweeted by Allan Ward) and thought it an appropriate quote to end this post…
"It is never too late to be what you might have been" - George Eliot

Other Blogs

Well, as promised, no more talk of that “i” thing! And, I’m not going to link an article today – mainly because I really don’t know if anyone reads the links. Ok, truth is I really don’t know if anyone actually reads the blog at all. Oh well, I actually find it an oddly therapeutic process – even if I am only sending thoughts into thin air. I was told recently by an acquaintance that they had read one of my posts and wanted to leave a comment but could not – some technical issue. I am still trying to find out what that might be.
Of all my experiences since I started this, the best is some of the blogs that I have found and now follow. I read some business related ones (I have renewed my insane love of the Harvard Business Review), and I follow a bunch of tweeters on a regular basis as well as following their threads and some of the comment links to some interesting places. But the truth is, the blogs I really love are the ones that have little to do with business or “social media” and a lot to do with “life”.
In no particular order here are three of my current favourites:
Jessica Watson Official Blog
I have referred to Jessica in the past. She is an Australian teenager who is attempting to sail solo and unassisted around the world and she is close to completing that goal. I have been following her journey since the beginning and will miss reading her observations when here trip is finished.
My Life in Key West
I stumbled across this site quite accidentally and have read it almost every day since. Lou is a retired lawyer living in Key West, Florida. I happen to love that island and town so I find it fun to read about his life and social interactions. I suppose it helps that I know most of the places he writes about and reading him makes me want to get back to my favourite get away.
Our Little Apartment
I found this site recently and love it. It kind of reminds me of Julie in the movie Julie and Julia with out the cooking. It’s the honest story of a young couples life from the wife’s perspective. It is somehow endearing although I suspect it would be of interest mainly to women, I find it refreshing.
Cheers and have a great day,
George

Game Changer

Ugh! And here I thought that spring had arrived in Toronto. I am reminded this morning that it is still early April, however still optimistic for a nice weekend and my first rounds of golf!

I know that I have been focused on the iPad lately but I simply can’t help myself. I was at a local mall last weekend and happened to walk past an Apple store – they had no iPad on display but the store was packed – as usual. Rounding the corner, I passed an HMV store – which was virtually empty. A few years ago, the HMV store would have been packed on a Saturday but times have changed. The front of the store was merchandised with books and video games, the middle with movies and TV shows on DVD and finally, at the very back, almost hidden away, music. I am guessing that the books are a short-term strategy …

Back to the iPad…I have read that opening day sales were somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000 units. The reviews have been great and if momentum continues then the technology will clearly be a game changer.
Here are links to few short articles that I found interesting (all from Harvard Business Review).

The first is about the Time announcement that it will charge a weekly subscription fee of $5 to get the iPad edition . It will be interesting to see who follows suit!

The second (and related article) focuses on how the publishing industry doesn’t understand that simply redressing content for the technology is not enough “to save the publishing industry”. It is a great article that could be related to many industries and companies attempting to integrate into the new media.

Lastly, is an article that suggested the true value of the iPad would come from the quality of the apps and innovations that come as a result of the technology. The iPod spawned the 99-cent download and iTunes while the iPhone was followed by 150,000 easily downloaded apps. The true innovation of the iPad will be seen in what follows.
With huge opening day sales, it is not a stretch to expect some major “twist” to be just around the corner.

There … I think I have said everything I need to about the iPad. Next time some actual original thoughts.
Cheers and have a great day.
George

Lessons and Revolutions

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’


I hate to start with a 46 year old song reference but I think that in many ways the Dylan lyrics that spoke of cultural change, and a generation demanding that they be heard are as relevant today as they were in 1964. I understand the intent of the song and that there are fundamental differences in attitude and society today. In no way do I discount the profound nature of change in the 60’s and early 70’s. That time was clearly revolutionary, very political and unique in breaking barriers between generations. Without doubt the context of change as it relates to 2010 is different however, there is no doubt that we are in the midst of significant cultural upheaval aided largely by technological changes and advancements. How we function daily, how much information we have available to us, how we shop, how we entertain ourselves, where and how we work and where and how we live – all changing. Is it all too much?

Not only can we now know happenings around the world, we also hear opinions on impacts locally and globally and we are able to view or hear how people feel about those developments. All this information, seen instantly from our personal 9” x 1” screen at a local coffee shop.
In a way, we have become both voyeurs and participants in the world. Our voice and opinions can be heard and the platforms easily accessible for both contributor and observer.

I can’t help but question if it’s all too much and uncontrollable. Does all this information lead to too much discourse, debate and discussion that ultimately bogs down our ability to make change? Case in point, the U.S. health care reform legislation. Is there too much input and will the level of information derail the process so much so that we will never really know if the plan was reasonable? Is anyone capable of disseminating the information and diverse opinions in any reasonable way and, how do we know which opinions to trust? Alternately, maybe we’ll simply tune out due to overload

In a recent Washington Post article the writer tells us that in a given month, there are around 320,000 comments made in response to Post articles and blogs. He further suggests a new filtering system they are developing to categorize commentaries into degrees of trustworthiness. Not exactly limiting free expression but clearly differentiating based on their predetermined criteria.

Is there a line to be drawn in terms of information? Is it possible? More importantly, is there a chance that the age of information will lead to more secrecy and ultimately back to the pre-Revolutionary 60’s age where people knew only what they “needed to know” as determined by some unknown power?

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast

In the end, I’m not suggesting, only wondering.

Cheers and have a great day.
George

The Future of Reading

I have become increasingly interested in publishing and the changing landscape as it pertains to technology. I have written about the e-book evolution, the “almost launched” iPad, the push in magazine sales, and the struggle of daily newspapers.
I don't know how this will all turn out but my guess is that daily newspapers will be the first real casualty of our “i” world. Not an earth shattering prediction and certainly not a revolutionary thought however, will magazines be the next to go. And short of simply swapping traditional print for an electronic screen what else will happen.

I admit to being a fan of novels…black print on some variation of a whitish paper with a hard cover and dust jacket or great soft cover. While I was impressed with the confidence of the woman I saw recently, who brought her Kindle to the beach, I’m not sold. It just seems like there is not enough to it. On the other hand, the iPad or some similar technology will most certainly take us further. Although I would argue that the iPad is not advancement but simply a reworking of what exists, I can see it being the new newspaper, the new reference book, and the new magazine. I found the Vook interesting and one of many applications to come. It is not difficult to see the value in having a Food Network chef walking you though a recipe at your pace but as I have mentioned before, I don’t need pictures or video to make my fiction reading more enjoyable.

I also admit to being a fan of magazines. Glossy, colourful, packed with too many ads, and home to all sorts of hidden stories waiting to be found. I leaf through a magazine, pick out a few articles that I am interested in, and start by reading those. Then I dig a bit deeper, reading the “in between” stories, the side bar stories. Then I look through page by page to make sure I haven’t missed something interesting.

OK – so I don’t do this with every magazine I buy, but I do it with a few each month. I’m afraid that scrolling through the headlines on my iPad will render the experience less of a discovery and much more like reading a newspaper. And, will a Vanity Fair or Esquire interview become more like a cross between 60 Minutes and Entertainment Tonight? If we integrate the technology, how can it not?

With all this in mind, I throw out my third admission. I am starting to feel the need for an iPad. I am not sure if it is simply the lure of a new gadget or not wanting to be the only one in Starbucks with my $6 latte using a laptop but…I can’t help it. I want one and they are not even available yet!

Cheers and have a great day!
George