About seven or eight years ago, Victoria’s Secret became the flashpoint for considerable change. At the time, they were “outed” for printing their catalogue on paper that was being clear-cut from the Canadian Boreal forest. Perhaps the most amazing bit of information in the controversy was that Victoria’s Secret actually mailed over 1 million catalogues each and every day. I think that statistic alone gave the story great momentum, as people were amazed at the volume. The clear cutting issue, fueled by this statistic created a storm of controversy that I believe had two long-term impacts. First, it made consumers aware of an issue that needed to be addressed (forest preservation) and second (perhaps more important) it made corporations think about their purchasing and manufacturing practices and how their image and business could be impacted if a similar (perhaps unknown) situation existed within their organization.
The key change that came out of this issue is that corporations started to look at their practices and their supply chain to ensure that they had no hidden demons that could cause issue. The other important change was that the spotlight got turned to managed forests and certification programs like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and PEFC.
Victoria’s Secret still wanted to produce catalogues but needed to address this environmental problem which they did.
It is interesting to note that somewhere along the way, between clear cutting the great Boreal forest and being environmentally conscious, printing and paper got a bad reputation – one that is not deserved. We need to remember that trees are a renewable resource and if we support well-managed forest certification programs (designed to preserve our forests), the world’s forests will flourish. It is also important to note that paper mills have been one of the most environmentally regulated industries over the past 20 years.
Recently, I have seen ads and heard comments that companies are lessening their print marketing for the good of the environment – they are saving trees! At best, this statement misguided and at worst, it’s a misdirection or perhaps a lie.
If the economy has forced a business to reduce it’s print marketing spend – fine.
If a company has decided that they get more impact for their investment with an Internet campaign or mass email distribution – fine.
But, if you want to have a positive impact the environment with your print decision - buy smart! Find a printer who has reduced their VOC output, uses flax or soy inks, generates or supports power generation from a renewable source and specify paper from a managed forest to name but a few. Many companies in the printing industry have embraced environmental concerns and gone to great lengths trying to achieve the goal of being "green".
Cheers and have a great day.
George
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Well – back to work. I think the long weekend has messed up my schedule completely. Having said that, it’s nice to have a holiday Monday in the middle of winter.
Like many Canadians, I spent a fair amount of time this past weekend watching the wall-to-wall Olympic coverage. Some parts were exciting and fun, others I found to be tedious and overplayed. I won't comment on the opening ceremonies except to say that it might have been a good thing that they did not try the hologram that was predicted.
As for some of the other technology that was promised, I particularly enjoyed the effect where they superimposed two skiers on the hill at the same time to show the differences in technique and speed and the GE segments on how the entire body reacts to the physical stresses of various events. I have seen the luge and the mogul skiing breakdowns – both fantastic.
The other technology (at least for me) is watching all the coverage in HD – it has been amazing and I suspect that for many events, it’s the best way to see them. I read recently that Sony has been demonstrating a 3D/ HD television.
Will that be the way we watch the next winter games? With the popularity of Avatar (in Imax 3D) and all the 3D animated movies, it seems inevitable that the 3D technology will invade our homes.
I have a question about how this technology might impact internet television versus the traditional network programming that we are accustomed to receiving. I know many people that only watch programs available on their computers but as streaming programs become more available, will there be a bandwidth issue in our homes? I am no expert but I know that we have continually added bandwidth to our company’s service to accommodate increased file size. It only follows that we may need more at home?
Have a great day!
Cheers,
George
Like many Canadians, I spent a fair amount of time this past weekend watching the wall-to-wall Olympic coverage. Some parts were exciting and fun, others I found to be tedious and overplayed. I won't comment on the opening ceremonies except to say that it might have been a good thing that they did not try the hologram that was predicted.
As for some of the other technology that was promised, I particularly enjoyed the effect where they superimposed two skiers on the hill at the same time to show the differences in technique and speed and the GE segments on how the entire body reacts to the physical stresses of various events. I have seen the luge and the mogul skiing breakdowns – both fantastic.
The other technology (at least for me) is watching all the coverage in HD – it has been amazing and I suspect that for many events, it’s the best way to see them. I read recently that Sony has been demonstrating a 3D/ HD television.
Will that be the way we watch the next winter games? With the popularity of Avatar (in Imax 3D) and all the 3D animated movies, it seems inevitable that the 3D technology will invade our homes.
I have a question about how this technology might impact internet television versus the traditional network programming that we are accustomed to receiving. I know many people that only watch programs available on their computers but as streaming programs become more available, will there be a bandwidth issue in our homes? I am no expert but I know that we have continually added bandwidth to our company’s service to accommodate increased file size. It only follows that we may need more at home?
Have a great day!
Cheers,
George
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Despite the fact that my last post was about the Super Bowl, and this one touches on the Olympics, I want to assure you in advance that I am not turning this into a sports blog. I did want to mention however, that Friday is the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and with the surge in social media over the past few years, I suspect there will be some differences from previous games. In addition to all the talk about various events, the snow or lack thereof, and all the preparations, there has also been great speculation about who might light the Olympic torch. I heard a suggestion today that the lighting may involve a hologram of Terry Fox. It will be interesting find out what the organizers come up with and if they use technology to accomplish it.
It will also be interesting to see what technology will be used to enhance the coverage of the games. Will we really be able to stream live events effectively on a smart phone? How many athletes will be posting to a blog throughout the games or twittering during events? I’m certain that the twittering will be endless…though I’m not convinced that’s a good thing.
Speaking of Twitter, I was forwarded this TED link that has 5 short video presentations from previous TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conferences including one from Evan Williams (co founder of Twitter). All five videos are interesting perspectives on social media and give some insight into where we have been and the future - how it all begins to fit together.
Not to get too caught up in Twitter, I have found it an excellent resource for articles and information on all sorts of business practices, ideas and executions. Following has been a bit of a challenge at times and just yesterday I actually had to eliminate one of the people I was following. Too many tweets, too repetitive – simply overkill! I wonder if they notify the person the way they notify you when you have a new follower.
Cheers and have a great day.
George
It will also be interesting to see what technology will be used to enhance the coverage of the games. Will we really be able to stream live events effectively on a smart phone? How many athletes will be posting to a blog throughout the games or twittering during events? I’m certain that the twittering will be endless…though I’m not convinced that’s a good thing.
Speaking of Twitter, I was forwarded this TED link that has 5 short video presentations from previous TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conferences including one from Evan Williams (co founder of Twitter). All five videos are interesting perspectives on social media and give some insight into where we have been and the future - how it all begins to fit together.
Not to get too caught up in Twitter, I have found it an excellent resource for articles and information on all sorts of business practices, ideas and executions. Following has been a bit of a challenge at times and just yesterday I actually had to eliminate one of the people I was following. Too many tweets, too repetitive – simply overkill! I wonder if they notify the person the way they notify you when you have a new follower.
Cheers and have a great day.
George
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Super Bowl
The Saints are Super Bowl Champions…42 years with a grand total of 2 playoff wins and now they win it all. To add to the enthusiasm, unlike many Super Bowls, this was actually a really good football game – exciting! It is always good to see the underdog win.
A few small observations:
It was great that the people of New Orleans have a championship. They have been through a great deal of hardship and it is nice that they have the opportunity to celebrate this.
One of the things around the Super Bowl that people look forward to are the first run commercials. Many companies use this event as the launch pad for a new campaign or image make over. In Canada, due to the fact that the Canadian stations buy broadcast rights and sell commercial time, we don’t get a chance to see these commercials. If you watched the game, you are likely sick of the CTV Olympic promos - I think there were 2 at every commercial break.
If you have not seen the ads broadcast on the US networks, they are available through a few different internet links. My personal favourite was the Snickers ad with Betty White.
Coverage of the game, on game day, started at noon. The game itself started at about 6:40pm (give or take a few minutes). It is hard to believe, given that there was a 2 week lead up to the game, there would be any left to say before the game on Sunday. In contrast, the game was barely over, trophies just awarded, and the networks had already moved on to regular programming. For all the build up and prognostication, the wrap up is oddly short (not a complaint but merely an observation).
I was interested to see that of the people I follow on Twitter, there were very few game time Tweets! Either no one I follow watches football or, could it be that they were all too involved in the game to worry about broadcasting?
Finally, there is always talk about the financial impact of large scale events. I wonder what that number would be for the Super Bowl. How much money is generates for the host city and how much overall revenue can be attributed to the event.
Cheers and have a great day.
George
P.S. Next time back to the serious matters of social media…
A few small observations:
It was great that the people of New Orleans have a championship. They have been through a great deal of hardship and it is nice that they have the opportunity to celebrate this.
One of the things around the Super Bowl that people look forward to are the first run commercials. Many companies use this event as the launch pad for a new campaign or image make over. In Canada, due to the fact that the Canadian stations buy broadcast rights and sell commercial time, we don’t get a chance to see these commercials. If you watched the game, you are likely sick of the CTV Olympic promos - I think there were 2 at every commercial break.
If you have not seen the ads broadcast on the US networks, they are available through a few different internet links. My personal favourite was the Snickers ad with Betty White.
Coverage of the game, on game day, started at noon. The game itself started at about 6:40pm (give or take a few minutes). It is hard to believe, given that there was a 2 week lead up to the game, there would be any left to say before the game on Sunday. In contrast, the game was barely over, trophies just awarded, and the networks had already moved on to regular programming. For all the build up and prognostication, the wrap up is oddly short (not a complaint but merely an observation).
I was interested to see that of the people I follow on Twitter, there were very few game time Tweets! Either no one I follow watches football or, could it be that they were all too involved in the game to worry about broadcasting?
Finally, there is always talk about the financial impact of large scale events. I wonder what that number would be for the Super Bowl. How much money is generates for the host city and how much overall revenue can be attributed to the event.
Cheers and have a great day.
George
P.S. Next time back to the serious matters of social media…
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Revolution or Evolution
Well, with great anticipation and months of lead up and speculation, last week Apple introduced the IPad. While I believe that this toy will be the new standard of “hip” at Starbucks, I think that I may have missed something…perhaps something fundamental. Is the IPad not just an oversized IPod Touch? It looks the same, has basically the same functionality and interface, only it’s bigger. So much bigger in fact that it has lost any sense of compact convenience.
Yes it has a larger screen that makes it easier to watch movies or read the newspaper but it's about as convenient as my laptop. The typing function looks good but even Steven Jobs appeared uncomfortable typing during the demo. As for reading a novel - I am not sure how comfortable I would be firing up the IPad on my blanket at the beach.
Again, maybe I have missed something but this looks merely evolutionary and clearly not revolutionary. I still think that being able to have my Blackberry cradle to a large screen with a keyboard at home and office would solve 90% of my computing needs.
Changing gears, it is 9 days before the winter Olympics. I have always loved the Olympics – the idea of athletes from all over the world converging on one city to compete in all manner of sport. Of course, the media hype has been building. I was following the torch relay for a long time wondering how they would ever make it to Vancouver in time for the opening ceremonies. Now, it feels like they have been close for a couple of weeks and are now just circling the city waiting for someone to let them in (they must have skipped the Prairies).
I think my interest is not just about sports but also about the host city and the preparations. Last night I watched a news report on Vancouver and how the city had been waging a campaign to have everyone use public transit in January and February to prepare for the congestion of the games. It was a failure – not unexpectedly I suppose. Today, I was reading the newspaper (the printed version) and there was a small story about a Van – city blog that had a post about “The Wacky and Weird of Living in an Olympic Host City”. I thought it was kind of interesting and fun.
Hopefully the games themselves will be a success and here’s hoping the Superbowl this weekend lives up to it’s hype – of which there is never a shortage!
Cheers and have a great day!
George
P.S. Go Saints!
Yes it has a larger screen that makes it easier to watch movies or read the newspaper but it's about as convenient as my laptop. The typing function looks good but even Steven Jobs appeared uncomfortable typing during the demo. As for reading a novel - I am not sure how comfortable I would be firing up the IPad on my blanket at the beach.
Again, maybe I have missed something but this looks merely evolutionary and clearly not revolutionary. I still think that being able to have my Blackberry cradle to a large screen with a keyboard at home and office would solve 90% of my computing needs.
Changing gears, it is 9 days before the winter Olympics. I have always loved the Olympics – the idea of athletes from all over the world converging on one city to compete in all manner of sport. Of course, the media hype has been building. I was following the torch relay for a long time wondering how they would ever make it to Vancouver in time for the opening ceremonies. Now, it feels like they have been close for a couple of weeks and are now just circling the city waiting for someone to let them in (they must have skipped the Prairies).
I think my interest is not just about sports but also about the host city and the preparations. Last night I watched a news report on Vancouver and how the city had been waging a campaign to have everyone use public transit in January and February to prepare for the congestion of the games. It was a failure – not unexpectedly I suppose. Today, I was reading the newspaper (the printed version) and there was a small story about a Van – city blog that had a post about “The Wacky and Weird of Living in an Olympic Host City”. I thought it was kind of interesting and fun.
Hopefully the games themselves will be a success and here’s hoping the Superbowl this weekend lives up to it’s hype – of which there is never a shortage!
Cheers and have a great day!
George
P.S. Go Saints!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Connected
It has been my goal, through this blog, to explore all sorts of social media…to educate myself and communicate my thoughts and struggles to readers. On most days I think that I have advanced that goal however, I do admit that there have been postings that are “off topic”. However, in that this is a social medium I suppose it is inevitable that some discussion tends towards the events of the day… besides, there is some author’s license regarding content.
In the end, the entire enterprise has been interesting however, I have found it somewhat lacking. Today, I was reading an article and the reason became clear. Social media is supposed to be a communication – a two-way communication.
To date, I have not marketed this blog and while I know that some people are reading (because they tell me) I have had almost no feedback by way of comments to the blog and therefore no real conversation. The result is that I have don’t have any idea if the content is interesting or worth following and the expected ideas from comments has not materialized.
Forging ahead, I have been directed that my next step is to try and build readership and from that develop some “real communication”. How I do that is not clear but I know this is a critical component to using the tools effectively so I will have to figure it out. I will communicate the ideas, and the results. In the meantime, any comments (good or bad) would be appreciated!
As an aside, I had a whole commentary on this weeks IPad launch but as I reread it before posting I thought it a bit too sarcastic. A long time ago, I was told that sarcasm was the lowest form of humour so I will rethink the prose and post my thoughts next time.
Cheers and have a great day,
George
In the end, the entire enterprise has been interesting however, I have found it somewhat lacking. Today, I was reading an article and the reason became clear. Social media is supposed to be a communication – a two-way communication.
To date, I have not marketed this blog and while I know that some people are reading (because they tell me) I have had almost no feedback by way of comments to the blog and therefore no real conversation. The result is that I have don’t have any idea if the content is interesting or worth following and the expected ideas from comments has not materialized.
Forging ahead, I have been directed that my next step is to try and build readership and from that develop some “real communication”. How I do that is not clear but I know this is a critical component to using the tools effectively so I will have to figure it out. I will communicate the ideas, and the results. In the meantime, any comments (good or bad) would be appreciated!
As an aside, I had a whole commentary on this weeks IPad launch but as I reread it before posting I thought it a bit too sarcastic. A long time ago, I was told that sarcasm was the lowest form of humour so I will rethink the prose and post my thoughts next time.
Cheers and have a great day,
George
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Privacy
I guess it was 8 or 10 years ago now that the Air Miles card was introduced. I believe, at the time, that this was a unique proposition - The ability to get something (in this case an ability to earn points for free air travel), for nothing! But, like many cautious people, I wondered what the catch was and argued that I was not interested in having someone track every thing I did – every transaction I made regardless of the purpose or the payoff. That it might only be used to advertise to me made no difference. Not withstanding the fact that Air Miles (in my limited experience) has mostly done a poor job of leveraging the information they mine, I still do not have a card. Having said that, I am not naive enough to think that what we might get directly from Air Miles by way of promotional offers is only a small part of the business model – who knows how much information is collected and where it is sold?
Other companies like Shoppers Drug Mart have done an excellent job through it's Optimum Card program which I am told offers customers savings based on real purchases... direct advertising based on direct knowledge (a unique concept?).
To me, all of this speaks the central issue of privacy and while creating mailing lists and contacting potential customers is simply good business, the question is where does it begin and where does it all end. As mentioned in previous postings, despite my embracing social media, so far I have avoided Facebook. Despite the fact that I receive numerous friend invitations, I am not interested in posting my personal photos or information regardless of the controls that are supposed to be available. At various times over the years it has been suggested to me, that I am overly paranoid. Perhaps so but after reading this article on privacy (or our lack privacy) on MSNBC I think even the most trusting person would have to stop and think.
It is a long article but worth reading as it points out how we guard our privacy at times yet have little regard for the same issues when we are on the web…or specifically on Facebook.
Based on trends, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg – after all, we live in an age where nothing seems to be off limits!
Other companies like Shoppers Drug Mart have done an excellent job through it's Optimum Card program which I am told offers customers savings based on real purchases... direct advertising based on direct knowledge (a unique concept?).
To me, all of this speaks the central issue of privacy and while creating mailing lists and contacting potential customers is simply good business, the question is where does it begin and where does it all end. As mentioned in previous postings, despite my embracing social media, so far I have avoided Facebook. Despite the fact that I receive numerous friend invitations, I am not interested in posting my personal photos or information regardless of the controls that are supposed to be available. At various times over the years it has been suggested to me, that I am overly paranoid. Perhaps so but after reading this article on privacy (or our lack privacy) on MSNBC I think even the most trusting person would have to stop and think.
It is a long article but worth reading as it points out how we guard our privacy at times yet have little regard for the same issues when we are on the web…or specifically on Facebook.
Based on trends, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg – after all, we live in an age where nothing seems to be off limits!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)