Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

…Blackberries + Washrooms = Bad Idea

August 15th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Culture, Technology

Dont drop it!

1. First off all, if you feel that you have to take your Blackberry to the washroom, you have a problem. (Trust me, this happens!) There’s multi-tasking and then there multi-tasking. I would almost rate this as a faux pas equal to driving-and-typing. Bad, bad, bad. Not only should you just take a break and realize that you don’t always have to be connected, remember that some of the world’s best thinking came up with brilliant ideas in the quiet retreat of a toilet stall.

2. The clacking of keys is kind of unnerving to anyone else who happens to be in the bathroom, regardless of what the’re doing. While it’s not as egregious as talking to someone while they mid…um…in the process of…um…well… you know… Anyway, it’s still not good form. Have some courtesy and respect!

3. Put aside emailing and texting. Consider the dreaded phone call. Ugh. Becoming a more common occurence, in both the office and in public places, conversations are invasive and extremely annoying to listen to. Factor in the rebouding effect of tile walls on sound waves and you’ve got a recipe of washroom-rage. It you want to hear your voice, talk or sing in the shower at home. More importantly, what would the person on the other end of the phone think if they knew you were talking to them from a toilet stall?

4. Most conversations are private and should stay that way. It’s one thing if you force others around you to hear what you are talking about, but an entirely different breach of trust if you happen to reveal something that should be confidential. Or personal. Or something that you easily be gossiped about. More so, regardless of how you are communicating, through text, email or phone, have some respect for the person on the other end of your Blackberry. They might not know, but you do.

5. It’s probably unsanitary. You wash you hands, but do you wash your Blackberry?

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…Microblogging Is Dumbing Us Down

July 15th, 2008 | 10 Comments | Posted in Culture, Technology

1. It’s so easy. 140 characters max. You can SMS from your phone. Or contribute through your browser. It’s quick. But the reality is that short messaging and rapid communication has to have affected our ability to write well. Grammar sucks because you only have a limited number of characters, so short-forms, acronyms and emoticons have replaced well thought out prose. And many people seem to have lost their passion for the written word and dedicate little time to it. But it doesn’t have to be this way, as The Spin Stops Here offers, “Writing can be a lifelong pursuit and a real source of enjoyment. Finding the perfect words to express your thoughts and convictions is like mastering a painting or a dance - it takes time and effort but the payoff can be incredible.”

2. Proponents of microblogging profer that it is an incredibly efficient tool to disseminate information. Accepted, without argument, when it is used properly! Unfortunately, most content is about inane subject matter. You ate a crepe for breakfast! Wonderful! Some services, like Plurk, go so far as to start your sentences for you, so you don’t even have to write out complete thoughts.

3. Depending on how many microblogs one follows, a lot of time and brainpower can be wasted during the day. Putting aside any arguments about productivity, the consumption of inane chatter takes up time that could be spent reading more valuable information and occupies space in your brain that is already packed (and losing gray matter every day). It’s also interesting that we seem to be happy to read about every tiny facet of someone’s life through 140 characters clips, but get annoyed when we overhear the details of someone life as they talk on the phone or are forced to eavesdrop on people having conversation in a public place. Then again, I guess we don’t have the option of subscribing (or unsubscribing) to a loud talker.

4. Without any empirical evidence for backup, it seems that many people have become reactive thinkers, particularly among the younger set of technophiles that are being brought up on the speed and ease of “contributing to the conversation.” The easier it is to achieve immediacy, the faster it is that we can react and the less thought that goes into our responses. Think back to the days of hand-written letters, and the time and care it took to craft one. The typewriter, and then faxes, made communicating a little faster. But the world changed dramatically with email and microblogging as an environment was created that resulted in little need, or desire, for reflection. Furthermore, In a widely cites article, Nick Carr argues that all of these little chunks of data has reduced our ability to master long, complex arguments.

5. As the Guardian hypothesizes, the vehicles on which we read and write online may be contributing to our dumbing down. Reading on a screen is tiring and takes longer than a similar exercise on paper. Plus, with paper you don’t get sidetracked by embedded links and the notifier that you’ve got mail, which of course you must check immediately!

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…Advertising Is Pandemic

July 8th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Business, Culture

1. Logos and brands are everywhere and on everything. Whether clothing, water bottles, buildings or online, it’s hard to walk down the street and not be inundated with advertising. Advertising’s ubiquity is even extending into video games, where gamers will be peppered with billboards and product promotion as they whiz around racetracks and blow up bunkers. While the level of daily exposure has been subject to debate, it’s safe to say that not a day goes by where someone is not trying to influence your purchasing habits.

2. Product placement is becoming a common, if not pervasive, feature in media. Cinema, having lead the charge, was traditionally the only vehicle to carry broad (and blatant) product promotions. However, this practice has expanded into all media, whether through television, online vehicles or print. When done poorly, you feel like you’ve just watched a long commercial. When done well, like the Reese’s Pieces in E.T., products fit seamlessly into the shot and context of a scene. PQMedia estimates that the value of product placement in the U.S. is around $7 billion, rising to $10 billion by 2010.

3. Naming rights have become big business. Sports stadiums and arenas have been the target for corporate branding for some time, but the practice is now common among cultural entities (e.g. museums, literary awards and performing arts venues). Furthermore, in an era where municipalities are facing budget constraints, naming rights are being considered for public transportation.

4. Even subculture movements, which generally eschew mainstream promotion, have been infiltrated with advertising. Look no further than Marc Ecko’s brilliant tagging of Air Force 1 and the public relations bonanza that followed.

5. Advertising has gone so far as to convince us that we need personal branding. We used to consider our reputation as something to maintain and manage. But it’s no longer about just reputation. It’s about “You” as a the brand - what you wear, how you speak, what people think of you, how you present yourself in social networking outlets, etcetera. Mmm…I think I’ll print up a few t-shirts.

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…National Holidays Are More Than Just Time Off

July 2nd, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Culture

1. The Past. National holidays, such as Canada Day and the Fourth of July, are a reminder from where you have come. Few people truly understand their country’s history. Even the simplest things often go unlearned or if they are studied in school, these facts are often forgotten fairly quickly. According to the NAEP history test, a survey of 112,000 U.S. students conducted in 2005, 57% of high school seniors performed well below their grade level. It would not be too surprising if it turns out that most adults don’t know the basics of their own cultural history.

2. The Present. You should take the opportunity at least once a year to reflect on where you are as a nation. What are your country’s current cultural and political values? What do you stand for on the world stage? As eloquently noted here, “Ultimately, our ability to intelligently defend and preserve what we as a nation hold dear depends on our knowledge and understanding of the ideas and values that bind us together in a common civic culture.”

3. The Future. A day in celebration of one’s history should also lead to some thought around where your country is going. What does the future hold? On what path are your leaders taking you? Where are you going? While some spend a great of time thinking about our future, the average person is too busy with everyday life. Take the time, for even just a minute, to think about the future. If you’re happy with the prospects, great! If not, put some thought about what you can do to change it.

4. In as much as national holidays present opportunities to think about broader issues, you should also look at things from a local perspective, particularly as your smaller communities make up the fabric of the national pageantry. What’s going on in your city, community or neighbourhood?

5. While national holidays should give you pause to think, maybe it is about having an extra day off. Get away from work. Spend time with family. Hang out with friends. Have a couple of extra lagers or glasses of wine. Appreciate what’s around you. Enjoy!

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…You Should Take A Sabbatical

June 27th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Business, Culture

1.Taking a sabbatical doesn’t mean taking time off. But what it does allow you to do is take time away from your routine. It allows you to escape, rejuvenate and recharge. If you take a working sabbatical in the same field, you can get inspired just by being in a new environment. If you take time to do something completely different, you can explore new directions and the possibility of changing tracks. Regardless of your intentions, it can only help you think about and appreciate your values, self and purpose. Or if you are not that introspective, it can be the start of an adventure.

2. You never really get to know a place well until you live there for an extended period of time. Two or three weeks a year of meandering as a tourist only scratches the surface of a place that is naturally foreign to you. New cultures and geographies can take months before a real understanding can develop and once this has happened, you gain a new appreciation and insight.

3. You are forced to meet and interact with new people, even if you are not a particularly social person. While meeting new people can itself be an adventure and exciting, it also opens you up to new ideas and ideals. Whether you agree with any of them is almost irrelevant. What is important is that it may provide inspiration, reinforce existing ideas or get a new perspective on old ones.

4. You will be doing your employer a favour. Sabbaticals can improve employee morale, reduce burn-out, lower turnover and lead to better human resource expense management.

Looking for some inspiration? Check out Sabbaticalhomes.com.

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Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

…Blackberries + Washrooms = Bad Idea

…Microblogging Is Dumbing Us Down

…Advertising Is Pandemic

…National Holidays Are More Than Just Time Off

…You Should Take A Sabbatical

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