tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32489109558560227602024-03-12T19:58:45.093-07:00BetterBizCommUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-60497780339596520652012-05-18T06:10:00.000-07:002012-05-18T06:10:29.768-07:00Fabulous undergradaute runners-up for commencement<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F42045364&h=4AQEMuwDFAQEIpavDTWSa_zpJtCW9fvdUW78AogQTo6G9Bw&enc=AZNDKEsKquDDgjcsJNsYna0Bg8XfMJGbnjnhLn7USjVPEV_5WKdKYjyC17PSdvyI4mIlLVfXlHoSeO5XNDPWfwP-" target="_blank">Einar Barr</a> spoke beautifully on Saturday at Kogod's commencement. She touched on "personal journeys"--an apt metaphor whether one came from the mid-Atlantic or, in her case, from Israel. As befits a business school speaker, she played on multiple meanings of the words "investment," "assets" and "debt"--as in "debts of gratitude."<br />
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Looking back we know that the judges gnashed their teeth plenty while making their selection among the other finalists, <b>Dylan Vogt, Jessica Noonan </b>and<b> Samantha (Sam) Dina.</b></div>
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<b>Dylan Vogt’s </b>thoughtful proposed <a href="https://vimeo.com/41429976" target="_blank">speech</a> used the metaphor of coffee to explore his time at Kogod. And this coffee is no Starbucks Caramel Macchiato with two pumps of artificial vanilla and whipped cream topping but an honest, pure and utterly delicious cup of java that he tasted while in Guatemala. </div>
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The barista was in fact the coffee farmer himself who said, <br />
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"While other coffee growers grow just coffee, I grow coffee, oranges, mangos, bananas, and vanilla, [with the]magnificent flavor resulting from the diversity of my fields.” </blockquote>
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A similar diversity is what makes Kogod so successful, Dylan said, concluding, <br />
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"I look forward to seeing the success that awaits all of you, the positive influence that you will pass to those around you, and, similar to Fernando’s coffee, the magnificent flavor that you will bring to the future of business."</blockquote>
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<b><br />Jess Noonan’s</b> proposed charming <a href="https://vimeo.com/41429364" target="_blank">speech</a> reassured any nervous new grads that what’s coming next is in fact familiar. For example, the lessons of “being nice” from grade school have become “play to each other’s strengths” <b>when working in a team: </b></div>
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“In my first finance class I was intimidated and amazed when the finance majors of my group were able to crunch numbers at lightning speed, but I was able to pull my weight by amazing them with a beautiful presentation."</blockquote>
She also praised the well-roundedness of the Kogod degree: </div>
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“Kogod finance majors can market to their clients and Kogod Marketing majors understand Excel. These skills will drive our competitive edge and set us apart from other recent graduates.” </blockquote>
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The theme of <b>Samantha Dina’s</b> <a href="https://vimeo.com/41429978" target="_blank">speech</a> was that you can imagine yourself into the future. It all started when she and her fellow graduates were prospective students: </div>
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“You may have imagined yourself as the fraternity president playing football on the quad with his fellow brothers, the super-stylish barista at the Dav who was best friends with all of her coworkers, or the kid in the suit with briefcase in hand, talking on his Blackberry in a tone that made you think he singlehandedly was running the New York Stock Exchange. "</blockquote>
With that vision in hand, Sam says, “…you [took] any necessary steps to make that vision become a reality....<br />
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“So you joined a club, you got an amazing internship, you rushed a fraternity …or in true American University style, you did all the above. You started forming relationships …These people became your family and were just as dedicated to your dream as you were..</blockquote>
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As Kogod's speech coach, it was a pleasure and privilege for me to work with all of these talented finalists. Best of luck to each of you in your future lives as business communicators!<br />
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</div>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-84277401722102769772012-05-14T11:10:00.000-07:002012-05-14T12:43:25.798-07:00Runners-Up for Kogod Commencement Impress Judges<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As many of you already know, <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F42045605&h=jAQE2qU4XAQHwsITJX-qLVm3gVt4Y3IDuvT3WPSTDBSWaWw&enc=AZM126pFyaY-hH6NPsXx4gNUHu-xNjR90pHurPQT4dgfyAjyG91QIWj4bVgVKKJEHMCbReOFfJGOvR1kT2MsthcR" target="_blank">Julie Jones</a> </b>addressed the graduate students and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvimeo.com%2F42045364&h=4AQEMuwDFAQEIpavDTWSa_zpJtCW9fvdUW78AogQTo6G9Bw&enc=AZNDKEsKquDDgjcsJNsYna0Bg8XfMJGbnjnhLn7USjVPEV_5WKdKYjyC17PSdvyI4mIlLVfXlHoSeO5XNDPWfwP-" target="_blank"><b>Einar Barr</b> </a>the undergrads this past Saturday, May 12, at <b>Kogod's commencement. </b>Their thoughtful and heart-felt addresses in Bender moved the audience of parents, friends, deans, faculty, staff, and fellow graduates.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The <b>runners-up were also wonderful,</b> however, so much so that the</span> committee--composed of Kogod staff and faculty--struggled to choose among the impressive contenders<span style="font-family: inherit;">. (What a great problem to have!)<br /><br />This is because each runner-up produced a well-crafted speech with a moving and original theme. Many had funny lines and references to their time at Kogod that would have resonated with all the students.<br /><br />Since BetterBizComm is always on the look-out for <b>great examples of communications,</b> we wanted to spread the joy and share these speeches here.<br /><br />First up: <b>the graduate runner-ups, Amanda Cardinale and Ari Goldmann.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b><br /><b>Amanda Cardinale</b> notes of her fellow graduates, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"We’ve learned how to say things like ZOPA, MAPE, LIFO, FIFO, and WACC. We know not only what these mean or how to apply them; we can even say them while keeping a straight face."</span></blockquote>
Charm aside, <b>Amanda's </b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://vimeo.com/41429370" target="_blank"><b>speech</b></a> </span>tackles a big theme: that of <b>being ready to ride the currents of the job market, and indeed of life, </b>wherever they might take you. She says,<br />
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"We can’t spend our lives working toward one job title, or planning for success in one industry. And why is that? Well, remember when scoring a job at Bear Sterns was a big deal? Or when the best career for a foodie was at Gourmet magazine? Or when you actually went into a Blockbuster to rent a video?<br />
"Shifts in the economy might change our priorities. Changes in business models might make our dream jobs disappear. Innovations in technology could dramatically alter our status quo.</blockquote>
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<b>Ari Goldmann's<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></b><a href="https://vimeo.com/39719709" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><b>speech</b> </a>(link takes you to the video) also takes on an important theme, of the necessity of keeping <b>the triple bottom line</b>--"a strategic business concern for people, planet, and profit"--in the forefront of one's mind.<br />
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He writes,<br />
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"This affects all of you, whether you’re a financier, a consultant, or a project manager...When you leave here today, consider how we, emissaries of a new breed of MBA, embody this triple bottom line. We must evaluate people, planet, and profit in everything we do...."</blockquote>
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"The Kogod community has empowered us, and I urge you not to take that for granted. We have been empowered to make a better life for ourselves, our families, our communities, our workplaces, and the world around." </blockquote>
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Check back soon for the fabulous undergraduates!</div>
</div>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-53077248517192775642011-12-07T08:05:00.000-08:002011-12-07T11:11:45.828-08:00Multiple Cites Don't Make a Right<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bestonlinecolleges.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Classes-Every-College-Student-Dreads.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://www.bestonlinecolleges.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Classes-Every-College-Student-Dreads.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> 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unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">My psychology paper was finished.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The data was supported and the conclusions were valid, yet my paper remained woefully incomplete.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I still hadn’t tackled an antiquated requirement of modern education– I hadn’t formatted my sources. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">So yet again I ended up spending hours of what could have productive editing time on Purdue’s website, looking again at where those stupid parentheses go in APA format, and where exactly the italics segment ended. (I must not have done it right even then, since I got points taken off later for inappropriately italicizing the <span style="font-style: italic;">commas.</span>) </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Maybe right now you're thinking of citation machines. Well, they've never served me much better.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The act of putting each piece of “vital” information in its specified box is almost as bad as simply following the citation procedures online.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Writing professor </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Kurt Schick</span><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> reflects my frustration in his<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>impassioned <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Chronicle of Higher Education</i> essay titled <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Citation-Obsession-Get-Over/129575/">“Citation Obsession? Get Over It!”</a> Schick argues that students’ writing should not be judged based upon their ability to flawlessly place periods and italics.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The prose, content, and style of their work should be the most essential facets of evaluation, yet more often than not, these elements somehow takes a back seat to how well students can format the copyright information of the materials they used for research.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Half of my Psychology labs were wasted on exactly how to write a paper in APA style.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My exam even had a section in which we were asked to recite the exact format for a journal citation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Major portions of as much of a third of my essay grades are based on citations in classes ranging from Understanding Music to Business 1.0.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Writing these essays require tremendous investments of time and intellect, yet worrying about the punctuation of copyright information is in no way intellectual or useful. I have no quarrel with acknowledging my sources or even with citations in general; I just wonder why my life and the lives of most other college students have come to revolve around formatting, instead of insight.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">--Swan (guest blogger & undergrad Kogod student)<br /><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-24925895256970055402011-11-10T08:02:00.000-08:002011-11-10T08:14:24.357-08:00Perry Lives Every Public Speaker's Nightmare<a href="http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01405/_Rick-Perry_1405244a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 682px; height: 400px;" src="http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01405/_Rick-Perry_1405244a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p class="p1">Rick Perry’s <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcPjmiGwMTc">debate gaffe</a></i> last night is every public speaker’s nightmare: what do you do when what you want to say flies out of your head faster than the post-Halloween candy stash disappears?</p> <p class="p1">I tell my students that at times of panic, to pause, breathe, and ask yourself “What am I trying to communicate with this audience?”</p> <p class="p1">The word “communicate,” with its connotations of civility and collaboration, always calms me down. So, after a pause which always seems longer to me than it does to the audience, what comes out of my mouth is, “I guess what I’m trying to communicate is such-and-such…” I find my brain perks up and the words come tumbling out.</p> <p class="p1">If Perry had followed my approach, he might have been able to say, “Well, the third agency will come to me in a moment. The bigger point I’m trying to communicate here is that we need to eliminate wasteful government agencies.”</p> <p class="p1">That wouldn’t have been a total save, but it would have kept the debate moving forward. Memory experts tell us that thinking about something else is the way to remember something, not staying frozen on the missing thought, especially while millions of Americans are watching with varying degrees of empathetic discomfort, hostile delight, or some combination of both.</p> <p class="p1">One thing Perry did right was to forthrightly acknowledge his mistake: “Good thing I had my boots on, because I stepped in something deep just then,” he said, according to the New York Times.</p> <p class="p1">It’s cold comfort for Rick Perry, but anxious public speakers should also keep in mind that this latest slip-up comes on top of a series of misstatements and foot-in-mouth moments. </p> <p class="p1">Ultimately it’s the cumulative effect of poor speaking abilities that is turning off potential Perry supporters—not this one lone gaffe.</p>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-78133206338822574682011-04-05T10:19:00.000-07:002011-04-05T10:23:10.969-07:00<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">Be Careful What You Market</span> <span style="font-size: large;">For</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When two Domino workers filmed a prank video at work, nobody was laughing. Less so themselves, when they ended up unemployed and facing felony charges for distribution of prohibited foods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-Z2x4SClaE"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">video</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> (broadcast on the <em>Today Show </em>back in 2009), the two employees are in the kitchen of a Domino's restaurant, preparing food. One of them puts cheese up his nose and sneezes on a meal. Their antics go on as they get more creative with illegal kitchen practices and scatological humor. </span><br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gz4SHdfF_WQ/TZtP2Z_WBXI/AAAAAAAAAC8/irEuSI-3g9Q/s1600/viral-video.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gz4SHdfF_WQ/TZtP2Z_WBXI/AAAAAAAAAC8/irEuSI-3g9Q/s200/viral-video.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The pair then posted the video on YouTube. Soon after, the blogosphere caught on and posts of the video cropped up like garden weeds on a rage. Two blog readers even sleuthed out the location of the Domino's restaurant of honor (North Carolina). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Like rapidfire, the video attracted thousands of viewers, and Domino rushed to palliate the publicity disaster that inevitably ensued. News of the video spread to Twitter, and though the culprits tried to take down the video from YouTube, the video-sharing community persevered valorously: the video was reposted by other users.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This, and Rebecca Black (more than 84 million viewers and escalating), are one of many examples of viral going very big and very bad.</span>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-64993085545447121372011-03-25T08:22:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:32:28.784-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #38761d; font-size: large;">A Simple Kind of Magic</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D5r1atmuWBY/TYywHxznsVI/AAAAAAAAAC4/8L37EHpio00/s1600/rita+skeete.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D5r1atmuWBY/TYywHxznsVI/AAAAAAAAAC4/8L37EHpio00/s1600/rita+skeete.png" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">When Rita Skeeter coerced Harry Potter into a broom closet and forced him to spill his wizarding guts, little did she know that Livescribe’s Smartpen could have given her magic quill a serious run for her Gallions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">If you’re more of a Lord of the Rings devotee, I’m talking about the magic quill that Rita Skeeter dictated into. With a life of its own, the ebullient quill would absorb what the interviewees said and pour out fully fledged sentences. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">In the real world, Livescribe created the SmartPen. This regular-looking pen comes with special paper. At the bottom of the paper, tap the word ‘Record’ with the pen’s tip. Next, write and speak at the same time. Solving a math problem? Utter your thinking process. Interviewing an AUSG candidate? Take brief notes and let her talk all she wants. Finally, tap the stop symbol at the bottom of the paper. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The SmartPen allows you to tap onto any word </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">you’ve written and listen to the playback of what you were saying at the time of writing that word. What’s more, with its embedded camera, it lets you upload the notes and recordings onto your computer. On your screen, click on whatever note you want to revive, and watch as it gets animated before you. Magic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lFpsDjiMc5A/TYyvahSvtUI/AAAAAAAAAC0/B0r22CKb2kg/s1600/livescribe_timeline.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lFpsDjiMc5A/TYyvahSvtUI/AAAAAAAAAC0/B0r22CKb2kg/s1600/livescribe_timeline.gif" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The SmartPen is your memory storage outside your brain. It combines the archaic necessity of penning our thoughts—I’m thinking caves and walls—with the utility of audio tracing. Used right, it’ll help you take less vigorous notes, that are backed by the storage of <i>exactly </i>what you were thinking, rather than the elaborate coding I find in my notebooks long after I forget my meaning. From my Anthro class:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">key distinguishes joking manner not from serious manner<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">secondary text needs to be framed as not misconceived as the primary text and cause butt offence</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I no longer recall what I meant by ‘butt.’<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The New York Times tells us, “</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A growing number of schools across the nation are embracing the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/ipad/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about iPad.">iPad</a> as the latest tool to teach Kafka in multimedia, history through “Jeopardy”-like games and math with step-by-step animation of complex problems.” <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1763939855">(</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html)"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">)</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Stanford professor, Larry Cuban however points out: <b>“There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines.”</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Tablets are novel because they are multi-functional. Being multi-functional is also what makes them forces of distributed focus.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Since the iPad can do things your brain can’t (like access the web), it sometimes feels like your own brain is not doing the doing. But in education, no tricks or artifice should replace a learner’s mental work-out.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">There’s also a cognitive distance when we use a not-there keyboard that somehow the pen in your fingers does not engender. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Perhaps our traditional form of note-taking has been hard-wired into us evolutionarily.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So why not keep the $750 per iPad and invest instead in things like the SmartPen? It blends the agility of new, clever gadgets with the promise of old habits.</span></span></div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-35620984420218471112011-03-03T23:26:00.000-08:002011-03-25T08:49:41.737-07:00<span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;">Generation BM (as in, Business Model)</span><br />
<br />
When Zach Allaun, BSBA '13, and Jorge Espinoza, SOC '11 won the Brigham Young University business model competition, naturally I had to corner Zach and ask him for input about presentation and communication brilliance. Turns out, Zach’s largesse with such input is considerable, and you can now hear the many useful things he has to say at </span><a href="http://vimeo.com/19668109"><span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">http://vimeo.com/19668109</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;"> and </span><a href="http://vimeo.com/19668189"><span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">http://vimeo.com/19668189</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">. <br />
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For the BYU competition, contestants had to outline the concepts and metrics that lead them to an innovative product. For Zach and Jorge, this product is Gamegnat, a gaming site that will—with the blessing of the $15000 award—expedite and sharpen the way gamers look for gaming reviews. <br />
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In the preliminary round of the competition, Zach and Jorge sent in a video presentation. In the final round, however, they presented live before Brigham students and a panel of judges. That comparison helped them see what’s ‘special’ about presenting before a live audience of 500. ‘We wanted to do something different. It’s not trying to get as much information in ten minutes. In a video, people can go back, they can rewind to better understand the material. In a live presentation, there’s no rewinding.’ <br />
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Indeed, examing that difference between the cryogenically frozen (video, or text) and the organic (live) may help you understand the role of your presentation. What are the dynamics of a real spatial and temporal relationship, between speaker and audience, that you can use to your advantage? <br />
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That’s how the pair came up with the winning presentation: one that followed a narrative arc of sorts, that told the story like a story, with chronological ‘plot’ development and a lead-up to a ‘morale.’ And Prezi helped them narrate. <br />
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‘Prezi…set us apart. Because we used Prezi, everything [was] animated.’ They used bubbles to represent their various ideas. ‘It was kinda silly and cheesy but we were able to create a very clear "We’re moving on to the next point"…a clear delineation between step 1, step 2, step 3. Our presentation was completely different.'<br />
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Chronology and clarity then. What about characters? <br />
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‘Did you bring Jorge and yourself into the story?’ I asked.<br />
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‘Yeah, we did,’ Zach said with a smile. ‘Our presentation had quotes for things we were saying [while brainstorming for the product]. Little things like that.’ <br />
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Zach and Jorge enriched the story with a personal touch and a strong visual (of themselves as the out-loud thinkers of the process). Rather than saying, ‘This was done,’ they said ‘We did this.’ Just like active verbs (instead of passive) can give a story vigor, so can “characters” sometimes give your presentation a stronger voice. <br />
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Would he recommend the narrative-arc presentation? Certainly, ‘if you’re in a competition that’s similar in nature. We identified early on that this competition was gonna be about input rather than output.’<br />
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What about Q&A? This is arguably the most difficult thing about comps. Luckily, Zach and Jorge both have debate backgrounds that trained them in rapid-fire speech and responsivity to the unexpected. ‘This is where we shone above. We were [good] on our feet.’ <br />
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‘The biggest thing is confidence,' he adds, 'even if you’re saying something you’ve never thought of before. Saying “I don’t know” and being confident in not knowing the answer to a question is better than being unconfident.’ <br />
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By the way, you may want to check out the two books that gave fodder to Zach and Jorge’s business model trope: The Four Steps to the Epiphany, by Steven Blank, talks about startup success, and The Business Model Generation, by Alexander Osterwalder, lays out the 9 quintessentials building blocks of a business. Zach, indeed, seems to be part of this very Generation. He emailed me the next day with some closing tips for presenters. In true entrpereneurial form:<br />
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<i>The presentation that wins in a competition is likely going to be the presentation that stands out from the crowd…The ultimate winner will be the team that the judges remember. A safe and conservative presentation that breaks no boundaries will only give you a shot at beating the other safe and conservative presentations, because there will always be at least one team that tries something different, and that's who people will remember, good or bad.<br />
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All else held equal, the guy who spoke too fast and stumbled over his words because he was so excited about what he was saying will beat out the guy who gives a textbook delivery. Textbook deliveries are commonplace in these kinds of competitions. True passion, however, is not.</i></span>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-57612464800875209672011-02-21T04:34:00.001-08:002011-02-21T04:49:19.594-08:00I Challenge You to Do Nothing for 2 Minutes!<img style="padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px;" src="http://www.stanford.edu/%7Ejbaugh/saw/studentphoto/Scenery/CampsBaySunset.JPG" id="il_fi" height="392" width="522" /><br />With its relentless focus on productivity and efficiency, the business environment tend to stress, well, stress over relaxation.<br /><br />But now researchers are finding that doing nothing is actually really good for the brain. It turns out that down time is as important as sleep for allowing the brain to consolidate learning.<br /><br />Especially downtime outside.<br /><br />But what if you can't get outside and are stuck at your screen? Try a visit to<br /><a href="http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/"><br />http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/</a><br /><br />which the New York Times reporter Matt Richtel, who writes about digital distraction, posted to his blog.<br /><br />A while back I aired this radio <a href="http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00047&segmentID=5">commentary</a> about a related topic--falling asleep while listening to the sounds of the surf. There's something almost primal in the soothing sounds of the ocean.<br /><br />Anyone else trying to build a little downtime in their busy days?Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-77740390205939588012011-02-02T14:40:00.000-08:002011-02-03T18:31:56.007-08:00The Incredible Tale of Cognitive Overload<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As instructors, or students looking to instruct, we use slideshows a lot. With every new slide we impart a chunk of the story: the story of a product’s evil half-sister, the story of how an industry found happily ever after. With every slideshow we want our audience to acquire <em>meaningful learning</em> (deep understanding of the story and its many characters) through <em>multimedia instruction</em> (teaching that uses words and pictures). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Ideally, the listeners can not only recall the story <em>(retention),</em> but can also integrate their acquired knowledge with stories of their own <em>(integration).</em> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But sometimes we get swept away by our narrative potential: we use too many words and pictures. It is the equivalent of the writer who obsessively pounds her reader over the head with metaphors (much like this post). In <em><a href="http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a784752466~db=all">Nine Ways To Reduce Cognitive Overload in Multimedia Learning</a></em>, Richard E. Mayer observes that multimedia learning is acutely sensitive to cognitive overload. He reminds us that audiences have a limited capacity for cognitive processing. Handling that capacity, <em>feng shui’ing</em> the space in the listener’s brain, can mean the difference between "good" and "meaningful" story-telling.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are infinite ways to overload, and you have done or seen half of them. Possibly the most egregious is simultaneous appeal to two cognitive channels. Suppose you want to represent a product’s life cycle with words and animation. Teaching too much and too fast means listeners will not meaningfully translate the visual into the verbal, and the verbal into the visual. By the time viewers select germane words or picture from one segment, the next one is underway, stifling the ability to retain and integrate. Life cycle? What life cycle? </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TUnc-K6cZTI/AAAAAAAAACs/ulowECeZPQE/s1600/blog_fairy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TUnc-K6cZTI/AAAAAAAAACs/ulowECeZPQE/s320/blog_fairy.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But alas, the Fairy Godmother brandishes her presentation wand. She cuts the presentation into <strong>bite-sized segments</strong>, with time in between so that the viewer can complete each cognitive process. Ever the erudite mentor, she also suggests <strong>pre-training</strong> which means first teaching the components and terms of the to-be-learned idea. For instance, tell your audience what ‘growth’ and ‘maturity’ signify before unveiling the life cycle graph.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">And you're off to the ball.</span></div></div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-73493637134069262632011-01-18T14:50:00.000-08:002011-01-18T21:00:09.683-08:00<div style="background-color: white; color: #e69138;"><span style="font-size: large;">Silly Little Things </span></div><br />
I'm kicking off the blogmester with lexical habits we should kick! Topping the list are puns like the one I just used.<br />
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Ok, if you have a penchant for puns, and direly need them in your life, that's fine - I can't change you. Overused puns are hardly a pressing matter, just an irksome one. Don't be confused, though, by the many raised eyebrows, eye-rolls and other eye-proximate facial expressions that people are shooting at you (yes, shooting).<br />
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More salient is the ubiquitous use of everyday words in a way that disregards their intended use and their most fitting context. They're words that slip in and out of colloquial speech haphazardly. As speakers, we have transplanted them into so many contexts, that we often stray from their actual meaning. And as speakers, we can get away with that. As business writers, however, it is a cause for distraction. Not because misused words are an offence to the Queen's English -- linguistic purity is not the goal here -- but rather because they offend clarity of meaning.<br />
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Even in 2011, clarity and sense should be the quintessential sisters of business writing. <br />
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So here they are, the viral perpetrators. Let's call them,<br />
<b>SILLY LITTLE WORDS</b> (inspired by the book <i>Grammar Grams, </i>by Stephen K. Tollefson): <br />
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<i>basically</i> - In speech, we use it as a loose connector, flying everywhere, or to help us go into an explanation ('Basically, CBC is awesome because...') In writing, it can dull the formality and freshness of your text. Opt instead for <i>essentially, ultimately, in effect, </i>and only when you must point to a 'so what?'<br />
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<i>actually - </i>This is <i>basically's</i> spoiled cousin. <br />
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<i>real - </i>as in, 'a real big problem.' The word is more of a problem. Use instead <i>considerably, </i>or simply <i>very.</i><br />
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<i>etc.</i> - More appropriate for memos or lists, and less so for extensive reports and research papers. Go with <i>and so on, and other concerns...</i><br />
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<i>factor - </i>This is the word that tries too hard. <i>Reason, cause, consideration </i>are all good, humble substitutes for the less scientific portions of your text. <br />
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<i>reportedly - </i>You are reporting it, so it's redundant.<i> </i>Or if you read about it, it has been reported, so it's redundant. It's a 'duh' word.<br />
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<i>correlate - </i>Is <em>relate </em>what you mean? A smaller word can often carry your meaning more clearly, without confounding the reader.<br />
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And here's something as silly as these words, from <a href="http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/</a>. Recognize the symptom? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TTYX4xnC7FI/AAAAAAAAACk/a1WWdzcodLg/s1600/tumblr_dr+pepper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TTYX4xnC7FI/AAAAAAAAACk/a1WWdzcodLg/s400/tumblr_dr+pepper.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-92223232152743552972010-11-17T17:43:00.000-08:002010-11-17T17:43:47.917-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">At Facebook, Dot Com</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">According to </span><a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/adamhartung/2010/11/16/facebook-why-businesses-need-to-use-it-and-its-new-email-client/?boxes=Homepagechannels"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">this Forbes article</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, Facebook’s latest novelties will not only be the college kid’s playground, but a boon for companies as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gone are the days, says Forbes, when employees would block workers’ access to social networks. Integrated networks like Facebook may very well be the language of business communications.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TOSEpjaG_HI/AAAAAAAAACc/No4aN3l0ioQ/s1600/facebook-news-225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TOSEpjaG_HI/AAAAAAAAACc/No4aN3l0ioQ/s1600/facebook-news-225.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What are these novelties? On November 15, Facebook announced that it will soon launch an upgrade of its messaging service, Facebook Messages. This new and improved communication platform will merge the most popular communication media: Facebook Messages, SMS, chat and email.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This allows a live conversation to happen through a juggling of any of these media. If you’re a fan of SMS, for instance, you can reply to a Message using your phone, directly to the inbox of the sender. The inbox, soon to be the ‘Social Inbox,’ will act as a ‘net,’ trapping any sort of message sent or received. The Facebook Message may become Every Message.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s not all. Facebook will give an @facebook.com email address to everyone who wants one, whether they have a Facebook profile or not. @facebook.com <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will also be merged with the Social Inbox. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Many predict that if Facebook can match the functionality of email clients like Gmail, it will give </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">the Hotmails and the Gmails a run for their money. </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">On a similar vein, </span><a href="http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1467313"><span style="color: #1c609f; font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Gartner says</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> 20% of workers will use social networks as their preferred vehicle for business communications by 2014.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=452288242130"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Facebook blog</span></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> claims that the idea behind Messages is to tear down barriers to communication. If there is something worth saying, the message should reach its recipient right away, unimpeded by something as technical as the recipient not currently being online on MSN messenger, or not checking their Yahoo!mail often enough. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps the idea beneath this idea is that Facebook wants to ensure that people’s attention is on Facebook, all the time, everywhere. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For a change.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-69538530197287182402010-11-11T09:50:00.000-08:002010-11-11T09:55:07.404-08:00It Says To Be Human is To Be Wired<div>Thanks to Lenore for alerting me to this AT&T video, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vyAmA9ZAP4">It Says</a>, which I am adding to my short list of brilliant if nefarious ads which promote technology as benevolent, empowering, and totally embedded (or about to be, or should be) in our day-to-day lives and key rituals--</div><div><br /></div><div>--here represented by bedtime, driving, shopping, and dating, and culminating in getting married! </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyone else uncomfortable with this representation or have comments?</div>Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-53560668286830214362010-11-03T17:19:00.000-07:002010-11-03T17:24:36.682-07:00<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Business, Evil Business</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TNH9MHMDXzI/AAAAAAAAACY/qDPuOnvvZIE/s1600/IMG00083-20101030-1430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TNH9MHMDXzI/AAAAAAAAACY/qDPuOnvvZIE/s320/IMG00083-20101030-1430.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Some schools are stepping it up from a nondescript honor code to a more specific honor code of business. <br />
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Leslie Wayne tells us more in this New York Times article: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/business/30oath.html?_r=2">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/business/30oath.html?_r=2</a>. According to this, 20% of Harvard's business grads have signed 'The MBA Oath,' which urges tomorrow's business managers to care about how they fill up their bank accounts; to pursue their "narrow ambitions" less and to serve society a little more than, say, the Enron days.<br />
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Basically, it's an affirmation of CSR's increasing importance in business. It is probably naive to roll out the peace signs, but it is true at least that business schools are offering a lot more business ethics courses than they did twenty years ago. <br />
Modern life seems to be squeezing business down a funnel, forcing it to reshape itself into a more ethical social actor. More than ever, we are aware of the admonishing fingers pointed at Business, evil Business. We are now raising kids who will have the weight of the gasping environment on their shoulders. We are also still licking our wounds (and stiching up our wallets) after an economic let-down that was so much more than a "technical blip." At face value, it seems business is starting to reflect people's desire for lives that mean more, and for organizations that care more. <br />
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And beyond face value? Time, and products, will tell. But for now, let's assume that all the rallying for sanity is starting to pay off. Pun decidedly not intended. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TNH8ppbgEiI/AAAAAAAAACU/kNB8J2nr3yw/s1600/IMG00086-20101030-1432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TNH8ppbgEiI/AAAAAAAAACU/kNB8J2nr3yw/s320/IMG00086-20101030-1432.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-32792194914275100532010-10-28T07:06:00.001-07:002010-10-28T07:06:48.650-07:00Should we disconnect? Or just teleport to China?<a href="http://www.clarke.k12.ga.us/webpages/techmall/imageGallery/ellen_page.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://www.clarke.k12.ga.us/webpages/techmall/imageGallery/ellen_page.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />My student James Fine brought the video <a href="http://www.wimp.com/disconnectconnect/">"Disconnect to Connect"</a> to my attention. What do you make of it, especially given the fact that it appears to be sponsored by Thailand's second-biggest cell phone provider?<br /><br />Also worth viewing, on only a slightly different topic, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMl6ouxhyH0&feature=related">Cisco</a>'s video starring Ellen Page (image to the right) contrasting the seeming joys of virtual field trip to China with the horrors of a real-world field trip (who knew cows could be so scary?)<br /><br />(Also, note how Ellen is ACTUALLY in the classroom--she is not virtual.)<br /><br />Could someone please explain these two videos to me and what they say about our current age of digital distraction?Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17715531569750074002noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-69518704330018409402010-10-14T07:29:00.000-07:002010-10-14T08:18:31.696-07:00High Frequency Trading<p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TLcWlYwlgYI/AAAAAAAAALc/WG9yDJGwYL8/s1600/imagesCAIUXQEI.jpg"></a></p><p></p><p></p>This 60 Minutes <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/07/60minutes/main6936075.shtml?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel">story</a> about how Wall Street traders are making money off of what are called “high frequency trades” kind of reminded me of <a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800023786/info">Office Space</a>.<br /><br />The project has nothing to do with value, creating value, or even companies. It’s just a way to make a profit off of the slight fluctuations in stock price, but of course doing so with a high volume of stock.<br /><br />Another interesting <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/all/play_music/play_full.php?play=415">story</a> from This American Life about the mentality these days on Wall Street, and why traders, analysts, and CEO’s feel glum. See Act One.<br /><br />-PeteUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-29354765600880349872010-10-12T18:27:00.000-07:002010-10-24T00:43:31.049-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: #b2a1c7; font-family: "Georgia", "serif"; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 153;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Chronemics: A Mini Science</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Scenario: DC-born Judy is sitting in a café in Piazza Navona, in Italy, on an irresistible day of marauding tourists and Italian sunshine. She and her new Italian friend, Carla, had agreed to meet for coffee. Their exact words were: “How about Saturday afternoon, at three or four?” “Perfect, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfecto.</i>” [Giggles] It is now 3:45, Judy has been waiting since 3:00 and Carla is still a no-show.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Carla’s tardiness incenses Judy’s annoyance and indignation. Alas! if only she knew about chronemics, she would spare herself the grief and sip her <em>frapp</em><span style="color: #b2a1c7; font-family: "MS Reference Sans Serif", "sans-serif"; mso-themecolor: accent4; mso-themetint: 153;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>é</em></span><strong> </strong></span>more happily.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Chronemics is the study of the use of time in non-verbal communication (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chronos </i>is Greek for ‘time’). The way we perceive time, structure it and put it to use can carry meaning and color relationships. Interestingly, just like language and gestures require translation, so too does the cultural approach to time.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">People from the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, to name a few, are called <span style="color: #674ea7;">monochronic</span>: they partition time into precise units according to the tasks they must complete. Appointment times are deferentially adhered to and work schedules have a precise start and finish. Anthropologist Edward T. Hall points out the importance of time management for the U.S. business person, for whom time is a precious commodity that requires respect in order for things to work: ‘time is money,’ ‘time is wasted,’ ‘time is of the essence.’</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On the other hand, Latin American, Arabic, southern European and Indian cultures are <span style="color: #674ea7;">polychronic</span>. They focus on the relationship rather than the clock, striving for interactions that are good and look good to others. They don’t mind crossing time boundaries, which are fluid anyway:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they’ll get there when they get there. Theirs is a high-context form of non-verbal communication, meaning there are many codes and cues that they intuitively take for granted. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So, for Carla, it is not an issue that she will arrive as late as “three or four in the afternoon” allows, especially because she was lunching with family and it was baby Beppe’s birthday (he said “boopa,” people cooed). Judy expects an apology, but Carla won’t think of providing one…at least, until she sees how much redder Judy’s cheeks look than the day before.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TLUKkbPMXKI/AAAAAAAAACI/vaGlK0OJzAM/s1600/comic+late.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="205" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TLUKkbPMXKI/AAAAAAAAACI/vaGlK0OJzAM/s320/comic+late.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia", "serif";"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">That is not to say that a Chilean will be late for everything. In fact, business people on either end of the cultural spectrum will have to recognize and tweak their habits for the sake of effectiveness. But if your Italian client walks in late, the mini science of chronemics will help you understand why you’re so mad and she’s as cool as a lemon <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gelato.</i></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-67138942481463145232010-10-05T21:54:00.000-07:002010-10-05T21:56:29.588-07:00<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Banned Books (For the Whole Family)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In honor of Banned Books Week, DC’s very own Takoma Park library hosted a Read-Out this past weekend, where volunteers read excerpts of selected children’s books that have been challenged. Examples of “misbehaved” books were <em>Heather Has Two Mummies, Daddy’s Roommate</em>, and <em>Elbert’s Bad Word</em>. (Visit </span><a href="http://www.takomapark.info/library/children/archives/002343.html"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.takomapark.info/library/children/archives/002343.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> for more spicy titles.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the record, “challenging” a book means attempting to ban it, but not quite achieving the goal. As for “banning” a book, sanctions come in degrees. Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto, <em>Mein Kampf</em>, for instance, is explicitly denounced in Germany. There, it cannot be republished, sold or even held under possession. The Netherlands, on the other hand, allows lending it and reading it but prohibitis people from selling it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On the subject of book banning, there isn’t a prevailing consensus. Some people feel that the amorality of a book never, ever trumps the amorality of prohibiting free speech and free access to information. Others think that silencing these rights is worth it if a book threatens public health. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Really, it’s one thing condemning <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em> for dropping f-bombs. That’s conservatism gone astray. But when a book like <em>Mein Kampf</em> is the building block for one of the most calamitous events in recent history, maybe banning is the good way, the only way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Or how about <em>The Global Bell Curve</em>, by psychiatrist Richard Lynn, whose premise is that intelligence is racially inherited and that Sahel Africans are at the bottom of the…erm, race? According to loon Lynn, East Asians are the most genetically intelligent. Frankly, it reminds me of the scientist who claimed that Caucasians are more intelligent because he managed to fit more marbles in a Caucasian skull. I wish I knew more about this, but I also regret hearing about it at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The First Amendment does protect free speech. But in no way does it endorse the license to harm. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In my mind’s ear, however, I can’t stop myself from hearing German playwright, Heinrich Heine, whispering: “Where they burn books, so too will they in the end burn human beings.” </span>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-83858402769693123662010-09-29T15:40:00.000-07:002010-09-29T15:40:32.024-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Drama King</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One of my favorite authors is coming to campus: Andre Dubus III, mastermind behind <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">House of Sand and Fog.</i> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When I found out he’d be in town, I said to myself that I hadn’t been this excited since fourth grade, when Picachu evolved into Raichu for the first time. This particular novel was a New York Times bestseller, a National Book Award finalist and—wait for it, it’s intense—an Oprah Book Club selection. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The eponymous movie also garnered quite a bit of attention, as well as 3 Oscar nominations. But let’s not go into Ben Kingsley and DreamWorks SKG. It is the flesh of the novel’s pages and the blood of its beautifully embroidered drama that matters. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The story is bi-fold: it tangos back and forth between the perspective of Kathy Nicolo, a recovering divorcee who is losing her house to the inclement government (yes, taxes tax even those among us lucky enough to have been wrought by Dubus’ imagination), and Massoud Behrani, a Persian immigrant who is buying the house from the government in the hopes of giving his family a morsel of their once dignified lifestyle. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Far beyond realty disputes, however, the narration delves so deeply into the bruised lives and minds of Kathy and Massoud that the reader can’t help but develop an attachment to both of them; until you, the reader, realize that you cannot love both their fates at the same time. One’s path grinds against the other’s. Dare I say Kathy is fog and Massoud is sand? </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Just like when you were watching <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crash, </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Titanic</i>, you know in your heart of hearts that this story probably won’t turn out well for everyone. And down goes Jack…The book is steeped in bitterness, reminiscence, the putrid smell of things lost, desperation disguised as racism and, just to really keep your attention, furtive sex. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">More about Dubus’ visit is revealed on this CAS Literature webpage,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.american.edu/cas/literature/news/visiting.cfm"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.american.edu/cas/literature/news/visiting.cfm</span></span></a><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, which gives info on the whole host of writers visiting AU in the upcoming months. This site is where I found out that the handsome Mr Dubus,</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TKO9Khho0ZI/AAAAAAAAACA/zBZqntgDQnY/s1600/Dubus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TKO9Khho0ZI/AAAAAAAAACA/zBZqntgDQnY/s1600/Dubus.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">is a quasi-ringer for Harrison Ford.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TKO92zhHJkI/AAAAAAAAACE/xJTobFmI49s/s1600/Ford.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_s-iVkCMTl0Y/TKO92zhHJkI/AAAAAAAAACE/xJTobFmI49s/s320/Ford.bmp" width="252" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;"><span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Successfully added to Dubus' look is the furrowed brow of writers beleaguered by their plot-twisting brilliance. Do you see it? I know I do.</span></span></div>Lienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02352039660069967628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-81165373565289905372010-09-06T06:14:00.001-07:002010-09-22T12:02:18.363-07:00Elevator Pitches<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513788498189572594" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TITpbQE5WfI/AAAAAAAAALE/S839U8yVlv0/s320/elevator.bmp" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 162px;" />While the elevator pitches that we work on will be slightly different than the kinds employed for the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition (the ones we focus on at Kogod deal with selling yourself and your skills, rather than an idea), this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6ggSQCM1ug">may provide some chuckles. This link will provide another </a><a href="http://www.mit100k.org/contests/elevator-pitch-contest/50-days-of-elevator-pitch-wisdom/">resource</a> to think about when you’re selling your big idea.<br />
-PeteUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-42834902112929465732010-08-25T14:50:00.000-07:002010-09-22T12:23:09.678-07:00Facebook and Job Hunting<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/THWQpoJ_o-I/AAAAAAAAAKo/YEP_UUFlddI/s1600/facebook.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509468763986043874" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/THWQpoJ_o-I/AAAAAAAAAKo/YEP_UUFlddI/s320/facebook.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 151px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 151px;" /></a>I’m curious to hear your thoughts on whether employers should be able to peek at your Facebook page to help them decide whether to hire you. Apparently, Germany is moving <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/business/global/26fbook.html?_r=1&hpw">against</a> this policy. Should the U.S. do the same, or should job hunters be smarter about what they put on Facebook? (Or, should Facebook make clearer their <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/technology/personaltech/13basics.html">privacy policy</a>?)<br />
-PeteUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-35782463915071226552010-08-17T06:08:00.000-07:002010-09-22T12:23:25.660-07:00Transcendent<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TGqLd9fvzvI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/ieP2Yx-DBEg/s1600/this-color-digitized-magnetic-resonance-image-mri-human-head-mris-not-use.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506366841254039282" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TGqLd9fvzvI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/ieP2Yx-DBEg/s320/this-color-digitized-magnetic-resonance-image-mri-human-head-mris-not-use.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 90px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 120px;" /></a>Rather than examine what texting, computerizing, and general electronic multi-tasking does to our brain, this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/technology/16brain.html?_r=1&emc=eta1">article</a> follows the researchers who study this sort of thing for a few days on a camping trip. What I got a kick out of was seeing the head of a lab for which I volunteered my brain when I was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins. I want to get in touch with him to get the free images of my brain that I never received (I did get about $20).<br />
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I don’t know if it’s much of a surprise that we think more clearly when less is going on around us, or when we are “in” nature. It does kind of surprise me to know that multi-tasking doesn’t really help us think better or more on our toes. What I think would be most interesting would be to examine the “why nature?” question. In other words, would we enjoy more clarity in an empty room, a quiet car, or on an airplane?<br />
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And if we were thinking our best in nature, would I be able to solve one of most unsolvable math and computer science proofs of all time – the P versus NP proof? Find more our <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/science/17proof.html?scp=1&sq=proof%20poincare&st=cse">here</a>. If you can solve it, stop by the CBC and you will get a prize!<br />
-PeteUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-74363506934151673152010-08-11T14:15:00.001-07:002010-09-22T12:26:03.742-07:00Keeping Up With the Joneses<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TGMTZYJvruI/AAAAAAAAAKA/Tihi0MJCf2o/s1600/maldives-north-male-atoll-one-only-reethi-rah-hotel-hammock-sunrise-beach.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504264496277860066" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TGMTZYJvruI/AAAAAAAAAKA/Tihi0MJCf2o/s320/maldives-north-male-atoll-one-only-reethi-rah-hotel-hammock-sunrise-beach.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 106px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 147px;" /></a>Don’t you hate it when you get hedonically adapted to your Ferrari after a couple of years? Or when the recessed lighting on your G5 jet doesn’t seem so rosy? <br />
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Maybe it’s no surprise that we suffer from this—hedonic adaptation—or losing interest in the stuff we’ve bought, but are we really going to stop buying those treats?<br />
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This <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business&src=me">article</a> suggests that doing so may make us happier. Or rather, that spending on the vacation, golf lesson, or cooking class—purchases that are more experiential—will indeed make us happier. Evidently, little research has been done on the subject of which things you buy make you the happiest.<br />
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One of the effects of the recession has been this push towards purchasing experiences, or goods that foster an experience, and Wal-Mart and other retailers are taking notice. The implication for potential business professionals and marketing professionals seems evident, and I’d love to hear what you think.<br />
-PeteUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-22697919662355726742010-07-30T07:45:00.000-07:002010-07-30T10:07:50.567-07:00Crashing the Boards<span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">If it’s the case that you don’t necessarily need to be pre-med to do well in medical school, as this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/nyregion/30medschools.html?pagewanted=2&hp"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">article</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"> examines</span>, should a student be pre-business before going to business school? </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">What is the most valuable course one should have under their belt before entering business school? Economics? Accounting? Business ethics? Or British Lit? This New York Times article explores how certain medical schools value and permit a number of humanities students into their programs, and what kind of success those students enjoy later on as doctors.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Looking further out, if there is one class an entrepreneur should take, what would it be? </span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">-Pete</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-78165357838244424972010-07-23T07:26:00.000-07:002010-07-23T10:09:06.268-07:00The Fine Print<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TEmnbn5ZdRI/AAAAAAAAAJY/s7haEDkwrI4/s1600/automobile-mileage-sticker.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497108913190434066" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TEmnbn5ZdRI/AAAAAAAAAJY/s7haEDkwrI4/s320/automobile-mileage-sticker.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">We recently got an HDTV as a gift, and I’ve tried to hook up my computer to it to watch Netflix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’ve just embraced Netflix, believe it or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s terrific.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What’s not terrific is that when I use this special cord, an HDMI cord, I don’t get audio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An hour later, after some research, I discover that it’s a very common problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thousands of people have encountered it, but when I go to call </span><a href="http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">Dell</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color:#000000;">, who makes my computer, I discover that because my warranty is expired, I can’t so much as online chat with a technical representative. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></span></span><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">So I ask you: future inventors, sellers, and distributors of products, how long should a company stand by its wares?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I have an Eddie Bauer backpack that must be fifteen years old that I could return today, for a </span><a href="http://www.eddiebauer.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?sectionId=296"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">full refund</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;"> (at least according to Eddie).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Break it down for me—why backpacks but not computers? Is this just based on cost, and if so, is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">that</i> based on the number of users, difficulty of correcting the problem, or what?</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">And can anyone help me get audio from this HDMI cable?</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#000000;">-Pete</span></p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TEmnUfZndtI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/Z7NE3CCC9L0/s1600/automobile-mileage-sticker.jpg"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248910955856022760.post-44522502202083515662010-07-16T07:25:00.000-07:002010-07-16T07:41:04.522-07:00Crystal Clear?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_43YhnBkdbmk/TEBvTgPA_zI/AAAAAAAAAI4/_ctf0j6JU70/s1600/close-glass-beads.jpg"></a> <div><div><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Confusing times. While Goldman Sachs is required to pay $550 million (part fine, part investor restitution), it is not required to admit it did anything wrong. Technically. Read more about what this really means </span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-15/goldman-sachs-to-pay-record-550-million-to-settle-sec-subprime-fraud-suit.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#0000ff;">here</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> and </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369382547871788.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_business"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#0000ff;">here</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Clarity is at issue: the lack of clarity in Goldman’s marketing materials and lack of clarity in the design of the financial instrument in question, the CDO. What do you make of all this?</span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Wall Street isn’t the only place plagued by reversals and upheavals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Apparently, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged, </span><a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/healthylifestyle/news/exclusive-bristol-palin-levi-johnston-are-engaged-2010147"><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#0000ff;">again</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">-Pete</span></p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0