THE ENTERPRISE--A WHOLE NEW WORLD?
A HUMAN INFORMATION "FOOD PROCESSOR?"
Today I realized that I am very often like those products featured on infomercials--choppers (Veg-O-Matic?) and food processors. Put in an assortment of food types and out comes "something" that may or may not be tasty, edible or even useful. I read (a lot), receive email, talk to people, listen to or watch people, and then think about it all. (That's the "processing.") When all of this "food for thought" has gone through the old processor, I hope something tasty or useful results. In spite of this unglamorous metaphor, I'm going to keep doing it--because if you choose the right mixture of what you read, see, and hear, and "sense" then mix it with some thought, reflection, and a dash of judgment, the result can often be palatable, and occasionally, downright tasty. Not always, but sometimes... Let's see how this week comes out:
THE LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE HYPOCRITES
Can you believe it. The term "misspoke" is a synonym for lying by politicians. The latest ins Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal describing how he intentionally misled (another term for lying) everyone about his "service" IN Vietnam--well, not actually--he was in the service briefly while the Vietnam conflict was going on. He talked about "coming home from there," but he must have meant coming home from hit stateside position where he ran the "Toys for Tots." Hillary Clinton did this a few years about when she "misspoke" about being somewhere she wasn't and coming under enemy fire (that she didn't). Al Gore also misspoke more than a few times, about being places he wasn't, doing things he didn't. And our Misspokesman in Chief, Barack Obama told civil rights stories about people and places that were totally out of synch with reality.
Publicly lying in office, about significant matters of factual importance should be punishable by removal from office & prohibition from running again.. That would clear out a lot of people from Washington, DC, and also from many of our state houses.
It would also thin out the candidate pool. Politicians lie a lot; sometimes it is a "parsing" of the truth to make their policies seem like something they are not. At other times it is to avoid being seen for what they are. If the penalty for publicly lying about matters of significance were removal from office--or worse (like perjury) a criminal penalty--a lot of politicians would mis-speak a whole lot less.
THE DANGER OF INTELLECTUALS RUNNING OUR COUNTRY
I was reading Thomas Sowell's profound book, "Intellectuals and Society" in which he points out some amazing things. A couple of quotes: "Intelligence minus judgment equals intellect." Or perhaps, George Orwell said it better: "Some ideas are so foolish that only an intellectual could believe them, for no ordinary man could be such a fool." The "intellectuals" or pretenders-to-be in our society are heavily concentrated in a few areas: academia, media, and government. These areas are largely "unaccountable" and that is very dangerous. The last Sowell quote on this topic is: "Unaccountability to irresponsibility is a very short step."
INSANITY: ARIZONA LAW VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS THE SAME AS CHINESE IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE AND MURDER
Or at least that is what our government's Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner said--very publicly--while meeting with the Chinese leaders. If you didn't see if and hear it, you wouldn't believe it. It is so preposterous, and yet he "represents" Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama--and because he represents the USA, he also represents YOU! Make you SICK? It does me.
Watch for yourself: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35774/
IT'S A WHOLE NEW WORLD--WILL YOU LEARN TO "PLAY" OR "WORK" IN IT?
Since then I have learned a lot. I use them more, but still selectively. Their reach and power has grown tremendously, yet some, like Twitter, are shallow and still seem to be trivial. Facebook and LinkedIn have grown into massive forces which can be used for valid business--and personal--reasons. However, I still stand by many of the ten reasons I wrote as being valid concerns, and open issues.
GOOD OR EVIL--THAT IS IN THE HANDS OF THE USER (JUST LIKE A GUN!)
The recent brouhaha about Facebook's privacy/security breakdown is just one example of how the negative consequences can equal or exceed the positive benefits. Just like the Internet, Email, smart cell phones with video cameras and even the ubiquitous telephone, any technology can be used for good or for evil purposes. I am posting my old article with a few more recent observations (in parentheses).
Some do. No doubt about it. Especially if they fail to lead their companies successfully, or get "sweetheart" or windfall deals, just before the companies fail. Boards are the culprits if they overpay. And we need stiffer "claw-back" laws. But some CEOs make what the market demands for them--and what they are "worth. " Of course it is fine for President Obama to be upset because CEOs make too much. He only makes a few hundred thousand a year His friend Oprah only makes $275 million per year (As a CEO and an entertainer), George Lucas (of Star Wars fame) makes $170 million; Madonna, only $110 million, Harrison Ford only $55 milloin. But these entertainers, (and many similarly high paid athletes) are somehow... "worth it." What crap that is. Most overpaid of all, Tiger Woods--but somehow, I think he's going to take a BIG pay cut this year and a bunch of his wealth will got to his ex-wife to be Elin.
SOME TRUTHS ARE TIMELESS--WILL OUR NATION'S LEADERS EVER FIGURE THESE OUT?
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.
5. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
COUNTRIES AND ACRONYMS
The BRICs are beating the PIIGS in every economic measure except financial failure. Know what those acronyms mean?
Google them! (:-)
Best, John
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
-----------------------------------------------------------
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
------------------------------------------------------------
A HUMAN INFORMATION "FOOD PROCESSOR?"
Today I realized that I am very often like those products featured on infomercials--choppers (Veg-O-Matic?) and food processors. Put in an assortment of food types and out comes "something" that may or may not be tasty, edible or even useful. I read (a lot), receive email, talk to people, listen to or watch people, and then think about it all. (That's the "processing.") When all of this "food for thought" has gone through the old processor, I hope something tasty or useful results. In spite of this unglamorous metaphor, I'm going to keep doing it--because if you choose the right mixture of what you read, see, and hear, and "sense" then mix it with some thought, reflection, and a dash of judgment, the result can often be palatable, and occasionally, downright tasty. Not always, but sometimes... Let's see how this week comes out:
THE LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE HYPOCRITES
Can you believe it. The term "misspoke" is a synonym for lying by politicians. The latest ins Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal describing how he intentionally misled (another term for lying) everyone about his "service" IN Vietnam--well, not actually--he was in the service briefly while the Vietnam conflict was going on. He talked about "coming home from there," but he must have meant coming home from hit stateside position where he ran the "Toys for Tots." Hillary Clinton did this a few years about when she "misspoke" about being somewhere she wasn't and coming under enemy fire (that she didn't). Al Gore also misspoke more than a few times, about being places he wasn't, doing things he didn't. And our Misspokesman in Chief, Barack Obama told civil rights stories about people and places that were totally out of synch with reality.
Publicly lying in office, about significant matters of factual importance should be punishable by removal from office & prohibition from running again.. That would clear out a lot of people from Washington, DC, and also from many of our state houses.
It would also thin out the candidate pool. Politicians lie a lot; sometimes it is a "parsing" of the truth to make their policies seem like something they are not. At other times it is to avoid being seen for what they are. If the penalty for publicly lying about matters of significance were removal from office--or worse (like perjury) a criminal penalty--a lot of politicians would mis-speak a whole lot less.
THE DANGER OF INTELLECTUALS RUNNING OUR COUNTRY
I was reading Thomas Sowell's profound book, "Intellectuals and Society" in which he points out some amazing things. A couple of quotes: "Intelligence minus judgment equals intellect." Or perhaps, George Orwell said it better: "Some ideas are so foolish that only an intellectual could believe them, for no ordinary man could be such a fool." The "intellectuals" or pretenders-to-be in our society are heavily concentrated in a few areas: academia, media, and government. These areas are largely "unaccountable" and that is very dangerous. The last Sowell quote on this topic is: "Unaccountability to irresponsibility is a very short step."
INSANITY: ARIZONA LAW VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS THE SAME AS CHINESE IMPRISONMENT, TORTURE AND MURDER
Or at least that is what our government's Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner said--very publicly--while meeting with the Chinese leaders. If you didn't see if and hear it, you wouldn't believe it. It is so preposterous, and yet he "represents" Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama--and because he represents the USA, he also represents YOU! Make you SICK? It does me.
Watch for yourself: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/35774/
IT'S A WHOLE NEW WORLD--WILL YOU LEARN TO "PLAY" OR "WORK" IN IT?
The principles of marketing and communications still are as valid as ever. It is the media format that keeps changing from generation to generation. This sort of list was being circulated in the late 90's talking about the web, etc. For interpersonal communications: Texting is cool. Phoning is passe'. Texting is fast and asynchronous. Phoning is slow, requires social interaction, and synchronous (both parties must be on the phone at the same time). Messages remain forever on some server, somewhere, if someone knows how to access them. Even "old dogs" have to learn some "new tricks" if we want to optimize the reach of our programs to the new, youthful audience.
[NOTE: I could not verify this list of 40+ points, so it is possible that there are errors in it.]
- Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old
- 96% of them have joined a social network
- Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.
- Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web
- 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media
- Years to Reach 50 millions Users: Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…
- Facebook added over 200 million users in less than a year
- iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.
- We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it.”
- If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 3rd largest ahead of the United States and only behind China and India
- Yet, QQ and Renren dominate China
- 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction
- 80% of companies use social media for recruitment; % of these using LinkedIn 95%
- The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
- Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres (combined) have more Twitter followers than the populations of Ireland, Norway, or Panama. Note I have adjusted the language here after someone pointed out the way it is phrased in the video was difficult to determine if it was combined.
- 50% of the mobile Internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook…people update anywhere, anytime…imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?
- Generation Y and Z consider e-mail passé – some universities have stopped distributing e-mail accounts
- Instead they are distributing: eReaders + iPads + Tablets
- What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…
- The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube
- While you watch this 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube
- Wikipedia has over 15 million articles…studies show it’s more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica…78% of these articles are non-English
- There are over 200,000,000 Blogs
- Because of the speed in which social media enables communication, word of mouth now becomes world of mouth
- If you were paid a $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia you would earn $156.23 per hour
- 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content
- 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands
- Do you like what they are saying about your brand? You better.
- People care more about how their social graph ranks products and services than how Google ranks them
- 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
- Only 14% trust advertisements
- Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
- 90% of people that can TiVo ads do
- Kindle eBooks Outsold Paper Books on Christmas
- 24 of the 25 largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation
- 60 millions status updates happen on Facebook daily
- We no longer search for the news, the news finds us.
- We will non longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media
- Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate
- Successful companies in social media act more like Dale Carnegie and less like Mad Men Listening first, selling second
- The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years
- Bonus: comScore indicates that Russia has the most engage social media audience with visitors spending 6.6 hours and viewing 1,307 pages per visitor per month – Vkontakte.ru is the #1 social network.
Since then I have learned a lot. I use them more, but still selectively. Their reach and power has grown tremendously, yet some, like Twitter, are shallow and still seem to be trivial. Facebook and LinkedIn have grown into massive forces which can be used for valid business--and personal--reasons. However, I still stand by many of the ten reasons I wrote as being valid concerns, and open issues.
GOOD OR EVIL--THAT IS IN THE HANDS OF THE USER (JUST LIKE A GUN!)
The recent brouhaha about Facebook's privacy/security breakdown is just one example of how the negative consequences can equal or exceed the positive benefits. Just like the Internet, Email, smart cell phones with video cameras and even the ubiquitous telephone, any technology can be used for good or for evil purposes. I am posting my old article with a few more recent observations (in parentheses).
- Social Media/Networking is an invitation to at best, uncontrolled and permanent over-exposure, and at worst, identify theft or misuse. (Still a concern, and a growing one.)
- All of us are drowning in a tidal wave of complexity already, and these social networking sites make this complexity worse by an order of magnitude. (Still a problem, no relief in sight.)
- Social networking is in the evolutionary stage, and as such, all of the sites that exist now will change, evolve become either more useful and secure or go away. The lessons are there in recent history: Compuserve, early versions of AOL, Prodigy and all the other now defunct or otherwise transitory Internet, email or proprietary web systems. (Still true, but the shakeout is underway, outcomes yet to be determined.)
- Just when a lot of people learn to use one of the social networking sites/systems, someone will come up with a newer, better, cooler or more fashionable one. (Still true--more than ever.)
- Security of social networking sites is as great a risk as passing business cards around in a busy bar. No matter how many times the site owner/operator promises your information will be protected, secure, etc., the lure of money will make them liars. Someone will buy the site for the contacts that come with it—period. Then they will sell those lists to as many people and companies as will pay for them, to do whatever they wish with them. (Still true, still risky, still common. But on the Internet, the information lives and circulates forever--unlike a business card in a bar.)
- There are many other, more focused ways of networking and marketing instead of placing your identity, your information, photos, etc. in the public—very public—domain. (These new media formats are too big, too widespread and too potentially explosive to ignore. But like all "explosive things," handle with extreme care.)
- Real business people realize that this social networking trend is superficial. True relationships may originate in email or other similar venues, but must become personal and not electronic to be of meaningful value. (Some are superficial, like Twitter. Others are genuine ways for people to make contact, and what happens from there is up to human nature.)
- The hassle of meddling with your computer and the so-called “easy to use” interfaces of such social networking sites is far too great compared to the complexity it adds. (Partly true, and partly a cop-out. The sites are not all that hard to use. They do however have a lot of tentacles that get really intertwined, and that is not so good.)
- When I want to expand my network, I want to choose who will be involved and know that their involvement is willing and enthusiastic—not the result of an email and a few clicks of the mouse. (Although I now have included many contacts on LinkedIn, and do have Facebook and Twitter pages--albeit lightly used.)
- I am simply too busy to meddle with something that is at least largely populated with people who have nothing better to do with their time, or others who think is it somehow an easy way to really be connected to a lot of people. (Probably not the most diplomatic way to wrap up the list. Some people find great value in social networking. Some don't. So be it.)
Some do. No doubt about it. Especially if they fail to lead their companies successfully, or get "sweetheart" or windfall deals, just before the companies fail. Boards are the culprits if they overpay. And we need stiffer "claw-back" laws. But some CEOs make what the market demands for them--and what they are "worth. " Of course it is fine for President Obama to be upset because CEOs make too much. He only makes a few hundred thousand a year His friend Oprah only makes $275 million per year (As a CEO and an entertainer), George Lucas (of Star Wars fame) makes $170 million; Madonna, only $110 million, Harrison Ford only $55 milloin. But these entertainers, (and many similarly high paid athletes) are somehow... "worth it." What crap that is. Most overpaid of all, Tiger Woods--but somehow, I think he's going to take a BIG pay cut this year and a bunch of his wealth will got to his ex-wife to be Elin.
SOME TRUTHS ARE TIMELESS--WILL OUR NATION'S LEADERS EVER FIGURE THESE OUT?
1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.
5. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
COUNTRIES AND ACRONYMS
The BRICs are beating the PIIGS in every economic measure except financial failure. Know what those acronyms mean?
Google them! (:-)
Best, John
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead
-----------------------------------------------------------
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
------------------------------------------------------------
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