A different way to think about Apple’s protectiveness July 29, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in New Media, Technology.add a comment
I was reading a story about the HomePlug Power Alliance this morning and a new standard they’re issuing/approving. There was a quote about how companies can begin developing products now that the standard will be available… and it hit me, we have so many different hardware and software platforms in technology today – just think of the myriad of mobile devices/”smart phones” and how each is different, comes with a different set of apps, etc. That and a recent story about Japan’s cell phone industry (which is very advanced hardware-wise, but completely incompatible with any cell networks used anywhere else in the world), made me think of Apple’s protective approach to tech in a different light. Perhaps they have it right. Perhaps open sourcing is so overwhelmingly prolific as a concept that we’ve ended up in an oversaturated innovation environment (some people may argue it’s consumers’ fault for wanting so many different things). Whatever the cause, it is intriguing to think of how popular and widely used the iPhone has become in a sea of wannabees that often have a handful of features that a better than the iPhone’s. Perhaps closing its product off from outside developer input has helped Apple keep the product coherent and consistent and maybe consumers are enjoying that one beacon of met expectations in a sea of random other devices that may or may not fit their needs and wants.
As much as tech “pundits” (i.e. bloggers, enthusiasts, influencers and journalists in the tech field) mock Apple for its set ways, maybe Apple’s on to something.
*shrug* Or maybe not. Maybe we need a vibrant and chaotic ecosystem in the tech industry to keep up this impressive pace of innovation (and along the way the Apples of the tech world can cherrypick the proven developments and incorprote and customize them for their own devices and software).
Hodgepodge catch-up post July 28, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Civics, Gibberish, Healthcare, Life, Media, New Media, Superfluous musings, Technology.add a comment
Life has definitely been a whirlwind in the past few months. After a layoff, several long weeks of semi-disheartened job searching, grandmother traveling back to Europe, sister’s graduation, new job (which was a surprise and has become a great learning experience), and lots of reconnections with friends, one moving wedding, and finally an apartment selection (and one more wedding prep), I have decided I’ll never “find” time to resume blogging. I had even taken to sending myself e-mails from my new smart phone (wow, never had a pocket-sized computer that makes phone calls before; they’re truly come along way, despite all the criticism) during my long commute via ferry – all with subject line “blog” and a sentence or two on a topic that was capitalizing my attention that day. Well, I won’t get around to developing full blog posts out of each e-mail, so here’s a hodgepodge list, just to get it out there and hopefully start blogging somewhat regularly again:
Celebrity deaths – what do they tell us? – I thought about this when news about Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Walter Cronkite (and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone) hit within a few short days of each other. Beyond the stories I was reading about online journalism, mobile technology, etc. and how these worldwide (in case of MJ) news bits profliferated many new technologies, I was thinking that a lot of these folks were fairly young and succumbed to either cancer, heart disease, or drugs (prescrption and otherwise) – worth pondering what these trends say about U.S. healthcare issues in light of the healthcare reform debate currently playing out in government.
The world as a community – I’m not sure what I was thinking exactly here, but in that e-mail I’ve written: “Obama approach – the global community organizer? Will that work?” Pretty cool to think about how global of a community we truly are – global warming, global economic crisis, global flu epidemic (that spread lightning fast), global mourning of Michael Jackson, etc. If anything, the United States is lucky to have so global of a leader again (I think the last to be revered abroad was Bill Clinton).
Why are we so afraid of government meddling – This was a thought brought about by the healthcare reform debates I kept hearing on NPR on my commute to and from work. To quote myself again from that e-mail: “Isn’t that the point of representative government? If they really mean it, why aren’t (Republican) politicians declining their government health plans & buying their own – after all that is the ultimate free market.” No need to elaborate here, I think (except to reiterate how irritated I am by blatant and not unintentional hypocrisy).
Reaction to NPR healthcare story on All Things Considered (July 1) – “Gov $ already going more & more to healthcare & decisions are out of patients’ hands b/c of insurance rules & coverage patterns, not b/c of gov bureucrats… & it’s much costlier often than just treating…” – basically what I always take issue with when Republican (and some Blue Dog Democrats) talk about the danger of having the government make healthcare decisions for you instead of that being up to you and your doctor. Hah! Who makes those decisions now? Insurance companies. They must know better than the government. (And don’t even get me started on the whole argument of whether the government will encroach that much into the decisions anyway.)
Media splinters – As a PR professional, I started in fall 2006 targeting “top tier” publications; today, for the best impact, we target “niche” publications – audiences have splintered into specialized interests thanks to the bloggosphere, other new media on the Internet, a-la-carte news and opinion even on cable news TV networks. It took something like MJ’s death to bring the whole world’s attention to one story, like a lazer beam.
Are we all spoiled consumers? – “Do we expect too much from our technology, too fast? Can’t help but wonder, reading all the new smart phone reviews (partial to Palm Pre – small keyboard actually a + for me, but would like better/more solid hardware & more apps..)”
The return of yard and garage sales – Is this a sign of the (tough economic) times? I can’t remember when was the last time I saw a sign for a garage sale and they were everywhere in the late 1990s when my family first moved to the United States. All of a sudden this summer they’re everywhere again.
Interesting theory about news April 17, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Education, Grad school, Media, New Media, Superfluous musings.add a comment
A friend had an interesting point about newspapers today. We were talking about the speed with which newspapers are closing up shop these days; how 2-3 years ago the expectation was that the huge dailies (NYT-caliber) and the ultra-local small papers will survive, while everything else will be extinct thanks to declining subscriptions and advertising rates (cragislist killed the paid classifieds, which is – surprisingly – even more important than glossy ads for many print publicatons). Today, it turns out even older generation readers are canceling their ultra-local newspaper subscriptions because they get all their “news” online. Even highly educated friends of mine are enamoured with the “news” they have access to at their fingertips, 24/7, video virtually as-it-happens, and they like being able to participate in the “news”-shaping and read mostly blogs, etc. But then I have to stop and think about it – are they really getting “news” in the strict definition of the term? They are certainly getting a lot more commentary and even pure value-deprived entertainment… at least based on what I was taught in j-school just four years ago. So why are people so quick to embrace all of this other stuff that’s marketed as “news.” Well, partly because it’s tailored to their world view and interests (narrowly focused topic-based blogs, entertianing vidoes, slanted media outlets (read: Fox, MSNBC, Air America, etc.). But partly because it’s all become so ubiquitos and we’ve all become so impatient.
When the plane recently crashed in the Hudson, I remember a PR colleague say he specifically experimented with tracking all the blogs, i-reporter style web sites, various other online outlets and the big ones – i.e. the old school journalism outlets… Turns out NYT.com was the last of the bunch to upload a story. Why? Because their reporters, despite witnessing the event as-it-happened, did some journalism – they called sources in the mayor’s office, the fire department, first responders, etc. and tried to gather and confirm facts. Everyone else beat them – eyewitnesses with video-capturing cell phones who uploaded nearly real-time, etc.
At any rate, I have recently been wondering a lot about how quickly things are shifting in the communications industry. When I started in PR 2.5 years ago, we were targeting top outlets for the highest impact, most top-tier readers reached, etc. Now, we tout targeting the narrowest of publications, the most niche blogs, because readership continues to splinter into interest groups and that’s where the most powerful impact can take place.
My friend’s point was that perhaps it will take a cataclismic event, a rock-bottom of sorts, that will help people see what they’re truly being fed as “news” and only then will we as readers and consumers revive our thirst for fact-checking, balanced journalism. (The real kind, now “fair and balanced” as in Fox branding.) It’s interesting isn’t it? She even compared it to the economy with a metaphor – both will hit rock bottom (as they are spiraling out of control now) before we see a curve toward recovery.
I think this is fascinating time. Part of me wants to be in grad school to observe and analyze… but perhaps a bigger part of me wants to be in the business itself, participating, being part of the changes, truly working in, with, and during these unprecedented and increasingly faster changes. Fascinating.
27 January 26, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Family, Gibberish, Grad school, International Relations, Life, Media, New Media, Reminiscing, Superfluous musings.add a comment
I turn 27 on the 27th. I used to look ahead to this distant date and wonder what exciting things I would be up to. Turns out – not much. I do love my life – I have a wonderful family that isn’t too scattered. I live in a nice town. I have beautiful memories – recent and old. I feel peaceful and happy at home. But there are also many things I’ve yet to reach for – graduate school and the pursuit of more knowledge being the primary star.
But then I look around the world and realize that I don’t deserve to complain and whine about the things I’ve yet to achieve. I just have to do them. And what’s a better time than now – when the world is so involved, so open and yet mysterious. There is an international economic crisis. There are the persistent hunger, disease, violence and suppression problems with the difference that nowadays they are as familiar and proximate as the Internet and all of its media ancesorts can make them, ushering them into our living rooms continuously. There is so much impact to have. It’s definitely overwhelming, but it is also urgent and inviting at the same time.
Perhaps that is the significance of 27 – the year I will take the ultimate tangable action towards those abstract dreams. Amen.
This is not one of those age-related crises. At least I don’t htink it is. If anything it is an interesting fascination with the number. Besides the fact that it is 27 on the 27th, it has also been sort of dear number. The favorite of mine is 3, 2+7=9=3^3.
Transparent and accessible government January 14, 2009
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Civics, Elections 2008, New Media, Superfluous musings.add a comment
The Obama transition team continues to amaze me. I am in awe at how accessible and engaged they are portraying the President-elect to be.
I was very pleasantly … well, not surprised, not really … when the team announced, via Michelle Obama, their call for a day (and/or weekend) of volunteer service for the MLK Jr. holiday this year, just before the innauguraiton. But what is truly an innovative idea is the “Citizen’s Briefing Book.” I first received the e-mail addressed from Valerie Jarrett (co-chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Project ) this morning. It may have been distributed earlier and only reached me recently, but nonetheless, it is impressive when I log in the afternoon of the same day and there are already several thousand ideas collected. A glance at the list of recent topics and it is obvious these are serious, thoughtful ideas… no spamming here. Well, either that gets filtered out (which would also be indicative of the commitment on the Obama team’s side) or people are considerate and eager to get engaged. It’s probably a bit of both.
So, the book itself will be a collection of the most popular ideas submitted to this web site and it will be assembled in the same binder as the incoming President’s other briefing documents. He will actually look at it himself. Talk about a direct line to your top leader! Genious.
I hope his administration keeps up the fantastic job the campaign and transition team have done thus far to make ordinary people feel connected and engaged once again. It’s a mighty feat in today’s communication tools onslaught.
Wordle – fun, fun, fun! November 4, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Gibberish, Media, New Media, Superfluous musings, Technology, Writing.add a comment
Check out this fun toy. I played with this blog and created a pretty fun image of words in random colors/fonts/directions that sizes each word according to how frequently it appears in the particular text sample. You’ll see what I meant!
It’s a cool little applet that I stumbled upon while reading an RSS feed from an Intel blog and it’s really quite a fun way to visualize your text. I like that they’re described as clouds and also the fact that they show just what’s been most prominent in your writing, whether you like it or not, whether you expected it or not. 
How a presidential candidate should respond to a hurricane September 1, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Elections 2008, Media, New Media.add a comment
McCain really doesn’t belong at the Gulf Coast soaking up publicity. It’s just more sleazy pandering. What was he doing when Katrina hit? And now he’s just overcompensating and posting for the press. I wish he had a better sense of what to do, and more importantly, what not to do in situations like this. Leave it up to the experts, the rescuers, the government currently in charge to do all the work. You go in and try to meddle, you simply pull resources and attention away and onto yourself.
Barack Obama sent an e-mail to supporters urging them to donate to the Red Cross. Much more appropriate response for a presidential candidate: https://donate.barackobama.com/redcross
P.S. Don’t even get me started on why the White House still has the photo of McCain and Bush with the birthday cake, just as Katrina was making a second landfall, on the press releases web page. Cake first! I mean… Country first!
Technology in the next 40 years August 28, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in New Media, Science, Technology.add a comment
I was working at the Intel Developer Forum last week and by the last day I was fairly tired. I didn’t have to be up until 10 a.m. and could have possibly slept in until 11. Instead, I was awake at 7 a.m. and out the door in time to see the final keynote. You can see it here for yousrelf.
There were a few things in particular that struck me – beside the incredible demos about the steps taken today toward the Cingularity (the point in time when artificail intelligence will surpass human intelligence). You should see the vide just for the cool robots that can “see” an apple in front of them and grasp it firmly, yet gently and hand it over to another preson; for the cognitive computer control demo of a video game; for the smart radios that could sense the free wavelengths around them and cell phones that can find a signal by hopping to other wirless devices even if their tower is down; for the nanocomputers (Catoms) of the future – tiny robots that will allow for 3D models and even a shape-and-appearance changing mobile devices. But what I thought was even cooler is the practical applications that each Ph.D. student, reseracher, or Intel intern discussed after their demo. Justin Rattner asked each person how they would make their project a viable, useful part of everyday life or medical research. Fareed Zakaria identifies this practicality as one of the United States’ greatest enduring strengths. Other countries are conducting fantastic research as well, but it is a uniquely U.S. trait to immediately and successfully turn a new idea into a product applicable to real life. It’s taking this vital step that separates the United States still, but it should also continue to stress educaiton in general and the sciences in particular, if it is to stay competitive in the global economy of today.
Another uplifting observation I jotted down was that several of the featured researchers were of minority background and even more of them had recognizable accents. This is another point in Zakaria’s book “The Post-American World” – the United States still attracts the brightest minds from around the globe. But again, the country needs to work harder today to keep this level of technological advancement and attractiveness for the emerging scholars of tomorrow.
Instant news May 26, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Media, New Media, Reading, Superfluous musings.add a comment
Both in high school and college I had teachers and professors (one at each level of education) who were obsessed with current events. We had to follow the news and take pop quizzes every class period on what’s in the news at that time. It was great. I actually acquired my news skimming, CNN watching, NYTimes reading, Economist subscribing and NPR listening habits just from exercises like that. And somewhat from my journalism professors whose habits rubbed off on me (the NPR bit from a prof who listened to it in her car on our way to an FCC hearing as extra credit; The Economist from actually some Political Science junkies at the international studies program office in Germany where I was studying abroad and taking POLS classes).
It’s funny because now I actually listen to NPR’s “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me” show during my workouts and laugh at all the gags on the week’s news they come up with. It’s especially entertaining because there’s rarely a newsworthy nugget that I’ve missed and learn from the show itself. I love it! I’m really glad that these habits were instilled in me and I must say I am a tad surprised at how familiar I am with the news when I really do wish I read more of The Economist, and read more news in general, diversifying my sources. Must be doing a-OK. Although, I also feel like a lot of people, especially young people, get so much more news (and different stuff, not just what’s in the mainstream (even if they’re the good ones, my sources are still “mainstream”) and different interpretations of it from the Internet that I inevitably feel left out, breathing in the dust as everyone else speeds off on RSS feeds, news forums, blogs (aka the new-age pundits galore), podcasts (OK, I do listen to a couple – literally – of these), video logs, You Tube commentary, specialized news aggregation web sites, e-ncyclopedias, etc. etc. etc.
Belated Obama speech notes April 24, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Education, Elections 2008, Family, Grad school, Life, New Media, Reminiscing, Superfluous musings, Writing.add a comment
Been meaning to translate the few notes I had jotted down about Obama’s speech on race in the United States into typed words… and the notepad sheets have been sitting on my desk for weeks now. First of all – note that video on the Barack Obama web site is a YouTube video of the CNN footage – just pointing that out as a new media enthusiast and Wikinomics reader. Now to my thoughts, randomly jotting down about the time of the speech – mid-March:
I would love to have analyzed the speech from pure rhetoric theory because his speeches are usually written as textbook examples of following basics that enhance the message and complement an otherwise inspirational delivery (starting with a hook, weaving through reoccurring themes, starting and beginning with the same topic to frame the speech in a whole and bring it to a natural conclusion - and a slew of other techniques (like anecdotes, jokes, etc.) that make the speech so much easier to follow and engaged with). But I won’t go down that path because I am rusty and to begin with I only had the 101 speech class knowledge to rely on.
The white grandmother anecdote make some cringe. They wouldn’t do that to their grandmothers – embarrass them like that in front of the whole nation, critics said. The story was genuine, it was about “covert” racism, the kind that is not on the surface or even recognized by the person wielding it. I wondered about that too. There is a person in my immediate family who I could say a lot of the same about, on a very similar, close-to-heart story. But would I? Actually, I would. I don’t see why not. I don’t see how making the anecdote public is condemning them as a bad person. Everyone has some bias or another. But all has to be put in context of each person’s unique world view. Otherwise, we would all be hypocrites.
Obama did put the story of his white grandmother in context. And I am glad he did so. It is a much more common story nowadays with so many mixed couples of so many different backgrounds, and certainly not just in the United States.
Obama put the story of his grandmother in context like he put the story of his pastor in context – he grew up in an era of suppression of black people’s potential and opportunities. There are certain attitudes in my family I dislike as well, but I am not about to disown them. I know the context in which they were raised and their world views formed (in Bulgaria), my world view is a product of theirs and my own experiences – it’s a new prism (Bulgaria, the United States and brief trips to many other countries only since 2004 – until then I only knew these aforementioned two countries… odd isn’t it?).
I took issue not with his mention of his grandmother’s bias, but with his comment about jobs abroad. The thought of a protectionist president in today’s global and vibrant economy just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Listening to his speech gave me a new wave of ideas for a book or thesis – perhaps something I can work on after grad school acceptance when I’m more relaxed about my future but still with some buffer time before I tackle it head-on.
racism/Obama’s experience & world viewe/speech/immigration/my experience & world view/global economy
I look back at my own past attitudes and the growth and learning I’ve experienced consciously and subconsciously and it scares me somewhat. I tell the anecdote of the African exchange students (college level) at the public transportation bus stop outside the English language high school and my classmates’ hurtful comments; I also frequently share the story about a journalism teacher who really pushed me to look inside myself and recognize those learning moments in my first weeks in the United States when I met people of different ethnicities and cultures for the first time. Those memories are insightful but also bitter and painful because they prove I wasn’t perfect and by extrapolation it means that I may not be at the end of that journey yet – and that’s what truly scares me.
