reflections

The pace of change

The pace of change in global communication is rather exciting and a little scary. When I compare my life today to 10 or 15 years ago, the differences are pretty amazing.

15 years ago I didn't have a mobile phone. I had a DOS based email account. I had never browsed the internet. I mostly communicated by phone or even snail mail. Today I have two mobile phones and neither of them are ever very far away from me. The internet is a part of my life, whether it is to access emails on my phone, to update my blog, to skype my colleagues or to keep in touch with old friends on Facebook. When a significant event happens on the other side of the globe, I can access information in near real time often with minimal reliance on traditional media.

Technology isn't the only thing that is changing, but it is probably driving the change. Whether we like it or not, the world is coming together at a faster pace and is learning to communicate better. Artificial borders still exist between countries, but they are crumbling fast. I can travel to most countries without a visa. Most of us speak more than one language and almost all of us understand English. We are slowly realising that we are a lot more alike than different.

I am not sure where we will be in another 50 years, but I have little doubt that our world will become even more integrated. Even if some of leaders resist, the people will drag them along kicking and screaming. We are all part of one system. The sooner we acknowledge it, the better we will be able to reap the benefits.

Photo originally uploaded by pingnews.com.

Facebook

Clare tells me that I am a marketer's dream. I like trying new things, so I generally do. If a marketer does their job and make their product sound interesting, I will probably try it.

My latest venture into the online world is to put up a profile on Facebook. I am definitely behind the times with this one I know. It is a very clever concept. You link your profile to your friends. You can send messages to each other, send invitations to events, play games, run mini-surveys and many other features I am yet to try.

So far, I am just happy finding some old friends with profiles on Facebook. Great fun!

Religious Marketing

I am always fascinated by marketing. Maybe this is because marketing is far from being my forte. Recently I have been spotting a lot of marketing by religious groups. Many NSW buses are plastered with billboards advertising the Hillsong Church. The Scientologists and Mormons have long been experts at street marketing. The Jehovah's witness are reputed for their door to door canvassing. I guess a new religious group is like a new market entrant trying to capture market share.

The more mainstream religions generally refrain from overt marketing. However, recently they too have started subtle advertising. I like the latest campaign by the Uniting Church. Billboards outside their churches proudly proclaim "Aussie can't save you - Jesus, he'll save you". The billboards have the same look and feel of the Aussie branding. I wonder if Aussie contributed to the campaign? It is certainly giving them good exposure.

Good vs Evil

This topic never ceases to intrigue me. When you start thinking about it, there are so many permutations. Most of us strive to be good. We respect the law, we help our friends, we avoid lying, we stop at red lights, we try to do the right thing.

Why do we try so hard? Often it is just as easy to do the wrong thing as it is to do the right thing, sometimes easier. Is it because we are scared of the consequences? That can't be the only motivator. Most people stop at a red light no matter the time of the day or night. How often have you found youself stopping at a red light in the middle of the night at a deserted intersection? No traffic, no pedestrians, no red light cameras, no cops in sight, zero chance of getting punished for running the red light, but yet you stopped.

So what is it? Are we motivated by fear of the ultimate judgment? Are we worried that God will judge us at the time of our death and punish us for our list of transgressions? If that is the explanation, then undoubtedly atheists will have no fear from doing the wrong thing. Right? Or wrong? I'm confused.

Photo originally uploaded by fallenvelvet. 

Celebrity Gaffes

What did Jessica Simpson say when she met US Secretary of Interior Gale Norton? She complimented on the great job he had done decorating the White House. To her credit, she never claimed to be smart and doesn't pretend to be.

Reading the Simpson quote in the SMH over the weekend, it made me think of celebrity life. It must be hard going through life and having all your movements being a potential news story. We all make gaffes almost daily, generally they are very funny. Thankfully, most of our gaffes go unnoticed.

Unfortunately, if you are a celebrity, your whole life is permanently a news story. Your gaffes, indiscretions, relationships all become front page news. Is this the price celebrities have to pay for their high incomes and fame? Does the general public really have the right to pry into the lives of celebrities? These celebrities act, sing, dance to entertain us. Do we have a right to invade their privacy as well?   

Photo originally uploaded by reverseZeR0.

Queen Mary

It was a beautiful day on Tuesday and James, David and I decided to go for a walk at lunchtime to get a glimpse of the Queen Mary. It was a nice walk until we got to the end of College street when we were suddenly caught in the mad crush of the crowds who had the same idea.

From the start of Art Gallery Road, the footpath was jammed with people. All along College Street, busloads of tourists were joining the swelling crowd. The pace along Art Gallery Road (walking) had slowed down to a crawl, so we had to cut through the Domain to keep up a normal pace. Luckily I think we had preceded the worst of the crowds and we got to a decent vantage point without too much trouble.

Having seen the swelling crowds, we decided to take a different route back to the office and cut  through the botanical gardens. It was a little better, but people in great numbers were still making their way to see the ship. It was a crazy sight.

The holidaymakers on the Queen Mary were supposed to be the tourists. I wonder how they felt about having become the tourist attraction. I heard a prediction that the ship's visit would inject $1 billion into Sydney's economy. I wonder if they included the huge crowds of locals in that calculation. The Mr Whippy van and the cafe near the Art Gallery were certainly doing a booming trade.

Patriot Games and Terrorism

I am reading Tom Clancy's Patriot Games at the moment. I have of course seen the movie before, but I am only now tackling the book. What I enjoy the most about Tom Clancy's books is that they are thought provoking and well researched. This one is no exception and deals with the conflict in Northern Ireland that claimed many victims in the 70s and 80s.

It got me thinking about terrorism. Can the targeting of innocent people ever be justified? Terrorist groups are generally fighting from a position of weakness and most of the time against more powerful and better equipped armies. Can they be expected to fight cleanly?

However, reading about the attack on Jack Ryan's family really brings home the fact that attacking innocent civilians is inexcusable. There can never be any justification for terrorising making innocent people suffer no matter what the cause may be.

However, this rule does not only apply to dissident groups. State terrorism is just as bad. Israel doesn't have the right to use its military might to reduce the Palestinians to stateless refugees. The US doesn't have the right to dictate its views to the world. The Sri Lankan government doesn't have the right to target their heavy weaponry at innocent Tamils. Whether it is state terrorism or otherwise, there is no place for it in the world. The sooner people learn to respect the sanctity of life and basic human rights, the better.

Photo origininally uploaded by mtg101.

Peer to Peer

The internet has brought many innovations. I wouldn't call myself an early adopter, but I do try and keep abreast with the new features. However, I never really got into peer to peer downloading. Its not because I have ethical objections to it, rather I am too impatient.

After my recent experience using BitTorrent, I think I may wait a while longer before I try again. Maybe after technology has further evolved and legal compromises make the process more user friendly, I may try again.

Clare and I recently bought the complete Seasons 1&2 of Lost. Having watched it all, we were a little impatient to see Season 3. It is now screening in the US, but will not be available in Australia until next year. So we decided to try and download the episodes using BitTorrent.

We knew it would take some time. However, we were surprised when it was still downloading after a week. On the 8th day, we were happy to see that the download had finished. We were also pleasantly surprised to see that the download appeared to contain the first 3 episodes of Season 3, not just the first one as we had thought. Excited we settled to watch the first episode that night. However, as it started to play, we were dismayed to realise that it was all in Russian.

I think it will be some time before I try peer to peer downloading again. Call me old fashioned, but I would rather wait for it to be available to be purchased legally and in ENGLISH. In the interim, we have decided to watch the complete Seinfeld series.

Photos originally uploaded by malthe and DrWeb.

The innocence of childhood

A couple of weeks ago one of Joshua's friends - Daniel - joined us for the afternoon. As a joke I told them they had to hold hands as we were walking through the Broadway carpark. I expected both of them to go "ewwwwwwwww grossssssss" or something to that effect. Instead they held hands without any qualms. I had to take a photo because that innocence will not last long.

It is interesting to observe children. They show us instinctive human behaviour that is not tainted by artificially created social norms. They often have a lot to teach us.

Should Australians speak English?

Marrickville council is proposing to require shops to have English translations displayed for all signage displayed in a different language. Apparently the proposal has been called outright racist and divisive.

I am not sure I understand. We live in Australia. Our official language is English. Shouldn't all shops and service providers make their products and services accessible to all Australians? I don't have any objection to signage in other languages, but I certainly object to seeing a shop displaying all signage in a foreign language without translations.

A few weeks ago Clare told me about a Korean restaurant in the NSW north coast that refused to serve non-Koreans. The shop pictured above has all its signage in Chinese and according to the report in the SMH, the sole employee of the shop doesn't speak English. I have been to restaurants where part of the menu is in a different language. Am I not being discriminated because I don't speak those languages?`