Social Media Connection Technologies

In an article in the July 18, 2010 issue of The New York Times Magazine about social media connection technologies (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) Clay Shirky, a New York University professor is quoted as saying “The loss of control you fear [in using these technologies] is already in the past.  You do not actually control the message, and if you believe you control the message, it merely means you no longer understand what’s going on.”  Makes sense – once you’ve posted the message you have no control over what is done with it in the digiverse.  It brings to mind Marshall McLuhan’s statement that “the medium is the message”.  Come to think of it, I don’t think we can say that we really control the medium either!

digiverse vs. live professional performing arts

In this TED talk arts administrator  Ben Cameron speaks eloquently of the battle between time spent accessing the digiverse and what that means for the time society is prepared to spend enjoying live professional performing arts. 

TED describes this talk as follows: "Arts administrator and live-theater fan Ben Cameron looks at the state of the live arts -- asking: How can the magic of live theater, live music, live dance compete with the always-on Internet? ...  he offers a bold look forward." 

It's worth a watch: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ben_cameron_tedxyyc.html

Deseo Bistro, a new restaurant in Winnipeg

(Note from GB: In July, 2011 Deseo Bistro moved to 696 Osborne Street, adjacent to the Park Theatre, on the North side.)

Had lunch today with a friend at Deseo Bistro, a new restaurant located in the Royal Albert Arm’s Hotel, 48 Albert Street, Winnipeg.  It is a great restaurant albeit the space makes it seem like a little hole in the wall.  But the food and service were fantastic.  I expect it will eventually have to move to more elegant space that more befits the food and service.  The menu is eclectic with Spanish influences.  It wasn’t until after we had left that I realized from what little Spanish I know that the name is a neat play on words – this bistro is truly to be desired.

Panel Discussion by General Counsel of Microsoft and Google

At lunch today at the Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, there was a panel discussion between Brad Smith, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Microsoft and Kent Walker, Vice President & General Counsel, Google. And it was a thriller!



They set the scene by talking about the amount of information that is available today, and how much we are creating. They talked in units that are like a thousand times bigger than a terabyte. Made my head ache! Then they turned to YouTube. The amount of material being put on it in 24 hours is equivalent to Hollywood releasing 126,000 full length movies every week.



Smith has had to tell colleagues “I know you read that on Wikipedia, but there is more to law than that.” In addition I don’t understand why we put trust in something like Wikipedia which is a collaborative effort of reciting facts. It just doesn’t have credibility from my viewpoint. Really, people, what is likely to be the quality of something that has that sort of input. I’m reminded of the concept of reversion to the mean.



And we are going well beyond gui (graphical user interface), to natural user interface (nui) – more smart screens. And screens where the camera is imbedded in the pixels.



Google thrives on innovation and there was a news story one day about the creation of a robot car. Walker said that you haven’t lived as a General Counsel until a colleague tells you that the Shah of Bahrain wants to drive a robot car, and asks whether Google has to issue a release (for securities law purposes). Think with your head – it’s a “robot” car! Too much ping pong I guess.



They both talked that the best technology tool for in house lawyers are those that are collaborative, presumably like Google docs and SharePoint. These help to create the “hive mind”. Nice concept for a team.



There is clearly a huge advantage to these companies taking on the influx of young workers who have grown up with technology. They described these youngins as “digital natives”. One of their characteristics is that they expect more transparency in the workplace.



Walker spoke of the work Google has done with the Center for Disease Control. The Center was used to tracking the number of cases of flu for example and allocating resources accordingly. What Google introduced them to was watching the numbers of searches on the symptoms (e.g. cough, fever, etc) and realize that when people were searching on that, that flu was about to break out in those areas. So in other words, people can look online for data that will be a better predictor of problems, than monitoring the occurrence of problems.



At one point Smith (remember Microsoft) lamented that it was easier to find info on the web than in their own company. Walker (remember Google) replied: let us know if we can help with that!



A great presentation. Kudos to ACC for arranging this.

Providing Cancer Services in Aboriginal Communities

Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair spoke this evening at the Community Cancer Care Education Conference. He spoke of his leadership at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and related that to providing cancer related services in aboriginal communities. The essence has to do with hearing. People will respond if you hear what they need and offer the services accordingly. Specifically, engage local traditional healers in the process. Very insightful.

Happy Binary Day

On this binary day (10/10/10) remember that there are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

You’ll chuckle as you read ...

In the October 4, 2010 issue of Thompson’s Insurance News there is an article on “’Gen Y’ Recruiting Requires New Understanding of Workers” – reporting on a session from the 2010 Risk & Insurance Management Society Canada Conference. The report is on an address by MarsUSA managing director Dan McGarvey. It makes a number of very good points – and it seemed to me some very true tongue in cheek humour. This publication is not generally available so I’ll repeat the best parts here:



“If you think 20-somethings entering the insurance industry are disrespectful, self-involved and always looking for shortcuts, you’re right. But those aren’t necessarily liabilities. ... the “millennial” generation doesn’t respond to the same carrots or sticks as earlier generations. The average 21 year old will have four or five jobs before age 30. So it’s hard to motivate Gen Y workers with promises that patience and paying dues will lead to slow but steady promotion and a good pension. More Gen Y’ers believe in UFOs than social security.” D A H !!!



“McGarvey cited frequent stereotypes associated with 20-somethings:

-they don’t respect authority. They respect authority that’s earned, not artificial titles. Where boomers might consider a 30-year company veteran a font of wisdom borne of experience, the Gen Y is more likely to consider him a loser for staying in one place for his entire working life. Is 15 years of experience just one year repeated 15 times?

-They’re always looking for short cuts. Yes, and that’s good. It makes a company more efficient.”



“Stereotyping swings both ways, and boomers might squirm to know how they appear to the brave new cohorts:

-They are technically illiterate and don’t even try to keep up.

-they are slow to adapt to change. “We’ve always done it this way” is simply not an acceptable explanation to Gen Y.

-They’re no fun. Millennials make no apologies for having a life outside work, nor for bringing their irreverence and sense of humour to the job.”



“Want to send a downy-cheeked recruit to your competition. Mr. McGarvey offered some ways to alienate Gen Y.

-use standards other than the quality or quantity of their work to evaluate them. So they dress casually and flaunt piercings and tattoos – if they get the job done and don’t interact with clients, why not?

-give the “dues paying” lecture. It just doesn’t register.”



Definitely food for thought.

Rebooting Prosperity May Require Updating Our Culture

http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2010/10/sam_zells_tribune_and_the_high.html

Wow! This article has a great message and is entertainingly written. The author talks of a “company making all the wrong moves – and one where the boardroom is like a parody of Animal House”. Ok, now he has my attention. He describes the newspaper company in question as “pursuing tired old 20th century advantage – in the most simplistic way possible, hoping that cutting costs to rake in a few tiny efficiency gains or adding a few ad pages will save it from sweeping strategy decay”. His conclusion: there’s a deeper problem at a cultural level.




He then winds around examining corporate strength and concludes that it is no longer about dominance, but about the capacity to evoke. “It’s the power to inspire, animate, infuse, spark, evoke – and then connect, link, and collaborate, to be a force multiplier.”



He feels that booster jumping the economy is going to take more than stimulus packages, bailout and quantitative easing. It is going to require something deeper; a change of values. And it is not just in the corporate arena, but in society in general. There is a need to examine the culture of our society. I think he has a point.

Lennox and Darwin - Be curious, think outside the box and be responsive to change.

Had some time for some interesting reading at lunch time and came across these quotes:
   Annie Lennox: the secret to staying relevant is curiosity, and not allowing yourself to be boxed in or easily categorized.


Charles Darwin: It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

Negotiating

I get to assist in judging a negotiation competition at the University of Manitoba Law School tonight.  I’m reminded of the effective negotiation method suggested in “Getting to Yes”: separate the people from the problem; focus on interests, not positions; invent options for mutual gain; and insist on using objective criteria. 

Malcolm Gladwell on what constitutes good writing

I had a very inspiring lunch today and was reminded of this quote from Malcolm Gladwell: "Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. ... It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think ...."

Hunger (sic)

There is much knowledge in the world. It is food for the mind. I am in need of much nourishment.

Today's Adventure

not a great day today - launched the old seadoo for the first time this year. It wouldn't start. Fortunately I was close enough to the launch to push it and Tasha back in. Changed sparks plugs etc but to no avail. Looks like tomorrow will be a holiday spent going to the repair shop. Then went for a walk in the forest - to the lovely sounds of ... a million hatching mosquitoes!!!

"Remember Me"

Watched a fantastic movie last evening – it was too wet for a campfire. I have to give Tasha full credit for choosing it. Her artistic sensibilities are really developing.




The movie is called “Remember Me”. It is a touching story of love. It is not created as a Hollywood blockbuster, but explores many types of love, wonderfully scripted to interweave among the characters. It has the feel of an independent, arts house movie. It depicts the love (and non-love) between couples, of course; between friends; non-love (actually bullying) between school students; and love from parent to child, and child to parent (both of young child and 20ish child). What a mixture! But it is all related so beautifully and with tender emotion. It will tug at your heartstrings. And make sure you have the Kleenex handy for the conclusion.



This one is well worth it. We rented it on DVD from the local store. Here’s a link to this movie’s listing in Internet Movie Database:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403981/

Seraphine - the movie.

Saturday evening I watched Seraphine. It is a French movie, with English subtitles. I rented it at Blockbuster – boy, has that business model gone by the wayside! I bet it has been at least 3-5 years since I rented anything there.




From the DVD cover: I’m thinking it is a (relatively) true story. In 1913 a German art collector Wilhelm Uhde, first to buy a Picasso and who discovered Rousseau known as Le Douanier, rents an apartment in Senlis to write and rest. He hires Seraphine as his maid. He notices, sometime, later, a small painting depicted on wood. He is shocked when he learns that he artist is not other than Seraphine. So begins an unsuspected and poignant relationship between the avant-garde art dealer and the visionary maid.



I had seen a review of it in a May/09 issue of the New York Times. It won 7 CESARs, which I gather are the French version of the Oscars. The awards included for best picture and best actress.



I found it to be a sensitive story of Seraphine’s development as an artist, being discovered, the relationship with her patron, dealing with monetary success (unsuccessfully), religion as an inspiration of an artist, and mental illness. They is a touching portrayal of her poverty as she made her own paints and used natural elements and what little money she had, instead of buying food and other necessities of life. She also was inspired by nature, and there are very touching scenes of that.



For those who enjoy “artsy” movies, this one is well worth it.

Hurt Locker

I finally had the time to watch Hurt Locker Friday evening. It was very entertaining but I couldn’t help but wonder about the air that I felt from this movie. It seemed to clearly convey the relationships among the soldiers and the chaos of the war, including the interaction with indigenous non-combatants. I sensed the portrayal of the war was almost ethereal. Definitely not of the style of Apocalypse Now! Was it the screen play, the photography or the director? I can’t help but wonder if this female director was responsible for creating this atmosphere. Anyone have thoughts about this movie and how they felt about it?

Speeches published in Policy Options

I have very much been enjoying the publication of excerpts of speeches in Policy Options, the learned magazine of Institute for Research in Public Policy (IRPP). Three come to mind, being those given by President Obama, Senator Segal and Prime Minister Harper. I am quite aware that these likely involved speech writers, but nevertheless seeing the source material helps to understand where these speakers are coming from. President Obama´s speech in Egypt was brilliant, and reading it helped to understand why it would be considered as part of why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Senator Segal was very articulate and insightful. A wonderful suggestion to the media as to how they can improve their reporting. Regretably the speech of Prime Minister Harper at Davos was intellectually light in my opinion. I like the concept of enlightened sovereignty that he espoused but the speech described action and labelled it. It was not persuasive as it did not philosophically build a case for this type of sovereign action and then say this is what its execution would include. I suspect that is the difference between a stateman and a politican.

A Radical Thought

About twelve days ago there was an article in the New York Times about the cost of the Internet, TV and phone (including long distance) in the USA. The columnist pointed out that the cost of this bundle in France was US$30 per month. This was because they share the infrastructure and there is much competition. He was complaining of the high cost in the USA. He should check it out in Canada! We have far less competition in this area and less sharing of the costly infrastructure. The various companies are laying their own infrastructure and / or minimally sharing it. This has duplicated costs and created much redundancy. So generally I would be against government getting involved in this fashion, but I´m thinking this is a case where it would be for the greater good for government to nationalize the infrastructure, to have it run either by government or an efficient entrepreneurial third party, and make it available to all the service providers. The cost of infrastructure would thus not be a barrier to entry into the market. We could have more competition and lower cost. Wider access would be a huge benefit to education, business, Canadian society and our economy generally.

Eighth Blackbird @ Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's 2010 New Music Festival

I was so disappointed when the Winnipeg Free Press’ review of Thursday, February 11, 2010, night’s performance at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival included only details of the performance of Tanya Tagaq and nothing of the performance of Eighth Blackbird.

There is no question that Tagaq was phenomenal. She has taken Inuit throat signing and melded it with elements of other vocal styles. Her infusion of jazz and hip-hop added much to the performance. And I cannot fail to mention her unbridled energy on stage. She was just so much into the experience and her music that she drew us as the audience into her performances. As if this was not enough the compositions of fellow Canadian Derek Charke were perfectly suited to her signing and liveliness. Very approachable new music all.

As if that were not enough, we were honoured to have Eighth Blackbird grace the stage of our festival. Eighth Blackbird, based in Chicago, is one of today’s top new music ensembles, of the likes of Kronos Quartet and Bang on a Can. Kudos to the WSO for having them take part. Their portion of the program was very accessible new music. And their style was clearly of a well integrated and elegant sextet. Many of the performances used a technique of the performers being choreographed to move around the stage to play in smaller groups. As they explained it, the music at times had the themes being concentrated in the smaller groups so it made sense to have those groups together to play and the musicians be further motivated by the synergy of concentrating the sound as they played closely together. A very polished rendition. Their explanations of their pieces were meaningful and showed the connections of their group with the pillars of the new music world. Of note is that they performed Stephen Hartke’s masterpiece, Meanwhile, which was a finalist for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. To conclude their program they performed a work they had commissioned of Steve Reich. Reich is unquestionably the Beethoven, Bach, Mozart; pick whatever great composer you want, of today’s new music world. Reich’s work, Double Sextet, was accomplished by Eighth Blackbird pre-recording their performance of the music of one sextet, and then performing the accompanying sextet live to that recording. It was awesome. The music was colourful and powerful. It was clear to see why is won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize. The performance by Eighth Blackbird was energetic, enthusiastic and meaningful. Winnipeg, we have no idea how lucky we were to have had this calibre of new music ensemble and music played for us.

“Team of Rivals – The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” – a Canadian’s perspective

My perspective of some of the political points I discovered upon reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's book entitled "Team of Rivals - The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln". There are two parts to my vlog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unVyfhtwXDw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZiU9fp3Qj0&feature=channel