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Phone books: does anyone actually use them anymore?
2007-07-16 20:21:00
How many phone books end up getting recycled (one hopes that's what's happening to them) immediately, without ever even getting cracked open? In my apartment building lobby, there is a stack of new phone books. Each sits in its own plastic wrapper. So far, the stack appears to be untouched. I'm assuming the vast majority of my fellow apartment dwellers use the Internet to look up phone numbers...so most of the phone books are wholly unnecessary. It was a complete waste to print them and package them.I wish there were an opt-out program for phone books. What do you think? Do you use physical phone books anymore? If so ... why?Tags: waste paper phone book
More About: Books , Phone , Sustainability , E Book , Ally

The Healia Blog
2007-07-16 17:15:00
We just launched a company blog at Heal ia. It will discuss health news, emerging health technologies, and new Healia developments. Take a look here:http://blog.healia.com/Tags: Healia blog health
More About: Blogging , Blog

The 00's: the lost decade
2007-07-11 22:16:00
How do you refer to the current decade, if you refer to it at all? Recently I heard someone confidently say "zero zeroes," as if this term were in the general parlance. But I don't recall having heard that before. Consider the term "the eighties." It's absolutely soaking with cultural significance. The decade 1980-1989, which I experienced from age 6 through 15, is, in my mind, firmly attached to the term "the eighties."But what of this current decade? How will today's children refer to it? Will they say: "I grew up in the zero zeroes"? Looking back one hundred years, people called the period after 1900 "the turn of the century." So will this decade be known as "the turn of the millenium"?I suppose I sometimes hear "the post-911 era," but that's a considerably bleak way to refer to this decade.Is a decade more puzzling, more disturbing, somehow, if we don't have an easy label for it?Tags: chronology time decade 00s zero zeroes eighties 80s turn of the millenium
More About: Lost , Language , Cade

Social Networking: all over the news
2007-07-10 17:47:00
Perhaps it's just the news I follow, but it seems that social networking developments are popping up everywhere in the last few days.Pownce is the latest offering from Kevin Rose, founder of Digg. Pownce is described as a hybrid site that seeks to combine social networking, instant messaging, and file sharing.Google, having failed at its first attempt at social networking, is funding a more ambitious project: Social stream. Socialstream aims to provide a "unified social network service" that will allow many social networks to be linked together, letting them share both content and the nature of the relationships of the people who use them.Of course, Facebook has really been stealing the social networking show lately. All of a sudden, it's a given that startup Internet companies need to at least consider if or how they will leverage Facebook's newly open platform. Venture capitalists are now quizzing Web entrepreneurs on their "Facebook strategy."Facebook includes a few terms ...
More About: News , Social Networking , Networking , The News

The iPhone: a head-turner
2007-07-09 20:18:00
On the morning of June 30, the day after iPhones were released to the ravenous public, I was having some breakfast at The Globe Cafe and noticed, a few booths away, three guys gingerly passing a gleaming new iPhone back and forth. I couldn't help it: I had to walk up and get a closer look, and the owner was gracious enough to let me touch it.The other day at work, one of my coworkers brought in his new iPhone and we all gathered round for a demo. Impressive? Yes, quite. I won't go on about its features, as they have been discussed in painstaking detail throughout the blogosphere.People are impressed with other people's iPhones. So I predict that this summer, a sizeable number of people will successfully use their iPhones to successfully woo romantic partners. Just by flashing their iPhones as they walk down the street. It will happen. I'm sure.Tags: iPhone woo head-turner
More About: Iphone , Head , Turner , Turn

The next YouTube?
2007-07-06 21:16:00
Interesting statistics today on Dailymotion, leading to speculation:"There's been a great deal of speculation in the marketplace about which site is the next YouTube, and each of these next-tier sites has a particular draw...Dailymotion.com is stating the strongest case at the moment, both domestically and internationally."Tags: YouTube Dailymotion video-sharing
More About: Youtube

Giant red pushpins in Seattle
2007-07-06 18:48:00
I was walking by B&O Espresso recently -- a spot I've been going to for almost 15 years now (the foul is excellent). I couldn't help but notice the giant red thing protruding from the roof. I thought it was some sort of ominous symbol portending B&O's impending close (which may or may not be happening). Actually, it's part of a rather interesting marketing campaign by Microsoft to promote Live Search Maps. It's called The Push pin Project. The giant pins can also be found sticking out of Mama's Mexican Kitchen and Garage Billiards.Tags: pushpin project Microsoft Seattle marketing Live Search Maps
More About: Marketing , Giant

Linkalicious: 7/2/07
2007-07-03 07:21:00
A few stories have piqued my interest over the past few days...LinkedIn is hiring new staff and preparing for its upcoming IPO. Should it be worried about Facebook encroaching on its territory? I think not. Sure, you can do your professional networking on Facebook, too, but there are all those random applications littering your profile, and the not-so-professional photos. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is the online equivalent of the events you wear your suit to.Is there any connection between Neanderthals and modern humans? Perhaps we'll find out!Chronic disease has quadrupled among children.We will see much greater expenditures for people in their 20s than we ever saw before, and no one is thinking how we should prepare for that....We call it an epidemic.You should drink coffee instead of soda in the morning.Tags: LinkedIn Facebook neanderthal coffee soda chronic illness
More About: Kali

Get your blog displayed in search results pages
2007-06-28 18:37:00
Healia, where I'm interning for the summer, has just rolled out an interesting program called Healia Links. The idea's pretty simple: bloggers display the Healia search widget on their blogs, and in return, Healia displays a rotating link to participating blogs in its search results pages.I'm not aware of any other search engine -- or any other site, for that matter -- doing something quite like this.If you're a blogger or site owner, you should give it a shot. Note that in order for Healia to display a link to your blog, your content must meet the editorial guidelines. You don't need to be a healthcare blogger per se, but your blog can't have offensive content, ad link directories, defamatory language, etc. More information available in the terms of agreement, accessible through the program description page.The search widget looks like this:healiaSearch Box('_blank');As an experiment, use the widget above to try a comparative search between Healia and Google on a junk-result...
More About: Blogging , Results , Blog , Pages

Drumming again, a decade later
2007-06-27 19:45:00
Over a decade ago, back in college, I drummed with a few bands. We played Nirvana and Pavement covers and it was lots of fun. I didn't really do much drumming after that until just recently, after the end of this past school year. I've taken up drumming with a CCR cover band called Revival Revival. It's an absolute blast! We just had our first show, at a house party, and we'll be doing more shows throughout the summer.Drumming with a fun-focused cover band is markedly different from anything I was up to during my first year of grad school. It's a refreshing diversion, actually -- a nice way to take a vacation from school for the next few months. Tags: drumming CCR Creedence cover band summer Revival Revival
More About: Late , Ming , Cade

Linkalicious: 6/26/07
2007-06-26 18:52:00
Last summer I was consuming so much new information about internet trends that I often just compiled it all in link-filled blog posts. Happily, I've resumed my news-consuming ways, so I'm going to kick off linkalicious posts again for the summer. I wonder what I missed over the past nine months...Basically all teens who are online use social networks. 96% of those aged 9-17, apparently.But there appears to be a growing class divide 'twixt MySpace and Facebook.those using Facebook come from wealthier homes and are more likely to attend college. By contrast, MySpace users tend to get a job after finishing high school rather than continue their education.Plaxo has released Plaxo Pulse, which essentially allows people to build their own private social networks from their address books.The video search engine Blinkx is launching speech recognition video search.Very much in its beta stage, the technology is designed to help advertisers target ads alongside or in Web videos based on spe...
More About: Social Networking , Kali

And my internship starts off with a bang
2007-06-19 14:53:00
On my second morning with my internship at Healia, the press release came out: Healia has been acquired by the media and marketing firm Meredith. Considering the fact that Meredith is 105 years old and Healia is younger by a century plus, it's an interesting convergence. (I'll refrain from MBA-speak.) The two companies are clearly very different, and yet the acquisition makes sense: each offers something that the other needs. A stalwart of the traditional media world, Meredith needs a way to keep its customer base from defecting to new online competitors. Healia offers an award-winning product, and needs a way to develop awareness in its target customers. For my part, I'm already seeing why an internship is such a crucial part of the full-time MBA educational experience. Just two days in, and I've already learned a lot.Moreover, being involved with a forward-looking search engine is, for me, very fun. Musing over the future of internet has been a pastime of mine for a while now,...
More About: Business , Career , Bang , Internship , Intern

Pondering product placement
2007-06-12 21:34:00
I was recently discussing Knocked Up with a friend. We both agreed that it paled in comparison with The 40 Year Old Virgin (a film that left me exhausted from two hours of continuous laughter). But what really bothered my friend about Knocked Up was all the product placement.Prod uct placement? I told him that I didn't recall any. He reminded me of the scene with Ravenswood wine, and about how the E! Network is featured prominently throughout. One blogger comments:The overflow of product placement makes the head spin. Occasionally, the characters even turn their chests forward, the better for us to see the labels on their designer/thrift t-shirts.None of this distracted me as I watched the film. So perhaps I have become completely inured to integrative advertising techniques (or my mind was mush a few days after finishing the academic quarter). Truth be told, if it's sufficiently subtle (which I'd argue is the case with Knocked Up), product placement doesn't really bother me. Wha...
More About: Marketing , Lace , Erin

A futile quest for advice
2007-06-12 19:14:00
Reviewing my site traffic log this morning, I noticed that someone in Alabama chanced across a tiny post I wrote that links to the "ulimate rejection letter." Their search string? Rejection letter wording. Mysteriously, my post appears in the first page of Google results.I can only guess as to the drama underlying this anonymous Alabaman's search for advice on penning a rejection letter. It's a shame my post wasn't of more assistance.Tags: blogging search unhelpful
More About: Advice , Blogging , Quest , Vice

June 9: A look back
2007-06-09 18:51:00
It's always interesting to look back through the journals I faithfully kept as a kid (I stopped in my mid-20s) and see what I was up to on this day in previous years. Often on this day, I was either just settling into (or about to start) a new chapter in my life.In 1985, I was getting ready to go pick berries for the summer, as many kids used to do in rural Washington and Oregon:Today was the last day of school. I wonder who will be my teacher in 6th grade? I am going to pick strawberries at Curt Maberry's this year.In 1992, I was getting ready to travel to Washington D.C. for the summer, where I worked as a software tester with my uncle.I packed, bought a road atlas, and our family played Scrabble.In 1998, I had just moved into a house with roommates in Seattle's Central District, and I was selling flowers and berries down at Pike Place Market:I like selling raspberries alright -- nothing to wrap, like the tulips. But if I'm not able to get at least four days a week from this j...
More About: June , Back , Memories , Look

Blogging lapses and shifts in digital identity
2007-06-08 17:36:00
I've been done with the school year for a week now. My internship doesn't kick off until next Friday, so I've been luxuriating in what feels like a vast expanse of free time. Directed by my whims, I've been walking around my neighborhood, watching great films (I highly recommend The Lives of Others), and spending leisurely swaths of time in local coffeeshops. As for the Wall St Journal that appears in my building lobby every morning -- I'm actually reading it now, rather than just glancing at it.I've also been spending plenty of time in bed. That's where I'm at right now!With all this free time, why the almost-month-long lapse in this blog? I've been following blogs for six years now, and the blogging lapse is a common phenomenon. Blogg ers go on hiatus for a spell, and then invariably return with an apologetic post: life's been busy.But I don't think this is why blogging lapses occur. Trust me, one can always find time to blog. :) Rather, I think it's a matter of uncerta...
More About: Blogging , Digital , Identity , Shift

Summer internship: Healia
2007-05-17 07:30:00
I'm very happy to announce that I will be doing online marketing as an intern this summer with Healia. In its own words, Healiais the premier consumer health search engine for finding high quality and personalized health information on the Web. It serves as an independent, unbiased gateway to the highest quality health information resources.I'm very impressed with the folks I've met at Healia thus far, including Tom Eng, the CEO, and I'm looking forward to a fascinating and fast-paced summer!Tags: MBA UW University of Washington Healia internship marketing
More About: Summer , Career , Internship , Intern , Ship

Internship interviews
2007-05-03 06:59:00
As I stepped out of my public speaking class, Finding Your Voice, this evening, I realized that the busiest of the busy times are behind me. The past three weeks have literally been a whirlwind -- each weekend I've been out of town, leaving the weekdays to pack in studying, MBAA meetings, and internship research.Speaking of internships, last week I interviewed with Healia, WildTangent, and Alvarez & Marsal Business Consulting. There'll be a second round with Healia tomorrow morning and additional rounds with Alvarez and Marsal next week.Classroom hours will die down significantly over the next few weeks, and I've been talking with MBAA officers about how we're looking forward to catching up on planning meetings during that time.Alright, early bedtime for me tonight.Tags: MBA UW internship University of Washington
More About: Interviews , View , Internship , Intern , Ship

Spring quarter is more relaxed...
2007-04-25 15:58:00
...or so they say. I'm not so sure. On Monday, I worked non-stop -- homework, internship research, class, meetings -- from 5am to 3am. Yes, a 22-hour day! Actually this is due to a lot of things converging at the same time. Things will be calming down in about a week's time and I'm looking forward to updating this blog more regularly. :)Tags: MBA UW University of Washington
More About: Spring , Ring , More , Relax , Quarter

A tantalizing description
2007-04-19 09:20:00
While I was on layover at Narita airport in Tokyo, I chanced across this description of a certain packaged food: "It is so delicious, the hand expands inadvertantly."Unfortunately I have plumb forgot what the food was, exactly. I just love that description.
More About: Antal , Description

Bite-sized Singapore recap
2007-04-18 08:00:00
Got back from Sing apore on Sunday and I've been quite busy since then catching up. Although Kien and I didn't get much of chance to sightsee, I got a lot out of the experience. We both left with a veritable plethora of ideas for how to improve our program, and the goal now is to distill those down to a few good ones. We also left feeling optimistic about our program relative to other top MBA programs from around the world. We've got some solid assets that many other programs simply do not -- such as our career center, which is generously staffed with folks that ambitiously go out of their way to scout out opportunities for us.Back to studying for tomorrow's Operations midterm --Tags: MBA UW University of Washington Singapore GBC2007
More About: Recap , Size , Bite

Heading to Singapore
2007-04-09 06:44:00
On Tuesday I will be heading to Sing apore to attend the Graduate Business Conference, along with Bonnie (the outgoing MBAA prez) and Kien (Executive vice-president). This is a yearly conference for student leaders of MBA programs from around the world. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to exchange ideas with my counterparts from other programs. And to get out in the 80-degree weather a bit. :)I had a scare a few days ago when I thought I wouldn't receive my renewed passport in time for the trip. I called the Passport Services Office -- actually I had to call 9 times to even get into a hold queue, in which I waited for 50 minutes until I spoke with someone. They're not kidding about the current increased demand for passports! The rep was very helpful and was able to get my passport bumped up to a next-day shipment, so all's well.The class workload is certainly lighter in spring quarter, but I've been keeping myself busy getting accustomed to my new role as MBAA president. ...
More About: Head , Heading

Spring break's over already?
2007-03-25 20:13:00
How sad. Time flies when you're on spring break, apparently. But I've had a lot of fun over the past few weeks. I've been very social, which is precisely what I wanted. I caught up with old friends that I haven't seen in a while, such as this fellow.I've also spent a fair amount of time on campus, being planny and talking strategy with various folks. Lots of stuff to do over the upcoming quarter, and the question is what to focus on first. The MBAA website is in desperate need of updating; I'd like that to be taken care of soon. Twice over the past week, I volunteered up at the Greenwood Boys & Girls Club. On Monday, a group of us got down and dirty and did maintenance work. And on Friday I played games with the kids. One of them drew my portrait, and I had fun helping another kid practice for an upcoming spelling bee. I told her and her friends that I was a spelling bee champion (it's true!) as a kid. They didn't seem that impressed.Tags: MBA MBAA UW University of Washingto...
More About: Break , Spring , Read , Ring , Over

A necessary disclaimer?
2007-03-16 19:16:00
Earlier this week, I noticed an ad in the Wall Street Journal, pictured at right. It's for the legal firm Nixon Peabody. Not pictured is the accompanying text, which includes a disclaimer:The person in this ad is an actor depicting a fictional scene.I can't imagine why this disclaimer is necessary. Who would look at the ad and think otherwise?And for the 0.01% of the population that thinks this ad is "real life" ... so what? Is there a possibility that someone might sue over this? The odds must be infinitesimally small. Perhaps Nixon Peabody is showing that it's a legal firm that covers all its bases -- even those freak possibilities -- and will do the same for you.Or maybe I'm missing something here.Tags: marketing Nixon Peabody disclaimer
More About: Essa , Disclaimer , Disc

The ides of March: a historical perspective
2007-03-16 06:45:00
What was I up to on the March 15ths of yesteryear?Way back on 3/15/84, my sister Bethany was born. Happy 23rd birthday, Bethany! Yes, I feel old.3/15/88:Today was Bethany's 4th birthday. She got a stuffed giraffe which she named "Snuffy." She also got a huge stuffed rabbit which she named "Snuggles."3/15/92:Bethany had her 8th bday party today. I found a highly enjoyable Seattle station, 107.7, the "End." I listened to a 3-hr program on U2 today. I am getting really into U2.3/15/94. I was working as a security guard in college, and all the officers (me too) spent much of our time mucking around in old-school online community:It was Matt's last night at work. Most all the staff officers down there play LambdaMOO.On 3/15/99, I wrote about how things were much better than they had been over the previous two years (1997 being a nadir), I wrote simply "Ich habe genug" -- I have enough.Tags: memories LambdaMOO birthday sister
More About: Historical , Historic , Stor , Hist

Open your snack hole
2007-03-15 01:14:00
A few blocks from where I live, the McDonald's "Open Your Snack Hole " billboard graces my neighborhood.What can I say? It's just a dag-nasty ad, no matter which way you slice it. Local blogs that have noticed it tend to agree. I've blogged criticisms of McDonald's marketing efforts in the past, and I must add this to the list.Readers outside of Seattle: have you seen this ad in your community? I ask because this appears to be a Seattle-only pilot campaign.I was so curious about this that I asked my marketing professor. His response (excerpts thereof):all I can say is 'Wow.' Or, more precisely (and please excuse the profane referernce) 'WTF?' The execution seems unlikely to work for most sets of customers. Too icky, too gross, too obscenely disgusting... Of course, I may not be the target audience.My guess is that McDonald's is thinking: hey, bloggers will eat this up and it will turn into an awesome viral marketing campaign! And yes, that's happening, and I'm helping out ...

Did I just ... ?
2007-03-14 16:59:00
Lately in the mornings I find myself unsure if I just took my multivitamin. It's my custom during breakfast to become intensely fixated on whatever I'm reading. So I've got the little bottle of multivitamins next to me, and I remember that I had the thought "I will take my vitamin" I few moments ago. But did I actually take one just now? I cannot recall.Isn't this what happens to old people? Uh-oh. I suppose I need one of these.Tags: forgetfulness vitamin
More About: Just

Coffee: two sides to the debate
2007-03-10 23:25:00
I've been thinking I should really cut back on my coffee consumption lately. I've entered two+ cup-a-day territory, and that just can't be good. Can it?Apparently there are two schools of thought on this issue, as this recent BBC story points out. On the one hand, caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms which build up overnight, but does not make people more alert than normal....all the drink does is counteract the mild caffeine withdrawal symptoms people are experiencing because they have gone without the stimulant overnight.The possible adverse health effects of coffee aren't really a secret, but aren't well substantiated either:not long ago, in the 1970s and '80s, coffee's name was mud. It was connected — tenuously or incorrectly, experts now say — to pancreatic cancer, heart attacks, birth defects, miscarriage, osteoporosis, and other ill effects.On the other hand, maybe it's good for you...a wealth of scientific evidence suggests that moderate coffee consumption of four ...
More About: Coffee , Debate , Sides , Side , The D

The weight of PowerPoint
2007-03-10 19:54:00
One surefire way to rapidly eat up your Gmail memory allotment: constantly email iterations of Power Point presentations with classmates. I find it remarkable that I'm up to 17% of my 2826 MB ... up from 7% or so, just a few months ago.Tags: MBA UW University of Washington PowerPoint Gmail
More About: Weight , Powerpoint , Eight

Laptops in class
2007-03-10 08:52:00
I took the Strategy final this afternoon -- all four hours of it. Two finals down, two to go.A few weeks back, our Strategy professor (he also teaches at INSEAD) tried an experiment: he asked us not to use our laptops during class. Although I prefer to take notes with One Note on my laptop, I must admit that sans laptops, class discussion improved considerably. I'm curious to hear from students (or recent students, as this wasn't an issue back when I was an undergrad) ... what's the situation with laptops in your classroom? Do people use them and if so, does this detract from class discussion?Tags: MBA UW University of Washington finals laptop strategy
More About: Laptops , Laptop , Tops , Class