Been raining this week. Makes me long for taking the top off the jeep and rolling the windows down. Dogs really like it when the windows are down. The smell of the road, the wind through their hair, the joy of freedom.
And with the windows down, you can just crank the music up really loud, rest your arm on the window, put your sunglasses on and sing. Works for me because no one can hear me 🙂
Enjoy the weekend.
Webman
Not sure if you have seen this but it is both funny and great 🙂
An interactive experience at the gas pump leads to 15 minutes of fame for him and his girl friend.
Some Bon Jovi and Eurthymics for you this morning – CC will love this 🙂
Enjoy the day.
Webman
You say “Yes“, I say “No”. You say “Stop” and I say “Go, go, go”. Oh no. You say “Goodbye” and I say “Hello, hello, hello”. I don’t know why you say “Goodbye”, I say “Hello, hello, hello”. I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello. I say “High”, you say Low”. You say “Why?” And I say “I don’t know”. Oh no. You say “Goodbye” and I say “Hello, hello, hello”. I don’t know why you say “Goodbye”, I say “Hello, hello, hello”. (Hello, goodbye, hello, goodbye. Hello, goodbye.)
From the Beatles – Hello Goodbye
So hello everyone. Thank you for your patience. I said a new blog was coming soon, but a long time has passed. Well today is the day and I am thrilled to be back in the blog saddle.
The power of saying hello. Such a simple thing to do, so why don’t more people do it? Are you a person that says hello or just walks by? Saying hello to a stranger on the street is one thing, but how about your co-workers? How many times have you walked past a co-worker in the hall/corridor and said nothing, even if you know them? How many times does this happen to you? Do you wonder, why didn’t he/she say hello to me? Did I do something? Are they pissed at me or the world? Do you even care? Do they even care?
While a simple gesture, like saying “hello” or “good morning” daily to your colleagues can help to reinforce a respectful (and friendly) workplace, there’s more to it than that. Taking the time to acknowledge and learn more about your co-workers is what turns a workplace into a community.
Saying hello makes people smile. Sure we are all busy; sure we all have too much to do; but, whatever happened to common decency and respect? You’re thinking about that impending due date or that e-mail message you probably shouldn’t have sent. You’re thinking, I have to go to another useless meeting. To accomplish daily goals and get where we’re trying to go, we feel that we have to block out the stimuli around us. We put on perceptual blinders to conserve mental energy, allowing us to focus on the task at hand.
But these blinders also leave us less aware of what’s happening around us. You’re less connected to other members of your community/workplace when you walk briskly down the hall, head down, lost in thought, thumbing through your iPhone or looking at your computer.
Whether or not we mean to, we send a message when we do this. While you know that you’re a friendly and welcoming person (Maybe you are not :)) who’s just temporarily busy, distracted or running late, passersby form less generous impressions. And, thus, a company full of personable and warm individuals inadvertently becomes less hospitable in the aggregate—particularly in the eyes of anyone who already had doubts regarding his or her own social/intellectual identity at work.
So this week, make sure to say hello. Say it to the casual acquaintance, the co-worker, even to a person that is sitting in a meeting that you do not know. Walk straight up to them and say “Hello”. In those few minutes before your meeting starts, don’t use the time to fire off one last email; instead, make the minimal effort required to introduce yourself to the guy/girl next to you.
So Why Does Saying “Hello” Help?
1. It boosts our own self-esteem when we take the time to acknowledge others.
2. It esteems and values others when we recognize and acknowledge them.
3. It reinforces relationships and the willingness to help each other.
4. When coupled with a smile, a simple “hello” can’t help but put the greeter into a good mood.
Try It Today
Say “hello” (with a smile) to at least 3 people at your workplace and see what happens!
A little tuneage for you to start the week.
Webman
It was 50 years ago today, the Beatles began to play, They’ve been going in and out of style, But they’ve guaranteed to raise a smile. So may I introduce to you, The act you’ve known for all these years, John, Paul, George and Ringo
See what I did there 🙂 Did you pick up what I just put down?
The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI officially announced Friday the group will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1962 original release of the Beatles’ song “Love Me Do” with a new replica of that Parlophone Records single to hit the streets Oct. 22. The replica version will include the version with Ringo Starr on the drums, as the original single did.
The Beatles’ first Parlophone Records release with “Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You” on the flip side, was released on Oct. 5, 1962 as a 7-inch vinyl single with the label number R-4949. The new commemorative single’s audio was sourced from the 2009 mono remaster, the company said in announcing the new single.
I have over 600 albums from my days as a vinyl collector. All in great condition but I must say, I do not listen to them very often. Vinyl album sales were up nearly 44% – though at just 337,000 LPs sold, that represents just 0.3% of the total market. Time to hook up the turntable again?
The CD remained comfortably the most popular format on which to buy an album in 2011 – but another strong year of growth for digital sales suggests it may not be for long. Just over 86m albums were sold on CD in 2011, according to figures compiled by The Official Charts Company, representing 76% of the market.
However, the number of CD albums sold was down 12.6% compared to the previous year. Digital album sales meanwhile rose 26.6% to 26.6m, making up 23.5% of the market for albums in 2011.
Vinyl album sales were up nearly 44% – though at just 337,000 LPs sold, that represents just 0.3% of the total market.
So guess what? The Beatles remastered vinyl box set, first mentioned in 2009 and rumored increasingly more often this year, will be released Nov. 13, according to advance listings from two retailers.
So for $399 dollars you can get all of the original Beatles albums digitally remastered for the holidays. Given how long it has taken to remaster them, I bet they sound awesome.
Happy holidays.
Webman
Is close to becoming reality. Researchers at IBM have revealed they are working on technology which will lead to consumers being shown tailor made adverts that reflect their personal interests. Digital advertising screens are already appearing in train stations, on bus stops and on the sides of buildings, but currently they only show generic adverts for a handful of products.
Adidas today launched a new kind of in-store window shopping experience with a big giant screen that allows you order clothing and other products. Here is how they describe it in their press release.
The new storefront window is a fully functioning virtual store with life-size products. The intuitive interface of the touch-screen window lets shoppers explore, play and drag life-size products they are interested in directly into their smartphone for easy and convenient purchase from adidas NEO online.
By visiting a simple URL via their smartphone and typing in a one-time PIN, the shopper’s mobile becomes interlinked in real time with a shopping bag on the window, showing a live view of its contents. Any product dropped into the window’s shopping bag instantly appears on the mobile. The shopper can edit product details, save products for immediate or later purchase and share with friends through social media or email.
Shoppers can also play with a life-size digital model showcasing NEO’s fashion range in a fun and engaging way. By touching hotspots on the window the shopper can make the mannequin show product details, interact with the product and make playful actions and movements.
The technology being used has been created by Oblong. They were founded in 2006 with the goal of creating the next generation of computing interfaces. Their Chief Scientist, John Underkoffler, designed the computer interfaces in the film Minority Report.
Oblong‘s technology platform brings data sets, workspaces, and communications channels to life across multiple screens. It allows interaction from any number or type of input devices simultaneously, including touch screens, phones, and tablets. And it frees the user from sitting in one place, tied to one device.
The three most important trends in the technology world today are cheaper pixels, evolving device form factors, and increasing amounts of accessible data. Oblong provides a new generation of computing tools — a new technology platform — built around these three trends.
We don’t need no stinking stores 🙂
Webman
We covered some incredible growth trends and customer expectations yesterday in The Revolution #1. Today we will look at some of the companies and applications changing the world.
Just to get your day started here is a little diddy:
“Don’t you know – They’re talkin’ bout a revolution – It sounds like a whisper – Don’t you know – They’re talkin’ about a revolution -It sounds like a whisper – While they’re standing in the welfare lines – Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation – Wasting time in the unemployment lines – Sitting around waiting for a promotion
Poor people gonna rise up – And get their share – Poor people gonna rise up – And take what’s theirs – Don’t you know – You better run, run, run – Oh I said you better – Run, run, run”
Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman
Take a look at what E-Bay is doing. eBay‘s latest app combines two of America’s favorite pastimes: shopping and watching TV.
Originally a feature of the eBay for iPad app, Watch With eBay debuted as a standalone app that will let viewers browse in real time products related to their favorite TV programs. Fashion buffs, for example, will easily be able to find and shop for clothes made by designers featured at a red carpet event airing live on TV.
This unique live viewing experience is made possible by a zip code-based guide embedded within the app, according to Engadget. PCWorld explains further that Watch With eBay syncs up with your area’s local cable programming schedules, enabling viewers to become consumers with a tap of a finger. The viewer simply chooses the show she’s watching from a list on the app to see available products related to the show.
The new app also offers a feature called Shop Like a Star, which lets TV, film, sports and music fans view and purchase items recommended by their favorite celebrities.
And now check out Paypal. Available to global retailers today, PayPal Access gives consumers the ability to sign up and sign in to participating websites with just their PayPal usernames and passwords. PayPal has more than 100 million accounts in 190 markets worldwide.
Unlike identity solutions currently on the market, PayPal Access provides everything consumers and merchants need to create an account and complete a transaction – including user verification, shipping information, and payment details. By helping retailers simplify login and account creation, PayPal Access can help increase conversion and loyalty on merchants’ websites. Research shows that nearly one out of every four consumers abandon their shopping carts when they’re asked to register an account.
These innovative companies are breaking down the barriers to e-commerce in a huge way. More to come as we further explore this global phenomenon.
Webman
Continuing on the theme of smartphone enabled discounts and your ability to find opportunities that you never dreamed of, today we will cover a number of vertical industry solutions/applications that are aligned to your interests. So not the stuff you do everyday (If you do I am very envious!), but the stuff you do to have some fun.
Here are a couple of very interesting deal sites/applications that have disrupted the norm and provide awesome values:
OK everyone, go have some fun and save some money on the things you really like to do. You can find these sites on the web or in the app stores for your smartphone.
Let me know what apps you are using to save some coinage by commenting below.
Awesome day!
Webman
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