Seth is Right. Validation IS Overrated.

"Validation is overrated... If you have a book to write, write it. If you want to record an album, record it. No need to wait for someone in a cubicle halfway across the country to decide if you're worthy." - Seth Godin

I read a blog post by Seth Godin over the weekend and it couldn't be more true. Why wait for somebody to tell you you're good enough to do something. That's not to say things should be done blindly though. In the past, we wait for someone to tell us we're worthy of recording an album or writing a book because they have the skills and marketing to help push it further. At a mental level, by them saying that and willing to provide resources also gives a big shot of confidence to the author.

The thing is though, why? Is it because we've been taught at a very young age to get approval from those above us before we can continue moving ahead? I understand there are rules and there should be rules to help keep society in working order.

However, it doesn't have to be this way. Most of us are now equipped with a decent desktop computer with recording and writing capabilities. Digital cameras have never been cheaper than before. If you don't have internet at home, there's always the library for that connection to push your work out. The only thing missing is the mentality to believe that you can do it. You don't need to wait for someone to validate your thinking. "Believe" just like Melanie Oudin did when the 17 year old defeated a three-time tennis grand slam player at the US Open last year.

I think I finally understand what Nike's slogan truely means. JUST DO IT!

The Art of Innovation - Guy Kawasaki

Some good pointers in there indeed.

How Long It Takes to Earn USA Mininum Wage Around the World

A visualization of how long it would take to earn the annual U.S. Minimum Wage from different countries around the world. Quite interesting. I guess one is better off flipping burgers for the Queen than for Obama or Harper at McDonalds. This, of course, does not put into consideration purchasing power or the different costs of associated with living in different countries.

Click the image to enlarge

Source: Fixr

NXNEi (North by Northeast Interactive) 2010

North by Northeast Interactive (NXNEi) successfully unfolded itself in Toronto at the beginning of this week where a series of presentations were made about the newest cutting edge tools available to us today for music production and distribution. A series of panelist and presenters covered off everything related to technology, social media and other trends important to the music industry.

This was actually the first year the interactive component was put into NXNE (something I got to be a part of, as a NXNE Conference Volunteer this year) up here in Toronto, which replicates the interactive component of South by Southwest (SXSWi) held every March down south in Austin, Texas.

As luck shall have it, I found a link to the unofficial SXSW presentations channel. It's a place to share and find presentations from SXSW. Not only does it include 2010, but also previous years.

http://www.slideshare.net/sxsw2010

TED Talks: What Adults Can Learn From Kids

Child prodigy Adora Svitak talks about what adults can learn from kids. It quickly reminded me of the book "The LIttle Prince/ Le Petit Prince." Kids are often ignored and discredited because of their age and the resulting lack of trust. What we adults fail to acknowledge is that kids can bring a lot of value to this world too and have qualities and thinking this world needs to progress.



I liked this talk. Very impressed with Adora's thinking.

Google TV Explained

There's been quite some buzz around Google TV since March but what is it that Google intends to do with TV? No one explains it better than Google themselves in this video. The question is - What do you think? Do you want one?

Canadian Mobile Phone Penetration and Subscription to Increase

Stepped inside a mobile phone store lately? If you haven't I can tell you that a lot of the cell phones inside Bell, Rogers, Telus are all now mobile devices with more than cellular capabilities. And, most of them require you to be on a voice and data plan if you want to get the phone at a cheaper price. 

And, unsurprisingly... “eMarketer forecasts the number of mobile subscribers in Canada will rise from 24.5 million this year to nearly 30 million by 2014, an increase of about 20%. Subscriber growth will level off as the market approaches higher penetration levels, reaching 84.7% by 2014.” (Source: eMarketer)

Comparing Canada against other countries reveal that smartphone penetration in Canada is quite high (near the top) which would match the expected increase in mobile subscriptions over the next couple of years. A good piece to know if you're planning for media spend/ penetration on your customers.

 
The interesting thing is that not even ten years ago I asked why anyone would want to go online with their small screened cell phones. It was inconvenient because you can barely see anything on the screen and the keys were a disaster to use with three letters designated to one button. Mobile internet has since come along way. It finally is more convenient to use and allows you to stay connected no matter where you are. They are addicting (but fun) to have and use as long as you don’t become a slave to it.

What Do You Expect Out of a Facebook Brand Page?

A lot of brands are on Facebook now but there isn’t one I go to religiously. A lot of them don’t provide enough value nor give me enough reasons to go back.

Brand pages on Facebook gives a brand the opportunity to establish a community where they can educate their followers about the company, what the brand represents and the products it has. There’s a lot of room for creativity in terms of information display and the way it’s executed will give customers a glimpse of how the company operates.

Having said that, here are a few things I would like to see more brands have on their Facebook pages to enhance the experience of a prospect or an existing customer : 

• Teach DIY projects with the brand’s products
• Creative uses for the brand’s products
• An application to book appointments, order goods and services, sign in to member-loyalty programs
• Coupon codes or other perks
• Promoting new products based on features
• Promoting upcoming events
• Tips to help customers enhance/ get the most out of the current product
• Make references to the lifestyle attributes of the product
• Show some transparency into how the company achieves quality and innovation in its products
• Highlight and link any new mobile apps
• Promote the sharing of stories with the use of the brand’s products
• Have fan specific content where they have to ‘like’ you to see it.

At the end of the day, what's important is leveraging social media as a tool to help facilitate and keep conversations going among like-minded followers in a space that's unique to prospects or existing customers.

Inside Facebook Headquarters

Ever curious about what the working environment at Facebook is like? The people at Time have a collection of images.

Click on the link here or the image below - Inside Facebook Headquarters.

I'm Back!

After two weeks, I'm now back as promised!