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This Economist blog, “Johnson,” is all about languages.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson

This blog allows the readers to get different perceptions about languages. It shows how people from different countries and different background can view the same language in a different way. Language is a topic that interests me greatly. This is the main  type of communication in the world. Languages can save lives or take lives. I believe as the world is getting more multicultural, the public should be more aware of the language and think more about the importance of language.

 

“The average distance in 2008 was 5.28 hops, while now it is 4.74” -Facebook

Between two individuals, there are “six degrees of separation” on average. However, Università degli Studi di Milano and Facebook’s study of 721 million Facebook users show a different degree. Facebook states that it is now only 4.74 degrees of separation on Facebook.  Other outside research (Palo Alto) suggests that 92% of the Facebook users were separated by only four degrees.

The current degrees of separation is amazing. It is hard to believe that you will know anyone on this planet through 4.74 acquaintances. Although it is true that some of the friends in the Facebook friends list may be someone you are not too close with, or even a stranger for that matter, the fact that the degrees of separations are decreasing cannot be ignored. The numbers are more mind boggling when you realize that the population on Earth is past 7 billion.  Does this mean that in the near future, as technology is being developed at an exponential rate, everyone around the world will know each other? If so, what will happen to everyone’s privacy? Will the laws of this world look different from today’s?

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

 

Starbucks Canada is now offering to let their customers pay with their iPhone app. Starbucks joined the large group of businesses that are allowing their customers to use their smartphones to purchase their products. The app links to a registered Starbucks and it can do various functions: checks the balance, reload the amount on the card with credit card, locating the nearest Starbucks branch, etc.

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE (Starbucks)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or6U0GeZ4j0&feature=related

The growing technology improvements are allowing people to live their life more conveniently. Not only do businesses use smartphone applications in an attempt to decrease the use of wallets but they are creating thinner, more mobile technologies. For example, BMO Bank of Montreal released that their customers can use a sticker/tag that attaches to your mobile phone that will act as the PayPass technology. As I talked about more goods becoming mobile in a blog regarding Joel Lim’s blog post, people are drawn to more mobile technology. While these mobile technologies allow us to travel more conveniently and create more business opportunities, some people argue that today’s technologies are making us lazier.

LINK TO ORIGINAL SOURCE (BMO PayPass Tag)

California Court of Appeal made a decision that it is illegal to drive while sitting in the vehicle – stationary or moving. In 2009, there was a case where a driver, Carl Nelson, was using his cellphone at a red light but as soon as an officer pulled up beside Nelson, he put his phone away. Despite Nelson’s reasonable arguments in the court, the panel ruled that using cell phones in a vehicle, even when it is motionless, would create safety hazards. The judges referred backed to some older cases to prove that the driver is still ‘driving’ while his foot is on the brakes. (http://thenewspaper.com/news/36/3641.asp)

Today’s mobile phones are capable of performing many activities it is one of the top devices that distracts an individual from his/her work. Without this strict law, many court cases will be harder to close and too many ambiguous cases can occur. With the developing technology, automobile companies are developing more gadgets in their cars that allow the driver to drive safely while accessing his cellular device. As the technology is developing at an increasing rate, it will help to improve the safety of using a cell phone in a vehicle.

Here is a link to Joel Lim’s blog post. In this blog post, Joel talks about Microsoft’s activities in the gaming industry.

Comment on Joel Lim’s blog post

Microsoft currently has a big market share in the gaming industry. One of their most popular product is their very own gaming console, Xbox. However, as mobile phones become faster and smarter, mobile games are being programmed at an increasing rate. As technology improves, our lives become more familiar with mobile products. For example, mobile phones are more mobile and “futuristic” compared to land line phones and more consumers are starting to purchasing laptops over desktops. If this is the case, Xbox and even other gaming consoles such as PS3 and Wii should worry about the future trends of gaming. Would gaming consoles survive as mobile phones’ uses are increasing every second?

 

Click the link below to see my comment on Tracy Lam’s blog post.

Comment on Tracy Lam’s blog post

Tracy wrote a blog about how major corporations are trying to implement a “small business” mindset for their operations. At first, I disagreed with this approach; I did not understand the reason for this action. However, after realizing how the world today is a lot different from the world in the past years, I understood that this method has the potential to be very effective. For example, Nike is a very large company that is well known around the world. Although they may still advertise new products and technology, since they are so reputable, they do not need to “advertise” their company to the world. Instead, by having a small business mindset, each branch can market specific products in a specific way so that the customers in that region can be attracted even more. This small business method also motivates the employees to work even harder because they would have more decision making power.

Matt Lauzon, CEO of Gemvara, operates a website that allows the customers to customize a jewellery of their choice. This idea was risky because online ordering does not allow the customers to actually see the real product and jewellery is a product that most people try on before purchasing. However, in the first three months, the company’s had a six digit revenue. (http://www.inc.com/30under30/2011/profile-matt-lauzon-founder-of-gemvara.html)

Ed Fast, the federal trade minister, will be spending his Thanksgiving weekend making an effort to strengthen Canada’s relationship with China. The past Liberal governments made successful agreements with china, but Harper disrupted that relationship by meeting the Dalai Lama. Fast is hoping to continue with his plans of fortifying relationship with China later this fall. China, the emerging economic superpower, is the world’s second largest economy and is one of the major clients of Canadian resources. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/09/canada-china-business-fast.html)

The relationship between Canada and China is bound to grow in a positive direction – even if they do not want to. Canada offers large quantities of many different natural resources. Every second that ticks, resources are being used up. China should be very thankful for Canada’s willingness to trade and take advantage of this offer.

Former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin made a public appearance at the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of China’s 1911 revolution. A couple months ago, rumours stated that he has died.

 

 

As I mentioned in my past blog, the world is getting prepared for a big change. The important positions of the world are changing and new directions are being taken. People are getting exposed to new ideas and new situations that allows us to think differently from the past. This appearance of the former Chinese president could be due to the attendance of the ceremony and/or to clarify the rumours, but perhaps this public appearance may be a message to the public? Especially towards the Chinese society?

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

To honour Steve Job’s death, Apple’s rivals Samsung and Google, postponed their launch of new smartphones. The new Android phone was scheduled to make its debut at a wireless industry trade show in San Diego this Tuesday, but the representatives wanted to pay respect to the death of an “iconic figure in our industry.”  This new curved glass screen phone that Samsung and Google are planning to reveal is very important; this phone would be the first phone to use the next-generation version of Android, “Ice-Cream Sandwich.” Other CEO’s of the rivalling companies also expressed their sadness to the press such as Microsoft, Nokia, Research in Motion and Sony. (http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/07/tech/mobile/nexus-prime-delay/index.html)

Samsung and Google set a very good example for the society. Samsung and Apple can be viewed as the biggest rival in the mobile phone business. However, the decision to postpone their product shows that they value respect over profit. Keeping business matters and personal feelings is a very difficult thing to do. Perhaps some may think that Samsung and Google made the decision purely based on the consumers’ emotional and psychological state, but situations like death, even those of rivals, cannot be ignored.

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