Tech, Yes -- But Let's Control the Ride!!

In today's NY Times a great op-ed about using Technology to our advantage, not having it take over our lives. Tech is hot, but it is in serious overdrive mode -- making folks feel like they need to tweet and social network 24/7 -- not good -- counterproductive. Sit back, listen a little, create for a while without a computer -- imagine that!!!

Recently I met up with a very successful industrial designer. One sector of his business is to create and oversee all production for point-of-purchase displays for major companies. Guess what, the man doesn't even have a website. Now I'm not saying that he shouldn't have a website (in fact, pattiedesign.com is working on creating one for him), but what I am saying is that he didn't need one to become successful. Besides years of experience and a wealth of talent, what sets him apart from fellow designers is that when he meets with a client to discuss the project, he hand sketches the idea right there in the meeting. Most other designers instead go back to their computers to use software to create renderings. Guess who's being hired to do the job? See where I'm going with this?

While you're at it, you should read the article in the Times: Tweet Less, Kiss More By Bob Herbert
at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/17/opinion/17herbert.html?_r=1

The blessed wonders of technology are overwhelming us. We don’t control them; they control us.

FAST, FASTER, AND YET FASTER (AND SHORTER)!

Fascinating lately this sociological phenomenon with events and journalism, both live and on the web -- each speaker faster and shorter presentations while at the same time trying to cram in tons of information from multiple sources -- sometimes in day long events! Will be curious to see what the point really is and the sociological impact, if any. Maybe its just a fad.

An Interview with Actress Geena Davis, Ending Violence Against and the Empowerment of Women

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Geena Davis, Academy Award-Winning Actress ideas and experiences are captured in this on-the-spot, candid, unscripted interview at the Special United Nations ECOSOC Event "Engaging Philanthropy to Promote Gender Equality & the Economic Empowerment of Women". This UN Event, which Ms. Davis participated in, brought into focus the startling statistics of worldwide violence against women and girls, and how the empowerment of women can help break this cycle. Leaders from both the corporate and private sectors discussed with government representatives the challenges of ending violence against women and girls; the economic empowerment of women; and to join forces to bring together governments with private and philanthropic organizations. Produced, Directed and Edited by pattiedesign. Copyright © 2010 pattiedesign. All rights reserved.

Students Still Prefer Textbooks (What's Greener??)

"A new study of 19 college campuses reveals that students still like good old textbooks.
The study, conducted by OnCampus Research, found that almost 75 percent of students prefer the printed academic word to its digital counterpart. More than half the students surveyed said they wouldn't purchase electronic textbooks. From Huffington Post (05-26-10"

So what does this mean to retailers/manufacturers? And what is actually greener? Recycled books OR electronic devices -- laptops/netbooks/ipads? If electronic devices, (1) what about the carbon emissions,(2) do we have a conservation plan in place, and (3) do we have a recycling plan in place?

Why Men Hurt Worse After Breakups -- I Should Know, I Did ...

Regarding below article, from what I've witnessed -- true, true, true. I have also observed that, in public, you can very clearly distinguish a man that is in love with a woman by the way he looks at her -- it is profoundly a 'different' look than 'like or lust.'

The good people over at the Journal of Health and Social Behavior have recently published a report stating that it's men, not women, who tend to suffer more after a breakup.

Their reasons make sense; women are more likely to confide in close friends and family members after a breakup, talking through their emotions, whereas men are more likely to confide in bottles of Jameson and their X-Men figurines. I happen to know, from personal experience, that this study is absolutely, 100 percent true.

After all, when I broke up with a woman I really liked, all I did was move clear across the country. Such is the power of heartbreak: It can make a man who is horrible at cleaning, organizing and packing spend hours cleaning, organizing and packing his entire life -- and moving said life over mountains.

Excessive Use of Electronics is Never Really "Green"

Whether it be:

• leaving all your lights on 24/7,

• 50 attendees with laptops playing solitaire or surfing the net at a seminar/event because they are bored with the speaker, or

• posting video commercials on supermarket shelves while you are shopping,

...none of these speak to the need for conservation! This is not the "Green Police" just a gentle reminder that CONSERVATION is part of the 'green' movement -- 'an inconvenient truth'.

See Video Net comes to Supermarket Shelves: http://bit.ly/c0f1rT

Why 'Judge Judy' Rules Daytime Television

This speaks volumes as to the shift in what we find entertaining....

Why 'Judge Judy' Rules Daytime Television
by Allison Waldman, posted Jun 16th 2010 11:00AM

Who's the queen of daytime television? It's not 'All My Children's' Susan Lucci or Oprah Winfrey or any of the ladies on 'The View.' Nope, the woman who rules daytime wears a long black robe and her name is Judy. That's right, 'Judge Judy,' who has been on the air for 15 years, is now the daytime diva.

In the recent May sweeps period, 'Judge Judy,' the syndicated courtroom reality show presided over by former jurist Judith Sheindlin, was the most-watched daytime show of all with nearly 6.4 million total viewers per episode. That's an increase of over 10 percent from a year ago and good enough to topple 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' from the top slot -- even in its final go-round!

'The Oprah Winfrey Show' averaged 6.2 million viewers in May -- down nine percent from last year. In distant third place with 3.8 million viewers was 'Dr. Phil,' which is produced by Winfrey's company, Harpo.

And 'Judy' should face even less competition in the future, since 'Oprah' ends its run in September 2011. Winfrey will move over to OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network), though whether she'll host a similar talk show is uncertain.

Is This Practice Really 'Green' at Events/Seminars?

To all the 'green' experts -- got a quick question. At events/seminars you can now always see the majority of the audience on laptops and/or handheld devices blogging, tweeting...whatever. Can this phenomenon actually be 'green'? Has no one addressed this before because it might be 'an inconvenient truth'? What's the low-down on this practice -- is really 'green'?

Is it "UnAmerican"? Outsourcing Outside USA and USA Unemployment

Interesting argument... Overheard at a NYC business event yesterday. What do YOU think? With so many Americans unemployed, do you think it is UnAmerican to employ and/or outsource your work to those outside USA? Online companies like Elance, Odesk, etc. open up the market and opportunities for entreprenuers, small and large businesses alike to hire potentially qualified workers that charge substantially less per hour. But one argument against this practice is that it's 'UnAmerican' with so many of our fellow qualified American's unemployed. What do you think? Is it just 'every man for himself' -- 'every business for himself'? Is this just an economically sound practice for business, and in return, stimulate the USA economy? We at yathink.tv want to know what you think -- we love USA freedom of speech'.

Small Business Summit 2010 Highlights

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Highlights from the Small Business Technology Summit 2010. Business & Technology: Strategies for the New Economy. The Fifth Annual Summit, brought to you by Dell, co-produced by smallbiztechnology.com and Prime Strategies. Featuring Ramon Ray (smallbiztechnology.com), Seth Godin, Marian Banker (Prime Strategies), Mel Parker (Dell), and Angus Thomson (Intuit). Video produced by pattiedesign.

Ending Violence Against and the Empowerment of Women

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Featuring Geena Davis, Academy Award-Winning Actress; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; and Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, this short film brings into focus the startling statistics of worldwide violence against women and girls, and how the empowerment of women can help break this cycle. Leaders from both the corporate and private sectors discuss with government representatives the challenges of ending violence against women and girls; the economic empowerment of women; and join forces to bring together governments with private and philanthropic organizations at the Special United Nations ECOSOC Event "Engaging Philanthropy to Promote Gender Equality & the Economic Empowerment of Women". Produced, Directed and Edited by pattiedesign. Copyright © 2010 pattiedesign. All rights reserved.

Facebook is doing a number on us -- and we're letting them!

From all indications, facebook has basically taken control of our information. Of course, we are partly to blame for posting stuff 'we're not supposed to' to begin with after every conceivable tech expert has told us to: (1) not announce where we are, (2) not post pictures of young children (ours or anyone elses), (3) not post revealing photos (i.e. not fully clothed), drunken photos... you get the picture [no pun intended], and/or (4) not to post ANYTHING that you don't want the entire world to find out about or to keep in its archives forever.

Well here we are. Just in this week two very interesting stories. Below are the links. We at think.tv would be curious to see how this alters you're usage of facebook -- or maybe it won't at all? Let us know...

1. Facebook does not erase user-deleted content

2. Chuck Schumer's War on Facebook

This is just the beginning folks!

Samsung Issues 3-D TV Warning for Pregnant Women, Kids and Others - DailyFinance

Before settling in an overstuffed couch with a bag of popcorn to watch 3-D TV, look around for the nearest phone. You may need to call 911.

Samsung (SSNLF) has issued a safety warning to pregnant women, the elderly, the sleep deprived and the intoxicated to avoid the 3-D functionality on its spiffy new 3-D TVs because of the potential for an epileptic seizure or stroke. Children and teens, a.k.a TV zombies, are especially at risk of experiencing one or more of Samsung's list of symptoms, from dizziness to nausea to convulsions, and on and on.

But before ditching the idea of buying a 3-D TV, the warning is targeted to people susceptible of photosensitive seizures or other health ailments. In fact, the gaming industry has known about this potential for years and has posted warning labels on its products, notesConsumer Reports.

And New York state Assemblyman Steve Englebright even has a bill out to require video-game rental and sales outlets to post warning signs that that alert people to the potential of video games to trigger epileptic seizures. That bill is before the consumer affairs and protection agency.

With Samsung putting its warning out there, it wouldn't be surprising to see other 3-D TV makers follow suit. Sony (SNE) and Panasonic (PC) are you watching?

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/cX5CDa

Small Businesses "Dirty Little Secret" -- NYT: Unpaid internships may be illegal

Yathink.tv applauds NYTimes for this article. For years, at particularly Small Business Development events, the implied suggestion(and dirty little secret) for 'free' labor is to use interns -- which was NEVER the intent for the hiring of interns to begin with. Those seeking internships come in all ages, nationalities and from diverse economic backgrounds. We believe there is still a place for unpaid internships, but only if the they meet certain criteria and are not a substitute for 'free' labor.Full article from NYTimes below.

NYT: Unpaid internships may be illegal
Officials warn they are stepping up labor law enforcement
By Steven Greenhouse
The New York Times
updated 1:30 a.m. ET, Sat., April 3, 2010

With job openings scarce for young people, the number of unpaid internships has climbed in recent years, leading federal and state regulators to worry that more employers are illegally using such internships for free labor.

Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.

Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer.

The Labor Department says it is cracking down on firms that fail to pay interns properly and expanding efforts to educate companies, colleges and students on the law regarding internships.

“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division.

Ms. Leppink said many employers failed to pay even though their internships did not comply with the six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied for internships to be unpaid.

Seth Godin's Speech and John Lennon's Lyrics

Had the pleasure of hearing Seth Godin speaking at Fifth Annual Small Business Summit on March 16, 2010, Digital Sandbox, NYC. While he spoke about the workforce and our current state of schooling, one thing immediately came to mind -- the lyrics of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero"! See below (warning, these lyrics are explicit and may be offensive to some people).


Working Class Hero by John Lennon

As soon as your born they make you feel small,
By giving you no time instead of it all,
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school,
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool,
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years,
Then they expect you to pick a career,
When you can't really function you're so full of fear,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
And you think you're so clever and classless and free,
But you're still fucking peasents as far as I can see,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
There's room at the top they are telling you still,
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
If you want to be like the folks on the hill,
A working class hero is something to be.
A working class hero is something to be.
If you want to be a hero well just follow me,
If you want to be a hero well just follow me.

"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.

Small Business Summit 2010! Seth Godin Headlines

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Annual Small Business Summit 2010 Business & Technology: Strategies for the New Economy at Digital Sandbox, New York City, Tuesday, March 16, 2010Fifth The Most Important Event Youll Attend This Year. Better Than Ever!

The new 'concept' laptop

Currently being developed in Israel -- want one? We at yathink.tv do!

ww.orkin-design.de
The device of the flexible display allows a new concept in notebook design growing out of the traditional bookformed laptop into unfurling and convolving portable computer.
By virtue of the OLED-Display technology and a multi touch screen the utility of a laptop computer with its weight of a mini-notebook and screen size of 13 inch easily transforms into the graphics tablet, which with its 17-inch flat screen can be also used as a primary monitor.
On top of everything else all computer utilities from power supply through the holding belt to an interactive pen are integrated in Rolltop. This is really an all-in-one gadget.
Support by Schlagheck-Design

MySpace Users: Fewer Than We Thought? - DailyFinance

MySpace Users: Fewer Than We Thought? - DailyFinance

Can YOUR Bird Do This?

Amazing Pet - The best bloopers are here

Social media privacy: Insurance companies want access to your Facebook

From ZDnetgovernment.com
Posted by Doug Hanchard @ March 3, 2010 @ 7:32 AM

Any town U.S.A. You walk into a store and notice someone you recognize, from Facebook. But you really don’t know the individual; only online have you “met” that person. You have shared a note, or played a game on Facebook, Myspace, or other media website. You can choose to say hello or ignore them. That choice is up to you.

Sometime in the future, you wind up in a car accident and suffer physical injuries that you decide can be claimed in a lawsuit against the insurance company. Now your friends on Facebook may not have any choice of getting to know you up close and in person. You may not even be aware that they are being questioned.

Insurance companies are beginning to demand access to information about you and they do not want your explicit consent. In a Globe and Mail report, the insurance industry wants to use sites such as Facebook to collect and use background information collected to contradict any evidence you have used in your claim for damages.

The first thing the insurance lawyers will do in court is to ask plaintiffs if they have Facebook accounts and demand a court order to review those account — even if you have always had your privacy settings configured to be not searchable by Google or other services. And if somehow they find out that you are on Facebook and you said no, chances are your lawsuit against the insurance company may fail. And so the game begins. The lawyers will have access to everything about you; your friends are also now exposed and may be questioned about your online habits what you are doing online, personal messages are read and now your friend’s privacy is also vulnerable - even if you have never met them in person.

The courts have had electronic document evidence used in the past. The issue of relevancy in a civil suit is new and poses new problems for the courts. So far ,decisions have gone in both directions. The Globe and Mail writes;

Her insurer, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada, looking for evidence that might contradict her story, went to a Brampton, Ont., courtroom last summer. Without her knowledge, Royal & Sun asked a judge to order that she preserve the contents and photos on her Facebook page, and then hand them over, including the parts of her page was set to “private” that could only be viewed by her 67 approved friends.

In October, Mr. Justice David Price denied the insurer’s request, ruling that Royal & Sun had failed to prove the page included relevant material, such as photos showing Ms. Schuster engaged in physical activities.

“There are many good reasons unrelated to litigation that people may have to withdraw documents from their friends’ view,” the judge writes. “Their right to do so should not be lightly interfered with.”

And you thought the Internet world was making your life more enjoyable. How you manage information on Facebook, Google Buzz, Myspace account information may have unforeseen future consequences.

Doug is the principal of Rapid Response Consulting, an International ICT advisory group. You can follow Doug on Twitter
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Tre Bella -- The SOLO Performances

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Tre Bella -- Three Beauties, One Voice, the singing trio, presents the SOLO Performances

The Pare Lorentz Center at the FDR Presidential Library

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The Center is named for Pare Lorentz, a pioneering documentary film maker, who worked for Roosevelt's New Deal producing classic documentary films describing environmental and social problems in the 1930s and 1940s. Video is produced and created by www.pattiedesign.com

Here is the link to the website: http://parelorentzcenter.net/index.php

7 things social media can't do - iMediaConnection.com

Understanding social media's limitations is perhaps more important than knowing its capabilities. Here are the situations in which social media reliance will fail you.

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HeartsofGold.org Gala STAR-STUDDED RED CARPET

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Hearts of Gold annual Gala (fashion show & auction) - this segment features the STAR-STUDDED RED Carpet. The mission of Hearts of Gold is to enhance the lives of New York City's homeless mothers and their children. The sight of homeless people sleeping in boxes on a cold winter's night with no food, medical attention or companionship became increasingly distressing to Deborah Koenigsberger, so she decided to do something about it. In 1996, she created Hearts of Gold (HoG). She raised substantial funds for New York City's elderly and frail homeless population, and now her focus is on our homeless mothers and their children. On October 15, 2001, Hearts of Gold, Inc. was officially established as a not-for-profit organization. A Board of Directors has been appointed, as well as a growing Executive Committee. HoG has and will expand its involvement with various New York City shelters. We support existing programs and create new ones based on the needs of each individual shelter. HoG dollars go directly to those in need, helping them get through the day and beyond. Once families move out of shelters and are on their own, moms are eligible to join our Alumni Support Group (ASG), where HoG continues to support them with essentials needed to sustain productive lives. We aim to ease the transition and strengthen their resolve in this critical time so they can go on to lead rewarding and happy lives. Our lives are enriched by those who support us, and those we support.

Tre Bella : Three Beauties, One Voice

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Listen to the incredible vocals of Tre Bella -- Italian, pop, contemporary, and dance.