I have always wondered what causes evil in the world. Many times, there is only a fine line between what makes something good or bad. A person’s actions may not be the only thing that determines whether they are doing good or bad, because their intentions could be just as important. I don’t believe this world has absolutes of right and wrong, because everyone has a different perspective of what is right and what is wrong, and it is impossible to judge what intentions a person has based on only their actions.

I posed this scenario to my mom earlier today: A person has stolen a rich, arrogant man’s wallet because the man refuses to help a poor man. The thief hands the wallet over to the poor man, who is nearly dying of starvation. Is what the thief did right or wrong? One way to look at this situation is that stealing is wrong, and so the thief should not have stolen from the rich man. Another viewpoint is that the thief saved the poor man’s life, which outweighs the sin of stealing. That idea sounds familiar actually. It sounds kind of like communism. I personally think the thief should have donated his own food or money to the poor man instead of stealing from the rich man. Again, there are multiple ways to view the same issue.

Since there are so many ways to view the same situation, I believe a person’s intentions are just as important as their actions. All bad things somehow relate back to ego. Most people think what they act. If they hit someone, they probably think about causing the person harm before they actually do physically. If they have not thought about it, the action was probably involuntary, in which case the person could not be held responsible for it. The same applies to speech. A person processes what they are going to say through their mind before it comes out their mouth.

Now that it is established that intentions are based on thought, it is important to understand how ego relates to everyday actions that may be considered good or bad. Consider the scenario about the rich man, thief and poor man presented earlier. If the thief stole from the rich man to prove to him that he wasn’t as good as he thought he was, that would satisfy the thief’s ego, and therefore be a bad action. Things like violence also relate to ego. A person would only intentionally hurt a living thing if they somehow feel superior to that being. This may be just the feeling that their own opinion is correct or their facts are valid, so they may inflict verbal or physical violence on the other person.

I can cite many instances where people I know have helped others and performed what seemed to be a good deed, but their intentions were not so great. Many of my friends volunteer for the credit hours, and not to actually help other people. Others may do it to appear to be a person with good character. I believe that even though they are helping someone, they are not performing a good deed. Their intentions are not to help others. If they were, they would help people and take no credit for it, because their true interest would be in helping, not getting recognized for helping. They would not volunteer for college credit hours, because people don’t need certificates saying they’ve helped someone else to feel good about themselves. Again, these intentions can all tie back to ego.

There is a sequence of thought that starts with ego, moves to greed, then deceit, which finally leads to anger. Here is a simple way to look at it: If a person thinks highly of himself, he is going to get greedy. He may want more recognition or may feel like he deserves more material possessions than others. Soon that greed will escalate to deceit, because he will have to lie or twist the truth to maintain his image or possessions. Eventually, when someone comes by and hurts his ego or takes away his image or possessions, he will end up in a state of anger. All of these ideas help explain why a person must overcome ego. Ego is the source of all bad actions in this world.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 12:57 AM  

It is incredible to read about how much research goes into creating the everyday things we are hit by through mass media and marketing campaigns. I was always a big fan of Sesame Street (until they changed Cookie Monster's name of course), but I never realized how much the developers of the show have researched their target audience and the effects even the smallest changes have on the viewer. And who knew that the cheesy idea of putting a simple gold box on an advertisement could keep readers engaged and interact with it? I could never have imagined that the difference between an effective flier to promote tetanus shots and an ineffective one could be something as simple as a map and schedule with the clinic hours. All these situations support the notion that stickiness is achieved through small adjustments in the presentation of the message, not through the quality of the message itself. In order to make an idea sticky, the presentation of the idea should invoke interaction with the person listening.

Sesame Street

As with any television show, the producers and developers of Sesame Street took the show through some rigorous testing to figure out what would work best. It is amazing how far in depth they went to figure out what works and sticks, and what doesn't. I have always wondered how they come up with their research methods to figure out how to test different variables. The developers found that simple things like mixing Muppets with real people could be the difference between a show that hold children's attention and one that doesn't. The content in an episode of Sesame Street is very basic, yet the way the present it has been engineered so carefully as to have widespread appeal to both children and adults. Blue's Clues has gone in and done even more research by testing every episode they release. They have figured out that the can air the exact same show everyday for a week, before the kids get tired of it. Both Sesame Street and Blue's Clues developers realized that it was of utmost importance to have interaction between their viewers and the show in order for their messages to stick.

Columbia Record Club

As one of the largest mail order record clubs, obviously Columbia knew what they were doing when they decided on how to market their products and services. On average, a message has to be displayed to an audience about seven times before the message sticks to them. Columbia had to do just that. They decided to advertise through television and print media. First the consumers would be hit with TV commercials, then later with print media such as the TV Guide and Parade. Just advertising multiple times was not enough to carry the message across. There needed to be something more to make the message stick. That something would be a little interaction between the audience of the advertisement and Columbia Record Club. They implemented a golden box that the commercial viewers would look for in their print advertising, creating a connection between the two ads that would be recognized by their viewers. The gold box was also an incentive to look out for more of their ads, because if a gold box was located by a customer, they would get a free record of their choice. Effective advertising campaigns always have some sort of unified theme or message that carries from one ad to the next. This is the only way the ads can effectively create a brand image. The "gold box method" was an excellent idea that sounded cheesy, but worked nevertheless.

Tetanus

Students at Yale University were advised to get tetanus shots, which would be provided at the clinic on campus. The University decided to send fliers out to students telling them to get these shots, which would be available at no cost, and would keep them safe from illness. The information showed students the risks of not being vaccinated and why it was a good idea to get the shot. All the information was clear and in-depth. The University did not get their desired response, so they made a few modifications to the fliers. The only thing they did differently this time was that they sent out fliers listing the clinic hours and and displaying a small map showing where the clinic was. Almost every student already knew where the clinic was located, and most could figure out what their hours were. The idea was to take the "abstract lesson in medical risk" (98) and turn it into "practical medical advice."How does the map and hours manage to do that? The map and hours serve as a call to action. By the time the reader finishes reading the flier, they probably already know they should be getting this shot. They probably think they'll do it sometime in the future, but don't really worry about it at that moment. The hours give the person a reason to plan NOW instead of later. The map also tells them where they need to go now. This is why smart business people don't ask to meet whenever you feel is best. People put the meetings off. Instead they directly ask for a date and time they feel is going to work for both you and them. Also this is why salespeople are trained to ask you directly, sometime before you leave, if you would like to purchase the product. This may seem like a really obvious thing. They're selling something to you; of course they're going to ask whether I want it or not. Many salespeople fail to ask directly whether you want to buy or not, which causes customers to delay their decision and possibly buy somewhere else. This call to action is important in making your message sticky and effective.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 5:18 PM  

Where the Sky is NOT the Limit

I was browsing the internet looking for interesting alternative school programs when I came across this school called Aviation High. There was actually an article in the Seattle Post about this specific school: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/180869_daviation06.html
This is the first school of its type, dedicated to preparing its students for their careers in the aviation field. Furthermore, it is a public school so the whole program is publicly funded, which means the students pay no tuition. That's a pretty cool school. You get to learn how to fly planes in high school for free!

The school still provides all the core subjects necessary to graduate. They put a strong emphasis on mathematics, science and technology. New students are subject to approval of their applications. Acceptance is based on an application essay and interviews with the school administrators. The school was actually developed by Highline Public Schools and run through the facilities of the South Seattle Community College. The school received generous support from companies such as Alaska Airlines and Boeing, the Museum of Flight, and the port of Seattle and other government agencies. The students' career potential will go beyond commercial atmospheric flights, and soon they will be flying in space. One of the founding members of the school's board of directors said that "Seattle in all likelihood will be the birthplace of commercial space flight." These students would be on the forefront of these new technologies, getting a significant head start to their careers.

This school takes a unique approach to learning, and requires driven, motivated students. I am surprised the school could get the adequate funding and support from the community for a school that is so concentrated on a specific trade. It seems to almost be more of a vocational school, yet it is still under the public school system. For students seeking a career in aviation, I think this is an incredible program. I support this schools efforts in encouraging their students to put a priority on math and science. Math and science have been responsible for this country's ability to lead the world in innovation and technology, and Aviation High has gathered the support necessary from companies and organizations to fuel further innovation. This school may not be anything like Linworth, but it is definitely not your typical high school.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 9:45 PM  

After reading Malcolm Gladwell's Law of the Few, I realized that these people play an important role in our everyday lives. Since then, I have been trying to figure out who in my life has been playing these roles, and where I would fit in. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm special enough to be one of "the few," but I know that if I had the chance to become one of "the few," I would want to be a connector. According to Gladwell, you must be born as one of "the few," you cannot become one.

If I had to chose the one I were closest to, I would say I started out a Maven. I would always have the information people wanted. Everyone in our neighborhood would know who to ask if they needed any advice with their computers. I was also pretty handy around the house. I always knew how everything worked, and I loved to watch the Discovery Channel and TV shows about engineering and designing things. I had the knowledge necessary to make most of the big purchasing decisions in our house. Before we make any purchasing decisions, I always manage to learn everything about the product and industry, to the point where I know more than the salespeople. Even now, I am proficient at web and graphic design, so I handle many of the projects for our church and help people out around the community. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and always end up explaining things to people even if they don't really ask for an explanation.

Recently, probably for the last two years or so, I've tried to become a Connector. Of course, as Gladwell says, you cannot become a Connector if you weren't born one, but at least I tried. I think one of the main things that prompted me to become one was that I always wanted to maintain connections with a large number of people. I wanted to improve the South Asian entertainment scene in Columbus, Ohio, before I even started DJ'ing. I wanted to be able to organize events for the South Asian community, and after mass marketing for a few events, I quickly learned that this business relied on word-of-mouth marketing. That meant I would need to have enough acquaintances that I could spread the word of an event fast. I was surprised when so many people started showing up at my events when I was this nerdy teen that thought he could throw these parties. I had so many people I didn't even know add me as a friend on Facebook or stop me anywhere they saw me just to talk to me. At that point I learned that it's not who you know that counts, it's who knows you. I learned to create acquaintances instead of all these friends. I would get online and talk to everyone, but maybe only once a month, and maybe only for 30 seconds. The idea was that they would still remember me, so the next time I had an event they would come out. This technique seemed to be working, but somewhere among all that social activity, I realized that my grades were dropping. I was not meant to be a social animal. I decided to stop doing all the small events and pay attention to school, so I can no longer claim to be a Connector. I am still trying to maintain Connections with professionals and important adults within the community. I am thankful to have many adult friends that are Connectors. They come in handy a lot, especially for things like interim that almost require that you have some sort of personal connection with the people you are working with.

I know several people my age that represent either Connectors, Mavens, or Salespeople. I would say Will Delphia from the Linworth community is a great Connector. He knows so many people, and he always seems to be taking leadership. Ron is a great Maven. He knows everything this is to know about the environment, and he enjoys sharing his knowledge with other people. Every town meeting I see some sort of discussion involving Ron and the environment. He is passionate for environmental science and wants to share his knowledge with others. The salespeople are the ones that can set trends. They are the ones everyone follows. Whey they ask you for your lunch money, you will be glad to give it up to them. They are people you find it hard to disagree with, not because they're correct, but because for some reason you don't want to refute what they say. Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople are all around us, and they are absolutely necessary in starting epidemics.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 12:09 AM  

I have commented on the following people's blogs:

• Kaitlyn

• Melissa

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 12:00 AM  

In chapter two of Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point, he explains there are three key types of people that cause epidemics to cross a threshold and tip: Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople.

Connectors

Connectors are the people that are naturally social. They know many people, and furthermore, they are the people that help others generate acquaintances. These people hold "weak ties" with their acquaintances, so they do not carry the obligations of being a good friend, yet they can still ask for favors and maintain communication between people. They create acquaintances instead of friends, which means they occasionally see them or communication with them, but they don't get too close. The connectors are the ones that drive word-of-mouth epidemics. I believe they play a crucial role in tipping trends and social behaviors into epidemics, because they can naturally spread messages faster because of the way they communicate. They know the right kinds of people: other people that are also connectors, so they instantly build a tremendous network of acquaintances.

Mavens

Mavens are the people that are naturally smart. They know everything there is to know about a particular subject. They always help people make the right decisions. When they are around you, they constantly give you suggestions to help you make better, more educated decisions. They are people who want to help and educate others. They don't try to persuade you to believe what they do, they are just out to make the world a better place by sharing their own knowledge. The example Gladwell uses in his book is about a man named Mark Alpert. As Gladwell interviewed him, Alpert would notice the smallest details and try to make them right. He would tell Gladwell when his tape was empty. He was telling a story of how Consumer Reports had the wrong information, and he set out to correct them. Mavens are not out to claim credit for all their knowledge, nor do they want to be the know-it-all that always sits there waiting for you to make a mistake. They are simply there to make the world a better place by sharing their own knowledge.

Salespeople

Salespeople, as we all know, have the power to convince you to believe or agree with the ideas the present to you. What gives them this sort of power? To find the answer to that Gladwell tells of two very interesting stories. In the first story, a research study compares effects of media bias. They find that even though Peter Jennings is the prime time national news anchor
most critical of Ronald Regan, the viewers of seem to be mostly Republicans in favor of Regan. This is because he would smile ever so slightly every time he discussed something about Regan. These slight changes in behavior can have a huge impact on how people take in messages. Another great example was about the company that claimed to be testing headphones to see if they were durable and high quality, when they were really using the results as part of their experiment. Most of the people that were nodding while listening to the audio recording agreed with its ideas and the people shaking their heads from side to side usually disagreed. Kind of scary eh? It sounds almost like subliminal messaging. These examples just go to show that it's not about how you word your message, it's about how you deliver it. During the interview with a salesperson named Tom Gau, Gladwell noticed Gau would be in physical and aural harmony with him, and would be mimicking his motor movements.

Why do they matter?

You may be asking yourself: Why did Gladwell choose these three? Logically it makes total sense. You have the people that hold all the knowledge, or the Mavens. They may pass some of that knowledge on to a Connector, who can then spread the message extremely quickly. Eventually the message will be in the hands of Salespeople, who can easily convince people to side with their opinion. The more it spreads and the more people that are convinced, the more widespread the epidemic becomes. Gladwell's ideas make total sense. I believe these are essential in starting an epidemic. I have done a fair share of trying to start epidemics of my own, and I've realized each time that there are the few that can make all the difference. Sometimes I have incredible success and I wonder how things happen. There isn't much to explain why things came out the way they did, but obviously there was something small that caused the idea to tip. Other times I do a ton of work, and still for some reason things don't turn out the way they should.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 7:10 PM  

Blog: The Conservative Post
Author: Scott Miller (Website owned by Miller Partners LLC)
Link: http://www.theconservativepost.com

This is obviously a conservative left winged blog made for other conservatives to read. The author, Scott Miller, has written many posts against democrats (no surprise there), but he particularly seems to enjoy picking on Senator Obama. This could possibly be because Obama is the national front-runner in the caucuses and primaries. The author talks in a conversational tone and uses a lot of sarcasm when he speaks. The blog almost seems too conversational to sound professional or serious. In one of his more recent posts, Miller mimics Obama's personality and imitates him in a rude, offensive manner. He uses facts and statistics to justify why the Democrats cannot accomplish what they promise. His argument is solely based on the cost of Obama's plan and does not take any other factors into account. His argument is flawed and is not backed up well. The facts are irrelevant and do not help make his argument more convincing. Some of the post titles seem inappropriate and unprofessional.
Examples include:

• "You Can't Make This Up... Senator CRAPO Defends the CRAPPER Perv"
• "Our Military Kicks Ass!"
• Hillary Clinton KFC Special

Posted in 1 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 4:55 PM