Archive - May, 2011

Aussie economy, or Aussie holidays?

May 31, 2011 in Australian Digital, Change with 0 Comments

Although I shared this image on Twitter when I first saw it this morning, I keep thinking about this chart and the many insights it provides not just about how air travel into Australia is organised, but also about how the economy that drives Australia works.

Surprises for me:  more seats inbound from New Zealand than North East Asia combined and nearly as many seats inbound from the Middle East as the United States.

New Zealand is a small country.  There are nearly 4m inbound seats to Australia – even with a shared economic area, that must signal a higher than expected economic dependency.  It can’t all be tourism.

It’s commonly known that there’s a strong economic link between Australia and Asia.  The north-east Asia volumes must be growing as China continues to develop and becomes ever more prominent in the region.  Living in Australia, it feels that there’s a strong link to the US, but the data suggests that this link might be one way or not as strong as it seems based strictly on in-person interaction (which is ultimately required to do business).

My next question is whether the Asian links are so high because they include the lion’s share of leisure travel, or is there a proportionate distribution of leisure and business travel across all routes?

Check out the infographic on the Adioso blog and check out Adioso’s flight search service while you’re at it.

What Memorial Day Means to Me

May 30, 2011 in Change with 2 Comments

Picture of graves decorated with flags at Arli...

Image via Wikipedia

Today is Memorial Day in the US, my original home.  As I’ve aged, Memorial Day has taken on more and more importance to me.  Ironic since both of my grandfathers fought in World War II and my father was also in the Army, though lucky enough not to have seen combat.  I guess I now better understand the nature of the complex challenges facing the military and I certainly have more to live for with children of my own.

As a kid, recognising all those brave American service men and women who lost their lives for our country and to preserve our way of life was very much what Memorial Day stood for.  However, that sentiment was equalled by being the weekend that the pool opened and a summer of swimming and diving kicked off.

Living as an expat has really focusses the mind on what it means to be an American.  Being questioned about the strong patriotism Americans all have and challenged by the unfathomable knowledge of all the words of the national anthem, all of a sudden, it is very clear exactly why these symbols are so important and as natural as taking a breath.  Americans love America just like any other country loves their own heritage.  Memorial Day simply highlights one of the more challenging sacrifices that Americans are called to make to ensure the freedoms we hold dear are available to us.

When I was first out of school and working in my first full time job in DC, I had a friend whose father was an Army General.  I had never met an active duty member of the armed forces with such seniority.  I was honoured to be invited to their house on Fort Myer in Arlington one Memorial Day.  I was in awe of the conversation that night from the simple yet powerful words said to honour our troops before the meal to the many topics, political, military and otherwise, debated that evening.  I’m not sure we agreed, but we always respected both sides of the argument.  This evening shattered any stereotype I could ever hold of the military.

So today, I thought I’d share my reflection on an American holiday which is as important as ever with more and more young men and women paying the ultimate price in support of their country.  In our globalised world, this applies to both Americans and our Allies.  No matter the politics or the morality of war and military conflict, these are young people with hopes, dreams, and families.  Today is their day.

Crack open a cold beer, dive into a swimming pool, fire up the barbecue, celebrate the start of summer, and please say thank you to our troops.

A Personal Lesson in Online Privacy

May 21, 2011 in Australian Digital, Digital, Media with 0 Comments

Are we ever too old to learn from our parents?

When I started work at AOL more than a decade ago, I often grinned at the common product question which was asked – would your parents be able to use this?  In nearly all cases, mine would, but then my parents have proven to be early adopters of technology even before the internet (except for one small blip when the compact disc was invented which will live on in family lore for a long, long time).  Because of this, I listened attentively when on a recent visit both of my parents asked me a number of probing questions about what they could and could not trust online, including using their email address to subscribe to this blog.

Imagine, my own parents nervous about what kind of mailing list they would end up on as a result of subscribing to their daughter’s blog.  This was startling and mildly alarming to me as someone who relies for my livelihood on people exchanging their information (not just email, but often credit card details to make a purchase) for a product or service that I provide.

So today in my news round up over my morning coffee, I’ve come across this article in the LA Times:

Facebook executive warns senators that restrictive privacy rules could squelch benefits of social Web | Technology | Los Angeles Times.

It is just one of many covering the privacy legislation introduced by Sen. Kerry.  My normal response would be the same as Facebook’s CTO – let the innovators in the industry get on with figuring out a commercial solution.  In effect, “trust us, we won’t abuse our customers“.  Well, I still believe that most of us won’t abuse our customers.  And in fact, I will always be a consumer advocate in any digital business I am involved with.  However, I am not sure that we as an industry have earned the trust of the people, and therefore their government.  This statement is true not just for the US, but also for European and Australia markets where governments are equally concerned with privacy and trying to determine how to legislate protection.

I definitely do not want to push for this legislation because the likelihood of governments to really understand the issue and the ramifications of their laws is low.  Digital privacy is a complex area with some stellar experts working in the space around the world.  My wish is that all businesses could act responsibly and respectfully when using and sharing consumer data.  More laws, more lawsuits, and more compliance is sure to dampen innovation, especially for individual entrepreneurs and small businesses.

On the other hand, something must change so that my parents once again feel comfortable surrendering their email address to me via my blog.  How can we help legislators understand all sides of this issue?

Weekend Reading

May 13, 2011 in Australian Digital, Digital, Media with 0 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve posted to this blog, mainly because I’ve been really busy focussing on getting my new business off the ground.  That makes me less prolific as a blogger, but my comments on my daily digital experiences far more relevant to actually daily experiences in a professional capacity.  (though I must take this moment to say that I enjoyed immensely reflecting on digital as a hobbyist.)

Today I’ve finally gotten around to reading an article which I picked up on Twitter earlier this week and kept open in my browser all week – yes, I know that’s what Instapaper is for.  I want to share this with you …

Evan Williams | evhead: Ten Rules for Web Startups.

It is a great read if you’re involved with a startup, but it is also a great read if you are involved in the fast changing and highly adaptable digital industry in any way.  This is something I would have appreciated and can see applying to the work I did at AOL a decade ago as well as in many jobs since.

So take a minute this weekend, and share Ev’s tips if you agree.