W. Nathaniel Jones [ideas]

First Snow In Minneapolis!

2010-11-13T12:37:00.000-08:00

More Pics Here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2178734&id=18207140&l=77883f9a5a

Coffee! (With Pretty Pictures By Rachel)

2010-10-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

My latest obsession has been coffee. More specifically, espresso. My coffee setup includes a Rancilio Silvia espresso machine outfitted with an Auber PID with steam control, and a Baratza Vario grinder. I've gotten some fantastic coffee out of it, and I thought I would share a few pictures of the process. Rachel gets all the credit for the pictures! :)

Of course, this effort would be a waste if I didn't start with good beans. Espresso is an intense brewing method that uses pressure to drive a fast extraction that can bring the best (and worst) out of a coffee bean - and there is little room for error. Recently I've been using espresso blends from Paradise Roasters - a well-regarded and local coffee roaster - and enjoying the results.

Here, I'm making a latte. I pull the shots first and then froth the milk because I would like to work towards making latte art, and there's no hope of getting the right consistency in the milk if it has to sit for a few minutes while I pull the shot.

First, I usually let Silvia warm up for about an hour. Although the boiler gets up to temp in just a few minutes, all of the brass around the grouphead takes much longer to warm up.

The PID controller keeps the boiler within 1 degree of my setpoint of 215F

I dry off the portafilter with a towel

I preaheat the shot glasses for the espresso, and the cup for the latte

I grind using a cut-off yogurt cup to direct the grounds into the portafilter

I shake the grounds to break up any clumps

Then I remove the yogurt cup

I distribute and level the grounds with a card

I remove any excess from the edges

I tamp

I remove the tamp with a polishing twist

I twist the portafilter onto the machine, empty the glasses, press the brew button and start the timer

The shot starts slowly

And it quickly builds momentum

The crema dissipates with a cool layering pattern

Leaving two delicious, slightly short shots!

Rachel likes our little spoons

Then I froth the milk

Tasty microfoam achieved!

And it pours!

Not exactly latte art, but super tasty!

A yummy weekend tradition :)

On My Ipod - 10 Albums I Enjoy

2010-09-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time

El Ten Eleven - El Ten Eleven

Fang Island - Fang Island

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Faded Paper Figures - Dynamo

Freelance Whales - Weathervanes

MuteMath - Reset

The Wood Brothers - Ways Not To Lose

White Light Riot - Atomism

Passion Pit - Manners

Mogzilla Does Utah

2010-06-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I put together with clips of our trip through Utah in the Unimog:

My Starring Role as a Villain!

2010-04-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

Take Away Shows

2010-04-22T21:12:00.001-07:00

Copied from a magical live music project, takeawayshows.com:

"Every week, we invite an artist or a band to play in the streets, in a bar, a park, or even in a flat or in an elevator, and we film the whole session. Of course, what makes the beauty of it is all the little incidents, hesitations, and crazy stuff happening unexpectingly. Besides, we do not edit the videos so they look perfectly flawless, instead we keep the raw sound of the surroundings. Our goal is to try and capture instants, film the music just like it happens, without preparation, without tricks. Spontaneity is the keyword."

Here are a few of my favorites:

Raise Your Glass, and Your Salary!

2010-03-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

Not all homework assignments are boring! This is a short paper I wrote for my health economics class on the relationship between alcohol and wages - a fascinating subject that has actually had health economists debating for decades!

Alcohol and Wages - Economics of Alcohol Essay

The relationship between alcohol consumption and wages is not a simple one. The first challenge in understanding it is that working decisions and drinking decisions are made jointly, and that both affect each other. Staying out late and binge drinking can leave workers tired, hung-over and unproductive the next day, and we would expect workers who do this regularly to have lower wages. Conversely, a productive worker who puts in more hours may be stressed, and therefore more likely to drink, but still also able to maintain higher wages. This starts to illustrate how different people drink for different reasons; some may drink because they don’t care about work, others because they care too much, while for many drinking does not have a direct impact on their work.

Another factor complicating the study of this issue is that empirical research seems to deliver conflicting reports of the impact of drinking on wages. While some studies show that alcohol consumption has a negative relationship with wages, others show a positive relationship. Perhaps moderate drinking allows workers to develop relationships with other workers, de-stress, and generally lead healthier lives than non-drinkers. Of course, it is unlikely that alcohol abuse (chronic binge drinking) carries these positive effects.

This paper will introduce some applicable theory to address the question of how drinking alcohol affects wages, summarize some of the empirical research on the subject, and offer a potential policy change to lessen the negative impacts while amplifying the positive impacts of drinking for workers.

The Rational Addiction Model

Becker and Murphy’s rational addiction model is the standard economic framework for understanding addiction. In economics, a good is considered addictive if current consumption of the good has a positive influence on an individual’s propensity to consume the good again in the future. Because alcohol consumption is habit forming, it makes sense to evaluate the explanatory power of the rational addiction model with respect to drinking behavior.

The rational addiction model is based on the discounting of utility across time, where present utility receives more “weight” than future utility. In finance, the “time value of money” principle allows for the precise calculation of present and future cash flow values based on a discount rate. Similarly, the rational addiction model asserts that individuals discount health utility, and that a given amount of utility today is valued more than the same amount of utility some day in the future.

From this perspective, an individual could make a rational decision to become addicted to a destructive good (e.g. binge drinking) if the utility they get today outweighs the (discounted) negative utility expected in the future. An individual with a higher discount rate would be more likely to rationally use an addictive good, because the future is more heavily discounted for them (i.e. future events are less significant relative to an individual with a lower discount rate).

With respect to drinking, the model would assert that individuals have a complete and accurate picture of the impacts (positive and negative) of their drinking behavior before they start to consume alcohol, allowing them to make a rational decision whether or not to start. So, while the question challenges economists on aggregate, in the model, individuals have a much clearer picture of how their drinking will affect their wages, along with their health, social lives, etc.

Empirical Studies of Drinking and Wages

Empirical studies of the relationship between drinking and wages have produced conflicting results. In 1988, Berger and Leigh showed that drinkers (including both moderate and abusive) earned higher wages than nondrinkers across demographic and human capital groups. Then, in 1993, Mullahy and Sindeler found a negative relationship between alcohol use and both wages and labor participation in men aged 30 to 59, but not for older and younger men.

Shortly thereafter, some studies started to piece together the conflicting results. French and Zarkin found in 1995 isolated moderate drinkers, and found that they have higher wages than others. Hein’s 1996 paper “Do drinkers earn less?” showed a concave relationship where moderate drinkers earn more than non-drinkers or heavy drinkers. This has been reinforced by other studies as well.

More recently, Shao-Hsun and Wallace Huffman’s paper “Binge Drinking and Labor Market Success: A Longitudinal Study on Young People” (originally written in 2002, and most recently re-published in January, 2010) found that an individual’s decision to binge drink is alcohol-price responsive and that it is a rational addiction. In line with previous research about heavy drinking, the study also found that binge drinking had a statistically significant negative impact on earnings. Their model used a pair of least squared regressions, one modeling drinking behavior as a function of income and other factors, and the other modeling income as a function of drinking and other factors.

Policy Change - Give Your Workers Booze!

If you visit Southwest Airlines’ headquarters overlooking Dallas Love Field Airport on a Friday afternoon, you’ll surely hear music blaring above you, and the sound filtering down of some seriously happy workers chatting, laughing, and celebrating the end of the workweek. Every Friday during the summer months, Southwest has a “deck party” where workers can socialize, relax, and usually drink on a giant deck, overlooking the runway where colorful Southwest jets land and take off all day long.

Frequent work-sponsored events like this one (i.e. with alcohol) give workers an opportunity to relax, have fun, socialize, and break down divisional silos. And, because it is a work event, almost no one drinks so heavily that they embarrass themselves or negatively affect their work. In short, you get all of the good effects of alcohol consumption with none of the bad. Events like these build the culture and cohesiveness of an organization, and alcohol plays a very real role in cementing those crucial and productive bonds between human capital – thus improving productivity, retention, efficiency and quality.

As an intern at Southwest, I was shocked when I attended my first deck party to find workers “limbo-ing”, playing beer pong, dancing - actually having a good time at a work event. And so much of Southwest’s model culture is rooted in the company letting workers relax, let loose, and have fun. I can’t imagine a Southwest without alcohol; it is as much a part of their culture (chain smoking founder Herb Kelleher loves his Wild Turkey!) as the Boeing 737.

So my policy recommendation is for employers to create some regular social events for workers, and supply the booze. It’ll take some work for some firms get to the level of camaraderie and cross-divisional cohesion that Southwest has achieved, but letting your workers be drinking buddies is a great first step in that process.

One last fun fact about Southwest: just a few years ago that the company placed a 5:00 rule for workers – no drinking at the office until after 5pm. Prior to that rule it wasn't uncommon to see coolers of beer wheeled in to meetings!

Conclusion

Having grown up in a household where alcohol (especially recreational drinking) was demonized, I would have been shocked to hear about the positive effects of alcohol use for workers documented in some of these studies. While the negative impact of problem drinking and alcoholism on wages would be expected, the fact that moderate drinkers earn more than nondrinkers is surprising.

I find that the bulk of research and theory reinforces my personal decision to enjoy alcohol in moderation and to take advantage of its positive social effects.

My Twisted Idea of Fun

2010-03-09T15:13:00.001-08:00

An email I wrote debating a test question with my financial planning professor (all in good fun):

Prof. [Removed],

Regarding the regulation of derivatives trading, you referred me to the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. It is important to understand that this act addresses *OTC derivatives.* Because these transactions between "sophisticated parties" are not regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act, and because of their role in the financial meltdown, they have been at the center of a significant amount of media coverage and public debate. This is part of what has led to the all-too-common misconception that the SEC is charged with regulating securities but not derivatives.

I selected the SEC as my answer on the test, citing some options (e.g. puts and calls) that it regulates. Other derivatives, like swaps and futures in Chicago, are regulated by the CFTC. If the CFTC had been an option (pun intended), I probably would have chosen that instead of the SEC.

The following is copied from the well-regarded blog of a finance lawyer in New York (Jun 4, 2009):

http://economicsofcontempt.blogspot.com/2009/06/yes-sec-regulates-derivatives.html

The SEC does, in fact, have the authority to regulate derivatives. It regulates options (e.g., calls, puts, straddles) on individual securities, options on certain indexes of securities, such as the S&P 100, and exchange-traded options on foreign currency. Options are unquestionably derivatives.

What Salmon and Klein probably meant was that the SEC doesn't have the authority to regulate swaps. But swaps aren't the only kinds of derivatives by any means. Confusing swaps and derivatives is what leads idiot journalists* to constantly mislabel derivatives as "unregulated financial instruments." (If journalists think derivatives are all unregulated, then I'm curious what they think the Commodity Futures Trading Commission does?)

And here is the response of the Reuters journalist regarding his mistake (Jun 4, 2009):

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/06/04/when-the-sec-regulates-derivatives/

Economics of Contempt labels me an “idiot journalist” for saying that the SEC is charged with regulating securities but not derivatives. As he points out, the SEC does too regulate securities — specifically, it regulates options on stocks, which are certainly derivatives, as well as exchange-traded options on foreign currency.

My bad. When I think derivatives, I think of swaps and futures in Chicago, rather than exchange-traded stock options — basically, I think of the kind of things which are either regulated by the CFTC, or not regulated at all (like CDS). But yes, there are some derivatives which are regulated by the SEC. My feeling is that all derivatives should be regulated, and that none of them should be regulated by the SEC, which should stick to securities. But of course I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, and for the foreseeable future it is indeed the SEC, and not the CFTC or anybody else, which is in charge of regulating a large chunk of the options market.

I hope that this helps to clear up the issue!

All the best,

Nathaniel

UPDATE: The Prof. confided after class today (3/11) that I was right and he was wrong, but because it was a test and "no one else caught that" he wouldn't give the points back. Oh well...

On Coffee and Choosing the Path of Most Resistance

2010-03-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at Colonnades dining hall I tried four different desserts:

A cheesecake in a cup where both filling and crust surely came out of a box marked “instant”
A lemon bar that probably came out of a similarly marked box
A pumpkin pie tart with long strings of canned pumpkin intact
A cinnamon bun, fresh from the can

I hated all of them. I couldn’t take more than a couple bites of each.

None were terrible, but none were remarkable in any way. They had no character, no soul; they were empty, overly sweet, and still had a slight tinge of chemical taste from the factory. And I realized, we’ve gone too far.

We’ve worked so hard to make our lives easy, to freeze dry the tough parts and fit them in a box (just add water!) that we haven’t realized that we’ve removed the soul along with the work. A homemade cheesecake doesn’t just taste better because of the real, fresh ingredients; it tastes better because of the work (and sometimes love) that went into it.

Everything today is digital, disposable, individually wrapped, and cheap. It’s easy, but the joy is gone. I am fighting to regain that joy in my life, the joy of doing things the hard way. I’m learning to love the process as much as the result, and I’m making investments that may seem silly to replace the disposable things in my life.

Last week I decided I would like to occasionally drink coffee in addition to tea. Since I don’t have a coffeemaker in my dorm room, I figured instant was the way to go. So I picked up some “gourmet” instant coffee in fancy little individually wrapped packets. And I hated it. I hated everything about it, from the wasteful packaging to the nowhere-near-coffee taste. I hated it so much that yesterday I went out and bought a French Press.

My French Press is small; I bought it at Starbucks with a gift card. And the process isn’t simple compared to the automated ease most of us are used to. It’s hands-on, and it takes attention to detail to do it perfectly.

The chamber of the french press is warmed with hot water; that water is emptied; course coffee grounds are carefully measured out and added to the chamber; then hot water is slowly added (the water has been boiled and then allowed to cool to just below boiling) first saturating the grounds and then filling to an inch from the top; the floating grounds are turned over to ensure all are exposed to the water; the top is attached with the filter/plunger up; the coffee steeps for about four minutes; then the plunger is slowly lowered, extracting the grounds; and delicious coffee is poured.

And the coffee is delicious; phenomenal, perhaps the best I’ve ever had. It is rich and smooth, powerful, but with subtle nuances. The full character of the roast is captured with intensity and immediacy. In short, it is a truly exceptional cup of coffee, worlds apart from the watered down burnt-tasting brews we often settle for.

I think that we get so caught up in being busy that we miss out on the joy of craftsmanship, the appreciation of quality, and the intense pleasure of a thing done right. These are the things I’ve started to focus on the last few years, and the French Press is the latest extension. Perhaps in this blog I will share a few more of the things that I enjoy, and some of the ways that we can get back in touch with the elegance and simplicity of doing things the hard way, and getting rid of the disposable parts of our lives.

Let's Start a Blog!

2010-02-25T15:54:00.001-08:00

Today one of my best friends emailed me earnestly, saying that we should start a blog. We could talk about “music, politics, ethics, whatever.” He passed on some blog designs he liked, and links to popular blogs he was familiar with. He had just seen a presentation about blogging at work, and he was convinced that “we are behind” and we should be more involved. We could even pay someone to come up with a catchy logo design!

I think that this attitude is fairly common for people who start blogs, but it’s not what creates a successful blog. Of course, this blog is far from “successful” by my friend’s standards – there are at best a handful people who occasionally stop by (if you're reading this, you may very well be alone). But since I created this as an extension of my personal branding, that’s ok with me; I don't expect to see people subscribe. This blog may one day evolve into something more substantial; it may not. I’m not looking for thousands of followers. But if I was, I’d be doing a lot of things differently.

For one, I would have a very specific focus, and I would have experience and knowledge to contribute in that area. A successful blog is really built on a community of passionate people who share an interest with the blogger. And since nobody is passionate about everything, a blog about everything adds little value. Besides which, the value of a blog rests largely in the blogger’s expertise. I want to know that the blogger has more experience or knowledge (or at least humor!) than I do, otherwise why should I care what they have to say?

So we will probably start a new blog, and it will probably wither and die off slowly, like most blogs do. Because unlike a facebook, myspace or linkedin account, a blog requires consistent nourishment and attention. I’m not sure he knows what he’s signing up for.

Hans Rosling on the Rise of Asia

2010-02-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted On The Young

2009-12-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

A newspaper column by Mary Schmich, published by the Chicago Tribune on 01 June 1997.

Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who'd rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there's no reason we can't entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.

I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune

Health Class Video

2009-09-30T20:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's not exactly great filmmaking, but my little 1-evening video project for health is at least amusing!

Disclaimer: Do not try any of the actions demonstrated in this video. This video project is not professional medical/emergency response instruction, nor is it a demonstration of appropriate emergency response behavior. This video is not endorsed by the American Red Cross. This video is shared for entertainment purposes only.

Dan Pink on the Science of Motivation

2009-09-02T15:09:00.001-07:00

Thoughts on Tribes

2009-08-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

In his short book Tribes, Seth Godin addresses leadership in the context of the “tribe,” stating that “You can’t have a tribe without a leader—and you can’t be a leader without a tribe.” (2)

A tribe is simply a group of people with: (24)
1. A shared interest
2. A means of communication

The move towards tribal leadership is evidenced by changes in the market: people are increasingly looking for meaning in work, and also in the things they consume. Mass-produced products and services are less and less profitable. Consumers are increasingly buying products they “believe in” instead of “off-the-shelf” goods and ideas. (9)

Godin also illustrates some powerful distinctions between managers and leaders. In a nutshell, while managers “make widgets,” leaders “make change.” (14) And today, unlike in times past where deviants were punished severely, society and the market now reward the “change makers,” the people and ideas who move against the norm – the ideas, products, and leaders who are “remarkable.” This goes for both individuals and businesses.

In the airline industry, perhaps more than most, stagnation is death. Every airline needs to innovate to be successful in the competitive environment. This is why airlines work so hard to aggressively differentiate their service, which is, by nature, intangible. So what can an airline do to “create a movement” supporting their business?

Godin lists three ways to improve the effectiveness of a tribe: (25)
• Create a goal and desire for change
• Improved communication
• Gain more members

And, while it is easy to focus only on the last point and to gain more members, perhaps it is the first two that the airlines should be focused on. How can an airline increase interaction and communication between customers and airline evangelists? What goals or movements for change can an airline bring to the table?

As airlines create a movement around their own ideas, emerging media will increasingly be the most cost-effective ways to improve the effectiveness of the tribe.

Walking In the Sky

2009-08-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

A cool quote from the end of David Crowder Band's (exceptional) album "Collision," explaining its message:

"Did you ever notice that the sky is all the way to the ground? We’re walking around in it. We’re in the sky. There is sky and there is ground and we’re somewhere in between. That is where we live. And sometimes some of us take wing and when they do, when their feet leave the ground, even for a second, they pull the rest of us with them. And when we rise, we notice that the sky has been around us all along. We have been walking into it. It has been this constant collision. Divinity and depravity."

- David Crowder

New Business Card

2009-08-02T17:12:00.001-07:00

Yea, I'm painfully nerdy; I know.

But I was really excited to come up with my first business card design (!), and I wanted to share it with you. The cards are being printed by vistaprint as we speak. It's just three weeks before I'm finished with my internship at Southwest Airlines and the job search begins.

Front:

Back:

How to Grow Fresh Air

2009-07-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

A Society of Professionals, or a Society of Clerks?

2009-07-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

I found this interesting quote on Laura Groves' website:

“Much of the ‘jobs of the future’ rhetoric surrounding the eagerness to end shop class and get every warm body into college, thence into a cubicle, implicitly assumes that we are heading to a postindustrial economy in which everyone will deal with abstractions. Yet trafficking in abstractions is not the same as thinking. White-collar professions, too, are subject to routinization and degradation, proceeding by the same logic that hit manual fabrication a hundred years ago: the cognitive elements of the job are appropriated from professionals, instantiated in a system or process, and then handed back to a new class of workers - clerks - who replace the professionals.”

(“Shop Class as Soulcraft,” New York, NY: The Penguin Press, 2009; p. 44)

Pope Award Project Reading List

2009-07-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

I selected books that I hope will give me some background as I piece together what works in social media. Of the books I chose, most are very recent, all are very popular (should be easy, quick reads), and they fall into three main themes:

Success and the new business environment:

The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century - Thomas L. Friedman
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't - Jim Collins

How we think and why social media is effective:

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us - Seth Godin
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die - Chip Heath
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking - Malcolm Gladwell

How to use social media:

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers - Seth Godin
The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly - David Meerman Scott
Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking - Andy Sernovitz

Let me know if you know of any other books I should have a look at for my project. I'll keep you posted as I start working through them!

How Social Media Can Make History

2009-07-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

Pope Foundation Undergraduate Research Scholars Award

2009-06-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

My research proposal was selected for a Pope Award!

My research will explore the impact of emerging media on business and free enterprise in the US. I am planning to focus on the airline industry since I'm interning for Southwest this summer - and I'm thinking about specifically looking at the revenue generating opportunities for low-cost carriers using social/emerging media.

Here are the airlines I'm thinking about studying:

Do you know of any other airlines that are doing a great job with emerging media (i.e. Twitter, Blogs, etc.)?

---

*Oh, and I'm also excited to use my stipend to get a shiny new MacBook Pro!*

I met Colleen!

2009-06-08T20:08:00.001-07:00

Today, I was leaving work I ran up to grab my stuff out of my office; and as I was going down the elevator with Sheeja, my coworker, Colleen Barrett (President Emeritus of Southwest Airlines) got on the elevator with us and said hi! I immediately asked her if we could get a picture with her outside and let her know that I was living with one of her close friends. She was (just like Herb) extremely warm and friendly, and I'm so glad that I had the chance to meet her.

It is NUTS that I've randomly met two of the most influential people at Southwest in just a week here!

I met Herb!

2009-06-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

As I was walking to my car on my second day of work I noticed a beautiful red Aston Martin pulling into the parking lot. I knew just who drove that car, and when Herb Kelleher got out I yelled over to him so I could introduce

myself. For anyone who doesn't know, Herb is the co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines.

Unfortunately, I only have about half of a picture with him, because the girl who took the picture with my phone covered the lens with her finger.

Adam Savage and the Dodo Bird

2009-05-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

Research Proposal - Emerging Media in Business

2009-05-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

My draft of a research proposal for this summer. Let me know what you think. (Also - the prompt is at the bottom)

As US society addresses the economic challenges outlined in the prompt, it will adapt through a proactive process of change involving the government, consumers, and business. My summer research project will analyze and tell the story of a promising, new movement in business that is helping some firms to be successful despite the current economic challenges.
Imagine if, after completing a four-week, paid training program, your new employer offered you a $2,000 bonus to quit. This is the offer made to every new hire at online shoe retailer Zappos, and it’s not the only thing the company does differently. Employees get access to free food daily in the cafeteria, free vending machines, and medical and dental benefits. For customers, the online store offers free shipping on every order (both ways), a 365-day return policy, a 24/7 in-house (US) call center, and pictures of every shoe, taken from seven angles.

Despite the economic downturn and tough competition, Zappos' sales rose 20% in 2008, surpassing $1 billion dollars annually. The reason for the firm’s success is simple: Zappos is remarkable. And when I say remarkable, I don’t mean that it is a great company, I mean it is a company worth talking (remarking) about. And Zappos has already started the conversation for us.

The company runs 13 blogs, along with Myspace, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles. CEO Tony Hsieh and 197 other employees Twitter (Hsieh has over 600,000 followers on the social messaging site.). The firm is on the front lines of a new way of doing business: using emerging media to deliver superior service and develop meaningful relationships with passionate customers and brand evangelists.

In my research this summer, I would like to explore the ways that emerging media are shaping a new, relational business environment, and explore the factors that create success for firms like Zappos, which are connected to their customers in ways stronger than traditional relationships would allow.

The Prompt:

The American economy has been fueled by the United States providing an infrastructure, laws, and a political environment that allows entrepreneurial efforts to flourish, benefiting society. Today global competition is causing many to question whether the United States can continue such a status. Recently corporate scandals have hurt the image of the American corporation, allowing laws to be passed that may harm our competitive position. How should our society respond to such challenges? Develop a research agenda concerning this topic and pursue such research.

“Who am I?”

2009-05-14T01:41:00.001-07:00

The time we spend on the earth as humans is infinitesimally small compared to the time we’re not here. If you think about it - compared to the time that came before our lives, and the time that comes after, we aren’t around for very long. Our mortality should impart a sense of urgency on us as humans, individually and corporately: an urgency to do find what we are here to do, and to do it. If there is anything we are here for, that is.

The question of why we exist dances in and out of most of our minds every now and again - but nowhere near as often as you would expect for such a serious, universally pressing question. The answer defines who we are and how we spend our lives - why are we here.

Who am I, and why am I here? Sometimes the first question seems even harder then the second, but how can any of us find a purpose in life if we don’t know who we are? So that seems to be a fair starting place: who am I?

The most basic step towards answering that question is to prove that “I am.” “I think, therefore I am” is a pretty solid argument here, where my consciousness is the evidence, and, while I could never hope to convince any of you beyond a doubt that I exist (who is to say you are not dreaming of me), we can each know individually that we exist in some form. We may not be what we think we are; but we think, so we are (or at least I am).

Great, so I exist. Where does that get me? For all I know, everything else could be an illusion, a figment of my own fantastic imagination. Who is to say that I don’t have all of the knowledge and truth the world has to offer somewhere within me - that I am a beginning and an end in myself?

Well, it’s a starting point. I have something I can believe in without any faith at all. There is no stretch of logic for me to believe in myself, and that’s important because truth is what this paper is supposed to be about. So, at least I have something (even if I can’t take the credit from Descartes): I am.

Since “I am” and all, the next obvious question would be “where did I come from?” but I’ll shy away from that for now, and stick to firmer ground. Maybe starting at the other end of the think/am equation would be easier: “I think.”

There is a reason that Descartes choose to use thought to prove his existence, because even as you question it, you perform it. So I think. I have thoughts. What do my thoughts say about who I am?

That question indicates that I am conscious - I know I am. And I know that I know that I am, and so on. I am self-aware at least to the point that I know I have a self to be aware of.

These may seem like baby steps, but let's retrace them briefly to see what we’ve found. We have showed that there is truth (I am), and also falsehood (I am not). Finally, we have showed that we can know the truth (by asking if I am, I prove my own existence).

Question: “Who am I?”

Answer: “I can know the truth.”

That’s as far as I’ve gotten with the “who am I?” question. The next post will explore the question of “Where did I come from?”

Ken Robinson on How Schools Kill Creativity

2009-05-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Interning with HOY this Spring was a Blast!

2009-05-13T09:15:00.001-07:00

Click here to check out Por un mejor HOY's recap of the Spring!

An Email to my College Writing Prof.

2009-05-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this email is a little harsh. I'm rarely this vindictive. But this guy really got to me (and gave me the worst grade I've gotten in college, because he disagreed with me). Anyways...

Prof. [removed]-

I was in one of your college writing classes a couple years ago. You may remember failing a paper I wrote for you about GM. You said that my argument (about GM, China and outsourcing) was absurd. Specifically, you took fault with my portrayal of GM as a failing company that potentially faced bankruptcy if it didn't start innovating. You said that there was no way that GM would fail, since they are a huge, global company, diversified with business lines outside of automobile manufacturing (you cited military contracts, I believe).

Anyways, I guess I should have tried to put some money on it...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aA_QjYuWXWzI

Regards,

Nathaniel Jones

My letter to the Provost Re: Tonya Riney

2009-05-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Mr. Francis:

It has come to my attention that Ms. Tonya Riney has been denied a contract to continue teaching at Elon University next fall. This news troubles and saddens me, as I have experienced firsthand the passion and experience she brings to the classroom, and I know that it would be a mistake for Elon to disown a faculty member who so plainly lives out Elon’s mission to deliver personal, engaged, and experiential learning.

I hope that an account of my experience as a student in Ms. Riney’s course will shed some light on the tremendous and unique value she adds to the Elon community and offer some help as you reconsider her position at the University. I speak from my experience in the Business Fellow section of her Business Communications course in the fall of 2007 (BUS*202 W2 BF) and also from our subsequent friendship.

Ms. Riney’s course is challenging; my ‘B’ in her Business Communications class is the lowest grade I have ever received from a professor in the business school. For many students, her research paper (an argument for the expansion of a business into another country) is the most rigorously academic assignment they will ever complete. At the beginning of Dr. Benson’s Business Law course, the students were asked to name the most rewarding academic assignment they had completed—and the overwhelming majority cited Ms. Riney’s final paper.

Ms. Riney’s Business Communications course challenges students to come face-to-face with their shortcomings in, and fears of, public speaking (on a daily basis, with an exercise at the beginning of each class). The class is both structured and unpredictable— and knowing that each class will offer a new challenge made it a little easier to get up for the 8:00am class. The course covered an array of topics, from grammar to body language, but with a surgical precision, presenting only the most relevant and practical information.

This is not to say that I was not frustrated by some aspects of Ms. Riney’s class. Her quest for the efficient presentation of the most essential information led to some “gray area” issues being simplified to black and white. Stylistic grammar choices could be marked right or wrong, tardiness (at 8:00am!) was counted to the second, and grading was (as we were duly warned) merciless. My disagreements with Ms. Riney surfaced repeatedly and vocally, both in and out of class. But, in the words of David Hume, “truth springs from argument amongst friends.” I have immense personal and professional respect for Ms. Riney, and I count her as both a friend and an invaluable contributor to my education at the Elon University Love School of Business.

In sum, Ms. Riney is the business school’s resident expert on resumes, the originator of the most feared (and loved) academic assignments in the business curriculum, the only teacher I have ever had grade my emails, the first person I ran to after a hornet stung my foot[1], the only teacher who visits the library the night before a final paper is due, and the one teacher whose door is always open. Please don’t force it closed.

If I can provide you with any more information, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

W. Nathaniel Jones

[1] For the hornet sting, she suggested the topical application of a paste made from aspirin and water. The solution makes a mild, yet effective, anesthetic.

David O. Bowden Economics Scholarship

2009-05-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

The David O. Bowden Economics Scholarship

Nathaniel Jones

Established by David Bowden ’70, the David O. Bowden Economics Scholarship is awarded to a rising senior majoring in economics who has been active in the department and demonstrated potential for future success. At Elon, Mr. Bowden was a double major in business administration and economics. He went on to earn his JD from the University of Miami.

Full Article Here