Interesting..

An illustrative commentary on the Russian political tandem. It was more interesting when few realized it, and more on the edge when no one dared to talk about it. Nevertheless, this is still reality encased in caricature.

Experience minus knowledge

I want to blog on a complete uselessness of business schools. In fact, the more advanced they are - the further from the ground they are, and the less real the knowledge learned there becomes.

The theory at business schools is just so detached from what is needed in a business school. The classical approaches learned, which are great and all, in real life meet the obstacles of time and money. The two planes on which business operates and which limit any outgoing theoretical developments, because it is the end result that matters - not the theory behind it.

I understand that this theory may help with the general understanding, that knowing accounting principles, per say, may be important. But isn't it learned much faster through exposure to the industry? Why waste 4 years or even more sitting in a classroom when by the time you graduate, the knowledge will be obsolete? To acquire the time management and hard working skills you'll need to succeed in real life? Well, the real life is where those skills will be learned best and fastest.

A lot of mega-successful enterpreneurs don't have formal business education. Steve Jobs dropped college after one year. He is now a business magnate. Richard Warren Sears, was a simple workman at a railroad. His stores are now across the country making millions.

Maybe business is overall, supposed to be something innate rather than learned. I don't know. I do know that practically all successful businessmen had their degrees in something else, or no degrees at all.

Yet, business schools are required by society. Employers look at experience more than at GPA's, but many hypocritically require the useless BBA or BCom degrees and the like. So society leaves many bright and talented individuals, to the numbers of which I do not belong, with no other choice but to spend 4 (or more for MBA's) years doing nothing useful.

Sad.

Minimalist Ads

I was browsing the net for some advertising inspiration. I found it interesting, the application of minimalist concepts to ads. This is what I'm talking about:

What I find amusing in these ads is that when there is as little as possible, the idea is the most clear.

New is the Well Forgotten Old

I came across this interesting image. Maybe IPad is more sleek and has that Apple brand on it, you know - the one you overpay for. But its capabilities date back to 2003.

Click the image to enlarge.

Lady Gaga - The Real Deal

Eccentric, unusual, controversial and unusually talented.An explosive package which swept the music industry and rose to the top of the A-list in just two years. Lady Gaga.

I have been exploring her art in-depth today. Yes, I said art - a title which most pop musicians don't deserve. As a young, socially adept man who grew up in a modern North American community, of course I have heard of her songs before and found them rather interesting. Sometimes, captivating. It all began with the trashy video for “Just Dance”. Back then I have thought – who the hell is this woman?

Now I think that if all artists would be like her, then the pop scene would finally become something it’s supposed to be. That is, not a bustling collective of self-indulged individuals who use the power of the social peer persuasion to gain fans. But a collective of extraordinary people.

I may not like Gaga’s meat costume, but her wardrobe is exciting, captivating, enticing! It is entertainment. Not even that, most importantly - it is personality.

She also has a voice - rare occurrence, especially in the modern pop music (ironically). It is just not something we seek. People with voice get marginalized by people with money and connections. Money almost always dominates over talent, what can you do. Christina Aguilera has a very good voice. Yet, T-Pain beats her on charts using only a computer. Ke$ha just talks. Who cares? Catchy beats are sufficient.

A plus, is that Lady Gaga also stands for something. She stands for all the people who are unique, and different. Like members of the LGBT community.

I may not like her style, but I respect her as one of the few real artists out there. In pop, at least.

Everything I Like

Pretty much.

Plus One

Recently I have stumbled upon this thing called Google Plus. As soon as I have, it began appearing everywhere. And right after I thought Facebook would not have a replacement for another 5 years at least.

It is no secret that Google takes what exists then buys it and improves it, or makes the same thing except better. This strategy has worked for them and resulted in some amazing products. I am blogging on Blogger while listening to a song I'm playing on YouTube, both my favorite Google products.

Well now, a new sensation - Google Plus! A number of my friends have registered on it already. An avid Google fan myself, I was planning to as well. To my surprise, the network only allowed the first 10 million people to register and the rest have to wait while it has finished its beta "field testing." Sad.

It is unusual for social networks to deny access to them. I know about private social networks for elite groups of rich people, where you can only join if you have a number of references from existing members, have a 7 digit income or are a significant a-list celebrity. I understand the whole field testing thing, perhaps it makes sense to not let too many people join until you know for sure that you haven't screwed up. Yet, I can imagine that a whole lot of people who would join right now with the initial hype arousing, will not go back in the future.

That is up to Google to decide. I just see a very powerful alternative to Facebook on the horizon. I have read about its capabilities and features, it seems to be by far more socially orientated rather than Facebook which encourages profile seclusion. Unlike Facebook, or the now fallen titan MySpace, it is also closely related to the real life. You know, the one away from the computer screen? Hard to imagine nowadays. Yet Google tries to deliver its online social network as a tool of planning and organizing your real social life better. At least, so it seems.

I think it is very important that we take a step back into reality. Will it happen? I doubt it. I just know that once the network opens up once again, I will get an email and will be sure to join it.

For those interested: https://plus.google.com/up/start/?sw=1&type=st