The Broken Window Fallacy

This video is pretty funny and interesting at the same time. It is a great example of how we can do our part to help stimulate the economy..haha..Though it may make some sense in a way I don't think breaking other peoples property is the way to do it. I do think there are ways for the economy to be better, this is not the ideal way to do it though. I think there are better and more productive ways to stimulate the economy. This may make sense and work but you may get caught for it. It's Probably not the most ethical way either.

Jared Spackman

Design thinking, in the classroom

Design thinking has been a central focus of our course, and the emphasis has always been on applying this thinking to the world around us. What inspired me to write this blog was not something I saw, but something I didn't see - A laptop with an outward facing camera.Now that even cheap laptops can store massive amounts of information, why not keep a library of lectures? Nothing written on the whiteboard or projected onto a screen would ever be truly lost, at the cost of adding one small camera to the backside of the screen. Not only would this be useful in an educational environment, but it could bring efficient recording to the business world. But has it been done? Is the extra camera economical?
Food for thought - an audio recorder could be incredibly useful, but also seems much more difficult to integrate. I can't help but feel that if built-in microphones were viable, it would have been done. Thoughts?

Cookies and Business

Cookies were brought up in class the other day by our TA. Not the type of cookies that you eat but the ones that are related the the internet and your IP address's site history. It was fascinating that this was brought up and being used for business applications. The example was that of an airline company keeping track of how many times one would look at a particular flight plan. The price would go up time after time because the cookies being saved showed this airline company just how interested the potential buyer was. this is the fascinating part, the ironic part is that this would be brought up in a negative light. As business students in a business class, we should be learning how to properly apply things like technology to a business setting. If this is part of what leads to success in an industry, business students should look into it on a less than critical note. Business is business and the farther one goes into studying this field the more they will realize that it is necessary to do what it takes, just as the aforementioned airline company understands. Still, delete your browsing history once and a while.

Communication Tips

A couple of weeks ago I was watching a talk show that had a segment on how to better communicate with someone. They talked about how someone can tell if the person they are talking to is a “thinker” or a “feeler”. When you ask someone a question, if they look up during or before they respond it means they are a “thinker”, so you should direct questions to them like, “What do you think about that?” When the person looks down after you ask them a question, it means they are a “feeler”, so a question to them would be more like, “How do you feel about that?” Being able to read someone’s body language can help to really understand what they mean, and can also help you to better connect to them and make them feel like you understand. This segment reminded me of Pink’s book, in the Empathy chapter where he talks about artificial smiles vs. the “Duchenne smile”. This segment also reminded me of “Seek first to understand” in Covey’s book. I’ve tried to test out this process in conversations I have had, and I think it really does help to watch these clues when you are talking to someone. The conversations that I have had while I was trying to implement these ideas were much more meaningful and understanding. This segment was another great tip on how to read people and better direct questions to them that goes well with the points that Pink and Covey make.

Jaimie Beazer

The upside of $5 gas prices?

As summer approaches I am sure we are all finding ourselves looking forward to some sort of vacation and in most cases this will be done by car. Just this last weekend I was filling the tank on my average size gas tank and found that even the $30 I put in just barely put me at 3/4 full. Given the coming of warm weather, increased travel, and a whole plethora of worldwide problems that negatively impact our gas prices I found myself hoping that maybe there is some good that can come out of these sky high prices. It really seems that so many of the economic problems our country faces as well as the military and political troubles we are enduring all revolve around this one topic. For instance, one website I was reading on http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2010/April/Pages/HowMuchforaGallonofGas.aspx stated that bringing a single gallon of gas into a warzone can cost our country's military, which is of course really just our tax money, up to $600 to be delivered. Has it really not yet come to a point in our civilization where its obvious we need to find some safer, cheaper, and cleaner means of fueling our engines? I remember quite clearly a few years ago when it seemed that everyone had a desire to produce a better engine or perhaps find a fuel made from some better material like biofuels using corn biproducts. What happened? I am praying that in light of these rocketing gas prices we will find ourselves again on track where our economy dictates that change is needed. It seems pretty clear that we are not going to stop driving cars as much as we can in this country and even the rest of the world. If the market finally shows that there is vast quantities of cash to be made in cleaner and cheaper fuel that might make this whole nightmare worthwhile.

Even aside of the possibilities of future super clean cars that run on super cheap fuel, there seems to be one other side effect of this gas cost problem we face that I can't help but view as a positive thing, that being the possibility of less people driving. Imagine for a moment if you would how amazing it would be if there came a day when we actually had traffic figured out to some degree. Not because we all start flying cars but because we finally find a way to get less people on the road. I have always been a fan of mass transit but one of the big draw backs has always been implementing the infrastructure to run those systems. If these gas prices continue to rise we may find ourselves in a situation where it really is cheaper to work together to put these systems in place than to fuel our own cars. And this just opens up a veritable cornucopia of benefits that we would experience. Traffic fatalities from mass transit are a fraction of what they are from single person driven automobiles. More people on busses or trains means less cars so there is a smaller ratio of automobiles to people than there is now which would naturally reduce pollution and refuse generated by old unwanted cars. Finally, if we all start putting greater stock in mass transit then there would be more incentive for the companies that produce these machines to produce faster, safer, and better versions of them which would further increase our dependance on them. I had an opportunity to experience the mass transit system in England a few years ago and I must admit I was jealous of what they have there. Having the option to get on a train to quickly and cheaply ride anywhere in the country was amazing. Although our country is much larger and certain parts of country just don't make train travel very easy, I still feel like there is a ton of room for improvement in our train system. I would be beyond happy, as I'm sure many people would, if we were able to adopt something that more closely resembles a train system from some of the European or Asian countries.

So if you find yourself like I did, being a little upset about these gas prices, take a step back and think for a moment about the possibilities that these may encourage. The greatest inventions throughout human history have always been born out of necessity and it seems pretty plain to me that it is necessary for a change in the world's use of fuel. I just hope that this is finally the time that this happens. I guess it really just boils down to when is enough, enough? Are you tired of paying these huge prices? If you are, stop paying them. If we all stop buying gas tomorrow then oil companies would have no choice but to adapt. Supply and demand people, supply and demand. I know I have been trying to drive as little as possible since this last time I got gas, maybe it's time you all do the same.

Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame: a college course.

Yes, you heard right, 24 year old Joanne Angelina Germanotta, AKA Lady GaGa now has a university course dedicated to her and her remarkably quick journey to worldwide fame."Lady Gaga and the sociology of fame" is one of the latest courses to be added to the curriculum at the University of South Carolina for the spring 2011 semester. She is often heard quoting her "Obsession" and non-stop study of the topic. Her debut album in 2008 sold over 15 million albums worldwide, placed, number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and nabbed six Grammy Award nominations.

Seeing this blow up of a worldwide pop star in a matter of years has to make you wonder this chick might know a little something on the art of fame.

And any business entrepreneur can only dream of this kind of sensation for their business,

Lady Gaga has not been far from the headlines this year. Which I think we all know. At the MTV awards in September she strutted onto the stage wearing a "meat dress" - made entirely of raw steak!

I believe we can learn something from every single person we encounter and I feel we may even be able to learn a little marketing skills from this 24 year old, non-conforming, shock value loving girl from New york.

So in conclusion, Maybe putting on a metaphorical "meat dress" on your business tonight may catapult your business into the mornings headlines.


Plus she has an amazing PR team who works for free. An organizations dream marketing team.

Jacquelyn KC Walbom

Design Thinking About Sustainability

I'm interested in knowing if there have been any instances where design thinking has been applied to sustainability issues?

Here's a video of a design idea incorporating new design methods with a simple thing such as the pizza box and creating making it multifunctional. Tacky, unattractive dining ware? Yes. But this cuts down on the use of water to wash the dishes after your meal and also can be thrown into the recycle bin when you are threw with your left overs as well.

Personally I believe that in the next 20 to 30 years or so the world will undergo a revolution in thinking about environmental sustainability and design thinking could be a key tool in driving that change. In particular with rapidly increasing populations in city areas, I think there will be a drive towards integrating the notion of sustainability with urban living.

So I'm wondering if anyone out there is , at the moment, doing any kind of work or brainstorming where design thinking meets environmental sustainability.

Jacquelyn KC Walbom