Is Internet Access a Human Right?

Image via Wikipedia

I never really thought of it before.

The internet is fun. You can go to YouTube and laugh at stupid movies for hours on end. You can go to Flickr and look at page after page of beautiful pictures of food and nature and art. Facebook is a never-ending source of addictive games and childish poking. Blogs are thought-provoking and brain building.

But what’s so essential about that? How does the internet compare to a roof over your head and  food in your belly?

The answer may be very simple. Every time I applied for a job over the last decade, I wrote a resume on my computer, reviewed the online job boards, researched the company websites, and emailed my application to the company. Government services and information are all online now. Housing information is all online. The best coupons for struggling families to save grocery dollars are all online. Homeless people flock to the library, shelters, and anywhere with free internet to access essential services.

Is internet access a human right? I’m starting to think it might be.

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When Brands Had Power

In ancient times, more than 20 years ago, brands had undeniable power. They created brand stories and images and slogans and taglines. They designed commercials and billboards and posters. And they had the millions of dollars required to force their messages on captive audiences.

Consumers had little choice but to watch, listen, and believe for there was no alternative. Sure, you could discuss with your friends how much you disagreed with the ads but you certainly didn’t have a million bucks to create and publish your own anti-brand ad.

Those days of one-sided power are gone. Facebook and Twitter and YouTube stole the power from brands and threw it at consumers. Consumers who have no brand experience, no scientific bases, and no expertise have a voice, a very loud and annoying voice. And consumers who know what they’re talking about, people with experience and expertise have a loud voice too, but slightly less annoying.

Brands can write even wittier taglines and even more creative commercials but consumers can fast-forward through those messages and counteract them with their own widely publicized blog rants and YouTube satires.

Quality must come first. Quality can no longer be your tagline. Sorry Ford. Quality must be now be a fact.

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The Statistics of Rice or Stats for Visual People

Big numbers can be really hard to visualize. What does one in a million look like? How different is it from one in ten million? A table of rows and columns is a nice way to compare numbers, and charts can be really helpful too. But rice…. well, food just makes everything easier and tastier to understand. Enjoy!

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3 Reasons Why Researchers Hate Focus Groups #MRX

1) We aren’t allowed to include research participants who might accidentally or willfully harm other research participants or the researcher.

2) We have no access to the Jim Henson creature shop nor do we have the skills to make our own handcrafted muppets come to life.

3) We were born thousands of years too late and have already been indoctrinated in the usefulness of far too many insignificant products.

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The Joy of Stats with Hans Rosling #MRX

If you’re not yet excited about statistics, get ready because Hans is definitely excited and he will bring you along for ride. My favourite part: The average person has more than the average number of legs.

Here is a four minute preview of his talk.

But be sure to find an hour to watch this hour long video.

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