This will make a snack size portion.

For the fries:

• 2 large potatoes
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Cut 2 large potatoes into strips and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes on a cookie sheet. Shake them and turn them at least once to ensure a crispy exterior on the whole fry (I like mine a golden brown).

The idea of mayo may not be your idea of a good condiment – so try this version which adds a bit of spiciness and tang.

Spicy Mayo Dip:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (or chili powder)

Combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, and 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder. Mix until well integrated.

At the end of 2007 I, like many others participated in the Give One Get One program of One Laptop per Child (OLPC). 75,000 laptops went to Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Cambodia, Oceania, the West Bank, and Haiti.  An additional 75,000 laptops came into the USA as part of the “get” side of the equation.

In light of the recent disaster in Haiti, the OLPC group is gathering used XO laptops to send to Haiti. If you or the child to whom you gave the laptop is no longer using it then kindly send it to the address below (even if it is broken).

OLPC FOR HAITI c/o Exel
615 Westport Parkway #500
Grapevine, TX 76051

75% of the schools in Port-au-Prince have been destroyed in the recent earthquake. Because of the XO’s unique features (sunlight readability, solar powered, water resistant, drop proof), it is also an ideal tool for relief work.

==========================

I do have to agree with the usefulness of the laptop.  It’s a great travel PC if you don’t need anything sophisticated or can live on Google apps for productivity software.  I have often used mine for writing in the bright southern sun.  I could see how useful it would be as a disaster relief tool.  As such, I will be sending mine in.  I encourage you to do the same.

Haiti is the poorest, least developed country in the Western Hemisphere, and the majority of Haitians live in poverty.  Disasters like this magnitude 7.0 earthquake are especially devastating when they strike places that are already struggling to provide the most basic of services for its population.  The sheer scale of poverty in the country means that the government has limited capacity to meet even the simplest needs of its people, let alone address a disaster of this magnitude. Haiti’s lack of development—which translates into a lack of government capacity for emergency preparedness—magnifies the impact of this tragedy.

Did you drink a bottle of water today?  Did you drink a glass of tap water?  This is a luxury in a country such as Haiti to begin with.  The prospect of clean, fresh water is now much more elusive than it was last week.

Now, how YOU can help…

Drink tap water and kindly donate the money you would have spent on bottled water or a cup of coffee to relief efforts.  Simply text “HAITI” to “90999” and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. You will need to confirm the donation.   Need a receipt?  Receipts are available online at mGive’s Web site. In addition, this is a recommended mechanism for aid by the US State Department.  http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/help_haiti_disaster_relief_efforts

Why is this a good idea?

Monetary contributions to established relief agencies are always the most useful response to disasters. Financial contributions allow professional relief organizations to purchase exactly what is most urgently needed by disaster victims and to pay for the transportation necessary to distribute those supplies. Unlike in-kind donations, cash donations entail no transportation cost. In addition, cash donations allow relief supplies to be purchased at locations as near to the disaster site as possible. Supplies, particularly food, can almost always be purchased locally – even in famine situations. This approach has the triple advantage of stimulating local economies (providing employment, generating cash flow), ensuring that supplies arrive as quickly as possible and reducing transport and storage costs. Cash contributions to established legitimate relief agencies are always considerably more beneficial than the donation of commodities.

Finally, watch out for any scams promising aid.  If you would like to make donations, do so to recognized aid organizations such as the Red Cross or OxFam.  The US State Department provides a list of recognized aid organizations.

Thank you for listening and thank you for considering how you can offer assistance to those who need it.

[edit]

Here is a list or recognized aid organizations operating in Haiti:

• Action Against Hunger, 877-777-1420
• American Red Cross, 800-733-2767
• American Jewish World Service, 212-792-2900
• AmeriCares, 800-486-4357
• Beyond Borders, 866-424-8403
• CARE, 800-521-2273
• CarmaFoundation
• Catholic Relief Services, 800-736-3467
• Childcare Worldwide, 800-553-2328
• Concern Worldwide, 212-557-8000
• Cross International, 800-391-8545
• Direct Relief International, 805-964-4767
• Doctors Without Borders, 888-392-0392
• Feed My Starving Children, 763-504-2919
• Food for the Poor, 800-427-9104
• Friends of WFP, 866-929-1694
• Haiti Children, 877-424-8454
• Haiti Marycare, 203-675-4770
• Haitian Health Foundation, 860-886-4357
• Hope for Haiti, 239-434-7183
• International Medical Corps, 800-481-4462
• International Rescue Committee, 877-733-8433
• International Relief Teams, 619-284-7979
• Lutheran World Relief, 800-597-5972
• Medical Teams International, 800-959-4325
• Meds and Food for Kids, 314-420-1634
• Mennonite Central Committee, 888-563-4676
• Mercy Corps, 888-256-1900
• Operation Blessing, 800-730-2537
• Operation USA, 800-678-7255
• Oxfam, 800-776-9326
• Partners in Health, 617-432-5298
• Rural Haiti Project, 347-405-5552

• The Salvation Army, 800-725-2769
• Samaritan’s Purse, 828-262-1980
• Save the Children, 800-728-3843
• UN Central Emergency Response Fund
• UNICEF, 800-367-5437
• World Concern, 800-755-5022
• World Hope International, 888-466-4673
• World Relief, 800-535-5433
• World Vision, 888-511-6548
• Yele Haiti, 212-352-0552 (Wyclef Jean’s grassroots org. Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5 via your cellphone.)

Observe, Plan, Execute

Yesterday I was reminded of why organizations need to at least monitor their brand in the social media space, even if they choose not to participate in it.  I received a following notice on Twitter from an Id that was representing themselves as a directory resource for a particular city that relies on tourism and honeymoons.  Not a bad idea from a social media perspective.

So I go to check it out – especially since they had a large number of followers and numerous tweets.  My Oh My… what a surprise… 600 plus tweets of what appeared to be randomly generated tweets which every once in a while created some images of questionable activities with Bollywood movies.  I joke not… “committed the sin of Onan with ostensible Hindi movies” and “remembers the halcyon days of grotesque nightclubs” were actual tweets.  OK,  probably not as racy as you were expecting, BUT how would you feel if these tweets were coming from an account representing your company or posing as your company?  Twitter has a new service for “verifying” accounts, however you need to justify your need for these types of accounts right now.

So it gets a bit worse.  In Twitter, you can have a web URL in your profile.  There was one in this case, so I clicked on it.  Nothing racy on the other end, but it was an incomplete website.  It looks like someone is attempting to build a directory of businesses in this tourist town.  Again, not a bad idea, but what if you are the local government or the chamber of commerce for this town and already have an official site?
This case study gives us two lessons to consider…

First, what is at stake here is the town’s brand.  Regardless of your participation in social media, if you have a brand to protect, you should at least establish a program of “monitoring” your brand.  This program could range from using Google Alerts to a more robust tool such as those produced by Techrigy or Scoutlabs.  All options essentially let you start for free.  If you have limited volume, the “free” version of Techrigy or Scoutlabs may be all you need.  I personally use a combination of Google Alerts and a paid version of ScoutLabs.  I love the graphing capability of Techrigy, but for where my business volume is, Scoutlabs is the better fiscal choice.

The next step of your “monitoring” initiative is to define how you or your company will respond to events that occur.   These don’t necessarily need to be “bad” events.  You could reward those people who really promote your business.  Or you can intervene when needed.  Its better to be informed than blind.  I call these reactions “Engagement Scripts” and they should be shared with everyone who communicates on behalf of your company.  In severe cases, you may need legal counsel.

You may be thinking that I am blowing this case study out of proportion.  Maybe the city in question was  “alpha testing” some new social media initiatives and they just didn’t have the content completed yet.  I can go along with that hypothesis, and I would encourage the company (city in this case) to test things privately.  There is no reason to flood Twitter with 600 worthless messages – it still reflects poorly on the brand.

That leads us to lesson two…  Plan your social media initiatives.  By doing something as described in this case study, you are taking a shot-gun approach to social media programs.  What are you trying to accomplish?  Who are you trying to engage?  Take the time to conduct an assessment to learn where your respective ecosystem is. The Four Quadrant Assessment Methodology (as defined by the Social Media Academy, and my personal preference) looks at where people are in the social web, sentiment analysis, key interests and reflections in the following areas:

• Customer mapping and field assessment
• Brand analysis
• Partner and alliance analysis
• Competition analysis

I’m not suggesting you get paralyzed by analysis.  Think of it as clarifying the conversations you want to have and making them meaningful.  Shooting fish in a barrel may be easy, but shooting the falls in a barrel is not one of my recommended actions.  Do a little homework and planning, then go catch your trophy fish.  I look forward to hearing about it.

• Google set to take on Apple in China
• Smartphone rivals ready to engage
• China to get iPhone (8/28/2009 from Wireless Week)

The world’s first and second largest wireless operators by subscriber numbers (China Mobile and China Unicom respectfully),  are ready to launch smartphone handset which utilize 3G services.  The prominent handsets will be China Mobile’s Android OPhone and China Unicom’s desired iPhone offering.  [UPDATE:  As reported on 8/28, China Unicom has reached a multi-year deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to China.]  While financial folks will ponder the ramifications of the new marketspace, I’m wondering about the implications on social media (more below).

• Facebook could be a hit with shoppers
• Facebook clicks with advertisers by offering connection with users

Apparently Facebook will have a few storefronts opening up in the next few weeks.  One of the first will be 1-800-Flowers.  Consider that 120 million people log into facebook each day.  Combine that with all the other Facebook apps that gather your information – such as birthdays, and you have a very powerful and customized e-commerce platform.  In addition, the advertising links are more targeted to the communities the products are catered to.  This isn’t rocket science, but it underlines the importance of being in the space where your customers go, where the communicate, and where they play.  Now if only all those new Chinese smartphone users could access Facebook.

• Marines ban social network sites

The US government has placed a ban of at least one year on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  They have stated the reasoning is because they want to protect military networks from potential malicious code.  It’s also probable that the DoD wants to eliminate potential information leaks (such as confidential arrivals and departures in sensitive geographic locations).  However, have they considered the impact on the common soldier?  Most of our soldiers are 20-somethings who use these sites as the primary method of communication with friends and family.

• Human rights groups attack Chávez ‘media crimes’ law

So Hugo Chávez wants to imprison folks for up to four years who speak out in the media.  The bill seeks to punish journalists and anyone they interview who “causes panic”, “disturbs social peace”, or compromises national security.  Chávez is fighting what he calls “media terrorism”.   Currently, this is aimed at television and radio, but could easily bleed to the internet and social networking platforms.  Coupled with the nationalization of the radio stations in Venezuela, this is a pointed effort to limit personal expression.  At least he’s not banning it like the Marines.

Now pile this on top of the ongoing developments around communication in Iran.

Social media is not going away.  It is not a fad.  It will only become more pervasive as time moves on and people are exposed to its power to give the individual a voice.  It is a powerful tool in anyone’s toolbox: whether they be a political activist, a journalist in a not so “free-speech” country, a company trying to sell a product, or a consumer.

We all have a voice.  Social media allows us to be heard.  Should there be limits?  Possibly.  The articles mentioned show multiple facets to this question.  They also show how the largest population will soon have access to social media tools via their phones.  And finally, they show how businesses are relying on this type of communication and interaction to grow their business.

It’s an open conversation and I welcome your opinions…

Side view of the U2 360° Stage known as "the Claw". This photo is from the July 17, 2009 Croke Park show in Dublin. Note the stage, outside circular walkway, and floating bridges.

This year, I repeated a favorite experience – that of seeing U2 live in concert, in their homeland city of Dublin no less.  This tour follows what I consider a lackluster album release.  The tour however has a complex stage (which reminds me of the Pop Mart tour with the huge lemon) providing the audience with what is billed as an unobstructed 360 degree view of the band.  The stage is also designed to allow the band to interact with the audience.  The stage layout is an extension of the previous Elevation and Vertigo tours where walkways allow the band to venture out from the core stage.  The core stage for this tour is a large disc surrounded by a circular walkway connected to the main stage by two floating bridges.  The whole complex is topped by an four post umbrella to which the speakers and video system are suspended.

Photo provided by my friend Mark Coffey in Ireland of the U2 360° Stage with the spire lit. This photo is from the July 17, 2009 Croke Park show in Dublin.

A vertical spike adds visual depth as well as the strobe and moving light systems.  The full effect of the lighting system is best seen from a distance as the sheer scale of the structure prevents one from seeing the tower from  close-up.  This structure is visually stunning.  As the night draws darker, the stage begins to reflect the color of the lights used, much like a chameleon matches its surroundings.  For the show in Croke, it changed between its natural light green and orange through dark green, yellow, orange, light and dark blues and red.

The video unit is rather unique.  At first look, it appears as a smooth screen for all sides of the stadium.  This whole structure can also move vertically as needed.

Notice the topmost position of the video screen in this photo by Mark Coffey.

Notice the screen lowered in this photo by Mark Coffey.

The most intriguing aspect of this display is that it can change shape (see photos).

Note the geometrical pattern the screen is comprised of. Photo by Mark Coffey.

The geometrical pattern in the screen expands, effectively doubling the size. You can see the expanded screen in the top portion of this photo by Mark Coffey.

Notice the screen expanded to its maximum size in this photo by Mark Coffey.

Enough about the stage – let’s move on to the band.

I titled this post U270°.  It’s sort of a joke, as Croke Park required modifications to the stage which eliminated the far section of the stadium as usable seating.  So much for 360 degrees.  I wish that was the only reason for the post title.  The band hardly moved from their positions on the main stage.  There was very little interaction with the audience in a manner provided for by the stage design.  The set list provided a nice balance from the catalog of songs and the band as usual performed at a top level.  The newer songs worked well with the stage design and the 2 hour concert seemed to pass by very quickly.  I look forward to comparing this European show to the upcoming Atlanta show in the US.

360° Tour 1st leg: Europe
2009-07-27: Croke Park – Dublin, Ireland
Support Acts: Bell X1, The Script

Setlist:
1. Breathe
2. No Line On The Horizon
3. Get On Your Boots
4. Magnificent
5. Beautiful Day
6. New Year’s Day
7. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Movin’ On Up (snippet)
8. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
9. Unknown Caller
10. The Unforgettable Fire
11. City Of Blinding Lights
12. Vertigo
13. I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight / Relax (snippet) / Two Tribes (snippet)
14. Sunday Bloody Sunday / Rock The Casbah (snippet)
15. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
16. MLK
17. Walk On / You’ll Never Walk Alone (snippet)
18. Where The Streets Have No Name / All You Need Is Love (snippet)
19. One
20. 40 (snippet) / Bad / Fool To Cry (snippet)

Encore(s):
21. Ultra Violet (Light My Way)
22. With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet)
23. Moment of Surrender

Were you at the show?  What did you think?

That brings me to the main reminder – we all take things for granted.  sometimes they are large things, and sometimes they are the small details.  Seriously, I was planning on doing a little bit of work.  I figured I would not be able to sleep on the flight – luckily, that premise proved incorrect.  I was also going to log on so that Barb could do the provisioning for a last minute order she received while we were at the airport waiting for our flight to leave.  This item remains to be done only because the website was not very friendly to the iPhone’s Safari browser. OMG! – Again sarcasm.  We, collectively as a society, have become reliant on instant gratification.  And sometimes, that desire for instant gratification gets in the way of customer service.

In this situation, I could go away thinking about all the things I couldn’t do or that I didn’t receive because I am used to them elsewhere.  Or, as the Irish say, I can enjoy the craic (good fun).  I may not get instant gratification, but being able to write a blog post at 30,000 feet as well as queue up some e-mails for delivery later is just plain cool.

So where have your customer experiences been skewed by your own unrealistic expectations?

Ingredients:
1/4 cup allspice
1 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 scallions, including green tops, sliced
1 Scotch Bonnet chili
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dark Jamaica rum
1 (4 pound) boned pork loin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pulverize the allspice with the cinnamon and nutmeg in a spice mill. Place the spice mixture in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and chili. Season with salt and pepper. Process until a paste is formed. Add the rum and mix well.

Rub the mixture all over the pork loin. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the meat and place in a roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue to roast for 1 1 /2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Best served with the Black Beans and Fried Plantains.  Try coconut rice pudding for dessert.