610 iPad

Did you know that you can draw with your finger on iPad memo application? I found it recently and really liked it. I think it shows amazing level of the technology of touch-panel sensoring, doesn't it?

609 And It Goes Like This

Luckily I finished my presentation about branding successfully.  I just focused on how I could enjoy the audience and make them interested in brands and branding strategy, which I believe I achieved something meaningful. The best comment I got was from the CEO of the firm I work for who attended the lecture and said "Looked like you are doing the branding business as your primary job" and mentioned he would rethink about the brand strategy of our firm.

One of the key messages I told was why the branding is so important. My own answer is shown in the slide above. It's a sincere and strategic statement to communicate with its clients, stakeholders and the market. I think I found myself further attracted to the idea of branding, which is nice.    

608 "What do you want to be remembered for?”

I've been occupied (but happily) with my own project to make a short presentation about what is brands and branding addressed to my colleagues. I'll start with giant brands --- Apple, Google and Coca Cola. What is difficult around branding is that companies usually disclose and announce its business plan, mission and corporate philosophy to public and shareholders, but rarely, as far as I know, explain its branding strategies. No wonder. First of all, branding is the management of intangible asset so its effect is hard to measure, and thus it's hard for a company to take accountability of its branding strategy. Second, branding is closely related to marketing strategy (in fact marketing is a part of branding) and never should be disclosed to its competitors. Finally, if you think brands as human personality (who you are), you will tell people who you are, what you do, what you think, what you commit, but you might not tell them "how you make them understood you" or "for what you want them to remember you", which sounds nonsense, and is, at last,  totally up to them. 

It's incredible how these companies identify their brand asset whose value on average accounts for one third of their market cap, and carefully manage it. 

607 Good Coffee

The other day at the get-together of office colleagues, I was asked to tell what was my favorite food. Without thinking I instantly answered that I liked coffee so much, even if I knew perfectly that they asked about food. Yes it's odd, I know. But if "My Favorite Food" is meaning something you can have anytime, or everyday, even if you're sick or tired, and something that can lift you up, give you a power, calm you down, warm you up, and make you utmost happy, in my case that's coffee. Is that so funny?

"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love." I don't think coffee is such a dark-side drink but to me coffee is everyday magic, a simple miracle. (To avoid any misunderstanding just in case, I like to eat and I do eat.)

606 Connect

According to one of the leading studies of human mentality, which I think I had seen on TED Talks, our lifetime happiness essentially relies on connection with others. In other words happiness is based on, and requires good human relationships that give you peace of mind and satisfaction. I don't remember quite well if it is said to be a good thing or yet a bad thing to have only a few relationships than to have lots of wrong relationships. That would totally depend on the situation but in any case good relationship is necessary for us like water, food, sleep, sunlight, or house to live in. 

Then I came up with an idea that probably this is it, this is what social networking embodies. That's why social networking is so powerful and overwhelming. We have them not just because of the technological innovation but rather because human essentially need them. I'm not saying SNS is a source of happiness and find it ironical truth that you need to shut down emails and SNS in order to refresh your peace of mind. But today no one can deny that SNS helps us to build and manage our relationships in an unexpected and fully modern style. I think I finally get to like it.  

605 Reset and Go Back To The Start

I woke up this morning early and was watching the sunrise. Ten days have passed since we started 2016, and still I felt today as fresh as the very beginning moment of the year. Every single sunrise is beautiful. And we can start each given day, every single day as a New Year's Day. It's good we can think like that, behave like that and believe like that. So why not?

604 "I AM YOUR FATHER" (Spoiler Alert!)

Once again, SPOILER ALERT!

One of my, and probably everyone's favorite discussions regarding The Force Awakens is "Who is Rey?" At first, like everyone else I thought she is a daughter of Luke Skywalker and that she is not just aware of the fact. First of all Star Wars is a legend of Skywalker family, and Rey must be a child of a Jedi with powerful force, and above all her whole journey in the Force Awakens is to find, reunite with her lost family, which she made it at last to meet old Luke. Or you may point out the similarity of her life in desert planet with those of Luke and Anakin in Tatooine. The lightsaber which once belonged to Luke and Anakin now calls for her. And she is also a great pilot like Anakin and Luke. Yes, Luke is most likely Rey's father.

Another interesting theory is that Rey is a daughter of Han Solo and Leia. She is especially and unusually good at flying Millennium Falcon and wins Chewie's trust. And Leia shows very deep and mixed expression when she meets Rey after the battle, after Han's death. There we sense something really emotional and deeply hidden, and we somewhat believe that there's a bond between them.

Finally this is my favorite theory: Rey is a grandchild of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan never was a special child like Anakin, or a new hope like Luke. Nevertheless he was no doubt the strongest Jedi master in skill and mental as well, because he could beat Darth Maul, General Grievous, and Anakin Skywalker. And importantly, he is the only one who was so good at force mind trick, and Rey uses the same power before anybody taught her. Rey is speaking British English so clearly as Obi-Wan did (no other Jedi, including Skywalker family is speaking like this). If Rey is an unknown granddaughter of Obi-Wan, the combat between Kylo-Ren and Rey is a perfect mirror to those of Anakin and Obi-Wan. Also I would like to point out that Rey is using and protecting herself with a staff, not a blaster. Maybe she couldn't afford a blaster but a girl with a staff looks so unusual in Star Wars universe. This reminds me of Obi-Wan's saying "blaster is so uncivilized" and "lightsaber is an elegant weapon for a more civilized age". Sure, a staff is not a saber but it's closer than a blaster and one of the reasons why Rey could overwhelm Kylo-Ren in her first time lightsaber fight is because she is trained with staff skill, not a blaster shooting.

How do you think? Who is going to tell Rey "I am your father"?

603 Stats

I started this blog in 2010 and six years have passed. 2016 is 7th year for this blog. On the other hand I started to work in 2004, and twelve years have passed since then. So at the beginning of 2010 I have six years experiences in work and zero experience as a blogger. Now I have twelve years of working career and also blogging career as much as 50% of it. The number means nothing, but as long as I keep working and writing my blog, this ratio is going to be smaller while the difference is always the same of course. If I keep doing, my blogging experience will be 70% of my working experience at the end of 2023. 

One more thing. I recently noticed that 2015 was a year that for the first time I officially recorded 100 posts in a year. Before 2015, the number have been actually fluctuating. This is what I noticed in reviewing the stats on my blog. As shown here, the monthly visiting record has been volatile enough for me to feel tempted to compare this to the trend in the stock market, but it's another thing.

602 Fashion

Both pictures from The Sartoriallist

Thinking about human behavior, sometimes I refer to how wild animals behave on their instinct. For example I don't drink too much, lose my memory and get unconscious, or something like that. I know wild animals don't do that, because it means to risk their lives. Though I know it may be fun and some people does need such kind of things, that just doesn't make sense to me.

Then fashion. In a similar sense that there're meanings and reasons why animals take care of their fur or feather (to attract others or keep its function proper) based on their instinct to survive and live better. It might sound strange, but why people care about their outfits, establish a social code on certain clothing on certain occasion, and furthermore, ultimately, love fashion in its beauty and function, may partly come from our biological instinct aspiring for good life.

601 First Sunrise

I used to wake up really early in the morning of new year's day in order to shoot the first sunrise. It's fun and refreshing enough, but somehow I've not been fully satisfied with the limited view from my place with lots of buildings and without actual horizon where sun is expected to rise. So I came not to stick to it. This year this morning, I woke up naturally and spent my peaceful time staying away from caring the sunrise shooting, and happened to find this beautiful photo shared by VisitFinland.com Instagram. In one point I must say I really feel thankful to this SNS era when the good, nice, cheerful and beautiful things are easily shared. From tons of nice first sunrise moment in 2016, I pick this up as my favorite. Happy and Hopeful New Year!