1 G short of happiness

This delightful sketch from a comic on theoatmeal.com sums up my situation right now. I have been trying my best to somehow resist my urge to upgrade to the iPhone 4. But thoughts of important, adult stuff like saving for a house, food and clothes penetrated through the haze of my cultish/slavish fascination for all things Apple.

Still thinking, could food really be that important?

Image source: http://theoatmeal.com/comics

Just Jump Already!

Mission

Remember GoldenEye? Remember the terrifying opening sequence where Mr. Bond jumps off a ridiculously high dam in the Swiss countryside? (Please find video attached to refresh your memory).

For my birthday this year (last week of July), I have decided to bungee jump off the Verzasca Dam near Locarno, Switzerland which is the highest pure free fall bungee jump in the world at a giddying height of 220m (722ft). There are no guide ropes to limit the numbing swing after the jump. Just so you know, I am extremely scared of heights and participation in adrenalinefuelled adventures has so far been 'interesting', so there's always a possibility of me coming back with a gripping story or two in return for your generosity! (My last attempt at a sky dive ended in a plane half buried in the ground and shrieks of "Run! Run! Run for your life!" I wish I was joking...

Please try and donate as much or as little as you wish.

Every pound you donate will go straight to Mind, my chosen charity. I have paid for everything associated with the Bungee jump myself.

Why Mind?

Consider this:

• According to the last Adult Psychiatric Morbidity survey approximately one in four persons (23.0 per cent) in England had at least one psychiatric disorder and 7.2 per cent had two or more disorders.
• 1.0 per cent of the adult population had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The prevalence rate among children is also approximately 1.0 per cent.
• 5.6 per cent of people aged 16 and over reported having attempted suicide.

Having worked with patients with a spectrum of mental health problems - affective disorders, learning disabilities, I know and appreciate the value of work being done by charities like Mind. They not only provide an invaluable source of information for people suffering from psychiatric disorders but also work very closely with communities and local networks to provide specialist training, promote an accepting attitude of mental distress in employers and campaign for the rights of those affected by mental health issues. Mind is independent and envisions "a society that promotes and protects good mental health for all, and that treats people with experience of mental distress fairly, positively, and with respect."

Convinced? Here's what to do...

Please go to my Just Giving Page and hit the neat 'Donate Now' Button and you will be presented with a range of secure payment options.

Mind and I say Thank You!

Please allow me to thank you for taking the time to read this far. I very much hope you will consider donating to Mind.

Hopefully I'll manage to pull this stunt off with no ocular or spinal damage and post photographic proof of the Mind Jump upon my return - watch this space!

Data Morality

This is an age of data. Some boffins say that within the next 6 months we will generate more data than was generated by mankind since documented existence. Not only does this spawn the most obvious question - are we equipped to convert this data into usable, commercially viable information but also a plethora of associated concerns: Where does all this data come from? What is it used for? Who regulates it? Can we afford the spectacular failures that result from an absence or inadequacy of the same?

The capture and analysis of data on customer preferences has been and will be the chief tool for a marketer. The Gold Standard of customer service - a single view of a customer is a result of just such an ability. When a business records past contacts I have made with them, incidents and outcomes etc. and makes it available Enterprise-wide, I can be assured any person I speak to in the Company will know what I’m talking about. This is a powerful feature. When I visit a website regularly to buy BBC Documentaries and Books on SLR Photography, it would be wise to direct me to the most appropriate pages and indeed make informed recommendations based on this proclivity.

But when does this win-win arrangement turn into a one sided encroachment into a customer’s privacy? It would be hard to say that cognition is a uniquely human faculty. What's uniquely human though is the lengths we'll go to either preserve information about ourselves or disseminate it. Both the sides will have reasonable arguments for defending their position. There will be people who would tweet about their recent consumption of an apple and there will be others who have blocked even their names from appearing in Facebook Search results.
I personally believe intrusion begins where volition ends. If there is something that I have tacitly agreed to without being presented with an option to step out of the arrangement, I may view it as an intrusion attempt. No one is interested in the fine print of the Data Privacy legislation, what everyone would be (or rather should be) interested in is the extent to which this is breached. Identity theft concerns aside, there is always a sense of unease about the consequences of our actions where we have voluntarily or involuntarily relinquished our cherished control over our personal information. In summary, I consider that the safe zone for the marketing professional (and the customer) is to allow for optionality, a human choice to customers. As for the customers, they’ll have to make up their own minds and judge if the benefits realized from waiving their rights to certain kinds of information offsets the moral concerns regarding this waiver.