It's true - quality can be found, but you have to search for it. Unfortunately, I think that the desk-job culture means that skills fall to the wayside because people aren't as hands-on, and therefore they accept low-quality as the norm and it ceases to be in demand except for those who can afford it. In addition, people conflate "branding" and "quality."
What made me think of this - I watched a video about the rebuilding of Warsaw after WWII. People came back to the city, swept the rubble from the streets, rebuilt their houses, reclaimed their shops, and resumed their lives. It led me to ask questions like - Why are people not as self-sufficient now? Is it a problem with the times or with the culture? My sister, the walking brain that she is, suggested it was because people once had more hands-on skills and their survival was also dependent upon community. Things had to last because you really had to work at something with other individuals in order to have it!
Perhaps you're right about a multi-party government, but I do wonder if it would just give more idiots a chance in the spotlight. There have been outspoken, intelligent individuals attempting against all odds to raise the level of discourse, and they have a few devoted followers, but who can survive the lambasting from the media and the rumor plants? Anyone who is sincere can't. And anyone who values their dignity won't defend themselves because they won't sink to that level. I hope it isn't a steep slide into deeper madness and that this is just a low point in a natural cycle.
I haven't read "The Long Tail." ??
Celeste - I know exactly what you mean. Hah!
Is it just me?
Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed
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jstevewhite
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I have wondered why people aren't more self sufficient. In contrast to your WWII example - In the aftermath of Katrina I was watching TV. Now I'm not saying that FEMA did anything right, or that things weren't horribly mishandled, but I remember looking up one of those buildings where people congregated on the map; the healthy people there could have walked out. It was like, five miles to where the FEMA HQ was set up, yet there were teenagers and healthy adults standing there waiting while busses and trucks ignored them. Why didn't they walk out? At the very least it would have reduced the load on the already strained local resources. When you combine that with the huge SNAFU that was the FEMA response... *sigh* Maybe it is because our society keeps people from learning that they can do such self-directed things.
Yeah, the 'brand' and 'quality' issue is pandemic and drives me crazy. Because of the way we pursue profit, it's difficult for a brand to retain quality. If a manufacturer produces a quality item, and it gets recognized as "in", they can't keep up with demand. Their advisers immediately tell them they're leaving money laying on the table, and they need to change their production methods to meet demand. These production methods reduce quality.
"The Long Tail" is a book by Chris Anderson about the economics of plenty, and addresses specifically the impact of the digital age on retail and intellectual property. If CC attracts enough clients, it could become a classic "long tail" (power law curve) business (which is what made me think of the book).
Yeah, the 'brand' and 'quality' issue is pandemic and drives me crazy. Because of the way we pursue profit, it's difficult for a brand to retain quality. If a manufacturer produces a quality item, and it gets recognized as "in", they can't keep up with demand. Their advisers immediately tell them they're leaving money laying on the table, and they need to change their production methods to meet demand. These production methods reduce quality.
"The Long Tail" is a book by Chris Anderson about the economics of plenty, and addresses specifically the impact of the digital age on retail and intellectual property. If CC attracts enough clients, it could become a classic "long tail" (power law curve) business (which is what made me think of the book).
I was thinking exactly of the Katrina aftermath as the other side of my Warsaw example. Yes, the government lack of response was appalling, but there was evidence of the larger problem - dependence upon it.
We are lucky in that we can use the internet to hunt out craftspeople who can sew a quality bag, like working with wood, or make pottery in their basements. I'm a big fan of Etsy.com for this reason.
I'll have to check out the book. I don't know what the future holds for CC, but I hope it defies the trends that hold sway over other content sites.
We are lucky in that we can use the internet to hunt out craftspeople who can sew a quality bag, like working with wood, or make pottery in their basements. I'm a big fan of Etsy.com for this reason.
I'll have to check out the book. I don't know what the future holds for CC, but I hope it defies the trends that hold sway over other content sites.
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jstevewhite
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Self sufficient socisty
I thought exactly the same about Katrina, but being a European I didn't think it expedient to commemt (outside of the house , that is). I was amazed at the reaction of New Orleans citizens, It seemed to me the only self-help demonstrated was self-helping to white goods from flooded shops. It's not an American problem, there was a great display of un-Britishness last summer in the UK floods. And a fair bit of insurance skulbuggery with what appeared to be undamaged furniture being dumped outside homes awaiting collection by council lorries.
The Dunkirk spirit seems to have completely disappeared. in the last few decades.
It's yet another wet day in SW France and I'm turning into a grumpy old woman !
The Dunkirk spirit seems to have completely disappeared. in the last few decades.
It's yet another wet day in SW France and I'm turning into a grumpy old woman !
Spelling
Arrgh! I didn't mean skulbuggery, Ed. Its gone dark in my computer corner (there'll be yet another thunder storm in a minute) and the computer refuses to let me increase the font size today So this GOW can't see the screen properly !!
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jstevewhite
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To be fair, a most people got the heck out of New Orleans on their own steam. I was just amazed at the number of people that were still there that looked like they could have walked the five or ten miles to the FEMA HQ.
The American media and government exercise far more stringent control over our 'eyeball time' than they admit or we believe. We act like a dictatorship in many ways... where else in the world do all the children in public schools salute the flag and sing the national anthem every morning? We've imprisoned the highest percentage of our population of any country in the world. In how many other countries do the politicians remind their citizens daily that they live in the Greatest Country in the World? *shrug*. We've got a great concept, but I think we're implementing it poorly nowadays.
Sorry for the rant.
Steve
The American media and government exercise far more stringent control over our 'eyeball time' than they admit or we believe. We act like a dictatorship in many ways... where else in the world do all the children in public schools salute the flag and sing the national anthem every morning? We've imprisoned the highest percentage of our population of any country in the world. In how many other countries do the politicians remind their citizens daily that they live in the Greatest Country in the World? *shrug*. We've got a great concept, but I think we're implementing it poorly nowadays.
Sorry for the rant.
Steve
Well, we all let them get away with it. I've always wondered why this is.
Is it because the US is too large? People are too spread out? Protests cannot be organized? Protests that are organized are not seen and heard by the majority of the population and so people feel very distanced from issues? Because of apathy? Or because of fear - wearing the wrong t-shirt can get you kicked out of government events?
Is it because the US is too large? People are too spread out? Protests cannot be organized? Protests that are organized are not seen and heard by the majority of the population and so people feel very distanced from issues? Because of apathy? Or because of fear - wearing the wrong t-shirt can get you kicked out of government events?
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jstevewhite
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Hmmm... I think it's mostly because we're social animals, herd animals. It's only the crazy ones that stray from the party line. And marketing has turned out to be much more effective than anyone expected.
There was a study done where the experimenters gathered a crew of many testers and put them in a room. They sent the unsuspecting subject into the room, believing that ALL of the people in the room were part of the study (true, but uninformative in the situation). The study involved projecting lines of different lengths on the wall of close but easily discernible differences, and having the crowd pick which line was the longest or shortest. The catch was that the people who were "in on it" would pick the wrong line, and stick to their guns. Fully two thirds of the test subjects agreed with the majority after a while, while a third of them didn't even argue. What's even scarier is that of that two-thirds, a third insisted afterwards that the group had picked the correct line... The lines were different enough that in single person tests, nearly 100% of testees got it right (99.999%). One third said that they just didn't want to argue or thought they might be wrong.
Ever read Noam Chomsky? (Manufacturing consent) comes to mind.
There was a study done where the experimenters gathered a crew of many testers and put them in a room. They sent the unsuspecting subject into the room, believing that ALL of the people in the room were part of the study (true, but uninformative in the situation). The study involved projecting lines of different lengths on the wall of close but easily discernible differences, and having the crowd pick which line was the longest or shortest. The catch was that the people who were "in on it" would pick the wrong line, and stick to their guns. Fully two thirds of the test subjects agreed with the majority after a while, while a third of them didn't even argue. What's even scarier is that of that two-thirds, a third insisted afterwards that the group had picked the correct line... The lines were different enough that in single person tests, nearly 100% of testees got it right (99.999%). One third said that they just didn't want to argue or thought they might be wrong.
Ever read Noam Chomsky? (Manufacturing consent) comes to mind.
I've heard of this study. There's a ghastly video - that demonstrates the herd mentality (or the "it's not MY responsibility mentality) - with an elderly man being hit by two cars - no one person reacts. One person keeps talking on her phone, some others cross the street with only a glance at the guy. Nobody, until a few minutes have passed, step out into the roadwayto protect the guy from being run over by more cars. If it wasn't clear, neither of the drivers who hit him stopped to see if he was okay.
Are you trying to add to my "must-read" list?!
Are you trying to add to my "must-read" list?!
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jstevewhite
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