I hear a lot of people gripe about companies and how lousy customer service is when something goes wrong. I have some personal experience with that myself. Just search my blog for the word “fail”. It seems that calling or emailing customer support nowadays isn’t getting you anywhere. So what is a person to do about it? Well, I have found that for whatever reason the whole “social media” thing is apparently more important now to companies than good old complaints by email. So lately I have been tweeting my gripes. And it has proven to be more effective than emailing. […]
Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011) – “Think Different”
Sad – but not unexpected – news when I woke up this morning: Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56. A month after leaving Apple permanently, one day after the iPhone 4S was announced and just a few weeks before his (authorized) autobiography will come out. Regardless what you think you know about the man: he changed the industry and the world. Yes, I can say that without sounding dramatic. Just take a look around next time you commute from home to work. How many Apple products do you see around you? How many brands you know that […]
9/11/2001 – 9/11-2011
It is kind off surreal to me, that 9/11 is already 10 years ago! It was a Tuesday afternoon for me (6 hours of time difference with New York) and I was at my work at my former employer; Internet company Lost Boys (Business Solutions). Around 15:10, which was about 20 minutes after the first plane hit the North tower of the WTC, the news trickled in at my work. The initial reports where that a “small airplane” had hit the WTC. My first thought was, “wow, that’s a freak accident.” I also thought about the fact that in 1945 […]
A trial for Saddam Hussein, a bullet for Osama Bin Laden
When US president Barack Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden (OBL) on national television, he claimed “justice has been done”. The question is of course: who’s justice? Certainly not justice by international standards. If you look at the way things unfolded, there are many questions one can raise with his course of action. In fact: in this case the “justice” that was served was nothing else but revenge. Revenge for 9/11 2001 and the ghost chase the US government was on since 9/11. Don’t get me wrong: I totally understand revenge and I don’t shed a tear about […]
How to win a battle but loose the war
We all know about (Internet) piracy and the media industry. We all know how the media industry struggles with todays reality but still thinks that they can survive by clinging on to their old and obsolete business model. Now, in Holland we have a rather funny way of dealing with copyrights and the legalities of pirated movies/music. Dutch law says that downloading a pirated movie/music (even though you now you didn’t buy it) is legal. Yes, you read that right: I can download ANY pirated movie/music without fear of being prosecuted. Also, making a copy of a movie/CD (in case you did […]
Chuck Norris eat your heart out!
Man, you have to see this to believe it. Maybe this is Chuck Norris’s mother?
Information wants to be free
Todays arrest of Julian Assange the infamous journalist, internet activist, whistleblower and WikiLeaks frontman, shows exactly why citizens of so called democratic countries should mistrust their governments. You don’t have to believe in conspiracy theories to see that this case is the perfect proof that the US Government will stop at nothing to keep their dirty secrets from leaking out. And somehow they have Sweden on their side: a very strange ally. Something extraordinary is going on. The allegations – that’s all they are right now – against Assange would normally never have lead to Interpol issuing an international arrest […]
TEDx Amsterdam started
One of the cooler events on this planet – the TEDx conference – has started in Amsterdam. TEDx is a spin-off from the famous TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) conferences that are held regularly in the USA. As TED gained massive popularity due to the interesting speakers and subjects, it is almost impossible to get a ticket. As an alternative TEDx is an independent program that offers people to enjoy a TED-like experience with TEDx Events they organize, design and host themselves. For those that can not attend the TEDx Amsterdam, here is a live stream so you can follow […]
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
For those that don’t speak French: the title of this post is based on the national motto of France (and Haiti) and means: “Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood)”. The origins lie in the French Revolution (1789–1799) and I always found it a very nice motto. Men and women are all equal – regardless of age, race or country of origin. The reason I bring this up is that I was amazed to find out that in the USA there is no law that says you have to pay women an equal amount if they perform the same work as their male […]