Ignore this piece of advice

If you believe that the purpose of social media is to be all things to all people and don't want to change your mind, stop reading here. Click over to this Hootsuite blog for advice you'll want to follow. I follow a different path.

I have no issue with the first part of the blog. It advises people to Google themselves to see which one of their social media outlets returns high-ranking results. That insight could be helpful. In fact, I learned recently that I really should Google myself more often to get beyond the hits of the articles I've published. It was such a search that revealed my Twitter profile is what landed on a list of big data bloggers back in September. I only happened across the list months later.

Yes, it makes sense to keep abreast of what is your key identifier for those who happen across your posts. I post a lot on Twitter and quite a lot on Google+ because that's where I share links in all categories that interest me,  professionally, personally, and even politically.  I post less on LinkedIn because I limit myself more to professional interests, though I do sometimes throw in some links from the other two categories. For Facebook, my brand pages get less than my personal page. I post very little on Pinterest and never contribute to Instagram or YouTube.

I know all that without Googling results because I know my own habits already. Now if I were to follow the advice of the article linked to above, I would resolve to set up a YouTube and Instagram account and  spend a lot more time on Pinterest. But I have not intention to do so. That's because I'm playing to my own strengths and interests rather than trying to be all things to all people. 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/The_Childrens_Museum_of_Indianapolis_-_Goha_story_cloth.jpg

There really is no way to please everyone. That's the moral of the story of the father and son who set out to market with a donkey, one of Aesop's Fables. You can read a really short version of it here.  There are those who would favor the father, favor the son, or favor the donkey, and by trying to please them all, you lose sight of the real objective of the journey and devote all your time to juggling positions.

The thing about branding is that it works so long as it is focused. The focus is not just in the message but in the medium. If you're pushing fashion, it makes sense to get your message across in a visual medium. If you're pushing ideas, you may want some illustrations, but you likely have to also choose words that explain and clarify.  If that's the path you've chosen, stick with it. Veering off to tend to pictures diverts your time and attention, which can detract from your core identity. I'm not going to be everyone's cup of tea, and if I try to be, I'll just lose my own flavor. 

Yes, I know that video deliver great metrics.  know that pictures garner more shares and likes than text. I don't object to using pictures or even embedding videos, yet, my primary medium is the written word. It's the way I like to get my information and the way I like to present it. Other people do a better job at creating images, infographics, and videos, and so I will leave them to it and concentrate on what I do well. 

3D printing for cars: not just for prototyping

Efficient supply chains can be identified by a handful of components: proximity, flexibility, and minimal waste. Now, the automotive industry is hoping to capture some of these same benefits through the use of 3D printing. 

Though it hailed 3D printing as the "third industrial revolution" in 2012, The Economist  cautioned that it "is not yet good enough to make a car." Since then, though, 3D printing, referred to as the additive manufacture in the auto industry, has advanced to the point that car bodies can and have been printed. In future, additive manufacture will likely be an integral part of the car supply chain, and not just at the point of creating models for design or rapid prototyping. 

This past year, Deloitte University Press published a detailed study of the future prospects for car manufacturing in an article titled 3D Opportunity for the Automotive Industry. The value of 3D printing for rapid prototyping and realizing innovative new design has already been established across industries, but it can also be used in manufacturing the end product. That is what has the potential to really transform the supply chain for the car industry.

Read more in 

3D Printing Reshapes Automotive Supply Chain 

See the carbon fiber body of the Strati car beign printed in this video.

Half truths and whole lies

Nearly two years ago, I thought about "Where to begin?" in writing and the option of not beginning at the very beginning but in the middle of the action. The tactic can also be used in nonfiction, but in that case there is a moral imperative to not distort the actual sequence of events to direct sympathies in a particular direction. Emotions change depending on how an event is reported.

Here's a recent event from some local news: Trapped in his bathroom during a raging fire, a man and had to be rescued by firefighters and rushed to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

If that is what you read, you'd likely feel very sorry for the man who suffered in a fire.

That account is correct, though it is not what is highlighted in the news story headline.  As it turned out, the man who had to be rescued set the fire himself.  He caused property damage that left many tenants homeless and caused another man to need treatment for smoke inhalation. His motive for arson? He was angry about being evicted. Some people may think anger of that sort justifies destruction that harms other innocent people, but most people would lose all sympathy for an arsonist.
Half a truth is not only a whole lie but a way to misrepresent the arsonist as victim.

Cutting out the actual background to events completely changes our perceptions and distort who is in the right and who is in the wrong. That is well-illustrated in a story of reaping what you sow in "The Little Red Hen." If you jump to the end of the story without the beginning, the hen sounds selfish and mean. She tantalizes the other animals with the freshly baked loaf and then refuses to share with them. Clearly, then she's the bad guy.


But that's not the point of the story at all. It only makes sense if you read it from the beginning and see that at every step involved in baking the bread, she had asked the others to share in the work. They always refused. That's why she said they can't share in the results. If you're committed to a narrative that demonizes red hens, then you'll leave out the crucial steps along the way to the baked bread. while fiction does allow you to set your boundaries where you will, a news report needs to be more comprehensive about the beginning, middle, and end.

Holographic Imaging Aids Surgeons

It looks like something out of a science fiction film: a human heart floating in mid-air in such a way that a doctor can walk around it and see it in action from all sides. This technology has the potential to completely revolutionize the way surgeons get to see inside their patients. Already tested in pilot programs, the technology should start appearing in medical care facilities in 2016.

Fans of the television show Grey's Anatomy got to see a holographic clip of the technology in an episode that aired this past spring. In We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Burke arranges for Cristina to go to Zurich where she gets to see a hologram of the heart they are to operate on. In reality, the work on the technology behind the holography was performed in Israel by RealView Imaging.

Read more in 

Holographic Images for Healthcare

SaaS cuts down on sick visits

onically, seeking out healthcare can actually spread germs contained in a room packed with patients. If you've recently been in such a situation, and been forced to wait an hour or even longer to be seen, you might have thought, as I did, "there has to be a better way." There is, thanks to SaaS.

SaaS makes it possible for patients to use any web-enabled device to access convenient and affordable healthcare. It does not just give information like you'd find on WebMD, but a  personalized diagnosis and even a prescription--if warranted--at a cost that is just slightly higher than standard insurance copayments

Minneapolis-based Zipnosis is the company that developed the SaaS platform. It promises "online diagnosis and treatment in minutes" for $25. 

Read more in 

SaaS Replaces Sick Visits

Device to diminish driving while drowsy or distracted

Like the directive to buy low and sell high to make money in the stock market, the principle of keeping your eyes on the road to be safe when driving sounds simple but remains elusive. With countless distractions and our own tendency to drive while sleep deprived, many of us fail to give driving the full attention it deserves.

Fortunately, analytics technology offers a solution to alert drivers when their attention wanders. Read more in 

Realtime Data Targets Drowsy & Distracted Driving

A smarter phone for use by the visually impaired

For the visually impaired, the empowerment offered by suitably equipped smartphones provides more than convenience -- it represents independence!

Today's smartphones offer the computational power of yesterday's desktop computers, coupled with intuitive, easy-to use interfaces, all small enough to fit in our pockets.

For the visually impaired, however, it's been another story. The visual design of such devices has largely rendered them useless to those who can't see. Taking up the challenge of making mobile devices useful for the vision impaired, Project Ray has launched the "world's only multi-purpose assistive tools with integrated Internet services."

Read more in

Smartphones for the Blind