High touch

High tech, high touch! The rise of social networking reflects and reaffirms human needs for social connection. YouTube adds to that the visual element. Now we can be seen and heard via 320X240 pixels, unlike the television screen which projects larger image (Peter Jennings used to do a news stand-up from the balcony of Caravelle Hotel in Saigon with just a sport coat and a tie while still wearing shorts).
On the other hand, telemarketers were advised to dress up so that every cold call comes across more professional.
Which is true? Maybe what ever means that exudes the most confidence and generates the most amount of trust.
I would add self-revelation to the mix, to catalyze the viral chain of reciprocity. High tech needs high trust!

Done it!

If you can think it, someone is probably doing it.

I thought of corporate and resume video for YouTube.

One of Yahoo 22 ideas for a start-up covers that same idea.

Or, two months ago, on my Orange County lay-over from my short-term teaching tour in Vietnam, I ran into one of my former sales agents.

He tried to pin me down to see what  I was up to.

He recommended that I should try getting certified to teach English in Vietnam.

I couldn’t help but smiling inside.

I was still jet-lagged and all, and in serious need of a strong coffee.

Politely I said I would look into it (so I could order coffee).

Done it!

First love

First day of  my kid’s summer. First day of  being a FT Mr Mom.

It happens! I reflect on Summer 75 when I was looking forward to resettling in Central Pennsylvania.

America, Land of the Free. Back then, I was sure the nation was still in a state of shock, and perhaps was relieved that

I wish I could hang on to that  first-love moment for this country.

Everything at the time smelled strange and was hard to categorize: from the Pennsylvania meadow to Fall foliage, and onto snow flakes and snow frosts,

the perpetuating soft rock music on the radio. American should learn to love its land and ideals all over again.

From the kindness of strangers for a foreign student potluck dinner to a  coffee refill at the Corner Room.

How about just a “hello”, because we are all here today, gone tomorrow: American or Amish.

Let’s make this ride a memorable one. Long or short, it matters who you are riding with and how you enjoy his/her presence. Even the De Niro character  (a bounty hunter) could finally appreciate his apprehended accountant at the end of Midnight Train. First love was special because it came around once, and graced us with lasting memories. BTW, the perpetual song on the radio those days that sticks out was “I will never fall in love again.”