Initial iPad Criticism Will Soon Be Irrelevant

While mainstream media rode the tsunami of anticipation and orchestrated faux-secrecy for the Apple iPad announcement, now tech media is awash with criticisms of what the iPad lacks in functionality. I contend such criticism, largely from techno-geeks, will soon prove to be irrelevant following the product's actual shipment.

During the iPad announcement, Steve Jobs clearly stated that the iPad is positioned to be a new product category between smartphones and notebook computers, and in particular, the iPhone and MacBooks. As a new product category's conceptual starting point, it makes sense, but I believe consumers will embrace the iPad, and its descendants, for reasons other than just something in between.

First, the techno-geek critics are pounding Apple for releasing a product that lacks:

Multi-tasking. The same criticism continues to be made about the iPhone, while the Google Android and Palm WebOS smartphones differentiate themselves by offering multi-tasking. Do consumers really care if their mobile device has multi-tasking? By and large, the answer is no. Booming sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch proves this. The lack of multi-tasking is actually a key feature of simplicity for the iPhone OS. How often have you seen PC users confused by too many overlapping windows hiding what they thought they were just working on? iPad consumers won't need it and won't miss it. Really gotta run two or more serious apps at once? Use your notebook or desktop! It's not like you don't have one.

Flash. Another criticism that continues with the iPhone as well, the lack of Flash compatibility is easy to point to since so many sites use Flash components for video, animations, and games. Yet, there are sound reasons for Apple to choose to avoid Flash. Even on full powered PCs, Flash is slow, buggy, and a memory hog, due to poor programming choices made by Adobe. It's also considered a proprietary format, as is Microsoft's Silverlight, and a burgeoning application development and delivery platform which poses a competitive risk to the iPod/iPhone/iPad + iTunes eco-system. Apple argues it only supports universal web standards, to discourage format fiefdoms (at least those not controlled by Apple) from propogating on the web. Google's YouTube converted all its video content from Flash to the universal H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standard, which Apple's QuickTime on the iPhone and iPad handle just fine. Even Google's Android mobile OS only supports a light version of Flash for now, that is, until Adobe releases its version 10 of Flash for smartphones. During the Steve Jobs demo of the iPad, while surfing through the New York Times site, it was glaringly obvious the boxes of Flash components were not going to load. Personally, I think it was entirely intentional by Jobs to let that idle Flash box just linger on screen for a couple of seconds, to silently say to Adobe and the rest of the tech world, "Flash? I defy you!" The bottom line is, millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users already surf the web just fine without Flash compatibility. A minor nuisance, but hardly a deal breaker in choosing to buy an iPad. Again, if you really gotta see that Flash video or play that Flash game, use your notebook or desktop.

USB. The lack of a USB port is a bit more interesting, in that it's first consistent with how an iPhone or iPod currently lacks one, but is a serious omission if the expectation is to hook up anything from the galaxy of peripherals available for notebooks and desktops. For a system that touts its digital photos functionality, why can't a digital camera plug directly into it? To that question, I can only discern the intent of Apple for the iPad to be just like an iPhone or iPod Touch, to rely on the iTunes sync with a notebook or desktop for access to personal photo libraries. Your camera already plugs into your notebook or desktop, so just keep doing that. But what about plugging a mouse into the iPad? Well, there's no mouse cursor on the iPad screen, which is driven by the multi-touch functionality anyways (more on that later). What about plugging in an external drive? Again, in this sense, the iPad is just like the iPhone/iPod Touch, with its reliance on the iTunes sync.

Changeable battery. Similar to all the past designs of the iPods and iPhone, the lack of a changeable battery is more about keeping the device small and thin, without having to engineer a detachable cover, as well as a smooth and elegant case, without the outline of a cover. There is also something to be said about the simplicity of charging the device during a data sync, rather than worrying about having to buy and swap out expensive Duracells or Energizers, or wait for a rechargeable in a wall plug mounted charger.

Camera. Another interesting omission, similar to the iPod Touch's lack of a camera. I believe the simple explanation is to prevent iPad (and currently booming iPod Touch) sales from eating into sales of the iPhone. If you really need a portable, wireless Internet connected camera from Apple, then the iPhone is your comprehensively feature packed answer, no confusion of what else from Apple can do this. And if you already have an iPhone in your pocket, you really don't need a camera on your iPad, which isn't pocket-portable anyways.

Front facing webcam. On the one hand, I think there are many technical challenges for a workable webcam on the iPad, from how it will keep a stable image while the iPad itself is not sitting on a stable platform, to the power demands on the battery. On the other hand, I think Apple will offer a webcam in a future iPad model. Software will somehow help automatically track and stabilize the user's face image, while gradual improvements with battery technology will hopefully offset the great power demand needed for video capture.

I really think the feature comparisons between the iPad and full fledged computers are unfair (especially the iPad vs Rock humor image) and eventually irrelevant.

Over the years, Steve Jobs has continually pursued his vision of computing technology within a concise form factor of maximum elegance and simplicity. The 2006 Apple Power Mac G4 Cube and even the 1990 NeXTcube were earlier iterations of his vision for power packed computers in elegant casings. The many generations of the iMac have given consumers accessible technology with beautifully designed fixtures on desktops. Apple's mobile computing also evolved, with the MacBook Air representing Apple's thinnest form factor while still looking like a computer.

Along the way, various peripherals, which we all thought were integral parts of our existing systems, have been shed by Apple. The original blue iMac was the first to shed the 3.5 inch floppy disk drive, while tech analysts and geeks howled in disgust, as if their baby pacifier was being taken away for the first time. The MacBook Air shed the onboard optical drive, a hard disk drive, and an Ethernet port, again, to the grumbling of tech analysts and geeks. Even when the iPhone was first introduced, the omission of a clicking keyboard (and, oh yeah, no stylus either) was the obsession of the Blackberry addicted crowd.

And now, the iPad, particularly while it runs the newly revised Apple iWork applications, taking advantage of the iPad's multitouch screen, has essentially set the mouse free. As more productivity applications are created or revised for the iPad, using the screen, microphone, and accelerometer for input, an entire generation of software will be mouse-free. The mouse and the graphical user interface were what first differentiated the original Macintosh. With the iPad, Apple now dismisses the mouse from its duties as a necessary tool for future innovation.

Apple is the only company positioned to make the touchscreen based user interface acceptable to a mass market, as millions of people have already trained themselves to use the iPhone or iPod Touch.

The user interface alone is not what will sell millions of iPads, as easy as it is. Nor does it fulfill the vision Jobs has for consumer technology.

The iPad's thin form factor, without an integrated physical keyboard, essentially puts highly usable and compelling computing functionality in the hands of consumers, without the resemblance, physical footprint, or weight burden of a full fledged computer.

In essence, with the iPad, Steve Jobs and Apple has shed the computer itself.

People frequently use their notebook computers while sitting on the couch and watching TV, or while laying in bed before going to sleep. Both scenarios will certainly be better served by the iPad, with a heavy and bulky computer no longer in the way. Anyone who uses a clipboard, such as the athletic coach, the clinic nurse, the warehouse clerk, will now find the iPad as a far more powerful alternative to paper, and much less heavy than a notebook computer. All those who never got the hang of the Windows user interface, especially the less tech-savvy older generation, will appreciate the enjoyment of photos, videos, emails, and music, without being intimidated by a mouse or anything that resembles a computer box.

As much as the iPhone is not just a cell phone, but a hyper-functional pocket sized device with a computer hidden within, the iPad is the first truly compelling Internet appliance, with its computing technology entirely out of the way. Don't call it a tablet computer. It's its own thing.

When the iPad goes on sale in a couple of months, I fully expect there to be long lines in front of the Apple Stores before the doors open. Since the initial models won't have 3G, there won't be any subscription process needed, so the lines shouldn't persist after the doors open, as when the iPhone 2G and 3G models were rolled out. The announced pricing makes for decent initial accessibility to the mass market.

As more and more software applications are made available exclusively on the iPad, I am confident demand for the iPad will only grow.

The chorus of techno-geek voices criticizing the iPad affirms there has long been a vocal community of anti-Apple netizens who are disgusted with the cult of Steve Jobs. Similar to the vehemence that political conservatives hold towards Al Gore with his warnings of global warming catastrophe, many techno-geeks don't like being told by Steve Jobs what is supposed to be cool and cutting-edge, and they are further disturbed by the legions of ravenous fans that Jobs and Apple have.

I really think the tech critics have it wrong this time. Sure, a few of Apple's previously released products have been marginalized, such as the AppleTV and the Mac Mini. I don't think the iPad will join that club.

This blog entry was inspired by Jason McC. Smith's guest blogger entry, "The Apple iPad, explained to geeks" on The Microsoft Blog for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, on January 29, 2010.

Job Search Thankfully Concludes

I didn't widely announce when I was laid off and began my job search, but I am happy to now say that my job search has thankfully concluded. Upon actually starting my new position, I will then discuss more about what I will be doing next.

For now, I wanted to mention that I feel quite lucky that my period of unemployment was relatively short, just a few months. I was able to use the time to spend with my family and also to enjoy a vacation trip spanning the holiday period. Essentially, it has been a painless unemployment period, which I know quite well is not typical of what so many other people have and still are experiencing.

In addition, I believe I am moving on to a position that is a good step in my career. In a number of ways, getting laid off was a blessing.

It had been many years since I last used the major job boards as a job seeker. I have been a paying client on the employer side almost continuously for almost 15 years, but I really didn't know what the job seeker experience was until very recently. To sum up my recent experience with Monster, Careerbuilder, and HotJobs:

Horrendous. Awful. Disgusting.

First, the usability of those sites are just mind boggling. I am a tech savvy guy and I found little patience going through online forms and menus that seemed as dated as the original Evite site. Whatever Monster had done with their supposed revamping was utterly lost during my sessions.

Second, the amount of email spam I received via my Careerbuilder profile was atrocious. Fortunately, I created a throw-away email address for that profile. I received so-called offers to sell insurance on a daily basis. I received all kinds of junk messages. This was a brand new email account associated only with the Careerbuilder profile, so there was no other source for the spam. Shame on you, Careerbuilder. I wasn't happy from the employer side and I was even more dismayed from the job seeker side.

Third, HotJobs was a bit annoying in that I either had to associate my existing Yahoo account or create a new Yahoo account.

Never mind that none of these major boards ever posted or forwarded or alerted me to a job anywhere near my target position. As I have mentioned before, I am glad to no longer be a paying customer and I now firmly believe there is no need for any employer to rely on the major job boards.

It was interesting to have two companies pursue me. Both opportunities were through referrals, resulting in the companies calling me before I was even aware of either of their existence. I am certainly grateful to those who referred me and even more grateful to the potential employers who expressed interest in my qualifications.

Both opportunities presented many attractive attributes. Ultimately, one company offered me a job before the other was ready to advance my candidacy to being the chosen finalist. I am looking forward to taking a role which I believe will fully leverage my skills, knowledge, and experience, particularly with corporate staffing for an enterprise software firm, and in leading a team of recruiters and a coordinator to accomplish the critical mission at hand.

For those who knew I was looking and shared job leads, I really appreciate it. Your support was invaluable, during a time which could have felt much worse and might have lasted much longer. The old adage of personal networking as the best way to job search proved absolutely true for me.

It's been a good break, of sorts. Now, it's time to get back to work.

Sharing More and More

We all know about how much anyone can easily share about their thoughts, their web discoveries, and beyond, on Twitter and Facebook. The media seems to be turning it's attention on sites where people share where they are, through geotagging, now that the iPhone and so many other smartphones log GPS coordinates to be then displayed on sites ilke Loopt, Brightkite, foursquare, and others.

Now, you can even easily share what you buy or spend money on with Blippy. While others can debate how useful or careless it is to share or overshare matters that some would consider critically private, I'm wondering, what comes next?

If each successive younger generation is not only willing, but expecting to share more and more than what older generations would consider private, then what more is there to share?

Does someone make a website where people easily share every time they fart? take a leak or a dump? Are details and ratings assigned to such events?

Does someone make a website where people tout every sexual conquest they've had?

Does someone make a website where people share when they get sick? hack up phlegm? break out with acne?

Surely, there must be some way, either now or real soon, to passively track and instantly display what TV programs someone is watching.

Perhaps an ice cream or frozen yogurt store chain could use a membership card to passively track and instantly publicize what flavors and amounts customers are eating.

I guess wildly speculating what else could be shared is not as interesting as what next social media concept would be most compelling for users?

Happy New Year

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year! May you have peace, prosperity, and a damn good time in 2010!

Definitely more to come for my blog next year. Stay tuned.

Mason

Happy Holidays!

Before the holiday season gets too busy and distracting, I wanted to wish all my blog readers a Happy Holidays!

Looks like there are some really great online shopping deals right now.

Be safe, have fun, and enjoy the season with family and friends.

Thanks for reading!

Not Shedding a Tear

So, the state of Virginia executed the DC Sniper, John A. Muhammad, earlier tonight. I am generally not a supporter of the death penalty, but in this case, I did not shed a tear.

As I previously wrote regarding capital punishment, I am willing to be pragmatic in extreme cases. I think the random shooting of numerous innocent people out in public across multiple states for the purposes of creating a diversion and inciting chaos is quite extreme.

Giving Up On Kombucha

So, after trying it around 10 times, I am giving up on kombucha (also spelled komboucha).

The fermented tea, made from a polyculture of bacteria and yeast growing in a jar of black tea and sugar, first caught my attention when I noticed the rather large refrigerated display of a few brands at Whole Foods Market. With a wide variety of flavored options and a long list of health claims, I figured it was worth a try. I previously wrote about my experience with the GT's Raw Organic Komboucha Multi-Green flavor.

There was no particular health benefit that I was seeking, but I did note that an obscure product claiming so many things would be something to be skeptical of. I noticed proponents of kombucha would make reference to the Chinese and/or Japanese tradition of the special tea going back thousands of years, as sort of proof that the product was both effective and safe, although the Wikipedia listing indicates the product is really of 19th century Ukrainian and Russian origin.

I've since tried many of the other GT's and Synergy flavors, including Mango, Gingerberry, Strawberry, Triology, and Botanic No. 3, 7 and 9. Some were better than others. At best, I would call the drinking experience just "accessible", while at worst, it was like drinking vinegar with a pinch of sugar. The question frequently arose, "why am I drinking this stuff if it tastes like that?!"

There was a stretch of about 5 days when I drank it every morning, wondering if I would sense any physiological effect. For sure, I had to go to the bathroom at least three times within 90 minutes, because of a definite diuretic effect, probably from the tea. I also noticed being a bit more talkative, again perhaps from the tea's caffeine. Besides that, I didn't notice any other effects.

I decided to double check what various opinions there were on the web about the health benefits and risks. Surprisingly, Dr. Andrew Weil recommends not consuming kombucha, even though he is a strong proponent of many alternative remedies. Same with the Mayo Clinic. Some of the concern is based on the risk of severe contamination with the fairly popular practice of home brewing "The Blob". Other concerns include a possible antibiotic effect, which would be counterproductive for a healthy consumer. Anecdotal claims over the years of helping AIDS and cancer patients had no scientific evidence to support them.

The product is popular enough to be mentioned frequently on Twitter.

One day, I brought a chilled bottle to work. The label says "shake gently" but I didn't realize that the level of carbonation varies from bottle to bottle. I guess the bottle had already been shaken sufficiently on my way to work, because when I got to my desk, gave it a gentle shake, and opened the bottle, the stuff exploded and erupted all over. My desk calendar was soaked. My office smelled terrible with hints of vinegar. I lost about 20% of the product out of the bottle. That wasn't fun.

Well, I finally put it all together: a strange and sometimes difficult tasting bottled beverage, with dubious health claims, specific recommendations to avoid the product, and a rather steep price tag of $3.00-$4.00 a bottle.

I'm done with kombucha.

Apple Announces Exciting New iPod Nano Model

WOW!!

Steve Jobs just announced the new iPod Nano model includes a video camera (to compete with the Flip Mino), a voice recorder, onboard speakers, Nike pedometer, FM radio receiver, bigger screen, CoverFlow navigation, all aluminum case available in multiple colors, and free of arsenic, BFR, mercury, and PVC.

Only $179 for 16GB, $149 for 8GB. Available today!

Whoa.

There's going to be lots more video cameras in people's hands soon.

The Case Against Video Resumes: A Staffing Director's Perspective

In 2007, there was mainstream (TIME, USA Today, MSNBC) and recruiting industry (Cheezhead, ERE) media attention on the growing trend of video resumes. YouTube was exploding onto the scene and the job market was still hot. Some of the coverage was optimistic, while many expressed doubts about video resumes (Brazen Careerist, FastCompany, Freakonomics).

It's now two years later. The proliferation of built-in webcams, pocket camcorders (Apple, Flip, Sony), and the ubiquity of YouTube, as well as some specialty websites (HireVue, FaceHire, InterviewStudio, HitechResumes, eVesume, MYNE, RecruitTube, RezBuzz, VideoResumes, VideoResumeToolKit) makes it easier and cheaper than ever to create a video resume. More employers have PCs and networks that can handle video downloads and streaming than ever before. All the leading smartphone models have video playback capability. While we're gradually emerging from the bottom of an awful global recession, we are still deep inside a jobless recovery, with unemployment rates still climbing, motivating some people to find a way to stand out in the ultra-competitive job market.

Despite all these factors, I feel it's time to make the case against video resumes.

I've worked in HR and have handled a high volume of resumes since 1990. I was a professional resume writer in the mid-'90s and subsequently a front-line recruiter. Having specialized in corporate recruiting for over 10 years, I currently lead the corporate staffing efforts of a high tech Silicon Valley firm, with expertise in online applicant tracking systems. I've tried many experimental recruiting technologies over the years, with a few, such as LinkedIn, eventually gaining widespread adoption, and many others, such as Jobster and Second Life, proving to be utterly useless. Hopefully, you find my perspective a useful one.

The most commonly stated reasons video resumes don't work as well as traditional resumes include the risk of perceived discrimination, the time needed to watch, and the wide range in quality. These are good starting points, but let's take them further, from my perspective.

Mason's Top Reasons Video Resumes Are Inferior To Traditional Resumes

I can't skim the content in a non-linear manner. If you've been a hiring manager, recruiter, or other interviewer, you know what I mean. Nobody reads a resume like a book, from beginning to end. You glance around at key elements, like job titles, or employer names, or dates of employment. Your eyes scan for keywords. It's impossible to do this with a video resume, which is inherently a linear medium.

I can't listen to a recorded voice as fast as I can read text. Think of the prevalence of instant messaging and SMS over the use of voicemail.

I can't make an informed decision as fast. If you think it takes me 30 to 60 seconds to read a resume, guess again. If I have a large stack of resumes to review (either hardcopy or online), I might skim each resume in as little as 5 to 10 seconds and be ready to read the next one. Sorry if that comes across as an offensive or discouraging concept, but it's the reality of a competitive job market and honed skills from years of reviewing tens of thousands of resumes. If I decide to move on from a video resume in 5 to 10 seconds, I would probably be making judgments on personal appearance and video quality style that aren't appropriate, and possibly illegal.

I can't easily search for targeted video resumes. Before I even read certain resumes, I often use some sort of filter to choose which to read. There's no way for me to do this in as precise and comprehensive of a manner as I currently use for traditional resumes.

I can't scribble on a video resume. While it's not considered a best practice for an interviewer to write on a candidate's resume during a face to face interview, it's quite appropriate and useful to scribble on a resume during the initial review process, or after an interview is complete. Perhaps some specialized websites offer an online annotation function for video resumes, but that's a far cry from the versatility of pen on paper anywhere anytime.

I can't easily hand a video resume to someone. The selection process usually involves some degree of group consensus, so a resume is almost always a shared document. Of course, I'm referring only to face to face interactions with hiring managers, recruiters, and other interviewers, when a hardcopy resume might be handed off.

I can't easily store and organize video resumes in an internal database. I'm guessing there are specialty websites which do this, but I'm reliant on a centralized internal applicant tracking system from an established vendor where I already store, organize, track, and distribute thousands of traditional resumes, and as of today, this is not an easily available function.

I'm guessing your video resume probably wasn't customized for me. Given the difficulty, time, and potential costs, needed to prepare a video resume, it would surprise me if job seekers are regularly customizing their video resumes to specific employers. Smart job seekers do this with their traditional resumes, although I'm guessing only a minority of them do so. But it's a missed opportunity to convey interest and prior understanding of a potential employer.

I subconsciously judge the quality of a video resume against professionally produced television. It may not be fair, but the medium has its history. I can have an open mind in the YouTube era of user generated content, but there's always going to be an underlying concern that the video resume looks amateurish, even with the proper lighting, backdrop, audio, attire, makeup, hair, and script.

I don't recruit for jobs which require on-camera skills. I know most people aren't comfortable in front of a video camera, which means a high likelihood of the onscreen performance appearing either over-rehearsed or just crappy. Perhaps if I was casting Top Chef or Girls Gone Wild or Big Brother, I'd be exposing my eyes to hours and hours of submitted audition videos, but that's not what I do.

Hiring managers have never asked me for video resumes. My operating philosophy is to provide the resources and guidance for hiring managers so they drive the company's hiring process, and not relinquish the responsibility to HR. I have never experienced one iota of demand from them for video resumes. Not in 2007 and not in 2009. Of course, I don't always wait to provide a resource until after it's asked for, but it's something to consider.

Employment lawyers strongly frown upon the practice. OK, so legal advice is important, but at the same time, in my opinion, it's not a best practice to let the employment lawyers make final HR decisions (that's a whole other blog post some other time). But if you really want to know their concerns, check out this article by Michael Young of Alston & Bird LLP.

I don't know of anyone who ever was invited to an interview or was ever hired because of a video resume. This reason alone should be a red flag to the practice. It could be that video resumes are still too new, but it has been two years since the media trumpeting.

Traditional resumes already have a fundamental flaw. Video resumes exasperate this flaw. It's been my experience that the vast majority of job seekers are either unaware of or unable to articulate the true productivity value they have to offer to a potential employer. Not only are job seekers untrained or uncomfortable with this, sometimes the potential employers themselves fail to properly articulate their true needs for talent. So, there is a severe communication gulf between these parties, left unbridged by resumes. This is why recruiters are so important and why the very best recruiters are those who consistently help both parties realize and articulate what each can offer the other. This is also why recent job "matching" websites, the so-called "eHarmony of jobs" sites, such as Jobfox, itzBig, and Climber have failed. If the content of traditional resumes are already of little interest to an employer, imagine how uninteresting a time consuming, poorly targeted video resume appears.

I am so discouraged by how bad the vast majority of video resumes are, I have no inclination whatsoever to watch yours. Here, we finally reach my bottom line. Too many video resumes are of no interest to me or just plain awful. Who cares if 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of recruiters surveyed indicate they are merely willing to watch a video resume? Since the percentage of either irrelevant or astoundingly terrible video resumes is greater than 99.9%, they are simply not worth the time and effort to watch, since we already have traditional resumes - an established, albeit imperfect communications vehicle for the purpose at hand.

It does seem that the tiny niche industry of video resume producers have learned their lesson. Some of those mentioned in the 2007 articles have gone out of business. Those vendors that have persisted now position the output of their services not as a complete replacement to traditional resumes, but as complimentary pieces, add-ons to a traditional resume. More of a video cover letter than a video resume.

As an aside, video interviewing is a proven and gradually expanding business practice, but the dynamic and stage of the process are entirely different from video resumes.

Perhaps Twitter has already inspired the future direction of user generated video profiles. Today, using BubbleTweet, users of Twitter can augment their profile with a brief video introduction. Separately, anyone can post an easily digestible 12 seconds of video on 12seconds.tv, similar to the bitesized 140 character limit of Twitter. It is no great conceptual leap to think such a brief video burst could be used to introduce a future professional LinkedIn profile or be accepted by future versions of corporate applicant tracking systems.

Video resumes: unusable, at least from my perspective. Case closed? Your comments are welcome.

Healthcare Reform Facebook Meme

So, starting late yesterday, and all through today, a whole bunch of people on Facebook posted on their status a message that seemed pretty popular:

No one should die because they cannot afford healthcare, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status.

After I saw it for the first few times, I thought it was an ok sentiment, but not one I would be echoing on my own Facebook status. Then, there seemed to be an onslaught of status updates with the same, or very similar messages. There were comments of support, and some other status messages serving a bit of a backlash sentiment.

I decided to post as my Facebook Status:

Mason Wong supports Obama's healthcare reform efforts but I also think for myself. I'm not repeating anyone else's chain status post.

I received some mixed comments as a result. Instead of responding on Facebook to my own status, I've decided to respond here on my blog:

Anytime there's a fad, which the Facebook Status meme clearly is, there will be a contrarian backlash. Even though I am probably on the same side of the healthcare reform debate as most of those who are posting the chain message, I find myself on the backlash side of the fad.

Besides the group think aspect of it, I frankly don't find the idealism useful at this point in the political debate. We need big, practical changes, urgently, and we need at least a tiny bit of bipartisanship to get it done. I personally don't believe a simple moral statement burdened with absolutes will be what it takes to influence those across the aisle on the issue.

Most Americans, such as myself, are actually satisfied with our current healthcare. We do want everyone to have healthcare coverage, and those millions of Americans who don't have it, should get it, but not in a new economic structure that significantly degrades the coverage that's already in place.

On the one hand, Do Nothing, and we will all be at risk, with a system bursting at the seams.

On the other hand, to radically change the system while promising ideal absolutes, when the practice of medicine can be very messy and very costly under a wide variety of unforseen circumstances, is unrealistic and unhelpful.

Finally, the meme is a bit of a passive aggressive, obtuse statement, meant as a backhanded reminder of the moral high ground the reform supporters are claiming. I favor explicit statements of support or detraction of the Obama healthcare reform proposals.

Let's discuss. Let's decide. Let's get it done. Enough with the moral of the story.

Wishing for Extended Episodes of Anthony Bourdain

The online marketing arm of the production team for the Travel Channel television show, Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, has been actively reaching out to fans for feedback and questions. On August 27, I responded on Twitter:

@NoReservations How about selling longer, 2+ hr versions of previous destinations, on DVD, pay per view, or iTunes, for hardcore food fans?

No Reservations is my favorite TV show. Like a lot of fans, I am an admirer of Anthony Bourdain, and envious of his job. To eat and travel for a living is a dream job. So, when I really enjoy one of his hour long episodes, such as his Malaysia or Hong Kong episodes, I deeply yearn for more.

You don't have to see much of the show to quickly pick up the fact that each episode is shot during a 5 to 7 day visit. In addition to the two dedicated cameramen, the producers also carry video cameras and help shoot the show. They obviously take a lot of video footage, which is edited down to just 40-some-odd minutes, considering the heavy rounds of commercial breaks on the Travel Channel.

In addition to the footage focused on Tony, they visit restaurants and street vendors early to shoot closeups of the food preparation and cooking process, prior to Tony ordering and eating the food. They also shoot "B roll" footage, usually comprised of scenery or atmospheric footage, to be used as video snippets in between key shots.

All this existing footage could pretty easily be added to existing episodes to expand them to close to two hours. I suspect an intern with mad video editing skills could whip up such versions at little cost to the production company. Maybe Tony could even add some additional narration, off camera.

I really think the hardcore foodie fans of the show, such as myself, would salivate at extended food preparation footage.

My suggestion even pays for itself: make the hardcore fans pay a premium to see such expanded episode versions. DVD or Blueray, downloadable over iTunes, or digital cable pay per view / on demand. Hopefully a paid, premium version would offset any concern that the original episode version was not presented as complete or sufficient. This packaging could call it the "Camaerman's Cut" edition.

For now, I'll just have to make to do with watching the missing scene from each episode that is included in the international version of the show, but cut from the U.S. version, to make room for an additional commercial break.

Product Review: Clamato Tomato Cocktail

Earlier today, I was planning to cook cioppino for my family's Sunday dinner. I skimmed through various recipes online, to remind me what ingredients to buy and the basic cooking methods involved. I noticed some recipes called for clam broth and at least one mentions using Clamato tomato cocktail as an alternative. While I was at the supermarket, I was a bit pressed for time, so I wasn't able to find bottled clam juice, but I was able to buy fresh clams, and I also quickly grabbed some Clamato.

When I got home, I decided to first taste some Clamato, since I was seriously considering cooking with it. No surprise, the flavor reminded me of canned tomato juice with a hint of clams, which clearly was the intent. I thought it was an acceptable beverage, especially since I've consumed plenty of Campbell's tomato juice, V8 vegetable juice, and bloody mary mix cans over the years. (I frequently enjoy bloody mary mix as my inflight airline beverage of choice, as it's spicy and savory, instead of sweet like most other drinks; the saltiness helps me from getting dehydrated on the plane; and there's usually plenty of it available, since so few other people request it.)

Just as I began thinking about how Clamato might fit into my cioppino recipe, I read the ingredients list, and to my horror, I saw high fructose corn syrup was the third ingredient (after water and tomato concentrate), monosodium glutamate (also known as MSG) was the fourth ingredient, coming just before salt, and after a handful of other items, the final ingredient listed was Red 40, which I understand to be an artificial food coloring.

I don't usually concern myself too much with MSG, as I understand glutamate to occur naturally in many basic foods, but I had no strong interest in getting MSG involved with my homemade cioppino. I was really not happy to see the high fructose corn syrup, nor the artificial food coloring, and I immediately decided that Clamato was not going into my cioppino.

And what the hell is going on with the music and all the silhouette dancers on the Clamato website?!? Seems a bit overblown for a tomato cocktail beverage. Is there some intentional targeting towards a Latin demographic with this campaign? Or, is it some sort of push to get night clubbers to order up Clamato, perhaps with vodka? Should I expect psychedelic visions of dancing figures in my head after a quick shot of Clamato?

Since a clam flavor is not something I regularly seek out, I don't expect to reach for Clamato again in the supermarket. Given its inclusion of HFCS and artificial food coloring, I have to give the product a thumbs down.

Auditions Are Not Exactly Interviews

So, my sister asked me to comment on this New York Times article about a casting director who tweeted during auditions, sometimes with rude comments.

My response:

Not naming who she was tweeting about brings some legitimacy, but when she specifies the performer's audition ID number, and factoring in the real time aspect, makes it rude. But I don't think, in a world that celebrates Simon Cowell, that she was obligated to reach any kind of agreement with the actors union. She should be allowed to express her thoughts, perhaps after a set of auditions are completed. Her mentioning of free speech, however, is legally sloppy, as no government supression of expression was involved or threatened. As for the parallel with interviewing, I'm not sure I buy that they are sufficiently similar processes to then extend the confidentiality of interview results with audition results. Regardless, I should be allowed to tweet my thoughts on limited elements of an interview, so long as I protect the identity of the candidate, including the timing of the tweet.

I later added:

Auditions are not the same as traditional job interviews, and confidentiality should not necessarily be applied to the same degree, simply because what is expressed during an audition is by definition intended for a potentially wider audience. Of course, performers who audition deserve courtesy and respect, but I am not yet convinced it's just the same as interviewing.

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No Longer Reliant on the Major Job Boards

I am pleased to announce that professionally, I am no longer a paying customer of Careerbuilder, Dice, or Yahoo! HotJobs, for job postings and resume database access. Where I work, we still use Monster, but my employer's parent company pays for the little we use of it. Applicant flow from all the major job boards were clearly on the decline and we were making fewer and fewer hires from them.

We got rid of Dice nearly a year ago. Our Careerbuilder account lapsed some months back - I was not pleased at all by the company's sudden ramp up in aggressive marketing efforts to existing clients. Even to this day, I get voicemails from Careerbuilder asking to become a vendor again. And with HotJobs, well, even though I was an early fan of HotJobs back in 1999, and I always thought they had a better user interface than most of the other boards, Yahoo! seemed to let HotJobs lag and hiring results showed it. The account with HotJobs just lapsed. We really don't have budget for any of them anymore.

These days, it's all about LinkedIn and employee referrals. Jobvite, our applicant tracking system, helps a lot with managing employee referrals, as well as cross-posts our jobs for free to Indeed and SimplyHired. We get an impressive flow of job applicants from Indeed and SimplyHired. We continue to post to Craigslist, since it continues to be a great bang-for-the-buck deal, at least in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I really feel a great sense of relief to no longer rely on the pricey major job boards, after many years of signing big invoice payments to them. I was getting sick of being beholden to their previous reigns to the talent market.