The Facebook dislike button

In recent days, my Facebook wall was full with messages that a new dislike button is available and that I should try it out. I would like to give a short comment on this. First of all, I must say that those who got trapped by this spam didn't understand anything about the underlying principles of social platforms.
A dislike button will never be implemented by Facebook, as social relationships need an ecosystem that is built on positivity. A dislike button goes against all of that and would only promote negativity. Imagine the situation, where a friend is sick, missed an exam, is late or angry. What would be the meaning of a dislike for such a status message? Well, nothing. Instead, there is the possibility to comment and express your sympathy. A dislike without explanation is completely meaningless. However, this is not the case for a like, as it creates an implicit social proximity between you and your friend. More concretely, no explanation is needed.
There is also a different dimension for the fact, that social media sites try to build ecosystems that are based on positivity. Yes, you guessed it. Revenue.
Revenue goes beyond the desire of social media sites to connect people in a positive fashion. Company pages and sponsored ads build up the revenue for Facebook. Now, if half a billion of people would dislike such ads, that cost a company a huge amount of money to promote, what would be the business for Facebook?
So, my dear friends, first think before being trapped by dislike buttons and spams that claim, they will tell you who viewed your profile. None of them will ever exist. For the second, I will let you guess why. Put it in a comment.

The power of social media

I know that I am not that active in blogging anymore.

The main reason for this is basically a lack of time. I must confess that I have huge respect for people who, after a hard day at work, get home eventually and still find the energy to write an interesting post. I always imagined a way of including in a blog post some information about my current state-of-mind, so here it is this time manually (in the near future, this should become automatic). I have just made a green tea (Twinings of London) and I am thrilled by the fact that Arsenal lost a game where the were leading by 4 goals. And right now I fell my mind like if it were patrolled by a thousand police cars with the sirens turned on (I just emptied 1,5 L of Coca Cola) and I have been playing with an ipad for a day now. It is a great gadget, but sometimes when I play a youtube video, it suddenly stops. No idea why.

Actually I think that there is a kind of gene responsable for a desire for apple products. Otherwise how could you explain the fact that after getting a Macbook, now I am constantly thinking about getting an iPhone and an iPad. And this, knowing the fact, that they are quite expensive. Let's call this the "Apple Gene". One they scientists will discover it. Then, I become famous. Actually, I wanted to speak about the power of social media.

The current situation in Egypt and previously in Tunisia is the best demonstration of how it can synchronize people. Twitter was a key in both cases. People can share short messages, which immediately arrive to millions of people. This is a golden age for journalism, as each person possessing a smartphone can become one. And there is no way to stop them.

A new year just started

We are in 2011. 2010 is over and a new year just started.

I hope we will have a better year with less news about the economic problems Europe is facing right now. Also, I am looking forward to less disasters, like for example the earthquake in Haiti or the volcano in Island. As for ourselves, I didn't really make any plans for the upcoming year. I really liked the idea to define 2011 in 3 keywords, areas in which you would like to invest most of your energy.

So here some ideas for it. I will let you know my choice soon.

Happy New Year!

Summer in France

Image via Wikipedia

I know it is not nice to write critics about the country you live in, but this time I am really angry. It is summer time, altough it has been raining for a week, end of July, middle of Summer and ... France.
What do I mean with that?
Well, the fact that everything stops for two months, until the beginning of September. Lots of people go on holidays, activity traditionally called "Départ en vacances". There are people who leave in July and come back in the beginning of August, those who leave in August and come back in September and those, who leave for the entire summer.
This is very nice and I completely agree that holidays are necessary. They put people in new situations, which can generate new ideas and be a source for relaxation and family get-together.
The only issue I do not agree with concerns services. Take for example public transportation. During Summer, they introduce the so called Summer Timetable. This means that 50% of trains, buses are removed. In order to get to work, generally it takes for me 40 minutes. During Summer this changes to 1h, 1h30. The same applies to other services: banks are closed on Saturdays so if you want to have some stuff done, you need to leave work earlier. Doctors are on holidays, so basically it is forbidden to be ill during Summer and the list continues.

I will ask people if this is similar in coutries. I mean, come on guys, if you cut services during summer, why the ticket prices, social services taxes are not cut off also? This is not fair.

60 Years of European Union

Image via Wikipedia

Today, Europe celebrates Europe. On the 9th of May 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organised Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations.

This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.

Today, the 9th of May has become a European symbol (Europe Day) which, along with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the single currency (the euro), identifies the political entity of the European Union. Europe Day is the occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and peoples of the Union closer to one another.

However, Europe is also facing a series of issues that are generating serious concerns about its future. Take the example of Greece. Developed countries needed to negotiate a plan to save this country from an economic disaster. Concerns rise about a possible propagation of this problem to other countries, like Portugal, Spain or some countries in Eastern Europe.

The other problem is about one the fundamental pillars of Europe, the Catholic Church, as it has been prooved that several priests and even bishops are involved in pedophilia scandals. There are several testimonies from victims, but also some cases are revealed from inside the church, which is extremely dangeroues for the moral dignity of the institution.

As a conclusion, I think that Europe must seriously reconsider its foundations, its moral values and its future. The Catholic Church must clarify this situation and start a new age, whith clerics capable of respecting the teachings of the Scriptures. Also, the European Union needs new institutions and regulations to stop a possible propagation of the economic disaster in Greece.

Some related articles

• News Analysis: Greek Debt Crisis Raises Doubts About the European Union (nytimes.com)
• EU discussing 'stabilization fund' to settle markets (americablog.com)
• EU leaders seek to calm markets (cnn.com)

Small worlds

Image via Wikipedia

A miracle happened today. I am currently at a conference in Hammamet, Tunisia and as always, there was the social event tonight. I wanted to meet new people so I decided to sit at a table, where I didn't know anyone. And actually this just confirmed one of my intuitions.
It actually turned out, that one person at the table was also from my country. This was the first surprise. Another visited the country for a conference recently. However, the biggest surprise was when we all came back to the hotel and realized that our rooms were all neighbors.
Isn't this just incredible? You sit to a table to meet new people, but then it turns out that they are closer to you that you would have imagined? This is the small world effect.
So the question is: is there a hidden attraction between people who have something in common, without actually knowing each other? (e.g. visited the same place, come from same country, live close). I think yes, after this event.

The Miracle

Image by United Nations Development Programme via Flickr

I wanted to share with you my feelings about this miracle. Today, the eyes of the whole world are on Haiti, a country devastated by earthquake, 11 days ago.
And yet, the miracle happened. Just watch this video and you will understand what I am talking about. According to CNN, french rescue workers managed to pull out a 24 years old man from the rubble of a hotel. Amazing, but he was in some kind of facility where he could find water and some food during the 11 days.
I think this is just a miracle, and I have nothing else to add. It is a living proof, that even in the hardest imaginable conditions, there is always hope. Therefore, I encourage you to donate for Haiti, using one of the several possibilities, like Unicef, also suggested by Szilard.

This is a moment, where all humans must be united and help rebuild this country. Such kind of disaster can happen anywhere, therefore, solidarity and a quick reaction from all is very important.