Random Thoughts at the End of 2.5 Years in University

Haven’t had a chance to post on here lately given that I’ve been caught up with exams and such. As I’m sure you’re aware already, the launch of Social Capital has been very successful over the past while, and I’m glad that we’ve attracted a decent readership in both Sauder and UBC as a whole.

It’s a bit of a cliche to say this, but time does go by quite fast when you’re in university. I’m at that point where I know that most of my time here is through, and I can’t help but reflect at all the things I’ve done (and didn’t do) over the past two and a half years.

I think at the end of the day, university is best seen as a transition point. Most of us won’t be here for very long… but our outlook on life is largely shaped by our university experiences. I get the sense that many of the people around me are still stuck in a “high school” mentality where they find comfort with their own clique of friends, whereas others have taken on with full force a “networking” mentality, where they’re going out and trying to meet everyone… although at the end of the day the result is often not what people initially expected.

There’s no “right way” to go through an undergraduate degree, it really depends on what you want out of it. The Commerce student in me assumes that most people do want a job at the end of it, although given the sheer number of undergrads out there, the present value *cough* of a degree doesn’t amount to much. I notice a lot of people trying to be friends with everyone, but I wonder how many of them they’ll stay in contact with throughout the years.

I’m thinking that a lot of people my age are really starting to wonder what they’re going to do when they leave school. Of course some of them will go to grad school and repeat the process. But most will go out into the “workforce”, whether they like it or not. That’s a scary thought for many people because you can’t really “go back” afterward; even if you end up doing an MBA or some other graduate degree, you won’t get the same university experience.

As for me, I’m not in a rush to get out of here, but I don’t intend on sticking around too long either. I think university is meant to be a specific experience at a specific point in a person’s life. It is what it is, and then we move on.

Social Capital

I’m involved in a new project started by four Sauder students to discuss issues (business, current events, general interest) that affect university students today. This project is in the form of a multi-contributor blog called Social Capital: http://socialcapitalblog.wordpress.com/ . Check it out if you’re interested!

Interesting Articles and Blogs

I’ve started posting interesting articles and blogs that I’ve come across. You’ll find some of them in the panel of links on the right side of the screen.

There’s a ton of information out there these days and it’s essential to know a bit of everything, so that your opinions and thoughts are not just one-sided. People who hold stubborn and/or prejudiced views about how the world works won’t get very far in the global economy, so it’s best to know as much as you can about what’s going on.

Anyway, if you come across anything interesting feel free to let me know, I’d be glad to post it.

The Downside of Optimism?

One of the peculiarities of the society we happen to live in is that people always have to be optimistic. Society tells us to keep in hiding our concerns and negative feelings, and instead to “think happy, be happy”. Now that sounds great on the surface, except when that optimism is really masking something that’s screwed up.

Barbara Ehrenreich, a well-known social commentator, has written a new book called Bright-Sided, that deals with the issue of optimism in society. In it, she argues that un-critical optimism can be very damaging.

Here’s an interview Ms. Ehrenreich did for the Seattle Times.

I consider myself optimistic about the long-term prospects of humanity, but when it comes to the day-to-day things, it’s much more useful to be practical and realistic. Although that might seem paradoxical, it really isn’t. In-the-moment idealism is useless, and can blind us to problems that are right in front of us. Realism now keeps our optimism for the future on the right path.

Any other opinions on this?

P.S. My commentary on “The End of Facebook” is now ranked 27th on Google when you search for that term. If Facebook does end in my lifetime, I will claim credit for spotting the future.

The Textbook That Travelled Around the World

So I ordered this textbook online… and it’s supposed to be an International edition. Little did I know how far it ACTUALLY travelled:

Thailand –> Singapore –> India –> Germany –> Kentucky –> Richmond –> Seattle –> Richmond.

Good thing shipping was free.

2016 Olympics Goes to Rio de Janeiro

Tomorrow the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is deciding which city is going to host the 2016 Summer Games. Yes, they  like to decide these things 7 years ahead of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Summer_Olympics

The four cities left in the race are: Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janiero, and Tokyo. What’s amazing is that all four candidate cities are from different continents, and only Tokyo has hosted the Games before.

I’m guessing Rio has a good shot – South America has never hosted an Olympics before. However, there’s concerns over the safety of the city. Meanwhile, Barack and Michelle Obama are heading to the IOC meeting to lobby in favour of their hometown, Chicago.

Update: As you all know by now, Rio won the bid. By the time the final vote came, it wasn’t even close. All the votes from Chicago and Tokyo went over to Rio after those bids were eliminated. Should be an interesting Games!

Opinion: The End of Facebook?

I’ve been thinking about writing this for a while, but it looks like the New York Times beat me to it. They have an interesting piece out about people leaving Facebook, lots of good points in there.

The article ends off with this poignant question:

“Is Facebook doomed to someday become an online ghost town, run by zombie users who never update their pages and packs of marketers picking at the corpses of social circles they once hoped to exploit? Sad, if so. Though maybe fated, like the demise of a college clique.”

Why Facebook may have tanked

Three years ago, in August 2006, I had an innocent post on my Xanga where I declared the rise of Facebook. At the time exactly nobody in my high school year of 300+ had Facebook. Within the next year, most of them had it.

It’s hard to find an exact moment for when Facebook tanked.

Maybe it was when they changed it from a college student thing to a site that anyone with an email could register, leading to an explosion in fake and commercial accounts.

Maybe it was when Facebook Marketplace created the first instance of widespread spam on a site that was well known for its clean presentation.

Maybe it was the proliferation of thousands of applications about every game and quiz imaginable that kept popping up as a notification.

Maybe it was when students started seeing their parents spying on them on Facebook.

Maybe it was when people realized their friends’ images were being visually prostituted to sell them products while they browsed Facebook.

What to expect going forward

I’m not saying that Facebook is in decline right now in terms of numbers. Clearly they’re still experiencing strong growth in that area. What I’m saying is that Facebook’s prominence in our culture has diminished and will continue diminishing. Look at MSN Messenger for instance, a lot of people still use it, but you won’t find too many recent articles published about how fascinating it is that people use it. You won’t find too many books either on the meteoric rise of MSN Messenger.

I’ve struggled to wrap my head around Facebook going away because I haven’t seen a good enough alternative. LinkedIn is too narrowly focused for mass market adoption. Twitter only accomplishes a portion of what Facebook tries to do, and is an even bigger victim of the spam artists out there. So until then, Facebook will remain one of the most visited websites out there, of any demographic. But it is not immortal.

Places to Visit in New York City

I got back a few days ago from a 9-day trip to New York City, back in Vancouver now and trying to “relax” for once. It was a great experience, quite different from other major cities that I’ve been to (Toronto, Hong Kong, Paris, Madrid). I would say that I was surprised by the diversity there, not just “diversity” in the vague sense of having many people from different cultural backgrounds, but that those backgrounds were quite fully interwoven into the character and dynamic of the city, if that makes any sense.

Here’s a quick run-down on some interesting places I visited, might post pictures on facebook later on…

Statue of Liberty / Staten Island Ferry

This is a free ferry that takes 20 minutes to go from Downtown Manhattan (South Ferry at the bottom tip of the island) to Staten Island. Most people take the ferry to get a decent glimpse/photo of the Statue of Liberty, and best of all it’s free and runs every half an hour.

Times Square

Located in Midtown, Times Square is the heart of the Broadway theatre district. It’s also a place where a lot of major companies are headquartered now. It’s always lively and a great place to spend a week if you’re okay with the massive hordes of pedesterians.

South Street Seaport

This is a multi-building complex on the eastern shore of Downtown, right next to the Brooklyn Bridge. There’s a bunch of neat little shops, a food court, ice cream, random yachts, and of course street performers. Good place to go on a Sunday night (open until 8pm).

Broadway

There’s about 40 theatres that make up the Broadway theatre district (most of them are not actually located on Broadway). Tickets are $60-$140 for the popular shows, you can probably get a discount if you buy tickets on the day of at the TKTS booth located in the middle of Times Square.

Federal Reserve

There’s a neat tour that the Federal Reserve of NY gives… unfortunately you have to go through a month-long background check process so I didn’t get to see it this time. Basically they take small groups down beneath the building to see their massive gold vault, which apparently contains 20% of the world’s supply of gold…

Museums

I went to 3 museums: the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) –> free on Fridays 4-8pm, the Metropolitain Museum of Art (Met) –> suggested donation $20, and the Pierpont Morgan Library –> free on Fridays after 4pm. The MoMA has mainly 20th century works, a lot of abstract art, surrealist stuff, architectural displays and space-age furniture. The Met has just about everything from suits of armor to an Egyptian temple, lots of nice open spaces. The Pierpont Morgan Library was once the private library of the well known financier from the early 20th century, and now it’s been opened for public viewing. Apparently they’re the only institution on earth that has 3 copies of the Gutenberg Bible, the first book ever printed by a printing press.

Central Park

This huge natural getaway in the middle of the city spans over 50 blocks, from Midtown up to Harlem. There’s lots of place to sit down, ride bikes, jog, and so on. Oh and there’s a crazy Apple store at the southeast corner of the park, with a gigantic clear cube that has the Apple logo inside.

Getting Around

A transit pass costs $27/week for unlimited subway rides. There’s a few trains that run north/south and east/west, and you’ll always be within a few blocks of a train station. They take 5-10 minutes to arrive though, so it might be better to walk if your distance is less than 15 minutes walking. Also be careful not to get on the wrong train, some of them will skip certain stations to keep everything moving as fast as possible.

Taxi rides are a good alternative, a quick trip should cost less than $10. Airport rides are expensive though, mine to Newark cost $72 including tip.

Hotel

I stayed at The Pod Hotel in Midtown East, the prices were great (under $150/night after taxes) and it was a neat place with two bunk beds, each with its own television set. Unless you want to really save money and live in a youth hostel, this might be one of your better choices. Higher end hotels will be $200/night or more.

A 5 Minute Guide to Montreal

Just got back from a weekend trip to Montreal… great experience. Spent about $300-350 including travel, accomodations, food, souvenirs, etc. Here’s some of the places our group went to. I’ll only mention the good ones. =)

Hotel – Abri du voyageur

Great prices… $70-90 can get you a room that’s decently furnished. Central location within 15 minutes of Old Montreal, the Eaton Centre, Mont Royal, and other essential locations. One caveat is that it’s right in the middle of the clubbing district, so don’t expect to sleep before 2 am.

Jet Boating

$55 for a 1.5 hour ride around the St. Lawrence River through the rapids. Literally everything that you have will be soaked. Great experience if you don’t mind being soaked and attacked by giant waves.

Old Montreal

If you want to visit a European-like city at a North American price, Old Montreal is it. They’ve managed to maintain a huge chunk of the city from over 200+ years ago. Here you’ll find dozens of restaurants, mainly French/Quebec cuisine and seafood, as well as ice cream places and cafes. There’s also a fair number of souvenir shops and boutique art shops for the artisically inclined.

Notre Dame Basilica

The Notre Dame Basilica is one of the oldest Catholic churches in the city, and probably the largest. It was built nearly 200 years ago, and has quite interesting architecture both inside and out. We went to a light show that they have going that talks about the history of the Basilica and how it was built.

Place Jacques-Cartier

This square in the heart of Old Montreal hosts performers and portrait artists. There’s a bunch of nice patio restaurants on the side, along with dessert places and souvenir shops. Right adjacent to the square is an alley for local artists, where you can grab a nice painting or photo of the city.

Breakfast – L’avenue

L’avenue is a great breakfast place in the Mont Royal area of the city, just north of the downtown core. You can take the subway there or just walk 15-30 minutes. Their breakfasts are relatively standard but presented in a very unique way. For instance they had this cook stand in front of a window preparing fruits on a stick for everyone. Also this is the first breakfast joint I’ve been to that plays clubbing music. Get there before 10am or expect to wait 30-45 mins in line.

Smoked Meat – Schwartz’s

Montreal is supposedly well known for its smoked meats, and Schwartz’s, an 80+ year old Jewish smoked meats shop, is probably one of the best places to try it. A decently sized sandwich is only $6, and you can either dine-in (expect long line-up) or take-out, which is much faster.

Poutine – Banquise

Have you ever been to a restaurant with over 25 types of poutine? They come in two sizes, the ones you see here are regular plates that are $7 each. One of them was a veggie poutine, the other was chicken and peas. Also huge line-ups are to be expected, maybe half an hour wait during standard hours. Good place to sit down and relax though.

Dinner – Chez L’epicier

Very nice dinner place in Old Montreal, just off the main square. Dinner is a bit pricey here, $28-40 for a main course, but it’s definitely very creative. I had pork belly and scallops, quite the unusual combination. Service was great, they must’ve poured water for us at least 20 times throughout the meal, and they didn’t mind that we sat there for over two hours.

Thoughts on 4am

Now that almost nobody sleeps before midnight (or wants to)… it seems like the whole idea of midnight being a time of silence and solitude no longer applies. I suggest that perhaps 4am has replaced midnight as that time.

It’s commonly said that today we are wealthier and have access to more information than ever before, but we’re not happier. Some people would suggest that information overload and the overly-stimulated society driven by caffeine and a competitive culture has caused people to overlook what really makes them happy in life.

I find that, at least for myself, it’s increasingly difficult to find time where you can simply block out all distractions during the day. I think it’s the ingrained desire we have to be “productive” during the day so as not to waste our wonderful time. I’ve found that the only solution to this is simply to stay up later.

For your interest, here’s a TED talk suggesting a conspiracy theory regarding the place of 4am in society. http://www.ted.com/talks/rives_on_4_a_m.html

P.S. Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t actually sleep this late on a regular basis.