Don't you know who I am?

I read this Facebook post last week.

Howard was having difficulty with a company fixing an order of his. This post made me want to write some musings I've had for a while about social media and it's influence.

The is a common image of famous people getting things their own way. If they don't get good service, everybody knows about it and the business may suffer bad consequences. It's not uncommon for them to get special treatment where ever they are. This is because these people hold the public's attention. Look at the interest that is netted by people such as the Kardashians and other reality TV stars and it's not hard to see that a word or action from them could have some impact on the a business or person targeted.

It's a bit of a cliche on how important someone thinks they are if they say "Don't you know who I am?" when interacting with someone else. You see it happen in film and T.V. and with little variation the person who says that is someone of little importance just trying to enforce their will. However, in today's world of social media and international reach you never know who a person can be. There are lots of bloggers out there that have wide reach, not to mention Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. There are channels that I subscribe to on YouTube that have as many as 9 Million subscribers. If you are an online retailer and you do something bad to one of these people, you might find business impacted as word spreads.

I think the biggest lesson people should learn from social media is that you never know if the person you are talking to has an audience of social media minions. If you are a business, it is in your best interest to treat every customer like a VIP. In social interactions, it is best to be polite. If people choose to abuse that and take offense and persecute others, that is their choice and condemnation.

To the troll on War Thunder...

Ninth grade. You must be in ninth grade at a junior high. You aren't? You fooled me. You're acting like you're at the top of the pile, but you don't realize that it's a pile of crap. I bet your report card says, "doesn't play well with other." You are screaming profanity laced insults at your team members because we are losing. You threaten fellow team members because you do not approve of their location on the battlefield. We all know your threats are empty. You obviously care more about winning than other people and you are not going to go out of your way from trying to take the capture point "punish" those that are not doing what you want. That and friendly fire subtracts penalizes you. You really need to worry about people like me. People who, if tired of your tirades and annoying behavior, will put an 85mm shell through your tank without warning because we would rather fight a losing battle without the commentary than try to win with a self-important prick.

Sincerely yours,

SU-85

Why New Year

This time of year is one of reflection and goal setting. Many people make resolutions. Last year I made one myself - to get healthier and work out. I've been pretty good at it. I've lost some fat and put on more muscle. I feel better about myself - physically and mentally - and I've come to enjoy exercise. I got to thinking though, why now? Obviously the throwing away of one calendar and the putting up of another marks a boundary. And clearly the tradition has been around for quite a while. But it seems that New Year is "the time" to make goals and I guess my musings are why only now?

Interestingly enough, if people only reflect and plan at the start of the new calendar there are multiple times that they can do that. My occupation has to observe three calendars: solar (January to Dec), fiscal (July to June), and academic (May to April). Technically that last one could also be August to May depending on if you relate it to usual time students attend classes or the catalog year of the institution. It is certainly true that pondering, reflecting, and planning happen at the start of the academic year, but I would have to say that the end of the fiscal year is when those activities tend to happen. There is also Chinese New Year which is celebrated by many people, some that aren't even Chinese. My daughter's school throws a Chinese New Year party (which has gotten bigger ever year) as they have a Chinese immersion program. Anniversaries and birthdays also mark the end of a solar year.

Perhaps New Year is seen as "the time" to reflect and make goals because, as a holiday that is the tradition. People often reflect and make goals on annual occasions (some are mentioned above) but as there are often other traditions associated with those celebrations the goal making and reflecting are not noted. Regardless of it being overt or covert, I think that reflecting and making goals is something that can only be beneficial.