BALANCE of CULTURE

New Transportation Modes for Women on the Rise

Sometimes, waiting for a government to step up just takes too long. 

One encouraging development in the aftermath of the Delhi public transport gang rape/murder is the growing popularity of Cabs for Women by Women. Though a bit more expensive than hailing traditional male-driven cabs, this seven cab business is targeted towards middle class women who may need the flexibility that a public bus can't offer (and, in some cases, the additional comfort that only a trained German Shepherd can yield).

Back in 2009, India tried to balance the inherent sexist environments in their public transportation by introducing eight women-only trains called "Ladies' Specials." This concept is not new, and perhaps most recognizable to those familiar with the context of Japan's own uneasy subway culture.

Countries in several regions offer similar services for women today: Egypt, Iran, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Dubai. A good look for private-public enterprise responding to social lewdness--not so much a good look for those in power who have clearly failed to implement policies that provide safe environments to half of their citizens. Makes me wonder if these kinds of services will proliferate before the problems that prompted them in the first place begin to improve at all.

Industrial Espionage for the Color White

Paper, walls, iPads, lotions…even though China may be the world's manufacturing leader, Western manufacturers still dominate the production of the color white on objects through highly efficient titanium dioxide production. Thus far, China has not been able to perfect the process on their own, instead being forced to stick with a messier and inefficient plan of processing sulphate, which still results in a visibly inferior shade of white. As the world's main factory this must drive this Chinese industry nuts--or perhaps towards industrial espionage.

The Pangang Group, a Sichuan-based manufacturing firm, is believed to have stolen secret information from DuPont, at least enough in order to build a high tech factory. Overall, six individuals and five companies were charged in San Francisco last month in "a long-running effort to obtain US trade secrets for the benefit of companies controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC)." The Chinese embassy in Washington has rejected these allegations.

This kind of espionage isn't new by any means, but the context of obtaining trade secrets now is perhaps the most high-stakes it has ever been, considering the advent of new technological products whetting the appetites of global consumers who recently find themselves with disposable income.

If China wants to remain the world's manufacturing hub, offering products in the "color" white--only in its purest, most Snow White hue--should be easy. Surely it will be only a matter of time before they conquer this shade, whether via their own research or through industrial spies in major US cities.

Taiwan's Classy Garbage Collection

When most people think of trash and garbage trucks, Beethoven and Bądarzewska are not who usually come to mind…unless you're in Taiwan! For the past few decades, the densely-populated island nation's environmental agency has administered official garbage trucks to play classical music in order to alert citizens to gather their rubbish and bring it all outside, directly to the collectors, so that the waste doesn't have to wait on the ground to be picked up. Nice and clean!

Apparently classical music isn't the only style of tunes the trucks play. Christmas music is the prime choice during the holiday season, and traditional Chinese songs at Chinese New Year. And this all seems to work just fine…most citizens seem to have no issue cooperating with this program.

I have my doubts this would be successful in Los Angeles, even in my ultra-environmental friendly neighborhood of Silver Lake. The concept of everyone obediently being available to go outside and dutifully wait in line to help the garbage men seems a bit optimistic -- not to mention the debates about which music to pick would probably go on forever! (Skrillex or Black Star? Darker My Love or Zola Jesus???! You get my drift…)

Still, a very cool look at how an extremely crowded little country is dealing with its high population vis-a-vis its growing environmental awareness overall.

The revolution continues to be tweeted in front of our eyes

This NYT article is a reflective look at how ordinary citizens behind technology like Twitter shockingly served the world's "elite" an inevitable wake-up call this year.

I'm also relieved that the writer addresses Malcolm Gladwell's painfully ignorant "the revolution will not be tweeted" thesis…until he makes his comeback, Gladwell's intellectual credibility continues to bleed in the public eye. It's disappointing but shows that even the most eloquent writing style simply cannot protect a theory so unfortunately -- and confidently -- confined and parochial.

2011 was the defining year when many of the world's "elites" started to realize that the joke (of their elitism, that is) is probably on them, whether they like it or not. This doesn't mean any of them participate in social media or tech communications one bit, and it doesn't matter if they ever do. But they're quickly being left behind in the dust, which is probably where they belong anyhow.

The influence of ballet pointe shoes

Ballet pointe shoes as technological artifacts -- quite an entertaining thesis presented over the weekend at the Society for the History of Technology conference.

I'm not sure if we should be giving the innovation kudos solely to George Balanchine, but the renowned choreographer's contributions to developing pointe shoes that enhanced the dancer's body and movements is undeniable and surely worthy of further exploration.

Ballet is a relatively older form of dance in the Western world, and the path to honing your skills is even more old-fashioned. As an eager ballet dancer since the age of 4, there's one thing about pointe shoes that I won't soon forget: even with all the "technology" that has gone into them all these past years, the archaicness of pointe shoes is part of the challenge of the craft.

There isn't much way around the clunkiness or the extremely precise way you need to "install" (or "wear") them, even if you're putting on the latest pair from Bloch or Capezio. And, frankly, if you don't put in the hours --daily -- it really doesn't matter what kind of pointe shoes you dance with.

All the years of dance training have inevitably left me with a formidable collection of dance shoes of all kinds, from pointe to character to jazz (minus the tap shoes!), as well as adopting the outlook of human bodies as "IBM machines." I've always attributed dancing en pointe to not only my love and familiarity for high-heeled shoes but also my strangely innate clumsiness in flat shoes, as strange as that sounds!

Real Innovation: RIP Steve Jobs

Now is the perfect time to watch Steve Jobs' TED talk, "How to Live Before You Die":



You know how "innovation" has been one of the most overused words the past couple of years? That's because simply everybody (even luddites) has been trying to imitate Jobs' visionary way of thinking about how technology can change your everyday life. The Apple bandwagon has really become the largest and most influential social and technological platform thanks to his man.

My favorite Steve Jobs quote: "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose."

Let a dog roam

Sure South Korea is a small country, but its voracious appetite for high tech gadgetry is fit for an entire continent.

Despite claims by Apple that Samsung has copied their "innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and package design," Apple also happens to be Samsung's biggest customer: Samsung is one of their largest component suppliers. Talk about a fine line!

So the anticipated battle in South Korea, one of the world's most connected and high-tech markets in terms of population vis-a-vis internet/mobile phone connections, should prove to be pretty ugly -- Samsung may preemptively ban the next highly anticipated (everyone and their mother wants one!) iPhone from Korea. This will definitely be a delicate and advanced legal battle, as the linked article explains (other bans in the EU and all that good stuff…)

The thing is, such an approach can only hold off sales for so long. The product should protect itself. If a Korean in Seoul wants the next iPhone, you can bet they will get one, ban or no ban.

 

[Photograph by Aurich Lawson]

Broad Focus

While articles on how the job market sucks/college degrees don't mean what they used to/the creative class is on the rise/etc. are a dime a dozen lately, this piece actually doesn't just judge the market from a typical outdated armchair perspective:

It's been called the Gig Economy, Freelance Nation, the Rise of the Creative Class, and the e-conomy, with the "e" standing for electronic, entrepreneurial, or perhaps eclectic. Everywhere we look, we can see the U.S. workforce undergoing a massive change. No longer do we work at the same company for 25 years, waiting for the gold watch, expecting the benefits and security that come with full-time employment. We're no longer simply lawyers, or photographers, or writers. Instead, we're part-time lawyers-cum- amateur photographers who write on the side.

This probably explains, when asked about their occupation, the growing number of people these days who give lists instead of concise answers. I find it's becoming rarer to hear an answer like, "accountant" compared to something more along the lines of "accountant, aquatic gardener, writer, cook and sculptor."

I'm all for a broad array of lifelong learning but I also hope that the future hardcore scientists and economists don't stray too far from their specific paths. Nothing scarier to me than a country full of "creatives" who know a little bit about a lot of things, instead of a lot on a few subjects.

The Opposite of Apple

Finally here is some honesty about the weak and misguided American car industry from a former GM executive: "The focus is never on, 'Hey, maybe the product isn't good enough. It's always cost optimization." (Could take a cue from Apple's design and innovation for the consumer.)

I guess the bottom line is: markets don't lie.

 

Calling Out Corruption in India

Getting a drivers' license or passport, receiving medical care or seeing your newborn baby...sometimes these are things one needs to pay extra money for in India. Bribery is common when dealing with everyday life in many parts of the world and India is quite well known for its corrupt practices by government officials. To counter this ubiquitous habit and cleanse official departments' lack of honesty in the country, a crowdsourcing website called I Paid A Bribe has set up where people can share their experiences of bribery costs, details, etc.

India isn't alone in having such a reputation though -- I think so many places could utilize and benefit from this kind of platform! While a virtual public square for discussing bribery may not be the most ideal or perfect way to solve such a hugely common issue, it's a great start for finally calling out these problems in a way that has not been done before (Karnataka's State Transport Department is using the website to cleanse internal corruption).

These kinds of tech-based approaches to societal corruption are still pretty much unexpected by the average person in 2nd and 3rd world states. However with the ubiquity of cell phones and broadband in increasingly obscure parts of the globe, the virtual public square may often be the only place where people can safely air out their experiences in order to prevent future problems from proliferating.