Apple's Got INTENTIONS

I am totally fascinated with this ad.

Apple wins again. They take an inspirational design philosophy and somehow turn it into an inspirational life philosophy... so, naturally, I must buy this thing (or things, I suppose) and cling to these ideals.

if everyone is busy making everything

busy... it's like a dirty word. And, yes... my attention is really divided among so many things...

how can anyone perfect anything?

what am I doing with my life?

we start to confuse convenience with joy

Holy crap. Am I happy? Did a buddhist monk write this ad?

abundance with choice

yes.... ok. I've been to the Cheesecake Factory. I've tried to order from their 20 page menu. Abundance is not always a good thing.

designing something requires focus.

eeek. I need to focus. What do I want in life?

delight

yes...

surprise

want...

love

need...

connection

I suddenly feel like I need a hug

then we begin to craft around our intention

that's a word that seems lost in our culture. It sounds so serious... and... intentional.

it takes time

I'm so impatient... I should work on that.

there are a thousand no's for every yes

O_O

simplify

I need to clean out my closet

we perfect

I want to perfect something

start over

life is so hard sometimes

until everything we touch

where's that hug?

enhances each life it touches

I want to change the world

only then do we sign our work.

Oh, right. This is an ad. But I have so many feelings now. What do I do now? Buy the new Mac Pro? Maybe...

Phone Phobia

Are you afraid of the phone? It seems we might be a new generation with a phone phobia. I don't think any official studies have been done, but I know that I don't particularly love using the phone and I've heard many friends and peers say the same.

A comment on the linked post above says that it's not fear but inefficiency that keeps them from using the phone, to which I agree. I often get phone calls where people are asking for documents to be emailed to them and then I have to get their email address (hoping I don't misspell something) and email them back anyway. I would just prefer an email in the first place. I'm also just a person who really likes to get to the point and I think email or text messaging does a nice job of that.

Another reason I prefer email or text is that it's always in my face. I mean, when people call and leave a voicemail, I sometimes delete it and then forget about it. I rarely delete emails or texts so everytime I check those, your name is still sitting there waiting for a response.

So now you know why I don't answer my phone.

Google That.

Check out this list of Kids' (under 18) top searches for 2009.
1. YouTube
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Sex
5. Porn
6. YouTube.com
7. Yahoo
8. MySpace
9. eBay
10. You Tube
11. Wikipedia
12. Michael Jackson
13. Taylor Swift
14. Gmail
15. Party in the USA
16. Miley Cyrus
17. Club Penguin
18. Miniclip
19. Fred
20. Games

My comments could go a few ways. Disturbing? Yes. The data is divided up by age group and even the under 7 crowd has Porn as the 4th most popular search after Youtube, Google and Facebook. Confusing? Yes. I don't know why the search for miniclip, Club Penguin and fred are so popular... anyone? I guess I'll have to Google it.
But my real point of this is: YOUTUBE. If you consider the fact that it's in the list three times, that probably means the intention for youtube is miles ahead of any of the other searches. So, how is this useful? Should we all have our own youtube channels? Should I start talking to my computer screen like this girl?
I have no real answer, but the data here seems more like a mandate. Get on Youtube or perish. At the very least, Google yourself or your business and find out what that situation is like. And then get yourself a Facebook page.

Senior Class

The boomers are on their way to old age... how are we catering to their needs? An article about Senior Hair Salons caught my eye today in the Seattle Times.

Think of the opportunities! Most good and intelligent design seems to focus itself on the youngest generations and technology, but soon we'll have a generation of senior citizens with new needs and preferences and concerns.

In the case of the hair salon, they thought about the design details that would draw in the elderly - from the cape to the decor on the wall to the sounds and sensations around the salon.

What other services could be changed to accomadate a clientele a bit advanced in age?