Musical Victory

1 Jan 2011 - Australian airline Qantas had a rough 2010. On top of everything the year ended on a sour note as local musicians said that had scored a victory against Qantas after a Facebook campaign helped persuade the airline to scrap a ban on carrying instruments as cabin luggage. Jazz saxophonist Jamie Oehlers started the online protest when Qantas introduced a policy requiring all musical instruments except violins and violas to be checked in and stored in the cargo hold. "After travelling with them for 20 years, I was made to check my saxophone in for the first time a few weeks ago, causing USD 1200 worth of damage.", Oehlers wrote, launching the campaign last month. More than 8,700 people joined the group, including members of the country's symphony orchestra's, posting stories and pictures of instruments that had been damaged in the cargo hold. Qantas confirmed on 24 Dec it had reversed the policy. The new policy allows small instruments as carry-on baggage, provided they are no longer than 81cm, higher than 30cm or more than 19cm deep.  

Last Puff

1 Jan 2011 - Spaniards better light up today, because when they wake up tomorrow they will find what many consider an inalienable right - puffing on a cigarette with a drink at their local bar - has overnight become illegal. On 2nd January 2011, one of the laxest laws in Europe will have become one of the strictest, along with that of Ireland. Spanish smokers will no longer be able to light up in bars, restaurants and cafes as a new legislation takes into effect that bans smoking in all enclosed public spaces (so including public toilets). It will also be illegal to smoke in children's playgrounds and on school or hospital grounds, according to the new law, which received final approval from Parliament on 21 December 2010. I bet many Spaniards did not have to think long for their new year's resolutions: stop puffing.

2010

31 Dec 2010 - So, the last day of the year 2010. The year saw new superpowers emerging in the New Media landscape and I expect their authority will further rise in 2011. Two of them - Google and Facebook - now influence societies and cultures all over the world by their sheer size and reach, while the third one - WikiLeaks - epitomises the power of information. Google has a mere monopoly of web search and online search advertising. It owns YouTube and Blogger (so many thanks!) and it is only expected to expand its digital empire further. These days if you don't appear on a Google search you don't exist any longer! I have already written about Facebook, and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, in the last few days, so let's spend the last lines of 2010 on WikiLeaks. It was labeled a "foreign terrorist organization" by some US lawmakers, but was also awarded by The Economist and Amnesty International. I believe we will hear (much) from/about WikiLeaks in 2011. And it will not only be WikiLeaks. A rival called Openleaks.org has already emerged and more whistle blowing sites will follow. I expect that 2011 will further change the way we look at information - as the new superpowers rule the world.

Salt Scarcity

31 Dec 2010 - I am back in the tropical weather of Kuala Lumpur, but I can still feel the winter-cold in my bones. I had a somewhat slippery journey to Amsterdam Schiphol airport as thaw has set in and the roads and pavements are icy. The Dutch complain about practically everything (not only the Dutch by-the-way), but I was quite surprised that nobody complained about the slippery icy conditions of the roads. "In the good old days" people were requested to keep the pavement in front of their house free of snow and the city council took care of the rest. The last few days I noticed that attitudes and practice has changed, because nobody bothered anymore. Even the city council got away with a comment that they could not keep the roads ice-free because of salt scarcity. They probably have never heard of "winter preparedness". Anyway, there is good news, because on my last day in Holland I learned a ship with 7,000 tons salt from Turkey sailed into one of the Dutch ports. But probably the roads are too slippery by now get it to its destination?

15 Minutes of Fame

30 Dec 2010 - The Year also had their short term heroes, like Anna Chapman and the Old Spice Guy. 15 Minute Hero of the Year is Steven Slater. You may not immediately recognize the name, but I am sure you remember the story about the JetBlue flight attendant who could not take it any longer and snapped. When the flight attendant was hit on the head by a passenger's bag in August and was told off by one of the passengers, he exited via an emergency chute and never returned to his job again. He became an instant folk hero for the online community on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Despite his fame, he said that - although he enjoyed some aspects of the limelight - he never felt more alone in his life than at the height of public scrutiny.

Mark Zuckerberg

29 Dec 2010 - Time Magazine selected Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg as 2010 Person of the Year. Facebook does no longer need any further introduction but Time Magazine has some interesting facts & figures about the phenomena. For example, if the recent growth rate of Facebook users continues, Facebook could reach 1 billion users by August 2012. In Afghanistan, where only an estimated b18% of adult women are literate, 85% of Facebook users are make. And Facebook continues to be blocked in China, but still counts almost 100,000 registered users. Growth in the Middle Kingdom is one of the main strategic objectives for Facebook. Lastly, every 60 seconds 1,789,736 actions are performed on Facebook: more than half a million comments are posted, 231,605 messages are sent and almost 100,000 friendships approved. Facebook connects the world - and I honor Mark Zuckerberg.

Nature Ruled

28 Dec 2010 - Mother Nature was on uncommonly unkind this year. Haiti's earthquake left 230,000 dead, and monsoons left one fifth of Pakistan under water. An Antarctic collision between an iceberg and a glacier gouged out a chunk of sea ice the size of Luxembourg. An effusive Icelandic volcano stranded travelers across Europe, and the winter was so warm that Canadian could not even make ice for their Olympics. BP could not plug the leak and an octopus made more accurate - but unfortunate - predictions than most economists did. Most of, 33 trapped miners returned one by one from their near grave. Miracles did happen and Mother Nature ruled (with thanks to Time Magazine, who published an extended version of this piece).