How the Financial Crisis is Rooted in Our Belief that Technology Offers a Freeing, Objective and Stable Utopia

This is a great BBC documentary on the philosophy behind the evolution of technology. It touches upon the rise, with Ayn Rand's 1950s writing, of an ideology encouraging self-interest, individual freedom and a decrease in State power that would bring about the happiest and most stable collective. Progressively technology was seen as a mean to achieve this. Through technology we all would have equal power and together create the most stable system.

The trusted objective object (technology) was seen as potentially erasing the risk, the unstablity and the helplessness of the human condition.

This leads into Sillicon Valley's new information technology, Clinton's new economy, the beginning of White House's lethargy, the Asian miracle, short term benefits, Goldman Sachs, the property bubble, nepotism, the attack on the World Trade Center, coorperate fraud and the incredible Alan Greenspan...

I watched Inside Job this weekend and this is wonderfully complimentary.

The Funniest Use of Personal Digital Branding: Harper's Adorable Kitten

The realisation that in less than two weeks more than the equivalent of two thirds of his nation's population had seen the video 'mom cat hugs baby kitten (having a nightmare)' must have sparked somekind of fabulous lightbulb within the Canadian Prime Minister's personal branding team; something like adorable kittens do well at making things go viral and our client (Harper), although viral, is anything but adorable so let's try to use that 'insight' and make Harper adorable.

A few days later they came up with a facebook status and an album - "We have a new family member, a grey tabby, what do you think he should be named? Nous avons un nouveau membre de la famille. comment devrions-nous l'appeler?"

Interested in helping Harper? Go to Harper's personal facebook page before midnight or else Stanley will be the attributed winner. Not interested in helping the Harpers baptize their new grey tabby or contribute to the 505 messages left by the kitten's friends? Then at least go check out Stephen Harper's profile picture and discover what a Harper family picnic looks like:

http://www.facebook.com/pmharper