Design. Charity. Life.Website and Blog of Daniel Francavilla

Apple is such an unique, revolutionary brand and I now know I’ll continue to find renewed inspiration. Again, I was blown away while watching an Apple television commercial from 1997 – the first ad using the hugely successful “Think Different” slogan.

In only one minute, the ad shows footage of significant people in history – those that were not afraid to think differently. It includes people like Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Lloyd Wright, Picasso and more.

You may have seen it already – I had, but this time from a different perspective. I think you’ll find it inspiring too - Apple user or not. In one minute, Apple’s counter-culture image that was lost during the 1990’s was reestablished (DaveNet). The agency responsible for this incredible commercial is TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles, with CEO Steve Jobs playing a very active role in the production.

Watch the commercial yourself, embedded below (click here to watch on YouTube if it does not appear)!

Script recited in the Ad:

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
Are the ones who do.

Note: The views expressed on this blog do not represent the views of Apple, Inc. or any other person or organization.

I ask, if you had too many friend requests on Facebook – say around 10,000 – would you quit Facebook? Bill Gates did.

Yes, you know who Bill Gates is – the co-founder of Microsoft and consistently one of the wealthiest people in the world (even though Apple makes incredible, genius, revolutionary, beautiful computers, I have huge respect Gates).

Gates apparently said he “tried out Facebook” but ended up with “10,000 people wanting to be my friends”. Is that a big shocker? He explained that he had trouble figuring out whether he “knew this person, did I not know this person” and that “It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up”. Wow!

But why is it a big deal that he quit? Well, I think it’s kind of odd that someone who was such a key factor in everyday computers and the Internet couldn’t just figure out how to use Facebook. While explaining this to an audience, Gates also revealsed that he’s “not that big at text messaging” and that he’s “not a 24-hour-a-day tech person”. How can Bill Gates even say this? He’s the one that, after all, had the vision of having a computer on every desk and in every home!

Why else is it kind of a big deal? If you didn’t know, Microsoft owns a share of Facebook! Does that not seem like negative PR for Facebook? Who knows. I’m not leaving Facebook anytime soon, that’s for sure.

I have incredible respect for Gates, especially after giving up his daily role at Microsoft to devote his life to charity work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The reason he was in India (where he made his Facebook statement) was to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development. Go Gates!

To see a hillarious mock-up version of what Gate’s Facebook profile would look like, visit this article on Mashable.com.

With summer in full swing, I’ve been receiving a lot of automatic reply messages when emailing various people and organizations. Anyone who uses email, especially in business, has received a “Vacation Reply” or “Out of Office Auto-Reply” at some point. I’ve had an auto reply setup a couple of times while on trips, and our ACCESS email account always has one (linking people to the information they may need, and letting them know we’ll reply soon).

But what if you could set-up an automatic reply all the time, to actually answer people for you? Not just a “I’ll get back to yo when I return on August 2nd” but an actual response, generated by your email program?

Well, Google (one of my favourite companies ever) came out with a Gmail Email Autopilot program that automatically responds to your e-mails, so you can spend more time keeping up with your other messaging systems such as Facebook (the more fun, social ones). Google starts off by saying, “As more and more everyday communication takes place over email, lots of people have complained about how hard it is to read and respond to every message. This is because they actually read and respond to all their messages.”

The easiest email could possibly be.

You can automatically respond to business proposals and even manage personal relationships. So, I guess you don’t have to actually check your email any more, right? Wrong!

This whole Email Autopilot thing all  just a prank by Google’s Gmail this spring! Read all of the features their amazing yet fake Email Autopilot would actually have at http://mail.google.com/mail/help/autopilot/index.html. Either way, Gmail is awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone (they make it really easy to switch too).

Now, back to responding to emails – myself!

Youth promoting peace as activists today

Winning Submission for Project Ploughshares contest for the 2009 Global Youth Assembly

Have you ever been at peace? Some believe peace is simply the absence of war. Yes, war is treacherous battle and conflict. But when there is no war, is there peace? Suffering continues; oppression, discrimination, disrespect and hatred still exist. This is not peace.

Do you think that those who live in a developed country, not at war in years, are at peace? You may be fortunate enough to live in a peaceful home with loving parents and more than enough food. But even within the most affluent communities lie conflict, greed, envy, and violent abuse.

There are societies where thousands will chant and cheer for a team to win a football game, but where none will do so to end genocide. We know there are terrible things occurring ever day – many choose to ignore this. But it is up to the youth of today to set standards and determine the level of peace for our future. Youth will be left with the problems of our current world leaders. Positive action must begin today. That is why we are called to ignite the power within ourselves to make change now.

Can we promote peace when we buy products that support a corporation’s use of child labour or degrade the environment? Challenging, but we can support alternatives like the Fair Trade movement. While there are many roadblocks to being a true peacemaker, change starts within each of us as individuals. It is possible to “fight” for peace without war. When we come together in peace, we are strong enough to make substantial change.

Overwhelming and daunting tasks of “changing the world” are presented to youth today. Many of us choose to avoid the call to action, simply because of the enormous size of the tasks to solve the world’s issues. However, these tasks can be approached from another level – by thinking globally but acting locally, we can more attainably move towards a better world. We must not give up when faced with challenges like providing nourishment to a village in Malawi, or sending 50 students to school in Colombia, or even protecting endangered species in Northern Canada. In fact, Anthropologist Margaret Mead made it very clear when she said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

There are governments around the world that promise major action. There are multi-national corporations that commit to social responsibility. However for a true, sustainable, tangible difference, “we must be the change we wish to see in the world” as Gandhi so wisely stated. Many authoritative adults and powerful organizations can be doubtful and pessimistic. This has always been true. However, more damage will be done if we do not convince them to take necessary action, instead of waiting our turn in their position. We are the leaders, not only of tomorrow, but also of today.

Many youth crave the glamorous celebrity lifestyle – yet greed is a deterrent of peace. This need for more is known as affluenza. A video on “teenage affluenza” displays middle-class children being unsatisfied with everyday privileges. When compared to those who have less, however, these complaints seem utterly ridiculous – a boy complains about his outdated PlayStation 2, while another boy’s only toy is a brass bombshell casing; a girl is embarrassed by the 1980’s Toyota Corolla her mother drives her to school in, when a girl around the world leads her blind mother home on a dark road at night after a day of begging. For peace to be achieved, everything should be put into perspective.

In high school I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic on an “exposure trip”. While most know this as a tropical vacation destination, I had the chance to experience what life is like in the developing world. Witnessing the joy within these people, despite their impoverished situations, allowed me to realize that peace and happiness do not come from having the latest technology, driving a luxury vehicle, or living in a classy condo.

Today’s youth must break the stereotype of being apathetic. There are plenty of young people taking action around the world today. From local community service to online campaigns to international volunteer trips, youth are making a difference right now. We begin spreading peace through simple actions of kindness and generosity. Now, it is our duty to participate and be examples of youth activists for other generations, as we come together to better the world through peace.

• 85% per cent of Canadians see themselves as fundamentally different from Americans and only 13 per cent see a future scenario where Canada becomes part of the United States. “That’s about the level of support for a flat Earth or believing Elvis is alive,” says Peter Donolo of The Strategic Counsel. “People now take our independence for granted and see no risk.”
• Despite the claim by many in recent years that soccer is fast outstripping hockey in the hearts of Canadians, it just ain’t so. Hockey is not only the most popular sport but also chosen as the country’s mostrepresentative symbol, significantly ahead of both multiculturalism and medicare. Don Cherry will be saddened to learn, however, that most Canadians do not equate fighting with fun in their national game.
• As for the other official national game, lacrosse, black armbands all around, please. Lacrosse matched cricket in popularity, with less than 1 per cent of Canadians selecting it as the game of choice. And as Donolo says, lacrosse and cricket appear to be “meeting going opposite directions.”
• Basketball isn’t what the Toronto media seems to think it is. In national interest, it barely matches curling. And in the West, football comes in second to hockey, while in Quebec, second place behind beloved hockey goes to golf.
• Canadians like to travel – 82 per cent having gone to the U. S. at some point and 40 per cent to Europe – and they like to tell the world who they are, with 54 per cent attaching the Canadian flag to their luggage. Quebeckers, who are less travelled, are far less inclined to stamp the red maple leaf on their Samsonites.
• Bilingualism remains a great Canadian conundrum, with less than a quarter of the country seeing much proficiency out there but approximately half the country believing it important to speak both official languages.
• Another contradiction concerns attitudes toward immigrants. ” We pat ourselves on the back as to how tolerant we are,” says Donolo, ” and yet in the next breath we say there are too many immigrants coming into the country.”
• Dinner companions tell their own tale about tolerance, with per cent saying they had dined with a person with a different skin colour, 58 per cent sharing their table with an openly gay person and 32 per cent with a gay couple. On the opposite scale, only 6 per cent of Canadians have sat down to eat with an elected politician.
• It is oddly comforting to know that the fast disappearing Prairie elevator remains a far more beloved symbol of the country than the endlessly appearing BlackBerry.
• In the Great Canadian Beauty Contest, the Rockies took first place, with 29 per cent choosing them, followed by Canadian forests and lakes, with Niagara Falls the highest ranking single attraction.
• Toronto, with a mere 1 per cent, might have taken the ” Miss Congeniality” title – but the survey, unfortunately, was taken a few weeks before the garbage strike began.
• When it comes to choosing the country’s most distinctive buildings or objects, Parliament Hill came a surprising third after Niagara Falls and Toronto’s CN Tower.

Images Copyright Globe and Mail. Original Article Link.