by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 comments
The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea is an apt title for this book. It is a short history, but a very interesting one. And its interesting because the subject matter is treated with enthusiasm which becomes a source of entertainment. This is a book written for the non-academic, acting almost like a Reader’s Digest version of a business history course. The book enthuses how the revolutionary idea known as the Company is one of the single greatest contributions to civilization’s development. This enthusiasm does not mean that they ignore the negative aspects of the Company, namely the grotesque pursuit of profit and company goals over human needs such as in the Belgian Congo, but the tone of the book is fan-boyish. Tone aside, the authors do accomplish what they set out to do. They illustrate how the idea of the Company is pretty revolutionary. Basically a government body grants a charter for a collective of disperse individuals to work together by pooling their capital and resources for the purpose of wealth accumulation. The book talks how the different national governments dealt with the rise of the Company (limited-liability joint-share corporations), and how in places like Britain they […]
by Chris Billowsin Political Ponderings0 comments
I have stumbled across a few books and websites that are pointing to a new understanding of social and economic class. Its a refreshing and what I believe, accurate, understanding of social change in modern nations. In contrast to the Leftist/Communist understanding of Class Conflict, the Creative Class is a term given to what is considered to be an expanding and powerful socioeconomic class which cuts across nations. Its a concept that is heavily promoted by Richard Florida with books and websites. While his use of ‘class’ is problematic for me, because class implies group-consciousness, I do think that he is identifying a clear socioeconomic transformation of our societies. Whether this leads to a creative class consciousness or not, there is no doubt that we are seeing a large amount of wealth generation coming from intellectual property, new business models, and the arts. Here are some interesting links about the rise of a new creative/entertainment class. Check them out: Creative Class Time Magazine’s article on America’s New Class System New Stateman’s article on Replacing One Social Class System with Another
by Chris Billowsin Political Ponderings1 comments
In many ways The Clash of Civilizations is a rebuttal against Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History. Instead of arguing that the liberal democratic values endorsed in the West are the natural pinnacle of human civilization, Huntington says that The West’s values will attacked by competing civilizations. Huntington does not believe that nation states are the basic building blocks of human society. He argues that it is Civilizations, which represent a shared human experience influenced by culture, religion, language, and philosophy which are now the most important players on the human stage. Huntington says that at present (1990s to now) there exists at least nine different Civilizations, each possessing different values that puts them in potential and actual conflict with each other. It is not about nations fighting over land or resources, but about the fundamental clash of values between Civilizations. Huntington’s use of Civilizations does provide a fresh way to look at historical and current events. His paradigm of human development and conflict becomes epic which inspired the imagination of his most ardent supporters who see Huntington as nothing less than a prophet. He is seen as accurately foretelling the current conflict that is taking place between the The […]
by Chris Billowsin Hobby Heedings6 comments
Okay, we have imported, rated, and ran statistics on iTunes. But as your library gets bigger, it becomes more and more difficult to find artists and songs. Thankfully, iTunes uses the Music Genre as its basic sorting system which makes it easier to find the style of music you want to listen to. Default Music Genres include: Classical, R&B, Rock, Jazz, etc. These are fine if you have 40-50 artists from diverse musical backgrounds, but what happens if you listen primarily to one genre of music? What do you do if you are a serious collector and listener of music and are frustrated with the standard labels? What do you do when you have over 100 artists and 10,000 songs? This blog post is meant to address that challenge. To start with there are have been three approaches to what a Music Genre is: 1) People Ignore It. Some people say that Musical Genres are too presumptuous of a field to use. They are indignant that the label ‘pigeon holes’ artists unfairly. That is partially true. Led Zeppelin is considered to be the earliest hard rock/metal band even though they played some folk inspired music. Are they British-Blues? Hard Rock? […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 comments
Origin of Brands: Discover the Natural Laws of Product Innovation and Business Survival was written for all businesses, but I have tailored my review for game developers since this is where a bunch of my investment money is currently tied up. The Origin of Brands by Al & Laurie Ries is a contrarian argument against conventional wisdom that the battle in the marketplace takes place between brands. Examples of some battles would be Dodge Caravan vs Chevy Uplander, Domino’s Pizza vs Pizza Hut, or for those in the game industry: World of Warcraft vs Guild Wars or Supreme Commander vs Command & Conquer 3. The book argues in 295 pages that people think category first and then brand. Their explicit example: “I’m thirsty and feel like having a beer.” The 2nd thought is: “Which beer? I think I will have Bud.” Beer is a category of drink that is popularly perceived to quench thirst. Within milliseconds the brand is invoked, but it is critical to understand that the category is the first thing that is thought about. The category address the need, while the brand address the want. Conventional marketing will ignore the entire question of category and instead focus […]
by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 comments
In turning 40 years old, I am sharing a personal poem to celebrate my arrival of middle life. Now that I am middle-aged, I can start acting even more eccentric and get away with it. 😉 … Middle of the Muddle: A Poem About Mid-Life by Christopher Billows … I have learned, that facts and theory, found in degrees and libraries, do not grow or touch our psyche. … I have met many, the brilliant and the dull, and the rich and the poor, and found happiness being the pursuit of all. … I have worked for years, seen the capable abhorred, found leaders be the first to hide, and watched justice be ignored. … I pursued self-actualization, and have always been stung, that the pursuit of the perfect, is the cause of all wrong. … I have loved and adored, witnessed another’s death, fathered and seen birth, and now ponder the drama of a final breath. …
by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 comments
Many people know about “The Golden Rule”, which some say is the basis of most religions. “Do unto others what you would have them do to you.” or its negative form “Do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you.” It is pretty hard to disagree with this principle. Yet, there is a second Golden Rule which is just as relevant but quite a bit more cynical. The second Golden Rule is, “The one with the gold, makes the rules.” 😛 On one hand you have a succinct summary of good ethical and moral conduct, on the second you have a summary of how most political, economic, and sociological conduct takes place. I personally think that both Golden Rules are relevant and are actually compatible. The first one deals with the idealistic and religious realm of human beings, the second deals with the conventional truth of human relations and history. Some people operate exclusively in one realm and ignore the other realm. History has shown that idealism alone does not work, while misused power is destructive. A balance between both Golden Rules is quite possibly the real Golden Rule to follow…
by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 comments
Poverty is generally defined as being in material want of something. Not having enough to eat or money to buy essentials is the general understanding of poverty. But I would also say that poverty is also having an attitude of feeling powerless, helplessness, or even non-gratitude. It is psychological and is how you define yourself. My in-laws are living examples of people who took full advantage of what Canada offers them. They are immigrants who worked very hard and created wealth through their industry which appears to be lost of many native-born Canadians. Technically they have always been “poor” as far as annual earnings are concerned, yet the life they lead is as far away from poverty as can be. Their example tells me that that poverty is not a state of physical or financial want, but a psychological one. These are people who don’t think of themselves as poor and in terms of how they live, they are not. They have more than enough money because they are content to live within their means. Yet there is nothing simply psychological about the poverty experienced by Canada’s aboriginal people. I can only conclude that what they have experienced collectively is […]
by Chris Billowsin Republic of Bloggers0 comments
Happy New Year. What will the new year bring for me at BilLOGs? Well, I think my posting frequency will remain about one post every week or two. (There were 54 posts in 2009; 81 in 2008). I need to spend more time reading other people’s blogs and commenting, but have been too busy. 🙁 The positive behind that busyness is that my business (note how they are similar words) had some nice developments at the end of 2009. My company Promaginy has been assisting partner Complex Games with marketing of their two iPhone titles and is helping with the marketing launch of two, possibly three titles in 2010. It will be a crucible of a year for Complex Games and Promaginy. I also need to do some asset divesting for Copia Enterprises. I bit off more than I could chew and in order to maximize my time and focus I will look to amalgamate my two companies to reduce duplication. I anticipate that my blogging will become even more introspective since I am reaching mid-age (40 years old) in 2010. Appropriately I was recently introduced by a friend to the theories of Carl Jung which really resonates with me. […]
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson’s_law https://dialog.over-blog.com/article-going-beyond-duality-or-polarity-management-111471958.html
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