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Did you ever wonder if we would make things better if we didn't have bad guys? How about keeping bad things from happening to good people? Or good people saying bad/dumb things?

Fortunately, none of those things are going to happen!

Way back in 1931, Aldous Huxley created a furor over the controlled world in his book "Brave New World." In 1949, George Orwell saw a similar world controlled by technology with "1984."

The two authors sent scholars and technologist back to the drawing board to analyze the possibilities and explain:

• Why it couldn't happen
• What to do to prevent it from happening
• What happens if it happens

They continue to discuss the pros and cons of today's always plugged in, always on harm/good of today's instant ability to "hit the button and take down anyone" approach to leaving a company (Goldman Sachs, Google) with a bang.

Unless you're like us and really like the insanely brilliant ads, you probably don't waste much of your precious time wondering if Steve Jobs and Chiat-Day's Lee Clow and Steve Hayden could really see the future or were just playing on our insecurities, our fears. Read more

"Power is like being a lady... if you have to tell people you are, you aren't." – Margaret Thatcher, "The Iron Lady," Pathe International (2011)

A year ago, we were late in leaving for the office and noticed a lot of fathers were escorting their kids to the grade school.

Last week, it seemed as though the numbers hadn't changed much.

With the business community being cautiously optimistic, it made us wonder if we'll ever get back to the point where mom stays home handling the myriad of family/household activities and dad returns to the grind.

During the recession, men accounted for more than 71 percent of the job losses.

The latest unemployment figures stand at 9.8 percent for men 20 or over and 8 percent for their female counterparts, with women making up 47 percent of the total labor force.

Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute, said that their studies indicate that the man of the house isn't finding a job as quickly as he hoped and if/when he does, it is for a lower salary.

"Work isn't working very well for men," she noted.

In addition to having more women in the workforce worldwide, we're seeing a growing number of high-profile women running and influencing companies as well as very active mentoring organizations such as Women 2.0.Read more

"If you let those people that own those joints have an inch, they'll steal the whole state... It looks like they already got a leg up on it." – Buford, "Walking Tall," Bing Crosby Productions, 1973

Without much fanfare, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) recently turned the lights off on their last remaining mainframe computer.

It's not like they're shutting down their whole operation; but it's a great example of the way the traditional IT model has changed.

They still have a lot of desktop computers – probably as powerful as the room full of hardware that went dark. In addition they (and we) are using more and more mobile devices – smartphones, tablets, notebooks (soon ultrabooks) -- and mobile services.

So many devices are out there, so many services, so many options, it's tough to know:

• what's right for you
• what does what it says it does
• what does what they don't want to mention, but does
• who's gonna' last

A fresh example of the switch is Apple's latest Mac OS (Mountain Lion). It didn't slip by many folks that it shares a whole lotta' iOS features, capabilities.Read more

Fun & free game returns for another round and gives players the opportunity to win 50 dream vacations

Feb. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel fans are being given another chance to win 50 fabulous vacations at destinations around the world with the latest version of Orbitz.com's Facebook sweepstakes Orbitz 50 Faves, a fun and free Facebook game.

To play Orbitz 50 Faves, Facebook users simply "Like" Orbitz on Facebook, invite friends to play, and begin bidding. To start, each new player will receive five bids. Every bid placed represents one entry to win. Players can check out the trips, look at what friends that accepted their invitation to play have bid on, and then place bids on their favorite trips. Each day, players get an additional bid for every friend that accepts their invitation to play the game. The more friends that accept the players invitation, the more bids the player gets and the greater their chances of winning. To further encourage players to invite more friends to play, six trips have been 'locked' and can only be 'unlocked' if at least 10 of a player's Facebook friends are playing the game.

New to the game this year, each day one player will be randomly selected to win two airline tickets. But, players have to log in to win. Orbitz will announce a new winner daily on Orbitz 50 Faves. Read more

We now have two generations that have grown up with the internet and online content.

It's no wonder that this past June, 158.1 million people (68.2 percent of the U.S. internet users) sat through 6.26 billion viewing sessions.

Online Viewing – The number of individuals watching video content online has grown dramatically in recent years; and younger generations are making mobile content a part of their daily lives. Today's smartphones and tablets are becoming popular educational, informational, entertainment tools. Source – eMarketer

According to eMarketer, the average internet user watches about 16.8 hours of online video a month. This was up from last year's 14.5 hours of video for the same month.

comScore's research results are even higher. They recently reported that a total of 178 million Americans watched a record 6.26 billion video sessions in a year. Part of that acceleration is attributed to more people using their mobile devices – smartphones and tablets – for viewing.

The growing number of online viewers has the cable industry concerned that people will "cut the cord" and move online to watch their movies and TV shows.Read more

Violet launches its latest Smart Rabbit Robotic companions called Karotz- the only Facebook hardware in the world. It turns social networking into a natural way of life allowing people to interact without a computer or smartphone.

February 2012 – The Karotz "smart" rabbit is the first-ever hardware device tailor-made especially for Facebook. It is the third generation of the multipurpose, internet-connected rabbits which first launched in 2005 as Nabaztag, and has since become an Internet icon. The immensely popular robotic companions transform daily life by providing a link to family, friends and the world. Karotz is now compatible with Facebook-- a wonderful addition to its already extensive range of features.

"We are excited to launch the new Karotz smart rabbit which is compatible with Facebook, to allow people to interact both with their new companion and with their friends wherever they are", Fabien Bardinet, CEO of Violet. "Following the successful launch of Karotz in the US at CES this year, we are confident that it will also do very well in Europe as Karotz already has a strong fan base of people who like to keep in touch with their friends and family via social networking sites on a daily basis. The concept behind Karotz is to make communicating with friends and sharing information both an interactive and fun experience."Read more

Listen Up – You were told in school to keep your mouth shut, pay attention, listen, and learn. The same thing applies if you want to be the teacher's pet and the most popular kid in school…listen to the community.

You may have heard by now that folks spend more time on Facebook than any other website. By a whole lot!

To be more precise, it's 53.5 billion minutes a month on the world's largest social networking site.

When Zuck announced at F8 – the Facebook developer's conference – that the site now had more than 800 million citizens, he said he wanted them to be even more involved with the Site. In fact, he wanted Facebook to become the destination where people tell the story of their life.

We, and you, might think that's over sharing, but the growing community is changing the way companies relate with customers.

Companies are establishing their Facebook pages in record numbers and feeling their way along as they build, expand, leverage those relationships.

No one is exactly certain how much all those eyeballs and likes are worth.

It's still too early to say how much a Facebook friend and his/her recommendation can generate, but that's not inhibiting the rush to be there.

Companies like Coke, Starbucks, Nutella, Papa John's, Pringles, Skittles, Zynga, Zappos, Electronic Arts feel it's worth the effort. Read more

When the Internet was in its infancy, an editor once commented to us that if a person didn't have an email address, he had no reason to talk with him.

Today, if you don't have a Facebook page, it's almost as though you don't exist. That's true of individuals; and increasingly, it's true of companies. That's because Facebook is the location to go for news, information, ideas, and friends.

In six years, Facebook has gone from zero members to more than 800M (latest "official" count).

Global Momentum – People can't produce infographics fast enough to keep up with Facebook's growth. This recent chart was dramatically outdated by Zuck at f8, the organization's developer conference, when he reported Facebook now has more than 800M "citizens" around the globe and is published in more than 100 languages. Source – pingdom.com

Put in a global perspective that would make Facebook the third largest country in the world, behind China and India.

Because of its size and influence, Facebook has become a major source and resource for businesses. Its rapid growth and global reach is impressive, to say the least.Read more