This is the first post in an ongoing series that I am calling Dinner Discussion^®. The idea is that you are to bring up the topic over dinner with a friend and discuss. Then come back and post comments the insights you uncovered. I think it will be really interesting and fun to see some different responses.

The first Dinner Discussion^® topic is Thought-Communication Disparity: the incredible difference between the vast complexity of what goes on inside the human brain versus the relatively very simple communication channels we have to express it. Picture a huge, dammed lake where only small amount of water can get through the flood gates at any moment. For every word you utter (or type), millions of pieces of data process through your brain – from emotions to external sensations to associations and memories. What vast breadth of problems (personal, social, political, etc) arise from the extremely limited communication bandwidth between your brain and the other party? what can we learn from it? What opportunities exist because of it?

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I’m a little behind the fad, as I am just now reading The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell; but I am really enjoying the book, especially a section on Broken Window Theory. The basic idea is that major problems (i.e. crimes such as robbery and murder) will escalate in a vicinity if lesser problems (i.e. crimes such as graffiti, public disturbance, aggressive pan handling) are ignored. So, for instance, if a community repairs broken windows in its vicinity, then criminals can see that the community cares about the area, and is less likely to tolerate crime. Thus the criminals go elsewhere, seeking a path of less resistance. The psychology I want to focus on is that people will rise or fall to the bar that you set with your expectations and actions.

I would love to hear about a specific situation you have experienced where the Broken Window Theory applies. Feel free to tell your tale in comments section for this post.

I’ll start off with a small example of my own…

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It’s funny because it’s true. So really, it’s more like a chuckle followed by a sigh. I like seeing alternate operating systems like Linux and OSX making strides toward increasing market share, but Microsoft is so well embedded that it will take another decade to ever unseat them as the OS champion.

Today was the closing on my house: SOLD! I am happy to complete that chapter and move on to the next (with a little profit to boot). To celebrate all that I learned by being a homeowner over the past two years and nine months, and as promised in my previous real estate article, here are some of the specifics that might be of interest to the budding real estate mogul, like what I spent money to fix up and what made the biggest difference in presentation to give buyers that feeling of, “this is the right house for me.” It is worth mentioning that my house sold promptly after I made some relatively inexpensive but significant upgrades to the kitchen and master bathroom (see numbers 1 and 2 below). At the bottom of this post, you will find before and after photos of the master bathroom to give you a sense of the difference that simple changes can make.

Here are my top five recommended upgrades, in order of “wow-factor bang for your buck”:

1) Faucets & Knobs
2) Light Fixtures
3) Interior Paint
4) Exterior Paint
5) Carpets

Note: counter tops and kitchen flooring would be on the list where necessary, perhaps in place of carpets or exterior paint, but I did not do those upgrades on this house.

Here are the details:

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Early last year I developed an extensive design document for a site that would be a MySpace for MMO gamers, specifically targeting World of Warcraft subscribers. A couple differentiators were features such as user profiles based on the in-game character (rather than the subscriber’s person), and a plug-in that would automatically transfer in-game character information to the site and keep the character profile current. After much planning, and even some development of an early prototype, I rested the idea due mostly to concerns surrounding adoption rate estimates and revenue potential.

Enter Napster creator Shawn Fanning and Rupture. If I could have waved a magic wand and ordered my brainchild created in an instant, Rupture is pretty much it. Fanning appears to have identified most of the major components that are likely to make a social networking site successful in the MMO market. There are still some pieces that Rupture would do well to implement, such as a “real life” section in the profile where users can optionally post photos and information about themselves. At first glance Rupture looks great, and it will be interesting to see how it is accepted by the MMO community.

If you have not yet watched the video of Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone, do yourself a favor and go watch it here (just click the “Watch iPhone Introduction” button, as I am not able to link directly).

I found another good article today about the impact that the Apple iPhone on the entire consumer device market, which is remarkable considering that it will not even be in the hands of the public until June 1st, 2007. This is the true spirit of capitalism, and I am excited to see it. It will also be interesting to see what happens with the lawsuit over the name iPhone, that evidently Cisco has owned the rights to since 2000. This could end up being a marketing headache for Apple. If they do end up renaming the device, I will venture to guess it will be “iFone” or something akin. “iPod” is a rather meaningless name, yet oddly descriptive, so I was surprised when Apple chose to use such an uninspired descriptor as “phone” in the name.

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After yesterday’s unveiling of the Apple iPhone, I have been seeing lots of information, photos, more photos, and videos of what looks to be the proverbial gauntlet throw for the mobile hardware industry. I have but three words to express my joy: it’s about time. I keep looking down at my Motorola Q, currently resting on my desk, and smirking about how antiquated it suddenly seems for a device that launched only a few months ago… not to mention its endless problems, from tactile design flaws to crippling software bugs; like the one where it decides randomly about once a week that it does not want to charge when I plug it in before bed, making for a four-letter-word ridden situation the following morning when I am greeted with a critical battery warning. I will trade this Q in a heartbeat for what looks to be a beautifully thought out savior in a mobile world of rushed development cycles, sub-par product designs, and frustrations that extend far beyond the occasional dropped call. I have not traditionally been an Apple fan, but this product has the potential to make me into one. The thoughtful use of sensors on the iPhone is just one of a thousand examples showing that Steve and the gang have a clue, and that the iPod was not a one hit wonder for Apple’s success in the mass market. One final thought: the US has notoriously been behind Europe and parts of Asia by about three to five years in the mobile world tech curve. Could this be a turning point?

It was the best of markets, it was the worst of markets… ok, actually, it has been the worst of markets, and my house has been on it for nearly ten months. As of New Years Day, it is officially under contract! What a great way to start 2007. The close date is set for the end of the month, and I will sing and dance once that is final and I have a check in my hand. The crazy part is exactly what happened the day of the offer…

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What a way to start off the first post of a brand new blog, then to announce to the world that I am famous. There is a paradox in there somewhere. Anyway, recently I have been courting the idea of a product manager role at EarthLink, managing portal content. I thought it would be fun to create a video resume supplement to my traditional resume, and so a couple weeks ago I spent several hours late into the night tinkering with my webcam and Micro$oft MovieMaker, and out popped my video confection. Fast forward to the present: I received an email from YouTube asking me to approve a comment. A comment? Who in the world would have found my video resume, much less commented on it?? Sure enough, someone wrote a comment and mentioned that I had made it into the top ten in an article about, well, video resumes. I was supremely curious, so I poked around and… OMG I’m famous! Well, almost…

Article: Job Hunters Seek Winning Edge in Video Resumes
(check out #2 on the top ten list to the left)

And here is the direct link to my video resume.