Have a Problem? Bitch about it on Twitter.

I mentioned in a previous post how this upcoming presidential election is going to be dominated by social media. I still believe that it will be, but I want to focus on a specific social network based on a recent string of events that happened to a friend. I want to focus on Twitter.

One of the major draws of Twitter is that regular people (read: non-celebrities) can interact WITH celebrities/companies, assuming they choose to respond. Also, with hashtags and at-tags, you can tag anyone with any topic and it's visible to the entire Twitterverse. This can be great or terrible. For example, if a customer starts bashing a specific company and at-tagging them, all of his/her followers see this and associate the negative with the company. Also, anyone browsing the company's profile will see this negativity on the company's recent tweets. This is terrible for the company's PR. Companies aren't stupid and they have realized this. So much so that they quickly respond to callouts on twitter.

For example, a friend of mine recently was having issues with his online banking. He immediately went to Twitter and at-tagged his bank's account and complained about the problem. Within minutes, the bank had personally responded and notifies him they were looking into the issue. Shortly after, the problem was resolved. Wow. THAT is customer service.

Customer service. That is what I want from the next administration. I'm paying for a service right? Yes, we most certainly do. Taxes, anyone? If candidates and even the current POTUS actually paid attention to tweets, and personally responded to even some of them, they could connect tremendously with the American people. I'm seeing that bitching about problems on Twitter to companies gets things done quickly and effectively. I hope that candidates see this tremendous tool and use it.

I know if a candidate personally responded to me, they would almost certainly have my vote. Did you hear that @BarackObama and @MittRomney?

The Slippery Slope

It has been a long standing policy of the United States to not negotiate with terrorists. While we cannot imagine the unthinkable decisions the President has to make in times of crisis, I'm sure that this policy has not been broken and the President firmly believes in this policy.

Or does he?

Consider this train of thought for a minute. Donald Trump has been criticizing (harassing or whatever  else you want to call it) the President recently for not adequately proving his citizenship. In a sense, Trump has been a "terrorist" to the Obama administration. Early this morning, Obama finally gave in and published his long-form certificate of live birth. Is this not a form of negotiating with terrorists?

You decide. It's a slippery slope...

We All Bleed Red

The United States is in a desperate situation. Our economy is struggling. Unemployment runs rampant through a majority of our cities. Political parties, democrats, republicans, libertarians, independents, tea party supporters, literally everyone, has recognized these as huge problems that need fixing. Each branch of political thought has its own "plan" for fixing the issues.

This is great, competition breeds innovation. However, there come times when the need is so dire that we HAVE to work together in order to accomplish the same goal. I believe that time is now. Ronnie Dunn said this very powerfully when he sings:

"Sometimes we're strong, sometimes we're weak, sometimes we're hurt and it cuts deep. We live this life, breath to breath, we're all the same; we all bleed red."

America is in critical need of solutions. Right now, I don't give a damn if one person, or a combination of 50 people, proposes the Golden Plan. I just want a friggin' answer.

We all need jobs. We all want a thriving economy. We all want lower gas prices. We all want to not stress over financial problems.

We all bleed red.

Citizen Plea

Ever just get fed up with things and have no other way to express what you're feeling than to just rant? Yeah, that's where I'm at right now. I've read a couple articles recently that really put this country's deficit into perspective. The one that hit hard was about this country's credit rating.

Standard and Poor's announced that unless the United States can announce a plan to substantially lower our country's deficit, the S&P will lower the US's credit rating. As a personally financially responsible person, I find this absurd. I just don't understand how our government could be trillions of dollars in debt. I don't spend money if I don't have it. Plain and simple. I understand that sometimes situations arise where HAVE to borrow money. But, then you make cuts immediately after in order to pay that money back. It seems like the US government has never made cuts. Nor is it planning to under current leadership. This has to change.

At this point I really don't care which party the new administration comes from, I just want fiscally responsible leadership. Is that so hard to ask? Apparently it is. Hopefully someone steps forward with a tangible plan to get our debt under control.

GET NERDY

Yesterday, President Obama did a Q&A from Facebook headquarters, streaming live on the White House Facebook fan page. The President was asked many questions, but the one topic that hit home with me was America's need for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skilled workers. Why? Because I am one of these people! My friends are these people!

With most of my social network having already graduated, or graduating within the next year, we know first hand the shortage of our special skills in the market. I can't tell you how many times I've been out at some bar and I meet someone and tell them I'm a computer scientist and they just give me a blank stare. This is good for me with my upcoming job search imminent. It means I'll be in high demand. However, with the shortage, it means there are not enough talented people to do the work necessary to get our country back on top. Basically, Uncle Sam's message is this:

Look at the huge, money making companies in America right now. What are they? Technology companies. Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon. They all started from a couple nerds in a garage, or dorm room, hacking away to come up with a beginning product. I know some of you are saying, it's a bubble, it's bound to pop. Will it? Facebook was founded 7 years ago. Google, over a decade ago. Microsoft? Almost 40 YEARS ago. That's a long time for a bubble to be still around...

Not only that, but these companies are worth BILLIONS. Facebook has a valuation of a around $70 billion. Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook's founder, owns some where around 25% of the company. That means Zuckerburg has a personal worth of...wait for it...... $17.5 BILLION dollars. WOW.

As TechCrunch so eloquently put it:

"In a time of rampant unemployment and $14 trillion in National Debt, if that’s not a big argument for teaching kids how to code, I don’t know what is."

So, I challenge you America, GET NERDY.

Fly Over States

In a recent post, Scott Solomon said that Florida would be a determiner in this upcoming election. I can agree with that given the state's diverse demographics. However, everyone knows that candidates spend a good deal of time AND money to win those swing states. That's great and all, but I don't want candidates to forget about all those people in the fly over states. Don't know what fly over states are? Jason Aldean does a pretty damn good job explaining in his song titled the exact same thing:

Jason asks, "Who's want to live down there in the middle of nowhere?" That question can be likened to a candidate asking himself, "Why should I care about those people in the middle of nowhere?" Well, Mr. Aldean answers that question as well:

"They've never drove through Indiana
Met the man who plowed that earth
Planted that seed, busted his ass for you and me
Or caught a harvest moon in Kansas
They'd understand why God made those Fly Over States."

Yeah, that's right -- busted his ass for you and me. The people who live in lesser-cared-about states are the ones who break their backs to put food in your grocery store so you can have that family dinner every Sunday night. And it's not just farmers, there are thousands of other professions linked to that industry in which the workers are struggling to make ends meet.

Whoever wins the upcoming election, be it Romney, Obama, or even Trump, I want them to hear one message. Do NOT forget about the little guys busting their ass in the Fly Over States.

-Reg

RIM - ________ In Motion

Can you fill in the blank?

RIM, better known in the tech industry as Research In Motion, is the company responsible for the well known Blackberry product line. Recently, since the release of it's new product, the Playbook, RIM has been criticized for "losing it's way."

Now, I've never owned a Blackberry, but I remember being green with envy at my friends' Berries. All that constant connection was very attractive to the tech geek in me. That was, until the iPhone was released. Focusing in the mobile marketplace, the iPhone, followed by the Android OS, was infinitely more enticing than the boring ole Blackberry. Blackberries are great for secure email and BBM, but they just can't compete in the "coolness" category. RIM tried to jump in the popular tablet fray with the Playbook, but they only half heartedly jumped in.

With the market changing so rapidly, RIM is at a crossroads. They have to make a decision on what direction to take the company. And they need to do it fast. Otherwise, they'll end up "the next Nokia...laid low by the unwillingness to adapt..."

Sound familiar? Damn right it does. You can substitute RIM for another three letter acronym: USA.

There, I said it.

The United States is a crossroads right now. For years, our country has been able to coast along doing the same ole, same ole, and been perfectly able to dominate in our market: the world. Now, however, the world is changing faster than ever, and we are no longer the leaders taking the first steps on the moon. Our economy is crumbling and our current administration keeps having money-pile bonfires on the White House lawn.

We someone to pick a direction for this nation. Not only pick a direction, but be confident in that direction. You can't just half-ass something. That's not the American way. We need someone who is an economical and job ninja. I believe that someone could be Mitt Romney.

Could it be someone else? Sure, but Romney has the experience, both in the business world and the political world, to pull it off. Don't believe me? Read the post on An American Blog for the number crunching proof. I need a job. My friends need jobs. America needs jobs. Romney knows how and he will get it done. This, in turn will get the economy rolling again and set America back on her feet.

So I ask you again: can you fill in the blank? ________ In Motion.  Research In Motion? Nope. Wrong.

ROMNEY In Motion.