When the iPad was introduced way back in 2010, we purchased a number of “tablets” for my staff at NC State University.  As a test, we worked with the library and turned a number of them over to our students and asked them to blog about the experience.

We sensed immediately that the new tablet was revolutionary and would change the way we think about personal computing . . .  forever.

Something Steve’s company has been doing since the beginning.

The ability to combine art and technology truly rocked the world and he seemed to embody disruptive innovation at every turn.

I never knew Steve Jobs, but I know Steve Jobs through the company and products he created.  That friendship will continue well into the future.  So long good buddy and thank you for everything you’ve done for me and those I love.

http://www.hiceschool.com/1-of-many/3149/

http://www.hiceschool.com/just-interesting/test-driving-the-ipad/

http://www.hiceschool.com/1-of-many/creativity-is-just-connecting-things/

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Passion Rules!

Back in September 2005 we introduced the world to a new way to approach university marketing and The Gator Nation was born.  It was actually The University of Florida, The Foundation for The Gator Nation, but it’s The Gator Nation idea that has been really sticky.

So sticky that I can’t keep track of all the Nation’s that are popping up here and there.  There’s the NASCAR Nation, the FOX Sports Nation, ESPN Nation, Buckeye Nation, Tiger Nation, Nike Nation, Wolfpack Nation (ouch) and … well, I could go on for ever.

Now along comes Dunkin’ Doughnuts with the Dunkin’ Nation.  But if you’re gonna steal somebody’s nation, steal the whole thing.

Dunkin' Nation

I’d have called it the Doughnut Nation.  The goal, afer all, is to own the entire category.  The Dunkin’ Nation is kind of like owning the doughnut hole.  Does Krispy Kreme own the rest of the doughnut?

So Dunkin’ Doughnuts, , if you’re gonna own the category, own the entire category; The Doughnut Nation.

If you’re going to claim something, claim all of it.

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Passion Rules!

Back in 2005 I was a trendsetter according to The Wall Street Journal.  Among the 5 percent of “adults” who were users of social media sites.

In fact, I think I was one of the first staff members at the University of Florida to join Facebook.  Then YouTube, then LinkedIn, then Twitter.  And dare I mention . . .  MySpace.

There was a lot of debate back then (the old days, eh) about social media.  Concern that we couldn’t protect the privacy of our students.  Concerns that we couldn’t protect the privacy of the university.  Concerns about goofing off at the office and frittering away the state’s time on the computer.  Lots of concerns.

Well, turns out today that  I’m just an ordinary Pop Monkey because, today, just about everybody uses social media; according to the Journal,  65 percent of adults  use social media.  But hey, I do use them all and I even have a blog.

Here’s an abriged version of the story from the Journal earlier this week.

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Passion Rules!

[Read more →]

Steve Jobs described creativity and the creative process better than anyone.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.

“Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” [Wired, February 1996]

Everybody’s doing it; We fulfill dreams, get moving, The Gator Nation.  All just connecting the dots.  And yes, I’ve felt guilty because I couldn’t explain how ideas happened.

Sometimes they — the connection between the dots — were right there, staring you in the face.  Other times it took research and discussion, but inevitably, the solution just arrived.  Or did it emerge.  Or did it just magically appear.  I like the magic.

Working to understand the dots at Moffitt.  While the dots are different, they are starting to align. And here, it’s really all about passion.  Dots with passion. I love that.

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Passion Rules!

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/gov-rick-scott-talks-investors-state-funding-moffitt-cancer-center-officials

Gov. Rick Scott talks investors, state funding with Moffitt Cancer Center officials Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa, joined Gov. Rick Scott on a tour of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa on Thursday. If you remember, House Speaker Dean Cannon yanked Grant from a leadership post during the 2011 session after he broke ranks with party leadership and voted against a sweep of a $50 million Biomedical Trust Fund funded by a cigarette sales tax. . The sweep would have cost Moffitt $10 million. In a compromise with the Senate, the final budget left $25 million in the fund, and Moffitt received $5 million, half of its previous year’s allotment.

Scott seemed genuinely surprised when Moffitt CEO Bill Dalton, while visiting a Moffitt research lab,  told the governor how much state funding the center has lost.

“You mean the Legislature cut your funding by 50 percent?” he asked.

At the end of the tour, Scott said he wanted to better understand the funding issues, describing Moffitt as a tremendous asset for the state, because of the lives the center saves and the jobs it creates.

“It’s clearly important that we make sure Moffitt gets adequate funding,” he said. “I’ve got to understand what makes sense, because so far no one’s come to my office and said, ‘Gosh, I think you ought to cut something. They always come to me with ideas for spending more money. And taxpayers, in contrast, don’t want me to spend more money.”

Scott asked numerous questions of Dalton and Cathy Kerzner, CEO of M2Gen, one of several companies created by Moffitt to apply research findings to patient care. He seemed particularly interested in how aggressively the two were seeking outside investors, and what type of equity they would be willing to give investors. He advised them to never give up too much control, and talked about striking a balance between pressure from investors to produce results and taking care to run a company well.

He told Kerzner: “I have plenty of friends who are interested in investing in these things.”

Later, Kerzner said: “If he doesn’t think I’m going to call him, he’s crazy. He offered twice.”

When I worked at Bombardier some time ago, we produced all literature and video materials for Sea-Doo watercraft in English and French.  Bombardier is a French Canadian company so it made sense, even though sales in Quebec were only a handful.

But today, Quelle horreur! French-Canadians Michel and Lynda Thibodeau were awarded roughly $12,500 after suing Air Canada because the airline’s flight attendant failed to address them in their mother tongue as legally required, the Canadian Press reports.

The Thibodeau’s lawsuit was based largely on being unable to find an agent who spoke French and a baggage announcement that was made only in English when they were traveling from Ottawa to the United States. The couple was seeking $500,000 Canadian in damages.

The carrier, it should be noted, must communicate in both English and French when there is demand.

An important note: Mr. Thibodeau speaks English fluently.

Thibodeau has a history of being litigious. He sued an Ottawa bus company in 2002 because the bus driver said “Hello” not “Bonjour.”

It would be easy to chalk this up to one Quebecois being a jerk, but there are actually political groups that cheered the Thibodeau’s victory in court.

It really is a different world up there.

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Passion des règles!

A team of University of Florida public relations students took first prize in the Public Relations Student Society of America’s 2011 Bateman Case Study Competition.

Conducted annually, the Bateman Competition judges teams of college students on their ability to develop and present a comprehensive public relations campaign.

Recent public relations graduates Elizabeth Dow, of Ellicott, Md.; Alex Glover, of Ormond Beach, Fla.; Ruth Michel, of Keystone Heights, Fla.; Seeta Rebbapragada, of Hollywood, Fla.; and Maura Reese, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. presented their campaign in person to Ally Financial representatives in New York City May 13. UF joined Elon University and Loyola University New Orleans in the finals. [Read more →]

When you wake up tomorrow — 5/21/2011 — ask yourself, will today be the day?

To be continued . . . perhaps.

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Passion Rules!

“The deep cuts proposed today by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education present an enormous challenge for the University, and more importantly, for our students.  Permanent net cuts totaling nearly $483 million (17.4%) could not be absorbed without inflicting irreparable damage to our academic quality and reputation.  To put this in context, a cut of this magnitude is equivalent to the entire state appropriations for UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina University, and Winston-Salem State University combined.  Because state dollars are the primary source of funding for basic academic programs, cuts at this level would require eliminating approximately 3,200 faculty and staff positions across the University and eliminating 240,000 class seats.  As a result, students would find themselves in far larger classes and would find that courses they need for graduation are no longer offered or are only offered sporadically.

While we are grateful that the Subcommittee draft would fully fund enrollment growth in the first year and provide operating support for new buildings, state funding for need-based financial aid would shrink.  That is a tremendous concern, given that 60% of our in-state undergraduates depend on need-based financial aid, and rapid tuition increases have put additional strain on students and their families.  Other proposed cuts that would adversely impact the University include the loss of all state support for UNC Hospitals, the phased elimination of state support for UNC-TV, and the loss of funds critical for recruiting top graduate students to North Carolina.  We are mindful that it is still early in the budget process and will continue to work with legislative leaders to preserve the quality of a UNC education.”