Keep the Change...

I think that for the most part, people are resistant to change. Now, everybody with a tattoo, a "wild" ambition and a few dusty drinking stories throw their arms in the air in response to that statement. "We love change," they declare. I wouldn't have as much doubt if they didn't have fear in their eyes, despite the defiance plastered on their faces. It softens the declaration some what, I'm sure you'll agree.

Word on the streets is that Google plans to digitalize and sell millions of copies of books online. Of course they are. Now, you can imagine that all the bookies out there are claiming that Google is endangering the cultural species even further by taking the romance right out of book buying. Sure, there will still be bookstores, like there will still be newspapers (we assume) but buying and selling online is the wave of the future. And why not books? First came digitalized music purchases, now books. (Do you think that Google is also feeling the effects of the recession? Talk about a long shot.)

I will admit, there is a certain convenience to buying digital copies of books and I think when it comes right down to it...whether you're a writer or a reader, books will live on. They are one of the only constants in the technological age. We'll never surpass the spoken and/or written word. Long live language. And travel. In the midst of the rush for technology, we haven't forgotten our motivation. What's our motivation again? Oh yes, knowledge.

On a recent trip to where ever, I sat in an over crowded airport and passed the time with a hilarious Bill Bryson novel and a complete disregard for the Internet access only metres away. The beckon of Facebook and Twitter and Myspace could not outshine the basic human truths I like to uphold...To laugh, to travel and to read something that will, in fact, impart some knowledge on me. Even if it is fiction.

Embrace the change? I don't know. That's up to you. Change is uncertain and certainly a little scary. Fear of the unknown might keep you from discovering a certain pleasant book that would have otherwise gone unnoticed on the shelf of a dusty second-hand book shop.

Just like Tourism Radio. Sure, you might think you need a private tour guide and you might be right. Just don't expect it to look the way you think it should look. it might just look like a device that is installed into your hire car that tells you all about the area that you're driving through and points out landmarks and highlights as you approach them. We're talking to the adventurous spirit at Tourism Radio. And if you couple that with a keen interest in exploring the world with nothing but your back pack and your cell phone than log on to www.hummba.com and share your experiences the new age way.

Oh, and...keep the change.

Maid in France...

Someone doesn't want to play anymore. The business playing field has morphed into a contact sport with big boys like Google mercilessly tackling the opposing team...the little guy.

That's one side of the story anyway. The French version. A French company called Bottin Cartographes is taking Google Maps to court, sighting unfair competition. The US internet giant is being sued for €500 000 in damages.

Why is everyone crying in their croissant? Because Google France (pronounced "goo-Gill fr-wan-ss")and the Google Mother ship (Google Incorporated) are providing free web mapping services to some businesses. Here's the rub though...this Paris based company provides the same service but for a fee and is accusing the G Machine for making business unfairly competitive and almost impossible for them.

They claim that Google's strategy is to undercut competitors by temporarily picking up the tab until it gains control of the whole market and by then, let's face it, it doesn't matter what they'll charge, the cycle will start all over again.

Bottin Cartographes' lawyer had this to say..."Google is ruining the market, they are squeezing out the competition and creating a monopoly for themselves." Not a bad strategy but when it comes down to it...is it really all fair in love and war? If that is the case it's only to absolve both parties from being wrong.

I don't like enemies and if I had to choose someone to hate on...Grand daddy Google wouldn't be my first choice but freakin' félicitation to Bottin Cartographes for taking a stand, in the name of best business practices...I salute you David.

Goliath Google declined to comment on the case. Hmmm, suspicious. Could it be as simple as that? Here we were trapped in an internal battle about whether or not there was truth in the da Vinci code, when actually, the machine was just distracting us from knowing their cunning plan...to take over the world.

All hail Godgle? Not in France. Small and medium business (one anyway) are getting on their French Horn and making some noise, who knows...they might even French Fry them and make French toast out of the Internet Giants.

Visit www.hummba.com to plan a trip to France or tell us about Paris! S'il vous plait

From Red Carpet to Red Handed

So I had a little browse through the news this morning. Because Jacob Zuma will officially open Parliament today as the country's 4th democratically elected president there is naturally a fair amount of pomp and ceremony. The opening line of one of the stories about Zuma said something about a red carpet being taped down since the early hours of this morning. It got me thinking about the little traditions and sometimes absurdities that still exist in the world today. With access to anyone, at anytime, with the massive overload of information and the fact that at any given time, you can go anywhere, people still get excited about a red carpet. Its just a carpet and its red. The only thing that actually makes it special is the fame, fortune and honour that associated with it. Its perhaps one of the oldest and last remaining route markers known to man. The first record of the use of a red carpet was in 458BC, so it goes to show that some things don't change...even in the technology age.

And speaking of which, on that same news source I saw another story that made me think about the absurdity of seating technology and tradition at the same table. Two men were arrested in Moscow after "staging an audacious robbery" in an upmarket suburb, near the presidential palace in fact. Why audacious? Well, that's risky business anyone will agree but what inspired confidence in the burglars was the fact that they had already studied satellite images of the area thoroughly. Google Earth has opened up a whole new world for criminals. Gone are the days of flash lights and soft sole shoes, now its satellite tracking and night vision goggles (true).

So there you have it! The little absurdities that result from the marriage of technology and technicalities on red carpets and in purple robes.