It's the Twitter Anthem sung to "Rockin' Robin" by the Jackson 5.

(sing along...)

He types on the keyboard all day long

Huntin’ and peckin’ and tweetin’ his song

All the little birdies on Folsom Street

Love to hear the people go tweet tweet tweet

Follow follow, tweet tweet tweet

Follow follow, tweet tweetly-tweet

Go little birdie

'Cause we're really gonna tweet tonight

Every little message, every little sign

Every little word got to fit that line

The wise old whale, and those who know.

Slapping those keys singing go tweet go!

Follow follow, tweet tweet tweet

Follow follow, tweet tweetly-tweet

Go little birdie

'Cause we're really gonna tweet tonight

Yeah yeah

Late in the evening when the chat is done

Told them how you really had so much fun

But just when the chatter begins to end

The next big thing pops in the trend!

He types on the keyboard all day long

Huntin’ and peckin’ and tweetin’ his song

All the little birdies on Folsom Street

Love to hear the people go tweet tweet tweet

Follow follow, tweet tweet tweet

Follow follow, tweet tweetly-tweet

Go little birdie

'Cause we're really gonna tweet tonight

Every little message, every little sign

Every little word got to fit that line

The wise old whale, and those who know.

Slapping those keys singing go tweet go!

Follow follow, tweet tweet tweet

Follow follow, tweet tweetly-tweet

Go little birdie

'Cause we're really gonna tweet tonight

Yeah yeah

Late in the evening when the chat is done

Told them how you really had so much fun

But just when the chatter begins to end

The next big thing pops in the trend!

Anyone up for a YouTube video?

One possible signature of a Higgs boson from a simulated collision between two protons. Source: Wikipedia

Do you know about the Higgs particle? It was in all the papers. And recently, calculations  on this particle suggest that the universe is finite.  And just to add some "heft" to the story, this particle is sometimes referred to as the "God Particle". So, we have God and the end of the universe. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

The cool thing about the Higgs particle is what it "imparts" or does to other particles in The Standard Model of particle physics. Without getting into too much technical jargon, the Higgs particle is essentially with out "particle character". The Higgs boson is a particle with no spin, electric charge , or color charge (color charge has to do with interactions on an atomic level, not a chromatic concept). It is also very unstable, decaying into other particles almost immediately. So what we have is a fragile particle that almost instantly vanishes.

As essential as it is fragile.

But what is amazing about this illusive particle is what it does. It imparts mass to particles--it gives them weight...and substance!  It's a bit over the top, but an essential element to explaining some core aspects of the universe.

Is the Higgs Particle really just creativity?

I can't help to see the similarities between the magic of creativity and this particle. Creativity is weightless, without easy or clear description. Yet it's amazing what creativity can do. The search for creativity goes on and on. And while we see the physical manifestation of creativity everyday, it never appears alone--it always appears in the context of how it gives wight or substance to an idea.

Creativity is both essential and fragile. It just seems to me that the "God Particle" may be closer than we think. And it might be even more important than we have ever imagined.

The things that you, your family, friends and even enemies post are burned into the digital fabric of life.  Forever.  And beyond the simple image lies richer information that can often include dates and locations.  What emerges is your digital footprint.  Something not unlike your physical fingerprint.

Our constitution guarantees us the right to privacy.  But is there another less explicit right--the right to be forgotten?

Europeans and Americans have diametrically opposed approaches to the problem. In Europe, the intellectual roots of the right to be forgotten can be found in French law, which recognizes le droit à l’oubli—or the “right of oblivion”—a right that allows a convicted criminal who has served his time and been rehabilitated to object to the publication of the facts of his conviction and incarceration. In America, by contrast, publication of someone’s criminal history is protected by the First Amendment.

Recently, the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights, and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, announced the European Commission’s proposal to create a sweeping new privacy right—the “right to be forgotten.” The right, which has been hotly debated in Europe for the past few years, has finally been codified as part of a broad new proposed data protection regulation. Although Reding depicted the new right as a modest expansion of existing data privacy rights, in fact it represents the biggest threat to free speech on the Internet in the coming decade. The right to be forgotten could make Facebook and Google, for example, liable for up to two percent of their global income if they fail to remove photos that people post about themselves and later regret, even if the photos have been widely distributed already. Unless the right is defined more precisely when it is promulgated over the next year or so, it could precipitate a dramatic clash between European and American conceptions of the proper balance between privacy and free speech, leading to a far less open Internet.

But I wonder if there really is a European Union or a United States?  And is the "clash" more of a "mash" 

From my vantage point--my computer--I see the world less as individual countries and more as a seamless connection of people and ideas.  Nevertheless, the conflict on data, free speech and general internet freedom will not go away.  And as technology advances, the issues will be come even more critical and controversial.

Some common sense suggestions.

It's just so simple--the touch of a button and your life can be changed.  I've been impressed with Common Sense  Media.  The offer up some practical suggestions to address the issues of digital privacy and safety for parents and children.

Internet safety goes way beyond protecting kids from strangers or blocking inappropriate content. It's about helping your kids use the Internet productively and practice safe responsible online behavior even when you're not there to watch them.

The more time your kids spend online, the more they will see, watch, play, read, and interact. And the more those experiences will contribute to their worldview -- and maybe their own self-image. Getting involved in your kids' online life is the key to helping them reap the benefits while minimizing the negatives.

Think twice, click once.

The best steps toward privacy and "the right to be forgotten" may be just to avoid the necessity in the first place.  Our compulsion to "like" something, our drive to impress our friends, our need to be the first and our human desire to reveal ourselves (in so many ways!) should be tempered with a simple question:  WHAT IF?  The "what if" rule can help frame up our actions with a bit of common sense.  It's not the end all, but it can give us a moment of pause and reflection.  And that pause can help you avoid the need to be forgotten--whether it's a right or not!

Keep thinking and follow me on Twitter and visit my other blog HEALTH CRITICAL on Forbes.

Reference:

1.  Jeffrey Rosen Professor of Law, The George Washington University Legal Affairs Editor, The New Republic.  http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/privacy-paradox/right-to-be-forgotten

2.  Attitudes on Data Protection and Electronic--Identity in the European Union.  http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_359_en.pdf

3.  Common Sense  Media   http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

In today world, marketers speak of social media but often rely on the "media" side to drive engagement.  What they miss is the "social" component.  Ted and Kathryn explore the role of engagement and reciprocity in building powerful and meaningful relationships that are the basis for social media and brand success.  Their book is rich with detail and practical examples that make the necessary tasks clear and achievable.

Return on Relationship reminds us that the human component to social media is literally its "life blood"

And in today's world, it's really the currency of engagement.  It's more than an essential read--it's an essential marketing lifestyle that, if ignored, will make dinosaurs out of a brand managers.  And as changes in technology come and go, the authors remind us that it's the relationship that is the essential constant to building the brand and the connection that makes a difference.  Tired of being sold, customers now look to engage and build the "glue" that drives a relationship and sales.  Long gone is the "push" mentality where the simple message rules.  Today, control is replaced by influence.

And, as pragmatic and factual as Return on Relationship is, it's also written from the heart and builds a compelling story for the importance of our "human" connections.  And it's these relationships, across customers, employees, peers and partners that will emerge as the marketing and communication muscle that drives your brand.

It's a "must read" that will help define and shape the future.

Today's big think is what Einstein called "spooky". I'm not sure if that was translated from the German or actually English but those are his words and are very well linked to this idea. By the way, Einstein never embraced the English language and spoke his native German for all his years in Princeton at the Institute for Advanced Studies.

Anyway...action at a distance refers to an unusual correlation between distant events, usually expressed in the context of sub-atomic particles. It seems that there is communication between each event that effects an outcome. I'll leave out all the technical stuff but the bottom line is that the communication is INSTANTANEOUS. Regardless of the distance, the communication happens in ZERO time.

Now, stop and think--FAST!

Zero time. That is faster than the rules allow--faster than the universal speed limit (the speed of light). Now you might begin to see why Al called it "spooky".

So?

Instantaneous communication or action results in a whole group of really cool things...and are some of my favorite "thoughts".

Let's talk about two:

Non-causal reality. When things can happen faster than the speed of light, you can set up certain conditions where actions just don't make sense. For example, if you could shoot a can off a fence with a bullet that goes faster than the speed of light, you can actually set up the right angles and positions to see the can fall off the fence BEFORE you see the gun being fired. Freaky....or should I say spooky! This can play out in many interesting ways...and create a reality that is not linked to causation. What people call non-causal reality.

The second implication of action at a distance is the notion of "interconnectedness". In other words, connections exist that allow this interaction to happen and there is no actual "transmission" from one thing to another. Gravity is a great example. Gravitation was once thought of a force that "pulled" things closer. Actually, gravity is better explained as warped space and the actual movement of things (let's say planets) is just the movement across that bent or warped fabric of space (yea, space/time). But let's push on this concept a bit more. Interconnectedness jumps from physics to philosophy and takes us to the idea on "oneness" or unity. In other words, we are all profoundly connected! This fabric of mind / space / consciousness could be a profound aspect of the reality in which we live...(but more on that later). Any just "thoughts" themselves--are they instant? Is there a human connection between twins that express the action at a distance. Very cool indeed!

Sometimes, connections (like linking physics and philosophy) are real but sometimes just accidents of language. And that is the fodder for great thought!!

Keep thinking...

We are no longer pushed a message in a linear fashion. Today, we communicate and learn in a vibrant, two-way, (three-way, four-way, etc...) interactive dynamic which touches our lives in ways like never before.  The iPad is the perfect example.

But one aspect of human communication--gesturing remains an essential and enduring component. of human communication.  From a the simple "come here" to giving someone "the finger", a gesture can be a very powerful tool.  Now let's consider what happens when the power of the tablet computer meets the dynamism of a human gesture.

Enter E-TICULATION, the e-version of gesticulation.

Gesticulation is the act of gesture...and now this notion of the computer gesture is emerging; living in technology like the Wii and further driven in part by the iPad. Touch, push, move, stretch, and point are now becoming part of the body language of the computer. It's applications in real life are significant. From teaching a child, to professional one-on-one selling; this will become the new standard of interactive communication.

The interesting thing is that this new method isn't just a step forward in technology, but a step back to humanity. It integrates the device with the individual. It's the Internet that you hold like a pet. It's an extension of yourself and establishes a direct neural connection with the way your brain works. This is not to be underestimated!!!

It is here and it's here to stay. It is called e-ticulation, and it touched you here first!

Yes.  Zombies.

They walk the street of my quaint town and populate some of the meetings at my office.

They are the "other" victims of Hurricane Sandy.  And I'm not joking.  This isn't about the profound tragedy of those who have lost their houses or lives, but about those survivors who lived through the hurricane with only a few scrapes and scratches.  But it's these people who also have been transformed.  Transformed into something different...

• a bit more paranoid of flickering lights.
• a bit more attentive to weather forecasts.
• a bit more easily awakened.
• and a lot more exhausted.

They're not the UnDead.  But something is very Un about them.  The have a worried look in their eye...and some...a vague smell of gasoline. Hurricane Sandy has taken her toll of the countless psyches of many people--who at first glance--simply survived.

Sandy's damage is much more than physical

Sandy has taken something from us.  She came about at a time when out country is changing. The deteriorating infrastructure, corporate cost-controls, diminished volunteerism, and the (potential) of climate change have all created a "perfect storm" of horror and anxiety.  And what really drives this pathology is that Sandy isn't going away.  The ghost of Sandy lingers.  It lingers with Moms who care for small children, it lingers with adults who care for elderly parents and it lingers...no resonates...with every person who wonders about the "next" Sandy.

The storm is over, but is the Emergency now?

I don't think that it's time to wait.  The changes in our world demand that we--as citizens, caregivers and parents--make proactive changes that don't leave us out in the dark and cold again.

But today, there is a malignant growth that threatens the organization.  Yes, a cancer.  The question is--is it a metastatic?  And what is the prognosis?

It's ugly, but are the two key points.

#1.  Lance Armstrong is a cheat.  Simple as that.  He has orchestrated an elaborate scheme to carry out a fraud on us all.  His Tour de France wins are gone and replaced with a void that will resonate across cycling and sports forever.  His role model status has been destroyed and his value greatly diminished.

#2.  Lance Armstrong is a survivor.  His wins were contrived.  But his cancer was real.  And here lies the other part of the story that can provide the basis for LIVESTONG's survival.  As much of a phony he may be to the athletic world, he still is a patient and cancer survivor.  And that's something that will not change.

LIVESTRONG must survive.  Not for Armstrong, but for others touched by cancer

It's ironic that this powerful and important organization now has a "spot on its lung" or  a "suspicious mole that doesn't heal.  But the issue now is not diagnosis, but treatment.  So, the tough chemotherapy and all the side effects will now be played out. The empathy, the creation of Lance the villain, the tremendous loss of funding and the profound impact to loyal LIVESTRONGIANS will certainly take its toll.  So, the patient has been admitted to the hospital of public opinion and we will just have to wait.

Time will only tell...

And so it the Grim Reaper...

I thought it might be fun to talk about the burst of fright that so closely follow that BOOOOOOOO from a ghost or goblin.  We all know it...and we have all experienced the terror that rocks our bodies.  A rapid heart rate, a sinking feeling and a strange displacement from time and space that we interestingly fear and (sometimes) enjoy.

Ok, it begs the question.

Can you be scared to death?

Yes!  There are lots of data to suggest that the response to BOOOOOOO can be ventricular fibrillation*. Well...sometimes.  The physiologic response is well-studied and the surge of catecholamines (adrenaline) have a direct and powerful impact on many aspects of your body, including your heart.  For one, it lowers the threshold for the heart to experience an arrhythmia (or beating abnormality).  And sometimes this can actually be fatal.  More commonly in hearts that are already abnormal...but nevertheless, a burst of fear can be lethal!

Now think of all the times and places in life where this fright phenomenon occurs.  An amusement park, while driving, a stressful office meeting or even the sudden shock of an alarm clock! (Side bar:  the morning is the most common time for heart attacks and in-hospital cardiac arrests!!).  It surprised me that more folks aren't dropping dead.  Or perhaps we don't recognize the role these "bursts of fear" can play in sickness, disease and death.  Chronic fear is just an other word for stress.  And we all know how that plays out...

So, next time you hide behind that couch or around that dark corner, think twice about just who you scare the heck out of!!

BOOOOOOOOOOO!

*Localization of the neurally mediated facilitation of post infarction arrhythmias. Somberg JC, Nosta JJ. Harvard Medical School: Circulation 1981;64(4):140

While this image might not conger thoughts of quality, high-tech medicine, it might make you smile.  And there's the secret.  Like-ability.  Today's busy and complicated world of medicine has moved away from what most industries call "customer service" and evolved into an impersonal gauntlet of technology and limited human interaction.

Paging Dr. Welby!

Remember him?  Marcus Welby, MD.  Even in those days,  conflicts between a modern perspective and "innovators" was  the basis for a very real, and hit show.  The plots often concerned a professional conflict between well-meaning physicians. Here, Dr. Welby's unorthodox way of treating patients was pitted against the more strait-laced methods of Dr. Steven Kiley (James Brolin). The catch with this particular program was that the roles were reversed in that Dr. Kiley was much younger than Dr. Welby. In the similar series Medical Center, it is the older doctor who is more orthodox and the younger who is radical. The opening credits of "Welby" for each episode reminded viewers of the generation gap between the two doctors, Welby driving his long sedan and Kiley riding a motorcycle. Welby had served in the US Navy as a doctor during the war, and was a widower. He owned a sail boat and enjoyed the ocean. (Source:  Wikipedia)

Paging Dr. House!

In our fictitious world of physicians, Doctor House very well may be the smartest in the group. But what he has in brain power is often compromised by his "customer service" or perhaps even "patient service". He's the smartest guy in the room...but does he behavior promote that best actions and responses?

The power of a positive experience

Could healthcare be vastly improved by an added focus to "patient service"? In our system today, the point of care--from the emergency room to the family practice office--is a cauldron of information and emotion that is punctuated by the speedy visit of a distracted doctor (or other healthcare provider).  The resultant dialogue is broken and  can drive poor if not horrific health outcomes.  And the problem isn't just with medicine.  Relationships with your car dealer, credit card company and supermarket are all impacted by the "two-sided engagement" that builds trust and drives action.  Yet American Express and The Four Seasons Hotel understand this and make service a central part of their offering.

Customer Service as a component of quality care

Today, tremendous brain power and lots of dollars are seeking to tweak the system.  Policies and programs are developed and implemented to shift patient compliance just a few small percentages or drive a higher level of patient recognition of diseases and symptoms.  Yet, I wonder about the power of superior engagement and the healthy nature of a simple return this relationship? The human smile can work wonders to drive activity.  And this is exactly where healthcare need to move!