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Add one part satire to two parts sincerity. Sprinkle on a couple of rants. Stir liberally.
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Daily Blah FAQ
Who are you?
I'm the newly-appointed Future editor at Business 2.0 and the former San Francisco correspondent for Time Magazine.
Wow, so does this mean everything you write reflects Time Inc's opinion? Or do you perhaps have some sort of standard disclaimer to the effect that it doesn't?
Naturally, the opinions contained in this blog are not those of my employers. In fact, some opinions may be the polar opposite of my employers. Some may be the same, for all I know. Hey, it's not like I ask my employers their opinions about everything in the news, okay? Let's just say that if this were a Venn diagram with one circle marked "my opinions" and the other one marked "my employers' opinions", there would doubtless be some overlap. But neither I nor my employers are able to pinpoint exactly where that overlap is.
What is this Daily Blah thing?
An experiment for a column I wrote about blogging back in December 2001. All these years later, I haven't been able to kick the habit.
If it's called Daily Blah, how come you don't ... hey, wait, you're writing every day!
See? Told you I'd try harder.
Mister, you talk funny. Are you one of them furrners?
Why yes I am, as it happens. I was born, raised and educated in Great Britain. I've been living in the U.S. since 1996 and identify as British.
I say, old chap, you forgot the "u" in "colour."
No I didn't. I may identify as British, but I am also an American journalist writing for an American audience about mostly American issues. These two different sides of me are a constant source of tension. Nevertheless, Daily Blah will adhere to American English grammar and spelling.
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Daily Blah for... Saturday, May 11, 2002
Nod Vigorously While Reading
This is a fascinating example of what I suppose you'd call self-persuasion, or simply evidence of how gullible we all are. From my reading matter of the moment, Malcom Gladwell's The Tipping Point:
A large group of students were recruited for what they were told was a market research study by a company making high-tech headphones. They were each given a headset and told to test to see how well they worked while the listener was in motion ... All of the students ... heard a radio editorial arguing that tuition at their university should be raised from its present level of $587 to $750. A third were told ... they should nod their heads vigorously up and down. The next third were told to shake their heads from side to side. The final third were the control group ... All the students were given a short questionaire, asking them about the quality of the songs and the effect of the shaking. Slipped in at the end was the question "what do you feel would be an appropriate amount for tuition?" ... The students who kept their heads still guessed $582 ... those who shook their heads [guessed] on average $487 ... Those who were told to nod their heads up and down ... wanted tuition to rise, on average, to $646. The simple act of moving their head up and down, ostensibly for another reason entirely, was sufficient to cause them to recommend a policy that would take money out of their own pockets.
Alright, dear readers, from now on I would like you all to nod vigorously while reading Daily Blah entries. Further instructions will follow.
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