In my grandmother's era, college was practically unheard of.  This was College 1.0.

In my mother's generation, college was reserved for the elite.  This was College 2.0.

Today, college is like the 13th grade.  It is necessary.  It is part of the status quo.  A diploma is no longer a differentiating factor; it's a requirement.  College is no longer special.  Welcome to College 3.0.

College 3.0 teaches students to do one thing: follow the rules.  Like sheep herded from their pastures into their pens, students are taught to follow the path of least resistance--do well on your exams, find a stable job, and work in that career for the rest of your life, minding your own business and doing as you're told.

Tomorrow will nurture a new form of higher education.  The next generation of higher education, College 4.0, will be independent scholars--those students who take initiative to learn from and teach one another.  They will create their own college experiences.  They will challenge the status quo.  They will think for themselves, versus blindly following the road signs that lead them into uninspiring careers.  They will rewrite the rules to fit their lives, rather than living by the rules they're told they have to follow.

I am a product of College 3.5.  I didn't know it going in, but college didn't turn out to be a series of lectures and credit hours.  Instead, college enabled what would become some of the most awesome experiences of my life.  I've played music with (somewhat) famous bands.  I've led two bowling teams to first place seasons.  I've directed, produced, and starred in two seasons of my own TV show.  I directed a short film that screened at my favorite film festival.  I've taken hundreds of photos that have appeared in print publications.  

None of this would have been possible without college.

My message isn't "don't bother with college."  My message is that college is a safe haven for rewriting the rules, finding what you love, and paving the way for a fulfilling life.  Challenge the status quo.  Write your own rules.  Better yourself.  

Did you follow the path of least resistance?  Or did you forge your own college experience?  How did you challenge and improve yourself outside of the classroom?

One last question: even if you've graduated from college, are you going to participate in College 4.0?

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A few weeks back, I wrote a post about heading to Japan for a month.  The plan is to land with what will fit in a backpack and explore.  I think I need to prepare.

As of 7 AM this morning, I'm riding to RDU airport.  I'm getting on a plane to NYC (a place to which I've never been) with a ticket I bought on a spur-of-the-moment purchase this morning.  I'm taking advantage of JetBlue's $10 flight promotion (thanks, JetBlue), so the barrier to entry is pretty low ($62 after taxes and fees, including a stop in Boston). I'll be landing with just the bare essentials--my tickets, my wallet, and my phone--and explore for 24 hours.  

I have no hotel plans.  I have no itinerary.  I spent two hours researching and studying about the city.  This is going to be exciting.

Check back for updates throughout the day.

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Back in September, I wrote a post entitled "How FedEx Kinkos Swiftly and Irrevocably Lost My Business."  I had a bad experience at the local FedEx Office location and, with no opportunity for recourse, I told the world about it.  The post received nearly 600 hits, which is impressive considering I rarely blog on this platform.

One of the points that I made in the original post was that FedEx had zero brand presence on Twitter.  With a brand that size, the least I felt they should have done was taken the time to secure their usernames and URLs, but the @FedEx name had already been brandjacked.  Therein lied part of the problem.

I was digging through the blog last night and I found the story.  Considering it a parable for customer service, I scheduled the link to be reposted to Twitter this morning.

Lo and behold, this afternoon, I received the following message in my Mentions.

@FedExLaShelia, you are a hero.  Single-handedly, you've helped restore some of my faith in the FedEx brand.  I recognize that you're just doing your job, but showing me that the company has recognized the importance of listening and responding to customer service issues makes me feel a little fuzzy inside.

That said, I still won't return to the local store in which I had problems.  

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That's right.  I am fully intent on taking a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun (or The Land of the Used Panty Machine, whichever way you want to look at it).  

My plan is to wait until the lease on my apartment expires at the end of July so I'm not paying rent, throw all of my crap in storage, and then fly to Japan with only what will fit in a backpack.  When I land, I plan to walk out of the airport and start exploring.  No idea where I'll sleep.  No idea what I'll do.  I'm just going to go explore and not worry about things back home until I arrive.

A few things on my list of stuff I'd like to experience:

• Ride the shinkansen (bullet train) across the country
• Train in aikido, a Japanese martial art
• Strengthen my Japanese language skills
• Eat sushi for the first time.  I've been avoiding it for almost 24 years.  I might as well do it right the first time.

The rest of the trip will be made up as I go along.  I'll be blogging about it along the way, so you can be jealous (or not) about what I'm up to.  

What's cool is that Verizon is going to be hooking me up with a world phone for the trip, so I'll be able to take care of my coaching clients in the US while I'm abroad, too.  I mean, come on...  I've got to live, right?

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

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via gizmodo.com

Fellow nerds, take heed!

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via ginevra.typepad.com

Enough said.

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via i.imgur.com

"Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer."

Via @dhatfield

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via loveallthis.tumblr.com

Na, na na nanana naaaa! Nanana naaaa! Hey, Jude!

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For those of you who are asking, all of these photos are (and will continue to be) taken with my iPhone 3G and edited using the new Photoshop app for iPhone.  

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Download now or watch on posterous

Cam-2009-10-07 18-17-45.mov (6673 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

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Yes, kiddies.  If you drink soda, you will get fat.  I'm not quite sure this is the best thing for their self-esteem, but still...  The message is there, so let's roll with it.

Drink soda = get fat.  Write that down.

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Dear Unnamed Individual,

 This is spam. If you'd like people to purchase the services you're unwelcomingly pushing upon them, I'd recommend forming relationships with those people you're genuinely interested in. 

My question to you is this: why would I even consider paying you for something I can do for free with a few clicks of a mouse?  I'm a savvy web designer and programmer; you can't prey upon my lack of knowledge.

While I have a captive audience, certainly it's not inappropriate to add an unwelcome shameless plug for my services as you did yours. I'm a social media trainer--I teach entrepreneurs how to use social media properly (no spam required).

In fact, you'd be a PERFECT candidate for the course I'm offering in cooperation with Martin Brossman.  You've obviously seen my "new online store" (which isn't a "store," by the way).  You can visit our training website at http://www.mysocialmastery.com and browse my personal services at http://www.connectiveinsights.com.

Warm regards,
Rob

P.S.  Congratulations!  You've made my blog. 

-----Original Message-----

From: Search Engine Setup [mailto:Spammy McSpammer]
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 3:41 PM
To: Rob Laughter
Subject: Re: mysocialmastery.com - ready to be listed

 Hi,

 Congratulations on getting your new online business started.  We just received your information for your new online store.

 In order to get your website listed in the major search engines, go to http://www.SPAM.com?url=mysocialmastery.com

 This process takes less than five minutes to set up and ensures an increase in visibility for the life of your business.

 You currently qualify for a promo code which waives all setup fees:

 Your promo code is "1844". Enter it at http://www.SPAM.com?url=mysocialmastery.com

 Based on your website's start date, your promo code for: mysocialmastery.com is valid through: 10/05/09.

 Congratulations on starting your new online business!

 Sincerely,

 SPAM.com

 To change email notification options:  http://www.SPAM.com/

 Apartado 5956, Panama City, Panama Zona 6

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The local copy shop used to be a staple of the American business economy.  Desktop printers, PDF files, and email have largely marred the legacy of the copy shop, but I still find myself dashing down the street to Kinko’s to get a last-minute presentation in order.  No longer.  Let me explain why.

I am presenting a proposal for a local restaurant in an hour and a half.  After crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s throughout my presentation, I copied the presentation to an SD card and hopped into my Jeep.  Five minutes later, I arrive at FedEx Kinko’s for the first time since I moved in to town.  With a sense of accomplishment, my feet hit the pavement and I scamper to the door.

I’m greeted by your typical copy center fare: gargantuan, noisy printers,  mountains of paper, and employees so delirious from the harsh fluorescent lighting they look like zombies.  I march up to the counter and take my place in line beside a display for brochure printing.  I take notice; I have been printing my own brochures for the past month and my business is growing to the point that I’d like a more professional option. 

“May I help you?” a weary voice asks.

“Yes, please,” I respond.  I slide my SD card across the counter and explain that I’ve included a PowerPoint file that I’d like printed in grayscale, four slides to a page, in landscape format.  The attendant agrees with “ho-hum” vigor and waddles over to her workstation.

Moments later, she returns with a stack paper.  Prominently displayed on the paper are four black rectangles (the exact dimensions being 16x9, the screen size of my new netbook).  The white text that looked so sharp on my presentation was printed as black and blended beautifully into my branded backdrop.

“The text was white,” I protest.

“There’s no such thing as white ink,” the clerk replies matter-of-factly.  Great, but you were using toner.   Shouldn’t the text print as negative space?  Furthermore, there is indeed such thing as white ink—it just needs to be opaque and often screen-printed.  I digress.

Always the problem-solver, I quickly reach a solution.  “I’ll just remove the background,” I suggest.  “Can I use your computer?”

“Not my computer,” she says, pointing to the rent-by-the-hour terminals across the store.

I traverse the mess of patrons and paper that litter the store and attempt to use the terminals to remove the background from the PowerPoint on my SD card—a simple task that would only take seconds.  I see no SD card reader.

I march, dejected, back to the counter.  “Is there a card reader?” I ask.

“You can use your credit card,” the clerk responds.

“No, an SD card reader.”

“Oh, yeah.  The one in the corner.”

I inquire about rates.  “What is the hourly rate?”

“Thirty cents per minute.”

HOLY FREAKIN’ HIGHWAY ROBBERY, BATMAN.  Hold the phones.  “I’ll just go back to the office.” 

I sat back down at my shiny new netbook, modified my design, and printed on my desktop printer.  I am now out of ink (both color and black), I have a poorly-printed proposal (which I now will be presenting in just over an hour), and I’ll never be visiting FedEx Kinko’s (or “FedEx Office,” rather) ever again.

I’m unconcerned about the $0.30 a minute fee; that is the cost of convenience.  The problem I have is that it took more time to close the program on the clerk’s computer, remove the card, and explain why I had to do it myself than it did just to click through View > Slide Master  and change the background image.  Three clicks of a mouse is all it took, yet that is too much work for the store clerk.

The lesson here is that customer service is paramount.  Yesterday, I tweeted about a problem I had with Windows Live Movie Maker.  Within minutes, I had a personal response from @WLMovieMaker with an answer.  Similarly, I’ve had great experiences with businesses from Papa John’s Pizza (@PapaJohnsRalFay), Hootsuite (@hootsuite), and Blue Ant (@myblueant).  The question is: is FedEx Office listening? 

The answer: doubtful.  “@FedExKinkos” has been brand-jacked already.  So has “@Fedex.”  Brands, get your act together.  Secure your trademarks.  Monitor your customer service channels.  Engage with your audience.  PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

For more about social media, branding, and engagement, visit my consulting website, http://www.connectiveinsights.com.

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