An interesting insight of what people in NYC and SG do when commuting to work

This was an observation I made during my week-long-holiday in NYC recently. This observation was made from my daily peak hour commute on the 1-2-3 subways.

Observation 1: A good number of NYC commuters are "book readers". In Singapore, you can hardly find commuters who still read actual physical books on the MRT. In fact, the number of e-book readers is also quite small. 

Observation 2: NYC commuters are not engrossed with their phone or electronic device. The "engagement" is usually limited to listening to music from the iPod / phone. Singapore commuters spend much more time on their phones or tablets - either browsing Facebook, playing games, and/or watching videos - which bring me to the next point. 

Observation 3: No one watches downloaded videos on their phone in NYC. In Singapore, a large number of commuters have HK, Korean, US dramas loaded on their phone. NYC residents must be fulfilling their TV time at home I guess.

Observation 4: The New York subways are loud because of the old infrastructure it is running on. However the noise helps to eliminate other common noises we hear while commuting in Singapore - such as people's conversations on the phone & each other, as well as the irritating ear phones that unnecessarily project (usually) techno music to everyone else in the carriage. 

Observation 5: There are less "sleepers" in the NYC subways compared to in the Singapore MRT. Perhaps their commute time is shorter? Or perhaps it's in their nature to keep alert for safety reasons?

The Cupcake Trend

In recent years, the cupcake stole the hearts, stomachs and wallets of many, through colourful & pretty icing swirls, yummy flavours like red velvet, chocolate, peanut butter, and lastly, by costing up to $4.50 per piece. The craze in the US hit a high mark in June 2001, when Crumbs Bake Shop Inc, a New York-based chain, debuted on the NASDAQ.

Why is the cupcake so popular?
Some thoughts...
- Relatively low barrier to entry
- "Placements" in TV shows i.e. Sex and the City
- Cupcake as an "affordable indulgence"

Now that the cupcake trend is dying, what will replace it?
[Something to think about...]

The upward trend of marriages arising from "Internet couples"

I came across this chapter called "Internet Marrieds" in the book "Microtrends: The small forces behind tomorrow's big changes" by Mark J Penn. 

The point the author was trying to make: The upward trend of marriages arising from "Internet couples" could potentially lead to the 1990s stigma regarding online dating to be dead, and scouring your "the One" from earth and the Internet to be the norm.

  

Is a call tree still relevant today?

BCMPedia (which I never knew existed before this) defines a call tree as "a structured cascade process (system) that enables a lists of persons, roles, and/or organisations to be contacted as a part of an information or plan invocation procedure".

A call tree is typically used in an organisation BCP/DR-scenario to disseminate information to staff, i.e. the boss calls 3 of his subordinates, each of the subordinates calls another 3 subordinates, and so on. By splitting the load, the task of disseminating information to large groups of people becomes more manageable. The advantages include: Every person only needs to remember the phone numbers of those in their branches; In the event that someone is not reachable, the person can focus on re-dialing instead of having to complete the long list of persons he has to inform; and many others.

Call trees were efficient means to transmit information to large groups of people in the days when the internet or mobile phones were not prevalent.

However, are they still relevant today? Consumer-based tools such as multi-party voice calls, SMS, WhatsApp, and Line allow for convenient mass notification. There are also enterprise-grade tools and services that can send voice and text notifications to your intended recipients repeatedly until they respond.

While each of these tools have their pros and cons, it is interesting to note, or at least from what I infer from Google, that no one seems to be challenging whether the existence of call trees today is for its superiority over the alternatives, or simply just out of nostalgia and habit.

Disclaimer: These are simply my thoughts and I do not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided in my article. I am not an expert in business continuity nor does my day job require any expertise in that area. I am merely a participant in my organisation's call-tree. I welcome you to highlight any inaccuracies in the comment section below. 

Why do waffles smell better than they taste?

The idea of this blog was conceptualised after 2 days of working out of office. It seems that when you are located outside of your comfort zone, i.e. your office cubicle/workspace, your thoughts become less boxed in, and you become more aware of your surroundings. Questions will come; you may not have the answer nor the solution, but it excites you to want to find out more.

The purpose of this blog is to pen down such thoughts & questions for mind-wandering moments like this. I am not anxious to find the answer to my questions, but am looking forward to see where this thought will bring me.

I urge you, my friends, if opportunity permits, to take time off once a while to step out and smell the waffles :)