A Mexican View

Why I will stop doing FF... for a while

2010-04-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

As everybody who has been using Twitter for a while, Friday is the day when people does #Followfriday or #FF, a practice where you recommend people you consider valuable to other people who follows you.

This is done so you can meet different people, with similar ideas, or maybe with different ideas, but with that make your timeline interesting and makes you see a new perspective.

At the beginning, doing #Followfriday seemed like a great idea, but now, that I follow 3291 people and 3607 more follows me, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to do justice to everyone.

First of all, I follow people that have made laugh, think, see new ideas, learn new stuff, open my mind to things that I would have never seen that way if they didn't make me open my mind. In that sense, I think eveyone can be recommended.

Now, recommending them it's difficult because you have to put in a brief sentence why you think they are worth following. How do you do that with 3200 persons?

As I said before, it wouldn't be fair. If I make a list (like " #FF @person1 @person2 @person3" ) I'm not providing a good reason for those who follow me to follow the people I'm recommending. And even when I do it like that, it takes a long time. If I did #FF giving a reason for every person I follow or follows me, I would finish next Friday!

Then, maybe the description I'm using to recommend this person is the best, but maybe they don't think the same (I have the suspicion that once I made someone feel uncomfortable when I did this inadvertently).

Also, people that makes conversation, that answer my tweets, have certain advantage, because I can easily find an accurate reason for doing #FF, but as I said before, this doesn't mean that people I don't talk frecuently aren't worth recommending.

Besides, I think so many tweets with #FF in them are considered spam for those that doesn't follow this practice.

And last, but not least, time is a great factor. When you're working 8 hours, commuting 4 more, and without an smartphone to open Twitter, it's really difficult to do a #FF.

So, I'm looking for a new way to do #FF (today I'll do it in a post, later, outside Twitter) and I'll stop recommending as I did before. I'll thank your FF if you want to do it, if you don't want to because I'm not doing anymore on Twitter, I'll understand.

My goal is to make this a little more inclusive, recommending different people every time (or at least I'll try to do this) and maybe for a reason they want me to recommend them. Besides, if you know any tool, site or new idea to do Followfriday, I'll thank you if you can tell me about it.

P. D. I wrote this very fast, if you find any mistake in content or in my spelling or grammar, feel free to tell me.

Mexicans and its fight agains taxing the use of Internet

2009-10-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

On Monday night Mexicans began to use a hashtag (#) on Twitter, #InternetNecesario, meaning "Internet is a Necessity". This hashtag was a form of protest against a new tax for telecommunications in Mexico, including Internet.

This hashtag pretends to show anger against this measure, since the Mexican government says this tax is made because Internet is a luxury, not a necessity. Mexicans who use the web to work, communicate, research, learn and many other uses disagrees with this idea.

According to the blog Isopixel, citing the World Bank, an increase of 10% in broadband availability has been shown to help developing countries to climb a 1.3 % of their Gross Domestic Product.

It's impossible not to see that Internet is a tool that makes information easily available, gives people a window to see what's outside their countries, and helps people to have all kind of opportunities they didn't have before because they can increase their education, their chances to do business, etc.

Why our government doesn't seem to see this? Because they are more concentrated in getting money for their particular agenda, but increasing taxes they only slow our economy. And taxing Internet is the worst kind of tax they have ever come up.

I hope this online protest has some influence in the lawmakers decision today, in my blog in Spanish (http://detras-de-mi-cristal.blogspot.com) I posted the letter that I wrote to one of this congressman (the one that represents my district) hoping more people protest and see that they are working for us, not against us.

ONEDROP Foundation organizes mission for water

2009-10-05T01:29:00.000-07:00

Al Gore, a peak behind the scenes

Just as it has been doing since its creation, ONEDROP Foundation will try to create awareness in the population about the lack of equal access to water in the world.

His mission, “Water for all, all for water”, summarizes the idea of fighting against poverty by giving everyone enough access to safe water.

Guy Laliberté, founder of ONEDROP and owner of Cirque du Soleil, will try to impact people’s minds so more actions are done to solve this problem.

This time he will promote from space the Poetic Social Mission. Laliberté is aboard the International Space Station (ISS) because he became the seventh special tourist. He traveled in the Soyuz TMA-16 on September 30th, and the rocket docked safely to the ISS.

For this travel, Laliberté started his preparation since May 9th in Star City, near Moscu, Russia. After tests and intensive physical training, done for 5 months, the artist and entrepreneur arrived to the ISS on October 2th.

Since the launching Laliberté showed his artistic roots and called himself “the first clown in space”, donned a red nose and carried a small package with more red noses for the members of the crew.

But even if Laliberté presence has changed the humor in the ISS, his mission is no joke.

The most relevant moment of this travel will be on October 9th, when the event Moving Stars and Earth for Water will be broadcasted, with international celebrities reading a poetic tale in 14 cities around the world. These celebrities include Al Gore, U2, Tatuya Ishii, Peter Gabriel, Shakira, Salma Hayek, Lila Downs, Patrick Bruel, A. R. Rahman, among others.

The event will be transmitted around 7:00 p.m. (time in Mexico City, -4 GMT). People will be able to see it through http://www.OneDrop.org, and the cities that will participate in this effort will be Montreal, Durban, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Mexico City, New York, Sydney, London, Marrakesh, Mumbai, Osaka, Santa Monica, Tampa and Moscow.

Democracy and Internet

2009-07-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, talking with Gabriel Adame (@Gabo_Adame on Twitter, who invited me to his last radio program in Plaza Network -@plazanetwork-) we were discussing how Internet could help democracy in various countries, including Mexico.

One of the tools that have helped people looking to improve democracy in their countries is Twitter. This social network has helped people to know what is happening in the world before the mainstream media even reports it and it has been used to events that traditional media considers unimportant or because there are controlled by the government and dissidence is punished with jail or even death.

Recently this happened in Iran and its election, called fraudulent by opponents to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and in China, where a conflict with Uighur, an ethnic group that was violently repressed. Both events were known in the world thanks to dissidents who managed tospread images and videos about what happened in both countries on Twitter.

What @Gabo_Adame said was that he considered possible that Internet improves democracy in our country in the same way other countries has done this: improving the information about government's abuses.

My question is how long is possible to do this? How can you influence through Internet so people reacts and starts to defend their rights?

To begin with, I think more access to the technology of Internet is necessary, so people can learn to use this tool and all his possibilities. This would be possible in Mexico when almost all schools, public or private, teach to use and give access to Internet.

Besides, people has to be able to use it easily outside schools and universities, in places like libraries, public square and places where people spends time with others.

In Mexico nearly 27 persons have access to Internet and it isn't clear if they use it in all its potential (for example, they use it mostly to check their e-mail and chat on instant messengers) and there are a lot of ways to get benefits from them if they know how to use it and spend some time understanding the Web.

But there are obstacles too: people who want to improve our democracy, if they don't know the internal operation of government and bureaucracy, at least as I see it, have a difficult task: make people participate and move so they can find a legal way to improve things. This is a difficult task not everyone would try.

It's a difficult matter and, nevertheless, I can help but feel that there's a little hope that, as soon Internet is widely used in our country and people begins to use it more for other things than studies, work or entertainment, all will begin to move.

Why some people is attacking others in Twitter

2009-06-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

It's strange to be writing this, but I have no other way, first, to let the people know that someone is copying various accounts on Twitter, impersonating them, copying their avatars, bio, site link and backgrounds to mislead their followers to think they are the person they're impersonating. I’m the latest person their impersonating and trying to harass.

And second, I want to express my theory of why is this happening? Well, I've been thinking about this since the impersonation of various people I follow and respect started.

In some cases seems to be something personal, by the way the fake accounts tweets: something this person said or the fact that they have a lot of followers makes angry the author of the tweets and he's attacking them and trying to do as much damage to his image he can (and by impersonating them they also make people trust him and follow, so they can spread their "ideas" to more and more twitterers).

In other cases, it's a political issue. And I think in my case and at least one of my friends this is what happened. Why I say so? Well, for starters, we are in getting closer to an important election. I write in this blog and in the Spanish one stuff about Mexican politics. I express my views in Twitter (particularly, I have participated in some conversations about politics).

And the thing that I believe caused most of the anger of this person: I helped, with various others twitterers, to discover some accounts of a national newspaper were fake and were spreading mostly opinions, without saying 'this is an editorial', instead of news.

I'm talking of my case, but I believe in the case of other harassed people this is what's happening also: something they said about politics or something they do about those fake accounts or other fake accounts trying to influence people in certain way bothered this person.

And that's why I believe there's intolerance in Mexico. It seems to me that some intolerant people can't stand a person express their views (without trying to make others to think like him/her). Their response is to attack.

Well, I'm not going to enable this person by answering their attacks or even reading their tweets. I have a work (even if it's at home and freelance, I have a compromise to do it as good as I can), a family and problems to solve that are way too important to answer someone blinded by their bigotry and intolerance.

I'm just doing this post as a warning to those who could be approached by this account, asking them to follow him or in other ways. Also, to tell you that I'm ignoring their tweets, but I'm reporting them to Twitter. Hopefully, Twitter can do something about this.

And also, as a reflection about how things work in Mexico lately. It seems that if a person expresses views that contradict somebody else, then someone is going to attack him/her. It's really sad.

I think that everyone has the right to express their views, particularly if they aren't trying to force you to think their way. I have moderate views; I believe we should vote for the candidates that offer better solutions, no matter what their party is. Also, I don't believe in racism or homophobia, because everyone has the right to be treated equal by the people and the law. I think in every problem we have we can reach a solution discussing this problems, not disqualifying the other.

I hope people can see the difference among those positions: intolerance and tolerance, and chooses to follow or read those who are not trying to force their way by attacking others.

Credibility and Internet

2009-06-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Possibly some people could say this two words cannot be together. Is credibility in Internet possible? How important is that you take care of your name or brand, watching that it is used with credibility and legitimacy on Internet?

Well, at least in the United States it is a fact that many people take this situations very seriously. The most recent case was Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, who filled a lawsuit against Twitter because someone tweeted in his name, using foul language and saying stuff he didn't like.

Just a little angry...

Maybe for Mexicans this is 'silly', but a for some people, companies and media in EU, his brand is very important and taking care of it in Internet is crucial.

A brand affected by a scandal or embarrassing situation must act fast or end up with a very bad image, like in those cases where people has reported objects or dirty stuff in fast food or the case of Domino's, when two employees put nasal mucus and saliva in sandwiches that they said were going to give to clients.

There are companies that by nature must take care of their credibility more than others, for instance, those who create news content (magazines, newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, news sites). If someone else uses their brand to misinformate, this could be a catastrophe in which users lost interest and trust in that company.

We have been seeing this kind of phenomena in Twitter lately, at least here in Mexico. At least a newspaper (La Jornada, which thanks to questions about his objetivity various users -including me- discovered that was a fake) had two fake accounts. Fortunately seems that Twitter suspended (at least temporarily) this accounts and both accounts lost all their followers.

I don't know why, but Mexican media isn't signing in to social media sites to protect their brands. It could be lack of human resources or just lack of interest in this kind of networks, but as users of this sites it's good to see Twitter is trying to do more in suspending fake accounts. As users, we will like to know that we are following the real thing and not accounts that use the name of a media company to tweet political stuff or try to influence people (particularly now that elections are close).

My rules on Twitter

2009-06-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Image via CrunchBase

For those reading this, yes, I also think it's a little strange having to say what are my rules on Twitter, but more people is following me (I'm not sure why are they following me, but thank you) and I think it's necessary to say how I'm going to behave on Twitter so you know what to expect.

My first rule is: I follow everyone (except spam or bots) who wants to exchange data, news, conversation and who wants to dialogue (I don't like one way communication; I look for the possibility to talk to them and be answered). This means: I follow everyone, except those who want to flood my timeline with ads or personal content every 2 seconds. I don't mind at all if people doesn't think like I do, I just want them to be open to discuss and listen to me, and not to be angry or dismiss me if I don't think the same (and I offer to do the same). Sometimes I follow companies or people who doesn't dialogue but that I believe can give me interesting information. The rest are people I want to be able to talk with, exchange information, data or just get to know them. I think everyone has something interesting to say.
If after trying to talk or exchange information I believe I'm annoying you with my tweets (particularly if you say it directly), I unfollow and I expect you to do the same. Why would I want to annoy you with my chat or content? Unfollowing someone is not 'hating' or 'loathing' that person or entity, I can't hate or loath someone I don't know (how could I know someone only by following them on Twitter?). I just think Twitter is a party where you should behave with civility, so if my conversation doesn't interest someone, I just move and find someone who feels interest about it.
Same principle, if someone unfollows me, I try not to take it personal. For me, it only means he/she didn't find value in what I'm saying and it's ok. I think we can't expect our tweets to be loved or liked by everyone. I think that getting angry for something that happens every day (that someone doesn't want to listen to you or read you) simply because on Twitter you can tell that it happened (because you can see who unfollowed you) it's not logical. In 'real life' people just dismiss you or stops reading your content (your blog, your tumblr, etc.) if they don't like it and you just don't notice it. Why take it personal?
I will try to respond every reply or DM that you send, but sometimes they just don't reach. TweetDeck isn't working right for me lately (some tweets are lost in limbo) and sometimes your tweets are so many they just delete themselves in my timeline before I can read it. So, if I don't answer, I'm not ignoring you, I want to engage, but sometimes this is difficult.
What I say, RT or comment on Twitter is just my opinion. I don't want to impose anything to anybody. Sometimes I strongly express my feelings or beliefs, but this doesn't mean I expect anybody to think or do the same that I do. I don't think anybody (even famous or known people) can expect that those who follow them do what they say or think what they think, even if people like them.
If someone insults me without any reason at all or insults someone I follow, I will block you. I just think there's no need to use foul language if I'm not insulting you and something annoys you. Also, if you mistreat someone I know, what can expect you to do if you follow me?

Well, these are my rules on Twitter. As I said in the beginning, my idea is letting you know what I want to obtain in this social network. I believe there's a lot to obtain in this social network, but also, there's the possibility of hurting feelings.

So, if I say exactly how I will use Twitter and why I do some things, I hope that you will understand that I want to use it the best way I can, without creating uncomfortable situations.

For me it is not true that Twitter makes you insensitive, it's just that you don't see a face in front of you, but you see other things: emotions, tastes, feelings, ideas. So, I think I'm going to behave with certain rules because I want to treat right those people behind a computer. With this I want to conclude: I respect you all, even if you disagree with me, and I really appreciate the possibility of talking with you.

When will be a Social Media editor in newspapers in Latinamerica?

2009-05-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Matthew Palenksky, writer for The Huffington Post, wrote today an analysis about how the New York Times first social media editor, Jennifer Preston, is doing on Twitter

Palensky reported that the new editor, a veteran reporter an editor, who started using Twitter first asked feedback on how the NYT should use Twitter. She had more than three thousand followers in a day.

But seems to be that her use of Twitter caused surprise in Palensky, since she sent a RT of the tweet of another user and, in doing so, she unwillingly cut the link to the post she found useful, sending people to Ebay.

I wonder, though: if this was something that Palensky saw as a 'rookie mistake', what would he think about things in Latin America, where there's not such a position in any newspaper (that I know of) and there's just a few experiments trying to take advantage of social media as a way to attract people to reading newspapers again.

The effort is good, since the previous attitude towards social media was that it was more 'a game' than something you could use to "lure" readers to your content.

I think seeing someone representing a newspaper in such a personal way in Latin America (even with this kind of mistakes) would be more than interesting and a sign that finally newspapers and media is taking seriously this kind of tools.

And I think people who uses Social Media in Latin America would be very glad to see transparency in their newspapers, because someone trying to reach his readers in this way isn't part of the way the newspapers are used to work in Latin America.

In Mexico, for example, newspapers sometimes put their interest or connection with certain group (political or economical) before their ethic. I think using social media as more as broadcasting services will be very difficult for them.

I hope we can see soon something like the effort the NYT is doing. If in US newspapers are struggling but at least trying to understand the new ways users are obtaining their information, what is going to happen to newspapers in Latin America that aren't doing anything?

Solidarity and Twitter

2009-05-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in the middle of a little personal crisis. The company my husband was working for is having difficulty getting new contracts, so they decided to cut personal, one of them was my husband.

This would be (if sad for me and my family) anecdotical if it weren't for what happened when I knew.

I was feeling really worried and didn't have no one to talk to in that exact moment, so (maybe I overreacted, i don't know) I tweeted the next line in Spanish and English: "Y yo que estaba contenta, pues ya no, me acaban de dar la peor noticia / I was happy, not anymore, I received the worst kind of news :("

I didn't expect the kind of answer I had. A lot (and I mean 20 or more) people began to ask me what had happened. I answered them by Direct Messange (DM)

But what is extraordinary is that people in my city (and other places in the country) offered not only verbal advice, but help with promoting my husban's résumé, contact with head hunters, links to useful sites with jobs related with my husband's experience.

All this, even if maybe I was too expansive in the way I tweeted about my feelings, makes me conclude that a social media service only can be as extraordinary as the people who uses it. I don't think I'm wrong when I say I have found in Twitter interesting and fun conversation, and also solidarity that I didn't expect to find with people you talk with and that, in a way, is a part of your life.

Finally, all this post has one purpose: to thank everyone, you really make me feel conforted, and helped me to keep my head cool. I think, even if some say this media makes us cold with other people emotions, less emphatical, what teally happens is that you can see people show all his humanity as in any other place.

Cinco de Mayo isn't Mexico's Independence Day

2009-05-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

As always, with 5 de mayo celebrations happening in US, I have this mixed feelings. I feel happy that there's a celebration that recognizes Mexican immigrants' influence in US, their heritage and pride, but at the same time, I find strange that this day has evolved in this huge celebration in US and besides, sometimes I think that some Americans believe this day is Mexico's Independence Day.

And just so you know, this is not the day we celebrate Independence. Mexicans celebrate that day on September 16th, because it was the day a priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, called people who lived in Mexico under the government of Spaniards to battle against them.

But even with this confusion, it was very nice to be able to see US President Barack Obama adressing people celebrating the day in the White House. He looks sincere in his way to treat Mexicans and I hope he will be a good neighbor as he said in this video:

Update: A curious fact was brought to my attention by @jhapik in Twitter, the general who fought the Battle of Puebla (which occurred on May 5th), Ignacio Zaragoza, was born in Texas when this state was part of Mexico. So he was Mexican and Texan at the same time.

Living during an outbreak of flu in Mexico City

2009-04-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

This Friday people living in Mexico City and the metropolitan area (nearby cities) wake up with the news that all classes in the zone were suspended due to an outbreak of the flu.

Image Credit: Sarihuela / Via Flickr and Creative Commons

The government took steps to prevent the spreading of the disease, which has caused (officially at least) 20 deaths and 1,004 sick people in all the country.

It has been a very strange situation to be living. First, incredulity. Mexicans in general doesn't trust the government, and this happens because previous governments usually didn't give information in a comprehensive and opportune way.

Then, everyone is taking all the precautions they can, either they believe this outbreak is so bad as the government has said or worse.

Streets are quieter than usual, some people is staying at home, watching news, reading newspapers, browsing on the Internet until they are certain it's safe to continue with their lives as always.

Others, even if they think the outbreak is serious, are going on with their lives, their jobs, because they need to do it. Life is hard in Mexico, earning a living is difficult and even taking a day off affects some people.

I’m hoping this is really as government is saying and that everything is under control, that they have enough medicine to cure those who fall sick. But I will do as everyone is doing: I will be watching news and looking for information until there’s certainty everything is safe again.

Streets are quieter than usual, many people is staying at home, watching news, reading newspapers, browsing on the Internet until they are certain it's safe to continue with their lives as always.

Now, obesity is bad for the environment?

2009-04-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

A report posted today on CNN established that researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that heavier people in the world contributes more to the global warming than thin people (supposedly because transporting heavier people and producing food to feed them costs more).

According to the study

...the lean population has a much smaller carbon footprint. The population with 40 percent obese people requires 19 percent more food energy for its total energy expenditure than the population with 3.5 percent obese people

I'm not against people being healthy and thin, in fact I think it's better to be healthy and if this makes you thiner, it's great, but I found that this kind of reports may put pressure in people who is overweight or obese, and in people who feels that being thin is the only way to be accepted.

My daughter, who is in her right weight and height, is starting to be worried about not being fat, and she's only 5 years old! And if studies like this begin to be more and more prevalent, how can I explain her that being healthy is good, but it's not healthy to exaggerate and feel bad just because people say the only acceptable choice is being thin?

Maybe we should re educate ourselves to do more exercise and be healthy, and also government should be more coherent with their public policies like providing cheaper and healthier food for everyone and greener alternatives to transport.

In Mexico, for example, a government office gives milk to the poor that has high contain of fat and little nutritional value, also, the streets aren't safe for people wanting to use their bicycles to go from one way to another, distances are impossible to do in this kind of vehicle and public transportation doesn't have space for carrying them.

But I think the effort to do our world better can't be reduced to one factor, it has to be a comprehensive effort.

What Latin America businesses can learn from Ashton Kutcher

2009-04-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

This early Saturday, aproximately at 1:30 a.m., Ashton Kutcher, Hollywood actor know by his participation in “That’s 70s Show” and for being married with Demi Moore, passed the 1 million followers mark in Twitter.

All started on Monday 13th, when Ashton, noticing that his account was very close to the 1 million followers, decided to challenge CNN in the quest of being the first with that number of people reading his updates.

Ashton asked people who already followed him to RT his intentions, and promised to give away 100,000 dollars, that will be used to buy 10,000 mosquito bed nets bought for Malaria No More (this organization seeks to eradicate malaria in the world). This race generated a lot of attention on the news and entertainment shows in the world.

This attention grew even more when Larry King, host of CNN's "Larry King Live", answered him in YouTube that they will "burry him".

Even if some people say that Kutcher was being help by electronic boards in Atlanta, Pennsylvania, Detroid and Cincinnati promoting his cause, calling him a cheater, he managed to get close to 200,000 followers first announcing his goal on Internet and then the mainstream media started to show his interest in the race.

What has any of this have to do with businesses in Latin America? Well, I believe a thing like this, noticing how much can people be involve in a Social Media campaign, should probe them that they can get a lot of people eyes on them if they do things right.

Not only personalities like Ellen Degeneres or Oprah Winfrey can get something from Social Media, also businesses or political parties.

Of course, companies have to thing very well how will they aproach to Social Media, starting with what kind of presence they want to have, in what site (choosing from My Space, Facebook, Twitter, Hi5, among others).

A good example of a company using the power of Social Media was the case of Burger King, that launched an application in Facebook that allowed his users to 'unfriend' 10 people of their lists in exchange for a Whopper.

In Latin America business can't grasp yet that it is possible to generate loyalty to a brand using social networks. In Mexico, for example, there are 24.7 millions of users of Internet, and 5.1. of them use social networks. This socioeconomic level of this people goes from middle to rich class.

I don't think they should take this as a fad, but they should start to build a presence for their brand, and I hope business in Latin America can understand that, studying the best way to use Social Media for their benefit, they can built a connection with their consumers, as Ashton and other Hollywod stars are doing.

Couldn't be religion more a way to help each other?

2009-04-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

I’m an agnostic.

Why is this important? Because I’m about to explain why after this last Lent and Holy Week (Semana Santa in Mexico) I feel like a stranger to the religion my parents tried to teach me and that is dominant in my country: Catholicism.

I find some things in the this religion I was grown up to believe was the best in the world (now I know there are other way of thinking) absurd, to say the least. I found silly, for example, the tradition to stop eating meat as a sacrifice for God, because most of Catholic people stops eating meat and they start eating fish (at least here in Mexico), but they turn this ritual into a treat, because they go to restaurants or cook special dishes for the whole family.

Also, before Lent, the Vatican asked Catholics to stop sending text messages or being in Internet as a way of sacrifice. Really? Is this really meaningful?

Image via Wikipedia

Wouldn’t it be better, instead of offering something as pointless as this, to do something for someone else? How about to be a voluntary in some institution, let’s say, an orphanage, a food bank, a nursing home every weekend during Lent? Or, if you can’t do this because you work night and day, giving some big donation to a charity? How about that?

I’m not against religion, I’m against those actions that become meaningless when we repeat and repeat the same thing over and over without thinking in other human beings. In contrast, on Thanksgiving, Obama and his family went to a food bank and gave some of their time to those less fortunate than them. Isn’t this better? I do believe so.

I wish religion would be a way to help people form bonds between each other, not to separate them or make them do rituals that don’t take you anywhere.

(P.S. Oh, and I’m writing this in English and in this blog because, among other things, some Catholic in Mexico take way too serious any “criticism” –actually, I see this as a proposal- to their customs. I think people from other countries and other cultures are more open-minded).

Living in a Global Village, with a local attitude?

2009-03-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Since Internet became an accessible way to communicate with people all over the world and somehow understand cultures, ideas and traditions from other countries we have the possibility to reach knowledge that probably we wouldn't possibly know about in other way.

But in this so called global village, sometimes I think many of us have been limited by the way we were educated, by the country we live in, by the political views we have learn from our parents, for our socio economical circumstances. And I think that when we do this, when we see the world through these lenses it is very possible we lose a lot about the reality we are trying to understand.

Image via CrunchBase

I say this because I have been participating in Twitter, a micro-blogging plataform where you can interact with people you consider interesting or from whom you can learn something, but sometimes I find people who deny themselves the opportunity of at least trying to understand other cultures and how things are done in different parts of the world.

I have seen people who even think certain religion or culture is less than their culture. I don't think this is true. I believe it is different. Of course there are exceptions, I do not think some cultures claiming that killing (either people or any other living being) is justifiable, but other than that, I try not to judge a culture for one or two aspects I get to know about it. Instead, I try to read as much as I can to try to understand a country.

So, I think that the best way to act, the best attitude we can have in this global village is one of openness, where we do not exclude or condemn someone just because if 'from' somewhere, where we don't judge a culture for one or two of their members or their ideas. If we do not try to be open, then there is no sense in being involved in a media where interaction is one of its biggest aspects.

Temporary solution to 'Operation Aborted' message in IE with Blogger

2009-03-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

I think some of you are having the same problem with Internet Explorer when you or your readers open your blog in Internet Explorer: an 'Operation Aborted' message and then an error page.

Even if I tried to remove all the widgets from the sidebar of the blog, as was suggested in other blogs with the same problem, it didn't work.

I had this problem since Microsoft updated his IE explorer in it's monthly security update in January. Finally, showing only one post per page seems to do the trick, so I hope those who have visited this blog and found this message don't get it anymore.

I hope this is helpful to you too in case you were having the same situation.

Mexico is not lost yet

2009-02-28T12:52:00.001-08:00

Different media (particularly in the United States) have reported that Mexico is in his way to become a failed state.

In the Wall Street Journal an article explains why they think this is true:

Mexico is now in the midst of a vicious drug war. Police officers are being bribed and, especially near the United States border, gunned down. Kidnappings and extortion are common place.

This events can't be denied, but what I find a little biased is that there is no mention at all that not the people in Mexico is involved in this kind of things. Most people in Mexico is hard working, honest people, who only wants to raise their kids and make a living, maybe buy a house and a few material possesions.

But they aren't part of the drug gangs that are disestabilizing our country. This gangs have been able to predominate because they buy high technology weapons from US manufacterers and also because our security forces receive a salary that isn't enough to have a decent way of life.

In this crisis, it will be even more difficult to give police officers better wages to make them resist the bribes from the drug gangs, but something is being done, not like before, when the drug gangs and the corruption were 'leaved alone' by the goverment in exchange of peace and silence (since many of them were somehow involved or financed by drug gangs).

But I do not think that other countries should say Mexico is almost lost. There's actions that can be done before the 'failure' in our institutions. For instance, US could control better who sell weapons to whom, not close their eyes as if nothing is happening.

Also, if US helps, they could make certain petitions, among others, oversee how the money they are providing our country is really being used.

I don't believe it's wise for US to close their eyes and leave things go its current course. It is a security threat for them to leave their neighbors lose control of everything. I hope they can see this and help in the way they can. I don't think millions of persons who are not part of the criminals and corrupt government deserve to be abandoned.

A boy, a gun and another tragedy

2009-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

After reading a news story about an 11-year-old boy, accused of killing father's pregnant girlfriend, I wonder what's happening with the world this days.

Every day we found younger and younger people doing things like this, like the 8-year-old boy who was acussed of planning the murder of his father and a friend of his.

The even got a confession from the boy:

We don't know what happened in each of the boys minds, how they were raised, if they saw too many violence in TV and thought that killing somebody was easy or if they have been abused, I don't know, but it's appalling that they are living this kind of tragedy.

Boys and girls are losing their innocence so fast in these days. We must take care of them and advice them against evil people without scare them and try to make them aware that they shouldn't thing what they see in TV is real, that they should respect everyone and be careful with what they do.

In Mexico there is not so much access to guns, and I don't know if this is a factor in this, maybe, but in the case of this boys, maybe it's more important that there wasn't anybody guiding them, and their parents confused teaching them to be aware of what a gun was with giving them excessive access to them. I think that if you don't want kids to be curious about guns you simple don't use them in front of them, you don't have them in the house or at least, you keep them in a safe permanently.

This events show kids are not ready to use a gun, not because they would not know how to use it, but because many of them lack the judgment to know a weapon is not something you can use lightly. The consequences can be terrible, and their lives can be ruined for ever for a single moment of blindness.

Bikinis: a way to transform a woman to object

2009-02-19T22:22:00.000-08:00

Even if common sense told us that when you put a scantily clad woman in front of men they will see it as objects, not as a person with thoughts and feelings, a recent research is confirming this.

According to National Geographic, when bain scans were done in 21 heterosexual males, the region of the brain associated with tool use lighted up.

Men saw women "as sexually inviting, but they were not thinking about their minds".

In the case of women, it's difficult to know if they would react the same way that men because women tend to try to interpret men's minds, think what they are interested in and try to please them.

I don't know if this is an instinct or it's something cause by media, but I believe we have a better knowledge and information that allow us to avoid being treated as tools and that can help us our daughters to understand this and try not to objectify themselves.

What are we waiting for to do something for our envinronment?

2009-02-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

An article in the New York Times, published yesterday, tells how the author, Thomas L. Friedman, met two young American woman in New Delhi, who asked him if he wanted to take a ride with them in their car. The importance of this invitation was the kind of car the women had: an electrical car also powered by solar panels.

The women, both Yale grads, also told him about various initiatives developing in India, like "using neem and garlic as pesticides", steam from a solar plant for cooking or cultivating worms as an alternative for chemical fertilizers.

All this is done by common people, in a country where there's a high rate of poverty. And when I read this I started wondering: why other countries, with more resources, with more possibilities, like EU, or even like Mexico, aren't doing something like these NOW?

What are we waiting for? Another article from the BBC that I read today reports that global warming will be worse this century than the initial estimation.

I will like to see people more conscious about what they can do and try it, even if it sounds strange or crazy to others. It's not possible we are being so reckless with our resources, as if the economy it's the only thing that matters, when the economy can't work if there's nothing to trade.

There's a lot of measures we can take, and the Internet is a good place to find about it.

A person can recycle, reuse water various times, use potable water wisely, a variety of little actions that summed can be helpful. I wish Mexicans will start thinking what are they doing to the world where their children is living and where they are going to be adults. For me, writing about this is the only way to create some consciousness and I hope someone out there will do something else than complain.

The Dalai Lama and new communication strategies

2009-02-07T21:59:00.001-08:00

It's incredible how Social Media is taking so much importance in the world that people as the Dalai Lama now has an account on Twitter, My Space and Facebook.

Celebrities as Stephen Fry, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, among others (see a list here) are also in Twitter, but what it's interesting it's the fact that people with a particular message, as the Dalai Lama, and before him, Barack Obama, used this Social Media sites to show his ideas and have a base of people that helped their movement go on (in the case of Barack Obama, this strategy was a big part of his triumph in the US election).

The fact is that the celebrities are seeing that places like this are becoming more and more important to reach people. You can be sure you will have direct contact with people in Social Media, and you don't have to have a third party (mainstream media) to broadcast or publish your message.

It's really amazing. Also, for those of us who are seeing this kind of people use Social Media it's an interesting phenomena. It's like being in a room (a big room, but a room) and being able to talk with an important person, a situation it was impossible years ago for many of us.

Mexico, the land where nothing happens

2009-02-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

People ask me from time to time why I'm so interested in what's happening outside my country. They think I'm not folllowing the news about Mexico or I'm not interested at all.

But I do. I read what's happening here, I'm interested in it, but I feel I can't do anything about it, that only a few people, those in the government or with influence in the national life (like television stations), can do something in this chaos we are living unwillingly. As many other Mexicans, I feel disappointed how this groups manipulate things.

This weekend, one example of this kind of manipulation happened during the Superbowl. I personally didn't see it happened, but it has been reported in every newspaper because of the stir it caused in Mexican people: the two most important television stations in Mexico, Televisa and TV Azteca, decided to interrupt the Superbowl with political propaganda. They said they needed to do this because it was its obligation by law, but many analysts think (and many citizens) think this happened because Televisa and TV Azteca are angry at the electoral authorities that established that political propaganda wouldn't be paid and it would be aired during AA rating programs.

Of course, they should have aired this propaganda in the Superbowl, but in different blocks, or using the pauses in the game. Its aim, seems to be, was to cause people to be angry at the political parties and the electoral authorities and the sad thing is they succeeded to do this with certain kind of audiences.

Of course, it's possible this same audiences will be more disenchanted with the whole electoral process. So, our imperfect democracy will continue to be so.

I think no company has the right to do this kind of tricks, to try to influence decisions that affect them with 'vendettas' and I believe these two television stations with national reach should be punished. But of course, because this is the 'nothing happens' country, nothing it's going to happen. So, I will continue to read news from countries where things do move.

Three days after the change

2009-01-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

Besides of being unable to post in this blog because of my job, I wanted to take some time to be more objective about the new President of US, Barack Hussein Obama.

For me, it has been a very interesting process to watch. His campaign, as many people knows, was different to any other from the beginning, starting with the values he portrayed (hope, change, diversity), to the use of the new media (e-mail, SMS, sites like as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) and the way he centered his run for the Presidency in his ideas, not in the fact that he is African-American.

He was a candidate like no other, and since January 20th, everyone expects him to be a President like no other before. His inaguration was followed in TV, social media (Twitter, Facebook) and news sites (like CNN site, the no. 1 online destination among current events and global news sites).

The Inaugural events were spectacular, because, like The New York Times stated in a review of the music played in all these events,

Stars who had shunned the politics of the Bush administration happily flocked to Washington for Mr. Obama’s inauguration

I particularly like the first song Obama and the first lady danced in the Neighborhood Ball: 'At last', sung by Beyoncé. This song has always been of my favorites, it's a romantic song that was symbolic of the arrival of Obama to the Presidency: at last, one African-American can reach the most powerful post in the world, at last things are changing in the way politics are done in the White House.

And now, in just three days, Obama has issued executives orders that shows he means what he says: the most relevant are the one that will lead to close Guantanamo, a human rights shame for the US; the ethics expected in this new Administration, and even today there's rumors US drones fired missiles in Pakistan.

Really, this is a government I will be watching with interest.

Mexican and US as partners?

2009-01-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

This week our President, Felipe Calderón, had a meeting with the US President-elect, Barack Obama. This was a very important meeting in our country and (I think, even if I like Obama) another activity in the schedule of the US President.

I don't blame him, really. Mexico, unfortunately, has become lately in sort of a headache for US (from their point of view, of course) for the insecurity, the drug gangs spreading in our territory, the immigrants passing for thousands every month, the trade controversies, among other stuff.

But I would like so much that Obama (and all the people in US) will give us a chance. I think both countries could find common ground in this issues and they would be able to begin to solve them if they cooperate with each other.

And by cooperation I mean really enforce policies that work in both countries, for example, if US could block the sales of guns to Mexico it would make harder for drug gangs to obtain guns and armament.

Of course, this would need a detailed plan, with respect to both countries differences and cultures, so it's difficult to say if Mexico and US could be partners in this kind of effort.

What I like about the Internet

2009-01-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

Today I'm guest blogger in Mizfitonline.com. Aside from the personal satisfaction this brings (a lot of personal satisfaction!, because this is a highly respected and visited blog) I think this shows what the Internet was made for.

Internet it's a place where you can learn and contribute your particular experiences, opinions or ideas and receive benefits from this cooperation.

It's incredible the fact that, as a blogger who only wanted to be a better writer, to have a place where I could expose my opinions and learn from other bloggers about themes that are interesting to me in this particular stage of my life, I have found a way to enrich my existence and participate in this kind of community that Mizfit has created.

This is the aspect of Internet I like most. I'm really honored to have been able to do a post and I encourage you, if you haven't visit Mizfitonline.com, to do so. Maybe you'll find the same inspiration I have found and start to do the best for you, your health, your body, your attitude in general, because her blog doesn't only focus in the physical aspect, but in how to feel better as a person.

In all, I think this is ultimately what any blogger should aim to be: someone who helps people in some way to understand themselves and to feel better in their skins, to understand the world around them. I hope some day I would have so much influence as I see Mizfit has and even if I don't achieve this, I think I have won a lot as reader of her blog.