New Gadgets

In an attempt to bring back the joy of opening presents to the holiday season, I bought myself an iPhone today. And since our family collectively decided to forego all Christmas ceremonies this year (no decorations, no presents, no parade, and a filet mignon dinner that I made), I was left to my own wits to pamper myself. That's where The Baron, aka new iPhone, comes in.

My purchase is entirely justified, though. At least enough to settle my own cognitive dissonance. I'm not usually one for purchasing expensive toys, especially ones that are trendy, so I had quite a time convincing myself that I needed or deserved sch a fancy gadget. Keep in mind that my previous phone was a $10 pay-as-you-go phone with a different SIM card stuck into it. So this change is quite an upgrade.

The reason that finally convinced me to buy an iPhone was not just because of the incredibly fast network, nor the ability to access the internet whenever I want to, nor even the vast array of apps available right at my finger tips. No, my main reason was far more trivial.

It's important to stay on top of the trends when you work for a technology company. My main reason for purchasing an iPhone was to step into the 21st century and understand for myself just how mobile technology is revolutionizing the population. I couldn't use my dinky old phone to do so, so a new high-powered phone was necessary. Exactly how are services on these new phones monetized? Where are advertising dollars going? These are very important trends to follow.

Or maybe it's another way of saying "I wanted one because everyone else has one."

Holiday Politics

This is my first holiday season amongst the ranks of the corporate world. And while my company's flat corporate culture should ease the stress surrounding work holidays, I still haven't been able to grasp the slight politics that I'm sure are lurking somewhere.

Who do I give gifts to?
Should I even be giving gifts? This was one of the first questions I asked, and it turns out in my office, gifts usually come from the top down (or from publishers who send us swag in exchange for more business). That means that I should be waiting for my bosses to show their appreciation. But does it end there? What if I want to give my bosses presents to show my gratitude? How do I do it so that I don't seem like a sycophant? Should I even attempt such a thing? There's no way to keep anything secret from my coworkers when it comes to handing out goods of any kind, so perhaps I should avoid giving things all together.

I did end up with a final solution for this. I handed everyone on my team a holiday card with a candy cane. I'd like to think I was humble for barely mentioning the fact that it was actually I who drew the cards, but really I just couldn't think of a way to tell anyone without sounding like I was bragging or hoping for extra brownie points.

What genre of gift can I buy?
Eventually there does come the exchange of gifts, most often through a Secret Santa or a White Elephant. This year it was a White Elephant. Had I had more time, I would have found some office-appropriate, such as something off http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com/. But of course I end up procrastinating on something like this, and I'm left to my own brick and mortar resources. I settled for purchasing a comedic book - a rather neutral gift. And to avoid being boring and being thought of as run-of-the-mill, I put a twist to the wrapping and covered the book in many many layers of newspaper. I gotta say, watching someone unwrap about 20 layers of newspaper really made my day.

Other good gifts - Chia pets. Massager. Things you'd frugally never get your self but always had hoped to own. Office Space references are too cliche.

What gifts can I accept, and how am I going to repay the favor?
Inevitably there comes a time when someone wants to offer you a gift. Luckily I have not yet been put in a situation that compromised any sort of ethics. Getting treated to lunch now and then seems harmless in my mind, especially if my whole team is going, and especially since I don't decide where the money goes. I can't influence who gets what money, and I don't believe that accepting a gratis lunch now and then is so terrible.

But, there are also times when the gift is so extravagant that it becomes inappropriate. A couple of years ago, one of my coworkers received a $400 watch from a vendor. Clearly something like that cannot be accepted without the receiver feeling obligated to give something back in exchange, whether that's an equally expensive gift or the promise to spend more money in the future.

Since I'm just starting out and barely at a position where I need to be pampered to sweeten business deals, I haven't had to deal with anything of the sort. I just graciously accepted my free lunches and the bottle of Bordeaux from my boss, and then went back to work.

I sure hope I acted appropriately. Actions during the holiday season influence what people think of you well into the new year. I really hope I'm not coming off as just someone ungrateful and full of demands.

Are Digital Relationships Less Meaningful than Face-to-Face Contact?

Are the relationships you build remotely, where the primary mode of communication is through the internet or the phone, weaker than those you build in the flesh, where primary development comes through face-to-face contact?

I had an interesting discussion with my former professor today about the value of in-person relationships. It started off with a discussion about interacting with clients and whether the convenience and cost efficiency of giving presentations over the phone outweighed the benefits of building a better relationship with in-person contact.

While I agreed that, in the case of clients, it's much better to build a personal rapport by meeting with the client and taking him/her out to discuss things not related to the job, that might not always be the case with personal relationships. In personal relationships, both parties are supposed to be equals. One side is not supposed to be responsible for serving the other side. So does the same theory apply?

I suppose I'm somewhat biased. I've made a lot of friends via the internet through various art sites, many of whom I have not yet even met. And I feel closer to some of my online friends than I do some of the people I see almost every day. I believe it's more a matter of personality and interest matches than it is face-time.

But can these relationships be maintained solely through the internet? I feel much closer to some of the online friends that I've actually met in person. Would I feel the same way had we never had the pleasure of seeing each other in real life? It's hard to say. I would like to think that yes, I'd feel just as close, but I'm not sure that's true. I think there's a certain something that one can only take away from meeting someone. That also brings up the question, would we be even better friends if we lived closer and saw each other more often? I don't think that's a given either.

In the age of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and others I wonder if the multiple relationships that we're all trying to maintain via those vessels are as valuable. As friends are collected like trading cards, we seem to well surpass the 150 relationships that Dunbar theorizes is the maximum number of meaningful relationships one can maintain. But how many of the hundreds upon hundreds of "friends" we all claim to have are actually relationships beyond simple acquaintances? Does the friendship dynamic change when we have the ability to simply leave an "I'm thinking of you" wall post to make it seem like we care? Does it even matter or can we just give it up to a changing of the times?