Education Paradigm Needs Changing

Interesting video on the need to change our Education Paradigm. While this isn't he usual focus of my blog, this video raises some good points on how our current educational system is formed and why changes are needed.  Our Educatoinal System was designed in a different cultural and economic era.

 I also enjoy how the speakers comments were animated. This also demonstrates the power of social media as I found this YouTube video on a friends Facebook news stream and now it is on my blog.

Let me know what you think.Related articles

• Sir Ken Robinson and the Future of Education (lostingreymatter.com)
• Changing Education Paradigms (sudeep.me)
• Infographic: Ken Robinson on Changing Education Paradigms (debaird.net)

More Interesting Factoids

Image via Wikipedia

I enjoy looking at numbers and look at interesting number lists from a variety of sources.  I found the following interesting factoids in the October 16, 2010 edition of Human Resource Executive magazine that was compiled by John Kador.  They give you varying perspectives of the impact of our economic slump and implications for financial planning.

• 75%  Percent of candidates who had five or more interviews per month since the beginning of their job search who have not received a single offer based on a survey of 79,000 job seekers.

• $400,000  The expected amount of money that the average worker in a 401K retirement is expected to amass given ideal conditions, over 30 years.  The actual average to to 401K "leaks" (withdrawals, missed contributions, hardship borrowing, etc.) over 30 years brings the total to $60,000.

• 42%  Percent of employers in 2010 who believe that the recession has increased the quantity and quality of candidates they recruit.

• $8.25  Wage per hour paid by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Governments, a union, to hire nonunion picketers to protest the hiring of nonunion help.

• 3.7  Number of years the average adult over 18 with solid social relationships outlives those with few or no friends.

• 5  Number of states whose public pensions were fully funded at the beginning of 2010.  In 2000, 26 states were fully funded.

• 72%  Percent of workers in small companies not covered by a retirement plan.

• 59% Percent of workers who expect to receive a pension upon retirement.  But only 41 percent can identify a pension to which they are entitled.

What interesting numbers have you come across?

Financial Traffic Accident Waiting to Happen

I am designing a Customer Lifetime Value Financial model for client.  We were digging into his website traffic data and found a disparity in some of the traffic data provided through various sources which would drive one to quite different conclusions.  This was frustrating!

I did a little research and found the following data in the November 29, 2010 issue of Brandweek.  The article listed Nielsen, comScore, Compete, and Quantcast numbers with the firms' internal data. With different filters and methodologies being used to determine what is a unique visit, I wasn't surprised about some variance.  However, there are big differences.  Even Nielsen has reported that there data has under counted visits.  Here is some data for some popular sites which highlights some of the challenges.  There are many stories about websites contesting their

                                            Unique Audience Numbers in Millions*

Site                  Hulu     Daily Beast    Huffington Post     Twitter   BreakMedia   ESPN

Internal Data     30.0          4.8                    44.2                190.0        34.2          NA

Quantcast         25.0          3.9                    24.7                  59.1        22.7         20.6

comScore        21.7           2.9                   23.1                  25.1         34.3         42.7

Compete          13.6           1.9                   12.3                  25.8          NA           0.136

Nielsen             12.3           NA                   13.0                  20.1          NA         21.1

* Other than Nielsen, data is for October 2010.  ESPN does not disclose traffic.

For the purchasers of this data, there is a lot of confusion as to who to believe and how do you deal with the data disparity.  Unique visits is one of the measures used to monitor the effectiveness of your social media strategy.  Have you seen this disparity with your sites?  I have with my alumni association web site.

Related articles

• Nielsen, about Those Web Traffic Data (arnoldit.com)
• Nielsen says its Web traffic data is flawed (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Cultivating Your Customers (customerthink.com)

More Interesting Numbers!

I enjoy interesting numbers and facts.  I found some more interesting numbers in my November 1, 2010 issue of Brandweek.

Broad "Gadget Ownership"
% of adults saying they own a:
Cellphone                 85%
Desktop Computer   59%
Laptop Computer     52%
MP3 Player              47%
Game Console          42%

• 4,100 average monthly text messages sent and received by girls 13-17 years-old in the United States.
• 79 million U.S. online visitors to education-category web sites in September 2010 +6% versus August.
• Nearly 6% of packaged food products launched this year carry a "whole grain" claim, more than double the figure for 2005.
• Twelve percent of the U.S. population last year was foreign-born.  Eleven percent was U.S.-born but with at least one parent born abroad. (Census Bureau).
• % Who agree/disagree that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can achieve a middle-class life in America today. 
• 53% Somewhat Agree
• 28% Strongly Agree
• 16% Somewhat Disagree
• 4% Strongly Disagree
• Among those who aren't living it now, 44 percent think they will someday.d
• Sixty-three percent think the bailout of the financial/banking sector was "bad for the country"; 26 percent think it was "good for the country."  (Newsweek)

What interesting facts have you come across?

Related articles

• It's a Mobile Nation as Cellphones and Tablets Take Hold (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Mobile Phones Are the Most Popular Gadgets for Americans (dailyfinance.com)
• Poll Confirms Ubiquity Of Tech Gadgets (techdailydose.nationaljournal.com)