Thoughts on a Sunday
As I have mentioned in the past, I like to think that on Sundays I can take liberties with this Fastener Blog and do a little free lancing on other subjects. Usually, I try to drag the conversation back to fasteners or industry or something having to do with something. However, there are no guarantees.
The subject on my mind today is one I have touched on in the past -- Facebook. Everyday I am being contacted by someone from the past and for the most part it is pretty enjoyable. I have caught up with some old friends at least just to get caught up on how our lives have progressed over the years. Listen, I know all the comments I am going to get about Facebook.
"I wish I had all that time to spend sitting on the computer talking to people I have not seen in years" - from the person who feels self important about their daily life
"It is so creepy to think of all these geezers trying to reconnect -- trying to see if the girl who was hot in high school is still good looking or, better yet, divorced" - from teenagers who are freaked out that their parents are on Facebook
"I really do not want to have contact with all those people. I prefer my privacy" - Ted Kocinski and some others (..I'm just saying)
Blah, blah blah. I know, I know. I heard about the person who got hired and posted on Facebook what a big A-Hole their new boss was only to get fired that Monday. And I do realize there are plenty of creepy people out there. I get it. But, here is what intrigues and amazes me....wait, let me provide some background to this discussion first...
On Facebbok, there is a section where they suggest people you might want to add as a Facebook "Friend". It could be someone who went to your college or your high school but it is generally someone who is "friends" with one of your "friends" So, this weekend, Facbook tells me I should be friends with MY SON. I know he has no real interest. He just graduated from high school and is probably posting a bunch of stuff he doesn't really want good old dad to see. My daughter is in college and she accepted me as a "friend" recently. I happen to know that she has privacy features that filter out people like me so I can only see certain things she posts on Facebook. Which, is all fine by me. Do I really want to see here college drinking binges or other embarrassing behavior? Heck no. This way, I can continue to live in denial and believe my little princess is studying her little heart out and behaving wonderfully at college -- just like I did. Works for me.
So, now I will get to the whole point of this rambling dialogue. While I did not request being a friend of my son, I could look at his "Friends List". Dude had 766 friends. That is right -- 766 friends. Amazed by this, I checked my daughters site and she has 586 friends (obviously, a social loser compared to my son but really, 586 friends doesn't make her a total wallflower). That is amazing amount of people. I don't think I even know 766 people. At least not 766 people that I like!! Here is what amazes me...if he leaves his account in tact as he gets older, he will never lose track of just about anyone he has ever known. At age 40 he will still be able to know what has happened to people with whom he went to grade school. Sure, some people will drop off and he may add others. But talk about your networking potential. Can you imagine changing industries in your job and having contact with 766 or so people who might be able to assist you with a name or suggestion about where you might look for a job or a contact or whatever? That is amazing if you think about it. Case in point, a buddy of his just got drafted by the Texas Rangers in the recent minor league draft. Might be interesting to keep in touch to hear how that is going. A quick message on Facebook seems more realistic than writing letters or telephoning.
When I was in school I always looked forward to summer vacation. However, I also knew that I would not see or talk to certain friends until we returned to school in the fall. My 9th grade son does not miss a beat. He can be in touch everyday through these communication devices. All of my children are used to this world. Many of us "older folks" might dabble in this world and some embrace it aggressively. But, we were not raised with this being part of our world. They can keep in touch with friends from nearly cradle to grave if they choose. Another case in point. I coached a boy in soccer when he was in about 3rd or 4th grade and then his family moved to another state. This fall, he will attend college and his roommate is going to be a friend of my son who knew the boy before he moved. They had stayed in touch and, although they have not spent time together, they decided it would be better to room with someone they knew a little bit rather than a total stranger. This weekend, my son is supposed to see see the kid who moved out of state as he is coming back for a visit to see hang out a bit with his future roommate. It is all kind of crazy but interesting all the same.
How does any of this relate to fasteners? I cannot see that it does at all. How does it realte to business and industry? I think it is one of the most interesting and intriguing aspects of how business is and will be conducted in years to come. I am fascinated.
The subject on my mind today is one I have touched on in the past -- Facebook. Everyday I am being contacted by someone from the past and for the most part it is pretty enjoyable. I have caught up with some old friends at least just to get caught up on how our lives have progressed over the years. Listen, I know all the comments I am going to get about Facebook.
"I wish I had all that time to spend sitting on the computer talking to people I have not seen in years" - from the person who feels self important about their daily life
"It is so creepy to think of all these geezers trying to reconnect -- trying to see if the girl who was hot in high school is still good looking or, better yet, divorced" - from teenagers who are freaked out that their parents are on Facebook
"I really do not want to have contact with all those people. I prefer my privacy" - Ted Kocinski and some others (..I'm just saying)
Blah, blah blah. I know, I know. I heard about the person who got hired and posted on Facebook what a big A-Hole their new boss was only to get fired that Monday. And I do realize there are plenty of creepy people out there. I get it. But, here is what intrigues and amazes me....wait, let me provide some background to this discussion first...
On Facebbok, there is a section where they suggest people you might want to add as a Facebook "Friend". It could be someone who went to your college or your high school but it is generally someone who is "friends" with one of your "friends" So, this weekend, Facbook tells me I should be friends with MY SON. I know he has no real interest. He just graduated from high school and is probably posting a bunch of stuff he doesn't really want good old dad to see. My daughter is in college and she accepted me as a "friend" recently. I happen to know that she has privacy features that filter out people like me so I can only see certain things she posts on Facebook. Which, is all fine by me. Do I really want to see here college drinking binges or other embarrassing behavior? Heck no. This way, I can continue to live in denial and believe my little princess is studying her little heart out and behaving wonderfully at college -- just like I did. Works for me.
So, now I will get to the whole point of this rambling dialogue. While I did not request being a friend of my son, I could look at his "Friends List". Dude had 766 friends. That is right -- 766 friends. Amazed by this, I checked my daughters site and she has 586 friends (obviously, a social loser compared to my son but really, 586 friends doesn't make her a total wallflower). That is amazing amount of people. I don't think I even know 766 people. At least not 766 people that I like!! Here is what amazes me...if he leaves his account in tact as he gets older, he will never lose track of just about anyone he has ever known. At age 40 he will still be able to know what has happened to people with whom he went to grade school. Sure, some people will drop off and he may add others. But talk about your networking potential. Can you imagine changing industries in your job and having contact with 766 or so people who might be able to assist you with a name or suggestion about where you might look for a job or a contact or whatever? That is amazing if you think about it. Case in point, a buddy of his just got drafted by the Texas Rangers in the recent minor league draft. Might be interesting to keep in touch to hear how that is going. A quick message on Facebook seems more realistic than writing letters or telephoning.
When I was in school I always looked forward to summer vacation. However, I also knew that I would not see or talk to certain friends until we returned to school in the fall. My 9th grade son does not miss a beat. He can be in touch everyday through these communication devices. All of my children are used to this world. Many of us "older folks" might dabble in this world and some embrace it aggressively. But, we were not raised with this being part of our world. They can keep in touch with friends from nearly cradle to grave if they choose. Another case in point. I coached a boy in soccer when he was in about 3rd or 4th grade and then his family moved to another state. This fall, he will attend college and his roommate is going to be a friend of my son who knew the boy before he moved. They had stayed in touch and, although they have not spent time together, they decided it would be better to room with someone they knew a little bit rather than a total stranger. This weekend, my son is supposed to see see the kid who moved out of state as he is coming back for a visit to see hang out a bit with his future roommate. It is all kind of crazy but interesting all the same.
How does any of this relate to fasteners? I cannot see that it does at all. How does it realte to business and industry? I think it is one of the most interesting and intriguing aspects of how business is and will be conducted in years to come. I am fascinated.
your sons friend drafted by the texas rangers also received a full ride to Ohio state , now that is an interesting choice
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True enough. I never knew this (and do not totally understand it) but I was told that if you sign a minor league contract, Major League Baseball guarantees you 4 years of education at a local college if you are cut by the team that drafted you. So, if it does not work out for you in baseball you still will have your education paid for by the MLB. That's not bad. At least I think that is how it was explained to me.
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I am thinking of entering the fasetener industry and starting a fastener distributorship.
What advise would you have and is it a good time to do it considering the recent economic conditions,
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Very interesting Kentankerous. Is this a good time? Well, everyone knows that business is slow these days...and fastener "old timers" will even say that this is the worst they have seen business in 20 or 30 years. That being said, we might be getting to the bottom and business might begin to recover through the later part of 2009 and 2010. Honestly, I think a good recovery will not happen until about 2012 or 2013 but we will see an improvement before then that will make us all feel a bit better than we have in 2009.
But, is it a good time to get in? You have no inventory if you are just getting in. That is probably a good thing. All the incomin material is much lower that what is currently sitting on the shelves at distributors. If you can establish credit then you will be able to buy product at a good price right now. And, many end user customers are scrutinizing their current purchaing habits because everyone is looking to cut cost (and survive). If you can get in the door (or if you have exisiting contacts) then you should be able to get some attention.
I will post more later. Got to run to lunch and be....well....a travling salesman!
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