Category: Book

Imagine going to University and having no access to the internet. Imagine not being allowed to have a mobile phone. Imagine not being allowed to leave the campus. Imagine eating the same food day in day out and following the same routine every hour of every day. Imagine doing all of that willingly, because you know nothing different.

That is the life of the elite students in North Korea.

I recently read the book ‘Without You, There is no us’ by Suki Kim. Suki is a South-Korean born, American living, journalist. In 2011, she went undercover as a missionary teacher in North Korea to teach English to the elite students at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).

Being the same age as the students she was teaching, I read this book with a view for comparison. At times I didn’t believe what I was reading as the level of awareness and willingness to try new things or hear new ideas from the students was almost zero. They couldn’t comprehend the idea of an essay. They used any chances they had to either boast about the Great Leader or to in some way abuse America. Yet as I read more, I felt more sympathy as in their environment, it was virtually impossible to know better.

I’ve tried to think about the main things I have learnt from this book to be able to put it in this post. However I don’t feel as though I can express in words or a list, what it is I’ve learnt. The book was an eye-opener – into the North Korean regime, the trapped world of a student but also the characteristics of human nature that we all share.

Suki has given a TED talk about the book. I encourage you to at least watch this, however I think the book is very powerful to help gain an understanding of the world we live in, so in my opinion, it should be read.

I have recently read ‘The Social Animal’ by David Brooks.

Fiction and Non-Fiction combined, the story follows two characters all the way from birth to death. The book explains the process of how our lives unfold and how our mind adapts. It explains the motives and imagination of a child, the emotions of falling in love, the influences of work and the desire to find meaning in life.

The book also ‘jumps out’ at key points to go into more details about the world around us. For example, the impact of different schooling systems, or how voters really act around election periods.

I had considered writing about my favourite part, or what I had learnt. In truth, I can’t pick one area and any attempt to share what is taught would only undermine the power of the book.

In short, this is potentially the best book I have ever read and it is a book I will tell everyone to read. For a short overview of the book, David Brooks has given a TED talk on the topic, however nothing will beat reading this book!

This week I finished The Circle by Dave Eggers. In the book, The Circle is the world’s largest technology company, it has the best online services and the lead when it comes to hardware. It is viewed as the best place to work as you get access to exclusive technology and insights. However, early in the book you begin to wonder if it really is that great!

Whilst I listened to the audiobook, the story felt a little like a fantasy; the employees are being covered in wearable tech, the governments are entering ‘complete transparency’ meaning they have a live camera and microphone on them at all times. It all felt a little over the top.

However it didn’t take me long to see the overlap with today’s technology. Only a few days later my brother came home with a new smart wristband, talking with amazement about how it tracked everything from his sleep pattern; his heart rate and alerting him when he has a new follower on twitter.

‘Complete transparency’ isn’t so alien either. Millions of snapchat videos and periscope streams mean that we are more likely to be filmed when we either don’t realise or want to on a regular basis!

The uses and advancements of technology in the book were extremely concerning, so should we be concerned?

I say, not yet!

Advancements in technology are amazing and they do provide endless benefits. Whilst many can be sceptical or hold back, I try to embrace technology as much as I can and I think others should as it is only going to continue moving forward.

However, what is important is the need for privacy. I would love to know how I had slept the previous night or know my heart rate when working out, however I wouldn’t want that information to be accessible for all to see and know.

Unfortunately social media is making many people feel that they must share all details of their life, this is where we need to be concerned. The loss of privacy can only end badly.

Without the choice to have privacy when using technology, it soon heads towards a 1984 scenario …. and if you don’t know what I mean  then 1984 must be next on your reading list!

Around 30% of the world’s population are active social media users. That equates to approximately 2.078 billion users!!

On average 500 million tweets are sent per day. The average shelf-life of a tweet is only 2.8 hours! With all this activity how can businesses be heard?!

Success on twitter is all about capturing #TheMoment

“Content marketing is a lot like trying to catch a wave – timing is everything. Too early, and nobody cares. Too Late, and someone else has caught it.” – David Schneider

#TheMoment is a book all about twitter moments and their power.

The book shows how businesses have been forced to alter how they control their brand image online. No longer do companies have time to thoroughly plan and verify their content. Sometimes you only have a window of a few minutes to capture the attention of your customers. If you have too many hurdles in place you will miss it every time!

Social media gives companies a platform to interact with their customers in real-time, reacting to what’s happening NOW.

One of the best moment captures came from Oreo Cookie during Superbowl XLVII. When the lights went out it took just five minutes for the page to tweet:

With just over 15k retweets, this is one of their best performing tweets to date, and it was created without long planning and verification!

Be seen

I currently run multiple social media pages and each and every day I am battling to get my content to stand out and be seen.

The first challenge is to get a user to stop and look at my post. Trying to not blend in is a priority! A good way to solve this is with pictures; they’re colourful, attract the eye and also take up more space!! Meaning it takes longer for the user to pass you, increasing the chances that they will look at your post!

But attracting the attention isn’t enough. What I find funny about social media users is how precious they are with their time. Users can spend hours online however with the amount that’s available online, time dedicated to each individual post is very small, if at all! So how can you actually get a user to part with just a few seconds of their time to read your post?

This is where language plays a part. The wording needs to be easy to read, informative, interesting and thought provoking – all in 140 characters. This is where some businesses blow the competition out of the water.

Improving the appeal of posts is a skill I am far from mastering but each day I’m learning new things, exploring new ideas and testing new theories.

Now, you’re probably wondering why a blog titled “Why People Don’t Understand You” has a picture of Stephen Hawking. Well, this post was actually inspired by his book “A Brief History of Time”.

In this book Stephen Hawking talks about some of the most complicated theories known to mankind, as the cover suggests, it covers everything from the big bang to black holes. He talks in detail about scientific principles and theories that some of the greatest minds alive are still trying to understand.

My science knowledge is limited and although I enjoyed the subject at school I didn’t carry it on past GCSE’s, however I found myself engrossed in this book. I was amazed by the stories he told and the theories he explained. I listened intently to learn more and more.

The reason I enjoyed this book so much is the same reason it is a best seller – everyone can understand it.

As I listened to the audiobook I was amazed by the way he could make something so complex sound so simple and it opened my eyes to value in being able to communicate this way.

There’s nothing more frustrating than have an amazing idea or thought and attempting to tell someone about it but they don’t get as excited as you do. Chances are they don’t understand it as you do.

This reminds of me something my A-level tutors told me when we first began to write essays – “assume the reader is a beginner and explain everything”. Whilst this can be laborious it has value and ensures you get your message across.

If you want people to be engaged and excited by what you’re saying you must make sure that your wording is appropriate and your explanations are clear, otherwise they will lose focus. Just think back to the last time someone tried to explain something complicated to you and you couldn’t follow – for me that’s probably my last lecture! – I bet you lost interest and disengaged from the person talking.

So the next time you need to explain something complicated or share a thought you’ve had, just think ‘how would Stephen Hawking explain this?’ and you’re good to go!