July 31, 2008

The U.S. Government should tax carbon emissions. - Inspired by George David, chairman of United Technologies Corp.

In a speech to the House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, George David, chairman of United Technologies Corp. said, "we need to say to our world that we are going to have a cost of carbon, whether it's cap-and-trade or a carbon tax.” He added that the cost of energy will be high for a long time.

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Fast Talk

July 31, 2008

Q: Should the sale of tobacco in drugstores be banned? | posted by Fast Company staff

8Reader Recommendations


Can Facebook Really Replace Employment Firms?

By: Tom Stern
Social Networking
A Kick In the Career: What happened to face-to-face networking? In this week's column, humorist and career expert Tom Stern wonders whether social networking is really conducive to launching one's career.

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Publication Date: 
July 30, 2008
Deck: 
A Kick In the Career: What happened to face-to-face networking? In this week's column, humorist and career expert Tom Stern wonders whether social networking is really conducive to launching one's career.
meta_title: 
Can Facebook Really Replace Employment Firms?
Custom Teaser: 
A Kick In the Career: What happened to face-to-face networking? In this week's column, humorist and career expert Tom Stern wonders whether social networking is really conducive to launching one's career.

July 2008

Fast Talk

July 30, 2008

Q: Will Scrabulous ever return to Facebook? | posted by Fast Company staff

July 30, 2008

Nuclear power will eventually become our most significant source of green energy. - Inspired by Senator John McCain's comments on nuclear power

If John McCain becomes president, he proposes having 45 new nuclear reactors built in the United States by 2030. He doesn't really see renewable energy happening without nuclear power.

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July 29, 2008

CEOs of public companies should be obligated to share their health status with investors. - Inspired by media attention surrounding Steve Jobs' health

Is health a private matter? Since the release of the new iPhone, Apple shareholders have been asking about Steve Job’s health. He looked gaunt at the announcement, which brought up initial  concern. Do the shareholders have a right to know the status of his health?

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Fast Talk

July 29, 2008

Q: Will the China "brand" suffer more or be helped more because of the attention of the Olympics? | posted by Fast Company staff

July 28, 2008

Twitter will replace blogs as the Web's best social tool. - Inspired by Robert Scoble's tweetstream

In Robert Scoble's latest column in Fast Company, "Stream of Consciousness," a few of his tweets from microblogging service, Twitter, were arranged in streams to express the conversations he had with others while using the tool.

In this week-long glance at his tweetstream, Scoble said, "Twitter is the public square. Lots of noise, little signal. Blogs are like a speech. Signal, but little noise ..."
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11Reader Recommendations


Worker, Interrupted: The Cost of Task Switching

By: Kermit Pattison
Fast Interview: When is interruption is helpful? Why can't most of us stay on task for more than three minutes? Is the best way to achieve flow to just unplug? Gloria Mark, Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has some answers.

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Publication Date: 
July 28, 2008
Deck: 
Fast Interview: When is interruption is helpful? Why can't most of us stay on task for more than three minutes? Is the best way to achieve flow to just unplug? Gloria Mark, Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has some answers.
meta_title: 
Worker, Interrupted: The Cost of Task Switching
Custom Teaser: 
Fast Interview: When is interruption is helpful? Why can't most of us stay on task for more than three minutes? Is the best way to achieve flow to just unplug? Gloria Mark, Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine, has some answers.

Why study interruption?

I became interested in it from my own personal experience. I moved here from Europe back in 2000. I was stunned by the amount of multitasking that I was doing here in the U.S. and I was wondering if other people were experiencing it as well. Anecdotally, people were reporting they were crushed by all of these different projects. People's lives as information workers involve different kinds of technologies, and they create even more of a force for interruption and different places where we can focus our attention.

July 2008

July 26, 2008

"Individuals can best help the environment by building smaller homes." - Inspired by the green housing boom

In the recent issue of Fast Company, Linda Tischler writes in, "The Eco-Home of Tomorrow," "Forward-thinking architects and real-estate developers are already envisioning the post-bust cycle of home building. And smaller is better."

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