WHEN WE TUG ON A SINGLE THING IN NATURE,WE FIND IT ATTACHED TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.
~John Muir
Of Note: The world is changing fast. Really fast. With the rise of globalization and the concomitant sense of responsibility it brings, the affluent in developed nations can no longer ignore the low-income populations of third-world countries. International corporations have taken note and are beginning to market their products to the low-income buyer. For example, Danone is now selling yogurt packets in third world countries for pennies--in one case buying milk locally from Senegalese farmers. What started as an experiment may now be expanded to developed countries as well. We understand that Danone is a for-profit corporation not a charity and making money for shareholders is the bottom line. But to date, they have stuck with the project and consider it a learning experience. Said the man responsible: "Learning to make a nutritious product that can be sold for eight cents without a loss helps us when we put in place a volume strategy, even in mature markets." This is not an isolated case and in the future more and more companies will be selling their products to low-income consumers, who represent a huge untapped market.
Today's Weather Report: Last Wednesday, a small tornado hit Hayward. I was at the clinic at the time for my annual physical and the twister hit on the hospital campus property. The visit was cut short because the lights went out. So, I ventured forth not knowing about the tornado only to see the resulting destruction as I drove into town. Wow. Upon arriving home, I found my DSL modem had been fried, as well as the wireless router and Ethernet port of my computer. Last night, a week later, all was finally put back together. I had no idea that an electric surge could travel down the Ethernet cable so it must be disconnected when a storm approaches. That was an expensive lesson to learn.
Today's Weather Report: Last Wednesday, a small tornado hit Hayward. I was at the clinic at the time for my annual physical and the twister hit on the hospital campus property. The visit was cut short because the lights went out. So, I ventured forth not knowing about the tornado only to see the resulting destruction as I drove into town. Wow. Upon arriving home, I found my DSL modem had been fried, as well as the wireless router and Ethernet port of my computer. Last night, a week later, all was finally put back together. I had no idea that an electric surge could travel down the Ethernet cable so it must be disconnected when a storm approaches. That was an expensive lesson to learn.
