Ken Schafer: 2 posts from November 2007

A Young Person's Guide To Punk Rock - The Undertones

Punk for me (I was a teen when it all started) was always very much about my generation. At the time I don't think I noticed how incredibly young we all were.

Behold the zit-filled faces of The Undertones, looking like they had to ask their mums if it was okay to go out on a school night to shoot this video for Teenage Kicks:

And because the Internet is making everything instantly available, here's footage of the band actually recording the song:

It's quite incredible that what is arguably one of the best pop songs ever just happened to be used as an example of how records are made!

Yes, I do mean it when I say I think Teenage Kicks is one of the "best pop songs ever". Who can argue with lyrics as unpretentious as this:

Are teenage dreams so hard to beat Everytime she walks down the street Another girl in the neighbourhood Wish she was mine, she looks so good
I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night

I'm gonna call her on the telephone
Have her over 'cos I'm all alone
I need excitement oh I need it bad
And its the best, I've ever had

I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night

I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight
Get teenage kicks right through the night

I only saw The Undertones once, opening for The Clash but I've always had a soft spot for them.

Nov 10, 2007 at 12:41 PM in Music, Video, Young Person's Guide To Punk | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did I Really Say "Good Vibes"?

Nestor E. Arellano (the "E" is to avoid him getting confused with all the other Nestor Arellanos out there - sorry Nestor I couldn't resist) interviewed me on Thursday for an ITBusiness.ca article called "Good Vibes Stem The Tide Of Talent Turnover".

One of the things I've learned as a manager is that my team has to understand why they are doing what they are doing, see challenge in the work, and enjoy the physical act of working (i.e. like the people and environment the work gets done in). If you don't get those right, it's very tough to keep anyone engaged. If they're not engaged, they might stick around if times are tough but given options (as people most definitely are being given right now), they won't stick around for long.

Nov 10, 2007 at 12:38 PM in Me Me Me, The Internet | Permalink | Comments (0)

About Ken Schafer

Widely seen as a pioneer of the Internet in Canada, Ken has tirelessly promoted the Net as a significant force in business and culture.

Ken conceived and oversaw Sony Music Canada's early online initiatives. From their first site in 1995, Ken's team built a global web presence for 25 Canadian artists, by pioneering viral and e-mail marketing, rich media, and community building long before they had become buzzwords.

In 1996 he co-founded (AIMS) where as President he helped it become Canada's largest organization for Internet decision-makers. In 1997 he co-authored the online portion of the Canadian Marketing Association's Code of Ethics.

Ken's volunteer work was recognized in 2002 when he was named a finalist for "Volunteer of the Year" at the Canadian New Media Awards.

More recently, Ken developed the curriculum and taught the 14-week CMA's Certificate in E-marketing program.

Today, he is VP, Marketing & Product Management for Tucows and a contributor to One Degree, Canada's leading web site for Internet marketing professionals.

Ken received his degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and lives outside Toronto with his wife, parenting expert Alyson Schafer, and their two children.

Recent Non-Fiction

Gary Hamel: The Future of Management
I found this very inspiring. We're working through a lot of these issues at Tucows and a few of us have now read this book. Really thought provoking and more pragmatic than I was expecting.
James Surowiecki: The Wisdom of Crowds
I can't believe how long it too me to get to this "must read" for the social media cognoscenti but it didn't disappoint.
Walter Isaacson: Einstein
Isaacson provides a comprehensive study of the great man, intertwining his personal and scientific lives effortlessly.
Chip & Dan Heath: Made to Stick
A fantastic resource for anyone who needs to clearly communicate anything. Probably my top business book of 2007. A must read.
Steven Pinker: The Stuff of Thought
Getting through the grammar lessons in the early chapters was a bit of a challenge but the sections on why we swear where absolutely worth it!
Nassim Nicholas Taleb: The Black Swan
While Taleb's ideas are VERY important I have a hard time recommending the book to the average reader as it does delve pretty heavily into statistical and probabilistic thinking at times. If you don't mind a bit of hard work in the later chapters this will reward with some great insights into how much we are ruled by randomness.

Recent Fiction

Khaled Hosseini: A Thousand Splendid Suns
The history of Kabul Afghanistan disguised as the harrowing stories of two women as they deal with oppression and injustice while finding time to love and learn.
William Gibson: Spook Country
I enjoyed this far more than I was expecting. I tried Neuromancer ages ago and couldn't get into it, but Spook Country was very much a page turner - heavy on plot, set in a futuristic "near past" (2006). Highly recommended.
J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye
Getting around to reading classics I should have read much earlier in life is a big goal for 2008. Finally meeting Holden Caufield was a great start.

You can see why the book was radical in its time - in content and style, but it seems pretty darn quaint these days. Is it still banned anywhere?
Cormac Mccarthy: All the Pretty Horses
A cowboy gothic starting and ending with a funeral. In between we get minimalist dialogue, pages of apocalyptic odes to equines and Mexican desert landscapes. Brilliant.
Cormac McCarthy: The Road
Incredibly powerful - probably one of my all-time favourite books despite the relentless bleakness.
Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird
Just wonderful. I've seen the movie many times but reading the book was a revelation.