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The irony of old cell phones

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Let’s face it, when it comes to cell phones, they never built them like they used to.

Cell phones are fragile devices. We carry them in our pockets, we throw them against the wall when they drop calls and sometimes we even jump in the pool with reckless disregard for our mobile communications device.

But perhaps the most devastating thing that happens to cell phones has nothing to do with crushing, or impact or water.

Age is the natural enemy of the cell phone.

Whether the flip phone doesn’t quite have that old snap anymore or that inch-thick pre-Razor phone isn’t quite cutting it, cell phones get old and get replaced like clockwork, and why not? Most new phones are cheap, and many are sold at or near a loss by service providers looking to lock subscribers into a multi-year contract. While you’re enjoying your new LG Chocolate phone, had you given any thought to what became of your old, ugly and/or broken phone?

Had you given any thought to what might have been on that phone that you wouldn’t necessarily want falling into the wrong hands?

Multiple news sources, including CNN, reported today that tiny software programs available over the Internet are able to recover data from old cell phones, even if the phone has been restored to factory default settings and the files erased.

cnn2.JPGAccording to CNN, one company, called Trust Digital of McLean, Virginia, bought 10 used cell phones and was able to retrieve thousands of pages worth of data from the phones, all of which had been “reset” prior to sale. Trust Digital recovered files about government contracts, employee information and even banking information.

Now that you know to be careful with your old cell phones, the true irony of today’s news is that CNN placed another article online right below the warning article.

This second article discusses a company called ReCellular, a company that recycles old cell phones so that they can be reused in third world countries. So you can decide exactly what to do. One article says you can’t be too careful, another says old cell phones are vitalizing developing nations.

You be the judge.

The milkman, a marketing story

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Clyde Priest started delivering milk in 1936 at age 10 to support his family during a difficult economic time in American history.

He retired July 20, 70 years after starting his career in a quickly disappearing marketing profession.

According to CNN, Clyde the milkman represented the very best characteristics of sales while serving as a trusted and vital resource to five generations of Missouri families for nearly three quarters of a century.
Priest also knew he worked in sales and had to offer value to his customers beyond what they could get at any supermarket of chain store.

“My theory all these years has been: You could buy milk anywhere, so the only thing I got to sell is my personal service. That was my philosophy,” he told the Associated Press. This could be one of the reasons why he stayed in business longer than seven of the actual dairies that supplied milk and related products to him.

The milkman, once a staple supplier to most American homes, is a dying breed in this country, and people like Clyde Priest represented that level of service. According to the report, he was so trusted by the families he delivered to that they had him put the milk and other dairy products in their refrigerators when they weren’t even home. One is hard pressed to find another salesman with that level of respect and trust.

Priest attributes his success to doing what he loved and putting a little extra effort in.

It is amazing what a little extra effort will do over 70 years.

Boston-area lifeguards act correctly despite mob scene

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A bit of local news surfaced today that is relevant to a public relations/publicity discussion.

This is why too much hype can be a bad thing.

Bystanders overreacted when lifeguards rescued three-year-old Yasmany Pepin from a pond n Milton, Mass. Sunday afternoon.

A man swimming with his daughter noticed the boy motionless in the water and carried him out where lifeguards noticed he had a pulse, cleared his airways and turned him on his side as he started to vomit. In clearing the airways, one lifeguard even administered mouth-to-mouth for a short period of time, stopping when the boy started breathing on his own.

This is the correct rescue procedure.

According to The Boston Globe two women then pushed their way through the gathering crowd in an apparent panic. They decided that CPR was necessary and fought with the lifeguards who assured the two that the situation was under control.

Reportedly, the women accused the lifeguards of refusing to help the boy and started to administer CPR, including chest compressions on him.

The situation escalated so far that one woman was actually arrested for kicking a state police officer who arrived on the scene.

This reporter recently spoke with fire fighters in the New England region who cautioned against the zealousness of would-be heroes interfering with the operations of trained rescuers and first-responders.

Furthermore, CPR, itself, especially chest compressions can be deadly if administered incorrectly and often result in broken ribs, even if done right. The two women in this case apparently administered unnecessary and counterproductive measures, against the advice of trained lifeguards in what appears to have been a disorganized panic on the part of the seemingly well-intentioned bystanders.

“If you need CPR, it doesn’t matter one way or the other if its done correctly, but if you don’t need it it can do a lot of harm,” said one firefighter. “If you do need CPR, it should never be held back, but if the person is conscious and breathing on their own and you give CPR, you could kill them.”

A British organization reported in 2004 that even trained paramedics can do it wrong.

State officials defended the lifeguards, and even the Boston Herald stopped short of completely asserting that the lifeguards were “pond scum.”

As reported by The Globe:

“We are confident that our lifeguards in fact made the appropriate determination about what was needed, what the boy needed, and acted properly,” DCR Commissioner Stephen Burrington at a news conference at the pond.

The reaction to this story has, however, been out of control, with people assuming that the lifeguards refusing to perform CPR and chest compressions was wrong and nearly killed the boy. The WCVB-TV, ABC 5 website forums are full of responses on both sides and a heated debate has started.

The two points one can take from this story both deal with hype. CPR has saved countless lives, but the choice of whether to use it or not is an important one. Second, the desire and draw to be a hero is massive in this culture.

Perhaps we all need to be a little more mild-mannered.

Weather in the news

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Tropical Storm Chris roars westWe can’t get enough of it.

Weather; strong, destructive, wet and fast, is one of the few pieces of news that, through its inconsistency, has consistently captured people’s attentions for generations.

We look at it with a sense of fearful awe. The whirling maps, seven-day forecasts and lines of high and low pressure systems that sweep through the country captivate us.

Our awe is fearful because we often find good reason to be fearful of mother nature’s fury. Weather can be more destructive than war. A hurricane can make a bigger impact in a city than a bomb. A tornado can be a guided missile, appearing to single out its targets.

Yet, as much as we are afraid of the impact weather can have on our lives, we find ourselves unable to look away.

Weather stories live on as tall tales passed down through generations, whether it be the blizzard of ’78 or Hurricane Hugo. My own family still spins a yarn about holding a Christening celebration in the midst of Hurricane Gloria in 1985, preparing food and a banquet hall in Connecticut, where there was no electricity for days on end.

Hurricane Gloria caused $900 million in property damage and took eight lives, making landfall three times in the United States before it was through in late September.

The aftermath of a tornado. (Courtesy of Flickr)Even the worst of the worst, Hurricane Katrina, led to Pulitzer Prize winning journalism. Extreme weather is also a mainstay of educational television. The Discovery Channel runs long-form documentaries on tornadoes, hurricanes and more recently, tsunamis. Hypothetical features like The Weather Channel’s “It Could Happen Tomorrow” discuss the effects of extreme weather on regions that are ill-prepared for it.

Recently, with a major heat wave streaming west-east, local television stations like Fox 25 in Boston and WLS-TV in Chicago are leading with the weather.

Though dreaded, the elements create a buzz in the media.

Weather certainly doesn’t seem to need a publicist.

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