Why naming your child Hashtag is a bad idea

By know you have read the news, some parent named their new born baby girl Hashtag. This is a really bad idea but not for what you think. It is not that the child may be teased, or confused, or her future cost of therapy. The reason that this is a bad idea is ironic:

If the parents named their child hashtag because they like social media, the name actually completely disadvantaged their child in social media. What do you the child can use as a name in her online identities? dashtag may well be a reserved word. How about her personal brand? I would suggest “www.mymomnamedmehashtag.com”. Because if I were to look for her, and perform a web search for “hashtag smith”, do you think I will find her easily? Or would I get a thousand result pages talking hashtag the social media term instead?

Values, Vision and Life Experience

Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC 2012 was amazing. No doubt about it. So many inspiring lines. So personal. So positive. Thinking through the speech and re-reading the transcript, if I have to pull out one line from the speech, this is the one:

But at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as President, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.

Not everyone is going to be President, but it is so truth that one is guided by one’s values, vision and life experiences. So as parents, those are the things that we need to give our children.

Back to Lexington

In the PK’s tradition of making important announcements on April’s First, it is now semi-public knowledge that I am giving up the city living and heading back to the burbs. At this point I only wished I kept my last house in Lexington. Instead it is now a delicately timed project of selling, renting and buying, in some order between Boston and Lexington. I know I am really going to miss living in the South End. At this point the kiddos are half complaining about leaving “the best house ever”. But then they have never had a backyard, nor a private driveway, nor a school that actually has a playground and ball field attached.

The pros and cons have already been analyzed in this other blog post. I won’t repeat it here. But it is a large part a financial decision. Having stared at risk assessments for over a year while developing WealthMate, the financial implications are getting to me. Also, it seems that, while we are still in the East coast, why not give the kids a bit of the typical American suburban life experience.

Talent from Understanding

What is Talent? Do I have it? How do I get it? This is an often asked question.

My son attends the Boston Ballet School. His teacher, a well loved and well known teacher, Luciano, recently explained his thought on talent. My students parents often ask me, “Does my little Holly have talent in Ballet?” he said. His answer is right on:

Talent is a Gift

Some say talent is a gift. There is some truth to that. Having the right body type, or the right physical ability, helps. Especially with something like Ballet. However having the gift sometimes make the student works less hard. Pay less attention. Things come too easily. In the long term, having the gift along is not going to translate to success. In fact, if managed wrong, it could hurt.

Talent from Practice

Practice makes perfect. The Russian ballet schools sometimes share this philosophy. Talent from repetition. Again, there are some truth to this view. But repetition along is not going to make your great.

Talent from Understanding

70% of talent is going to come from understanding. It is coming from your head. You need to understand why something is done, understand how your body works, understand the ecosystem of your particular field. With understanding, you will know how to leverage your gift. With understanding you will know what to monitor during practice. What do you need to improve.

I totally agree with this view. It goes far beyond ballet, or music, or tai chi. Try it yourself.

Secret of Hong Kong Education

A very interesting CNN video on the secret (success) of Hong Kong’s students:

• private tutors (I do not agree)
• Priority at Home for academy excellence (agree)
• Cultural Traditional – emphasizing education (agree)

Watch and decide

Apple Retail Store Staff is the new role model?

The battery in my 8 month old Mac Book Pro seems to be broken. I scheduled a late night appointment at the only Retail store in Boston, near my loft. 25 minutes later, I walked away with a replacement battery and a smile on my face. Those Apple guys and women are oh so nice. They are courteous, professional, passionate, and fun. The Apple Genius handled my MBP with more care then me. The counter staff were friendly and helpful. On my way home one of the staff was heading back to the store, recognized me and said good night.

If you were a parent, and your teenager grows up and behave with such manners, professionalism, and people skills, wouldn’t you be proud?

Disclaimer — I have been to other suburb Apple store within a mall and the staff there are definitely not as good. Perhaps it’s a urban twenty-something thing here at the flagship store. So at least make those the role models.

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