The Simple Things...

The Simple Things

My last blog got me thinking….it’s the simple things. This reminded of all the times I travel and see things that seem so simple and so useful, yet for whatever reason are only in some areas of the world and not others. Both places in the world I think of normally have the technology to both have these simple inventions, yet some places simply choose not too. I recently spent half a year in Europe and there were a few things that particularly stood out to me. Two I have pictures of, one I do not (You’ll have to use your imagination.) Now, my disclaimer is that I don’t know where else these things exist, all I know is the things I saw existed there and not where I spend most of my time now. (New England)

#1: How many times have you been standing at a T stop in Boston and you have no idea how long till the train gets there? You’re not sure how long ago it was there, how long until it’s coming back, if it broke down, etc. So you’re standing there freezing in winter or sweating in summer praying it’s 2 minutes away. What a simple invention in Rome, Italy so that you no longer have to wonder. So simple. So helpful.




#2: How many times have you been on an unfamilar subway system and are unsure of the stops in between the stop you need? Or even times you are familiar with the subway but it’s crowded and your leaning around people trying to look out the window and see where you are? Why do the maps on the subway in Boston,MA say the names of stops, but don’t light up and tell you which one you’re at? The subway system in Barcelona, Spain….Simple and brillant.





#3: We talk a big game about conserving energy here in the US. I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t been the most environmentally conscious person my whole life, but over the years I’ve realized how much more we could do as a society. One of the best and most simple inventions I saw while in Europe was in the hotel rooms. How many times do you leave the lights on when you leave your hotel room? It’s not your electric bill, you’re paying for the room…what do you care? While in Europe some of the hotels I stayed in would force you to put your room key in a light switch instead of flicking on a switch. Your room key would stay in the switch until you left and you had to obviously grab your key if you wanted to be able to get back into the room. Once the key came out of the switch, automatically all the lights turned off. I guess in Europe they finally realized the only way to conserve some energy was to not give people a choice to turn the lights off if they wanted to be able to get back in the room. GREAT, great, great, SIMPLE, simple, simple idea!!
I’ve yet to see this in the US, although I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.

These were really just silverware attached to lights, no big purpose, just creative. …….but by far this restaurant had the best food I had on my whole trip. Oh and their menus…we’re on wine bottles. I loved this place. It’s the simple things.










This quote hung on one of the walls of the places I stayed. I always liked it





Enjoy the simple things in life, and appreciate them; whether it’s an invention, a warm smile or a pleasant hello. They make all the difference.

No Smoking…No Kidding

I’ve decided there are a lot of things that companies waste money and resources on. I think we all need to take a day and go through our websites, our collateral, our services, our products…our “spaces of communication” and figure out what is unnecessary or useless spending. How could we spend our money more wisely? How could we communicate more effectively in these spaces?

Recently, while flying across the country I couldn’t help but notice the “no smoking” signs above every row of seats on the plane. Not only are the signs there, they are constantly lit up as to remind the passengers that “no smoking” is in effect. Is there ever a time when the light is turned off and you can smoke? Not that I know of. With all of the announcements flight attendants make and all the rules of flying you would think that space could be used for something more useful. What if that space was used to warn people how much time they have left before they can turn on or need to turn off their electronics?

Smoking was prohibited on all U.S. domestic flights in 1998. It’s been over 10 years and we still have no smoking signs throughout entire planes. Obviously switching all of those signs to something relevant would be a large change over cost, but after 12 years you’d think the signs would be replaced with something more useful and continually wasting that space with a useless message would be costly enough in itself.

What Happened to This?

Take a good look at this picture.

What happened to this?
That is my theme for today’s blog. I saw this photograph today and I couldn’t help but think about how I’ve been pondering the changes in the airline industry for a long time now. LOOK at what it used to be.
I know I’m young, but even I remember a different experience. In fact this is what I remember:
My parents telling me we were flying somewhere on vacation. The morning of the flight my parents were excited. They didn’t seem stressed about airport processes, or nervous about terrorists. They would actually get dressed nicely. It was such a special experience to fly that we’d usually take a limo to the airport. When we got there we’d be greeted by friendly people and go through standard security and boarding processes. We’d check all our bags for free and bring on a small carry on; Going through security seemed almost unnecessary; terrorism was rarely on people’s minds. I remember boarding an American Airlines flight and getting to go into the cock pit and meet the pilot. He’d let me see all the equipment and then I’d cheerily head to my seat. “Stuarists” were always dressed up, always looked similar, always had friendly smiles and most were actually polite. They all seemed somewhat happy to serve me my FULL meal and drinks for FREE. Flights were usually on time, people looked happy to be in the airport. Things were different. So what happened? That’s up for discussion and I’m sure people all have different opinions, but more importantly my question is….will we ever get back there? Will a picture like this ever exist again…or is the airline industry forever changed?