What caught my attention this week? Marissa Mayer’s declaration that Yahoo! employees must come to work, some nutrition month stats, OTT parenting products, Facebook and a new app that measures your stress level.
1. The latest on Marissa and the news of her at-work nursery coupled with her announcement that all Yahoo! employees need to work in the office was on my radar but fell off just as quickly. The debate got boring because people were missing the point. The fact is that having the nursery next to her office and asking her employees to come to work are two very separate issues. I read an interesting article in Businessweek, where Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, asks why we are considering the telecommuter debate in light of Marissa being a woman? If a man made this decision, would we be asking the same questions? Would the issue be raised in the context of gender? No. The debate over telecommuting versus face time is interesting though. We have a lot of flexibility at SavvyMom and I can honestly say I think we would benefit from having more people in the office, more of the time. But we recognize that the need to ensure our team is able to do the other stuff in their lives that keep them going outweighs the benefits of being in the office after hours, for example. So we are flexible. But when the going gets tough, I have no problem calling people into the office. I think Marissa should have that prerogative too. Hopefully she’ll have some flexibility going forward.
2. If Marissa is concerned about competing with the likes of Sheryl Sandberg and Facebook, she might be in luck because I have read a number of headlines recently declaring that Facebook is over. Why? Because teens aren’t in. We’re hearing that the generation who gets to decide what’s hot and what’s not is ‘over’ Facebook. Could this be true? I found a really interesting article on The Verve titled ‘The Age of the Brag is Over – Why Facebook Might Be Losing Teens.’ So, bragging is over. Sharing is still in. But there are more places to share, more intimate and personal ones. I thought the comment that Facebook is not fun anymore was interesting. It raises the question of what is more fun. Are they looking for something more addictive that pulls them in or just something new? I guess we’ll have to wait to let them tell us what’s next. Instagram? Snapchat?
3. Back to the real world for a minute to address stuff that is actually on our to-do list. It’s nutrition month and I thought I would share some stats with you that I came across recently in the hopes of inspiring you to make a healthy dinner tonight. Longo’s conducted a Healthy Eating Habits Poll recently and they tell us 70% of their respondents worry that buying fast food means they are teaching poor eating habits, but 56% agree that convenience is the main reason for resorting to fast food. 39% stated lack of time as the major barrier to preparing balanced meals. It’s interesting to learn that 94% of people surveyed understand that diet has a direct impact on their health yet people don’t feel they have time to make a healthy meal. Fortunately, we have a host of healthy recipes to help you find the time and the inspiration to make that well balanced meal. Try some of these recipes.
4. If you’re too busy to make a healthy meal, you’re probably feeling a bit stressed. Maybe you should download this new app called GPS for the Soul, created by Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post. Concerned that people are letting technology run our lives, which creates a more frenetic lifestyle, she set out to find a way for people to become more mindful. We are too rushed and need to live in the moment. Her solution? Find an app for that. Some might suggest unplugging your devices and looking out the window instead—but not Arianna. What I like about this app is that it measures your level of stress by asking you to hold your finger over the camera on your phone. It actually measures your heart rate. It’s pretty cool. Then it offers quick two-minute de-stressors to listen to or watch while doing some breathing exercises. It gives you a two minute reprieve to stop and breathe. How bad can that be?
5. Finally—a baby product that keeps kids sitting down. If you have the kind of children who like to climb out of everything, you might be interested in this product—called the BibbySitter. Until you actually look closer, this product looks more like a terry cloth straight jacket. To review, it’s also called the BibbySitter. Not a great marketing idea. Nothing you can buy and strap onto your child should ever be called a something referencing a babysitter. ‘Nuff said on that. If kids are squirmy, they need to move. Let them.
Tagged under: from the editor's desk
Category: entertainment
