My friend Nathaneal told me...

that my blogs are too long. Hmmm. That violates the first rule of stickiness (Simplicity). So here is a shorter blog, Nathaneal.

If the Millenials and Gen Y and LOHAS are supposed to be market segments that care about the sustainability of products they purchase, how do you explain their affinity for Apple products? Perla Ni's post has stirred up some controversy on the role of corporate philanthropy and which companies don't do much, and Apple is at the center of her target. Apple also has done less on the life cycle of its products, compared to competitors like Dell and H-P. Lots of room for improvement, and my guess is when they do something, it will be innovative. Makes me pause before I go buy an iPhone, though.

I gotta give props to Eric Nee, at Stanford Social Innovation Review, for stirring it up in this sector. Something badly needed. First the articles on "who gets to call themselves a social entrepreneur". (My take: Going to a conference on social entrepreneurship was enough to make me not want to call myself one.) And more recently, Aneel Karnani's article which is critical of microfinance as a development tool.

Lastly, a while ago, someone sent me a link to management changes at Google.org. It seems that they have now hired most of the key hires (and these are some good folks). And they've made a few more grants. So, maybe some forward motion, but still has an Oz-like quality to me. My previous posts on Google.org both supportive and somewhat critical.

There, Nathaneal. Now you can read my blog and get in a bike ride before work. And, it is Bike to Work week, this week. So get a friend to ride too.