Category Archives: Editorial

Threads Has Not Taken Off Because It Is Not a Game Changer

On July 5th, Mark Zuckerberg launched the Twitter (now ‘X’) clone Threads seemingly as a stab at X/Twitter’s new owner and his nemesis Elon Musk. I can only surmise Zuckerberg saw X/Twitter as a “sinking ship” that he could take advantage of. Backstory: 15 years ago, Zuckerberg wanted X/Twitter. Apparently, he tried purchasing the bird app several times.… Read More »

Arts and Culture: The First Step to Progress

Arts and culture positively impact people and communities. It promotes cooperation and collaboration, and it helps achieve key housing, health, and neighbourhood goals. Not only the Arts creates social cohesion, but it also strengthens the social fabric and increases people’s sensitivity to different cultural practices, beliefs, and identity. Many studies and evidence have shown that arts and culture… Read More »

The Hardest Part of Job Searching: Getting Noticed

The Hardest Part of Job Searching: Getting Noticed Recently, I was asked, “Nick, what do you feel is the hardest part of job searching? My answer, without hesitation: “Getting noticed.” Prior to 2005—I am ballparking—applying for jobs and sending thank-you letters involved fancy resume paper, matching envelopes, and plenty of stamps. Answering a job ad required effort akin… Read More »

Threads Has Not Taken Off Because It Is Not a Game Changer

On July 5th, Mark Zuckerberg launched the Twitter (now ‘X’) clone Threads seemingly as a stab at X/Twitter’s new owner and his nemesis Elon Musk. I can only surmise Zuckerberg saw X/Twitter as a “sinking ship” that he could take advantage of. Backstory: 15 years ago, Zuckerberg wanted X/Twitter. Apparently, he tried purchasing the bird app several times.… Read More »

Gary Gary Gary!!!

 Were you there with me at the concert?  Did you dance and participate in the tremor that rocked the Basset Theatre?  Absolutely certain that you, like me, swooned and sang back the chartbusters with Gary – di ba, word for word, with feelings?  We were all willing captives of Gary, not wanting to unlock the cell.  When he… Read More »

Food Banks: A Glean of Hope

A study done by University of Toronto revealed that about 5.8 million people in Canada experienced some form of food insecurity in 2021; those numbers include 1.4 million children. In Ontario, one in six households (equal to 2.3 million people) were food insecure during the same period. Out of this figure, nearly five percent or over 250,000 households… Read More »

Kids: Are they OK?

Despite the return to normalcy in school learning that no longer requires online learning, masking and physical distancing, more students are still struggling and feeling unhappy, nervous, or worried about the future. Around 36,000 students in Grades 6 to 12 took part in a survey (by TDSB, 2021) and the findings are worrisome. Students who reported they were… Read More »

Is It Possible to Not Be on Social Media?

The answer is “Yes,” however, the existential question is, “Can you live without social media?” How social media works: Me: “I prefer mangoes to oranges…” Random Person (hiding behind an anonymous account): “So basically, what you’re saying is that you hate oranges. You also failed to mention pineapples, bananas, and grapefruits. Educate yourself!” You can never win on… Read More »

Employers Love It When You Speak Their Language

When interviewing candidates or meeting someone at a professional event, I can tell how involved they are in managing call centres. How? By the words they use. Specifically, I am referring to terminology call center professionals use, such as AHT (Average Handle Time), ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition), CTI (Computer Telephony Integration), and SLA (Service Level Agreement). Code-like acronyms,… Read More »

OVER A BOWL OF BUTONG PAKWAN

If Ka Doroy Valencia, dubbed by Associated Press then as one of the most influential journalists in the Philippines during his time (1913 to 1987), had his “Over a Cup of Coffee” column, then we had our “over a bowl of butong pakwan” session in our home. Complete with Marites stories. Woe to the one who did not… Read More »