Do talk to strangers! The advice given to children, ”don’t talk to strangers”, has become outdated in a world where experience is more valued than safety, and where those who forgot their parents’ warnings also found the way to profit. by CRISTINA MARINA The fact that Google returns over 25 million results for ”stranger” is perfectly normal considering that the unknown creates a romantic-dramatic fascination, tinged with a bit of horror. From the romantic image in ”Strangers in the Night”, where Frank Sinatra sings about strangers who fall in love ”exchanging glances”, to Deep Purple’s rock vision in ”Perfect Strangers” and to Hitchcock’s horror take in ”Strangers on a Train”, the concept of the „stranger” has always been luring. This could not be overlooked by entrepreneurs, who, over time, have managed to turn it to profit. Whilst in the past businesses relying on the lure of the unknown were not very inventive – various types of dating (speed dating, blind dating), now the notion has been put to more creative use.
refineries do not have any long-standing commercial relations with the major sugar producers. The APC area countries are mostly former British colonies, with companies that have had sugar plantations for decades or hundreds of years. Against them, the representatives of the Romanian processors stand few chances of negotiation. ”As a result of this change, the Romanian refineries only took out licenses for 100,000 tonnes of raw sugar, compared with 330,000 tonnes as negotiated last year,” said Emilian Dobrescu, representative of Agrana in Romania, the biggest company on the local market with 163 million-euro turnover in 2008. The result of the contracts for a lower volume is obvious: the six sugar factories in Romania will have less work to do. The reason why the Romanian processors took out licences for only one third of last year’s volume in 2010 is the high price per tonne of raw sugar worldwide, which may reach as much as 600 euros per tonne. n
The latest business idea centred on the idea of ”the stranger” is Chatroulette.com. The site, which seems like a more advanced version of mIRC, attracts visitors by bringing destiny (more likely the computer) into the equation. The interface is quite basic, but once you enter the Chatroulette world, it feels as if you are taking part in a speed-dating session with thousands of strangers, dressed or not, normal or not. The start page is simple, with two boxes – one called ”Stranger” and another,
n TRENDS What did you say your name was? Whereas some time ago there was hardly a home without someone named Ana, Gheorghe or Ion, now we are seeing the almost ubiquitous Alexandru or Andreea. This is natural: each age has its fashionable first names. Have these last few years brought radical changes to the preferences of the parents in Romania when they name their babies? The change in preferences for boysí names is more significant than for girlsí names, surveys of the Ministry of Interiorís Population Register Department reveal. The most frequent five names in the country are Gheorghe, Ioan, Constantin, Vasile and Alexandru, whereas the children born over
obviously called ”you”. Anyone using a webcam has access, and, when you press „Play”, the roulette is activated, and the network displays the message ”Looking for a random stranger”. After that comes a window in which you chat with the random stranger. If you want to chat to someone else, you press ”Next”. The one who came up with this seemingly simple idea is a 17 year-old Russian, Andrei Ternovski, and, only three months from the site’s launch, it was called the Internet phenomenon of the year by the international press (The New York Times, The New York Magazine).
the last three years are most often named Andrei, Alexandru, Gabriel, Ionu] and {tefan. As for girls, changes are not that significant. Parents have often chosen names like Maria, Elena and Ioana, which are among the overall top five, with only Andreea and Alexandra as new entries. It should be noted, though, that the number of girls named Maria (over 61,000) is more than double the number of girls named Andreea (over 24,000). Psychologist Aurora Liiceanu explains the main criteria for selection that mothers and fathers use, saying that there is not necessarily a general trend, but rather a matter of urban or rural specificity or of social class. First of all, one takes into account the ”romantic reason” of the mother (though not only mothers have such ideas).
8-14 martie 2010 I BUSINESSmagazin 39