Dates in Filenames

Each New Year teams find that their files are no longer organized as they intended because of how dates are formatted in filenames. Some of you will be quick to highlight that there is a date field in the detailed view of file folders. For many this is a good way to sort files in folders. Others like to build deep hierarchies of folders with separate year folders to put files in. If you have a system that is working for you, keep using it.

There are still many of us that put dates in filenames, want a single folder that we can link to from our Quick Access, and need it to sort between years. I've tried several different formats of dates in filenames. The one that works and has been adopted without any training is YYYY-MM-DD.

I prefer a flat hierarchy to my folders. I would rather have many files in a single folder than deep layers of folders in folders where I have to keep opening folders over and over to find my files. This requires a Naming Convention for the folder to establish groupings and organization within the folder. The risk to this approach is when other users don't follow the naming convention, which is usually because they don't recognize it in the other filenames in the folder.

When developing a Naming Convention, break the filename into elements. Elements should work from general to specific since an alphabetical sort of the files will start with the first elements and move to the right in grouping files. Also have some sort of separator between elements so users can recognize the individual elements and come up with new filenames using the same elements, in the same order.

Whether the date is the first element or an embedded element, the YYYY-MM-DD format follows this general to specific pattern. All the 2021 files will be grouped together. Then within the 2021 group, the January (01) files will be grouped together. And the January 2022 (2022-01) files will not be mixed together. 

Americans typically write the short date as M/D/YY. In filenames the slash (/) has other meanings, so users will simply replace the slash with a dash (-) and use M-D-YY. This breaks down pretty quickly as 1-12-22 comes before 1-3-22. Then it is changed to a two-digit day with 1-03-22 sorted properly before 1-12-22. This works until October when 10-03-22 comes before 8-25-22. Usually instead of going back and renaming nine months worth for files, people will typically start creating month folders. If they are top of their game the folders are "01-January", "02-February" to keep them organized. [Quick Tip: the <F2> key makes it easy and fast to rename several files in a folder.]

After fixing errors in October with two-digit months, there is another three months of smooth sailing until 01-03-23 gets mixed in with 01-12-22. There are so many things that change or start fresh with a new year that year folders and hierarchy levels are created. One of my issues with creating year folders is that for three months it is a hassle to go back a month or two or three to look for recent files. I would like a way in January to see last month's files without having to change folders.

Now if you're using MM-DD-YY, you realize that you want to switch to YY-MM-DD. I've tried this. The problem is when an American sees 22-01-15, they don't recognize it as 1/15/22 or 1/15/22. Several people will see three two-digit numbers and assume it is MM-DD-YY, even though there is no 22nd month. This was even worse from 2001 to 2012.

I have also tried dates without separators. Sometimes 012421 is recognized as a date. Rarely will anyone recognize 220124 as a date. Even 20220124 doesn't get seen as a date. These start looking like serial numbers and users don't see them as part of the Naming Convention. They become random numbers. That is when they have a better idea, and that is to include a date in the filename. They will often do something like M-D-YY for their files.

I've worked on enough projects and built enough shared network folders that I've tried all the variations discussed so far. It wasn't until I included separators and four-digit years that I noticed other users could recognize and follow the Naming Convention. There is something about 2022-01-22 that people recognize. The four-digit year jumps off the screen and even though it isn't typical to see a year first, people recognize it. Once they recognize that, they can parse the rest of the numbers because of temporal context. 

After I started using YYYY-MM-DD as the date format for filenames, most people would follow suit. I still get folks who haven't worked on long projects or had long duration folders that go back to M/D/YY formats. I continue to set the example--and sometimes write long blog posts to explain the mistakes I've made in the past.

Separate Years in PivotTable Dates

 Separate Years in PivotTable Dates

In Excel 2016, Microsoft updated PivotTables to automatically group date fields. This can have some unexpected results. With the recent New Year, a friend of mine noticed that the PivotTable he created last year was grouping dates by Month, but it was combining Jan 2021 dates with Jan 2022 dates in the single Months field.

The solution is to force grouping the date field by Year and Month. Then include the Year field first, followed by the Month field. This is addressed in the Microsoft Support article at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/group-or-ungroup-data-in-a-pivottable-c9d1ddd0-6580-47d1-82bc-c84a5a340725.

Now the Microsoft Support page doesn't specifically call out this issue or that changing the grouping as the solution. If you can find a better article from Microsoft Support, please add it to the Comments below.

I found the answer in one of those help websites that is 20% help and 80% online ads. These websites are income generating websites for their expert. These websites annoy me. They distract you with dozens of ads that are videos and other flashing images. I really don't want to promote them. Unfortunately the Microsoft Support page I found doesn't make it easy to figure out how to fix the issue in your workbook. So, with the understanding that there are more ads than information, if you're still not sure how to group the years of the data before grouping the Months, check out https://www.contextures.com/xlpivot07.html carefully watch the tutorial video.

Returning from a Hiatus

 Whoops. Time has gotten away from me. I've had lots of Rants and a few Raves since my last post. I hope anyone who was subscribed before is still subscribed. I apologize for going dark for so long.

My life has changed a bit since I started this blog and since my last post. I now have more time available for it. I'll ry to do better in making posts for you to enjoy.

Are We Ready for Driverless Cars?

Over the past few years we’ve heard more and more about driverless cars. It started with stories and sightings of the Google test car in California. A lot has already been written about driverless cars. I’ve decided it was time for me to weigh in as well.

Most of the coverage that I’ve heard to date has been from the standpoint of the owners or riders of driverless cars. From that perspective there is a lot of excitement and hope. I think people are ready to hope in a driverless car and be whisked away to another part of the city while they check e-mail and watch YouTube videos. 

My real question is are drivers ready to share the road with driverless cars? Here, I’m not so sure.

I’m an unusual driver. It all changed when I moved to Montana in 1996 with the Air Force. I was one of a handful of officers who drove out to the missile alert facilities. While Montana had a Basic Law for speeding, and not designated speed limits on the various highways, the Air Force had limits. There was peer pressure to push those limits and arrive at a facility early as a favor to the crew we were relieving.

In that job there were days with very little to do. I decided to sit down and calculate what the actual drive time savings there was for driving 5 mph over the Air Force limit and 10 mph over the Air Force limit. I measured the distances on Interstate roads, state highways, and gravel roads. Our typical drivers were an hour to an hour and a half. I did the math and found that our longest route would save about 4-6 minutes doing 5 mph over the limit and about 8-12 minutes doing 10 mph over the limit. The people who were pressuring me to drive faster, were the same people who would stop on the way off base to grab a coffee and a snack, which was something they could have done the night before or before getting to the departure briefing. I timed this as well and on average the stop as we left base took 15 minutes.

This whole experience taught me that preparing for a trip and driving the speed limit got me to my destination early or at the same time as speeding. It also meant I wasn’t looking over my shoulder or constantly vigilant for those who would enforce the law. I always arrived more relaxed and having enjoyed the journey. As a side benefit, the cars get better gas mileage when you drive within the limits than when you exceed them. 

All of this is to say that ever since then I’ve driven the speed limit. I have to say it hasn’t been easy. I get passed a lot when I’m on the road. I stay to the right as much as I can and I allow other drivers to go around. I do notice a lot of drivers speed past me only to slow down at the next intersection. On the Interstates I notice a lot of cars pass me, then about an hour later pass me again because they had to make a stop. On good road trips this can happen three or four times in a day. 

Probably the worst place to drive the speed limit is in town. What I’ve found is that on city streets and residential areas, other drivers are in an awful hurry. They are trying to beat the next light or get back to a fast road. The paradox is that these roads have the slower limits because there are more pedestrians and small children out and around the roads. There are driveways and intersections are closer together meaning that cars and trucks are coming and going from the traffic flow more frequently and the environment is always changing. We need more time to react when something unexpected happens. That time comes from reducing our speeds.

Today on my regular commute to work I take a route that keeps me off the Interstate. It is like a bypass. Many other drivers take this route to avoid the inevitable rush hour slow downs. There is a stretch of that route that is in a residential area and the speed drops from 45 mph to 30 mph. I’ll admit that I drive it at 35 mph and when we get to the shopping area where the speed limit is 35 mph, I do drive 40 mph. 

Now I have yet to be behind a car for more than a few yards after the speed limit drops. I’m always the front of a car train that can be four to six cars long as other drivers are piling up behind me. I’ve had numerous times when the road widens and there are two lanes going our direction where the car behind me pulls to the other lane, accelerates past me, pulls back into our lane, and the two of us sit in line at the stoplight at the next intersection.

I’d be happy to drive 30 mph and 35 mph along this route. I just haven’t felt safe doing it. I learned that lesson when after Montana I moved to California. I had a strict personal code for driving the speed limit. I could have been killed driving 55 mph (the posted limit) on the 405 or the 101 in L.A. With cars passing me at anywhere from 65 mph to 80 mph, I was a hazard to the flow of traffic on a 12 lane interstate highway when I was in the far right lane driving the maximum allowable speed by law.

So now getting back to driverless cars. Every single one of them will be designed an built to go no faster than the posted speed limit. There isn’t a company in the world that will take on the liability for an accident by their car if it was determined that the car was exceeding the limit established by law. Riders won’t mind doing the speed limit because they will be doing other things from talking on their phone to clients and answering e-mails or drafting a report for work, or just watching a movie on their tablet. In fact they may like a few extra minutes to watch their program or get another e-mail sent out.

How are other drivers going to respond when they are in a residential neighborhood or on a two lane city street where there is no opportunity to pass and the car in front of them is driving exactly at the limit? I know I invoke road rage in the drivers around me. I have seen other drivers when I ride with them and they react to the “Sunday driver” in front of them who is doing the speed limit or just a little bit faster. 

Driverless cars, like all new technology will start with a small group of early adopters. It will take years to gain momentum. It will be decades before there is a majority of them on the road. Just as there are horses and buggies out there today and classic cars on the road, we will never get rid of car drivers. What will this transition period look like? Are we ready to share the road with cars that cannot by design exceed the speed limit?

I’m sure Google has done testing in L.A. Having been on the Interstates there, I would be very interested to know what the experience was like for the backup driver and for the other cars around it. Maybe the Google car and other driverless cars will be smart enough to get off the Interstate to avoid the traffic jam or accident ahead which is ever present on the highways there. It probably will be much more efficient at navigating the low roads and arrive before all of those cars with drivers stuck in a single route to their destination.

Car Chargers: Shopping Malls and Libraries

I recently moved to Denver. During the move I was away from my house and unable to charge each night in my garage. As such I spent more time searching for car chargers. In this adventure I've decided there are two more locations that I think would do well to add car chargers in their parking lots. For a long time I've recommended that hotels have car chargers. In addition, now I believe that shopping malls and libraries should have them as well.

I don't think I've ever been in a library that has rushed me out. For the most part, libraries are happy to have people, come and stay for a while. They are a place where people can come and browse and read. It is a quiet, focused space. In many ways libraries create a location of community.

Cars take a while to charge. A library is a great place to sit, relax, get some work done, and learn something new while they wait for their car to charge. Libraries are a center of the community as well. They offer classes and have bulletin boards with information about events available to the public in the surrounding community. The longer patrons spend in the library, the more likely they are to review the bulletin boards and get involved with community events.

I believe that if libraries offer car charging stations, they will see increased patronage and increased participation in events, meetings, and classes offered.

Shopping malls are another great place for car chargers. Shopping malls have huge overhead costs. They have to provide lighting and heating and cooling whether people are in there buying things or not. Most retailers who rent space in shopping malls are impulse buy markets. They spend lots of time and money trying to catch a shopper's eye and entice them to buy something they weren't in the market for just five minutes earlier.

This impulse buy economy relies on keeping people in the vicinity. The longer someone lingers in a space the more likely they are to purchase something. By offering car charging, shoppers feel stuck. They feel as though they must stay in the space while their car charges. Since they are going to be there a while, they might as well wander around and just look at what's available. Bingo. This is the magic point.

I believe that if shopping malls offer car charging stations they will see increased revenue because there will be more people lingering and purchasing items.

There is a caveat to this. I did find one shopping mall that had charging stations that stayed unused. This is because they charged $2.00 for the first hour and $2.00 per hour after that to a maximum of $20. Even with a high amperage charging station, a car will draw only about 3 kilowatts in an hour. Check your utility bill. You're probably paying between $0.08 and $0.12 per kilowatt hour at home. This is a 2,000% markup on the electricity that the shopping mall is purchasing from the utility. On top of that a car will only go 10 to 15 miles on the 3 kilowatts they were able to store. If we consider that most cars are getting 30 miles per gallon, the shopping mall is charging $2 per half gallon of gasoline or $4.00 per gallon. As I write this gasoline prices are around $2.50 per gallon making the shopping mall the most expensive transportation fuel location in town. The story gets worse the better the gas mileage of the car. My Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) averages around 45 miles per gallon.

The point is that there is a way for any retailer to price themselves out of the market. Electric Vehicle owners are aware of this and they will drive past a charging station they feel is a fleece.

Social Media in Auto Racing

What started as a clerical error has come to my perspective as a defining statement of how Social Media will impact modern auto racing.

In December 2014, I learned of a new auto racing series: FIA Formula E. I became excited because this promised to be something different.

Despite growing up in Indiana amidst the glory of the Indianapolis 500 which dominates the state’s consciousness during the entire month of May, I became disinterested in auto racing after leaving college. Eventually I came to begrudge automobiles with gasoline engines because of the impact of the oil trade and growing impacts of global climate change.

As you’ve seen from my earlier posts, I drive a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) in an era where most people haven’t heard of it or can’t imagine it. The defining difference in Formula E is that the cars run completely on electricity. There is no gasoline to be found on the race track.

Formula E is an international series with many roots coming from the Formula 1 racing series. I don’t know many of the Formula 1 drivers or many of the international names in motor sports, I decided I would root for one of the American teams, a name I new from my youth.

Since the series is brand new, I want to help spread the word about it. I think it is a great new direction in racing and will help the future of transportation by developing better and more cost effective technologies for electric vehicles. It will address our dependance on foreign oil as well as domestic oil, which will help reduce carbon emissions and slow the effects of global climate change.

My first thought was to get a toy or a model of the new Formula E race car. All of the teams use the same car in this first season of the series. It is similar to a Formula 1 car or an Indy car, but different enough that people will ask about it. Then I can start a conversation with them about this new and exciting series. After looking on the FIA Formula E website and the team website, I didn’t find anything. 

I asked them on Twitter for information about merchandise. My thought was they are just as interested in finding new fans as I was. The fans pay for the racing. More fans means more money and possibly more races in more locations. It will also attract new innovations and bring awareness to the growing maturity of electric vehicles.

After coming up empty I found that the race team I was supporting did offer to send me an autograph from my favorite driver if I sent them a self addressed stamped envelope. I found the envelopes. I found some cardboard to keep the returning photo from getting bent in the mail. I wrote a letter addressed to the driver asking, “May I have your autograph from the Formula E racing series?” And explained that I’m interested in electric vehicles and have known the team for many years.

I specifically called out the Formula E series in the first sentence of the letter because as a new series the drivers have experience in other racing series and I am only interested in Formula E so I can help them spread the word about the new series and them as drivers.

A few weeks pass over the holiday season. Then I receive my envelope in the mail. I’m excited because I’ll finally be able to showcase Formula E racing at the office, where there are others interested in hybrid and electric vehicles. I’m a little concerned when I notice that the envelope is rolled from the post office. Somehow my cardboard stiffener got misplaced in returning the signed photo. I’ll be able to put it in a frame and straighten that out.

Then I open it up and the photo is indeed from a different racing series that the driver had been part of. Curiously my letter was also in the envelope. It was pretty clear that my request never made it to the driver. It was processed by someone in the front office or PR department of the team, which is a large international racing team based in Indianapolis and competes in many different seres of racing.

Disappointed I put it aside. I actually had a second request to my backup driver from the same team out there. Maybe the team will make good with that request.

That night as I was trying to fall asleep, it kept coming back to me. It annoyed me that this could happen after making my request so clear in the first sentence of my letter. Finally I got out of bed, took a picture of the signed photo of the driver next to a car that isn’t Formula E and of my letter so you can read the first sentence calling out my request. I posted it to Twiter with the team’s Formula E twitter address the hashtag #fail and “I was hoping to promote the Formula E series at work. This isn’t the Renault Sparks electric car.”

Within hours the team replayed with “you didn’t ask us! But glad <driver> sent it to you ;)” They were right that I mailed my request to the larger team’s mailing address because that is all I could find on the website. I didn’t quite understand the comment thought because I sent the letter to the driver at the team’s only autograph request address and specifically asked for a Formula E related autograph. At the time the driver hadn’t sent me anything. 

The driver was great. He followed me on Twitter and sent me a Direct Message. He apologized for the fail. He laughed and said it must have been from the team’s Indy office. He immediately sent a second message saying he was happy to sign a photo in the Formula E car and send it my way. I replied thanking him for his help. I was relieved because the earlier situation had made me consider switching my loyalties to a different team in the series.

Later that day I mentioned the situation to my sister. She mentioned that is sounded like a mistake in the PR department. She said that is disappointing since race teams rely on sponsorships. The PR departments shouldn’t be making this type of mistake. I thought about it and I wrote back to the driver that he should pass along to the front office that these types of mistakes could result in losing races.

One of the things that Formula E has integrated into the racing is Social Media. It is called the FanBoost. Prior to each race, fans vote for their favorite driver. The three drivers with the most votes are awarded the Fan Boost. During the race the driver can press a paddle on the steering wheel and this gives them 180 kW of energy over the 150 kW that is standard for the other drivers. It is an extra boost of energy that could help a driver get around another car and move up a position in the field. It isn’t going to be the only deciding factor in a race, however with the cars so equally matched, it could turn a second position into first. It could turn a fourth into a third and get a driver on the podium. It could turn an 11th into a 10th and earn points for that race.

Many racing purists don’t like this. They see it as a gimmick. They want races to be just about the drivers on the course. The problem I see with that is that racing today involves so much more than the driver and the car. It requires the crew to have the car set up properly. It requires the Team Manager to make hard decisions about strategy, like when to pit, where to make moves, and watch how other drivers are faring on the course. It is a whole team effort. FanBoost just made the fans part of the team and let them get involved with their favorite teams and drivers in a way never before seen in auto racing.

The FanBoost changes the role of the Public Relations department. They need to realize in Formula E, they are not the back office support staff that gets no recognition. When they do their job with world class excellence, their drivers win and they get even more recognition. Unlike any other racing series of the past, they have a key role in winning races. Formula E is not just a new car. It is a new way of racing for a new generation and the next big thing in transportation.

Returning to my tale. I’m feeling really good about the situation. We had a laugh about a minor error in the front office and everyone learned a lesson about how Formula E is going to be different. Hopefully this will help bring together all of the departments since they see how everyone contributes to putting drivers on the podium.

Well about a week later I see that the Formula E team posted a reply to me on Twitter. They said, “if you ask for Formula E in your letter specifically then you may get lucky.” with a smilie face and a thumbs up. 

This really struck me as strange because while the photo is dark, you can read the first sentence of my original letter that does specifically ask for Formula E. I reshot the photo with better lighting and closer in on my original letter and the first sentence, “May I have your autograph from the Formula E racing series?” This time I was a bit more annoyed with the person behind the team Twitter account. I still believe this to be a PR person and I still believe they don’t understand their role in winning races. With an edge, I reply on twitter with the new photo and say, “Apparently, I’m not lucky. (Or the intern at the office can’t get past the first sentence.)”

Yes, I know. That wasn’t the nicest reply. I reciprocated their claim that I didn’t ask for Formula E in my letter. We’re both escalating our responses.

I then turned around in a couple minutes and replied with, “I’m curious to see what’s going to happen with my request for <the other driver>’s autograph ?”

And then as I twisted the knife, I replied with “Best Part: Instead of returning my cardboard to prevent bending the photo, they returned my letter proving they messed up.” You know, if they hadn’t sent my letter back to me I wouldn’t have been able to post the first exchange. I wouldn’t have gotten a laugh from the driver and the apology from him and his attempt to make things right for me. I would have switched teams right then. Instead they sent the letter which allow this whole thing to develop.

So this isn’t the end of the story. Yesterday I was talking with my sister. I told her this story and we had a bit of a laugh about it. She’s worked in customer service and public relations before. We both agreed that this was an unfortunate situation. We started coming up with ideas of what a world class PR department would do, whether FanBoost existed or not. One idea was to have a downloads section of the website. This would offer images and wall papers that people could use as their lock screen on their mobile phone or as their desktop image at home or in the office. How many other sports franchises charge their fans to purchase merchandise that leads to massive grass roots advertising campaigns? it is huge and downloadable wall papers and other items are free on both ends and a great way to get the word out about your team.

I decided today to get back on the websites and Twitter accounts and look for images posted that maybe I could use as a wallpaper at work or on my phone. First up was the team website. They have a section of all their drivers across the different racing series they compete in. Scroll to the bottom and there are no drivers listed for Formula E. I check the drivers’ twitter accounts, and there are no good photos for this type of use. Then I go to the team’s Twitter account. With over 5,000 followers, I realize that I’m not following them. I click the Follow button and am informed that I’ve been blocked by the user from following them. Yes, after that exchange, the team has decided that I’m too much trouble. Instead of apologizing (remember that only the driver has apologized for something he had no control over), they blocked me from following them on Twitter. 

Final straw. I said I was thinking about switching teams after the wrong photo was sent. This clinched it. With that I’d like to say:

Good luck to the Virgin Racing Team. Sam Bird has done amazing things on the track. I’ll be voting for you in the FanBoost for the upcoming Miami race.

If you’re new to Formula E racing, check out the Virgin Racing website at http://www.virginracing.com. It has some great information, personal videos, great photos. Within two-clicks you can get to an e-mail address where you can send in questions and comments about anything. You can find them @VirginRacingFE on Twitter.

As I’ve been reading up on Virgin Racing, I believe this is the only racing series that they are part of. It looks like Sir Richard Branson is supporting Formula E because it will drive innovation in the world of electric vehicles and new technologies that will take us beyond the fossil fuels of the 19th century. These are the reasons I became a Formula E fan. I’m proud to toss my hat in the ring with a team that has the right vision and world class attention to racing and the fans.

Formula E FanBoost

I recently found Formula E racing and am excited for the series. This electric car racing series has the potential to bring in a whole new group of fans that haven't found their niche in racing. I think the FanBoost is a big part of that.

I grew up in Indiana. In Indiana there isn't a town you can go in during the month of May where you don't see something about the Indy 500 race. It is the oldest spectacle in motorsports. It captures the attention and imagination of the entire state. I remember that the big field trip during the 5th grade year in all the schools in our district was a trip to time trials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When I went I got autographs from some of my favorite drivers, like Rick Meyers.

Somehow as I got older and left the state, racing faded into the background. I can appreciate what goes into a race. I haven't latched onto anything specific in the world of racing. As I've learned more about alternative fuel vehicles, sustainable engineering, and electric cars, racing got further away from me with its high octane power and seemingly ravenous appetite for fossil fuels.

What I'm saying is there is a whole group of technology savvy individuals who are turning away from traditional motorsports and spending time to learn about Tesla, the Nissan Leaf, and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Major sports networks have neglected these individuals and they have turned to the Internet to stay informed on the things they are excited about. They are using Social Media and wanting to become part of the activity.

Here is where FanBoost comes in for Formula E racing. FanBoost is where fans of Formula E racing can vote for their favorite driver. Prior to the start of the race, the three drivers with the most votes earn a FanBoost during the race. The cars are configured with a top end energy output during the race. The drivers who earned the FanBoost can use a paddle on their steering wheel to activate a short burst of additional energy. This has the potential for giving a drive the ability to pass another driver on a short straightaway. This will earn them extra points in the final race standings.

I like the FanBoost. I like the concept of it. I think Formula E racing is the perfect place to bring it in. The host of the Short Circuit podcast doesn't like it. He said that real racing fans see it as a gimmick and just want the drivers to be able to go out and race without this extra wrinkle getting in the way. I understand that position. I simply disagree. The nice thing about having a blog or a podcast is that you get to share your opinion and difference of opinion to your audience and they get to decide what they think.

There is room for fans who want to see pure driver skill with no gimmicks. It is in other racing series. It isn't in Formula E. Formula E should continue to use FanBoost and allow the other fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite drivers. I believe that all racing has its gimmicks through the rule making, the course design, and sponsorship. I think all racing has things that are out of the driver's control that provides an edge or an advantage during a race, not the least of which is car setup by the crew or car capability by the designers.

I like the FanBoost because it brings the fans in as part of the race outcome. Racing today is like going to a zoo. The audience is held behind glass or fences. They passively watch as the animals do whatever the animals will do. There is a real division or isolation between the fans and the race teams. Fans can buy merchandise and that may or may not bring in sponsorships. At the end of the day there is nothing that fans can do to participate in the outcome of the race.

FanBoost changes that because fans get to vote for their favorite drivers. Like any voting system, sometimes you vote for the loser. You still got to vote. The three drivers with the most votes get the boost, which means that the three most popular drivers have a slight edge and could change the outcome of a race or the points standings. However slight an advantage this is, the fans got to participate.

I believe this will discourage drivers from being jerks. I've been around racing enough to see some real egotistical jerks behind the wheel of racing cars. They are in it for themselves and they could care less what the fans think. (Okay, as I write this I realize that most of the characters I would put in this category are from the movies. Still I think there is some reality to self-centered, egotistical attitudes of real racing drivers.) FanBoost encourages sportsmanship and fair play by rewarding those drivers who perform respectful on the course and off the course. In some of the video clips I've watched over the past couple weeks from Formula E, the drivers are even talking about how they are considering their standing with the fans more than they did in other racing series.

There is still room for egotistical jerks in racing. It is in other racing series where the fans have less say in the race. Drivers like that can race in those other series and stay out of Formula E.

I like the FanBoost because it is a very real way of engaging new and younger race fans through Social Media. All of the racing series that I'm familiar with have long heritages. They have their traditions and histories which give them identity. The Indianapolis 500 started over 100 years ago. NASCAR draws its roots from the 1930s and prohibition. Formula 1 racing has about as long a history as Indianapolis. (Sorry, I really don't follow Formula 1. I know it is the cat's meow in Europe. As you know I'm not in Europe.) Even the National Championship Air Races have been going on for over 50 years.

All of these racing series have long standing rules and traditions. They've tried in some way to adapt to the new world order which involves the Internet, instant communication around the world, On-Demand entertainment, and participation in the communities that grow up around social media. At this point the Social Media and Internet connectivity has been about adding it to the existing community. Nothing in the world of racing has changed because of Social Media. There are new sponsors because the Internet has created new corporations. Still the racing and the outcomes of the racing and the rules related to the racing haven't changed while the world around them has significantly changed with the Internet.

Formula E is a brand new series. It has new technology. It has new rules. It is looking for a whole new set of race fans. Formula E gets to integrate the Internet and Social Media into the core structure of the racing. When the President of the United States and CNN have a presence on Social Media, it is a sign that Social Media has influence on world events. Any enterprise really wanting to become part of this new world community needs to bring together Social Media as part of the execution of their operation.

The $64,000 question (adjusted to inflation as being work billions today) is how to go about this integration. There have been so few organizations really succeed with this new technology that there are few examples or recipes for success. I applaud Formula E for setting up FanBoost in a way that engages fans, is influential to the outcome of the race, and tries something new. While other racing series and sports organizations are ignoring the power of the Internet, Formula E is embracing it and trying something to see how it goes.

I believe we'll se FanBoost evolve over the season and over the years of Formula E racing. We'll see rule changes, car changes, points changes, course changes, sponsorship changes, team changes, and more in the coming years of Formula E. I look forward to all of them. I think FanBoost is a great leap forward into the future of all racing and sporting events.