BYTE MARKS
Online meetings could use tasty motivation

By Burt Lum

Whether it is Orkut or Friendster for social networking, or Elluminate for e-learning, we come together for reasons, shall I say, cerebral. Sight and hearing are involved, but the senses of taste, touch and smell are still the exclusive domain of the real-life experience.

In this context, the online meeting is at a big disadvantage. I can recall an untold number of times when the decision to go to a real-life event hinged on whether or not food was served. Pupu, drinks or a full lunch are a sure bet for a draw.

So when talking to Bert Kimura at Kapi'olani Community College about online learning, his mention of the virtual bento got me thinking.

Admittedly, I have not figured out how to facilitate the online delivery of bento to participants. Nor have I figured out how to activate taste, touch or smell responses through the computer. Perhaps the closest thing would be to distribute online coupons for L&L Drive Inn bento boxes. For being a part of the online event, each online participant would select a bento online and print up a coupon to go pick it up. Now, if online meetings were conducted in that fashion, I'd attend one every day.

First order of business would be to select the type of bento you want.

The best site I've found for a wide selection of bento is Mizuko Ito's site, at mito.typepad.com/photos/bento/. Here is a true connoisseur of bento. Every day, as she prepares bento for her children, she snaps a photo to capture the culinary creation. Each is done with such attention to detail that your senses of taste and smell verge on the edge of reality.

If you want to customize your bento, go to web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/bento/virtual.html.

Here, you learn to put foods in their proper places. So if you were to create your own, you would at least be creating a balanced meal.

Now it's just a matter of implementation. ;-)

Reach Burt Lum via www.brouhaha.net.