I admit it – I hate sweat. And all my life I’ve looked for the ultimate antiperspirant – one that keeps me dry and people around me singing happily.

For those health conscious, however, it’s a pain: antiperspirant’s active ingredient contains aluminum, which has been linked or not linked (depending whether you read independent studies or those published by industry ‘arms’) to Alzheimer’s. I like my brain non-spongy, so I moved to deodorant, which was useless. Even tea tree oil deodorant (available at health shops) didn’t suit me – and burned.

Eventually I found a solution: baking soda and lemon juice. Put a bit of powder in your hand, mix in the juice, and apply. Aside from the slight bleaching effect on your underarms and clothes (wear white or expect the colors to fade with time), it’s a perfect solution, and incredibly effective.

(And I’ve got a million of these: for a simple aftershave, use 50/50 water and apple cider vinegar – it does the cleansing effect of the others, but it’s natural and effective. Plus, for those couple of minutes till it evaporates you smell like a chip shop).

So why is natural deodorant a business lesson? Simple. I can tell you about this idea, and you can make it available to others, freely. And they can very inexpensively tame their armpits with a quick trick to the food store.

BUT NO ONE MAKES REAL MONEY.

This in a nutshell is why natural products don’t often catch the interest of big business:

• If the product is freely available, a company has no control over it, so it’s competing with others.
• Any time companies compete, price comes into the equation – eventually with a price war, everyone loses (even the customer, since quality and availability drops when companies can’t afford to offer it).

Now compare this with a company with a patent or trade secret – they have an exclusive market, can charge what they want, and can make more money suing infringers, none of which is possible with a generic product like my deodorant recipe.

This isn’t to say nothing can be done about it. A company could market something like this, and as long as no one decides to compete, they could do well. But a competitor will mean they have to cut prices, and the spiral begins (and if you’re successful, there WILL be competitors).

Compare the worry of competition for a generic product to the money-making of an exclusive (patented/trade secret) market, and you see why it’s so hard to get healthy products out there.

The solution? Either get used to competition, or find another way to get the news out – say, by posting about a cheap product on your blog and letting people know they can save while still getting quality.

Hey – not a bad idea – perhaps I’ll try something like that…

OK, I’m a week ahead, but on the 26th of Feb. it’s officially “Do Over Day”, according to the official Do Over Day website (and it’s official manager, Reggie).

Now for non-Canadians, this may seem somewhat odd – what did we do to deserve a holiday (and no, we don’t get to stay home from work)?

But if you lived in Canada in February, you wouldn’t ask.

The site’s pretty funny too, with videos of a tattoo gone wrong, why lunch time sex is a no-no, and the many replies as to what they would do over (“I wouldn’t have my sister in law in my wedding,” and “no dive in lake with $400 glasses” were my favorites – at least, of the ones I could print here).

But seriously, this idea behind do-overs is only partly tongue in cheek – the fact of the matter is, it can be viewed as a day to pause and reflect.

I’m currently wading through an NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) book, and much of it involves getting in touch with your attitudes and motivations – and the fact is, reflection now can save a whole lot of issues later.

And although we can’t really ‘do over’, it’s no coincidence it’s been said “he who forgets history is doomed to repeat it”. So take a moment and review the official “Do Over Tips” and stop your history in its tracks.

Or just drop by the site – it’s worth a visit.

Facebook has made the news – a change to their Terms Of Service (TOS) several weeks ago has only now hit the fan – a TOS that makes everything you put up there free and clear for them to use – forever.

And although we are assured by them that the content cannot be used willy-nilly, it’s important to remember that a policy like this hasn’t the same weight as the TOS (a legal agreement). Otherwise, include it in the TOS.

An older example of this is Google – despite their oft-cited ‘Do No Evil’ motto, they have no problem censuring the web to comply with entering the Chinese market. ‘Do no evil’ is a pretty motto – shareholders that can (and will) sue you if you don’t maximize profits is a reality.

And while it’s easy to think of extreme examples for Facebook’s new found access (selling everything and anything to marketers for demographic profiling, for example), it doesn’t even require that much drama to see where this could go – for instance, Facebook is permitted to use items in business-related functions. So why not advertising? Imagine seeing your favorite photos on a TV ad – or ones that you’d rather NOT see on TV. Annoyed? Embarrassed? Afraid? Don’t sue Facebook – I wouldn’t like your chances of winning.

But the real issue here is not that Facebook wants more of you – it’s that people are still upset by it. Google has been building up a detailed profile of you for years (what do you think the Google search box in Firefox and other programs is doing with those results?) Every and any software program has a EULA that requires your firstborn and a blood test before you can install their program (my products are the exception, of course). And just take an airplane in the US – is Facebook really THAT intrusive?

So fight it all, or pick better battles. I applaud Consumers Union for doing something about it – but frankly, I wonder about all the users that accepted the TOS over the past few weeks without even reading it – isn’t it a bit late to complain now?