General

Getting good audio results when interviewing on Zoom

You wait for blog posts about how we record WB-40, and then two come along at once... The problem How to get as good audio quality as you can when using a web conferencing service like Zoom? The method An audio setup as documented in this article:https://mmitii.mattballantine.com/2018/02/16/podcasting-primer/ And then some clever ways of using the … Continue reading Getting good audio results when interviewing on Zoom

General

Apply transcripts to audio in Audacity

This is a very specific description of something I worked out how to do today. If you edit audio for things like podcasts you might find it useful. If you don't then probably not so much... The need Just about every week these days I have an interview to edit for WB-40, and coming soon … Continue reading Apply transcripts to audio in Audacity

Weeknotes

Weeknote 410: Brexshit

This week I have learned: to start to get my head around the new WordPress editor.that the A Level Politics part of me is just loving this utter chaos.that technology companies really still don't get change.that when I'm busy my writing goes out of the door. OKR Progress: CxO Priorities: still chasing feedbackTech for non-Techies:It's … Continue reading Weeknote 410: Brexshit

General, Weeknotes

Weeknote 409 – new beginnings

This week I have learned: I really do like starting things There's a huge gap in the way big tech firms push collaboration software. They neglect to think about the groups, focusing too much on the individual The power of music, the shared experience of music, is something I forget about too often The new … Continue reading Weeknote 409 – new beginnings

innovation, Management, Social, Technology

Virtual rooms

Anyone who regularly delivers workshops or presentations will know the massive impact that the layout of a room will have on the session. An audience laid out in the lines of a theatre auditorium will be in receive mode.  Put them around tables in "Cabaret" style and they'll talk to one another more readily. Put … Continue reading Virtual rooms

Weeknotes

Weeknote 408: Dark Evenings

This week I have learned: fruit squash can really bugger up electronics seven pieces of editorial in a month is a lot what is it about tech sales people? the biggest tech industry challenge is the lack of curious people-people after a quietish month, it's about to get busy again OKR Progress: CxO Priorities: Waiting … Continue reading Weeknote 408: Dark Evenings

collaboration, Management, Technology

The cultural assumptions in collaboration software

Semiotics isn't something I've heard much about in the two and a half decades in which I've been working in the technology industry. It's a bit woolly for the tech world. But I'm a big believer in how you can understand much about the culture of an organisation through the artefacts that it creates as … Continue reading The cultural assumptions in collaboration software

General, Weeknotes

Weeknote 407: Brexit? Brecon

This week I have learned: everyone should make time for lunch with a poet once in a while. train strikes are a massive failure of employee engagement. Funny we don't see the answer to them being discount vouchers at the local health spa. walking in hills is good for the sole. I'm getting into the … Continue reading Weeknote 407: Brexit? Brecon

Cult of measurement, Management

Kudos where kudos is due

Back in those strange days when I worked at Microsoft there was a concept of giving and receiving kudos. This wasn't a soft skills thing that encouraged people to face the fear and start giving rich and rewarding feedback to one another. Kudos was a system that allowed for the automation and measurement of the … Continue reading Kudos where kudos is due

collaboration, Management, Other Stuff

Working Out Loud: #CHRO Priorities

Last week I had the pleasure of working with a group of senior HR professionals at The People Space's London event to create the HR edition of the CxO Priorities. If you're not familiar with the CxO Priorities project, they are sets of playing cards that encapsulate things that might be on the mind of senior … Continue reading Working Out Loud: #CHRO Priorities