https://twitter.com/furtherfield/status/431407949672480768 In my lifetime I've known three meanings of the word "hack": to go at something with a sharp implement; to (criminally) break into computing resources that you shouldn't; and to botch a bit of programming to get it working, or just to see whether something might do. None of those definitions are particularly positive. … Continue reading Hacked off
Category: Themes
Imagine the scenario. You're running late for a meeting. You need to let the person you're meeting know that you are running late. You reach for your mobile phone. What channel do you choose? My experience over the past few months is that most people choose to send a text message. We have learned, somehow, … Continue reading Tech preferences
Back in September I gave a talk about the importance of empathy in design at the wonderful Silicon Beach event in Bournemouth. The video of me prattling on is now available here:
Eighteen years ago I bought a book that changed the way in which I thought about the world. It was a book I wanted to share, and after I had consumed it page-by-page, I leant it to a friend and never saw it again. The book was Nicholas Negroponte's being digital, first published in 1995, in … Continue reading a generation of being digital
It’s that time of year where those prone to procrastination find themselves knee-deep in bank statements, receipts and other bits of financial flotsam and jetsam. Yes, it’s the end of January and the last chance to complete one’s tax return. The online self-assessment service is a classic example of an information system that is complex … Continue reading Anti-agile
In my illustrious career as a management trainer, the first course that I ever delivered was a two-day Negotiation Skills event run for an energy company in a dingy hotel in Shoreham-on-Sea. Other than my extreme imposter syndrome, there are two other things that I remember clearly from the experience: firstly, that being able to … Continue reading Pricing and negotiation
In the post-war period in Britain scientists Eric Trist, Ken Bamforth and Fred Emery conducted research into a strange thing that was going on in the coal mining industry at the time. Having survived the ravages of the global conflict, the mining industry was investing heavily to bring it into the modern age. New state-of-the-art machinery was deployed, but … Continue reading The engineer’s fallacy
A thought-provoking evening last night spent at the first #culturevist event, a side project from Matthew Partovi (who is otherwise gainfully employed as a Customer Success Manager at Yammer, who hosted the event). The audience seemed to split into two camps - those seeking to instill a "great culture" at their place of work, and those … Continue reading #culturevist
A couple of days after the news that Google is to acquire the smart thermostat and fire alarm company Nest, my main thought now is that I’m jolly glad I don’t work for a utility company right now. The poor things, just about catching up with the web. Making tentative steps into the world of … Continue reading Welcome to the disrupt-o-zone
My wife recently entered the world of the quantified self and wearable computing when she got a FitBit activity tracker. It's really interesting to see how quickly the device, the app, and the "10,000 steps a day" target has changed her behaviour. We are walking to places where before we would have driven. I'm … Continue reading The only person you’re cheating is yourself
