In a panel discussion organised by the global pay-wall provider The Times this week, Baroness Lane-Fox of the Interwebs apparently suggested that the UK government should scrap investment into the HS2 programme in favour of high speed internet infrastructure. She's wrong. We need both. And the irony for me is that both of these initiatives … Continue reading Platforms come in many forms
Category: Social
A chap I met yesterday asked me if I could recommend some sources to help him get his head around "digital". Now whilst I'm sure that whattheheckisdigital.com exists, as an exercise in identifying my own sources of influence it was interesting, because it highlighted how much of my work is synthesising from diverse sources. Here's … Continue reading A digital reading list
Reflecting on last week's news about Microsoft's strategic direction, one thing stands out at a very base level: three years or so since Microsoft acquired both Yammer and Skype and it still appears that "important" communications are done by email first. That's probably the same for just about every major global organisation, but if the … Continue reading Through internal channels
I had a fascinating chat with Mark Earls yesterday in the vague sun of Holborn. Towards the end of our broad conversation we got onto the subject of Behavioural Economics, and Mark's frustration that the entire field seems to be dominated by a meme that describes our human ability to shortcut processing (effectively Kahneman's System … Continue reading Cognitive strengths, not bias bugs
How are organisations using social networks to connect to their prospective customers? Well, in the straw-poll experience that I had with companies in the UK domestic telecoms sector yesterday, the answer appears to be "not very well". Over the past few years I have had a series of traumatic experiences when my home broadband and … Continue reading The transparent consumer
Every year I have the same painful set of conversations. Who should I use for my home phone and broadband supply, and how the hell do I work out what it is that they might charge me. So this year, something new. I keep hearing that brands want to have conversations with customers over social … Continue reading Transparent consumerism
At the end of last week I was asked by a contact to make some suggestions for potential keynote speakers for an event being organised later this year. I had a think, and a couple of names came to mind. And then a few more. And then one that was probably well out of their … Continue reading Stark awareness
As I get older, I get increasingly to a functionalist position on the world around me. That the social structures and constructs that we see around us are there through a process of evolution and serve some sort of positive benefit because otherwise they would have fallen foul of natural selection. Sometimes this can seem … Continue reading Social evolution
I'm just back from a family trip to the remarkable Italian city of Venice. Former city state and global power, the web of islands and canals is now a powerful magnet for tourism. It's nearly fifteen years since I last visited. In many ways the city remains unchanged. The water taxis are still eye-wateringly expensive. … Continue reading Selfie Stick
You have just been informed that aliens are coming. They will take over the Earth in 60 minutes. You are the only person on the planet who knows this information. You must tell the Prime Minister. But you must tell them in a way that means that they actually take some action. What do you … Continue reading The aliens are coming!
mmitII 