There seems to be a repeating narrative about the rise of the robots going on at the moment: from the front page of this month's Harvard Business Review, to Channel 4 prime time drama on Sunday nights, the robots are coming and they're after us, our jobs, our sanity... Now, last time I looked, the most … Continue reading Dumbing down
Things I learned this week: - the challenges of parenthood are myriad, complex and ever-present; most of us have received more training in how to use Powerpoint - the social experience when it comes to buying things is, well, a bit shoddy - (it's also quite fun to turn mundane and annoying things into side … Continue reading Weeknote 248: parenting
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
The innovation agenda appears to be high on the minds of much of British management. How can our organisations become more effective, more competitive, sustain themselves in the face of the global onslaught? But if you look at the profiles of the people (mostly men) at the top of British organisations, then, well, how can … Continue reading “I didn’t get to where I am today by being innovative”
The concept of Agile software development has reached primacy within so much of the technology industry. For certain types of software, it seems to be proven through popularity if nothing else that Agile produces better software. But what if the answer to the challenge you are facing isn't in code? In the world of startup, … Continue reading What if the answer isn’t software?
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
Things I have learned this week: - asking undergraduates to do a two hour workshop on a Friday afternoon is, well, expecting a lot - but the session at ACM this afternoon was still great fun - getting up and running with a new client can be time consuming, but it's incredibly rewarding... - ... … Continue reading Weeknote 247: ABC
At this moment in time, I don't own a suit. The era of attending weddings has passed, second marriages in my circle of friends seem to be lower-key affairs, and I've not quite reached the age when people are popping off. Weddings, christenings, funerals... It's not something I think about a huge amount. I generally … Continue reading Suited and booted
I saw a wonderful documentary last night about the conjuror and professional sceptic James Randi. After the first part of a career spent emulating and improving upon the work of Harry Houdini, Randi since the 70s has put much of his efforts into debunking fraudster faith healers and spiritualists (including waging a war on spoonbender … Continue reading Blind Faith
