"For those train spotters out there "Number 8 wire" is a gauge of wire on the British Standard wire gauge that has entered into the cultural lexicon of New Zealand."
"Edible Packaging, Heads-Up Movement and Haptic Technology—just a few items from JWT's annual list of 100 Things to Watch for the year ahead.
It’s a wide-ranging compilation that reflects developments surfacing across sectors including technology, television, food and spirits, retail, health care and the arts. The list also includes new types of goods or businesses, new behaviors and ideas with the potential to ladder up to bigger trends. "
"In a chapter titled “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” Sagan reflects on the many types of deception to which we’re susceptible — from psychics to religious zealotry to paid product endorsements by scientists, which he held in especially low regard, noting that they “betray contempt for the intelligence of their customers” and “introduce an insidious corruption of popular attitudes about scientific objectivity.” (Cue in PBS’s Joe Hanson on how to read science news.) But rather than preaching from the ivory tower of self-righteousness, Sagan approaches the subject from the most vulnerable of places — having just lost both of his parents, he reflects on the all too human allure of promises of supernatural reunions in the afterlife, reminding us that falling for such fictions doesn’t make us stupid or bad people, but simply means that we need to equip ourselves with the right tools against them."
"Many investors will assert that company culture trumps strategy every time in predicting the long-term success of a new startup. Obviously, both are important, so it behooves every entrepreneur to start early in setting the right tone for his own company, and every new team member should be gauging both of these relative to their own interests, prior to signing on."
"This is an edited version of a presentation I gave at ITUWorld 2013 in Bangkok, Nov 21, 2013, see more details at http://www.futuristgerd.com/2013/11/21/here-is-the-pdf-with-my-slides-from-the-ituworld-event-in-bkk-today/ Topics: US domination of the Internet and cloud computing, big data futures, privacy failure and the global digital rights bill, the importance of trust, key issues for cloud computing, and much more. Check www.gerdtube.com for a video version (should be available soon)"
"When people with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory—those who can remember what they ate for breakfast on a specific day 10 years ago—are tested for accuracy, researchers find what goes into false memories."
"This special series of cartoons, with short insights from both Hugh MacLeod and Brian Solis, will help you see things differently."
"My keynote deck on what organizations will have to design for in the next 7 years as they update their structure and processes to deal with high-velocity technological change in a deeply digital, social, mobile, data-centric, cloud-based world.
The key: To design our organizations for a more network-centric and participatory model employing the latest digital tools, in an environment designed around constant change and learning.
Presented at the Jive, IDC, PwC Leadership Summit at #JiveWorld on October 23rd, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada."
"ohn Seely Brown warns us about the competency trap—because we are experts in what we know, when we confront problems, we do more of what we know how to do, rather than look to the larger context.
He challengs us to design evocative experiences beyond the cognitive: narratives, not logic, reign supreme.
He exhorted us to encourage emergent practices around authorized ones.
And he suggests that we do this in a certain rhythm that balances the dramatic with the systematic, by conceiving of a vision that is compelling, strategically ambiguous, positive, and aspirational.
Source: http://www.arl.org/about/arl-strategic-thinking-and-design"
"There’s only one way to ensure products you use stick around: keep the founding entrepreneur(s) interested.
The same applies to the products we – as entrepreneurs and software makers – build: the only way that you can maintain & nurture those products is for you to have that vested interest."
"The self-defeating quest for simple and easy
Bullet points, step by step processes that are guaranteed to work overnight, proven shortcuts...
If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Worth noting that surgeons don't sign up for medical school because they're told that there is a simple, easy way to do open heart surgery.
It's not that we're unable to handle complicated problems, it's that we're afraid to try. The Dummies mindset, the get-rich-quick long sales letters, the mechanistic, industrial processes aren't on offer because they're the best we can handle. No, they sell because they promise to reduce our fear.
It will take you less time and less effort to do it the difficult way than it will to buy and try and discard all the shortcuts."
"Asking, “Can I have coffee with you to pick your brain?” is probably the worst possible way to get a meeting with someone with a busy schedule. Here’s a better approach."
"The free ride is over. Google seems to have decided it is time to make the most of AdWords, the Tutorspree Blog illustrates in, “How Google is Killing Organic Search.” The post begins by praising the Google of the past which, writer Aaron Harris accurately observes, “won search by providing the best organic results users had ever seen.” Since then, though, the company’s profit motive has been slowly strangling unpaid, organic search results."
"There’s an ongoing conversation about the quality and success of mobile advertising that has struck nerve with a lot of people. It’s quickly devolved into an argument about for the root cause of mobile advertising’s lackluster performance.
A layer of underlying panic and defensiveness defines the conversation, driven by the clash of lofty expectations and waning patience. When will mobile ads reach their promised potential? Can they ever, relying on technologies that change as fast as the way consumers use them?"
There’s an ongoing conversation about the quality and success of mobile advertising that has struck nerve with a lot of people. It’s quickly devolved into an argument about for the root cause of mobile advertising’s lackluster performance.
A layer of underlying panic and defensiveness defines the conversation, driven by the clash of lofty expectations and waning patience. When will mobile ads reach their promised potential? Can they ever, relying on technologies that change as fast as the way consumers use them?
"We’ve gotten some awesome participation in our Things I Carry campaign — thanks to all of you who’ve already uploaded your great decks that show the tools you carry for success. For those who haven’t uploaded yet, you can still join the conversation: Upload your presentation by April 19 and make sure to tag it “thingsicarry.”"