In his latest cartoon my friend Noel, aka DJ Bogtrotter, reminds me of an oddity revealed in this month's Orange Digital Media Index. [Disclosure 1: I work for Orange though the-postings-on-this-site-are-my-own-and-dont-necessarily-represent-the-positions-strategies-or-opinions-of-my-employer. Disclosure 2: My employer's premises are protected by the power of feng shui. Really. Disclosure 3: That last link was to a PDF, sorry.] Anyway, … Continue reading I was born under a long-named star…
It started with a sticker chart
Kids will do anything for stickers... ... stars... ... and badges... So will grown-ups... ... ... :)
Mobile bookmarking the old-fashioned way
I'm on the bus, checking my RSS feeds with Bloglines Mobile. I see a couple of links I might want for later. The obvious thing would be to bookmark them on Delicious. But that's not an option using the mobile versions of many sites in Opera Mini. So I reach for the nearest scrap of … Continue reading Mobile bookmarking the old-fashioned way
One song to the tune of another: the 18th Century prophet of social media revealed
A few weeks ago there was a "Twitter Makes Us Better People" meme doing the rounds. It reminded me why I'm suspicious of claims about technology changing behaviour. In particular some social media evangelists seem to appropriate the language of radical politics to describe the alleged impact of Facebook, Twitter and the rest in some … Continue reading One song to the tune of another: the 18th Century prophet of social media revealed
Why I took part in Ada Lovelace Day
Last month's Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology, was based on the insight that women need to see female role models more than men need to see male ones. I was pleased to help meet that need in a very small way, with a short … Continue reading Why I took part in Ada Lovelace Day
“Whatever presses men together…”
The words of radical orator and writer John Thelwall, 1796: "The fact is that the hideous accumulation of capital in a few hands, like all diseases not absolutely mortal, carries, in its own enormity, the seeds of a cure. Man is, by his very nature, social and communicative - proud to display the little knowledge … Continue reading “Whatever presses men together…”
“Embellish your Country with useful inventions & elegant productions”
If, as David Ogilvy said, diversity is the mother of invention then the technology media and telecoms sector is missing out on untold opportunities to innovate, stuffed as it is with people who look like me, white and male. I'm proud to work for a company that wants to change this. Today is Ada Lovelace … Continue reading “Embellish your Country with useful inventions & elegant productions”
Forward planning
21/02/2009 Originally uploaded by mattedgar. Dear Lazyweb, Please make a product/service where: I pour large quantities of Lego into a hopper. The Lego is sorted by colour, shape and size into its original sets, as defined in a freely available online database of Lego set contents. Those sets are offered for sale on Ebay or … Continue reading Forward planning
The history of Leeds: What every geek should know
It was a privilege to present at this week's GeekUp Leeds on a topic close to my heart, the amazing industrial heritage of Leeds and why it should be an inspiration to those working in the technology sectors today. Thanks to Deb and Rob for organising another great event, and to the GeekUp participants for putting … Continue reading The history of Leeds: What every geek should know
Normob: is this the ugliest word not yet to enter the English language?
The words we use to talk about people quickly come to constrain the ways we relate to them, so it's with mounting alarm that I see the spread of the word "normob" - a contraction of "normal mobile user". It started here, and has spawned this and this, and has even been taken up here. … Continue reading Normob: is this the ugliest word not yet to enter the English language?
Twitter: where monologues collide
[Mr. Incredible throws a log at Syndrome, who dodges it and traps Mr. Incredible with his zero-point energy ray] Syndrome: Oh, ho ho! You sly dog! You got me monologuing! I can't believe it... Late last year BBC4 aired an excellent Charlie Brooker Screenwipe special in which Graham Linehan, Russell T Davies and others shared their secrets … Continue reading Twitter: where monologues collide
Tolerance and curiosity
From Barack Obama's inaugural address: "Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been … Continue reading Tolerance and curiosity
Abstract innovation
In the spirit of Chris Heathcote's excellent abstract pointillist powerpoint toolkit, I spent a couple of happy hours putting together 20 slides about Leeds, its industrial heritage and why I find it so inspiring. I was too late to submit to this week's Ignite UK North event (but thanks, Imran, for the kind tweet in any case), … Continue reading Abstract innovation
Reflections on Reading of Mr Joseph Priestley and M Antoine Lavoisier While Travelling by Air Plane Between Leeds and Paris
Steven Johnson's The Invention of Air sparks a delightful reverie on the pivotal role of 18th Century scientist, non-conformist minister and poltical thinker Joseph Priestley. Living in Leeds, I was vaguely aware of Priestley from local museums and the blue plaque at Mill Hill Unitarian Church on City Square. What schoolchild could fail to be … Continue reading Reflections on Reading of Mr Joseph Priestley and M Antoine Lavoisier While Travelling by Air Plane Between Leeds and Paris
Duck, dive, scribble, spray – now gestural interfaces are within everyone’s reach
Lower down this post, you'll probably find some high-flown stuff about gestural user interfaces going mainstream, but in all honesty the thread that joins together the following two-and-a-half things is that they've all left me grinning like a fool. A hand-waving grinning fool. And a bobbing my head up and down like Churchill the nodding … Continue reading Duck, dive, scribble, spray – now gestural interfaces are within everyone’s reach
Matt Edgar writes here 