We really like to order what we see. Look at the moon and the human mind sees a face. Look at a fluffy cloud and we see a Scottie dog or the shapelier parts of Pamela Anderson.
Visualising what the web looks like is another hardy perennial. Some attempts make the web look like an explosion frozen in time.
A new view adapts the principles of the London tube map to show the main stops on the Web and avoiding any attempt of illustrating the geographic realities like the actual distances between places. Read Jack Schofield's Grauniad blog for more
The result is fascinating though ultimately a bit depressing. Are we all running around this same closed loop of web sites, services and applications? Whatever happened to the web as some kind of limitless universe?
What's also interesting is who is stuck out on a suburban branch line - the equivalent of Epping - on the edge rather than the centre of the map.
Friday, 27 July 2007
Monday, 23 July 2007
CSO pockets key to Executive Suite
An inevitable consequence of the green business movement cross fertilising with US corporate culture and its love of business status monikers is the first appearance of the CSO, Chief Sustainability Officer, on the ever lengthening listing of C-level titles. Or so says the New York Times.
Could it catch on over here? Probably, yes in a small way.
UK media scrutiny of green IT is sharpening with new media blogs like Dan Ilet's Greenbang putting the spotlight on business green practices including high level business strategy and public commitment to deliver results.
Getting sustainability on the board agenda is critical but C-level titles will probably impress few if any UK media commentators. They are increasingly looking for substance not style in business communications on this issue. This is probably why we are seeing a movement by UK business to move from talking about carbon off-setting to talking about real cuts in energy consumption.
CSO is a sign of the times but probably a passing fad. A CSO should be where the buck stops when other C-level roles like the CFO and CEO should have sustainability high on their agendas too.
Nonetheless expect more CSOs popping up in the media from now on.
Could it catch on over here? Probably, yes in a small way.
UK media scrutiny of green IT is sharpening with new media blogs like Dan Ilet's Greenbang putting the spotlight on business green practices including high level business strategy and public commitment to deliver results.
Getting sustainability on the board agenda is critical but C-level titles will probably impress few if any UK media commentators. They are increasingly looking for substance not style in business communications on this issue. This is probably why we are seeing a movement by UK business to move from talking about carbon off-setting to talking about real cuts in energy consumption.
CSO is a sign of the times but probably a passing fad. A CSO should be where the buck stops when other C-level roles like the CFO and CEO should have sustainability high on their agendas too.
Nonetheless expect more CSOs popping up in the media from now on.
Thursday, 12 July 2007
No apple smoothies for me please
There is a website called 'Will it blend' by blender maker, BlendTec which shows how in various experiments they blend all kind of crazy stuff like toys, cosmetics, a garden hose and yes.. finally the iPhone too.
When I first came across the site, I didn't think much of it but then realised that from a Web 2.0 perspective this is a very smart viral campaign by BlendTec.
The company creates an online video show called “Will It Blend” that ranks in 5 figures on Alexa, and has already blended a range of consumer goods. It’s very clever online marketing for a kitchenware company on one hand. On the other hand, iPhone fans like myself found it somewhat painful to watch. The one prominent topic in technology news has been the iPhone, so BlendTec is obviously taking advantage of the iPhone's fame to market their product.
Apparently BlendTec videos have collectively had something around 15million views on youtube.
Having watched the video a few times, I was actually surprised by how long the iPhone's screen holds on... much longer than expected! Roll on Christmas!
When I first came across the site, I didn't think much of it but then realised that from a Web 2.0 perspective this is a very smart viral campaign by BlendTec.
The company creates an online video show called “Will It Blend” that ranks in 5 figures on Alexa, and has already blended a range of consumer goods. It’s very clever online marketing for a kitchenware company on one hand. On the other hand, iPhone fans like myself found it somewhat painful to watch. The one prominent topic in technology news has been the iPhone, so BlendTec is obviously taking advantage of the iPhone's fame to market their product.
Apparently BlendTec videos have collectively had something around 15million views on youtube.
Having watched the video a few times, I was actually surprised by how long the iPhone's screen holds on... much longer than expected! Roll on Christmas!
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Buzz in the bay
Having just returned from my recent trip to Silicon Valley, it's great to see the 'bay area' buzzing again with tech start-ups …it is very high energy out there right now. Car parks are full, 101 South is jammed at rush hour and Starbucks is packed with everyone ‘doing deals’ just like the boom times of the late 90s.
At the peak of the down turn all 3 were empty (though Starbucks always survived on stay at home moms and the retired) and there was a general depressing malaise in the air… ….where the general overheard conversations were about where to get a job, the company’s latest losses..the dramatic drop in house prices and who was the latest victim of cut backs…but that’s now all firmly in the past.
Yes, boom times are here again, you can see it everywhere, the San Francisco Chronicle is covering it all the time. And isn't everyone just jumping on that bandwagon hoping to make a quick buck…but as was learnt last time around…it’s only a small core of those that really hit the big-time…..and those are the ones with a sound business strategy, good marketing and not just a great new Web 2.0 idea ...
However, the industry is saying that it's different this time. Let's hope so, we don’t want to go through the same boom and bust process as before…Whilst the Web 2.0 manic frenzy seems very similar to the .com era of 99/2000, there are also some very credible businesses changing the face of our working and personal lives forever. For the very latest on what's happening check out techcrunch.com and venturebeat.com.
And finally, this is the first year that I really could carry my laptop around remote accessing wherever I went…Starbucks, my hotel, San Francisco airport (which meant I nearly missed my flight), small independent cafes…yes it all finally works which it certainly didn’t 18 months ago.. the productivity was high with no time wasted.
Though my laptop hasn’t worked properly since I’ve been back so the remote access world is still not perfect after all!
And finally, if you are a visitor, do take a trip out to Sausalito…the views back to San Francisco are ‘awesome’.
Having just returned from my recent trip to Silicon Valley, it's great to see the 'bay area' buzzing again with tech start-ups …it is very high energy out there right now. Car parks are full, 101 South is jammed at rush hour and Starbucks is packed with everyone ‘doing deals’ just like the boom times of the late 90s.
At the peak of the down turn all 3 were empty (though Starbucks always survived on stay at home moms and the retired) and there was a general depressing malaise in the air… ….where the general overheard conversations were about where to get a job, the company’s latest losses..the dramatic drop in house prices and who was the latest victim of cut backs…but that’s now all firmly in the past.
Yes, boom times are here again, you can see it everywhere, the San Francisco Chronicle is covering it all the time. And isn't everyone just jumping on that bandwagon hoping to make a quick buck…but as was learnt last time around…it’s only a small core of those that really hit the big-time…..and those are the ones with a sound business strategy, good marketing and not just a great new Web 2.0 idea ...
However, the industry is saying that it's different this time. Let's hope so, we don’t want to go through the same boom and bust process as before…Whilst the Web 2.0 manic frenzy seems very similar to the .com era of 99/2000, there are also some very credible businesses changing the face of our working and personal lives forever. For the very latest on what's happening check out techcrunch.com and venturebeat.com.
And finally, this is the first year that I really could carry my laptop around remote accessing wherever I went…Starbucks, my hotel, San Francisco airport (which meant I nearly missed my flight), small independent cafes…yes it all finally works which it certainly didn’t 18 months ago.. the productivity was high with no time wasted.
Though my laptop hasn’t worked properly since I’ve been back so the remote access world is still not perfect after all!
And finally, if you are a visitor, do take a trip out to Sausalito…the views back to San Francisco are ‘awesome’.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Store n Forward Networks in Nelson's Navy
Back from break by the lovely - it was really - English Channel. Deal has the last standing 18th century Timeball tower on the coast. This used to keep the Royal Navy's ships on time. Before that it was the first tower in a line of towers that used semaphore to send a message from the fleet to London. In 2 minutes. I was impressed by the speed and how the principles of store n forward data comms is traceable to the time of jolly jack tars and press gangs. Anyway back to the day job...
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Green Computing is Sprouting Column Inches
It's really taken off but can't move for green computing stories. One we particularly like - but can't claim as our idea though we were talking to a prospect about green data centres a couple of months ago - is the cyber warming stories in the media this week. A clever "greening" of the shared service idea, it also makes me nostalgic for my days trying to get journos to stop writing about PCs and write about Wyse terminals and IBM mainframes instead.
Green tech is very chic as I found when I discovered the Treehugger blog last week when working on a client project. The blog goes into green consumerism in a depth that I've never seen over here. To find out why GBC went green last week check out the New Scientist story on a GMI poll or visit the International Herald Tribune's Green Business blog
Green tech is very chic as I found when I discovered the Treehugger blog last week when working on a client project. The blog goes into green consumerism in a depth that I've never seen over here. To find out why GBC went green last week check out the New Scientist story on a GMI poll or visit the International Herald Tribune's Green Business blog
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