confused of calcutta

a blog about information

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Entries from November 2006

On the point of things like YouTube

November 27th, 2006 · 8 Comments · Four pillars

Ricky Gervais was recently quoted as saying:
“You can’t knock up an episode of The Sopranos or 24 on a little handheld digital camera. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to sidestep TV or DVD. But TV companies will embrace it.”
I’m not sure that TV companies will ever be able to embrace things like YouTube [...]

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Are patents toast?

November 26th, 2006 · 2 Comments · Four pillars

No.
It appears, though, that toast may be patentable, especially if what is toasted is a sandwich.
McDonald’s have filed a patent in the US and Europe for “simultaneous toasting of a bread component“. I thought I would have better things to do than to read the whole 55-page document, but I may be tempted. How else [...]

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Customer availability

November 25th, 2006 · No Comments · Four pillars

Take a look at what Sean’s been doing with The Intention Economy. I’ve tried to cover some of that space over at Shane Richmond’s blog; if you’re interested, read this piece on Customers and Differentiation.
All this brings to mind a wonderful photograph I saw over at Christopher Carfi’s Social Customer Manifesto, which I reproduce here. [...]

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Updates on NewTailBlog

November 25th, 2006 · No Comments · Four pillars

Looks like a few people like NewtailBlog; as Dave points out, people have tried it before, with varying levels of success.
Not everyone likes it, or maybe Sid was making some other point. That’s a prerogative that every one of us must have.
Stephen’s comment, following up on Sid’s, mentions the “rehearsal” attraction of blogging. I think [...]

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Being Right Forfty Per Cent of the Time

November 25th, 2006 · 2 Comments · Four pillars

One of my favourite Homerisms:
“Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that.”
Yes, forfty [sic]. In years to come, I’m sure we will hear about people studying the works of Matt Groening to figure out the deep philosophical [...]

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Musing about making shared-service models work

November 25th, 2006 · 3 Comments · Four pillars

For many years now, I’ve had the joy (?!?) of being involved in argument and debate about sharing in the enterprise. Sharing what? In the old days it used to be time on mainframes, as departments or even firms clubbed together to do things they couldn’t otherwise afford to do. Then it became space in [...]

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Still learning

November 24th, 2006 · No Comments · Four pillars

I continue to guest for Shane Richmond at the Telegraph, looking at the themes of customer economics, differentiation and predictability. I’m still getting used to being somewhere else, using different formats for different communities. Please do let me know what you think.

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Of bridges and walls

November 24th, 2006 · No Comments · Four pillars

Just had a delightful dinner at Drones with old colleagues, hosted by Sean. (Thanks, Sean). Sometime over dinner, Stu mentioned what the president of CBS “interactive”, Quincy Smith,  had said a few days ago; I’d seen the story but not the quote.
It’s worth repeating.
[...]

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Learning by doing

November 22nd, 2006 · 2 Comments · Four pillars

If you see me post less frequently here over the next ten days, there’s a reason for it. I’m trying out a number of things, and the net effect is that I’m rushed off my feet. This quarter, I hope to:

Have changed jobs after a decade (done)
Move house after a decade (doing)
Pack in the nicotine [...]

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Introducing LifeKludger

November 21st, 2006 · 2 Comments · NewTailBlog

One of the first people I started reading as a result of ConfusedOfCalcutta is David N Wallace, who actually bothered to comment on something I’d written, one of the first to do so. I followed the trail and was hooked.
I’ve always wanted to do something about equality of access and of opportunity, probably something I [...]

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