Children born between 1982 and 1998 are now beginning to enter the workforce; while they’ve been called many things, I continue to use the term Generation M. [And that's not because of any personal pride in coming up with the term; rather, the characteristics that define this generation seem to have a lot of "M" [...]
Entries from February 2008
Learning more about Generation M
February 17th, 2008 · 16 Comments · Four pillars
Tags:
Musing about Social Objects: Molluscs that Matter
February 16th, 2008 · 9 Comments · Four pillars
Ever since Hugh first explained to me precisely what he meant by the term “social object”, I’ve been fascinated by the concept. More recently, he’s been writing more about social objects, building on his original thoughts.
I thought he was really on to something, and I told him so. But that was quite some time ago. [...]
Tags:
Neil Gaiman’s “birthday thing”
February 10th, 2008 · No Comments · Books
Neil Gaiman has found a fitting way of celebrating his blog’s 7th birthday. He, along with his publishers, is going to make one of his books freely available on the web. Which one?
It’s up to us. How nice. So vote away. Here’s the story, with the voting link in it.
Tags:
Musing about comics and comedians
February 6th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Music, humour
I’m fascinated by humourists, comics and comedians. There’s something about them; I sense that a talented comic has a privileged view of the human condition, a perspective unlike any other. So I feel I learn from watching them. [More on this later.]
A good comic can make you laugh by a single word or gesture. For [...]
Tags:
learning by observing: musing about Twitter
February 5th, 2008 · No Comments · Four pillars
I don’t know whether it’s driven by innate curiosity, or whether I’m just wired that way: I learn best by watching someone do something. And, because of that bias, I believe in using examples wherever possible, stories, analogies, screenshots, whatever. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a picture with a few supporting [...]
Tags:
From Super Bowl to Super Tuesday
February 5th, 2008 · 9 Comments · Four pillars
Now that the Super Bowl’s over and done with, attention switches back to the 2008 Presidential election, particularly the caucuses and primaries due to be held tomorrow, on what is termed Super Tuesday.
After reading Seven Days in May when I was around 12, I decided to read everything that Fletcher Knebel and Charles Bailey had [...]
Tags:
“Nobody move! Everybody freeze!”
February 4th, 2008 · 1 Comment · humour
I loved growing up in Calcutta, and as youngsters we got up to all sorts of things. Much of it was in public, and much of it involved acting. Pretending. Watching reactions. And laughing. A lot of laughter.
From the simplest “pointing up at the sky” scam through to far more elaborate ruses, we enjoyed ourselves [...]
Tags:
The power of emphasis in language: “I didn’t say you stole my money”
February 4th, 2008 · 6 Comments · language
I liked this:
This sentence is interesting in that if you say the sentence seven times, each time placing the emphasis on a different word, the meaning of the sentence shifts.
Try it…
I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
I Didn’t Say You Stole My Money.
I [...]
Tags:
Walking the Plank: A Sunday Stroll through Piracy
February 3rd, 2008 · 2 Comments · Four pillars
Yossi Vardi has been an inspiration to me for many years, and thanks to him, I was able to make DLD in Munich this year. [Thanks, Yossi]. Who else but Yossi would seek to prove, definitively, that snails dragging CDs or DVDs could outstrip ADSL? It was partly through his example that I learnt about [...]
Tags:
“Interesting, but of no commercial value”: The problem with emerging social media tools: A Saturday Evening Post
February 3rd, 2008 · 18 Comments · Four pillars
I can remember a time when people thought e-mail was a complete waste of time. I can remember a time when spreadsheets and storyboarding software were similarly disdained. In fact, I can even remember a time when no senior executive would be seen dead near a computer. You know something? It wasn’t that long ago, [...]
Tags: