Hee hee. “This poster is 300 feet underground with no mobile signal.” From http://wtfqrcodes.com/
The combination of low startup costs and investor aversion means there are all kinds of opportunities lying around for a developer to run a profitable small business, provided he or she remembers to charge money.
Maciej Cegłowski, he of Pinboard.in, elegantly making the case for apps / services not driven by advertising. I thoroughly recommend Pinboard as a bookmarking service. One time sign up fee right now is USD$9.87.
I’m currently working for a start-up in a young industry. I meet a lot of professionals and entrepreneurs who are invested in New Zealand’s growth as part of the global economy. Over the past year I’ve been to many conferences on that very topic – a major event at the University of Auckland Business School, a digital conference run by MSN, a program hosted by Google…
Want to know what all these events had in common?
None of them had wifi.
Someone please explain how you can attend a conference for digital professionals about the growth of New Zealand’s international economy AND NOT HAVE THE FUCKING INTERNET.
Word. Marian Schembari eloquently nails the state of NZ’s broadband speed + digital mindset to the nation’s collective forehead in a response to Stephen Fry’s accurate twittering complaints about broadband throttling behaviour. There are ways of getting unthrottled connections in NZ - cable modem through Telstra Saturn for one - but I think Marian is right in declaring the throttling to be opportunitistic based on an almost-monopoly.
So, yes, the infrastructure is behind. But more important it seems to me is the mindset that’s behind. There’s a smug ‘global provinces’ thing that goes on in NZ domestic markets. Digital access / divide is one example, so is developing sustainable and resilient businesses and organisations. Exporters get it, because they’re dealing with the consequences of being part of a global supply network. Domestically-focused infrastructure providers needing massive profit announcements to keep their share price on the up and up - not so much.
Dodgy photography out the back window begs the question: How does an electrician innovate?
“Political language—and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists—is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind,” …
“…One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one’s own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase — some jackboot, Achilles’ heel, hotbed, melting pot, acid test, veritable inferno, or other lump of verbal refuse — into the dustbin, where it belongs.”
Genius in the machine
“Sure, Kenneth Cole and Qantas had an ugly time trying to buy favour via twitter / #tags, but it won’t happen to us; we’re MacDonalds, why would people hijack our groovy social media campaign ….” Somehow, the beating heart of a genius social media strategist is being presented on a styrofoam platter. Fries with that? Here’s ABC’s report.
Apple’s earnings
It’s ill-advised to stray too far into the comments area of Wired stories given that bottom-feeding fans / trolls live there [they’re just technology platforms people, get a grip]. But every now and then there’s a nugget of goodness, and imho, this is one:
Apple has got to translate some of its earnings to fixing this problem [Labour issues at manufacturing plants in China] like it has done with green packaging. Since no company NEEDS the kinds of profits or investor returns or nest egg that Apple is sitting on, the company is uniquely positioned to set an example by doing the right thing. Anything less is a problem.
More here: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/apple-earnings-first-quarter/
Also, for Apple, suggest we read the entire consumer electronics industry.
Dont’ Be Evil.
Feels like the new relationship between Google+ and search results is an overreach on the great un-evil ones at the Googleplex. For what seems like proof positive regarding the over-valuing of G+ results over the rest of the website, check out www.focusontheuser.org a site that asks: “How much better would social search be if Google surfaced results from all across the web?”
As Sarah Lacey states, this behaviour seems to contradict Google’s statements about how it likes to operate.
In order to explore that question, social media coders from Twitter, FB, MySpace have created a Don’t Be Evil button that sits on top of Google’s search results and displays non-Google+ favoured social search results.
A wayfinding guide in the Wellington Public Library’s young adult fiction area. Gotta love the knowing archness. I wonder whether anyone asks for the “Exclusive Academies for Rich Kids who form Cliques” section …
Aggregate Impactful Eyeballs
… // leverage cross-media web services // target proactive experiences // brand bleeding-edge content // orchestrate compelling deliverables …
Using http://www.dack.com/web/bullshit.html to let off steam after reading too much digital business bullshit
Here’s an illustration of a Leonardo Da Vinci ”To Do” list. It’s on Robert Krulwich’s NPR blog page. Also, I appreciate Maggie Koerth-Baker’s insight at Boing Boing:
“I think it’s pretty interesting that of the nine tasks shown, six involve consulting and learning from other people. … Leonardo da Vinci knows he doesn’t know everything.”
Found here, but I’m not sure if this is the original post. Genius, nevertheless. We’re working on a version for meetings with clients.
Calling all scriptwriters. Word’s out that Rovio is going to make an animated cartoon of Angry Birds. Feels like a shark-jumping moment, but perhaps if they made them like the Darwinian birds above? - Genus Aves Iratus!!
