So what do bras with large cup sizes, lynch mobs and Rage Against The Machine all have in common?
“Lynch Mobs, New Media Moguls and the Socially Promiscuous” surfaces themes in social media. Are you socially promiscuous or potentially the next great new media mogul in the making?
Click to download the PDF (5MB)
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Bookmarking search results in Google
It might have been there for months and I had missed it, but I spotted a new feature in Google this morning. A little star next to the title in the results!
It acts like a bookmark so if you click it, the next time you search for the same thing that item appears right at the top.
I'm not ready to ditch delicious yet but personalised search results sounds like a great idea!!
(I've just done a quick check on Twitter... looks like it hadn't been there for months after all and it's a brand new feature that replaces SearchWiki)
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
8 Ideas that are going to shape the next decade
There was a really interesting piece in this weekend’s FT on ideas that are going to shape the next decade. Here are the 8 that I thought most relevant.
1. Blue-sky computing. Two important factors here. Firstly cloud computing is bringing industrial scale to number crunching and is making it possible to unleash super computing power on everyday tasks. Secondly billions of intelligent personal devices will be capable of plugging into this centralised computing resource via the intranet. Two board predictions result. Making so much power available at very low cost will result in new breakthroughs. Science for instance could be revolutionised as researchers gain access to previously unimaginable amounts of data. The second prediction is that personal computing devices will become super smart as they are able to draw on the “cloud”. Google are already talking about adding instantaneous voice translation on its phones.
2. Work- longer, work older. This decade will see older people working longer. What’s interesting is that they may prefer to do that working for themselves. A recent study from Standard Life suggests that one in six Britons aged 46-65 hopes to embark on a new business venture rather than retire. This is seven times the number of possible start ups from their parents generation and could amount to a million new businesses in the UK. They will be known as “Olderpreneurs”. The 50 plus generation could well kick start the recovery.
3. Information does have a value. The content free-for-all has eroded media companies business models and risks overloading communication networks. Now content owners from magazine publishers to pay TV broadcasters are wondering why they have put all their trust in a single advertising revenue stream. Maybe the BBC got it right after all!! “ On the one hand information wants to be expensive because it’s so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand information wants to be free because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two forces fighting each other.” Too often in the century’s first digital decade there was no fight at all, but now the information-wants-to- be-expensive mantra is gaining the upper hand.
4. Greed isn’t as good as we thought. Bill Allen, Boeings legendary leader from 1945 – 68 once described his companies ethos like this, “to breath and sleep the world of aeronautics.” By 1998 the CEO there saw things differently: “ We are going into the value based environment where unit cost, return on investment, shareholder return are the measures by which you’ll be judged”. Under Allen Boeing came to dominate the aircraft business; under Conduit the company lost its leadership and became mired in scandal. The same story is true in numerous other organisations – think Enron and ICI. To focus single -mindedly on profit is not a strategy that has played well in the last decade.
5. Energy sources get smarter. Smart meters which give consumers and utilities information about energy usage. Smart appliances will communicate with the grid; so a cloth’s dryer might shut off during peak, high tariff hours, and on again when energy gets cheaper. Street lights will automatically dim when there is no traffic. Energy sources could also change. Blackberry devices that scroll through emails will be enough to generate power and boost battery life.
6. Gain from the pain of failure. When markets work they do so because new ideas are constantly being tried out. Most fail. Those that succeed cause older ideas to fail instead. In the US about 10 percent of businesses disappear each year. This is an awkward insight – but trial and error could be starting to take its rightful place as a business technique, rather than a dirty little secret of capitalism.
7. Do more with less. This is a mantra that we are going to hear more and more of. It is driven by powerful new competitors in the Bric markets, environmental pressure which will require companies to literally produce more for less and deeply indebted governments who will be squeezing the public sector.
8. Deliver us from shopping. At Wal-Mart more than 40 percent of online orders on the retailers website are sent for pick up as customers seek to avoid the costs and timing uncertainties of home delivery. Take note Royal Mail. In response the retailer is testing drive-through pick up options. The web will also change what’s on shelves. A customer armed with a smart phone can call up comparative prices – unless the item is only available at that particular store. So there will be more pressure to get exclusive deals with leading brands or develop own label.
View and thoughts on these ideas can be shared by emailing ftweekendmagazine@ft.com
Mike
1. Blue-sky computing. Two important factors here. Firstly cloud computing is bringing industrial scale to number crunching and is making it possible to unleash super computing power on everyday tasks. Secondly billions of intelligent personal devices will be capable of plugging into this centralised computing resource via the intranet. Two board predictions result. Making so much power available at very low cost will result in new breakthroughs. Science for instance could be revolutionised as researchers gain access to previously unimaginable amounts of data. The second prediction is that personal computing devices will become super smart as they are able to draw on the “cloud”. Google are already talking about adding instantaneous voice translation on its phones.
2. Work- longer, work older. This decade will see older people working longer. What’s interesting is that they may prefer to do that working for themselves. A recent study from Standard Life suggests that one in six Britons aged 46-65 hopes to embark on a new business venture rather than retire. This is seven times the number of possible start ups from their parents generation and could amount to a million new businesses in the UK. They will be known as “Olderpreneurs”. The 50 plus generation could well kick start the recovery.
3. Information does have a value. The content free-for-all has eroded media companies business models and risks overloading communication networks. Now content owners from magazine publishers to pay TV broadcasters are wondering why they have put all their trust in a single advertising revenue stream. Maybe the BBC got it right after all!! “ On the one hand information wants to be expensive because it’s so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand information wants to be free because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two forces fighting each other.” Too often in the century’s first digital decade there was no fight at all, but now the information-wants-to- be-expensive mantra is gaining the upper hand.
4. Greed isn’t as good as we thought. Bill Allen, Boeings legendary leader from 1945 – 68 once described his companies ethos like this, “to breath and sleep the world of aeronautics.” By 1998 the CEO there saw things differently: “ We are going into the value based environment where unit cost, return on investment, shareholder return are the measures by which you’ll be judged”. Under Allen Boeing came to dominate the aircraft business; under Conduit the company lost its leadership and became mired in scandal. The same story is true in numerous other organisations – think Enron and ICI. To focus single -mindedly on profit is not a strategy that has played well in the last decade.
5. Energy sources get smarter. Smart meters which give consumers and utilities information about energy usage. Smart appliances will communicate with the grid; so a cloth’s dryer might shut off during peak, high tariff hours, and on again when energy gets cheaper. Street lights will automatically dim when there is no traffic. Energy sources could also change. Blackberry devices that scroll through emails will be enough to generate power and boost battery life.
6. Gain from the pain of failure. When markets work they do so because new ideas are constantly being tried out. Most fail. Those that succeed cause older ideas to fail instead. In the US about 10 percent of businesses disappear each year. This is an awkward insight – but trial and error could be starting to take its rightful place as a business technique, rather than a dirty little secret of capitalism.
7. Do more with less. This is a mantra that we are going to hear more and more of. It is driven by powerful new competitors in the Bric markets, environmental pressure which will require companies to literally produce more for less and deeply indebted governments who will be squeezing the public sector.
8. Deliver us from shopping. At Wal-Mart more than 40 percent of online orders on the retailers website are sent for pick up as customers seek to avoid the costs and timing uncertainties of home delivery. Take note Royal Mail. In response the retailer is testing drive-through pick up options. The web will also change what’s on shelves. A customer armed with a smart phone can call up comparative prices – unless the item is only available at that particular store. So there will be more pressure to get exclusive deals with leading brands or develop own label.
View and thoughts on these ideas can be shared by emailing ftweekendmagazine@ft.com
Mike
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
