Category: opinion

Things The Internet Needs | Part 1: AdPants

adpants

First world problem solving.

Every time you skip a YouTube advert (after being forced to watch 5 seconds) or mute the new evil 15 second ones, a Tweet / Facebook update is sent out referencing the brand in question saying something like:

“Thanks @[nameofbrand] for hijacking my @YouTube time with your old school ad #adpants”

Advertising via interruption on the web is awful, lazy and tasteless. Old paradigm thinking in new world playgrounds. It doesn’t work.

Who wants to build a Chrome extension or some other programme / app which does the above? Can it be made? If so maybe we could crowfund it—who’s game?

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TEDxTeAro Review | Reflecting

dk at tedxtearo

100 enthused attendees, 8 wonderful speakers, 6 skilled partners, 3 lovely sponsors, 1 very happy licensee holder.

On Saturday, TEDxTeAro made me smile with my heart.

Ideas from the stage included:

sarah wilson

“fear is something we don’t usually run towards” / “adventure is any undertaking where the outcome is unclear” / “we breathe in and inspire” | Sarah Wilson

evan thomas

“everything always has a [maker] story behind it” / “[digital] fabrication is a grass roots technology” | Evan Thomas

emma saunders

“success doesn’t lead to happiness, happiness leads to success” / “19% chance of a faster diagnosis if your doctor is happy” / “[cultivate happiness through] compassion, conscious acts of kindness, gratitude” | Emma Saunders

anja geelen

“we’re genetically wired to be in nature” / “we are biologically designed for play” / “children download [real life] experiences into their brains” | Anja Geelen

anna guenther

“even though it’s a young industry there are already 300 crowd funding platforms out there” / “it’s a disruptive innovation” / “collaboration is the new black” | Anna Guenther

dan khan

“the innovation ecosystem needs to be led by entrepreneurs with 20 years of history” / “innovation is bred at the boundary of constraint” | Dan Khan

ben forman

“our teaching has yet to catch up with our environment” / “comfort is boring” / “go nuts, do stuff and have fun” | Ben Forman

alex hannant

“we can’t negotiate with a planet which doesn’t speak english and which is much bigger than us” / “create unreasonable ideas” / “social enterprises focus on a geniune need (rather than creating one to sell)” | Alex Hannant

My focus now:

  • how do we improve?
  • how do we ensure momentum is not lost?
  • how do we scale and match the personal nature of this event?

A HUGE thank you to everyone involved, the speakers, sponsors, partners, attendees, TED and its community etc etc etc

What were your highlights?

Onwards to TEDxTeAro 2013.

Related posts: Today I Will Be Busy | TEDxTeAro Goes Live, TEDxTeAro | Dates And Location Announced and Announcing TEDxTeAro | Steering A Very Important Ship
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Strategies vs Culture | Influencing Excellence

culture quote drucker

Replacing strategy with culture.

The following lines were featured in an exit report for my previous role:

…this is less about strategies and more about culture. Create the habitat and the habit will follow.

Something I’ve been saying for a while about social media and more importantly, change (whether it be departmental, organisational, individual etc).

Then the above [quote in the image] came along and I had to go outside and get some air.

Allow it to sink in.

Take some time to realise its importance.

Then adopt and adapt, embrace and move on, richer.

Thank you Peter Drucker.

How do you create a better culture for your organisation / company / for yourself?

Image credit via Drucker Institute
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Splash Media U And Pete Aspen | A Twitter Mystery

magnum pi

Digital investigator.

Mr Pete Aspen recently tweeted me the following question:

do you know if @splashmediau is a good place for a newbie to learn how to become a social media manger?

Now I always click into the profiles of those who have taken the time to tweet me (especially if I’m asked to give an opinion on something). I’ve heard of Splash Media in the past and thought Mr Aspen had tracked me down due to my very previous role as a social media manager.

After scrolling through every one of Mr Aspens 1,906 tweets (at the time of writing this afternoon), it became evident though that all he’s doing is asking the same question about social media training and certification programmes.

However, nearly 25% of all tweets (448) references @splashmediau.

Note the timestamps on the right hand side of the tweets below:

peteaspen automated

Nothing wrong in using timed tweets as to not overload your followers or even strategically ensure it’s when most of them are online, but something is not right here.

As an experiment I engaged Mr Aspen with a reply to try and gain a response:

peteaspen reply

I heard nothing back (as of yet).

There are two conclusions to be made, either:

  • Mr Aspen is using Twitter as a micro-advisory or research platform, tweeting on only one topic / question in an attempt to gain insights for what could be a myriad of reasons; or
  • Mr Aspen is a poor automated attempt by @splashmediau to highlight their services

If it is the former then surely @splashmediau (who would be seeing his tweets they are mentioned in) should be all over Mr Aspen to either demonstrate their services (as he’s an obvious customer) or kindly asking him to refrain from referencing them constantly because he’s certainly not helping their reputation.

If it is the latter… well, you make up your mind. Maybe there’s a third reason. What do you think is happening here my little Magnums?

By the way, Mr Aspen and @splashmediau, the floor is yours, feel free to comment below as well.

Image credit to magnum-mania

UPDATE (a few hours later): take a look at the first (right at the botom) and seventh followers of our friend Mr Aspen:
peteaspen followers

UPDATE (10.11.12): As you can from the comment and this tweet below, there has been a response:

pete aspen response

What do you guys think now?

Related post: BlackBox SocialMedia | Automated Communication
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My Next Mobile Phone | Looking At / For Options

iPhone 4's Retina Display v.s. iPhone 3G

iPhone 5 competitors.

Next month I will be handing back my iPhone as I pivot and go freelance again.

Am very tempted by the iPhone 5 ALTHOUGH can be persuaded to try one of the other brands on the market.

So…:

  • Samsung (never had one of yours before)
  • Motorola (ah, I still use my L7 RAZR as my presentation clicker), and / or
  • Nokia (creators of one of my favourites phones, the N95 8gb)

…want to get your devices in the hands of a key influencer in the Wellington / NZ scene who’s also got the license to run a TEDx here in December?

Image credit
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Piano Grades | Transitioning Out Of Social Media

piano

Time to pivot.

“I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.”
Jack Kerouac, On The Road

18th October 2012 is my final day as social media manager with current employers CORE Education.

After 6/7 years serving the social media space the following metaphor has developed:

Imagine learning to play the piano. Putting in the years to hone your skills / knowledge which enables you to reach grade 6.

You’re then asked to share your insights with those who are at a lower grade, which you do willingly (it’s a wonderful feeling to assist and inspire others).

After a while of playing the same tunes, answering the same questions, giving the same answers, the urge returns to explore further levels and challenges.

This is not a criticism or a statement of arrogance, it’s a description which outlines where I am with social (media, or, just, the web).

The coming months will be the last devoted to delivering specific social media services and talks. Will always be happy to share my thoughts / experience / knowledge with others, it’s just that now my interest is in the next set of questions around:

  • creativity
  • innovation
  • ideas
  • excellence
  • humanisation
  • simplification
  • effectiveness
  • action
  • wisdom
  • exclusivity
  • play

There is a hunger to converse and surround myself with folks who want to challenge, explore, build, create waves. Whose purpose is to delight, astonish, create poignancy. Who are not afraid to try new things, create the space / time needed to cultivate the imagination, mash traditional and new models together, and most importantly, push at the edge of what’s possible.

If anyone has a role they think I could kick ass in which includes the above then please do get in touch. Maybe you’re tired of the whole ‘social’ scene as well—your comments / thoughts / ideas / responses are welcomed below.

Image credit
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How To Empty A Plane | The Solution

theoatmeal inspiration

I have too much time on my hands.

Once a plane lands, a flight attendants walks from the front (or back, depending on which ever way the plane is disembarking) and releases access to the overhead lockers. Only when the attendent has passed the row and released the lock can people get up and collect their things to exit.

This will cut down on the bedlam and scrum of disembarking, allows for a steady and simple flow of exiting people plus a more controlled customer experience.

Would love to do this as an experiment—do you think it would work?

Inspired by real life and this Oatmeal comic.
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Remixing Copyright | Creating / Curating Public Works

copyrightcreate

©

There’s this website where, at the beginning of each week, it displays works which are now in the public domain due to their copyright terms expiring.

You can subscribe by email or RSS, and even choose specific fields in which to be notified about (whether that be music, graphics, poetry, design etc.).

Then there’s this social layer in which, after creating an account, you can upload back into the community remixed works from ones which inspired them. This new content forms an interconnected ‘network of influence’ which is graphically illustrated for users to navigate around.

As a member, you also get access to tutorials, interviews and options to participate in group tasks and creative challenges set by the worlds leading artists and thinkers.

Sounds great, doesn’t it…?

The above doesn’t exist. Want to work with me on it?
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Hearing Aids (Understanding) | Can You Hear Me Now?

eartestresults

From a speaker who can’t hear.

Above are my results from a recent hearing assessment (an audiogram—please note the grey areas in the four graphs as they indicate the ‘normal’ range!

The ‘bad’ left ear (one which has a history of operations) is only functioning at 25% and at 40db (bottom left graph), the volume most people speak at.

The ‘good’ right ear is also under-performing (bottom right graph)—just 50% at speaking volume—therefore, I’m basically picking up maybe half of what people are saying at best…

The specialist discussing my results last year stated I’ve probably become very good at figuring out what people are saying rather than totally understanding their words (this is not a compliment).

There are two options:

  • hearing aids—for an instant fix to raise my hearing to within normal range;
  • (potential) surgery—first on my ‘bad’ ear to raise the level of hearing before doing anything with the ‘good’ ear (as the latter has a retracted ear drum which could require surgery at some point before it causes further problems)

All of the above left me gutted at the end of last year and after recently gaining a second opinion it’s time to face reality and make some decisions.

You have to understand that most of my childhood is littered with memories and issues relating to my ear problems. The constant poor hearing, ongoing visits to speech therapists from about age six (as my deficient hearing meant I couldn’t hear sounds properly to form them—how ironic that part of my living now is made by public speaking: irony or awesome…?). Then the teenage years, living with constant ear infections and three big surgeries which ate up months of my life with long hospital stays and even longer recovery times.

There are three parts to the decision of accepting and exploring hearing aids as part of my future:

  1. Fun—to embrace this with a smile and surround it in joy. There’s simply nothing to get upset about. It is what it is and who knows what I’ll learn and discover about myself during the opportunity I’ve been given to go on this journey;
  2. Sign—it’s always been on my to do list but now it’s more relevant to learn sign language to supplement my hearing impairment;
  3. Hack—to explore the hearing aid hacker scene (inspired by the news of the tuning being done already to existing devices:

Any thoughts, ideas, assistance, advice, help, links etc to assist in this will be humbly received.

Fun fact: ‘here’, ‘hear’, ‘ear’ and ‘year’ sound the same when spoken due to my Welsh accent.
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