tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41507311314230372822024-02-20T16:22:18.019+01:00Simbeck-HampsonStories. Learnings. Curations. Reflections. Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-1875496051872257262022-12-18T14:11:00.000+01:002022-12-19T08:12:41.480+01:00Explorations into Generative AI: A Blackbird's TaleSo, there's this blackbird that's very protective of the bird feeder outside the office window. The issue is its size in relation to the feeder, which means it is impossible for it to fly up and land, unlike the little finches and robins. <div><br></div><div>To the annoyance of the smaller birds, the blackbird sits to one side and protects the feeder. This doesn't really help as the finches and robins eventually fly in anyway. But, it's not a harmonious environment.</div><div><br></div><div>Musing over how to improve the situation led me to the conclusion that a bird feeder designed for larger birds could restore peace to the garden (now on order). Open in a tab on the computer was <a href="https://chat.openai.com/chat">OpenAI</a>'s new assistant, something I've been exploring since it's launch.</div><div><br></div><div>Describing the situation in brief, I asked the assistant to write a poem to encapsulate the goings on outside. The assistant dutifully returned the following poem, which I read and tweaked a little - a touch.of human shouldn't go a miss!</div><div><br></div><div><b>Winter Harmony: A Blackbird's Tale</b></div><div><br></div><div><i>A blackbird in Winter, puffed up from the cold</i></div><div><i>Protected his territory, as the story is told</i></div><div><i>The smaller birds gathered, seeking seeds to eat</i></div><div><i>But the blackbird would chase them, with nimble feet</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>He wouldn't allow them, to eat as desired</i></div><div><i>He'd peck and he'd screech, with beady black eyes</i></div><div><i>But one joyful day, a change did occur</i></div><div><i>A larger feeder appeared, for all birds to concur</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Now the blackbird could dine, without any strife</i></div><div><i>And the smaller birds gathered, without any fright</i></div><div><i>Together they feasted, on seeds and on fruit</i></div><div><i>No more chasing or squabbling, it was a hoot</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>The blackbird learned his lesson, no longer so mean</i></div><div><i>He shared with his friends, on the cold winter scene</i></div><div><i>The smaller birds sang, with joy in their hearts</i></div><div><i>The blackbird listened, with more peace to his art</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Together they thrived, in the cold winter days</i></div><div><i>With the larger feeder, they had found a new way</i></div><div><i>To share and to give, and to live in harmony</i></div><div><i>The blackbird and his friends, a beautiful story.</i></div><div><br></div><div>And here's a snap of our blackbird. Once the new feeder is in place, I hope to report harmonious results.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br><div>How have you been using OpenAI's new assistant?</div><div><br></div></div>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-31660435591865075592018-08-02T12:58:00.008+02:002022-07-05T20:35:56.307+02:00Purpose of Productivity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been quite some time since the excitement of a new Web App has reached this level: Christmas morning childlike frenzy captures it quite well.</div>
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<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110911183606/http://amplify.com/wp-login.php?loginmode=twitter&redirect_to=/" target="_blank">Amplify.com</a> was the last time the Aha! moment occurred, and those who know me, also know that it left a big hole in my love of curation and sense making. But this is not a post about days gone by, this is a post about today, and to let you know the future has arrived early.<br />
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Another of my passions is productivity, which I simply take to mean the measure of efficient production. I'm a little crazy about it, always have been. It wouldn't be fair to say that I've tried 'all' the productivity Apps on the market, mainly because it's wouldn't true; but it would be fair to say I've played with many of them; and as a result, dots generally connect very quickly each time a new one comes my way; so if you love efficient production this post is definitely for you, and if you're using any of these Apps, read on...<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mpOnghKH9b4/W2LT5HKBtGI/AAAAAAABs-E/1iC37nyZ7QYqK812MrtkJO07pmXhdr2IgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2B2018-08-02%2Bat%2B11.50.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="883" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mpOnghKH9b4/W2LT5HKBtGI/AAAAAAABs-E/1iC37nyZ7QYqK812MrtkJO07pmXhdr2IgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2B2018-08-02%2Bat%2B11.50.16.png" /></a></div>
<a href="https://clickup.com/" target="_blank">ClickUp</a> is my new favourite go to tool, and here's why:<br />
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It's hyper-flexible, and I don't use the term lightly. Before this post continues you should know I have no affiliation, although they did recently give me an extra free week free on the paid version for helping solve a rather nasty technical gremlin - thanks to the <a href="https://clickup.com/about" target="_blank">team</a> at ClickUp - much appreciated.<br />
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So back to the <a href="https://clickup.com/clients/soundstripe" target="_blank">why</a>: you want to curate and make sense of what you read online, no problem; you're a scrum master managing a team building a cool new product, no problem; you're a content producer and need to organise a team of editors, no problem; you need to deliver multiple concurrent creative brand and design projects with 100's or 1000's of line items and your team is distributed across multiple time-zones (which I currently do - <a href="https://supro.co/" target="_blank">Supro</a> - more on that in another post!), no problem. The list goes on (and on). And that is why I feel comfortable using the word hyper-flexible, which is exactly what ClickUp is. Not convinced? These companies are:<br />
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Talking of delivering thousands of line items, I need to get back to managing that workload pretty sharpish. I do hope you take my recommendation seriously and pop over to ClickUp. The sign up process is painless and there is a free, no strings attached account waiting for you. And when I say free, what's meant by that is free forever. No catches. No snake oil. And it includes pretty much everything you need in order to do what I described above, and more. The current paid version, actually the only other current version, adds all the <a href="https://clickup.com/integrations" target="_blank">integrations</a> you could consume, plus unlimited storage and advanced reporting, and amazingly only costs $5 per month per user.<br />
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From reading ClickUp's <a href="https://docs.clickup.com/features/roadmap" target="_blank">Roadmap</a> and <a href="https://clickup.com/blog/" target="_blank">blog</a> posts, an <a href="https://docs.clickup.com/features/roadmap" target="_blank">Enterprise</a> version is in the works, planned for release in October. The proposed pricing is likely to begin at around $19.99 per month, but nothing official has been announced as yet. One thing you should also know from their communications is that whichever plan you use today, regardless of what occurs in the future, you'll never lose the complete feature set available on the plan you've chosen - which is just great!<br />
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Based on my claim that it can already do pretty much everything needed for free, and with unlimited users, I'd say it's about time you stopped reading this, and headed straight over to validate whether this might be something that helps you achieve success in whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.<br />
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Oh, and I didn't mention the support team via the onsite chat and the user forum, no I didn't, but I should have - they're 24/7 responsive, passionate, courteous, hyper efficient and have real passion to squash bugs and release features at break-neck speed - in short they're on fire, and as such have won acclaims and awards for their software.<br />
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And on that note, thanks for popping by, look forward to catching up on the next post. Please leave a comment below (yes I know it's G+, but do it anyway!) as I'm keen to hear how you get on with ClickUp and to discover what uses you find for it. Final ProTip for Chrome users, do install the <a href="https://clickup.com/chrome-extension" target="_blank">extension</a> and try out the very cool image curation feature, which reminds me of the days of Amplify.<br />
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And now back to transforming brands and improving business performance. Thanks ClickUp for changing the game, and for making the purpose of productivity far more purposeful.<br />
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- Paul<br />
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-84158451249414510782018-06-21T17:41:00.003+02:002022-07-05T20:36:13.681+02:00Purpose of Childhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2>
Disrupted Childhood</h2>
We see it everyday, a child with a phone in their face: on the bus, in the street, at a cafe. It's become so normal, such a daily occurrence, that I'd suggest perhaps we don't really see it any more. To me it's totally conceivable that we miss the signs completely as we too have our faces in our phones: it's now the norm, not the exception.<br />
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When I was a child, let's say aged 4 years old, I had no phone and neither did my friends, nor did my parents for that matter. So what did I see? At the most basic level I saw eyeballs, facial features and expressions; I saw clouds and fields and everyday things, everywhere. I learnt through observation to recognise the emotions of others, it was easy, as there was nothing else to look at during every minute of the day, it was the norm; and as as such what I learnt was an emotional intelligence that I fear is sorely missing today. In essence, there was no technology to disrupt or distract me from that process of learning about other human beings.<br />
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Fast forward to today, and according to the latest report from <a href="https://5rightsframework.com/" target="_blank">5Rights</a> in the UK, 86% of three to four-year-olds have access to a tablet; 83% of 12 to 15-year-olds own a smartphone and 64% of children aged 12 to 15-years-old
own three or more devices. Think about that for a moment. Those statistics alone speak of the seismic changes from the time when I was a four year old child.<br />
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As a grown up child, an adult, I can now only reflect on my experiences living and working with technology, and as I do I try to imagine how children, as young as 3 or 4, must feel when instead of seeing Mum or Dad's eyeballs looking back at them, they too often see the low light of a screen reflecting in their eyes.<br />
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So what happened? Well... if we go back to <a href="https://simbeck-hampson.blogspot.com/2014/10/technology-and-society-postman-1998.html" target="_blank">Orwell and Huxley</a>, we'll see from their writings that they believed that the world would be either controlled by pleasure or by pain, and as we observe the world today we see that both have become true - but it's the pleasure aspect that concerns me most. In any case, what is clear to see is that technology, for all the good it has brought humanity, it has also brought us distractions never thought possible. We have lost, or are losing, our ability to connect in ways that are truly human, ways in which we previously connected before 24/7 screen-time arrived on the scene.<br />
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As a parent of a teenager, one who has grown up watching her father work daily with technology, it pains me to realise that I too could have dealt with technology in a more responsible way, if only I'd been more consciously aware. It seems to began in all seriousness in the early secondary years - but probably much earlier according the report - and actually it's true; children in the first few years of life are observation machines, they are saving the experiences they see of others, waiting to repeat them as soon as humanly possible.<br />
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Reflecting back on being a parent, I think about how every child, and I mean every child, in almost every school, and especially the school my daughter attended - a <a href="https://simbeck-hampson.blogspot.com/2010/06/regaining-perspective-in-our-cluttered_7.html" target="_blank">typical school </a>- one that is comparable to many schools across the western world, how at some point in time the classroom became full of mobile devices, albeit in their school bags, given to them by their parents. It wasn't easy for parents to say no, and even harder for the children as the peer pressure mounted to have the latest greatest all-functioning device. Once in the hands of the children, their inquisitive minds took over and they self regulated what platforms were to be used - and it was at this stage that the first exclusion pressure arrived. Parents, themselves lacking the knowledge, skills and tools, and whose intentions may have been good, actually just confirmed to the children that it was fine and normal. It wasn't.<br />
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Silicon Valley has been the haven of technological advances and worldwide it is hailed as the birthplace of innovative technology, even to this day. Google, Apple, Facebook Amazon, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and the list goes on, have all played their part in making technology an everyday part of our lives - and we welcomed it with open arms - albeit as a result of the best skilled minds in the branding and marketing departments. Such technology companies have amassed earth shattering valuations, to the point of being more wealthy than some entire country's GDP, and as such they have had the ability to consistently employ the best talent to ensure their products stay front and centre of each user's experience.<br />
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Within the recent 5Rights report, a story resonated loudly about one such feature on the platform Snapchat: Snapstreaks; possibly a result of adopting Pokemon Go functionality - remember how that influenced the world! I recall my daughter telling me one day how it important it was for her to keep the Snapstreak going. When I asked her why, she replied, because otherwise I'll lose points, and thus connection to my friends. I said that doesn't sound at all healthy, silly in fact, to which she initially defended the platform, insinuating that it wasn't something I'd understand - she was right. When this activity is multiplied by all those using the platform a very real fear of loss is created, one so great on fragile minds that continuance is the only possible outcome; that was until we talked it through. Soon after Snapstreaks were no longer important, but how many sleepless nights did it cost her?<br />
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And here comes a deep realisation: the UX and UI isn't by accident, it's part of the design process, a process that ensures the fullest of attention is given to the software, a process another human being has created with a specific goal in mind. Another analogy, for example, can be seen in the use of Netflix. The platform encourages a series of programmes to be viewed at will, across any device, curated in well organised episodes. To add to the ease of use and access, and with the immense wealth of startups such as Netflix, they are able to produce highly engaging, dare I say it, addictive content, with no little or no control or limitation.<br />
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But that's not actually true is it, somewhat far-fetched, I hear some say. There are controls in place, like age restrictions and the need for someone to enter credit card details, and the need for devices to use it on. And it's here we arrive at the next problem: a child's parents. We adults were not schooled in the addictive side of technology, it wasn't part of our curriculum, it wasn't even conceivable - in reality it was too early for all this to be known - at least by the majority. As adults we have been presented all the benefits and features of having access to the world's information, and with the advent of mobile devices, and an ease of access that results in 24/7 usage as and when we desire, never before have we had so much access to instant gratification and pleasure; or is it, never before have we been controlled by the software and device manufacturers, to a point way beyond out wildest imaginations.<br />
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A few evening ago I had CNN running in the background as I was reading - something I don't normally do, but it's the only English speaking channel here in Germany - and Christiane Amanpour was interviewing a UK Baroness, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeban_Kidron" target="_blank">Beeban Kidron OBE</a>, the founder of the 5Rights foundation. The interview, which is available in podcast format can be listened to <a href="http://podcasts.cnn.net/epvs/v2/11/4/13631/amanpour.e0568de11f49f6a9.1-1.mp3?mtp=a&dvc=f" target="_blank">here</a> (starts at 19:37). In essence the interviewer was asking about the latest report on technology usage by children, and I can vividly remember Christiane's face when she read the statistic that 86% of 3-4 years olds in the UK had access to a tablet. It then hit home. We as adults are not in control of the technology, and perhaps even worse, we are blinded by the perceived benefits and features sold to us by the tech companies. We clearly do not understand the consequences of our 24/7 addictive related actions.<br />
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I put down my book and listened to the whole interview and found that Beeban Kidron was doing her best to bring awareness to the situation, and this is why I too now join the cause, having signed up to the 5Rights site earlier today, with the intention to bring further awareness to the cause that affects every one us - well most of us - I've said that twice now - what I mean is, the <a href="https://t.co/JQWPd4WuQr" target="_blank">CEO's and top paid executives in Silicon Valley</a> do not let their children consume without very strict guidelines - if only the rest of us were given such good advice. As I've alluded to above, it's clearly not just a child problem, actually I see it even more so as a problem that adults have and by our own ignorance we have perpetuated the situation to such an extent that in most cases we are immune to the dangers and happily defend it, just as my daughter did with Snapstreaks.<br />
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So what are the solutions, because that is actually as, if not more important as the understanding of the problem itself. The 5Rights report contains 24 suggestions (<a href="https://d1qmdf3vop2l07.cloudfront.net/eggplant-cherry.cloudvent.net/compressed/bb24215ada7264f0db4b3a0060e755b1.pdf" target="_blank">Page 6-9</a>) that are helpful for the Technology Industry (e.g. 1. Recognise compulsive use of technology as a public health issue.); Parents (e.g. 9. Talk with children about the value of independence and how persuasive design strategies undermine autonomy.); and for Governments (e.g. 14. Define compulsive use as an internet harm for children, and to provide advice, information and adjust policy accordingly).<br />
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Collectively as a society we are all responsible. We should all read the report and follow its advice. We should all acknowledge the dangers and make positive steps to reverse and improve our own technology behaviour. What I'm advocating is that this conversation needs public discussion and awareness, especially as it now considered, or becoming considered, as a public health risk, like none we've witnessed before.<br />
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Please read and share the report and sign up for the cause on the 5Rights website. Please talk to each other about it; especially with <a href="https://simbeck-hampson.blogspot.com/2011/03/the-purpose-of-education.html" target="_blank">children and teenagers</a>. Please don't be tempted to do nothing - ignoring the findings isn't an option - action needs to be taken to ensure that when the next generation of children stare into the eyes of others, they don't think it's normal to see the low light of a screen and the distracted zombie like glares this generation of users have become so used to - it's time to stop the madness - it's time to take action.<br />
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I've gathered a collection of tweets into a <a href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1009289262687248386" target="_blank">Twitter Moment</a> to help surface the important posts, hope it saves some time hunting around; and now it's time to get off technology and enjoy the remainder of the day. I'll be doing my best to reverse some of my bad tech habits and by doing so hope to bring more awareness to those around me - please do your best to do the same.<br />
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<h3>
Curated Tweets</h3>
<a class="twitter-moment" href="https://twitter.com/i/moments/1009289262687248386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Disrupted Childhood</a> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-86990873437891363572018-06-18T22:51:00.000+02:002022-07-03T11:14:34.140+02:00Brand evolution, essential for longevity<div class="mobile-photo">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmCClYLXPbnJ8fbhQZuyKLScAhYOO-ETKUuCvhOKVMGno4lCr_k8G7KgrHtMiijuvqoxx1pkq20dWqxrCcOaD1SgAE94sAT5cCNxed8wEThjje0xZ4aXpfKM_UHQCBBTAYLPj0XgX16SR/s1600/pexels-photo-327273+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPmCClYLXPbnJ8fbhQZuyKLScAhYOO-ETKUuCvhOKVMGno4lCr_k8G7KgrHtMiijuvqoxx1pkq20dWqxrCcOaD1SgAE94sAT5cCNxed8wEThjje0xZ4aXpfKM_UHQCBBTAYLPj0XgX16SR/s1600/pexels-photo-327273+%25281%2529.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<b>Highlights</b></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
According to Boulton, one way to create longevity and an aura around a product is by employing a narrative. "Brands are like living things – they are born and they can die, but as long as they are carefully nurtured they will flourish and have a place in the consumer's life," says Boulton. "In order to have longevity, it is essential for brands to evolve."</blockquote>
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<b>Comment</b></div>
Employing a narrative helps change the way the world sees you; the way you see yourself; the way you do business; the way you think about your brand; and the way you see success. [Patrick Strother]<br />
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<b>Source</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/article/how-to-reboot-a-brand">http://www.wired.co.uk/article/how-to-reboot-a-brand</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyejv8kbv6XDxTLUOFaiHdl_WOyusZlL-TugBBxHvtOhEodfXwDaOVNWY-IPynQ_pcL-uiE_Zcq85RLhyphenhyphena3R8jXXl5LIpyNAPqPuzMaifcFd_mVsu2uIiEedUStJAMMSennpQ-5ESrh9sd/s1600/2000px-Steve_Jobs_signature.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="1600" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyejv8kbv6XDxTLUOFaiHdl_WOyusZlL-TugBBxHvtOhEodfXwDaOVNWY-IPynQ_pcL-uiE_Zcq85RLhyphenhyphena3R8jXXl5LIpyNAPqPuzMaifcFd_mVsu2uIiEedUStJAMMSennpQ-5ESrh9sd/s320/2000px-Steve_Jobs_signature.svg.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-72016197015271447822018-05-09T11:12:00.000+02:002022-07-03T11:15:46.937+02:00The Purpose of Artificial Intlligence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOOxnzl5AMGIpXR2tQLlCYGtumUvqX2JWnOUmRyJiM6sGlcKFVghtMTf_tTGrbp0DxIhVEhu4rp_ei7wTWKrTFsrsh08qeRM6PYxXmHAygKoxw4qslXGYfjyQdv7Lt2XiKJjDxL2huZN-/s1600/teens-robot-future-science-39349.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjOOxnzl5AMGIpXR2tQLlCYGtumUvqX2JWnOUmRyJiM6sGlcKFVghtMTf_tTGrbp0DxIhVEhu4rp_ei7wTWKrTFsrsh08qeRM6PYxXmHAygKoxw4qslXGYfjyQdv7Lt2XiKJjDxL2huZN-/s1600/teens-robot-future-science-39349.jpeg" /></a></div>
<h2>
<br />What are we</h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We are conscious intelligence, CI. We are the model from which AI learns. We are the creators and instigators of everything artificial. For machines to challenge our role they would need to become artificially conscious, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_consciousness" target="_blank">AC</a>; and would thus need 'sufficient' general intelligence. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Is that our purpose for artificial intelligence, for it to become conscious, and if so, what are the benefits and risks to humanity?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="font-size: 16px;">Intelligence is the computational part of the ability to achieve goals in the world. Varying kinds and degrees of intelligence occur in people, many animals and some machines. </span></span> </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Narrow AI handles hard skills well: proficiency in a foreign language, attaining a degree or certificate, typing speed, machine operation, computer programming. If machines were conscious they'd have a like sensation for hard skills; unlike humans, for which hard skills require structured effort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">General AI has an almost infinite amount of learning to do to understanding soft skills like: communication, flexibility, leadership, motivation, patience, empathy, compassion, persuasion, problem solving abilities, teamwork, time management, work ethic.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Intelligence involves mechanisms, and AI research has discovered how to make computers carry out some of them and not others." </span></span>~<span style="font-size: 16px;"> Professor John McCarthy</span></span></blockquote>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through a desire to improve and progress (and/or command and control) 'machines' have become our partners and have played a pivotal role in recent human evolution. At each stage of progression we've had a duty to focus our intelligence on forging the best human-machine collaborations. We've done this by augmenting our joint capabilities. Going forward we need to ensure that augmentations of intelligence are purposed for the good of humanity.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our concern about machines is evident in every generation. In the past 600 years we've gone from the Gutenberg printing press to fully autonomous cars, even ones that are drifting through the galaxy. But are concerns about machines misplaced? Perhaps it isn't the new way of doing something that causes concern, perhaps the concern is about how those who have it use it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The real concern should be directed towards those who have the power, control and capability to use new technology. If their intentions don't serve all of humanity, focus must be placed on how evenly power, control and capability is distributed, finding new ways to readdress the balance.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Humanity's intention when developing machines has been in support of making life easier. As the capability to use AI increases focus not only needs to be on easier, but more importantly, better, for all of humanity, and it should be within our reach.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I don't see that human intelligence is something that humans can never understand." ~ John McCarthy, March 1989</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So we've examined what we are, let's now have a quick review of what AI actually is...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What is AI</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In it's peer-reviewed form,</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Artificial intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and other animals. - Wikipedia</span></blockquote>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To answer this question I turned to the Father of AI, </span><a href="http://jmc.stanford.edu/artificial-intelligence/index.html" target="_blank">Professor John McCarthy</a> <span style="font-family: inherit;">who breaks it down into two main areas: branches of AI and applications of AI, here summarised:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Branches of AI </span></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Logical AI. Search. Pattern recognition. </span>Representation<span style="font-family: inherit;">. <br />Inference. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Common sense and knowledge </span>reasoning<span style="font-family: inherit;">. <br />Learning from experience. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Planning. Ontology. Heuristics.</span></span></i></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><b>Logical AI</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What a program knows about the world in general the facts of the specific situation in which it must act, and its goals are all represented by sentences of some mathematical logical language. The program decides what to do by inferring that certain actions are appropriate for achieving its goals. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Search</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">AI programs often examine large numbers of possibilities, e.g. moves in a chess game or inferences by a theorem proving program. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Pattern recognition</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">When a program makes observations of some kind, it is often programmed to compare what it sees with a pattern. For example, a vision program may try to match a pattern of eyes and a nose in a scene in order to find a face.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Representation</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Facts about the world have to be represented in some way. Usually languages of mathematical logic are used. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Inference</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">From some facts, others can be inferred. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Common sense knowledge and reasoning</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the area in which AI is farthest from human-level. While there has been considerable progress, e.g. in developing systems of non-monotonic reasoning and theories of action, yet more new ideas are needed. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Learning from experience</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Programs do that. The approaches to AI based on connectionism and neural nets specialize in that. There is also learning of laws expressed in logic.Programs can only learn what facts or behaviors their formalisms can represent, and unfortunately learning systems are almost all based on very limited abilities to represent information. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Planning</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Programs start with general facts about the world (especially facts about the effects of actions), facts about the particular situation and a statement of a goal. From these, they generate a strategy for achieving the goal. In the most common cases, the strategy is just a sequence of actions. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Epistemology</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a study of the kinds of knowledge that are required for solving problems in the world. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Ontology</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The study of the kinds of things that exist. In AI, the programs and sentences deal with various kinds of objects, and we study what these kinds are and what their basic properties are. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Heuristics</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">A heuristic is a way of trying to discover something or an idea imbedded in a program. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Genetic programming</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">A technique for getting programs to solve a task by mating random Lisp programs and selecting fittest in millions of generations.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As is mentioned in the original post there will be more branches to add, as they're discovered. It should also be noted that the quoted content was last revised in 2007. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Applications of AI</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Game playing, Speech recognition, <br />Understanding natural language, Computer vision, </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Expert systems, Heuristic classification</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Game playing</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can buy machines that can play master level chess for a few hundred dollars. There is some AI in them, but they play well against people mainly through brute force computation--looking at hundreds of thousands of positions. To beat a world champion by brute force and known reliable heuristics requires being able to look at 200 million positions per second.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Speech recognition</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">While it is possible to instruct some computers using speech, most users have gone back to the keyboard and the mouse as still more convenient.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Understanding natural language</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just getting a sequence of words into a computer is not enough. Parsing sentences is not enough either. The computer has to be provided with an understanding of the domain the text is about, and this is presently possible only for very limited domains.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Computer vision</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">At present there are only limited ways of representing three-dimensional information directly, and they are not as good as what humans evidently use.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Expert systems</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is clear that the knowledge engineers forced what the experts told them into a predetermined framework. In the present state of AI, this has to be true. The usefulness of current expert systems depends on their users having common sense.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Heuristic classification</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most feasible kinds of expert system given the present knowledge of AI is to put some information in one of a fixed set of categories using several sources of information. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The applications above then translate into vocabulary we see and use</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Commonly used AI Phrases</span></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Machine Learning, Deep Learning, <br />Natural Language Processing (Understanding, Generation), Computer vision,<br />Robotics, Personal assistants, Gesture recognition, Context aware computing</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Machine learning</b> </span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">An application of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning focuses on the development of computer programs that can access data and use it learn for themselves.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Deep Learning</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also known as deep structured learning or hierarchical learning is part of a broader family of machine learning methods based on learning data representations, as opposed to task-specific algorithms. Learning can be supervised, semi-supervised or unsupervised.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>NLP, NLU, NLG</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natural language processing (NLP) is the ability of a computer program to understand human language as it is spoken. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natural language understanding (NLU) is a subtopic of natural language processing in artificial intelligence that deals with machine reading comprehension. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Natural language generation (NLG) is the natural language processing task of generating natural language from a machine representation system such as a knowledge base or a logical form. It could be said an NLG system is like a translator that converts data into a natural language representation.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Image recognition</span></b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Computer vision is an interdisciplinary field that deals with how computers can be made for gaining high-level understanding from digital images or videos. Examples include visual search platforms and image tagging APIs for developers.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Robotics</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and others</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Personal assistants (Chatbots)</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">A chatbot is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Such programs are often designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner, thereby passing the Turing test.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Gesture recognition</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gesture recognition is a topic in computer science and language technology with the goal of interpreting human gestures via mathematical algorithms. Gestures can originate from any bodily motion or state but commonly originate from the face or hand.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Context aware computing</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Refers to a general class of mobile systems that can sense their physical environment, and adapt their behavior accordingly. Context-aware systems are a component of a ubiquitous computing or pervasive computing environment.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now that we've laid out a common understanding of the terminology and intents behind the use of words describing the branches and applications of AI, as well as a review of commonly used AI phrases, we should be ready to progress to see how this relates to You and Me, but first a little history to set the scene.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Where it all began</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The history of Artificial Intelligence (AI) began in antiquity, with myths, stories and rumors of artificial beings endowed with intelligence or consciousness by master craftsmen; as Pamela McCorduck writes, AI began with "an ancient wish to forge the gods."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The seeds of modern AI were planted by classical philosophers who attempted to describe the process of human thinking as the mechanical manipulation of symbols. This work culminated in the invention of the programmable digital computer in the 1940s, a machine based on the abstract essence of mathematical reasoning. This device and the ideas behind it inspired a handful of scientists to begin seriously discussing the possibility of building an electronic brain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The field of AI research was founded at a workshop held on the campus of Dartmouth College during the summer of 1956. Many of them predicted that a machine as intelligent as a human being would exist in no more than a generation and they were given millions of dollars to make this vision come true. Eventually it became obvious that they had grossly underestimated the difficulty of the project due to computer hardware limitations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Human-machine summary of the '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_artificial_intelligence" target="_blank">History of artificial intelligence</a>'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
How intelligent is AI in 2018</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To answer this question I turned to Roger Schank's exasperated post on LinkedIn. Here are the some of the one's that stood out f key highlights: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I have had it with the stream of articles about what an “AI” can do. Yes, machine learning works. It is possible to analyze key words, correlate them with other key words, do a massive amount of statistics, and find out some stuff. People cannot do that and computers can. Is this AI? It sure isn't anything people can do, and it also doesn't correspond to anything I understand about what it means to be intelligent. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, to make clear what AI is really about I propose the ten question test. Here are ten questions that any person could easily answer and that no computer can answer well. Since I consider myself an AI person I would not say that no computer will ever be able to answer these. I hope we can figure it out. But AI isn’t here yet, despite what venture capitalists, giant companies, and the media keep saying."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">These questions can help explain why.</span></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. What would be the first question you would ask Bob Dylan if you were to meet him?</span></b></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am using this one because IBM’s Watson “met” Bob Dylan and told him that his songs were about love fading. First, I might point out that that conversation is insane. If you were to meet Bob Dylan you might have some things you'd want to know. I’d like to know if he feels that his songs are “literature." I’d also like to know if he thinks he helped a generation feel stronger about protesting injustice and war. I would not count all the words he used and tell him which word appears most often. Watson does not behave as intelligent entities do. Intelligent entities are curious. They have things they want to know and can recognize who can answer questions that come to their minds about different arenas of life.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. I am thinking of driving to New York from my home in Florida next week. What do you think?</span></b></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">In order to answer the above question, one would need a model of why people ask questions like that one. It is hard to answer if you don’t know the person who is asking. If you do know that person you would also know something about what he is really asking. Does he have a car that is too old to make the trip? Maybe he has a brand new car and he is asking your advice about whether a long trip is a good way to break it in. Maybe he knows you live in New York and might have an idea whether the roads are icy there. Real conversation involves people who make assessments about each other and know what to say to whom based on their previous relationship and what they know about each other. Maybe the asker is really asking about a place to stay along the way (if the person being asked lives in Virginia say.) Sorry, but no “AI” is anywhere near being able to have such a conversation because modern AI is not building complex models of what we know about each other.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Who do you love more, your parents, your spouse, or your dog?</span></b></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">What does this question mean and why would anyone ask it? Maybe the person being asked is hugging their dog all the time. Maybe the person being asked is constantly talking about his or her parents. People ask questions as well as answer them. Is there an “AI” that is observing the world and getting curious enough to ask a question about the inner feelings of someone with whom it is interacting. People do this all the time. “AI’s” do not.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Is there anything else I need to know?</span></b></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">When might you ask such a question? You might have had a conversation with a chat bot and found out how to get somewhere you were trying go. Then you might (if you were talking to a person) ask if there is anything else you needed to know. Answering that question involves knowing whom you are talking to. (Oh, yeah, there is great Ethiopian Restaurant nearby and watch out for speed traps.) Let’s see the chat bot that can answer that question.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Does what I am writing make sense?</span></b></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazingly, this is hard. Why? Because in order to understand my points you need to match them to things you already think and see if I have helped you think about things better or decide that you disagree with what I am saying here based on your own beliefs. You already have an opinion on whether my writing style was comprehensible and whether the points I made made sense to you. You can do that. AI cannot. Do I think we could do that someday in AI? Maybe. We would have to have a complete model of the world and an understanding of what kinds of ideas people argue for and what counterarguments are reasonable. Intelligent people all do this. “AI’s” do not. An “AI” that understood documents would not be a grammar checker.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">It would be nice if people stopped pushing AI that is based on statistics and word counts and “AI people” tried to do the hard work that making AI happen would require. </span></li>
</ul>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Those snippets should have helped frame where the intelligence of AI is today; the entire </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ten-questions-ai-roger-schank/" target="_blank">post</a> is of course recommended reading.</span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Next time you see a big headline, replace the word ‘AI’ with ‘computer program’ and see whether it’s still exciting” - <a href="https://twitter.com/rogerschank" target="_blank">@rogerschank</a></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
How intelligent can AI become</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently I was chatting with acclaimed consultant and author <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidAmerland?lang=en" target="_blank">David Amerland</a> about the differences in super and quantum computational power, which led to an attempt to answer this question; here's how that went: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">To return to the question, how intelligent can AI become, I'm lead back to the quote earlier: "I don't see that human intelligence is something that humans can never understand." ~ John McCarthy, March 1989; so I'd say, AI can become more intelligent than our current intelligence is capable of understanding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, that's a relief.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Salt pinched.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Benefits & concerns to humanity</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking for thought leadership, this recent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/03/01/14-ways-ai-will-benefit-or-harm-society/#2806c0b84ef0" target="_blank">article</a> offers some insights, in the context of business.</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">To understand how AI will impact your business going forward, 14 members of Forbes Technology Council weigh in on the concerns about artificial intelligence and provide reasons why AI is either a detriment or a benefit to society:</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Benefits</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Enhances Efficiency And Throughput. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Frees Up Humans To Do What They Do Best</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adds Jobs, Strengthens The Economy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Enhances Our Lifestyle</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Supervises Learning For Telemedicine</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Increases Automation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elevates The Condition Of Mankind</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Solves Complex Social Problems</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Improves Demand Side Management</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Benefits Multiple Industries</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extends And Expands Creativity </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Concerns</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leads To Loss Of Control</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Creates Unintended And Unforeseen Consequences</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Absolves Humans Of All Responsibility</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Myths and Facts about AI</span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Infographic and quote from an excellent <a href="https://futureoflife.org/background/benefits-risks-of-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank">article</a> by the Future of Life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most researchers agree that a superintelligent AI is unlikely to exhibit human emotions like love or hate, and that there is no reason to expect AI to become intentionally benevolent or malevolent. Instead, when considering how AI might become a risk, experts think two scenarios most likely: The AI is programmed to do something devastating or the AI is programmed to do something beneficial, but it develops a destructive method for achieving its goal.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pattern recognition</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Predictions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">80% NLU,P,G</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Skim versus depth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Control of the mind (Huxley / Orwell)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The more artiificial intelligence becomes, the less human intelligence is required</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pyschological profiling</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Feed the target until they dispaly desired behaviour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What can we do</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For this question I turn to one of humanities true treasures, the <a href="https://twitter.com/DalaiLama" target="_blank">Dalai Lama</a>. In this post he offers council of what we can do: strengthen our sense of the oneness of humanity. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCFumJXkPv9Pxb1dKVuwVSUaTHmxI1gbXQMJCF-pgzZBJU6YeOeCeDSptyIbyPo0zgGln65Orn4j9Mre4fvuYqh1PJkMjoCjTCNqUe36PKkhu9Fe4pseKXu7UY47TCPJIxvdIjY1j20It/s1600/Screenshot+2018-03-23+at+16.56.58.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCFumJXkPv9Pxb1dKVuwVSUaTHmxI1gbXQMJCF-pgzZBJU6YeOeCeDSptyIbyPo0zgGln65Orn4j9Mre4fvuYqh1PJkMjoCjTCNqUe36PKkhu9Fe4pseKXu7UY47TCPJIxvdIjY1j20It/s1600/Screenshot+2018-03-23+at+16.56.58.png" /></span></a></div>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The purpose of AI, as with all technology and science, is to serve humanity, everywhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To be continued...</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For those who make it this far down, here's some well-earned <a href="http://dilbert.com/" target="_blank">Dilbert</a> humour to end the post 😊</span><br />
Thanks for visiting,<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">#perpetualbeta</span></div>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-5388149454984956372018-02-12T11:26:00.000+01:002018-06-19T10:39:40.213+02:00Tips for Reorganising Google Drive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUED4wudkJIdnBe2zoZSmGRKlMhrZahZBwClPll5ZeyKwrB6rmb3RkXdivHwin3o5iDNR6t7WKOseDUXJx7K3dHFmGGYJZrRQ6xbQ8nEwiq9G44S7kyMfyhPs6bH1iFYtk1tFh9ga-fk7/s1600/coffee-cup-mug-desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUED4wudkJIdnBe2zoZSmGRKlMhrZahZBwClPll5ZeyKwrB6rmb3RkXdivHwin3o5iDNR6t7WKOseDUXJx7K3dHFmGGYJZrRQ6xbQ8nEwiq9G44S7kyMfyhPs6bH1iFYtk1tFh9ga-fk7/s1600/coffee-cup-mug-desk.jpg" /></a></div>
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Over the years that I've been using Google Drive it has always been my intention to keep things well organised. In the most part I've been successful, but after reading an article recently about Unclouded¹, I thought it was time to see exactly how organised I'd been.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0ZDKMw6O9xq_6Oo5Do-Arm5TqqYhBRxMyqx_FMLRMoXFqSB6cnUf-4iSxi4S5mEJb-IMX0DdN0efrPwTS3Lcn9JgwiUpypaF9eyZYFi7RqY6pLgPaflBqp5KpUNKuQU8yWTofu4l4AJx/s1600/unnamed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0ZDKMw6O9xq_6Oo5Do-Arm5TqqYhBRxMyqx_FMLRMoXFqSB6cnUf-4iSxi4S5mEJb-IMX0DdN0efrPwTS3Lcn9JgwiUpypaF9eyZYFi7RqY6pLgPaflBqp5KpUNKuQU8yWTofu4l4AJx/s200/unnamed.png" width="200" /></a>I installed Unclouded² from the Play Store and spent some time assessing whether I wanted to buy the premium app. The recent material design update makes it super smooth and very quick and it certainly delivers on its claims, "<i>The revolutionary tool to help you analyse and clean your cloud storage</i>" and if mobile cloud management was the key requirement, this would be the tool I'd choose.<br />
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Overall I was impressed with the Unclouded app, but the only thing I didn't really like was giving that level of permission to Google Drive, especially as it's a new (to me) app. So I had another think about the problem.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoA355RGrjCcWe04U5VvXNDVGgmuUC65RVqQAY65pBnzIsflrhgTeBTzCNSCMJjwxWlzIctiRp1ZAm08RXN1kPzpEzLlEERACnyeZUwiEEY7GKi2cmjWldAl6D0MOF-1J297rgLUvEu2Hv/s1600/SearchDrive.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoA355RGrjCcWe04U5VvXNDVGgmuUC65RVqQAY65pBnzIsflrhgTeBTzCNSCMJjwxWlzIctiRp1ZAm08RXN1kPzpEzLlEERACnyeZUwiEEY7GKi2cmjWldAl6D0MOF-1J297rgLUvEu2Hv/s320/SearchDrive.JPG" width="320" /></a>In the main part I wanted to find all the duplicates and be able to review and organise by file type as well as a general tidy-up. As I still have a Windows 7 machine that has the desktop version of Google Drive activated, I thought I'd see whether there was a tool that could sort cloud files but at a local level without the need for Android.<br />
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What I was really looking for was an Advanced Windows search that also found duplicates. After some further reading and testing I've settled on using a tool called SearchMyFiles³ which allows for cloud folder management, including duplicate search. Perfecto!<br />
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As a side note, SearchMyFiles can also scan and manage any other Cloud folders that are connected to a Windows PC, ie. Dropbox, Box, Bitcasa etc, which also means it's very easy to move folders and files from one Cloud to another! Over the next few days I'll be reorganising my cloud storage across a number of services both to help save space and hopefully improve productivity.<br />
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Let me know in the comments if you try out the tools mentioned, or indeed if you use a different method.<br />
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¹ <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/06/unclouded-app-lets-you-see-whats-eating-up-your-cloud-storage/">http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/06/unclouded-app-lets-you-see-whats-eating-up-your-cloud-storage/</a><br />
² <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cgollner.unclouded&hl=en">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cgollner.unclouded&hl=en</a><br />
³ <a href="http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html">http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/search_my_files.html</a><br />
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Originally published: 24th November 2014Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-14433460043869279942018-02-12T11:00:00.002+01:002022-07-05T20:36:34.001+02:00Purpose of Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I set out to discover the purpose of ‘education’ after hearing about the purposed campaign. After reviewing some quotes from influential scholars and some definitions on the web, a four-sided picture of education's purpose came to mind. I began with the Wikipedia definition of education.<br />
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<blockquote>
Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. ~ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education">Wikipedia</a></blockquote>
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The words ‘act’ and ‘experience' jumped out at me as those formative effects that can happen everywhere and any time throughout our lives. But then ‘deliberately transmits’ worried me. Probably because it gives the impression that content must be deliberately pushed onto learners in an particular place and time. Then I remembered something I had heard about pull vs. push, or rather what my friend <a href="http://twitter.com/scottgould" target="_blank">Scott Gould</a> calls “pulley”: “the right balance of push and pull”.<br />
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This brought me to the first <span style="text-decoration: underline;">'purpose of education'</span>; to negotiate a balance of push and pull between learners and their sources.<br />
<br />
Sometimes learners need permission to pull from their own set of sources. Teachers, peers, and parents simply need to push the content in their direction, so that learners may discover what they’re looking for and then engage with it. The pulley-like rotation of push and pull between learners and their sources made me reflect more deeply on the word ‘purpose’. While reading, again on Wikipedia, I discovered this quotation which resonated.<br />
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<blockquote>
Purpose-guided education prioritizes intrinsic motivation and helps students to become more engaged in learning experiences through connecting their beliefs and life goals to curricular requirements. ~ <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry%20Pattengale">Jerry Pattengale</a></blockquote>
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I liked the word ‘their’ because it points to the importance of the student’s, or the learner’s own intrinsic motivation. Education needs to be focused on ‘their’ beliefs and ‘their’ life goals. The priority isn’t on pushing ‘them’ to pass tests.<br />
<br />
Does the present education system focus on their beliefs and goals? Better yet, does the present education system focus on ‘our’ beliefs and goals? If not, what can we do about it?<br />
<br />
To answer that we must look within. I looked within myself and something <a href="http://twitter.com/sirkenrobinson" target="_blank">Sir Ken Robinson</a> said about the value of the individual comes to mind.<br />
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<blockquote>
Make the most of whatever it is that floats your boat…</blockquote>
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Only when the learner recognises and rejoices in ‘their’ own purpose can they enjoy the process of learning. To keep the boat of the individual learner afloat, we need to become each other’s sources and understand each other’s motivations. I think the educational phrase is ‘Jane is highly motivated, she loves XYZ’. Our purpose is something that we love, so it motivates us.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Purpose: The idea that a final goal is implicit in all living organisms. With teleology (purpose) matter is fulfilling some aim from within. ~ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purpose">Wikipedia</a></blockquote>
<br />
Without wandering too near to spiritual matters, a ‘final goal’ indicates that a purpose must have a destination. The idea of fulfilling an ‘aim from within’ reveals the starting point of the education process. If the learner is motivated to float their boat toward their purpose, we should help them set sail beyond the rough waters of the past.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Build an education system that feeds inquisitiveness ~ <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://www.changelearning.ca/~cl/media/education-inside-out-upside-down-john-abbott-speaks"> John Abbott</a></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The second ‘purpose of education’</span> is about stepping outside the boundaries of old systems so that we may learn everywhere. Education is not confined to a school, or a university, or a workplace, it is an ongoing, perimeterless, living, life-long process that “feeds inquisitiveness” and raises consciousness.<br />
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<blockquote>
Is it consciousness-raising? …in other words does it reveals possibilities that the learner is able to discover, possibilities that they can act upon? ~ <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://www.21stcenturyschools.com/Anne_Shaw.htm">Anne Shaw</a></blockquote>
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We don’t know what future jobs will be, so education should nurture and inspire a life-long inquisitiveness focused on what’s interesting to the learner, no matter where they may be. Asking, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” is the wrong question. Maybe instead we should ask, “what do you want to be now?”<br />
<br />
Explorable opportunities are everywhere and learners should be encouraged to be what they want to be in their moment of inquisitiveness. As learners we ask questions, we get our hands dirty. Sometimes we succeed at being what we want to be, sometimes we fail. In the sandbox of life our castles may crumble, but we can always keep building, or trying something new.<br />
<br />
Sometimes it takes others who are wiser than us, or who simply have a knack for being who we want to be. Forcing square pegs into round holes is a huge waste of time that only creates unhappy people. Nobody wants to be pushed into being something they’re not. The “learning ecosystem” recognizes that.<br />
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<blockquote>
In a learning ecosystem, the objective is to induce change to behaviours that meets the overall organisational objectives. Again, forcing people to change is nigh-on impossible. The Learning & Development team can only provide the conditions in which change is more likely. ~ <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://www.learningconversations.co.uk/main/index.php/2010/01/10/the-characteristics-of-a-learning-ecosystem?blog=5" target="_blank">Mark Berthelemy</a></blockquote>
<br />
In my recent post ‘Educational change starts locally‘ which touched on some important elements within a ecosystem, I presented a case for a holistic approach to ‘education’ that sees beyond the four walls known as school. It starts with a loving commitment from parents at ‘home’, which is supported by friends, colleagues and local businesses within a ‘community’ with ‘school’ being the place where you can experiment in a supportive environment with other ‘like minds’. John Abbot describes this as:<br />
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<blockquote>
Home – Emotional Development<br />
<br />
Community -Inspiration for life in general<br />
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School – Intellectual power, how to draw the ideas together<br />
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Education – Joining of those three things to get balance.</blockquote>
<br />
He goes on to describe the value of 'social capital'.<br />
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<blockquote>
Social Capital is the meeting and exchanging of ideas through conversation with others. If we want children to be ready for the future we all have to be involved with it. This the beginning of a revolution that is most needed.</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The third 'purpose of education'</span> is to fill our learning ecosystem with engaging experiences and conversations. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/rogerschank" target="_blank">Roger Schank</a> had to say about it…<br />
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<blockquote>
You don’t learn anything unless you remember it. Memory comes from having had experience. Experiences have to have certain properties, they have to be, emotional, exciting, contain a surprise or a challenge; without those properties, you don’t remember them.</blockquote>
<br />
In order for emotional and exciting engagements to take place, <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://www.changelearning.ca/~cl/media/education-inside-out-upside-down-john-abbott-speaks">John Abbott</a> reminds us to:<br />
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<blockquote>
Stop talking ‘at’ learners and start talking ‘with’ them.</blockquote>
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Being ‘talked at’ is not an effective way to learn. So why do we spend so much time talking ‘to’ learners and lecturing them? It seems to me that if education wants to make a true shift it must first re-learn how we actually learn, through conversation and experience. <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jaycross" target="_blank">Jay Cross</a> suggests that:<br />
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<blockquote>
Learning implies school. School is chock full of formal learning — courses, classes, and grades that obscure the fact that most learning at school is either self-directed or informal. Informal learning is effective because it is personal. The individual calls the shots. The learner is responsible. It’s real. Most of what we learn, we learn from other people — parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, playmates, cousins, Little Leaguers, Scouts, school chums, room mates, teammates, classmates, study groups, coaches, bosses, mentors, colleagues, gossips, co-workers, neighbors, and, eventually, our children. Sometimes we even learn from teachers.</blockquote>
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If a balance between ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ learning can be aligned so that it fits within a personalised context, an opportunity for learners to see the true value of their education can be assured. We are living in a state of permanent 'perpetual beta' (via <a href="http://twitter.com/hjarche" target="_blank">Harold Jarche</a>) and education needs to reflect it.<br />
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Finally there is <span style="text-decoration: underline;">the fourth identified 'purpose of education'</span>: to combine collective wisdom through listening and balancing the hopes and dreams of those who will inherit what we leave behind.<br />
<br />
Let’s support learning everywhere, let's support <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://twitter.com/purposeducation" target="_blank">Purposed</a>.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I want to create my own ladder and climb it at my own pace. ~ <a class="‘aptureEnhance’" href="http://www.micahstubblefield.com/">Micah Stubblefield</a></blockquote>
<br />
Originally posted: 26th March 2011<br />
<br />Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com157tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-896328389132352732018-02-11T23:43:00.003+01:002018-06-20T16:09:03.540+02:00When choosing a creative agency your procurement process is key<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7G2QOl8LXV04cTE5sBf4VbHgrKCO6qmNnVs4_iIcT28v8PXLxT5mz3B54nnUbPKrWm_vrXdgggqXiVTFZOgvyfDzuNMQVKtRMeqFGmt5lmJGKEpQXsV4rOzV1sziQhIlIbhhIv5kZsYH/s1600/hands-people-woman-working.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7G2QOl8LXV04cTE5sBf4VbHgrKCO6qmNnVs4_iIcT28v8PXLxT5mz3B54nnUbPKrWm_vrXdgggqXiVTFZOgvyfDzuNMQVKtRMeqFGmt5lmJGKEpQXsV4rOzV1sziQhIlIbhhIv5kZsYH/s1600/hands-people-woman-working.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Insight:</b> The procurement process is key to you getting the right match; by taking extra effort at this stage you can save a lot of time, effort and money.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Source: </b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2015/aug/04/experts-guide-choosing-creative-agency-business" target="_blank">An expert's guide to choosing a creative agency</a><br />
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<b>Highlights</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Whether it's planning a rebrand or reworking your marketing strategy, a good partnership with an effective creative agency can help your business grow.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For business owners, choosing a creative agency to partner with can be a daunting task.<br />
The pitching - or procurement - process will help you to understand what you need and lead you to the agency best suited to the task at hand.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
While you may wish to use a local agency, modern technology means you can work with agencies from anywhere in country, or even the world, so don't let geography limit your choices.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The standout agency will be the one that has done research into what it is you need and how you are likely to get there, and also one you feel the most comfortable about working with.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Your primary goal is to find a professional, trustworthy creative agency that you can develop a strong relationship with.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If the agency you choose delivers the results you need, then you may not have to look for another agency for future work.</blockquote>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-27677683369712498292018-02-11T01:12:00.000+01:002018-06-20T16:06:15.786+02:00Experimental Publishing with Google Docs<div style="text-align: center; width: 100%;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqv6NWS7Ham5fw6dfU9Rz-w5OpiBIa3QICARv_C8A4E1Qg7xAKkfHg6ADJlo9xmEzBZ2Z0ZNIWSJQXvP_coYrdfCLDShcrAd_XzWJf6qfonx549nbT-5If59Q5Sbr4E3A95a7F9qwxYDHE/s1600/pexels-photo-67112.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqv6NWS7Ham5fw6dfU9Rz-w5OpiBIa3QICARv_C8A4E1Qg7xAKkfHg6ADJlo9xmEzBZ2Z0ZNIWSJQXvP_coYrdfCLDShcrAd_XzWJf6qfonx549nbT-5If59Q5Sbr4E3A95a7F9qwxYDHE/s1600/pexels-photo-67112.jpeg" /></a></div>
<iframe height="1100" src="https://docs.google.com/open?id=1rxxc0YELOtFeM9TrTqprT_oeYHZH78Ms7klPhSsK_qo" width="750">...loading...</iframe><br /></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-77022436902376216452018-02-11T00:20:00.000+01:002022-07-03T11:16:58.870+02:00The Coming AI Desktop Publishing Revolution<div class="mobile-photo">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyhpLCkZZuM1U-coILEDzxv5HRbsUttocCSnBUFdC_cwRfd_zEgl-utA8QrvFZgJQhjW-wt3yIUfb17g5QZxlaxpmjop2AScxuc_e7yVPUhj6Y3ubwrL4DZRHmNlA76qO3l4c13QLDap9/s1600/cup-mug-desk-office1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyhpLCkZZuM1U-coILEDzxv5HRbsUttocCSnBUFdC_cwRfd_zEgl-utA8QrvFZgJQhjW-wt3yIUfb17g5QZxlaxpmjop2AScxuc_e7yVPUhj6Y3ubwrL4DZRHmNlA76qO3l4c13QLDap9/s1600/cup-mug-desk-office1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Highlights</b></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In the next desktop publishing revolution, users will step back from hands-on labor and let the software generate ideas and plans. In this world, design work will become more like curation and management. Our tools will propose designs, and we will decide what works.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If and when professional graphic designers hand over some of their responsibilities to machines—or get cut out of the creative process entirely—many might welcome the change, seeing it as a chance to step away from the computer, whether to work by hand or just take a break from the screen. If this second desktop revolution's AI algorithms save human designers time and make more room in their lives for reflection and creativity, it will win cheers all around. But those who want the software to function exactly like a professional designer should be careful what they wish for. "If you can find a machine that thinks like me, don't buy it," says Paula Scher. "It would be incredibly annoying."</blockquote>
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As machines start to do more of the heavy lifting, designers and creatives will have more time to design and create, and this time around they'll be supported with data and insight gained from machine learning.</div>
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<b>Source</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/when-websites-design-themselves">https://www.wired.com/story/when-websites-design-themselves</a></div>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-60845751642661664452018-02-10T12:17:00.000+01:002018-02-13T16:32:31.974+01:00Innovative thinking - how sport and technology combine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpinEziR7BeaT9ixXPOj64M6ge9z70Ofyo_QJNuZYrWalJElkp1WZ1oabxvvJ_oabOCPCo1Vzf7LrQltZRCkr5Whs_YfZtW_LDjbTqhowpWlTgM9BEdv5snTB3bkyMXy-f7mANXRy7ZRV/s1600/KFOverview-600px_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUpinEziR7BeaT9ixXPOj64M6ge9z70Ofyo_QJNuZYrWalJElkp1WZ1oabxvvJ_oabOCPCo1Vzf7LrQltZRCkr5Whs_YfZtW_LDjbTqhowpWlTgM9BEdv5snTB3bkyMXy-f7mANXRy7ZRV/s1600/KFOverview-600px_large.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
If you spend too much time in front of the PC and feel the need for more exercise, here could be an optimal in between solution!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Working away at a computer all day may give the grey matter a good work out but doesn’t do much for the rest of the body. Standing desks are growing in popularity as people try to improve posture, but what about a desk that allows you to exercise on your bike while you work?</blockquote>
The Kickstand: <a href="http://tnw.to/1Bkr5">http://tnw.to/1Bkr5</a><br />
<br />
Originally posted 9th November 2011Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-51954010171234940912018-02-10T11:27:00.002+01:002022-07-05T20:36:57.267+02:00Social Business Manifesto<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qa1Y5u5z9lY/WoL6ygUD8jI/AAAAAAABpOw/GdQu2Mv-zY4hEIj8y7ZKq12ajpYGwV8zQCLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-442574.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qa1Y5u5z9lY/WoL6ygUD8jI/AAAAAAABpOw/GdQu2Mv-zY4hEIj8y7ZKq12ajpYGwV8zQCLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-442574.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<b>Insight:</b> A manifesto to get behind! One of my favourites: "E-mail has been overtaken by more open and emerging exchange platforms. Organizations should abolish their internal use of e-mail"</div>
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<b>Source:</b> <a href="http://socialbusinessmanifesto.com/social-business-manifesto/" target="_blank">Social Business Manifesto – Introduction</a><br />
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<b>
Highlights: </b>Social Business is a new way of organizing work and relationships with a business ecosystem. If we really want to create something entirely new, we need to start looking around in a new way, otherwise we will continue to behave as we always have.<br />
<br />
To create new things, we need to look at creating a newer version of ourselves. These new maps are obliged to work with a technological infrastructure that has only been created in the last few years - the Web, more specifically, Social Media - which is interesting not only in itself, but also for the social behaviour it allows.<br />
<br />
We need to wear the right glasses, and look at new phenomena with new eyes. Social Business is not a new technology, it's a new type of company. Socializing processes does not mean creating new silos, even if they are social.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Social Business Manifesto</b><br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
1. Chaos is simplicity that we cannot see yet<br />
2. Organisations are conversations<br />
3. Entropy is born from trying to use new tools to do old things, or from using old tools to do new things<br />
4. E-mail has been overtaken by more open and emerging exchange platforms.<br />
5. Organizations should abolish their internal use of e-mail<br />
6. When faced with ever more complex and inter-connected problems, decision-making architecture – represented by modern business and governance models anchored in a hierarchical command-control principle – shows all its inadequacy<br />
7. The road must be the culture of risk: new perspectives do not open up without risks<br />
8. Clients know the products much better than the companies that produce them<br />
9. Those who work expect in some way to be able to participate in the organizational project; malaise is generated by the impossibility of this participation<br />
10. In order to see new phenomena we need to build new tools of analysis and measurement<br />
11. Organisations are living organisms. Even before generating products they generate and transform knowledge<br />
12. The ability to generate and transform knowledge makes organizations emerge or decline in the knowledge economy<br />
13. Knowledge is generated and transformed in conversations among employees, among clients and between clients and employees<br />
14. Conversations go beyond walls and roles and favour relationships of trust that are difficult to condition<br />
15. The weak point of knowledge management is the management<br />
16. Collaboration is the challenge for modern organizations. We have only just begun to deal with this; the management tools currently available are inadequate for the purpose, as they were born in another era and for opposite objectives.<br />
17. Collaboration does not (only) mean coordination, planning, and role management. Collaboration means putting collective intelligence to good use<br />
18. Today we need to come together, create stories and common meanings, involve personal feelings, find ways to engage with people<br />
19. Organizations that are inflexible risk extinction<br />
20. High-performance organizations have disorganization and weak links as their strong point<br />
21. There is much more intelligence in our organizations than management is willing to recognize<br />
22. The intelligence in organizations today is trapped in procedures, customs and roles<br />
23. It is difficult to direct a conversation; it is easier to feed it or silence it for good<br />
24. An economic crisis is also a crisis of management models and work organization models<br />
25. Today, man’s great works are born from conversations, and often they don’t need governance<br />
26. The knowledge of organizations today lies more in connections than in company databases<br />
27. Teamwork, integration, collaboration: organizations are cramming themselves full of concepts that are ever further from their own practices<br />
28. The market today has a faster and more articulate intelligence than the intelligence of organizations<br />
29. Organizations react to stimuli in their market with a speed that is inversely proportional to their size<br />
30. HR’s plans hide the fear of freeing the energy and intelligence found within the organization<br />
31. Clients, like employees, are looking for a contact and a dialogue but instead find rubber walls with high-sounding names: call centers, customer care, direct lines<br />
32. Consultants strengthen the status quo: they try to bring complexity to the pre-established order but by doing this they increase entropy as they simply move the disorder to another level<br />
33. Disruptive innovation does not occur in R&D departments: it occurs by mixing points of view and knowledge in new and open connections<br />
34. One-way intranets are useless; Social Intranets can today become the nervous system that allows an organism to feel and act as a unit: they allow the exchange of stimuli, the accumulation of memory, the formation of identity and the coordination of actions<br />
36. Today there is a need to come together: to connect the dots (vision) but also to connect people and create autopoietic (self-creation) systems<br />
37. Reputation is the key<br />
38. Centre and outskirts are concepts of the last century. Online, centrality is a function of authority and visibility<br />
39. Listen, listen, listen: it’s the client who tells you who you are<br />
40. In the knowledge economy you don’t have to know everything but you do have to be well connected<br />
41. From the knowledge economy to the gift economy…<br />
42. The business process emerges bottom up, learns constantly and adapts itself according to feedback from employees and clients<br />
43. Think in a new way: abandon slideshows and restructure work spaces.<br />
44. Listening to conversations is not enough. We need to draw meaning from them and direct change<br />
45. Your employees come first. Without their involvement your Marketing department will never be able to engage customers<br />
46. Consulting firms are not needed to build new organisations.<br />
47. Ideas from clients, employees and suppliers are just as good as those from management<br />
48. Social Business is not a new technology, it’s a new type of company<br />
49. Looking at the market through the eyes of the product and socio-demographic segments has lost its value. Let’s seek out passions, needs, tribes<br />
50. A company is centered on the client when it is able to look at itself from the outside, knocking down barriers both internally and externally<br />
51. Bottom-up innovation does not mean carrying out everything that the clients ask for. It means understanding the problem that the clients want solved and helping them to solve it<br />
52. Socializing processes does not mean creating new silos, even if they are social. It means breaking down traditional and social silos.<br />
53. Only working for a wage never makes the difference. People today are looking for a common mission<br />
54. Opening a Facebook page is easy. Opening the doors of a company and welcoming clients is difficult<br />
55. Companies hardly ever know what the client wants because they have always been afraid to listen<br />
56. Communities of people are not created and managed. Communities attract members and are cultivated by them<br />
57. The new management model is closer to cultivating a community than to leading a flock<br />
58. Change starts from the early adopters, but sustainable change reaches everyone else<br />
59. Customer service is the new marketing<br />
60. The only way to balance the excess of information in which we are drowning is by adding more information that acts as a filter<br />
61. A group of kids has created more innovation in the last 15 years than IBM, Microsoft and Oracle put together"</blockquote>
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Originally posted: 6th April 2013</div>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-72794336179465891022018-02-04T20:11:00.000+01:002018-06-20T16:10:51.625+02:00Making data visualisation easy for designers<div class="tr_bq">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqNhwu6c7PshU_Rou2R8ukFHGxUEtSr6YPeQLGtsiSe1KHi5_T2B-AVVDaYpCQOT1hl4tcccx-C9rgGozIyX6T21o4_nc5OmalD3oKkZFc4RCsazyolSoPZdedkKKexjtdjdG-WjIQFnB/s1600/pexels-photo-330771+%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqNhwu6c7PshU_Rou2R8ukFHGxUEtSr6YPeQLGtsiSe1KHi5_T2B-AVVDaYpCQOT1hl4tcccx-C9rgGozIyX6T21o4_nc5OmalD3oKkZFc4RCsazyolSoPZdedkKKexjtdjdG-WjIQFnB/s1600/pexels-photo-330771+%25281%2529.jpeg" /></a></div>
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Insight: </strong>Not a coder, not a problem. "The Flourish platform is aimed at designers, analysts, marketers, journalists, or anyone who needs to make interactive visualisations."</div>
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<b>Source:</b> <a href="https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/29-january-4-february-2018/data-visualisation-tool-created-for-designers-who-dont-code" target="_blank">Data Visualisation Tool Created For Designers Who Don't Code</a><br />
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<strong>Highlights:</strong><br />
<blockquote>
Kiln has designed a data visualisation tool which anyone can use to tell rich data-driven stories.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Data visualisation company <a href="https://www.kiln.digital/">Kiln</a> has designed and developed a new program [<a href="https://flourish.studio/">Flourish</a>] which allows people with no coding skills to create advanced data-driven storytelling visuals.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
"It's particularly relevant for people with design but not coding skills," according to Kiln co-founder and CEO Duncan Clark who says, "Previously this would only have been available to high end coders."</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Rather than engaging a coder, the process involves choosing a template, adding in data and configuring colour settings.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The kinds of data visualisations available include time-tracking maps, 3D globes and advanced charts.</blockquote>
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Developer tools have been created so that any developers can make new templates.</blockquote>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-31794399684172185182015-02-07T12:00:00.000+01:002018-06-20T15:58:37.939+02:00The Grid - Artificial Intelligence Meets Web Design<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpc5UJOcZ8gkYk1j1fNsG9Df3dooyaPDiBgWxgOcyZobytHtKgGmv2dVYrwd6tVS5aJow1IQPrf58EnYJw6rMr-vhfg442aHEkz7AwweZ6AZaW6GbwhLtb8179GogGsd_4DWxbDYF0k0T/s1600/the-grid_732426_full.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpc5UJOcZ8gkYk1j1fNsG9Df3dooyaPDiBgWxgOcyZobytHtKgGmv2dVYrwd6tVS5aJow1IQPrf58EnYJw6rMr-vhfg442aHEkz7AwweZ6AZaW6GbwhLtb8179GogGsd_4DWxbDYF0k0T/s1600/the-grid_732426_full.jpeg" /></a></div>
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The Grid - Websites That Build Themselves</h3>
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If you're excited about AI and web design, you should check out The Grid.</div>
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Due to launch in late spring, The Grid is promising a whole new level of simplicity that allows content creators to do just that, create content, while the tech side of website management, as well as the design and flow, is taken care of automatically. </div>
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Pre-order is still available at 96$ pa (8$ pm), and this founding members price is a lock-in-price for the duration of an active subscription, with the regular pricing starting at 300$ pa (25$ pm). There is no indication as to when the pre-order phase will end, so if you're willing to take a punt and get in early, with the other 20,500+ founding members, do so sooner rather than later.</div>
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Watch the short video in the (affiliate) link below and see if it rattles your cage, it did mine! Disclosure: if three people sign up via your link the first year is free; this offer applies to all founding members.</div>
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Roll on late spring, roll on The Grid.</div>
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Signup using this link:</div>
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<a href="https://thegrid.io/#20308">https://thegrid.io/#20308</a></div>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-72893803690166633912014-12-05T16:41:00.002+01:002018-06-20T15:55:34.458+02:00Ruby, the not-so perfect storm<div dir="ltr">
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<a href="http://malapascua.net/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4psqXHZ9tUj13NHP79tp1Tg_QwwROBijdJN6SMD-4n97BqomMRf307rSoG1828LASH3Bzgk6fBxVTteVxkxEtlO7YzjPX8IsMkNXYy9GYFJ7mlNlBd8tVi4NoJn2mRTD_CH-vwIPTPO7/s1600/malapascua.jpg" width="755" /></a></div>
<br />
With typhoon Ruby rapidly approaching the Philippines I'm again reminded of the fine line between safety and disaster. North of Cebu is a tiny island called Malapascua, it's an island I know well, and it's heart breaking to see yet again a terrible storm heading their direction. The last destructive typhoon to hit the region was one year ago and resulted in many deaths and much suffering, and although Malapascua was spared the full brunt, it was pretty seriously damaged, as you'll see from the video below.</div>
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The story in the film is told from the local Divemasters' perspective, and it's centred around the dive resort we helped setup back in 1998. In one sense the film brings tears of sadness to my eyes for their loss, and in another it brings tears of joy as it shows the resilience and courage of the native islanders.</div>
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The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev2ani4mMlg" target="_blank">short film</a> recently received awards at both Cannes and Yosemite, a testament to the films' directors, all those at the Malapascua Dive Resort, and for the island and region in general.<br />
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From the most recent weather reports it's hard to see exactly where the eye of the storm will pass, but it's not looking good. Google have created a crisis response site and from the maps it looks like the full brunt will be felt in Tacloban in 12-15 hours time. Please take a couple of minutes out of your schedule today and tomorrow to pray for those about to repeat the frightening experiences of last year.</div>
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<i>To all those at the </i><i>Malapascua</i><i> resort, especially Jean, </i><i>Santos</i><i> </i><i>and</i><i> </i><i>Edgar</i><i>, stay safe, be </i><i>strong</i><i> </i><i>and</i><i> </i><i>know that you are in</i><i> </i><i>our</i><i> </i><i>prayers</i><i>.</i></div>
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--<br />
<b>
Google crisis response</b>: <a href="http://google.org/crisisresponse/2014-hagupit">http://google.org/crisisresponse/2014-hagupit</a></div>
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<b>The resort:</b> <a href="http://malapascua.net/">http://malapascua.net/</a></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-91873251924426072572014-08-21T13:00:00.000+02:002022-07-03T11:17:52.301+02:00Disc Golf - grow the sport <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9iqVN-WCXVQUzQq7Z_DKWHj0xONevAKBvFfQJ7PPHpobaBm5L5qOqhSPyCLNEBiYpWSZrmBCuNiOJHuyMY5ds6-7ZEfPO88Sjp_jBLMk7-pJsmn3DSDM0ZhWdxNRKf8FrtyCzjJuSdQd/s1600/Screenshot+2014-08-21+at+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn9iqVN-WCXVQUzQq7Z_DKWHj0xONevAKBvFfQJ7PPHpobaBm5L5qOqhSPyCLNEBiYpWSZrmBCuNiOJHuyMY5ds6-7ZEfPO88Sjp_jBLMk7-pJsmn3DSDM0ZhWdxNRKf8FrtyCzjJuSdQd/s1600/Screenshot+2014-08-21+at+10.jpg" /></a></div>
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Celebrating my first tournament ace (hole-in-one) in Schwabmünchen with Michael Kobella, 4x German Disc Golf champion. If you've never played the game before, give it a go, there are many courses around the world with more opening all the time. Here's how you can find a course near you: <a href="http://www.dgcoursereview.com/">http://www.dgcoursereview.com/</a>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-8568783960430001832013-11-16T12:29:00.002+01:002022-07-05T20:38:43.106+02:00Beautiful organisations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDb3YrXF3EHc8vSiv3udfFyU7SzmFW2ZVfrwiMrYH7hYgduM_YogDG8Amy31IE7r-A86XRWrexIIhIRCFuIcAgs_Ib_6cXTnlaZK4lcnKr3nDG1KIU5rB2zVPji0YO2qRTjqkgV1Lxp5er/s1600/Organisation1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="755" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDb3YrXF3EHc8vSiv3udfFyU7SzmFW2ZVfrwiMrYH7hYgduM_YogDG8Amy31IE7r-A86XRWrexIIhIRCFuIcAgs_Ib_6cXTnlaZK4lcnKr3nDG1KIU5rB2zVPji0YO2qRTjqkgV1Lxp5er/s1600/Organisation1+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
It would be inconceivable to think that a life could be lived without making mistakes. We make mistakes all the time, daily in fact. Our lives are actually so full with mistakes it’s surreal. Each mistake is a touch point, an opportunity to reassess the result against a perceived alternative outcome. Through this experience reflection occurs and intrinsically we know to move towards improvement. The time it takes to demonstrate proficiency in that newly acquired chunk of awareness is dependent on our own mindset and that of the collective surrounding us.
<br />
<br />
Organisations are networks. They are social by nature simply because people work in them, and they work with others. This network of mindsets influence our own perceptions and our abilities to attain the ultimate goal of life, love.<br />
<br />
Love of what you do, with those you love most.<br />
<br />
It is within the reach of every organisation to improve their culture. Not only is it within their reach, it is a fundamental duty of the organisation to improve their culture, for the welfare of all its stakeholders. The organisation’s existence therefore is to compassionately nurture those that give it life. It’s a symbiotic relationship.<br />
<br />
Just as it is inconceivable to think a life could be lived without making mistakes, it is also inconceivable to imagine a life without enjoying learning.<br />
<br />
Mistakes and learning are connected, one doesn’t exist without the other and both benefit from the existence of the other. As an organisation’s existence is dependent upon the outcome of those mistakes and learning opportunities, and it’s purpose for existence is to nurture the welfare of its stakeholders, then it is clear to see where improvement in culture can be achieved.<br />
<br />
Kevin Roberts describes his ‘schooling’ at Procter and Gamble, and in this short quote he captures the essence of a culture required for people to love what they do, with those they love most.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“He constantly gave me responsibility before I was ready and then provided me with a nurturing environment that when I failed, it felt ok, and I learnt very quickly.“<br /><a href="http://www.meettheboss.tv/video/full-version-kevin-roberts-interview">http://www.meettheboss.tv/video/full-version-kevin-roberts-interview</a></blockquote>
<br />
Those who lead an organisation, need to do just that, lead. They need to embrace an open culture of learning from mistakes and they need to display their own mistakes and learning openly. They need to create an, “it felt ok”, feeling for each and every one of their stakeholders. In striving to attain this culture, a great deal of love will be generated. This love is only attainable as a direct result of the mistakes and learning being visible to all. Culture is reformed when a swelling of compassion and empathy occur, which over time converts into trust. It is that trust that makes organisations great.<br />
<br />
It is our duty to create beautiful organisations by appreciating the mistakes people make and by encouraging and nurturing a culture of love for life long learning.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-31607852018582939552013-10-23T08:41:00.001+02:002018-06-20T15:54:01.765+02:00How Music Should Be Taught In Schools<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<i><br /></i>
<i>Brilliant team work! </i><br />
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It’s not ok to only memorise birth dates and locations of famous musicians, kids need to feel music, they need to DO something, then it will stick.<br />
<br />
Watch the video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz63M3v11nE" target="_blank">here</a>:<br />
<br /></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-33783558048103914742013-07-19T16:51:00.003+02:002018-06-20T16:32:38.171+02:00Collaboration isn’t a technology, it’s a behaviour.<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlcTwyXGpv4bmJbDCJrtFWaYOB5cZKMuiE3VjivP5wlJggBCyjkuvDraOxELrDXIjWJJUQg5DNPhyphenhyphenvr1OYvnkId8jHrXwjUM3kapxAoiawAyqiPasG3rwBn3U0ETPApOCZLOo8u8uOMMgB/s1600/IMG_20130524_1903391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlcTwyXGpv4bmJbDCJrtFWaYOB5cZKMuiE3VjivP5wlJggBCyjkuvDraOxELrDXIjWJJUQg5DNPhyphenhyphenvr1OYvnkId8jHrXwjUM3kapxAoiawAyqiPasG3rwBn3U0ETPApOCZLOo8u8uOMMgB/s1600/IMG_20130524_1903391.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Collaboration isn't a technology, it’s a behaviour</b>. Implementing one doesn't automatically make the other happen.<br />
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So how does an organisation support behaviour change?<br />
<br />
<b>Some things to consider:</b><br />
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Think hard about the culture required. Map where you are currently. See the gap, share the gap.</div>
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Behaviour change can be learnt as with any other skill. Once mastered it can be applied to any habit change.</div>
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Encourage cross-silo conversation that includes many stakeholders. A high degree of trust is required, as is the right culture to embrace. As ideas begin to flow, innovation and creativity wake up.</div>
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Nurture cooperation; without it collaborative projects fail.</div>
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Collaboration is not required all the time, work together only when it makes sense to.</div>
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Collaboration has its roots within hierarchy. Cooperation is fundamental to networks.</div>
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Everyone wants to contribute value and be part of the creation process. Personal contribution and how it is encouraged is vital to building a sustainable competitive culture.<br />
<ul>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>And a few more: </b><br />
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1. Don't be too quick to judge</div>
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2. Dialogues beat monologues</div>
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3. Laughters makes people think</div>
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4. Hierarchy stifles engagement</div>
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5. Co-created ideas get adopted</div>
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6. Small contributions matter</div>
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8. Humour stimulates conversation</div>
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9. Minimize the individual fear of failure<br />
10. Big ideas in small packages</div>
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</ul>
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<br />
Employees need to be enthusiastic about getting involved and engaging; they need to feel safe that sharing their opinions will be supported; and relaxed to work with others, where required, to meet the goals and targets the company requires. If your organisation is not engaging, honest, exciting or interesting you'll have an almost impossible task expecting behaviour to change.</div>
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-73928067590968787742013-05-06T14:53:00.000+02:002018-06-20T16:35:26.740+02:00How can open data help us make better decisions?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtPuZxyCrpa_chJsnGOtrRdmvDpZHsesWOnT7NztIo9ZVSDcUbfUDPMlCYGRFubhGbuuR4UtpfTLmKbsoAW0WpoXc-ALyahGsep-QAn53lS47nzWyEVrvydLgv5BbZwyGs8FkL26UIf28/s1600/open-data-stickers+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtPuZxyCrpa_chJsnGOtrRdmvDpZHsesWOnT7NztIo9ZVSDcUbfUDPMlCYGRFubhGbuuR4UtpfTLmKbsoAW0WpoXc-ALyahGsep-QAn53lS47nzWyEVrvydLgv5BbZwyGs8FkL26UIf28/s1600/open-data-stickers+(1).jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Having access to a open data is an important step, but it's only the beginning of the journey. The lure of even more open data is attractive, but knowing how to get improved insights that are actionable is something else, and in most cases out of the reach of those without either the talent or funds.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The UK is absolutely at the vanguard of the global open data movement, and NGOs have a great sense that this is something they want to play a part in.</blockquote>
<br />
Although open data may in part be a solution for the 'fear of failure' problem, it would seem that this is more a solution looking for a problem. The interpretation of the data is still a key component in the process and this needs to be done by those with sector or industry expertise and with data they can interpret. <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Solving the fear of failure problem is one of the main arguments for adopting an open data policy in any sector or industry, and the 'fail fast' approach has been used by big data businesses for decades.</blockquote>
<br />
The quality of the decision-made is the outcome of many steps. Giving the permission to fail is one thing, but it would be less of an issue if it was easier to minimise the risk of failure in the first place. Making collaborative decisions based on enriched data sets, from linked, open and internal data sets is currently an expensive process, and with (real) time being of the essence, a culture that can take the view of mistakes as 'progressive', is a culture that will minimise the fear and get to better decisions quicker.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"We're in a new era of open data where we need permission to fail, we need to try to open up the whole conversation to allow everybody to see what we're doing, to learn from our mistakes," said Gavin Starks, CEO of the ODI.</blockquote>
<br />
Clearly there is a need to <a href="http://schoolofdata.org/handbook/courses/what-is-data/">provide support</a> for those who need to take decisions based on complex data, especially for those who lack data analysis experience on such a level, but is it realistic to expect a quick turnaround? Mining open big data is one thing, linking it to other data sets adds value, visualising it provides new views, but getting to an actionable decision stage requires collaborative skills that not every culture has yet.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Open data can often take the form of complex databases that need to be interrogated by a data specialist, and many charities simply do not have these technical resources sitting untapped. OKFN is foremost among a number of organisations looking to bridge this gap by training members of the public in data mining and analysis techniques.</blockquote>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2013/apr/30/open-data-charities-perfect-fit" target="_blank">Quote source</a>:<br />
Image source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwyg/">Jonathan Gray</a><br />
/ <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication</a>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-66287095643791223572013-05-04T13:16:00.000+02:002018-06-19T10:41:32.416+02:00How do better decisions get made?<div class="gpb-content">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho38gbuAEjBBrf7wDASbx53l1Gi1yKzpwdSQww2oPZqqG0nn5KtZU0hPxiXdLokcb-fRVOMkYXW5YcKV2XZ_OwSOS3Fs_hHC3D8ESlQ1cvI3K255mOcP2ucK0Ljsojd0HPZQlLnMTnM15-/s1600/decision-making-processes2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho38gbuAEjBBrf7wDASbx53l1Gi1yKzpwdSQww2oPZqqG0nn5KtZU0hPxiXdLokcb-fRVOMkYXW5YcKV2XZ_OwSOS3Fs_hHC3D8ESlQ1cvI3K255mOcP2ucK0Ljsojd0HPZQlLnMTnM15-/s1600/decision-making-processes2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Insight:</b> "Put simply, the outcome of a leader’s choices and decisions can, and usually will, make or break them. The fact of the matter is that senior executives who rise to the C-suite do so largely based upon their ability to consistently make sound decisions. What most fail to realize is while it may take years of solid decision making to reach the boardroom, it often times only takes one bad decision to fall from the ivory tower. As much as you may wish it wasn’t so, when it comes to being a leader you’re really only as good as your last decision."<br />
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<a class="ot-hashtag" href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23fav">#fav</a> <a class="ot-hashtag" href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23bigdata">#bigdata</a> <a class="ot-hashtag" href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23leadership">#leadership</a> <a class="ot-hashtag" href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23enterprise">#enterprise</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/03/28/6-tips-for-making-better-decisions/">6 Tips for Making Better Decisions</a><br />
The one thing everyone on the planet has in common is the undeniable fact we’ve all made our fair share of regrettable decisions. Show me someone who hasn’t made a bad decision and I’ll show you someo...<br />
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<span class="gpb-reshare"><br />This post has been reshared 1 times on <a href="https://plus.google.com/106342049490120140849/posts/K8TC9SbS9jf" target="_new">Google+</a></span> <a class="gpb-linkback" href="https://plus.google.com/106342049490120140849/posts/K8TC9SbS9jf" target="_new">View this post on Google+</a></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-78530630514818462792013-04-30T12:04:00.001+02:002022-07-03T11:58:25.849+02:00No hierarchy: would you like to work like that?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk8Epzxkf8zbhHzNlm9__wM_-gmoXVHr0NrnFdZNsLAoBnijJXk0C4xU-9HMfP5VqsYAwJtBU67bOFdkqu-DbxD9V0-NpJB7IZ1X210qw6tbfb93NQWO2n-nDPfU0ZxzPYd0vi7R0lz_ocjvtiIq_oNxBSzfi3ikzKXkLJFcMWFhApkCLgnoBdvECXw/s1200/Hierarchy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk8Epzxkf8zbhHzNlm9__wM_-gmoXVHr0NrnFdZNsLAoBnijJXk0C4xU-9HMfP5VqsYAwJtBU67bOFdkqu-DbxD9V0-NpJB7IZ1X210qw6tbfb93NQWO2n-nDPfU0ZxzPYd0vi7R0lz_ocjvtiIq_oNxBSzfi3ikzKXkLJFcMWFhApkCLgnoBdvECXw/w640-h334/Hierarchy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="gpb-content"><b><br /></b></div><div class="gpb-content"><b>Insight:</b> "At Valve, no one tells employees what to do (or what not to do) and there are no reviews, no job titles or promotions. Leadership of any project is determined in an organic way by whoever steps up. Raises and bonuses are based on peer reviews. If a team member decides one day to do something different, he or she simply moves their stuff and gets going."<br /><br />Via <span class="proflinkWrapper"><span class="proflinkPrefix">+</span><a class="proflink" href="https://plus.google.com/116464863756092691231" oid="116464863756092691231">Mark Oehlert</a></span> <a class="ot-hashtag" href="https://plus.google.com/s/%23fav">#fav</a><br /><br /><strong>Reshared post from +<a href="https://plus.google.com/116464863756092691231">Mark Oehlert</a></strong><blockquote></blockquote></div><p class="gpb-article" style="clear: both;"><br /> </p><div style="clear: both; float: left; height: 120px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 120px;"><br /> <img border="0" src="https://images3-focus-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/shutterstock_135589436.jpg?w%3D210%26h%3D140%26crop%3D1&container=focus&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image/*&refresh=31536000&resize_h=150&resize_w=150&no_expand=1" style="max-width: none;" /><br /> </div><br /> <a href="http://gigaom.com/2013/04/27/flat-is-the-new-up-why-are-companies-using-organizational-structures-that-are-thousands-of-years-old/">Flat is the new up: Why are companies using organizational structures that are thousands of years old?</a><br /> Summary: Businesses regularly evolve to meet modern new challenges, so why do they rely on the same old military-style organizational hierarchies? Here are a few companies that have adopted new struct...<br /> <p></p><p class="gpb-links" style="clear: both;"> <a class="gpb-linkback" href="https://plus.google.com/106342049490120140849/posts/L6ULZEDb2JC" target="_new">View this post on Google+</a></p>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-13118778460480615932013-04-30T02:21:00.000+02:002018-06-20T17:11:51.417+02:00Enterprise Social Etiquette<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6gDmXyeD0gfkgUalAoZVllrAlOjbyjt_IEWZx2XWDbl_Ehlk87-I60WKyR2QF8cYJTvrZiowT3WOLI87ABH6Ou-x7H-tH03wIpdsaeMpPKwA1yvdTlZ5456AhrtVNGgun-r1PF9qnWkm/s1600/etiquette_l1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6gDmXyeD0gfkgUalAoZVllrAlOjbyjt_IEWZx2XWDbl_Ehlk87-I60WKyR2QF8cYJTvrZiowT3WOLI87ABH6Ou-x7H-tH03wIpdsaeMpPKwA1yvdTlZ5456AhrtVNGgun-r1PF9qnWkm/s1600/etiquette_l1.jpg" /></a>
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Don't <strong>do</strong> social (etiquette-less), <strong>be</strong> social (with etiquette)<br />
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This show on <b>Enterprise Social Etiquette</b> will have the 'Through The Firewall' panellists discuss and debate the rules of etiquette needed for internal social networks and whether social really does flatten hierarchies.<br />
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Join the #SWChat community on <a href="https://plus.google.com/communities/107547646751467675597" target="_blank">G+</a> </blockquote>
Thanks to <a href="https://plus.google.com/112115199448636041126" tabindex="0" target="_top">Liz Christopher</a> for inviting me to tonights #SWChat, and thanks to <a href="https://plus.google.com/110151701623345287258" tabindex="0" target="_top">Jenn Emerson</a>, +<a href="https://plus.google.com/114658207703017822344">Amanda Coleman</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/116464863756092691231">Mark Oehlert</a> for making me feel very welcome. It was especially nice to finally meet Mark in the (virtual) flesh, as we've been exchanging thoughts and ideas for a few years now via Twitter; Mark, I hope it won't be so long before the next meeting!<br />
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The full <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UT2EUA6g3g" target="_blank">video</a> is 30 minute long and asks the following three question.<br />
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Q1 Do Etiquette rules apply behind the firewall and if so what are they?<br />
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Q2 Does social really flatten hierarchy to the extent that anyone can disagree publicly with their CEO or boss?<br />
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Q3 Should employees or employers be worried of the risks social carry - for example saying the wrong thing?</blockquote>
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---- Personal notes ----</h4>
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<strong>Q1 Do Etiquette rules apply behind the firewall and if so what are they?</strong></div>
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Wikipedia: Etiquette is a code of behavior with precise expectations for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_behavior">social behavior</a> according to contemporary conventional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(sociology)">norms</a> within a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society">society</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class">social class</a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_(sociology)">group</a>.<b><b> </b></b></div>
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From a human point of view, we need to be consistent, same on the inside as we are on the outside (regardless of a firewall). Practising the art of being social behind the firewall can help build confidence before engaging outside the firewall.<b><b> </b></b></div>
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<em>Some examples of bad etiquette</em></div>
<ul><br />
<li>Bad Etiquette</li>
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<li>Not following back,</li>
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<li>Pretending to know someone,</li>
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<li>Pure push marketing,</li>
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<li>Engaging then ignoring,</li>
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<li>Poor moderation,</li>
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<li>No human Avatar</li>
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<li>Not consistent,</li>
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Relationships are built on Open Communication:<br />
<ul><br />
<li>Honesty</li>
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<li>Trust</li>
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<li>Confidence</li>
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<li>Genuineness</li>
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<b><b> </b></b>There is also an important need for filtering noise to get the signal (both in terms of content and people); we need to focus on where and who to give our time to, and where we genuinely engage to meet our goals.<br />
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<strong>Q2 Does social really flatten hierarchy to the extent that anyone can disagree publicly with their CEO or boss?</strong></div>
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<b><b> </b></b>From Harold Jarche:<br />
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“Leadership in networks does not come from above, as there is no top.”</div>
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1) Social networking helps to breaks down silos.</div>
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2) Conversations occurs in real time across time zones and countries. As conversation build cooperative behaviours start and the beginning of new relationships form.</div>
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3) When cooperation is established, collaboration can occur - where it is required.</div>
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4) Within such an environment serendipity flourishes and ideas are arrived at that could never have previously been arrived at.</div>
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5) Conversations are data. Being able to merge conversations (or data sets) so that they can be viewed in different ways by different people leads to innovation.</div>
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6) Social networking is the catalyst for flatter organisational structures as it enables dialogue with anyone across any department.</div>
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7) It’s not an overnight transformation though, it’s a marathon than a sprint, but it does help to shift the culture.</div>
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8) A bigger shift can occur when the c-suite lend support, the best way being to immerse themselves - though often the gap is too wide; this has the effect of motivating management to engage and so it goes on.</div>
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The business goal is ultimately faster, more accurate decisions. Enter Open, Linked, Big data...<em id="__mceDel"> </em></div>
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<strong>Q3 Should employees or employers be worried of the risks social carry - for example saying the wrong thing?</strong><em id="__mceDel"><b><b> </b></b></em></div>
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1) In the same way they should worry in any public setting, when representing the brand.</div>
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2) Organisations need to create the environment that reduces the risks, both for the brand and the individual.</div>
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3) Clear policy and governance, and support of it, from the top down is important; it’s important because management will be motivated to coach others about it</div>
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4) Management lead the change and ultimately scale it.</div>
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5) They should really be worried about the effects of forgetting etiquette.</div>
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Final thanks to <a href="https://plus.google.com/101104085875344295948" tabindex="0" target="_top">David Christopher</a> for the post on Twitter:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
@<a href="https://twitter.com/simbeckhampson">simbeckhampson</a> joins the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23SWChat">#SWChat</a> panelists discussing Enterprise Social Etiquette now LIVE <a href="http://t.co/YJbClIRIGh" title="http://bit.ly/16mH2qC">bit.ly/16mH2qC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Tchat">#Tchat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23cmgrchat">#cmgrchat</a><br />
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— David Christopher (@davidchris) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidchris/status/328962747226259456">April 29, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Image source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/69731250/">Muffet</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://www.eduteka.pl/doc/cc-by">CC BY</a>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-15018765670628817402013-04-24T10:47:00.000+02:002022-07-03T11:20:39.283+02:00How does an organisation support behaviour change?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"<i>Collaboration isn’t a technology, it’s a behaviour. And implementing one doesn’t automatically make the other happen.</i>"</div>
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So how does an organisation support behaviour change? <br />
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A good early question, a much better question than, should we use this tech tool or that one...<br />
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<b>Early morning thoughts...</b><br />
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1. Think hard about the culture required. Map where you are currently. See the gap, share the gap.<br />
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2. Behaviour change can be learnt as with any other skill. Once mastered it can be applied to any habit change. <br />
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3. Encourage cross silo'd conversation. This requires trust. See culture. It's about idea flow. It leads to innovation.<br />
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4. Nurture cooperation, as without it, collaborative projects fail.<br />
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5. Collaborate only when it makes sense to.<br />
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6. Collaboration has its roots within hierarchy. Cooperation is fundamental to networks.<br />
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7. People want to contribute value. They want to create. They need to know their contribution matters.</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://images2-focus-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http://www.fastcompany.com/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/620x350/poster/2013/04/3008602-poster-1920-getting-your-employees-share-their-best-ideas-yammer.jpg&container=focus&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image/*&refresh=31536000&resize_h=150&resize_w=150&no_expand=1" style="max-width: none;" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3008602/getting-your-employees-share-their-best-ideas-yammer-chatter-and-enterprise-social">Getting Your Employees To Share Their Best Ideas On Yammer, Chatter, And Enterprise Social</a><br />
People think of social work tools as great ways to share but in fact employees often clam up. The president of Second City Communications on how to...<br />
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<span class="gpb-reshare"><br /></span> <a class="gpb-linkback" href="https://plus.google.com/106342049490120140849/posts/9VRFQK6fymC" target="_new">View this post on Google+</a><br />
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Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkpublic/3043714784/">thinkpublic</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">CC BY-ND</a></div>
Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4150731131423037282.post-78424042205648958042013-04-11T17:02:00.000+02:002018-06-20T16:36:43.329+02:00Social Business: Fundamentally Transforming The Way Work Is Done<div class="gpb-content">
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<b>Insight:</b> "The case for why ever more organizations are implementing social business practices comes down to sustaining their competitiveness and profitability in economies in which rivals, partners and customers are adopting new ways of conducting business. More than simply using social media tools, <b>we have entered a new period of fundamental transformation in the way work</b> is done at all levels of the enterprise and across all organizational boundaries."<br />
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<strong>Quote source: (<a href="http://www.ibm.com/midmarket/common/att/pdf/IBV_2012_The_business_of_social_business.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a>)</strong></div>
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Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/22746515@N02/4844476286/">Bert Kaufmann</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a><br />
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Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06504935886893376426noreply@blogger.com2