Resources for a Teenager – ‘Economics’

The fourth in a series of posts detailing those resources I’m finding useful on my own particular (life) journey.

Meta

I did Economics A Level, back in the mists of time.

Since then I’ve done a Psychology degree and an MBA.

Humans are not rational actors seeking to maximise their economic utility.

We’re meat bags, and (too) often meat puppets. Let’s treat each other – and our Selves – on the basis of that insight. I.e. with understanding, compassion, and a pinch of salt!

The List

The rationale

• Predictably Irrational – i.e. humans are irrational, but in predictable ways
• The Lean Startup – a business passion of mine, and a means to experiment your way to success. Has turned business failure into something valuable – if in the context of continual learning
• Business Model Generation – essential complement to The Lean Startup. When I first read it, half way through I thought: “this is McKinsey quality material”. Not sure if McKinsey knows a great deal about this domain though… #discuss
• On the basis of reading Moneyball(and watching the film), I am a huge Michael Lewis fan. His lighthearted style turns non-fiction subjects into page-turners. A pleasure and an indulgence to read his work

To read:

• Nudge - the book that started the Behavioural Economics movement, and brought groundedness to stale academic debate
• Liar’s Poker – Wall Street excess and nuttiness
• Flash Boys – the operations (or not) of high-frequency financial trading
• The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World – shining a fond light into the professional collaboration of Amos Tversky & Danny Kahneman. This will be a reward for doing something special ;D
• The Big Short – Michael’s treatment of one of the pivotal moments of this century so far
• The English Constitution – Walter Bagehot’s take on the UK’s unwritten constitution
• Lombard Street - according to Wikipedia: "Bagehot was one of the first writers to describe and explain the world of international and corporate finance, banking, and money in understandable language"
• The Madness of Crowds – definitely not rational economics actions, surely undercutting efficient market theory…?
• The Smartest Guys in the Room: epic folly, cynical pyramid schemes, and still on my shelf. The Enron story and the subsequent collapse. Whistleblowers everywhere - 

The Task

Let’s learn how to empower ourselves to make the best decisions possible, and de-mystify the jargon and de-fang the prognosticators – based on our own experiments!

Students everywhere: take control of your own learning in this domain, bring it to life with stuff more readily intelligible, and become passionate about such as important topic.

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments below. Thank you!

Goodreads

I endeavour to record what I’m reading via my profile on Goodreads.

Brené Brown and wholeheartedness

Introduction

A quick post about a recent discovery I made, and grateful for the serendipity that brought me!

I recently gained a new Twitter follower, @kabbenbock, over at @souterconsults. I usually find out about new followers through an e-mail alert, and those with bios that resonate with me I check out, and follow back, as appropriate.

@kabbenbock IRL is Andy Smith, who I was aware of him as one of the authors of The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change.

I felt flattered to be followed by someone like Andy, and checked out his Twitterstream before tweeting my thanks for the follow. One of his tweets was:

Great storytellers create a purposeful narrative, sucking us in, forcing us to make it our own buff.ly/Sy9Php @kareanderson
— Andy Smith (@kabbenbock) September 18, 2012

Kare Anderson’s article includes this quote:

Ironically, the sharing of one’s vulnerability with trusted others is one of the prime gateways to overcoming shame according to the star of one of the ten most watched TED talks, Brene Brown. In Daring Greatly, she describes the paradoxical power of embracing our vulnerability and acknowledging our fears as a path towards being more courageous and connected with others. That means letting go of the need for certainty and control.

This intrigued me, and I sought out Brené’s TED talk.

Brené Brown

The following is an except from Brené Brown’s bio page:

Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of HoustonGraduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame.  

Brené is a nationally renowned speaker and has won numerous teaching awards, including the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Her groundbreaking work has been featured on PBS, NPR, CNN, and has appeared in The Washington Post,Psychology Today, and many other national media outlets.

Her 2010 TEDxHouston talk on the power of vulnerability is one of most watched talks on TED.com, with approximately 5 million views. She gave the closing talk, Listening to Shame,  at the 2012 TED Conference in Long Beach. 

TED Videos

The videos are below. The first has now reached 6.1m views; the second is on its way towards 1.5m. Half a dozen of these combined views are from me! ;-)

The Power of Vulnerability

The blurb for this TED talk is:

Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. (Filmed at TEDxHouston.)  

Listening to Shame

Blurb for this one is:

Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

IMHO even more powerful than the first talk. I love Brené’s admixture of vulnerability, insight, and joy. Thank you, Brené! :-D

I've put in YouTube versions of these talks as they're easier to tweak to fit in the blog design...

Videos for further context

I've gone a bit crazy with all these videos, but this for me is extraordinary stuff! Let me know if it takes an age to load...

TEDxKC - Brené Brown - The Price of Invulnerability

Shame & Empathy by Dr. Brené Brown

Resources

Check out Brené’s resources page for links to videos, podcasts, and online articles.

Books

I’m still in the early stages of exploring Brené’s work, however I’ve cued up Brené’s books on my Amazon wishlist:

1. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (BUT IT ISN'T): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy and Power
2. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to be and Embrace Who You are
3. Daring Greatly

Podcasts

I’m a big fan of podcasts, and have listened to the Smart People Podcast interview with Brené. The first 5 minutes or so are context, which I’ve fast-forwarded when I’ve listened to the podcast again! ;-). Direct link

You may also want to check out this interview with Koren Motekaitis with is rather tremendous. Direct link.

Wholeheartedness

On of the key outcomes for Brené’s research has been that some people are what she calls “wholehearted” – in summary, they are confident that they are ‘enough’ and worthy of other people’s love.

I guess that’s the point of her writings, so I plan to read them after Loving What Is by Byron Katie, and Coming to Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The books-to-read pile is growing! ;-)

Graphics

These are some graphics from Brené’s website which I am posting here to bring to a wider audience. I’m seeking to “be the change I’m trying to create”.

 

Wash up

I’m sharing these materials as they have resonated strongly with me. Whilst I’m keen to read all three books straight away, I sense that part of me is seeking in them “the answer” which I am coming to realise doesn’t really exist. I am confident that they will, however, be part of the solution!

I also like the idea that they are something to ‘move towards’, rather than ‘move away from’ – in the words of a buddy of mine. That puts Brené’s work in the same category as the positive psychology movement, in that it is creating new skills, rather than sorting out the past. Time to leave the past and create the future!

UPDATE 06/10/12: Added link for podcast interview with Koren Motekaitis.

The Power of TED* - summary presentation to Action for Happiness North East

Introduction

Although I am an avid student of personal development materials in order to become more present and mindful, I am deeply indebted to my learnings from The Power of TED*. TED, in this instance, refers to the Empowerment Dynamic.

This post is a reflection on how much I have gained from my (so far) six readings of the book!

Slide deck

Way back in the Spring I presented this summary slide deck to Action for Happiness North East, a group I help found earlier this year, and about which I’ve already blogged about here.

The Power of TED* - summary presentation to Action for Happiness North East from Justin Souter
 

TED* Library

Check out the TED* library, full of podcasts, articles, and videos. Mmm, podcasts! I am still a regular listener to these podcasts, to help embed my learnings.
The following videos are linked through from the library page.

Describing TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)

David Emerald describes TED*

Master Certified Coach Molly Gordon Talks TED*

Reflections

Key things I have learned from both reading the TED* book, and attending the TED* for Coaches webinar series:

• Decide what you’re for
  • It was surprisingly challenging to find answers to the question “what do I really want, what am seeking to create”
• Taking quiet time in the mornings
  • I benefit from the Blissitation soundtrack ‘Daily Mojo’ to get clear for each day
• See other people as creators
  • Everyone has potential – it is up to us to be connected with the creator in other people
• Interpret life situations through the lens of the empowerment dynamic
  • Although much of life seems to correspond to the Drama Triangle, I find it more empowering to keep in mind what one wants to create!
• Choose choice
  • We’re all at choice, all of the time. It’s empowering to know this, and to consciously choose choice and choose to be a creator.

I could carry on in this vein – however this’ll do for now ;-)

Wash up

Reading The Power of TED* and working to absorb the lessons has been a watershed moment for me. I feel really grateful to be able to take on the learnings, and happy to share them with others – and answer any questions.

Definitely worthwhile saying many thanks to both David Emerald and Donna Zajonc for their help in my growth!

Well-being materials

Introduction

I’m also posting supporting materials to accompany the recent event where I was part of a group which showed The Happy Movie.
I’m also posting some supporting materials, which I will update in a couple of weeks – I want to get this all live before it gathers dust! ;-)
I seem to have got over-excited by embedding stacks of videos in this post, so I hope you like it!

Happiness videos from TED.com

Some of my favourites in this area.

Action for Happiness

Check out Action for Happiness for things happening this realm, in the UK. Their resources are available here.

Books

"The Power of TED*" by David Emerald, "You can have what you want" by Michael Neill, both books in my Amazon Store.

Wash up

Super-quick post that I hope to build on in future.

Philosophers Notes goodness

Introduction

I’m also posting supporting materials to accompany the recent event where I was part of a group which showed The Happy Movie.
I’m also posting some supporting materials, which I will update in a couple of weeks – I want to get this all live before it gathers dust! ;-)

Philosophers Notes

I’m a big fan of PhilosophersNotes, and whose videos I’m embedding below. Masses of powerful ideas for personal development and growth, and inspirational and uplifting when that’s what’s required.
I feel comfortable that Brian Johnson (see videos) is a genuine and authentic guy, and there’s a tremendous amount of learning that he’s sharing.

YouTube videos

Some of my favourites:

Books

Meditation materials

A short explanatory video:

I’ve been listening to a couple of these for the last several weeks – usually when I woke up, and as I go to bed. Helpful, in a low-key way.

Power of TED*

When I watched this video, there was a ‘kaboom’ moment. I’ve found this book (and related material, and coaching course) incredibly helpful.

In Brian’s words, “I hope you dug it”.

Happy Movie press release

Introduction

I’m also posting supporting materials to accompany the recent event where I was part of a group which showed The Happy Movie. This is the press release we prepared. Links etc. in the final section.

PRESS RELEASE

Issued: 27 January 2012

POP-UP CINEMA BRINGS GLOBAL ‘HAPPY’ EVENT TO THE NORTH EAST

A merry band of happiness promoters is bringing the documentary film, Happy, by Oscar nominated Director Roko Belic, to the North East. It will be screened for one day only at a ‘pop-up cinema’ at the Centre for Life, Newcastle on World Happiness Day, February 11th. On the same day the film will be enjoyed in communities across the globe, from Sao Paulo to Singapore as people celebrate what it means to be happy, who is happiest and how we can contribute to the happiness of others.
Despite the credentials of the Director, the film does not currently have a distribution deal through cinemas and can only be seen at special screenings like this one. It is being hosted by a small group of North East based supporters of happiness, wellbeing and positive psychology who hope it will inspire viewers to join them a new movement to promote happiness in the region.
With real-life people and stories, the film brings to life the findings of most happiness and wellbeing research which shows that good family, social and community relationships, rather than wealth and status, are what really make us happy. Roko Belic learned a lot about the nature of happiness and what is important in life while making the film. He said,
“I learned something simple but completely illuminating. Research showed that just about all happy people have strong relationships. They are healthier and have happier children. They are more likely to find a creative solution to a problem and to help a stranger in need. Happy people have fewer conflicts and are less likely to commit crimes, pollute the environment or go to war. In other words, just about everything I cared about, everything I wished I could change in the world, was improved with being happy.”
“The greatest lesson I learned while making this film is that my pursuit of happiness is not about me. It's about our relationships and how we help each other. It's about us.”
Paul Hemphill, one of the organizers of the Centre for Life screening said:
“Our event will be so much more than a typical cinema screening. The doors will open an hour beforehand for the chance to chat and make new friends over a drink. And then afterwards, for those who want to stay, there will be time to discuss the film with a panel of local experts. We hope that the whole event will be an incredibly rewarding and potentially life changing experience for everyone who attends.
Tickets to see the film should be bought in advance online and cost £10 or £7.50 (concessions) from Eventbrite.com. The doors open for the matinee screening at 2pm and for the evening screening at 6:30pm.
##Ends##

Notes to editors

1. The organisers of the event in Newcastle are five small business owners with interests in coaching, personal development, training, wellbeing and organisational improvement. They are; Mike Cockburn (Sogno), Paul Hemphill (Horizons Coaching), Jan Etoile (Etoile Enterprises), Justin Souter (Souter Consulting), and Emily Sweetman (Emily Sweetman Limited)

Contact details:

Mike Cockburn: @mikesogno
Paul Hemphill: @HorizonsLife
Jan Etoile: @etoileenterprises
Justin Souter: @justingsouter
Emily Sweetman: @emzo1968
2. The quote from Director Roko Belic is taken from an article in the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roko-belic/happy-documentary_b_1220111.html
3. World Happy Day 11 February 2012: “World HAPPY Day inspires action for increasing happiness in our own lives and in the world. A growing body of research shows that happy people are healthier and live longer. They are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often... and are more likely to find creative solutions. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways and is a goal worth sharing.” See http://www.worldhappyday.com/
4. The film Happy combines cutting-edge science from the new field of positive psychology with real-life stories of people from around the world whose lives illustrate these findings. We see the story of a beautiful woman named Melissa Moody, a mother of three who had a “perfect life” until the day she was run over by a truck. Disabled for nine years and disfigured for life, amazingly she is happier now than before her accident. Manoj Singh, a rickshaw puller from the slums of Kolkata, India who lives in a hut made of plastic bags with his family, is found to be as happy as the average American. Through these and other stories HAPPY leads us toward a deeper understanding of how we can all live more fulfilling, healthy and happy lives. See http://www.thehappymovie.com
5. Screenings take place at 3pm (Doors open 2pm) or 7.30pm (Doors open 6:30pm) at Centre for Life conference centre, Newcastle on Saturday 11 February 2012. Tickets cost £10 or £7.50 (concessions). Matinee tickets from http://happynortheastmatinee.eventbrite.com and evening tickets from http://happynortheastevening.eventbrite.com/
6. This Happy movie press kit includes biographies and photographs
www.thehappymovie.com/files/HAPPY-Press-Kit.pdf

Happy Movie - reflections

Intro

This posts details how we got on at the Centre for Life with our matinee and evening showings of The Happy Movie.
I’m also posting some supporting materials, which I will update in a couple of weeks – I want to get this all live before it gathers dust! ;-)

Centre for Life = fantabulous

I’d firstly like to say how grateful we are to the Centre for Life and their team, led by Owen, who did a tremendous job making everyone feeling welcome and putting on the show without a single glitch – bravo!

Photos

I took these before everyone arrived. We sold 20 tickets for the matinee, and nearly 40 for the evening. Happy times! :-D

Discussion sessions – interesting thoughts / quotes

It’s them what came that made it

We had a great bunch of people who came, watched the movie, and discussed their thoughts afterwards. We had some really interesting points made, mainly around communities rather than individual happiness. The following sections represent a sample of them.

Afternoon

• “I’d sacrifice the pawn to save the queen any day”
• “There’s no one key to happiness, it’s different for everyone”
• Concerns about the lack of community in our Communities; and a related discussion about the Diamond Jubilee – it doesn’t matter what you think of the Monarchy, “the point is to have the party”
• Targets / key performance indicators in schools – “measurement kills happiness”
• We talked about the concept of ‘Pay it Forward’
• A passionate point about giving children the chance “to be aware”
• It was felt that managers in any organisation could be kept ‘grounded’ by having them rolling up their sleeves and often working with customers and front-line staff

Evening

• A quick discussion about choosing to be happy
• We discussed meditation, e.g. mettā bhāvanā
• “After a week on my own, I craved the company of other people”
• Our focus also took in random acts of kindness [see also The Kindness Offensive]
  • There was a great point made – if  you’re doing random acts of kindness, then you’re more likely to notice them in other people
  • Check out this awesome London Underground site which document stories of kindness :-D
• “If you’re looking for good things, you’re more likely to see them”
• We talked through the difference and relative merits of experiential versus existential happiness – i.e. is happiness something that can be built and increased, or is it something that is innate?
• “it’s about the acceptance of yourself”

My thoughts

• The movie is quite challenging: in a constructive way
  • We all have our preconceived ideas, and it’s healthy to have them compared to other perspectives, and ways of living
  • Amazing to watch a rickshaw puller, living with his family in a shanty - who is obviously a very happy person, and lives in harmony with his neighbours
• Not everyone is thinking “how can I be happier – or more fulfilled?”; I was instructive to remember that “nobody is broken, and nothing needs fixing”

Thanks to my colleagues

Whilst I don’t wish this post to turn into a schmaltzy love-in, however I’m really grateful that we as a group were able to make this happen, and share the movie with the North East. So, credit where it’s due to:
Mike Cockburn: @mikesogno
Paul Hemphill: @HorizonsLife
Jan Etoile: @etoileenterprises
Emily Sweetman: @emzo1968
Onwards!

Crowdsourcing Mycological Response Teams to help with the Gulf #oilspill?

Introduction

In my previous post on this subject, I recapped my personal take on the overall situation.

Having drafted this posted a couple of days ago, I now learn that:

Almost three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico has been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces, the US government has said.

A government report says only a quarter of the oil from the BP well remains and that it is "degrading quickly".

The majority had been captured, burned off or evaporated, it states. But more clean-up is necessary officials warn.

The report was released after BP announced its "static kill" procedure to seal the leak was working.

So I thought I’d better post in case something else major happened. Doh!

Challenges

I’m guessing that despite the good news re the oilspill, that there will remain a challenge to clean up that oil which hit the Gulf coast.

Having pinged an e-mail to Paul Stamets’ team, their response pointed me to a page with the following quote:

The Petroleum Problem

Thank you for visiting fungi.com, and for your interest in the BP oil spill disaster and the potential for mycoremediation.

We are being inundated with requests and cannot individually address all of the questions we have received. We are in direct dialogue with the EPA at the highest levels, and are teaming to implement solutions to this huge disaster. Since we are such a small company, we are stretched to our limits. Your support allows us to dedicate as many of our resources as possible, and for this we thank you. Again, please accept our apologies if we cannot individually address your concerns. Our statement at below will be updated periodically as we gather more information.

[my hyperlink for mycoremediation btw]

I am assuming that Paul Stamets and his team are the primary resource in this domain – i.e. to use fungi to break down pollutants in an ‘eco-friendly’ way. What seems clear is that there are problems with scaling, getting the idea to a wider audience and gaining a following & critical mass.

The article continues:

How can we help?

Knowing that the extent of this disaster eclipses our mycological resources should not be a reason to not act.

I proposed in 1994 that we have Mycological Response Teams (MRTs) in place to react to catastrophic events, from hurricanes to oil spills. We need to preposition composting and mycoremediation centers adjacent to population centers. We should set MRTs into motion, centralized in communities, which are actively involved in recycling, composting and permaculture—utilizing debris from natural or man-made calamities to generate enzymes and rebuild healthy local soils.

I see the urgent need to set up webinar-like, Internet-based modules of education to disseminate methods for mycoremediation training so people throughout the world can benefit from the knowledge we have gained through the past decade of research. Such hubs of learning could cross-educate others and build a body of knowledge that would be further perfected over time, benefiting from the successes and failures of those in different bioregions. The cumulative knowledge gained from a centralized data hub could emerge as a robust yet flexible platform that could help generations to come. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens would be empowered with practical mycoremediation tools for addressing environmental disasters.

Going social

My argument here is that a social approach, akin to the PeopleFinder wiki created in response to Hurricane Katrina, might help MRTs self-organise and conduct operations under a loose ‘umbrella’.

A similar tool might already have been implemented by Deepwater Horizon Response website – but apologies – I’ve not had time to check it out (or the follow-up site RestoreTheGulf.gov).

Tooling

I’m going to kick speculation about what tools to use into touch for now, as my priority is to post – and update this or post separately as appropriate. However, potential requirements could be:

• Repository of successful mycoremediation techniques
• Communications tools
• Team-based areas where teams can get themselves sorted and manage their activities
• Connections with mainstream social media tools

Staci Stoller

I wanted to tip my (Stetson hat) to Staci Stoller, a former colleague of mine in London, who has offered to help in getting the message out in Texas. Thanks, Stace! :-)

The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE?

I saw an item on the BBC news site, which took me through to the main page on this, which explained thus:

It is a $1.4 Million competition designed to inspire a new generation of innovative solutions that will speed the pace of cleaning up seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from ocean platforms, tankers, and other sources.

This X CHALLENGE, announced on July 29, 2010, is a one-year competition that begins on August 1, 2010 and culminates in the summer of 2011, with head-to-head competitive demonstrations taking place at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility (OHMSETT) in Leonardo, New Jersey, USA (www.ohmsett.com).

A $1 Million Prize will be awarded to the team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the sea surface at the highest oil recovery rate (ORR) and the highest Recovery Efficiency (RE).

So, my initial excitement about something fungi-related winning the prize was tempered by the focus on “cleaning up seawater surface oil”. However, on the ‘competition details’ page I also noticed:

X PRIZE will be finalizing the details over the next 30 days, and will post final rules in September.  We encourage you to PRE_REGISTER as a team and we will keep you informed of any changes and when the detailed rules are posted.

So maybe the scope of the compo could be widened to include prizes for on-shore cleanup efforts?

Paul Stamets @ TED on fungi; also re how they can help clean up Gulf oil spill

Introduction

I first discovered Paul Stamets when reading this article on my Palm III via AvantGo (a forerunner of RSS) – waaay back in 2002.

I was particularly struck by the effect of fungi in cleaning up soil contaminated with diesel – as told in this Wikipedia article about Mycoremediation.

Eventually, as per this previous post – I bought some wooden dowels, innoculated by fungi from Paul’s company, and set up a large log with them in. Rather embarrassingly, I never moved the stump from one house when Caroline and I moved – it got left my the wayside as it was too heavy / I was too embarrassed to ask the movers… :$

I also bought a copy of Paul’s book Mycelium Running: A Guide to Healing the Planet through Gardening with Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms but that’s also still on the to-do pile. Ho hum!

Rediscovering Mr Stamets

*Anyway*, I was reading The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business by Tara Hunt last week, and she mentioned being introduced to Paul when she was at TED. So I googled Paul’s talk and found it – see below (I think he really nailed it, although there was a cheesy joke at the beginning lol).

The citation from the TED website reads:

Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of Stamets' research is the Northwest's native fungal genome, mycelium, but along the way he has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies, including pesticidal fungi that trick insects into eating them, and mushrooms that can break down the neurotoxins used in nerve gas.

 

Video

He’s obviously a rocket scientist, but what he says is compelling!

Paul Stamets’ statement on Mycoremediation and its applications to oil spills

So, having found Paul’s talk, it got me thinking that his expertise might be helpful in mitigating the effects of the Gulf oil spill. I then got in touch with his company, and they forwarded the statement below:

Paul Stamets statement on Gulf oil spill

What Paul is saying is that fungi could provide a natural remedy to break down the oil and mitigate its long-term effects, but there would need to be an army of people on the ground to make it work in practice…

I think most people would put this in the “it’s so crazy, it just might work” category – but I’m putting this out there in the hope that it might get some legs. In fact, I might well send the link to the Deepwater Horizon team…

Thoughts?

Blackberry add-on applications

I’ve just installed Blackberry App World on my Bold, and thought I’d do a review of what’s installed so far.

Most of these were before installing App World, so good that BB / RIM have made it easier to find appropriate apps.

Doing the individual links to all these apps would take ages, so I’m afraid you’ll have to Google them… :$

• Twitter
  • Twitterberry – serviceable, lacking functionality
  • Twibble – nice look & feel, but usability & functionality are pretty poor
  • Tiny Twitter – probably the best of the lot, but doesn’t seem to work in the UK properly (worked in the US when I was in Texas recently…)
• Google
  • Mobile App – search
  • Maps, including Latitude – excellent
  • Sync – for sync’ing calendar with desktop
• Facebook – came already installed
• WorldMate Live – great if you’re a frequent traveller: trial version was great when I went to Texas
• BBPlacemarks app for Brightkite, could do with a bit of extra functionality
• Amazon App for Blackberry – good, would be even better if I had the option to use it with Amazon.co.uk
• Opera browser – useful when Blackberry browser doesn’t cut it
• Flickr app
• Remember the Milk
• Blackberry App World
  • Bloomberg
  • Shazam
• NeoReader
  • Use the camera on my Bold to photograph barcodes and the new square ones – and turn that into something meaningful
  • Can’t get it to work properly, but fantastic idea
• Vodafone SatNav
  • Not bad, but sometimes takes wacky options

Since compiling this list yesterday, I found that all the system memory  was taken, and therefore the Bold was running slow all the time.

I’ve therefore uninstalled Bloomberg, Shazam, and NeoReader [I think], to free up enough space.

It would be good to be able to install the apps on my micro SD card – which is 8Gb.

Technorati Tags: flickr,facebook,blackberry,blackberry app world,remember the milk,NeoReader,Vodafone,Satnav,WorldMate,Google,Amazon App for Blackberry,Opera,Bloomberg,Shazam,applications

Zingthing - facilitation tool

Yesterday I went to a demo of Zingthing, a tool to help workshop facilitators bring together the input from workshop participants.

Carol and Catherine - good people from CPCR - gave Kate & Caroline (from The Bridge Club), and myself a keyboard each and we were able to test-drive it.

"The Zingthing 3.0 software is a specialised meeting system to support organisation-wide knowledge creation, fast implementation of new expert decision or learning processes, cultural change and accelerated innovation." - Max Dumais.

Max gives an excellent intro, so I won't re-hash a description here.

Apparently it is good for brainstorming, and also collecting the input from multiple break-out groups.

In our view, it would be great to help participants feel really involved in proceedings, and also allow shy folk get their voice heard.

CPCR are offering to bring their kit and expertise to a conference near you, for a fee.

n.b. It's not the same as the Backchannel, as described:

• Here by Roo Reynolds
  
• Here in Wikipedia
  
• This is a tool to help create a backchannel - BackNoise (referenced by Wikipedia article)

Technorati Tags: collaboration,community,useful,tools,meetings,software

My skills as a Business Consultant

A quick bulleted list to give readers an idea of what I have to offer:

Consultancy skills

• Business Change: deep understanding of how to combine people, process, and technology to achieve business outcomes—with the emphasis on people
• Business consultancy: Strategic and technical IT consultancy from a programme viewpoint; business / process analysis and design; report writing and presentation delivery
• Benefits management: Experience of Fujitsu’s Benefits Realisation methodology, which focuses on business outcomes, and creates network of activities to assure delivery of business benefits
• Business networking: active business school Alumnus and business networker (online and face-to-face).
• Project delivery: architecture and design; technology selection; team-worker and leader
• Project management: project planning and basic financials; awareness of PRINCE 2 methodology

Business Understanding

• IT Strategy and Governance; Peer collaboration, Financial Services regulation; Corporate Performance Management.; Virtualisation; Enterprise Application Integration & Web Services, Business Process Management, Virtual Worlds; IT Architecture; J2EE and Application Servers

Technical

• Internet protocols and infrastructure; Collaboration platforms and online communities; Windows Operating Systems (MCSE 1999); Database Systems; Gadgets of all kinds

Grasp of Business and Technology Marketspace

• Through reading The Economist; McKinsey Quarterly, Harvard Business Review; subscription to various Industry Sector and Technology newsletters and blogs

Props to Hugh Macleod

Technorati Tags: business,technology,consulting,skills,benefits,return on investment

Business Consultant for hire

I leave Fujitsu today, i.e. at the end of September. I am striking out on my own, and plan to do contracting work in the North East of England. Hopefully this will be a springboard to more varied projects – reflecting my interests in cutting-edge collaborative tools and virtual worlds etc.

In putting together my leaving note to Fujitsu colleagues (and the associated mailing list), I was able to reflect on all the fantastic people I have worked with, in nearly 10 years with Fujitsu. Also, that I genuinely believe Fujitsu has been an excellent employer and good place to work.

Those ten years have given me a great foundation to help Customers maximise their return on their Technology investments. In practical terms, this means helping them:

• Exploit existing collaboration tools and infrastructure
• Understand impact of consumerization and Web 2.0 on Customers and other stakeholders
• Create a successful blend of infrastructure, using established collaboration / information management tools and leading edge ones
• Understand technology’s impact on People, and create programme of change to manage this impact and maximise Return on Investment
• Make informed decisions about which tools / trends match needs of organisation - don't just go with the flow

I’ve worked for Fujitsu with a number of large Government Departments, and a mixture of Private and Public Sector bodies.

More details at http://www.linkedin.com/in/justinguysouter.


Props to Laughing Squid / Scott Beale, Ariel Waldman and, of course, to Hugh Macleod

Technorati Tags: work,business,success,technology,consultancy,advice,web 2.0,NE England

Angela Beecroft, nutritionalist

A quick follow-up post re Dairy Intolerance.

As a Christmas present, my Mum offered for me to visit Angela Beecroft, a nutrionalist based in North Yorkshire / Teesside.

I was keen to take this up, as Caroline and I thought I might have some other food intolerances and I was thinking Angela could suggest some further tests.

I managed to combine a visit to Angela with one of the “Experiences” from Croft Circuit – as the circuit is close to Stockton, one of Angela’s locations.

It was a pleasant surprise that Angela takes a holistic view to dietary health, and although wanting to do a further test, suggested that a healthy tummy might have further benefits – e.g. less fatigue, sharper thinking etc.

Anyway, I’ve started taken a treatment of powerful Bio bacteria – i.e. stronger versions of the bacteria you find in Bio yoghurts.

The plan is to have a tele-conference on 8th October to review the results from my test and see where to go from there…

Angela doesn’t have a website [although I’ve suggested looking into a blog or similar to her], but she can be contacted via Beecroft4 – at – aol – dot – com.

Useful websites she recommended are:

• www.nutri-linkltd.co.uk [through which I bought the Bio bacteria] and
• www.patrickholford.com

n.b. I’m posting this using a date just after the original DI post, as I’m trying to concentrate on business things at the mo’!

Technorati Tags: health,wellbeing,nutrition,upside,action

Microsoft vs. Yahoo! My tuppence

A quick contribution to the debate.

I grew up on, and with, Microsoft. I have only come to Open Source through Firefox, and lately, Ubuntu.

I use tools from Google; from Microsoft; from Yahoo!; and others. I don't use a Mac, nor an iPhone: I'm still on XP (although I started on a Sinclair ZX81).

I understand the anti-trust issues that Microsoft has been faced with over the years, and have a reasonably good grasp of both sides.

I admire Google, and am happy to use their fantastic search and free tools.

I used to admire Yahoo! Their taxonomy was always useful, although I've come to rely on search.

z

My take is that Yahoo! is going down the plughole, and Jerry Yang's tenure as CEO has been a disaster.

Although I respect where Tim O'Reilly is coming from, I'm with Michael Arrington on this one.

Although I suspect that the time has passed for the Microsoft deal, I hope Carl Icahn is successful with his boardroom coup at the AGM in early August.

z

I believe in competition, level playing fields, regulation. I'm often wrong, but I believe Google needs strong competition to keep it on its toes.

I'm hoping there's enough of Yahoo! for Microsoft to salvage and create the competition we all need - it's better than regulation...

Thanks to the Guardian team for their coverage on this.

Technorati Tags: adverts,business,search,google,innovation,microsoft,yahoo!

Windows Live tools - so far, so good

A quick post about some Microsoft tools that seem to be genuinely useful. :-)

Tip of the hat to Roo Reynolds for pointing me in the direction these Windows Live tools (via Twitter post):

• Live Writer
• I'm using Writer to compose this post
• A neat tool, much more functionality than the Blogger interface
• You can compose off-line and upload later
• Appears to match Blogger features - e.g. newly arrived scheduled post
• fyi there seem to be a whole load of add-ins
  
• Live Mail
• I can see my two Hotmail accounts, along with my gmail one in one place, and not have to muck around--again--through a browser interface
• Live Photo Gallery
• A way to keep track of your digital photos
• This looks quite promising
• A competitor to Picasa

Maybe because I've grown up with & on Microsoft, I seem to be comfortable with these tools.

They appear to have good / the right amount of functionality for what I'm looking for - once I'd installed and played with them a bit, they seemed to have tools that I'd only subconsciously considered.

Not sure about impact on system performance, but some things that've made my life easier.

There seems to be a gap in the market for these sorts of things - I think MS has piled in probably because competition is doing this (e.g. Google's Picasa).

Interesting that Live Photo Gallery allows you to upload to Flickr, given bid for Yahoo! by Microsoft...!

Disqus experiment - volunteers needed

Quick post to say that I'm experimenting with this particular way of creating comments.

The website blurb says "Disqus makes your comments more interactive for readers and easier to manage for you — all while connecting your community with other blogs."

Pretty much a work in progress, and an experiment. I made an impulse decision last week and hopefully someone will stop by and have a go at it. My details on the Disqus tour.

If if doesn't work / is too much hassle, I'll switch it off!

[UPDATE 15Jul08]: I have re-integrated the Blogger template with Disqus, in the hope that the Seesmic comments are now enabled. It hasn't been working in the same way as my Disqus Experiment blog. :'(

Google Advert trial

This post summarises learnings from a free trial for Google Adwords. I'm experimenting with it to generate traffic for this blog. It's been an interesting learning experience.

I subscribe to Information Age, an computer-related technology magazine. In a recent mailing, I also received a marketing flyer from Google, featuring a company called Wriggly wrigglers - you may also have seen it if you're in the UK.

The freebie part was a £30 voucher, so I thought I'd have a go. The time limit is the end of June '08, so thought I should get cracking.

I've gone some fairly idiosyncratic posts on here, e.g.: Locked In syndrome, Mobile Cranes, choosing adverts, Psychology experiments. I thought they be a good way of reaching a specific audience. Besides, these are things I'm interested in.

So lessons learned so far:

• I've done a general ad and two specific ones (Zimbardo & Milgram, Locked In syndrome)
• When you sign up, you start with Starter edition
• This is probably only good for setting up your account
• Otherwise, Starter edition, you want Standard - no price difference apparently - this is the comparison
• With the Starter edition, you can run variations of the same ad, but I wanted to run ads on different keywords, so you *have* to upgrade to get this functionality.
• You can choose "bundles" of Countries
• Basically, I've chosen English-speaking countries from around the World, with some Scandinavian ones (and Spain, I like Spain)
• I've got it running for a month, although need to check regularly - you have to give them a way of payment (they want to wean you and hope you forget you're paying)
• The "cost per click" is supposedly optimised by Google - but quite a lot of my keywords seemed not to be active because of 1p minimum Google has chosen
• It's one Campaign - multiple ad groups (i.e. ads for different posts
• The usability is actually pretty good, decent tools
• A fat pipe would be nice, saves lag between pages when you're setting everything up (although you can download software to do things offline)
• Demographics
• You can target 10 year cohorts (e.g. 0-17 years)
• Site and Category Exclusion
• You can choose to be excluded from various sites / pages, e.g. "Death & Tragedy"
• Also certain page types - e.g. Parked domains
• There was a £5 "Activation fee", so I've only got £25 to spend
• There seems to be a daily cap on spending
• "I already have a Google Analytics account. Please link it to this AdWords account"
• Nice, already have the Analytics code on my blog, I can link automatically to it, and Google joins it all up. :-D

One other thing - I've linked to my original "Diving Bell & the Butterfly" post, so I've updated that to give links to posts 2 & 3...

I'll report back about how I get on!

Choosing Adverts

Following on from my post back in January about what to blog about, here's one...

I was watching some TV recently, perhaps one of the series of Carlsberg ads. For me, they have been a really interesting and sympathetic experience, as well as enjoyable. [Enough of the flowery language - Ed.]

There is one in particular that I like, which is "Carlsberg doesn't do flatmates, but if it did, they'd be the best flatmates in the World". [I think maybe this ad was meant to appeal to blokes... ;-)]

OK, back to the point.

It led me to think that perhaps, if:

• there is a series of ads
  
• and the one you're just about to see is clearly the pants one
• because you've seen all the others
• and there's no way one was avoid the ad

... then perhaps we could be given the option of which ad we'd prefer to see in the series? That way the advertiser would know that the viewer was interested in the ad [she'd expressed a preference], and the viewer didn't have to go through the pants advert.

Probably madly complicated from a technological point of view, but I thought I'd put the idea out there, anyway.

Maybe Phorm could be adapted so that it knew which ads you'd like... ;-)

btw is it called Phorm because it thinks you're a criminal, or perhaps a racehourse? I wonder! >chin stroke<