In early 2007 I decided my Windows XP Home PC had to go. But I hated Vista. I managed to buy one of the very last Acer Aspire desktop PCs running Windows XP Media Edition. I used it until two weeks ago. I always felt it was a good purchase and a good, reliable and decently performing computer.
But it started blue-screening sporadically, complaining about disk and memory errors.
In the last recession I worked out three measures to determine the state of the country’s economy, and how I could tell things were picking up.
The first was the number of people on public transport during the rush hour. My logic is that no-one in their right mind would travel into London during the rush hour unless they had to. And the primary reason they have to is because they have a job. The number of empty seats, or conversely the number of people standing, on the train in the morning is a good proxy for the number of people employed and therefore the state of the economy.
A tweet from the inestimable Bill Thompson (@BillT) this morning about being over 50 and throwing yoghurt on his trousers prompted me to contemplate the pros and cons (mainly cons, I admit) of being in my 50s. It has to be said that it’s a bit depressing…
What was I saying? Yes, that’s the worst. I haven’t got to the point of forgetting what I’m saying mid sentence yet, but I’m sure it’s coming. I sure as hell forget what I climbed the stairs for, only to remember just as I reach the bottom step. I guess the exercise is good for me.
I am the invisible man. I work in the City of London, most of the time Read the rest of this entry »
More on cycling – if this isn’t of interest to you then I’m sorry, but I do it (almost) every day, so it figures large in universe of things I think about.
It’s widely known that cyclists (especially in London) jump red traffic lights. It’s also widely known that the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces are clamping down on this practice and issuing £30 on-the-spot fines.
The publicity surrounding this made me wonder what difference, in terms of journey time, it might make.
So I conducted an experiment, and then observed other cyclists.
I’ve been reading about the EU legislation that’s going to make it compulsory for cars to drive with their headlights (or day-running lights) on all the time.
And as a cyclist, it doesn’t seem to make sense to me.
From my perspective, cars are very visible. They tend to be large, shiny and moving – which is what makes them stand out to the human eye. Cyclists tend to be smaller, not shiny and not moving very fast. Pedestrians and other motorists rarely look for cyclists anyway.
So where’s the logic in making the vehicles that are already highly visible even more so, when by doing so you make the more vulnerable road users less visible (by comparison) and therefore even more vulnerable…
You would have thought that the best way, as a cyclist, to avoid any form of collision is to ensure that you’re as visible as possible. That’s the prime purpose of lights on bikes – to be seen by other road users.
Well I think that. But clearly there seem to be other cyclists who believe camouflage and invisibility are their best friends!
Not only have I seen cyclists (at the last moment admittedly) in the dark dressed in black with no lights on front or back, but I’ve seen those with lights covered by their anorak, or the stuff in the basket at the front. For crying out loud, think about whether your lights can be seen.
But most exasperating of all are those cyclists with lights on their helmets! WTF? Who’s looking there? Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been cycling from Marylebone to my office in Finsbury Square, a distance of just under 5 miles each way, for a month now. I’m enjoying the exercise, and I don’t miss travelling on the tube. I have got wet a few times – actually a lot – but that’s OK since I have showers and a locker at work, so I can get clean, dry and change into my work clothes.
However my domestic and laundry arrangements aren’t the subject of this blog: I have something else I want to get off my chest.
There are, of course, some risks involved in cycling around London, but my conclusion after the first month may be surprising. The biggest risk isn’t lorry drivers – I think you’re OK provided you’re sensible, don’t try to squeeze through silly gaps, and stay well in sight of either their mirrors or infront of them. It’s not taxis either – Read the rest of this entry »
Or marketing’s just the same as it always was, despite the technology.
This post is prompted by a blog post from PRGeek (Jon Silk, @prgeek) from a social media conference today. He suggests in a recent tweet “Old media: Stick a celeb in an ad. New media: Stick a celeb on the web. Social media: Stick a celeb on Twitter.”.
My point is that although the techniques of marketing change as technology advances, the objective of marketing remains the same – it’s to attract an unfair share of your audience’s attention.
In the 17th century a row of shops would be competing for passing trade, but the one that paid someone to wear a sandwich board advertising their wares, or paid the town crier to shout about their goods, would be likely to attract more business. Technological advance has introduced print advertising, commercial radio, tv and cinema advertising, billboard advertising, the web and now a plethora of social media: The means change but the objective is the same.
Clearly the audience determines the tactics, so marketing single-dealer platforms to a universe of 45 significant investment banks requires a different set of techniques to marketing anti-virus software to both retail and corporate users (for example), but the objective remains the same. And it always will.
Originally posted on Finextra, on November 12th 2009
For thousands of years music was a purely live experience. Either you were there to hear it or you weren’t. Excepting a few oddities, the first mechanical device capable of recording and reproducing music was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877.
So the late 19th century saw the beginning of the recorded music industry (history). Is the beginning of the 21st century witnessing its end? I think so. Read the rest of this entry »
Airports in the UK have been in the news a lot recently. In particular BAA, now Spanish owned, has been criticised for having what amounts to a monopoly on airports in the south east of England. It currently owns Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. That puts “London Luton” in an interesting position as one of the two London airports not owned by BAA (I’m not counting “London Oxford” Hah!)
However having just flown in and out of there to Edinburgh, it’s clear they’re not taking advantage of their opportunity.
I know it’s owned by the local council, and in these tough times they need to make as much money as possible. I thought charging for trolleys (carts) was a bit steep. I thought introducing a £6 charge to get through security quickly was a cheek – I expect them to provide enough security scanning points that we shouldn’t need to pay so I can get through in time to catch my flight.
But there’s now a combination of irritants. Read the rest of this entry »
Mike's Blog 