Month: December 2006

I love my blog roll. It reminds me each day about who to read — about who is important to me in my little world. It helps to provide some brain-activating energy in the morning when I am feeling foggy.

And the blogs that I love most are those who I can read over coffee … or lunch if I have a busy start. This is partly why I think that coffee mornings for blogs are such a great idea … for me they are a perfect fit — just face to face.

Often I will grab a coffee and then sit down at the computer and randomly choose a blog from the list. One click and I am away into a new conversation … listening to the cadence of the writing, reading between the lines, making connections and building up a mental head of steam.

But like many, I have been remiss in updating my blogroll. So today I have updated it with a few new sites:
The Jason Recliner — Run by Vando (a regular at our coffee mornings), the name comes from a brand of reclining armchair popularised in the 70s. My Nan had a series of them.
You Pissed Me Off You Bastard — The Angryman has a clear view and a sturdy aim. My current favourite is No 27.
Craphammer — Sean is a Texan vegan, hippie with a penchant for wookie names.

Hey, and if you want to read a GREAT story about this roller coaster, check it out at Flickr.

Some years ago American Express had a highly successful strap line — "don’t leave home without it". I can still remember the guy from "Streets of San Francisco" saying these words.

It is interesting now, however, how that this call to action has now become intimately associated with mobile phones. We REALLY don’t leave home without them. I don’t know about you, but I feel slightly naked without mine (no matter how much I profess to loathe it). And while I am not one to go home to retrieve a forgotten phone — there are many others who DO.

Of course, the consumer reliance and ACCEPTANCE of this reliance has resulted in a massive boom for companies such as Nokia. This has flow-on effects for telcos all around the world … with a corresponding increase in the demand for connectivity and fat bandwidth.

With such a positive focus on the mobile device as the "third screen", is there any doubt that conferences such as MPlanet 2006 attracts a great line up of speakers and fantastic online coverage. All of these sites provide excellent analysis and perspective on the conference, especially the amazing Josh Hallett. Don’t think mobile without reading!

S.

I don’t know if it is just me, but I don’t seem to be able to ping Technorati at the moment.

So if you found this site via Technorati and thought I had not updated the site in the last 20 days or so … SURPRISE!

I love theory and ideas … but even more than that, I love it when theory and ideas are put into practice. It is that whole "strategy is execution" thing that Russell Davies talks about … and it is the modus operandi of David Armano.

A couple of days ago, DA asked for comments on the year that has been 2006. He then pulled that together and has placed it into a presentation. It is a great way to see how many of us interpreted this year — on personal and business fronts — and it is a great example of co-creation.

For me, it was the way that technology came back to us all. Russell has a great quote by Brian Eno that says "Technology is the name that we give to stuff that doesn’t work yet" … and it sums up where 2006 has been heading. With systems like Typepad and WordPress, we are all able to write and publish online … even the word BLOG has a distinctly luddite feel. And while there is a long way to go … the WAY that these technologies allow for interaction and community is closer to a HUMAN rather than cyborg-style form. Perhaps the machines wont win afterall.

S.