OK, I admit the headline is a cheap gimmick to broaden interest in something really geeky, but Clapton really is a small part of this story. I wrote a while back in this space that "nanotech is the next big thing that most people don't know anything about." Today I saw this story that makes the implications of nanotechnology more tangible.

Physicists at UC Berkeley have made a functional radio out of a single carbon fiber "nanotube" that is 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. And I thought it was tough keeping up with my iPod! It receives either AM or FM (no satellite?!) The first song they played on it: Layla by Derek & the Dominos (Clapton's early band). So these guys are not just nano-geniuses, they've got good taste in tunes too!

I have been consumed with all things "Green" lately! I've been reading articles, brainstorming ideas and having discussions with anyone and everyone in an effort to discover those "big" ideas that will produce the huge positive impact we are all in search of! All of this effort requires energy and like so many of us I will grab that "cup of Joe" to start my day, re-charge my afternoon and get me ready for play time with the kids! So one day I'm staring at the paper cup containing my source of endless energy and I get curious.... "How many of these do we use? How much do these cost?" What I discovered was staggering!

An office of 45 people will consume approximately 14,000 paper cups a year at a cost of $1,800. This doesn't sound too bad, but stay with me. This breaks down to 311 cups and $40 per person, per year and when applied to a large corporation employing 30,000 coffee, tea and cocoa drinking people the totals increase exponentially!

Continue reading "Cup of Green"

My colleague Matt Jones wrote an interesting opinion piece for B & T Magazine discussing how Australia's political parties should innovate beyond traditional methods to compete in a communications landscape that has changed beyond recognition. The idea of engaging voters with experiences and staying true to your (politcal) brand's promise holds true in any country's political landscape:

"As an experiential marketer with a background in political strategy, I reckon there’s a far more interesting issue not getting the attention it deserves. Forget what the Labor opposition is doing to (probably) win this Federal Election, and think about what the (likely) Liberal opposition will have to do to win the next Federal Election. It presents a great case study for how Australia's political parties should innovate beyond traditional methods to keep up with a communications landscape that has changed beyond recognition. Because opposition is the true test of political marketing."

Continue reading "Reinventing the experience of politics"

The two latest and greatest Q4 viral crazes reveal that when people spread anything by word of mouth, they mainly want to declare their membership of a community.

Continue reading "Q4's Viral Highlights"

Anyone who's found themselves interacting with any of the seemingly endless so-called web 2.0 sites available today might wonder "Why the rounded corners? Why the mirror reflection logo?" I've wondered this myself. But, as design is not my area of expertise, I simply assume their must be a reason and I move on. (I will give a prediction though: designers of a few years from now will look back on web 2.0 style as people of my generation look back on feathered hair and pegged jeans. Just wait, you'll see.)

However, another thing I wonder about is the ubiquitous "Beta" label. As a programmer, I know that when the word beta is used in a software development context it means, "not quite ready for prime time". So why then are so many web sites, labeled as beta? Even the almighty Google plays along: gMail is going to version 2 before it came out of beta. Hmmmm.

My answer is that the term beta is getting an overhaul. While it used to signify software that likely was incomplete and therefore had bugs, it now means software that is continually evolving, constantly being improved upon by it's caretakers. This is a relatively new concept in software development, and in my mind a very important one. It's one of the great advantages of the software we use every day living on the internet.

Long live beta.