I still urge every aspiring-whatever fresh out of school to start a blog. I still think most companies need one. Nothing makes you sharper than trying to say something worth listening to and nothing can attract like-minded friends and followers than a mountain of concerted attempts
Watch as Irish media outlets copy the headline but ignore the content of these pieces.
Via Jim. What happens to retired sports stars? I like that at least some media crowds give them training. And they’re eager to learn, it’s what pros do.
Swag Bomb. If giving away your merch, some good guidelines.
Invisible Children exhibition in UCC Dec 10th – International Human Rights Day. (they’ve built a replica of asylum seeker accommodation)
I really like Paul’s post on Advent and waiting. No microwave in my house, the idea being dinner takes a bit longer and I make something that’s less convenient and appreciate more. It also keeps me hungry for a little bit longer. Advent might be seen as fitting in well with the slow-food and other slow movements.
This idea and also Matt Churchill’s post that talks about social media bringing people together (the overall post is about SM losing passion) has me thinking about something. I’m not sure what yet but both are quite thought-provoking.
Mirror Mirror, off the Wall. Dec 16th – Dec 21st – ” Feisty princesses and sword-wielding heroines…reclaiming fairy tales for a modern day Ireland.”
For a minute there, I found myself. Man was himself for 27 minutes today. I know people with fake laughs, who hide their sexuality not just because they’re private but they believe it would not aid their careers, who eat shit from a dickhead boss and who are friendly with people because they are perceived to have power. It’s very hard to be always transparent unless you’re a zen master but I do wonder how much of someone’s day is interactions where they’re not themselves. Thankfully working for yourself or not being able to work for others means you can be more of yourself.
Ho ho ho
Posted in Fluffy, irishblogs | Comments Off on Fluffy Links – Saturday December 7th 2013
I gave a talk the other week for the Wicklow Enterprise Board on technology for 2014 and beyond. The foundation of it was based on Marc Andreessen’s “Software Will Eat the World” mantra. Software will eat the financial world (Kickstarter, Square, Stripe), software will eat the media world and I talked a bit about Drones and Google cars too. Goodbye news choppers, hello drones. So Amazon’s dronenet. People already saying it’s a PR stunt. Jeff Bezos isn’t Michael O’Leary (PR wise anyway). There is something in this.
Of course as I started writing this, I saw Chris Applegate’s post and that pretty much covers all of this so you can stop reading now. Chris thinks it will be transport/deliveries that will be disrupted first and I agree. We’re nearly there already.
Google have been testing driverless cars for years at this stage and the cars look less and less like moon rovers and more like mom-mobiles. Volvo and the Swedish Government will be allowing 100 driverless vehicles on the roads in 2017. Driverless cars are safer and more efficient.
Technology is bringing the world closer but to bring physical goods to these closer people, humans who get fatigued are driving the goods and they are legally obliged to rest every few hours. Humans are a bottleneck and software will route around that.
I think what we’ll see is automation starting off as a national backbone kind of thing. Hours from 1am to 5am for some paranoid governments. National routes are better mapped and have better infrastructure and over time the automation will get closer and closer to our homes. Driverless trucks delivering to Tesco, M&S but also to Parcel Motels where we already go to pick up packages.
Parcel Motel is already disrupting Amazon and other companies. You only deliver to the UK? No problem. Here’s my UK Parcel Motel address and they route it to Ireland where I pick it up. In Ireland delivering to a country that doesn’t have postal codes can make deliveries inefficient. Pick up points at petrol stations and shopping centres is very clever. They’ve made it an easy habit.
Eventually public transport will be disrupted like this with automated tag on and off buses being cheaper (slightly) than human driven vehicles. How do we Irish thank the driver then?
The Dronenet was actually suggested nearly 12 months ago, well before Amazon talked about it but of course then people agreed it would be the likes of Amazon that would do it. What about Apple though? They have an insanely good logistics infrastructure too. Wonder will a Cork man be looking into this?
Right now in Ireland and many other countries you need a pilot’s license to operate a drone, even if it’s a brittle lightweight one so delivery companies have a while to go yet but I do see drones (they don’t need to be flying ones) taking over the delivery of goods in the next while.
There’s money in gold rushes and of course as this evolves money can be made from supplying these companies or giving them routes. Land and mast space have made billions for companies that supply roof or hill space to mobile companies. What can be supplied to the drone net? Guaranteed lanes on toll roads? Low-flying routes over your land? Better local mapping? Charging stations?
With the money that will also pour into research on this, Ireland would be clever to take advantage and make itself a test bed. Ireland’s tax incentives for R&D are well utilised for tax scams efficiencies by big tech as it is. But alas we won’t be there for the Cambrian Explosion of this new tech but will instead just give grants to companies already making fortunes from the area and ask them here to set up tech support centres. Ignorance on the way up, tax breaks on the way down. We do that well.
Wow, impressive and inspiring piece on the core philosophies of the All Blacks. Humble bunch of people. They clean up their dressing room after a game.
New site for UX Jobs in Ireland. Naturally it’s called UX Jobs.
Irish Mass re-imagined. On its latest recording, “Ó Riada Re-imagined,” the Louth band has asked Uzbek composer Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky to create a new work out of an Irish mass by Seán Ó Riada.
Nature. Bats use their sonar to find moths to eat, nature makes a moth that can jam their sonar.
2014 roadshows on how to apply for tenders. Coming to an area near you. Worth going and worth applying even if the tenders themselves are full of bureaucratic bullshit. There’s money in them thar tender hills.
Strategy Deck. 50 communication tools/strategies/work flows in one app. And it’s free.
Younger and younger they get. Babies area using apps on mobiles and tablets already. Plenty of parents I know have apps on their devices to keep their kids occupied at the most opportune times.
Thank you. Been saying this for years. Teenagers are well aware of their social network privacy settings, the parents that try and spy on them, however are not. They whitewall their Facebook, they remove GPS in photos…
Come home for your tea. Kinsale Arts Festival October 12th and 13th. Listings.