SEND UP A LARGER ROOM

Sweating Sickness

2008-11-26T20:25:00.009+11:00

I'm a big fan of The Tudors. I do mean, as it happens, the TV series depicting the lives of King Henry VIII and his entourage and not vice versa, though I suspect few will jump to the opposite conclusion.

It's a rollickin' good ride - the sex, the drugs, the sixteenth century court music. But, never mind the debauchery, what particularly struck me was an episode in which the Sweating Sickness decimated London's population, sending all people, rich and poor, into mass panic, terror and abject hopelessness. This virulent plague was entirely unknown to me.

Unsettled by such a significant gap in my education, I went straight to the oracle wikipedia. I discovered that not only was the Sweating Sickness, or 'English sweate', as prevalent and feared as depicted in The Tudors, but that, to this day, no one knows what caused it, or what it was. Terrifying. The SARS of its day, or worse, as it was utterly mysterious.

I wonder if British schools over the years buried knowledge of this Sweating Sickness. We learn about The Plague and, in period novels, there's always a smattering of consumption, but these diseases, in contrast, have known causes and treatments.

Perhaps it's deemed unseemly to frighten children with incurable plagues. In childhood, all is black and white. There's no problem that can't be fixed by an all-powerful grown up, no illness that can't be cured by a knowledgeable physician. The Sweating Sickness breaks the natural order of things - in creeps uncertainty and indeterminacy. Mustn't frighten the horses.

Season 2 of The Tudors starts tonight. Count me in.

Maria and Stavros

2008-11-20T09:52:00.017+11:00

I love the new Woolworths ad. When they launched the 'Fresh Food People' campaign I got the drift but it was still way to addy for my liking. And the track annoys the hell out of me. But the introduction of real Fresh Food People makes all the difference.

They don't come any more 'real' than Maria and Stavros, who are entirely charming and disarming. Shot in their native tongue, the commercial depicts an elderly Greek couple apparently having a barney from room to room. Turns out that Maria has spotted the birds attacking the vegetable patch. Stavros saves the day by swivelling in his chair to operate an ingenious makeshift scarecrow contraption. He then returns to a hard day of reading the newspaper, while his wife continues to slave away in the kitchen. All's well with the world.

There's something very cool about old people who know each other through and through and thus can be entirely themselves - no playing games, no pretending, no bullshit. I find their codes intriguing and their level of comfort with one another compelling. I'm reminded of an old Meat and Livestock commission campaign from the UK - again featuring an old couple and set against the Sonny & Cher track "I got you babe".

Play

2008-10-31T18:07:00.018+11:00

We're a playful bunch, humans, whether or not we choose to indulge this side of our nature.

We love the anticipation of the game. No matter how unlikely the odds, we dare to hope for a favourable outcome. I learned recently that a high proportion of UK lottery winners continue to play. The excitement, it would appear, is in the chase.

Games don't need to be elaborate to capture our attention. According to mobile specialists the Hyperfactory, some of the most popular mechanics in mobile games replicate the whimsical interactions of old fairground attractions, such as the wheel of fortune.

And despite the awesome graphics of today's console games, old favourites like Tetris and Space Invaders are still winners. A McDonald's mobile campaign in China enthralled players with hamburgers built from Tetris blocks.

Old favourites like Monopoly and LEGO continue to delight children and adults alike. LEGO may be available as Mindstorms , which now incorporates NXT robot intelligence, but the basic blocks are just as much fun. Just today, a mystery giant LEGO man was found washed up on Brighton beach in the UK, gizmodo reports. Colluding in the prank, bemused LEGO spokespeople said that LEGO man was giving Baywatch stars a run for their money.

For all that consumers are said to be sophisticated and savvy, they're still easily pleased, provided brands can tap into people's childish sense of wonder and fun.

The thrifty will inherit what's left of the earth

2008-10-23T13:54:00.046+11:00

The global economic crisis has prompted some serious rethinking on concepts like 'greed' and 'thrift'. Greed is no longer good and the thrifty will inherit the earth, provided, that is, that the greedy haven't destroyed it by then.

Thrift has had a bad rap in the past. Just look at some of the word associations - 'skinflint', 'frugal', 'mean', 'Scrooge'. A new report from US think tank The Institute for American Values, entitled For a New Thrift: Confronting the Debt Culture, attempts to foster a culture that's more amenable to thriftier lifestyles.

Business Week points to a growing number of 'Freegans', who see acquiring things for free (sometimes literally out of a dumpster) as a virtue.

Thrift immediately suggests saving money, but the concept is broader. People can be frugal in their consumption of resources generally, be it personal funds or the world's resources.

A culture of thrift is thus poised to take advantage not only of economic trends but environmental ones. The Australian government is set to ban the sales of incandescent light bulbs from October 2009, forcing a switch to energy saver, or halogen, bulbs.

Being thrifty can be seen as the 'smart' choice. This is the reward of thrifty consumers. They may save in one area of their lives, to splurge in other areas that mean more to them, for example, saving on basic foods to splash out on imported cheeses, which will look impressive at their dinner party. Or, people simply feel the reward of 'doing their bit' if their frugality benefits the planet in some small way.

Various brands have adopted positionings based on thrift, car rental company Thrifty, for instance. But, with frugality increasingly in vogue, others are following.

Australian consumers know that the wolf is at the door. They're beginning to cut back, but, the Mackay Report suggests, behavioural change doesn't automatically follow the realisation that the times are a-changin'. It takes a while for people to wean themselves off spending habits. Most would rather protect their lifestyles and the luxuries they now consider their dues.

Brands, which can help them protect their lifestyles, stand to gain.

On freedom

2008-10-23T08:48:00.009+11:00

I used to think freedom was travelling the world without a care, elusive as a will-o'-the-wisp. But there's the rub. We're seldom truly carefree, being limited by time, money or energy.

The traveller is haunted by the knowledge that her adventures draw inexorably to a close, as days and funds dwindle. Monday always follows Sunday. For every dusk, there's a dawn, swallowing up the last of the revellers.

I value freedom above all else. I have constantly searched for it. I've even found it in the most unexpected of places. Lately, I've found intellectual freedom at work. Bizarrely, greater authority and even responsibility can set you free.

My Archetype, or mythical character that's common to stories the world over, is the Wild person, the free spirit. I may not be roaming the universe in body, but I am in spirit.

I went down to the Crossroads: the fork as a metaphor for choice and change

2008-09-24T08:20:00.011+10:00

Throughout history, the fork has had a bad rap. I'm not talking specifically about the eating utensil, which has got off relatively lightly. I refer to the serpent's forked toungue, which heralded the fall of mankind, the chicanery of two-faced politicians, the crossroads where the devil lies in wait. I refer, effectively, to the fork as a metaphor for choice, change - and trickery.

People are deeply suspicious when it comes to choice and change. We say we embrace both, but when it comes to the crunch, most would rather never reach that fork in the road (except for a brief period in adolescence, when any alternative seems more exciting than a family night in). The fork is temptation and risk. It's scary and dangerous. Best to plod along on the same path.

Anyone who markets to people, or, for that matter, anyone who has any dealings with people at all, needs to bear in mind how little they like change. People are naturally risk averse and need help at the crossroads. They need guidance to feel comfortable with the choices they make, be it brand choices, life choices or whatever. Brands can be these guides, but only with the right authority and empathy. Otherwise they risk raising suspicion. At the crossroads, it's easy to be mistaken for the devil!

It's the question that drives us

2008-09-21T12:06:00.024+10:00

As Trinity whispered urgently to Neo in The Matrix, "It's the question that drives us." It's generally accepted amongst free thinkers that it's a good thing to ask questions. And thank Morpheus, your lucky stars, or whichever celestial body takes your fancy. Even so, I wish that people would put a bit more thought into the questions they ask.

Questions are important. Questions warrant consideration. The better the question, the more informative the answer. The more open the question, often, the more surprising the answer.

While promoting their Grindhouse films, Tarantino and Rodriguez participated in a Q&A session, included as an extra DVD feature on Rodriguez's Planet Terror. A film student asked how the directors felt about the changing competitive landscape in film, with the proliferation of directors and productions, and whether that made it more difficult to succeed today.

Tarantino, as ever, fraught with nerdy excitement, jumped in. Yes, there's more competition, he said, but if you create something brilliant, your Reservoir Dogs, then the competition is entirely irrelevant.

Now, that's some answer. One that's equally applicable to businesses and brands as films. Instead of constantly benchmarking against the competition, focus on doing something great yourself and render the competition irrelevant. It's the basic premise behind Kim and Mauborgne's book Blue Ocean Strategy.

Ask away, by all means. Try to ask the right questions of the right people and get some answers that you haven't anticipated.

Sex In The City Sucks (Tarantino rules!)

2008-09-03T19:38:00.040+10:00

Forget Sex In The City. Tarantino makes the best chick flicks. Hands down.

When Sex In The City's Carrie Bradshaw was totally incapable of using an iPhone, even to avert a major relationship crisis, I inwardly groaned. I sunk further in my seat when women around me chortled on cue, relating to her technophobia. Come of chicks, get with the programme!

Now, Tarantino. Dude is like a lady - in a good way. As if Kill Bill wasn't enough, he directed Death Proof, which has kick ass, hot, car mad girls meting out punishment to a Kurt Russell's psycho stunt man. I watched it again the other day and it always makes me smile.

Tarantino's chicks are the modern ideal of womanhood for many teens (and me, although I'll have to chalk that one up to immaturity!) Some might say he contributes to the much talked about 'pornification of girlhood', whereby girls and women are made into sex objects by the media, making pornography part of popular culture. This, in turn, is said to contribute to low self esteem and eating disorders. What's more, women actively objectify themselves in the way they dress and dance etc.

Clearly this is an area for debate. And there's clearly some truth in it. The Dove campaign for Real Beauty wouldn't have hit such a clear home run if this weren't such a contentious issue.

But, far from demeaning women, I think Tarantino's films have the opposite effect. They're joyous and empowering. They're full of crap. They're funny and gross (take the car crash scene with the wobbly dismembered limb in Death Proof). They collude with young women, who want to be sassy and sexy and smart and tough. And, of course, there's a cracking soundtrack. Yes, we have it all. With nobs on.

When it comes to CSR, listen to someone who cares

2008-08-12T19:30:00.011+10:00

Coca-Cola Manual distribution/Flickr

In highly competitive, increasingly commoditised markets, in which consumers have become more sceptical, powerful - and caring - one of the new battlegrounds is CSR, or corporate social responsibility. CSR has become common practice by multinationals, so, for initiatives to stand out as something more than corporate flagwaving, they need some heart.

Some companies are developing a more convincing social conscience through listening to people who really care. By keeping an ear to social networks, brands can harness the passion and ideas of people outside the usual corporate box. They can access innovative, fresh thinking and help consumers rally behind a genuine cause.

When blogger Simon Berry pursued his ingenious idea of leveraging Coca-Cola's huge global distribution network to improve healthcare in developing countries, the company took note. Berry was struck by the preposterousness of the fact that people without access to basic medicine could easily get hold of a can of Coke. For many years, he lacked the tools to realise his vision for a new medical distribution model, then he spotted the potential to organise support through social networks. He created a Facebook group, which grew organically and currently has 4,473 members and counting.

As the ColaLife campaign gained traction, garnering the support of the BBC, Coca-Cola's Global Director of Stakeholder Relations, Salvatore Gabola, invited Berry to their European headquarters to discuss his idea (see Simon's blog or WorldChanging).

On 6 May, a Business Call to Action event, supported by the British government and the UN, highlighted inspirational development initiatives by big companies, including Coca-Cola, Citi Group, Diageo, Microsoft, Reuters, Simitomo and Vodafone. A major UN meeting, scheduled for 25 September, will encourage further commitment from governments, businesses and the private sector to reducing poverty in developing countries.

To support the ColaLife initiative, which would distribute rehydration salts to poor people via Coca-Cola's network, refer to the the ColaLife blog, sign up to the Facebook or Google Group, follow the action on Delicious or Twitter, or post relevant images to the flickr group.

Tight pants and Priming

2008-08-10T12:37:00.006+10:00

Screenshot of George Costanza, Seinfeld Episode 522/Wikipedia

Every now and then TV1's repository of television show trivia yields a little gem. Fans of the comedy Seinfeld will be all too familiar with the character George Costanza - his neuroses, pettiness and insecurities. But it's not just deft scriptwriting and the skill of actor Jason Alexander that make this character larger than life. According to TV1, the costume department always dressed Jason in clothes that were just a size too small, which instantly had comedic effect, although most viewers probably weren't aware of why.

I think this is a great example of priming, that is, eliciting certain thoughts, in this case, the expectation that George is a loser. Visual or verbal cues that provoke certain implicit thoughts can likewise be used in advertising. They can help add a layer of subtlety, which a lot of ads lack, partly due to time constraints and the need to convey a particular explicit message about the brand.

Customer Service - King for a Day

2008-07-28T12:25:00.015+10:00

King Morpheus/Wikimedia Commons

All service companies focus on customer service. The customer is king. Bla bla bla. Unfortunately, all too often, the reality, particularly for big organisations, is patchy service, with the oversights and affronts undoing the good work. In fact it's so rare that I'm genuinely impressed by service that I'm compelled to thank the purveyor of this fine experience.

Last month, I stayed at the Brussels Marriott and it was brilliant! I used to live in Brussels and, while there are many things to recommend the city - such as the fantastic restaurants and bars and the art deco architecture - I would never have described it as the city of smiles. The French-speaking Walloons and the Flemish are still learning to love each other, while a thinly veiled Ixellois snobbery adds a dash of class conflict. Not so in the Marriott! It was a microcosm of the ideal of the United Nations. Peace, harmony and goodwill to all guests.

The concierge tracked down our favourite restaurants, despite my mis-spelling Le Zoute Zoen (a gorgeous restaurant in Antwerp - it means 'the sweet kiss', or so said the taxi driver). The concierge then left a phone message and dropped a note under our door, offering to make the bookings.

The breakfast chef's booming laugh was infectious. He had all the kitchen staff going, but didn't fail to show guests, even the stragglers, courtesy and attention, cooking up fresh food just for us.

The room was impeccably clean (sure, the Marriott is 5 star, but so is a certain hotel in Melbourne, which once treated me to a dirty toilet seat on arrival - the perfunctory apology and offer to clean the room rang a bit hollow).

All in all, it felt like everyone took pride in their work. They enjoyed being there. They enjoyed the guests' being there. (Sounds like a no-brainer, but I've known airlines where you feel like you're an inconvenience.)

Customer Service isn't a department. It has got to be practiced by everyone. And I don't think good customer service comes from a dictate from management. It comes from enjoyment.

The New Communications Paradigm is Yesterday's News

2008-05-21T12:45:00.006+10:00

There's always a time lag between a paradigm shift and the broader realisation that the world has changed forever. We're in the throes of a time lag right now. Digital technologies have altered communications beyond all recognition, yet many professionals are still catching up. People are still talking about the shift from exposure to engagement and interaction as if it's new news. If anyone thinks we've just shifted to second gear, wake up and see the world hurtling past at breakneck speed.

One-way communication, the old way of raising awareness of a product and expecting people to buy it, is long gone. In a world of instant interaction and brand overload, everything has become an exchange, not just the transaction, but every piece of communication. The brand-consumer exchange is no longer based just on money, but time and energy because these are the trade-off decisions people make every day, in deciding what brands to bother with.

So, when speaking to consumers, brands have to offer something, be it branded entertainment, or something useful, like an online application that they can express themselves with, or perhaps, something free. What brands get out of this exchange, is consumers' attention and perhaps the permission to keep up the conversation. But, keep it fresh. A conversation, by definition, evolves; subjects change. Otherwise the speaker soon finds himself alone, engaged in a soliloquy.

My Brand New Box

2008-05-20T14:27:00.011+10:00

On 1st May I became a 'Female, aged 35-44'. That's my new demographic box, for targeting purposes, which makes me a likely target for romantic comedies and family foods (no kids, never cook, hate sappy movies, give me Entourage or Battlestar Galactica anyday). I'm also a Taurus and an Ox. There I am, in a nutshell. You practically know me already. Or, at least, you've made your acquaintance with my group stereotype.

Some clubs you choose to belong to, while others you're assigned by default. My beef is mainly with the latter, but even members' clubs have their critics.

Groucho Marx had a thing or two to say about clubs. A famous quote, immortalised in Woody Allen's Annie Hall, is: "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member."

Clubs can be criticised for their exclusivity, which creates barriers between 'people like us' and 'people like them'. Sometimes, club members live up to the stereotypes of their chosen group, while outsiders make lazy assumptions about the members of that group. Clubs impose rules on behaviour and conduct and do not expect their terms to be questioned.

Group identification can even lead to self-delusion, for example, when people read too much into horoscopes. According to the 'barnum effect' in psychology, people tend to believe statements are specific and personal to them (such as those relating to their star sign), when in fact they are general enough to apply to anyone.

Yet, just about everyone is trying to get into some club or other, be it gaining peer acceptance at school, getting into the golf club, or blagging your way into a night club. So what's the big attraction?

Clubs provide protection, security, opportunities for advancement and a place to get food and drink when no one else will let you in. It's easy to strike up a conversation with people, who are like minded in some way. It's comforting to know you belong. The world seems more orderly and less scary. Your club is a place where, like the Cheers bar, 'everybody knows your name'.

People inevitably group together, because the desire for connection is so strong. Whether or not individuals thrive in a group depends on many factors. Personally, I'm uncomfortable with clubs that are exclusive and inflexible and I hate being assigned a group. (Ironically, my stubborn refusal to be put in a particular box probably goes some way to confirming my group identity as an 'Ox'!)

Rigid taxonomies are no longer the order of the day, as Clay Shirky points out in Ontology is Overrated. The Internet allows us to assign tags, which label and define content in a multitude of ways, without the need to impose a single, arbitrary classification.

In the same way, people can belong to multiple groups without being defined by those groups. They can connect - and disconnect - at will, engaging with particular interests or topics as it suits them.

Death of Mediocre

2008-04-25T09:12:00.030+10:00

There was a time when people would think themselves lucky to have a telly. Foreign food was quite exotic. Foreign holidays were for the toffs. But then people started getting fancy ideas above their station, as they got their hands on goods that were once way beyond their means.

A lot of this democratisation can be attributed to technology. The cost of consumer technology, from the washing machine to the mobile phone, has plummeted, while devices have become more powerful, in accordance with Moore's Law. Now most people in developed countries think it's their god given right to watch their favourite shows, when they want to, on a flatscreen high definition TV.

Exercising this right in all their consumption, consumers expect everyday luxury and good quality at an affordable price tag. At times, they'll also treat themselves to real luxury and pay the exorbitant price. Increasingly, what they won't stand for is mediocre goods at fairly high prices. We're seeing the death of the middle ground.

Polarisation is occurring across industries. In the hotel business, on the one hand, there's 'boutique budget' accommodation with mandatory flatscreen TV and wifi, for example, Accor's Motel 6 chain in the US; at the other end of the scale, luxury hotels like the Westin in Sydney.

Motel 6

Supermarkets have low-cost, good quality staples, such as the You'll Love Coles range, and they have the premium deli-quality offerings.

Gordon Ramsay adjures owners of small restaurants to do a few simple things really well, even if it's soup or a Croque Monsieur, and offer them at a competitive price. His own restaurants are the epitome of ultra-luxury, for when people want to spoil themselves.

But still, in all sectors, falling between two stools, there's a quagmire of a) fairly cheap and fairly shit and b) mediocre and overpriced goods, fighting a losing battle to stay relevant. Unfortunately, a lot of traditional, household brands fall into this category. They're pushing out the same old so-so goods that were crowd pleasers in the 1980s. They may alter the look/taste/feel incrementally, but that's just not enough. Mediocre is dying and cannot be reanimated, despite the best efforts of marketing.

At the same time, consumer segmentation based predominantly on socio-economic, or demographic, profiling, is leading businesses up the garden path. That's because the same people, who are buying the quality budget goods, are also buying the high-cost luxury. They're not different segments. They're the same people at different times (who can be more different in their behaviour from one occasion to the next than two entirely different people!) They'll shop at K-Mart one day, and David Jones the next. They'll choose the thrifty option at times, so they can treat themselves when the need arises.

Weighing up their time, energy and money, people are constantly making trade off decisions, consciously, or unconsciously. Mediocre brands hardly feature in these decisions. They may still be household heavyweights, but this is largely thanks to shoppers' habitual behaviour. These consumers are giving way to new generations, who expect more.

B&B

2008-04-23T21:48:00.004+10:00

Blogging is a bit like running a B&B, without the breakfast, or the bed. You set up the place to your liking, but with punters in mind. You check out the guest book and take comments to heart. You keep it neat and tidy, but retain enough character to keep people coming back. I say this glibly, for I have no experience in the hospitality trade. Then again, I'm the landlord of this virtual space.

Gridlock 2020

2008-04-16T14:38:00.022+10:00

The issue of Australia's digital economy has dropped to second place - from bottom - on the discussion guide for the forthcoming Australia 2020 Summit, B&T reports (April 11).

This doesn't bode well for a bright digital future. But, in the light of the current debacle in the UK over the BBC iPlayer's bringing broadband networks to their knees, it seems particularly shortsighted.

The iPlayer lets users download or stream TV programmes to a computer, a Wii, even an iPhone. Such is its popularity with users that broadband networks are straining under the pressure and network upgrades are needed.

Now there's a lot of argy-bargy between the BBC and ISP providers, with the government caught in the middle, over who should pay for the bandwidth improvements. It's a debate to the tune of £830m - the estimated cost, according to regulator Ofcom, of providing the extra capacity to accommodate online video services.

Unless the situation is resolved, some analysts, including US-based Nemertes Research, predict net gridlock by 2010.

Now, let's come back to the issue of Australia's digital economy. As consumers enjoy more bandwidth bustin' on-demand services (with less bandwidth available to them than UK consumers currently have), it looks like 'Australia 2020 Summit' is a wildly optimistic title - we could be heading for meltdown well before then.

Worldview

2008-04-09T17:25:00.006+10:00

I love this quote, which I just spotted on the FOAF site:

"There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don't."

Robert Benchley, Benchley's Law of Distinction

Social Shopping: Making Online Advertising Work

2008-04-08T11:49:00.017+10:00

A new site, Rasba, co-founded by 17-year-old Miriam Brafman, succeeds in doing what Facebook's Beacon initially tried - and failed - to achieve: the right balance between online shopping, advertising and social networking.

As I've highlighted previously, Beacon failed to have an opt-in system, so people were revealing their purchases to others without realising it. But, I believe, despite the fallout, Facebook had the right idea, executed wrongly.

Rasba not only avoids antagonising users through ensuring opt-in from the start, it makes buyers advocates of the advertising model, through leveraging social - and real - currency. They earn kudos and commission when the brands they've bought, displayed on their profile pages, are subsequently purchased by other members.

Just as 'gifting', 'begging' and feedback features on social networking sites facilitate social exchanges, other smart features of Rasba include wishlists and newsfeed-style updates on what their friends are buying. And brands get their own customisable storefronts within the website - it's win-win all round.

For teens, shopping is fundamentally a social event - whether it's spotting what the cool kids are wearing (nonchalantly, of course, and passing it off as your own style), consulting friends in the changing room, or via mms, or getting the verdict from the crowd on the way to a big night out. It makes absolute sense for e-commerce sites to leverage this. Teens' desire for acceptance, belonging and killer style is no less online.

Science fiction and innovation

2008-03-31T12:43:00.019+11:00

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said:
"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse."

Most research and trends forecasting reflect the present. To envision the future takes an imaginative curve ball. There’s no formula for innovation, but the kind of thinking found in science fiction can open your mind.

Science fiction is a fusion of the logic of science and the magic of fiction, a potent hybrid where rational and emotional worlds collide. In science fiction, rules can be bent or circumvented, reframing problems to reach novel solutions. It opens up possibilities for exploration and helps make the impossible happen. The genie is let out of the bottle, the kraken wakes...

Science fiction overlaps with philosophy of science. Philosophical thought experiments allow us to imaginatively explore a range of possible futures and examine the practical and moral implications of actions. So, science fiction helps us not only to innovate, but to innovate responsibly. Though often perceived as cold and mechanistic, or as depicting outlandish adventures in space, science fiction tends to be grounded in human behaviour. It can help us manage technological development in a way that benefits people.

A famous example of a thought experiment is the ‘brain in a vat’ scenario. Basically, every person in the world could be no more than a brain, suspended in a scientific vessel, perhaps located somewhere on Mars, being stimulated by alien scientists to feel as if they were having the experiences of life on Earth – going to work, socialising, touching, feeling. Our experiences would be no different qualitatively – in other words, we have no way of knowing whether the world we live in is real. Yet somehow, intuitively, we rail against the idea.

The idea may sound convoluted on paper, but the film The Matrix brings the concept vividly to life. Science fiction makes complex ideas easy to imagine, inspiring developers to make them come true. Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey is credited for popularising the idea of space stations, spurring on NASA scientists to build them.

Many of the computer technologies emerging today, including voice and face recognition, were foretold by Philip K. Dick in his 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? True Names (1981) by cyberfiction guru Vernor Vinge, became a cult classic among software developers and influenced the creation of multiplayer online worlds. In medicine and nanotechnology, artificial skin that fights infection was heralded by Frank Herbert in his 1977 novel The Dosadi Experiment.

Science fiction manifests the power of dreams. Instead of thinking, ‘that’s impossible’, it invites us to muse, ‘what if it were possible?’ and find a way to make it happen.

It holds the key to new inventions, to date unrealised. Concepts, such as Arthur C. Clarke’s space elevator (Fountains of Paradise), and planet colonisation, as seen in Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy, continue to inspire and drive scientists. Their cross-over into reality is being made (almost) imminent by very serious research projects.

At the intersection of technology, design and marketing, concepts that once seemed to be science fiction are transforming brand and retail experiences. Interactive kiosks, such as those used on the Levi’s Fit tour, allow customers to design their own customised products. Museum or art gallery tours are being delivered via PDAs for a more personal, interactive experience. Social networking, integrated into retail environments, allows shoppers to get a second opinion from friends, wherever they are, via interactive mirrors in changing rooms (Icon Nicholson's social retailing). James Law Cybertecture create intelligent, customised spaces that will transform the cities of the future.

Wherever fresh thinking is needed, science fiction can help us envision what’s at the very edge of our imaginations. We get the car, not the faster horse.

Business, Meet Web 2.0

2008-03-20T10:48:00.024+11:00

I've been toying with the idea of buying a house lately, but I'm scared. Not of spiralling interest rates, or even global economic meltdown. Though I laugh in the face of impending financial ruin, I scream, inside, at the prospect of filling out inscrutable application forms.

I came across the cartoon above by Eric Burke the other day on ExperienceCurve, which illustrates the problem. I'm spoilt with exquisitely simple, tactile design from Apple, with user-friendly apps on Facebook, with Open ID that lets me use the same ID to log on to hundreds of websites and with at-a-click search from Google (though I look forward to more contextual and visual search, as it develops). But, for the most part, when I encounter a corporate digital interface, it’s arcane, requiring me to perform bizarre rites and baffling repetitions.

Staff are equally bamboozled by their own systems. Too often, internal corporate architectures deter employees from doing their jobs effectively, burying data or making it close to impossible to conduct relevant queries. This drains morale out of the workplace, it makes training tricky and it delivers sucky customer service.

Many systems are old, entrenched and expensive to replace. But, their time is up. They've simply got to be overhauled. It's more urgent now than ever because people are getting used to the user-friendly, rapid interfaces of Web 2.0.

Various studies suggest that businesses are increasingly persuaded of the importance of social networking. A survey conducted in December 2007 by IDC reports that 50% of medium to large businesses across the Asia-Pacific region see Web 2.0 as a business opportunity, while around 8% view it as a threat.

Research skewed to the US and Europe indicates an even greater receptivity to business 2.0. Research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), covering North America (39% of sample), Europe (26%) and Asia-Pacific (26%), indicated that 79% felt Web 2.0 technologies could add to their companies' bottom lines.

But, their conviction too often lacks mettle, or direction, or any tangible output. EIU research suggests that many executives are rather hazy when it comes to the specifics of just how Web 2.0 can help business. For example, just 39% recognised 'tagging' as a way to leverage group opinions and they found it hard to spot practical applications.

Some businesses really do bite the bullet – ABC has created an island for staff in Second Life and Telstra is also present. In 2007, Westpac trialled the virtual world for staff training, The Australian IT section reported. But, such efforts do little to encourage other companies, as virtual worlds are still seen as rather extreme and pointless by many executives.

I suggest, keep it simple, reflect how staff are already using Web 2.0 in their lives and start with social networks.

New 'Social CRM' companies are helping to bridge the gap between social networking and business data, delivering relevant, usable marketing data to help, not hinder, staff. The name of the game is 'social enterprise', or 'socialprise' (or any other witty juxtaposition or combination that might grab headlines!)

Kintera combines online forms with offline data, although its website is, unfortunately, rather complex, with too many options and no succinct positioning. In other words, I gave up and moved on, rather than navigating through the site.

InsideView seems more straightforward, at least the offer is clear from the website. Its SalesView platform helps sales people access both business data and data that's publicly available online. It meshes the information together in a cohesive way, helping sales people spot opportunities and deliver better customer service.

WorkLight brings social networking to internal communications and aims to put to rest corporate security fears. Its Workbook tool is a secure overlay for Facebook, combining Facebook's look and capabilities with the controls needed in a corporate environment. Employees can use Workbook to communicate with colleagues, publish and receive company-related news, create bookmarks and share material exclusively within the organisation.

In addition, WorkLight provides a range of applications that allow staff to perform tasks like filling out purchase orders, or vacation requests, in familiar environments, either on their desktops, or through interfaces like Netvibes, or iGoogle's personalised homepage, which more people are now using in everyday life.

Not only social networks, but online applications and open source, collaborative techniques can now easily be applied in business.

Too many corporate Firewalls are still raining fire and brimstone down upon digital 'invaders' like Facebook, which, they believe, threaten productivity. More than half of the companies surveyed by IDC said they do not allow employees to access typical Web 2.0 services from work – the like of social networks, Internet video and virtual worlds - because they view such services as a waste of the employee’s and the company’s time. (Yet half said they saw Web 2.0 as a business opportunity.)

But, companies would do well to balance the odd wasted minute against the potential gains of embracing the social Web in enterprise.

So, throw down the ramparts and send a virtual hug to the digital world. Or just poke it. But take a look at what's out there. What you don't know can hurt you.

The Semantic Web and the evolution of man and machine

2008-03-18T11:46:00.018+11:00

Nova Spivack, www.radarnetworks.com

The Semantic Web is the next evolution of the Web and it’s important. Whoever you are, it will affect you. It is no less than the evolution of humankind in tandem with technology, moving towards the hybridisation of man and machine. If you’re not interested, or excited, or scared, you’re not listening. The Web is becoming part of who you are.

The Web has a dual role of connecting information and connecting people and, as Nova Spivack's chart above shows, the Semantic Web represents a higher order of both information connectivity and social connectivity.

There are a number of definitions of the Semantic Web – ironically having 'Semantic' in the title does little to aid understanding of the term. Even the title is work in progress, for it's also known as Web 3.0 or Web 3G.

But don't let that put you off. It's a thorny, difficult, contentious - and wildly exciting - topic. And it's already happening, as the Web evolves into a more conscious, intelligent entity, organising information and helping people understand things more easily.

Early examples of Semantic applications and services, already available, include twine, which learns about you as you use it and automatically tags content that interests you, letting you organise, share and discover relevant material more effectively. TripIt, the personal travel organiser, automatically generates a customised travel guide for you when you send it your itinerary.

On Friday, I attended an interesting seminar, run by AIMIA, on the Semantic Web. No forum on the Semantic Web seems complete without a quote from Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web and Yoda of the Web 3.0 Consortium (W3C):

“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become capable of analysing all the data on the Web – the content, links, and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will finally materialize.” (1999)

Speaking at the seminar, Jennifer Wilson, Principal of Lean Forward, described the Semantic Web as a 'Context Consciousness’, which builds on the Communication of Web 1.0 and the Conversation of Web 2.0. This suggests an interpretative intelligence, which links information together.

To illustrate this, Jennifer cited Tim Berners-Lee's example of the Semantic Web's helping people to interpret their credit card statements, by automatically overlaying their calendar data, so they know where they were when the transactions took place. It could also overlay photos from Flickr, so people can place themselves visually. This means they can easily spot any fraudulent transactions. (Unfortunately, they're also reminded of shopping sprees and various other illicit activities.)

Dr. Kerry Taylor of CSIRO and W3C highlighted the fact that there’s a substantial amount of intricate Web architecture, such W3C's 'Double Bus Architecture', that underlies any version of the Semantic Web. Tools like OWL build rich ontologies from pre-existing data. Just as there are knotty issues in defining what the Semantic Web should be, there are different interpretations of the optimal architecture.

Kerry presented 3 interpretations of Web 3.0:

The Semantic Web,
The Mobile Web
The Sensor Web.

In addition, Ian S. Burnett of the University of Wollongong highlighted the importance of:

Video on the Next Generation Web

The Semantic Web is to do with context and meaning. People talk in terms of ontologies and taxonomies. In other words, it's about ordering information to represent the world intelligently and usefully. But, as I’ve observed in my blog, we live in a relativistic world in which people create culture. Not only are there many different interpretations of events in the world, but, there is no consensus on physical reality.

AIMIA speaker Darren Sharpe of Swinburne University of Technology highlighted that there are issues with ontologies that presuppose an existing order. The Semantic Web has its critics. Among the most vocal is Cory Doctorow, author of Metacrap, who points out that there’s more than one way to describe something, that metrics influence results and, that people are stupid, lazy liars, who can fundamentally never know themselves or the world. He sounds kind of cranky like House, so worth a listen.

Semantic Web sceptic Clay Shirky points out that, in today's user-defined digital world, ontologies need to be flexible, not rigid. Instead of being like a library with fixed, pre-determined file cards, we need an evolving system that can accommodate user classification (such as the ‘tags’ people use to label their photos, videos and information).

The Mobile Web is concerned with evolving the Web so that it's optimally delivered through mobile devices. As wireless networks have become pervasive, making the Web portable has become viable and desirable. And it’s not simply a matter of plonking the World Wide Web, designed decades ago for large screens, on to mobile devices. The Mobile Web has elements of the Semantic Web and overlaps with the Sensor Web, but is more concerned with delivery.

Through the Sensor Web, digital devices will sense the environment and help people respond optimally to it. These may be physical monitoring systems, e.g. traffic warning systems, or intelligent building sensors that regulate living environments. They may be human monitors, such as personal digital healthcare assistants that know people's medical histories and their current situation, hence can help patients continuously regulate their health.

The importance of video on the Web is clear from the popularity of sites like YouTube. As Ian Burnett pointed out, video content also needs an indexing system so people can access relevant, meaningful content, but accessing content is more difficult with film. Users need to be able to reference points in both space and time in video footage - they need metadata that gets inside the video. Temporal references are most difficult.

I pointed out earlier in my Time Merge blog entry, a system from Recreating Movement that allows users to extract frames of a film sequence allowing them to reference points in time. Recreating Movement is a programme created by Martin Hilpoltsteiner at the University of Applied Sciences Wuerzburg, Germany, Communication Arts.

Recreating Movement

The informal system of tagging, already employed by those who upload content, is part of the process of indexing video. But the information is unreliable and in need of verification, either by professionals or groups of amateurs who perform 'checks' on each other.

Google is currently attempting to tag its visual content with the help of amateurs. A verification system, used by Google Image Labeler, pairs together taggers and awards them points when they assign the same label to a particular image, effectively turning checking up on each other into a game.

The world is changing. We are becoming more intelligent. The machine is becoming more intelligent. We are not separate.

Welcome to Metaverse!

Creating furniture from thin air

2008-03-17T17:03:00.005+11:00

Following on from my last post, more on creating worlds, or in this case, squiggle furniture. Check out this video footage of FRONT designers apparently conjuring furniture from thin air. Their hand motions are in fact converted to 3-D digital files via a motion capture technique. These are, in turn, rapidly materialised in liquid plastic with the help of lasers.