Updated 26/08/2020 I have previously discussed the effect of Edward Bernays on public relations and corporate advertising. He famously ushered in the acceptance of taboo products by engaging with the public on an emotional level, appealing to their irrational impulses rather than their critical sensibilities. One such taboo product was instant cake mix; so ignored…
Updated 19/08/2020 There are various forms of this kind of criticism levelled at novices in a particular field. Whether it’s music, photography, tech or sport there are particular participants who feel the need to spend big and conspicuously demonstrate their supposed expertise. Who are we talking about? In music it would be the beginner guitarist…
Updated 12/08/2020 As a teenager you are confronted by a number of archetypes, whether sporty/geeky/outsider in flavour they are usually based on some fictional aspirational quality: superhuman football dribbling, mathematical prowess or an impossibly handsome, brooding style. Part of teenage development is to decide which archetype you want to align with, then create the narrative…
Updated 05/08/2020 Whether you think you are rational or irrational, you’re right. Do you believe in the time-worn adage “The customer is always right” or “A fool and his money are soon separated.” How about “Birds of a feather flock together”? If so, do you also believe “Opposites attract”? Even if you believe none of…
Updated 29/07/2020 Every time you set an out of office notification on your email, or a reminder on your phone, you are engaging in ‘automation’. You are controlling a process whilst removing the necessity for human intervention. We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down. – Kurt…
Updated 22/07/2020 Are you in a cult? Renowned scientist Richard Feynman outlined cargo cults in his book “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”. His intent was to lampoon the efforts of poor scientific practice: In the South Seas there is a cargo cult of people. During the war they saw airplanes land with lots of good…
Updated 15/07/2020 It’s 2004. MP3s are here, and Internet music piracy is an unstoppable juggernaut. A 13-year-old millennial (whose music taste was primarily dictated by what appeared on Saturday morning’s CD:UK) was about to have his ears awakened to a whole new world. Discovered initially as background music on a website I was browsing as…
Updated 08/07/2020 It’s easy to fall into the mindset of more equals better. After all, it feels great knowing you’ve been busy answering all your emails first thing in the morning… until you realise you’ve lost half your day. During my career as a software developer, I’ve worked with some pretty verbose codebases. Code that…
Updated 01/07/2020 Email is still the top communication tool used in business. As such, it’s important to get your marketing right when it comes to the basics – your email signature! First impressions count, and this is a piece of content that your leads, customers, business partners and staff will see… so avoid falling at…
Updated 24/06/2020 If you work in an office, the chances are you work with a Windows machine in some form or another (unless you are one of those dastardly Mac users like myself). But did you know you can save yourself plenty of time and effort by learning a few super easy keyboard shortcuts? Boost…