When it comes to understanding innovation, it’s easy to fixate on the idea, and neglect the execution. It’s why for example when Apple announced that their new iPhone 6 devices had NFC chips to facilitate their Apple Pay offering they were criticised for not being innovative, and instead just copying something many Android devices have had for years. “That’s not innovation...
Reply from Malcolm Gladwell when asked about a child’s birth month being an advantage (emphasis mine): Question: In Outliers, you discuss why a hugely disproportionate number of professional hockey and soccer players are born in January, February and March. I can’t begin to imagine how many to-be parents you influenced to try and have their offspring be born in those months! MG:...
I’m thinking of starting a new tech blog called Startup Reviews*, where I review every single new startup that I hear about. Without exception I’ll predict they will fail, and I’ll further predict they will fail within 2 years. Regardless of how good their product idea, what their business model is, or previous success. I’ll just blanket predict they will fail. After a...
I’d love that as a new tagline. I’ve really enjoyed reading some of the analysis of Satya’s memo. In addition to the ones I mentioned in my earlier post, I’ve found these to be particularly interesting: this, this and this. There seems to be three main areas people are focussing on: It’s wordy and bloated There’s going to be job cuts Oh, and we’re not...
The always awesome Aaron Wall lets loose with another blistering rebuke of Google’s regular business practices. When Google complains about censorship, they are not really complaining about what may be, but what already is. Their only problem is the idea that someone other than themselves should have any input in the process. Definitely worth a read. It’s a tricky area for me...
Why is that stories like the following really get to me: This Story Of A Dog’s Last Day On Earth Is Beautiful And Utterly Heartbreaking Photoshop Request: My daughter recently passed away after a long battle in the children’s hospital. Since she was in the hospital her whole life we never were able to get a photo without all her tubes. Can someone remove the tubes from this photo? The...
Satya Nadella’s staff memo is good reading. Joshua Topolsky’s brief interview on  The Verge is also good. And opinion pieces like this also raise some good questions. If (like me) you’ve been a little disillusioned with Microsoft over the past few years, then it’s heartening to read, since it gives confidence into how Microsoft is improving focus and internal processes...
Read this post by apenwarr on The Curse of Smart People. This resonates with what I’ve seen: Smart people have a problem, especially (although not only) when you put them in large groups. That problem is an ability to convincingly rationalize nearly anything. It’s timely for me, because one of the main things I’m looking for in my life at the moment is interaction with RSPs...
It’s interesting to see how Verizon (a US telco*) have picked on a topical (and worthy) issue and co-opted it for their own marketing**. And gets positive press about it from the likes of HuffPo. A little while ago I would have been really cynical about these kinds of ads that basically take ‘serious issue’ topics and manipulate them into feel good, positive-by-association...
Back in the early 80s when I was just finding my way as a struggling teenager The Machinations were a fave. Imagine my disbelief and surprise, when I found out just last night that the song is not actually called Precious Way and is in fact Pressure Sway. And to further destroy any self-belief I had about knowing 80s music I also learned that they are just Machinations – there’s no...