I am a user

The Google Keep intro page that would definitely make me use it…

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:38:21 +0000

The Google Keep intro page that would definitely make me use it…

"The only problem with this explosion of parallax sites is that many are using the technology as an..."

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:45:40 +0000

“The only problem with this explosion of parallax sites is that many are using the technology as an idea. It’s NOT an idea, it’s an execution.”

- Mark - Adverblog - http://goo.gl/zcXgA

Fireside with @ Boris - get started now, your way and it could be awesome

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:40:36 +0000

Tonight I went to a fireside with Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, founder of The Next Web, twittercounter.com and a few other companies, kindly put on by General Assembly London at Central Working.

With the title of the talk being “Misconceptions of Internet Entreprenuership”, I was expecting some hard hitting chat about working all night and not expecting high valuations/funding without some serious pain. Whilst I’m sure Boris puts in more than his fair share of hours, this talk was refreshing for its sense of serendipity and his tales of how awesome life can be when you do it your way.

The top three things I took from his talk;

it’s good to have a hangover when selling your company - you don’t want to come across as too keen
don’t spend too much time worrying about what other teams have done and trying to replicate their behaviour - learn what works as you go
just get started - being well funded can be a hinderance to getting something delivered.

On his theme of getting on with things, hacking stuff together and being as open as possible, he said he was a believer in “if you’re not embarrassed by your first product, you launched too late”.

Many thanks again to General Assembly London and in particular the charming Courtney Boyd Myers.

ps - if you’re ever stuck for time or in two minds when negotiating the sale of your company, put a one in front of the number and crack on!

"I don’t care what happened 15 years ago. I care what you did yesterday, and last month, and last..."

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:59:07 +0000

“I don’t care what happened 15 years ago. I care what you did yesterday, and last month, and last quarter, and last year.”

- Brad Feld - http://goo.gl/KubJJ

"If Apple sold 1.1m fewer Macs year on year, that says to me, Microsoft need to start nailing it in..."

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 20:37:00 +0000

“If Apple sold 1.1m fewer Macs year on year, that says to me, Microsoft need to start nailing it in mobile, or they are in big trouble.”

Little things… jaymug: in the early days of Apple Inc,...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:24:11 +0000

Little things…

jaymug:

in the early days of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs would occasionally sign computer chips, attach them to Apple stationery and send them out randomly to Apple fans

now-think: How is Facebook Addiction Affecting Our Minds?

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 12:53:00 +0000

now-think:

How is Facebook Addiction Affecting Our Minds?

Witty parody Facebook ad from Donal Mulligan. Along the lines of...

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:18:18 +0100

Witty parody Facebook ad from Donal Mulligan.

Along the lines of my thoughts on the Facebook ad, although could have made more of the ‘Facebook is like chairs because it sells information about you’.

"Don’t build an app based on your website. Build the app that acts as if websites never existed in..."

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 10:56:34 +0100

“Don’t build an app based on your website. Build the app that acts as if websites never existed in the first place. Build the app for the person who has never used a desktop computer.”

- MG Siegler (via 6ixpassions)

"When I’m introspective about the last few years I think the biggest mistake that we made, as a..."

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:12:29 +0100

“When I’m introspective about the last few years I think the biggest mistake that we made, as a company, is betting too much on HTML5 as opposed to native… because it just wasn’t there. And it’s not that HTML5 is bad. I’m actually, on long-term, really excited about it. One of the things that’s interesting is we actually have more people on a daily basis using mobile Web Facebook than we have using our iOS or Android apps combined. So mobile Web is a big thing for us.”

- Mark Zuckerberg @ Disrupt SF 2012. (via tobie)

Rory Sutherland - Sweat the detail

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 11:03:55 +0100

Rory Sutherland - Sweat the detail

Personal Analytics - my facebook - Wolfram|Alpha

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:21:31 +0100

Personal Analytics - my facebook - Wolfram|Alpha:

Personal Facebook analytics report from Wolfram Alpha.

More info here - http://blog.wolframalpha.com/2012/08/30/wolframalpha-personal-analytics-for-facebook/

Entrepreneurs should be Directors elsewhere - Brad Feld

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:46:00 +0100

Entrepreneurs should be Directors elsewhere - Brad Feld

Platform ecosystem battles and why they are all worried

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 15:49:00 +0100

Platform ecosystem battles and why they are all worried

Facebook advertiser tracks clicks to find 80% are bots

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:08:17 +0100

A company called Limited Run experienced some ‘unusual’ activity when tracking their facebook advertising. Apparently 80% of the clicks came from bots. It’s not apparent whose bots these are or if this is a widespread issue. However, definitely something that advertisers should look into, especially if you have high bounce rates.

The page containing their explanation of what went on and why they have left Facebook seems to have been taken down. Screen grab below and currently still available via Google cache.

Apple will compete with Google in search

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:49:15 +0100

I’ve read a lot of chat about Apple competing with Google, especially in relation to maps recently.

However, after reading this article on the evolving nature of search and social by Ben Elowitz, I can’t help but think Apple will in fact compete with Google in its core advertising market - that of displaying ads next to relevant data. Not in the same way as on desktops, but where people are looking on mobile and in apps.

This fits with Apple baking Facebook into iOS, delivering the integration of social and search described by Mr Elowitz. Google’s insistance on G+ puts them at a distinct disadvantage if the service does not grow rapidly.

Steve Jobs himself said that Apple had no intention of competing with Google in the search market, furthermore adding that Siri was not a search engine. However, as he points out below, the changing nature of how people look for information on their mobile devices makes the mobile platform the search battleground.

Cadburys art (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 27 May 2012 14:36:18 +0100

Cadburys art (Taken with instagram)

Pinterest mental

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:27:00 +0100

When I first saw pinterest, all I thought was, this is essentially a Tumblr theme. A Tumblr theme with a similar widget for clipping content to your site. Surely, by having such low barriers to competition and how great Tumblr’s social platform is for people who like to share, this is a passing fad.

It looks like I couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve just read their latest round values the business at a bat shit crazy $1 billion. I just didn’t see them getting enough traction to make them an affiliate giant that would benefit Amazon.

That’s more than the current market valuation of the New York Times.

Learning that I’m wrong 98.476% of the time is nothing new. However, I have learnt from Pinterest showing genuine insight into their target audience and delivering a simple user experience to match.

This week I attended a talk on creativity by Jonah Lehrer, Wired...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:50:00 +0100

This week I attended a talk on creativity by Jonah Lehrer, Wired contributor and author of ‘Imagine’, at the Southbank centre.

His insight into being successfully creative took me by surprise. He champions grit as a fundamental part of the process and one of the few, if not the only element, directly correlated to consistently executing creatively.

Referencing Gladwell et al, he alluded to the 10,000 hours required of experts/masters, with talent only able to marginally reduce this number.

So, more evidence that hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard. There might be hope for me yet!

I saw this Google+ Advert last night and I was really impressed....

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:01:01 +0100

I saw this Google+ Advert last night and I was really impressed. Although slightly different in style, it reminds me of a sentimental Apple ad. So I thought copying Apple and Facebook and Twitter is a good idea.

Then I remembered that most of my friends are not on Google+ and have no interest in it, so I went back to Facebook and Twitter.