Johnnie Moore's Weblog - fullest feed

Technology for being better at being human

2008-05-09T12:42:34+00:00

Roland at NESTA highlights this great 10 min video of what happened at SiCamp

I think this gets across how SiCamp managed to get geeks and non-geeks together, and how much energy is created by people working on things with a higher purpose that they care about. It also says something about what makes me excited about the Web: not the technology, but how technology allows us to be better at being human.

Kudos to NESTA and many other good folks for sponsoring this. (Disclosure: NESTA are a client of mine)

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Evil Twin visits America

2008-05-09T12:25:41+00:00

I see my evil twin brother Matt is on tour in the US, as follows. If you live in these places, I heartily recommend meeting him.

Washington from May 9th to 11th.
Chicago from May 12th to 14th.
Boston from May 15th to 17th.
Toronto from May 18th to 20th.
Detroit from May 21st to 22nd.
New York from May 23rd to 27th.
Seattle from May 26th to 29th.
San Francisco from May 29th to 31st.
Los Angeles from June 1st to 2nd.

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Brutality and civilisation

2008-05-09T08:51:18+00:00

I saw a documentary last night on the Beeb about the middle ages. Prof Robert Bartlett talked about how power structures changed over five centuries. It was a reminder of just how brutal power was then, and how oppressed the masses were. Brutality for minor offences was commonplace.

It reminded me of the opening of the Old Bailey archives last month. They included the case of a 13 year old boy hanged for stealing a sheep - here in England, less than two centuries ago.

Blimey. As a species, we have come a very long way in a short space of evolutionary time. It's an interesting sidelight on our response to other countries that today fall short on human rights. In a sense, they're only a few generations behind us in their cultural development although that's no reason to feel anything but revulsion at torture and abuse. (And deep concern at any attempts to legitimise them in countries that ought to know better.)

What times we live in. In some ways, human life on this planet seems so endangered; and on the other hand it seems as though we've made extraordinary leaps in the way we think of and value each other as human beings.

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(earl Mardle on May 9, 2008 10:08 AM)

The two most important advances in human development have been
1. Learning to save the best plants for seed rather than eating them
2. Delayed gratification or saving for a rainy day.

In those we have embodied the idea that we don't HAVE to use all the available resources to the maximum all the time.

Its the one exit door from the trap that is closing around us now with energy, food and practically every other resource.

The question is whether we can use it.

Illusion

2008-05-03T21:18:49+00:00

I'm fascinated by visual illusions. They challenge our everyday notion that the world is as we see it. Richard Dawkins has a great chapter in Unweaving the Rainbow which explores how our mind processes visual data to manage what we see. He suggests that in one sense we already live in a kind of virtual reality.

So this new blog is worth a look: Illusion Sciences

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

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Ah, powerpoint...

2008-04-30T13:38:44+00:00

James told me about this at lunch today. Enjoy.

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Comments (4)

(Rachel Clarke on Apr 30, 2008 6:59 PM)

I have that presentation. It's great for Powerpoint Karaoke, letting some unsuspecting performer try and pull something together for it ;)

(Stuart Reid on Apr 30, 2008 9:59 PM)

That is fantastic! Hooray for YouTube.

(Rob Paterson on May 1, 2008 12:33 AM)

I feel terrible Chicken (Johnnie) this should have been us

(Rex Lee on May 1, 2008 4:04 PM)

Absolutely the best powerpoint presentation I've seen in a long long time!

Chris Corrigan on living systems

2008-04-24T20:26:43+00:00

Rob and I did our latest Phoric podcast with Chris Corrigan, who was pretty awesome. Chris never fails to provoke and engage and his choice of videos was fascinating.

The first features a guy who learnt how to move huge stones using small ones. He shows how, on his own, he can move a one-ton block 300 feet per hour. Then he shows how he can move a whole barn using the same principles or lift a massive block up high. Remarkable. As I say to Chris in our chat, it rehabilitates the whole of idea of leverage in organisations.

He says that "gravity is my favourite tool" and I love the notion of using the least effort to achieve a result. What a great video - I'd think of showing it to a group of people trying to tackle a challenge as a bit of inspiration.

Chris other choices are equally engaging, and if you listen to the podcast, see if you get as seduced by Chris' worldview as I always do.

Download the Podcast

RSS feed for all my podcasts

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(Jeremy Sweeney on Apr 28, 2008 9:40 AM)

Great videos from Chris. Hope this finds you well - desert Island video looks better and better! Jeremy

Top?

2008-04-22T10:30:46+00:00

So another of those lists of the world's top brands is out. Meanwhile, Roland notes with scepticism a new list of the "most innovative" companies.

As Roland says

Over 40m US citizens are self employed 'free agents' and 20% of UK workforce will soon be working from home. Whilst the UK would surely benefit from more brands that act as hubs in the global economy, there are many examples of small companies or even individuals who act as powerful nodes which can be more agile, responsive and dare I say it, innovative.

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Understated benefits of blogging et al

2008-04-20T13:09:09+00:00

Euan thought this was good and so do I: 5 Social Computing Benefits that Adoption Rates Don't Show

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(Graham Hill on Apr 20, 2008 2:07 PM)

Johnnie

I sum it up thus:

"I think, therefore I blog".

Simple really.

Graham Hill
Independent CRM Consultant
Interim CRM Manager

Shine

2008-04-16T13:26:11+00:00

Now this looks like my kinda conference:

* 600 social entrepreneurs
* 3 days
* 23 sessions (and counting)
* 1 warehouse on London’s Southbank

Welcome to SHINE, the first ever ‘Un’Conference for Social Entrepreneurs.

This event is created by social entrepreneurs for social entrepreneurs, whether you’re just starting out or more established.

Long presentations, boring speeches and being trapped in closed rooms are out. Peer-to-peer exchanges, info-snacking and flexible sessions are in.

The content is contributed by participants, and there is no compulsory programme. Make your own event.

It's on May 9th to 11th. Looks like I may host a bit of open space as part of it, but don't let that put you off.

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Getting wow into education

2008-04-14T14:17:19+00:00

A Swedish teacher wonders how to compete with World of Warcraft. Good question, the sort we might chat about on Wednesday afternoon at NESTA. There's room for few more if you're interested.

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Facilitation workshop

2008-04-14T14:06:52+00:00

I'm planning a one-day workshop for facilitators on July 18th in London. As in the past, the format will be loosely structured and highly experiential. Details here.

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Health care

2008-04-12T15:02:16+00:00

Rob has a thoroughly thought-provoking post about mushrooming healthcare costs. I think Rob finds quests for "efficiency" as suspicious as I do.

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Life as a voiceover

2008-04-11T23:51:15+00:00

Made me laugh.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

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(Charles Frith on Apr 12, 2008 5:39 AM)

Brilliant!

Social media, mockery et al

2008-04-11T16:36:00+00:00

This afternoon Tom Guarriello and I shot the breeze about the Shel Israel puppet story. Sorry, no shownotes for this one. We covered a fair bit of ground: what comic influences do we see here; is the British take on this kind of satire more indulgent; is there a line to be drawn between comedy and bullying; is there a slope and is it slippery. Tom contributes some great cultural context to the backstory.

In the end I think I'm mostly laughing and Tom's laughing quite a lot and also feeling a bit queasy. I could well be mistaken. Enjoy.

Download the Podcast (24mins, 8MB)

Podcast RSS feed

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Knowledge Management, Apparently

2008-04-11T15:15:16+00:00

Our seventh phoric podcast (originally scheduled for April 1) is out.

Rob and I were privileged to host Dr David Vaine of Apparently Knowledge Management. He is a true thought-leader in the area of KM. Hear how his Architecting Space for Sharing (ASS) and Wisdom Managment Programme (WIMP) help businesses avoid the promiscuous knowledge sharing and generally prevent social software from doing anything to disrupt hierarchy.

Among the highlights: Dr Vaine explaining the chief virtue of transparency: the ability for everyone to know their place. The insight that "it's really most important to make sure people do not feel comfortable in their own skin" and "if you put people down, put them down humanely".

As I say at the end, Dr V really does put the Apparently into KM.

Download the Podcast

Showing his mastery of the tools, Dr V made his own video of his performance which shows him off to even greater advantage.

And thanks to Patrick Lambe for persuading the good Doctor to share his wisdom with us.

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