The Obvious?

Buildings are a bugger

Euan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:40:23 +0000

As I flit like a bee from one big organisational headquarters to another it occurs to me that such buildings add little benefit and restrict in the following ways:

You have to waste time, money and energy traveling to them.

They cost a lot of money to maintain.

You are subject to IT networks that are slower and more restricted than your own at home.

You have to pretend to be working even when you are not whereas elsewhere you can stare out of the window and think.

You are less in control of who interrupts you and why.

Their architecture is often depressing rather than uplifting.

Can you think of any more reasons?

Happy Birthday Blog

Euan — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:06:44 +0000

It is now nine years since I started blogging at The Obvious? A server crash in the early days means my posts here only go back to December 2001 but I started in February 2001. Seems like just yesterday!

The Journey by Mary Oliver

Euan — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:01:10 +0000

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Reboot 2009

Euan — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:40:16 +0000

The video of my keynote at last year's Reboot has gone up. To explain the start I decided that when Thomas announced me I wouldn't be on stage but sitting in the audience in an attempt to convey the discomfort people feel when things don't happen as they expect.

Should everyone get involved in social media?

Euan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:50:12 +0000

You can see the full series of Q&A's here

"Working In The Wired World" Workshops

Euan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:15:18 +0000

Over the next two months I am going to be delivering a series of workshops in London covering various aspects of the business use of social media. I have been running similar events for some time within organisations but this is the first opportunity, in conjunction with Online Information, to make them available to a wider audience.

There are three workshops offering a comprehensive understanding of the impact the web on the workplace and the information needed to do something about it.

24th February GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE WIRED WORLD

10th March HOW TO MANAGE THE NETWORKED WORKFORCE

24th March STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE IN THE POST INDUSTRIAL AGE

If you are unable to make it yourself, or know of someone else who would benefit from any or all of these workshops, do please forward this link.

Geoprivacy

Euan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:59:01 +0000

Stowe Boyd writes this morning of the issues of geolocation tools and privacy. I have been an early adopter of Brightkite, Foursquare, Twitter geotagging, Fire eagle and Google Latitude. The only ones I use now are Foursquare and Twitter and even then not all of the time. Like Stowe I often zoom out to city level rather than being specific about my location. I don't automatically post locations to Twitter to try avoid annoying people with too much noise and only do so when I think there might be a chance of meeting up with someone.

My experience so far has been 100% positive with many serendipitous meetings that I wouldn't have had without letting people know where I am.

I am always surprised when people write as if they were victims of technology rather than in control of it - I guess it is a bit like email!

All you need is love

Euan — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:29:40 +0000

I attended a funeral today. A very moving and nice tribute to a man who had a real zest for life and was very much loved by everyone who knew him. One of the readings was from 1 Corinthians 13 which I quote below.

As I listened I heard it in terms of some of the things that can seem to really matter in this brave new 2.0 world but which in fact maybe don't.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

I'll show you my scars if you show me yours

Euan — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:35:51 +0000

I often forget that I am one of the few folks out there promoting the use of social tools in business who has actually spent most of their working life in a corporate environment doing a line management job. I tend to underplay just how much I learned by doing annual appraisals for fifty staff (yes 50), or writing endless strategy papers for John Birt, or ploughing my way through the annual budgeting process. It is no place for the feint hearted and understandably resistant to the idea that "getting real" or "finding your voice" will make much of a difference.

But I also remember donning my collar and tie for the first time, starting to talk management bollocks, teetering on the brink and then pulling back. There are a lot of brave souls in organisations who know it can be different and to whom the lifeline of the word "social" is worth reaching out for.

Understanding where people are rather than getting frustrated at them for not being where you think they should be is something I should remember to do more often.

Changing Innovation

Euan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:07:20 +0000

The guys from Lift have just posted up videos of last year's conference in Marseille

Euan Semple "Changing Innovation" (lift09 France EN) from Lift Conference on Vimeo.