“In the digital age, live art is where it’s at” – Bono
“People have lost their trust in what they are seeing and feeling. There is something very visceral about theatre and there is nowhere to hide” – The Edge.
Two from U2
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Monthly Archives: November 2010
Should I Be On Twitter?
Just got an offer from a publisher in Sofia for a Bulgarian edition of Future Files. Meanwhile, working on a timeline of failed predictions for Fast Company magazine. Only problem is I can’t find anything wrong or silly from the 1500s. Anyone?
The other thing I’ve been wrestling with is my monthly brainmail newsletter, which is no longer monthly. I’m now so behind it’s ridiculous. So here’s my thinking.
Why not focus brainmail on statistics and put the smaller stories, quotes, books, interesting websites and so on onto my blog? That way people can comment and the whole thing becomes interactive. There’s also the thought that the statistics shouldn’t be on brainmail either but should be on Twitter. That’s tricky.
On the one hand people like Wayde Bull are telling me that they are “finding it an increasingly useful way of sourcing links to interesting planning content.” He goes on “Dare I say you’d find a heap of trends content buyers worldwide up for following your tweets. Let’s face it, Twitter is the land of the one-liner and you’re terribly good at summarising big trends in that way.”
Yes, but after all I’ve said? The real problem though is that I’d be creating a machine that would need to be fed. I tried it once but it became too much. There’s also the issue of search. If I need to find something on the blog is easy to find, especially if I’ve tagged it. I’m not convinced that Twitter is as user-friendly from that point of view. On the other hand I could easily solve my problem with the 1500s.
The Future of Football
Who will host the next world cup? At risk of being issued with ridicule and red cards here are some long bets.
2018 – Russia
2022 – USA
2026 – China
Will Christmas cards become extinct?
According to Mintel, a research company, 75% of UK homes sent a Christmas card in 2009, compared with 84% in 2006. A study by YouGov for Oxfam reveals a similar trend. Christmas card sales in Oxfam’s UK charity shops slipped by 14% last year.
Why is this happening? Obvious really. Cards are expensive, time consuming and arguably damage the environment. There’s also the issue of the reliability of the postal services and shifts in terms of belief.
So are physical cards dead? Not by a long shot. Firstly, remember e-greeting cards? These seemed to die out almost completely a few years ago, replaced by simple texts and emails. So things change.
Secondly, 75% of homes is still a large figure. I’m sure this figure will decline in the future but I’d also expect to see a boom in personalized cards because they show that you’ve made a bit of an effort and value the other person. So the trend is against physical cards but this should create a counter-trend the more that cards die out.
A simple text message or Christmas e-mail greeting is a cold piece of communication. Christmas is supposed to be about thinking about others so people should stop thinking about how convenient it is for them to do something and start thinking about now people will feel if they make a bit of an effort.
Are pets recession proof?
In Japan the average women gives birth to 1.3 children – a figure well below the replacement rate. However, some populations in Japan are booming. According to Japan’s Pet food Manufacturers Association, there were 24.5 million cats and dogs in Japan in 2006 and this figure represented a rise of 37% in a decade. And expenditure on these furry friends is increasing.
Why is this happening? One reason is that pets, and small dogs in particular, have become fashionable. A more credible explanation is demographic. Our furry friends (or ‘fur kids’) represent a practical substitute to real children or marital partners. They are also ideal companions for seniors that live alone, of which there are many in Japan and elsewhere.
This pet boom is leading to a furry flurry of innovation, which includes pet hotels at Narita airport (170 ‘rooms’ from US$33-$170 per night) to pet funerals (including a ‘with pet’ option that allows owners to be buried alongside their pets). There are also remote-controlled feeding machines operated by PC or mobile phone that allow owners to ‘visit’ their loved one via video link, and pet spas featuring pet massages and mud packs.
Crazy? You bet, but even blue chip Japanese manufacturers are sitting up and paying attention with the likes of Honda designing automobiles for dog owners that feature things like stain resistant seating and odour eliminating fabrics as standard features.
Over in the US the pet industry seems to doing equally well. Total pet spend in 2009 was forecast to be $45 billion. As entrepreneur magazine points out, that’s more than the GDP of all but 64 countries.
Seeing dead people
Two questions for me from attendees at an insurance industry event in the City of London yesterday.
Q 1. When did you first realise that you were mad?
Q 2. Do you write as well as you speak?
Oh well, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. On the subject of mad a funny thing happened to me this morning. I was driving along a country lane thinking about nothing in particular when the thought that two people I know died recently came into my mind. At that exact instant a large bird smashed into the windscreen. Weird.
Stat of the week (stat of the weak?)
80% of prisoners in Britain have the writing skills of an 11-year old (or younger).
Why parents need to unfriend their children
A study by a company called JCA, which runs school trips and outdoor adventure centres (i.e. has a vested interest in keeping kids away from computers and mobile devices) says that the use of social networking sites is leading to shorter attention spans in class and is making it harder for kids to concentrate or get good grades. The report also claims that parents are finding it harder to get kids to spend time at home alone studying because they would prefer to be interacting with friends on Facebook or Twitter.
The study, based on a poll of 500 teachers, also says that “rather than relying on life experiences, educational travel and face-to-face interaction with others, children are becoming obsessed with social networking sites.” Really? I would never have imagined this was happening? Do we really need another study to spell this out?
Moreover, where are the parents? Where are the boundaries? Yes, you can blame technology for this but ultimately it’s parents that are responsible. They could restrict access. They could insist on homework being done. They could stop trying to be “best friends” with their kids and start being parents.
Equally, schools could take stronger measures to ensure that mobiles aren’t sneaked into school or used on school premises. They could also impose stronger penalties for kids that don’t do as they are told at school.
What I would agree with is that these things aren’t as easy as they sound. The peer pressure to be on such sites is immense. As Kairen Cullen, as educational psychologist says: “non-participation (on social networks) can result in feeling excluded or even socially excluded.” Then again, we probably shouldn’t listen to any adult, especially psychologists, called “Kairen.”
A Global Land Grab
According to the World Bank, agricultural production must increase by 70% by the year 2050. Why? The primary reason is demographic – there will be more people in the future and they will want something to eat. The second reason is consumption – more people are switching to meat-based diets, especially in Asia. The third reason is bio-fuels.
Result? A global land grab (AKA “long soil”). The value of land is set to increase dramatically in the future, especially in Africa and Latin America. But buyers beware. Land isn’t just another commodity. Land is tied up with notions of nationalism. It is semi-sacred in most regions.
Expect purchases of land by foreign nations (especially sovereign wealth funds) to soar over the coming years but also expect protectionist backlashes.
The coolest office ever?
Nothing of interest to report today other than to say that I spent most of the day at the office. Normally that wouldn’t be very interesting but I do now have an interesting office. It’s on a ship. A battleship built in 1918 and moored in the Thames opposite Inner Temple. It’s on the edge of the City and two minutes walk along the river from Blackfrairs. If you are in the area, drop me a line (with some warning) and I’ll show you around. 