One of the most gratifying but dangerous aspects of this business of communication is that we he hold a unique responsibility in shining our light on the world around us. It’s true that through our devices we not only share but shape the world through our gaze. What we communicate becomes the news of the day, that which is most important. Yet, and this is the flaw of the system, this is a detached reality. That we spend hundreds of hours debating and describing an election in America or a war in Iraq does not necessarily represent the relative significance of the ‘news’.
Oh gosh, just when it couldn’t get worse for poor elderly Senator McCain. He goes and calls out for a plumber to find no-one there. This really is painful. I think we all know that moment in a presentation when we realise that the key prop isn’t there. Continue reading ‘No Show Joe’
It was horrible to see and painful to watch. First rule, don’t list more than 3 things (rule of 3). Second rule, if you do, don’t try to recall them. Watch as McCain looks oh so old…
I bought a mobile phone today. Not just any phone, mind you.
Oh I had my fair share of choices – don’t think I didn’t have choices. I sifted through all those plans and bundles and assorted carriers until my blood pressure reached eyeball-popping levels…and you know what? Continue reading ‘Virgin Territory’
So Obama is is off to see his Grandma in Hawaii. Now of course he’s only taking time out of his campaign schedule as she is gravely ill and he’s stated that he doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes he made with his mother. Continue reading ‘Obama’s Grandma’
I’ve been watching the flight of my new MacBook Pro, the anticipation is both killing and sustaining me. It might just be the best travelled computer in the world, with a whistlestop tour of China, Korea back to China, Korea, China then back to Europe including stops in Germany and Holland before its final arrival this morning in the UK (although no sign of the little treasure yet).
To be honest, the pleasure derived from watching its jet-set journey across the globe has been more than worth it, and I wondered how this relates to that pleasure principle, where it’s the anticipation that we really treasure. Are UPS and FedEx tapping into something much deeper with their tracking tool? They make the very expresison of the journey to receive items as much an experience as the having of the thing itself.
Well I just watched the debate and can see that whilst Biden clearly won it, Palin did herself a lot of favours by not appearing as a total idiot.
It goes to show that if you set expectations low enough, you can be a winner by being mediocre. Now how might we use that in our communications business?
