March 2012
2 posts
12 tags
MP websites need some '2.0'
What is it with the websites of most, if not all, members of parliament? They’re shockingly bad.
And it wouldn’t take much to make them a little better. Here’s a few things they should add:
1. Interaction
Most MPs have a twee little form somewhere on their website that allows users to email them. Others just list their email (or constituency/office) addresses.
Did...
4 tags
Student newspapers should go 'digital first'
Student newspapers should go digital first. Or maybe even digital only. And here’s three good reasons why.
The importance of these reasons will differ from institution to institution so, though they are numbered, they are in no particular order. Promise (though ‘1’ is bound to be top priority for those footing the bill).
It’s cheaper As university budgets are squeezed, Students’...
February 2012
2 posts
13 tags
Banking and gamification in a digital world
It seems to me that the banking sector is missing a trick in the digital space. One which would allow it to look more responsible for its younger customers whilst riding the wave of social media and gamification to engage them in spending and saving.
Using social apps like Foursquare, users can check in to locations and gain points - becoming the mayor of places they frequent and unlocking...
15 tags
Digital things for local media
Local newspapers probably aren’t going to do very well in the coming years if they keep thinking of themselves as local newspapers and not local media.
And that should be a little bit liberating, because what you can do digitally is far less limited than what you can in print - but this isn’t a web vs print idea.
In fact, as local media start to think of themselves as such, the...
January 2012
4 posts
9 tags
People as digital objects
Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites known to man - just a few hundred million short of a billion. Why? Because it turns people into digital objects.
And maybe, it can be argued, they treat them as such too. But we won’t get into that.
But what is interesting is that when people become digital objects, more things are possible.
Objects can be tracked and have data...
10 tags
Businesses should create communities
Have you ever seen the movie Crash? Sandra Bullock is angry all the time. Don Cheadle is eternally conflicted and Ryan Phillipe kills a man.
The point is, it’s a film about lots of different people who are brought together by events. Imagine them as lonely planets that all have the fact that they can see the sun in common - they don’t all see it at the same time but they all can.
How...
9 tags
Allow resale of digital products
Living in the Cloud is great.
There’s nothing physical so nothing is wasted. The production and distribution of everything is cheaper. No wonder businesses love it.
But what’s in it for the consumer? eBooks can be bought faster, sometimes cheaper and take up less space than their physical counterparts.
But if you hate the book or the CD, software or app, you’re stuck with...
9 tags
Rewarding passiveness in online news
I’ve recently started to read more newspapers. And I know more.
What’s missing from the internet that is apparent in printed product is the passive selection of what we read: we might not think we have an interest in something but, because it’s there, we read it and learn more about it.
When we’re online, we tend to actively select what we think we’ll find...
