So I am in China for a week. I will write about the wider politics of the place when my time here draws to a close, but for now I will focus on just one aspect: what China’s block on Google tells us… about our use of Google. China blocked […]
Technology
a-rival SpoQ on a Mac – a low cost GPS running watch
(NOTE: this blog entry was written in 2014, but it has now been updated in 2017 in light of recent good experience with this watch and the associated software!) I seldom blog about sport, but that does not mean it is not important to me. You’ll find me out running […]
Is it really impossible to delete an Evernote account?
I’m doing a bit of online spring cleaning this week. Old accounts with services I no longer use are being closed for good. It’s not necessarily a critique of these services as such, but I think that if I am no longer using a service it’s better I close the […]
If you want one of the placeholder Twitter accounts I’ve registered, here are a few things to bear in mind
I was an early adopter of Twitter, and have been using it for political purposes ever since. Throughout that time I have conducted all sorts of experiments with Twitter, and registered dozens of Twitter usernames for numerous purposes over the years. One of these experiments was to make unofficial accounts […]
How Neelie Kroes’s rant about Düsseldorf Airport wifi shows she really understands political social media
I can just imagine the scene. Neelie Kroes is sat at Düsseldorf Airport waiting for her flight, tries to get online, and turns to Ryan Heath or Jack Schickler or some other member of staff travelling with her, and with that mix of steel and mischievousness in her eye she […]
Data visualisation: beyond the barchart
At reCampaign 14 today in Berlin I was lucky enough to moderate the discussion and presentation from UK company Carbon Visuals about their data visualisations of matters relating to carbon dioxide emissions, and other environmental issues. Anthony Turner and Adam Nieman were here in Berlin. These guys take on one […]
The power of a title to make a picture go viral: “Politicians discussing global warming” by Isaac Cordal
For the last 5 days the picture shown above has been shared far and wide on Twitter (link to the tweet), and to a certain extent on Facebook too. The title “Politicians discussing global warming” and the stunning picture match perfectly. I too was one of the people who […]
I was @JC_Juncker. Lessons for Twitter, and for political social media too.
Just over a week ago, as the EU Twittersphere was starting to turn its attention to the EPP’s Dublin Congress, I wondered what presence – if any – Jean-Claude Juncker had on Twitter. None was the answer. So on 2nd March, at 2117 CET, I registered @JC_Juncker, a spoof Twitter […]
Back to basics – a new blog design
The previous incarnation of my blog – more of a magazine style – allowed me to present a more diverse range of content. But what is the point of that if the format imposed means you are restricted in how to categorise what you write? Finding a way to make […]
Google me. What impression does it give?
In the fast-paced online lives we lead, what Google digs up determines our first impressions of anything and, indeed, anyone. Yet I am regularly struck by how odd or alien this idea seems to some people when you confront them with it directly – online you are what Google thinks […]
If you want Twitter your way, use a third-party Twitter client
I’m growing rather tired of loads of complaints on Twitter… about Twitter. Redesigns, changes to the chronological listing of tweets, pictures appearing in-stream by default are common complaints I keep on reading. This has prompted analysis, and even odd browser-based work arounds. Why is all of this so annoying? Because […]
Sorry, I actually don’t want a “digital firepower onslaught”. I’d prefer better politics.
I have not been developing websites for politicians for a while now, preferring instead to do consultancy and training work for a variety of different political and governmental actors. The problem was essentially that you can bring a politician to the social web, but you cannot make them drink, and […]