Body monitors and the ‘quantified self’ movement’ are having a broader impact on our culture than we may think. Let’s explore how this will impact our approach to aging-in-place and healthcare.
read moreI’ve heard words like epic, amazing, and unforgettable applied to the first Mashable Connect conference. Here’s my recap. To check out all the conversations look for hashtag #mashcon on Twitter. [View the story “Mashable Connect 2011” on...
read more(x-posted from Treffpunkt) I really do appreciate how much I get out of FastCompany.com. This morning was a bevy of really good stuff that everyone should read. Sofa-Friendly iPad Reading Could Eat Into Primetime TV’s User Attention The iPad effect. Are people actually reading again instead of just watching TV? Looks like they may be reading Web pages and books on iPads. What they don’t know is if they are dual-screening or just reading. “Alone Together”: An MIT Professor’s New Book Urges Us to Unplug Not an anti-technology rant, but rather showing frighteningly addicted we’ve become to digital reassurance of our status in the world. I added this to my reading list, but I’m afraid it will be really depressing. From the sounds of it, people are living lives of such quiet desperation that they live for mystery of what the next text message contains. Bonus points to author Sherry Turkle for managing to equate this to actions in a Jane Austen novel. Seriously. That part just made me happy. British Health Technology Entrepreneurs Courting Silicon Valley’s Heavyweights How a Breakthrough in Hysterectomies Could Lead to Better Family Photos The latest ground in healthcare is technology and a lot of people seem to be figuring this out. Two articles from the past couple of weeks really showed the innovation and potential business possibilities if we leave our comfort zones. Pac-Man Reboot: In the Bio-Arcade, Microorganisms Change Gameplay Healthcare and science gaming seems to be all the range these days. This was a totally new twist on it. In this case Stanford University scientists are actually micro-organisms as part of the game. Weird, and raises ethical questions even if they are only using brainless...
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Life is pretty full, and since the blogging is hard to bill to clients I have to pick and choose my time. The majority of my blogging efforts these days are over at Treffpunkt, the RTCRM Digital Integration & Innovation team blog. I should probably do the occasional round here of the things I’ve posted there.
read moreI have notes on several blog posts I want to write, but for some reason this one moved to the top of my list. There’s a good, wholesome reason for this — I assure you. On my way to work this morning, I considered browsing the blog options on my Kindle again. I finally gave in a few months back and began paying for a couple of blogs to be delivered to my Kindle. It’s actually very worth the pennies I’m paying. I had finished reading what I had and thought I’d see if there was anything else I felt like adding.
read moreThis may not seem like an important statement, until you factor in that my current job is Director of Interactive Strategy. You’d think being obsessed with the latest gadget and every new feature Google rolls out would be what I live for and it was. I had an epiphany on the bus this morning, though. Quite simply — I’m bored with technology. What excites me is people. Why do people do what they do? Why do some people favor Twitter over Facebook? Why do some people swear by their iPhones and others are perfectly happy with basic phone that makes phone calls. The iPad in itself is just not interesting. Okay, it’s kind of interesting — but the interesting part is how it may change the way people do things or understand something. The Kindle (still one of my favorites), is interesting because it finally created a way that mainstream people began to accept digital books. The gadget is not what’s important. Even Amazon proves this point by providing Kindle Apps on all kinds of platforms. This seems to baffle people. Why would Amazon create a Kindle App for the iPad when that may doom their gadget? Frankly, it’s because Amazon seems to get it’s not about gadgets. It’s about people reading. The Kindle provided an experience that was so similar to reading a print and ink book that it was comfortable. But, like the iPod, it allowed you to carry your entire library around with you and shop from anywhere. Even the much maligned design of the Kindle illustrates this ethos. It’s not about the gadget. The gadget should disappear when you read. It’s about the words on the page. Why is there a keyboard? Because people like to make notes in the margins of their books. As a marketer, I don’t care about the technology. I care about the people I’m trying to reach. I care about how they use technology to communicate. I care about ways to create experiences,...
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Shavuot: Seder of the Seven Prophetesses
Culture: I am fascinated by culture on most levels. I mostly focus on American culture and what makes us who we are as a country, but I'm also intrigued by sub-cultures in the USA and the growing global cultural trends.
