Month: March 2012
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Independent coffee shops
I didn’t have time to try many of the independent coffee shops around Seoul but did try a few in Gyeongju and Ulsan. Here is a little about two of the best that I came across. Cafe 737 Cafe 737 is a family-run coffee in the tourist town of Gyeongju. I loved it because of…
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Korean customer service
Coming from the UK, Korean customer service experience is amazing. Korea has a lower minimum wage than the UK, like China, when you pull into a filling station your fuel is pumped for you by an attendant. This means that Korean customer service often has a personal touch. However this doesn’t mean that you get…
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Chain coffee shops
I had been in Korea less than 24 hours and already the number and diversity of chain coffee shops had surprised me. Whilst some people may call Seattle the home of the coffee shop, Seoul seems to have far more at least in terms of independent coffee shops and chain coffee shops. The quality of…
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The Greatest Trade Ever
The Greatest Trade Ever fitted my agenda really well. I had wanted some light reading as I traveled and Zuckerman’s account of how John Paulson bet against the US housing market seemed as good a read as any. As a non-financial person I found some if it very illuminating: Like innovations such as the the…
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LTE in Korea
Whilst the UK government flights with the major carriers including Vodafone over 4G whilst simultaneously wanting universal broadband for rural communities, Korea has a real-life working LTE eco-system. So what’s it like? The handsets come with a spare battery and desk charger as realistic battery life is somewhere south of an iPhone 4S. The devices…
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Android differentiation
I decided to write on my story onAndroid differentiation after careful consideration. On one hand I didn’t want the companies involved to suffer because one executive had a loud mouth. On the other hand it raised interesting questions about the state of the Android eco-system. So I decided at the time to thinly veil the…
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Mobile and TV integration
Social, search, mobile and TV is the first in a series of posts of observations and thoughts from my recent trip to Korea. I was stuck by how mobile and TV advertising integration is achieved through QRcodes, search social and e-commerce. The consumer is surrounded in a brand membrane whilst at home in front of…
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Turbo + more news
Turbo Turbo Shandy from the Turbo Drinks Company – I find it fascinating that someone would use ‘turbo’ as a brand. Its so 1980s: Saab Turbo, Turbo aftershave (like Brut, but nastier), Turbo sunglasses, Turbo razors China Cui Yongyuan on government Weibo accounts: Shanghaiist – market in helping Chinese government departments ‘get’ social media engagement?…
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The Green Linnet
Irish public broadcaster RTÉ is celebrating 50 years of television broadcasting and one of the shows being re-broadcast is The Green Linnet. The Green Linnet in question was a drab green Citroen van based on the Citroen 2CV car in which two traditional musicians toured Europe and played music on the streets to earn their…