Month: November 2014
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FES watch + more things
Who’s Behind the E-paper FES Watch? – Digits – WSJ – interesting the way Sony has become an internal VC operation. It makes sense since they need disruptive innovation and they still have smart people. they also need to allow their engineering talent to keep having an outlet for their creativity. The FES watch is…
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A laser cut record & things that made last week
Laser cut record A frickin’ laser-cut record. How awesome is this? Back in the day there were efforts to use laser pick-ups to read vinyl records in a way that wouldn’t affect the records over time. Dragging a diamond tipped needle through a groove was viewed as destructive. The first prototype was demonstrated publicly in…
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Wasted investment + more things
China has ‘wasted’ $6.8tn in investment, warn Beijing researchers – FT.com – define wasted. The ghost cities may fill slowly as rural policies move people into the cities. I would be more worried about monies wasted on systemic corruption The click-through rate is not dead, it’s morphed into a zombie | Marketing Magazine – interesting that this…
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Canada on Twitter
Canada on twitter will be an event that will have delighted my friend and former colleague Matthias Lüfkens. Matthias founded the Burson-Marsteller Twiplomacy project. Time spent at the World Economic Forum on social media meant that Twiplomacy has been a long time personal passion of his. The Twiplomacy looked at which countries have accounts…
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1 percent dominance + more things
This is the proof that the 1 percent have been running the show for 800 years | Quartz – know your place serfs. Interesting long term research on the 1 percent. There is also research that shows that the descendants of Chinese landlords doing better. These would have been the pre-revolutionary 1 percent. This rise of…
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Facebook engagement advertising fraud & things that made last week
A nice video on how Facebook engagement advertising fraud works. The illegitimate way to buy likes from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. But you see similar fake likes when you you use Facebook advertising. This can be seen in the behaviour of the lakers. The Facebook engagement advertising fraud is run by Facebook itself.…
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Modern cryptography + more things
Modern cryptography Keeping Secrets — STANFORD magazine – great article on the origins of modern cryptography. Without Diffie and Hellman you wouldn’t have e-commerce, VPNs or secure messaging. Modern cryptography as we know it goes back to an academic conference at Cornell University in 1977. To learn more about this I can also recommend Steven Levy’s…
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Dreadzone at Under The Bridge, Stamford Bridge
It has become a tradition that my friend Simon and I meet up to catch Dreadzone on their annual tour last Friday. Simon had come in from Saudi Arabia so its a pretty big deal for us. This was the first time I had been to a gig at Under The Bridge. The space is…
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Duracell, Buffett & more things
Duracell Warren Buffett buys P&G’s Duracell business | Marketing Interactive – I think that this is smart, Duracell is a powerful brand. It has been extended from beyond its traditional high quality alkaline batteries to include rechargeable batteries, chargers and related products. Beyond distribution, the fit for Procter & Gamble is less obvious. Having Duracell under…