2 years ago

Words and definitions

Thinking about the words we use: they will have a meaning to each and every individual that will have a very personal interpretation. Each person's experience will colour their attitude to words. Perhaps 'Educate' can be positive to many, but negative to those whose experience of school was bad, never to be re-visited. To me an institution is a place where rights and freedoms are limited. We must be wary of using vocabulary that we want to define very specifically. The beauty of Audi's "Vorsprung durch Technik" was that for an English-speaking audience, there is no literal translation of Vorsprung (a compound word of something approximating 'forward' and 'jump'). However it conveyed advanced technology, futuristism and through the use of German language, reliability (shame about the 2015 emissions scandal at parent company VW).

2 years ago

Meeting Architecture

Meeting design, or meeting architecture, is a relatively new discipline in the conference, trade show and meetings sector. Meeting Architecture is a term coined by Maarten Vanneste in a manifesto he published in 2008. Vanneste's view was that the meetings and conference industry at the time was dominated by venues and hospitality, a conclusion he came to by studying industry publication advertising and trade show exhibitor participation. Destination and hospitality priorities far outstripped consideration of content and meeting participant experience.

More »
2 years ago

The Consumation of Empire[s]

Thanks to Andrew Graham-Dixon's programme on BBC television "Art of America", I learned of Thomas Cole; an American painter of English origin who painted American landscapes in the 19th century. His series of paintings "The Course of Empire" (1833-36) seems apposite to current affairs, especially today on the eve of the British parliaments's vote on the Prime Minister's negotiated plan to leave the EU, while in the United States, a President holds his country hostage to his supporters. In both cases, leadership does not seem to be motivated by the benefit of their countries' populations, but the internal struggles of their political parties, power, and the satisfaction of their "mobocracies". We are embroiled in "The Consumation of Empire", with all its pomposity, grandiosity, sinful pride, debauchery, harking back to an invented history, lacking introspection, reflection and modesty. It is said that the paintings are a depiction of the US under Andrew Jackson (a Democrat) and his political party. He was a President who sought to advance the rights of the "common man" against a "corrupt aristocracy". Sounds familiar? The final paintings, "Destruction" and "Desolation", seem imminently and eminently possible - perhaps desolation, the reclamation by nature of a world destroyed by its inhabitants who designed and engineered their own extinction, is what we deserve. It is certainly what the natural world deserves. (Images in the public domain in the United States, their country of origin, and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or less.)

Wikipedia: The Course of Empire (paintings)
3 years ago

Exhibitions: Still worth a good slice of your marketing budget?

In short, YES! "Research from Hubspot found 68% of professionals value face-to-face interactions more than online; 40% of prospects converted to new customers through face-to-face meetings, and 28% of current business that would be lost without face-to-face meetings. According to a report by the Centre for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) 99% of marketers noted that they found unique value in exhibitions that they did not receive from other forms of marketing."

Acing Exhibitions on a Budget (Glisser blog)
3 years ago

File sync and share on your infrastructure

Using NextCloudPi, a preconfigured Raspberry Pi image with NextCloud, I now have a working online file depository using my own infrastructure and equipment. A Raspberry Pi connected to a USB external drive is all the hardware needed, and a download of the NextCloudPi image and a domain host at NoIp.com takes care of the software and domain handling. NCP's set up wizard and a little network port-forwarding tinkering made the whole set up a breeze. Bravo.

NextCloudPi
3 years ago

Backdrop

Having worked with the content management system, Drupal, through versions 6 and 7 (sites like http://everyball.uk), I came across Backdrop recently. Not being a full-time developer, and being pretty time-poor, Drupal 8 seems madly daunting, especially for the relatively small sites I typically build. Backdrop is familiar, yet modern and seems to be a logical and progressive iteration of D7. ...Oh, and Civicrm has been been ported to Backdrop too. I love it.

Backdrop
3 years ago

Don't be a dick

Discussing GDPR with Lee, he mentioned a cyclist who didn't understand why a bike race needed so many rules. Just one is required: "Don't be a dick". The idea illustrates that if we're not antisocially silly with our customers' data, we are less likely to fall foul of GDPR. I like it because it's less passive than "act with others as you would like them to act with you" and implies some sense of influence - people might behave better if shown that there is benefit. Don't be a dick, but still win. Subsequent querying of the world's favourite search engine and online encyclopedia suggests that the phrase is most associated Wil Wheaton using it in a similar sense, "Wheaton's Law".

Lee
3 years ago

Don't get bitten by the security snake at Geneva airport

Travelling economy and been caught in that nightmare queue for security at Geneva airport? I am very grateful to a tip I recently received (HT Lisa Parker): on the Geneva Airport website, under Passenger Services > E-Services, select "Priority Lane". For SFr10 purchase a ticket to by-pass security. Yesterday, I made it from train to coffee in the departure lounge in 12 minutes, including checking my bag. One caveat: the ticket must be purchased by midnight the night before your flight

Geneva airport Priority Lane ticket
3 years ago

When paying for that stronger coffee tastes bitter

When pricing your product, whether good or service, a sense of fairness, good will and customer happiness are created by offering an 'added value' feature at no additional cost for something that takes no more effort nor using any more resources than the 'basic' option. Take that stronger coffee: does your coffee shop charge you more, calling it an 'estra shot', if your cup catches both flows of coffee coming from the grounds-holder? Rarely is a second espresso made at the same time - that extra coffee just flows down the machine's drain. That irks, and my experience could be made so much more happy and rewarding.

3 years ago

Notebook bar brings new UI to LibreOffice

A recent experimental feature of LibreOffice brings a ribbon-like experience to the traditional menu interface. It's responsive to screen widths, and is reminiscent of Microsoft's office interfaces. Definitely refreshing and indicates a positive direction of travel for the project. It has a few glitches (like how the hamburger menu symbol falls behind the file, save un/redo symbols at certain widths). It needs to be activated by users: (Windows/Linux) Tools | Options | LibreOffice | Advanced | Enable experimental features (Mac LibreOffice | Preferences etc); then enable options under View | Toolbar layout.

HT Jack Waldon
3 years ago

When an apology draws attention to your good work

Apology after Japanese train departs 20 seconds early. The BBC reported (17 November 2017) that a Japanese railway company apologised after one of its trains departed 20 seconds early. "Management on the Tsukuba Express line between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba say they "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused". ... the company said the train had been scheduled to leave at 9:44:40 local time but left at 9:44:20." Apparently no customers had complained about the early departure. To many of us, this seems like an unnecessary apology. However, it has been widely shared on social media and the reputation of this line can only be enhanced. Japanese train departures are timetabled to the second, and a deviation from that warrants an apology. Who knew? Apology made. Reputation enhanced.

Photo in public domain from Wikimedia
4 years ago

"I'm sorry"; busting the myth that an apology is an admission of guilt

In England and Wales, the Compensation Act (2006) says that an apology will not, in and of itself, amount to an admission of negligence. In other words, when something goes wrong, an individual's or organisation's sincere apology is unlikely to be interpreted as an admission of guilt and culpability, and so will reduce the risk of being sued. A proper apology (not "we're sorry you feel like that") can take the sting out of a situation, allows someone who feels agrieved to calm down and reflect (even physically lowering their blood pressure), and reduces the risk of further legal and/or reputational damage.

Radio 4, Law in Action
4 years ago

Taking care of the words we choose

Language matters. Not only should we try to write well crafted paragraphs with a beginning and an end, but, perhaps pedantically, I suggest that each and every word we choose matters. Of course I'm not the first to travel down this well-worn path of fussiness, but business jargon is so often meaningless, hijacking vocabulary from other disciplines and twisting definitions to be shoe-horned into awkward, even absurd, situations. 'Leverage' is often crow-barred into these discussions, but I've been thinking about 'freelance(r)' as a word, its definition and its history (it originally described a 'mercenary'). I have settled on 'caretaker' to describe myself and my work. This is language and a definition I read on Cathy Fitzgerald's website*. It struck a chord which resonates. I considered 'custodian' as a synonym but its connotation of possession is too prevalent. A caretaker I am. After all, there are too many mercenaries for hire, more interested in fees than care, who give 'freelance' a bad reputation.

* Strange and Charmed
4 years ago

I'm back

After an extended sabbatical from writing and observing, I'm looking forward to posting snippets and links here - things that are important to me, that spark my imagination and passion. Perhaps the odd thing will light your bulb.

6 years ago

The Second Coming

Yeats's The Second Coming is frequently quoted in times of uncertainty, and the recent UK election has been no exception. I heard it mentioned in a conversation between P J O'Rourke and Paddy Ashdown on the BBC World Service on the eve the election. Their conversation was prophetic. The centre did not hold and in the last few days, new and returning ministers interviewed on BBC Radio 4 have exhibited plenty of "passionate intensity". I sincerely hope "The best" emerge in the next weeks and months. For those unfamiliar with the poem, here's the first verse: "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / The falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, / The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere / The ceremony of innocence is drowned; / The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity."

6 years ago

It’s Time to Give Up on Facebook Marketing

'Basically, Facebook is using its power to make you – us – pay the price – the “boost this post” price. And quite frankly I don’t feel like wasting my time (or money) on it anymore.' Find the channels that really WORK for you. Find the channels that generate business.

Delete Your Facebook Business Page Already
6 years ago

Facebook and events

In the events industry, Facebook is considered the most effective pre and post event channel (Twitter for on site). Ugh.

The Viral Impact of Events (pdf)
6 years ago

Lego car that runs on air

Just watch this; too many numbers to repeat (OK, 256 cylinders powered by compressed air) and it appears to work, kind of.

Driving on Air: Inventor Raul Oaida and his LEGO car
6 years ago

Training with 20 minute sessions

I have recently been advocating the scheduling of short, 20 minute sessions at conferences in which I am involved. Here's some advocacy of their value.

Maximising Training with 20 Minute Bite-Size Sessions
6 years ago

Triple loop learning, the loop of doom

Jeff Hurt is one of the most prolific, thoughtful and intelligent writers about conference matters that I have come across. I have had to work hard to understand his posts about single, double and triple loop learning, but I get it. Here's a flavour: "Triple loop learning moves beyond questioning our work processes and the foundation for our tasks. It requires a deeper assessment of the situation, our strategies and our behaviors. It evaluates our own goals and beliefs as well as the people we interact with. And triple loop learning is a wonderful bridge to understanding our customers. When conference organizers [ed: and any other organisational implementers] think about their attitudes, actions and patterns of behavior and can do so without having an emotional hijack, then they can break down the defenses that block learning new strategies. Teaching conference planning teams how and why they react in specific ways as well as how to react in more effective ways leads to transformation."

Triple Loop Learning, The Loop Of Doom And Conference Transformation
6 years ago

Shoutkey

Ever wanted to share a URL, in, say, a meeting or over the phone? URL shorteners are great for this. Bitly, TinyURL, Ow.ly, Goo.gl do a fine job, but there's still a bewildering soup of letters and numbers with which to contend. Shoutkey gets around the alpha-numeric minestrone by adding a recognisable, random English dictionary word after shoutkey.com/. Paste a long URL into the shoutkey website home page, specify how long it will last (they are 'disposable' and can have a life of 5 minutes to 24 hours), and generate an easy dictatable URL. So I got http://shoutkey.com/defeat from http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/04/5-metres-80-giraffes-nicolas-deveaux/ - So much more easy to tell my daughter (and I encourage all to watch the film - surreal and marvellous).

Shoutkey
6 years ago

Update on post about Chrome OS and ownCloud

Should you wish to use the cloud file system extension described below, you might see a SFTP file extension as well as WebDAV, Dropbox and OneDrive. I was very excited by this. However, my Chromebook (HP 11" Chromebook) has ARM architecture, which is incompatible with the SFTP extension. That extension will not work with ARM-powered Chromebooks.

6 years ago

Google Apps for Nonprofits

Did you know that UK-registered charities (and non-profits in several other territories) can get Google for Nonprofits free of charge? This affords your organisation the entire suite of Google Apps including the Google email service and (big bonus) Google Classroom. If you would like to know how I got on migrating, implementing and administering Google Apps using this service, I'd love to hear from you.

6 years ago

A guide to conference promotion

Are tech conferences better at digital promotion than those in other sectors, given that geeks are considered to understand the plethora of digital platforms better than the rest of us? No, not necessarily. Here's a guide written by an open source tech conference organiser for other open source tech conference organisers. I suggest that whatever your sector, subsitituting that for the references to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), will give you some great ideas for conference promotions and make some sense of how to use the many platforms and services available to you at little or no cost: your own event website; a good event management platform; social media, including blogging, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Lanyard. Suggestions are also included for maximising participation and engagement during the event.

How to promote your conference
6 years ago

Mix your studying for best learning results

So, I will learn more if I mix what I'm studying (more PHP, Bootstrap, JavaScript, Drupal, horology, GNU/Linux). A thoughtful and enlightening article by my brother Michael.

A short study in learning
6 years ago

Integrate ownCloud into Chrome OS

My lovely ownCloud server (think Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, Copy etc - only open source and on your own server) syncs files between my computers and devices. Using this new feature, and installing the WebDAV File System extension, it is possible to display ownCloud files in the Chrome OS file manager. Follow the instructions in the link below to set up your Chromebook, add the WebDAV File System extension, then click on the cog in the bottom left-hand corner of your ownCloud web interface to get your server's WebDAV address. Paste this into the WebDAV File System extension setting with your username and password, and your ownCloud files will now appear in the ChromeOS files app. There are also apps for Dropbox and OneDrive.

It’s Now Even Easier to Add Other Cloud Providers to Chrome OS

Greetings. I'm Steven James and I provide event and digital services to associations, membership bodies, and other organisations in the educational, charitable and non-profit sectors. I also help exhibitors and their contractors with ATA Carnets, the customs document necessary when visiting Switzerland, Norway and other countries outside the European Union. See my website for more information about my services.

This site is a collection of thoughts and observations about the things in life and work that make me think "wow", or "that's cool", or "if only I thought of that". I hope that sometimes, you might think the same.

Need help with a project? Or, if you just want to say hello, I’d love to hear from you. In either case, feel free to email me here.