The new F1 advertising model?
To bring Formula 1 sponsorship to the masses, why don’t they adopt a lottery-style approach?
They invite small companies to buy £100 "lottery" tickets,each with the chance of winning the rights to their logo appearing downthe side of the Brawn GP car when it whizzes around the Malaysian trackthis weekend.
5,000 tickets later and we have £500,000 in revenueand a lucky winner whose logo will be blazened upon TV screens theworld over.
Maybe that’s the advertising model for the cash-strapped sport that it has become.
Just a thought.
Agadon’t: the importance of intonation
On speaking about his band’s re-release of Agadoo to mark the single’s 25th anniversary, Black Lace singer Dene Michael was quoted by BBC News as saying:
"With all the doom and gloom in the world, this is just what we need."
I think this should have read:
"With all the doom and gloom in the world, this is just what we need."
Subtle but important distinction.
(Post categorised as music for want of a more suitable alternative.)
Finger trouble
The middle finger on my left hand has recently lost some of its powers. For some reason unbeknown to me, its ability to support weight laterally has almost entirely disappeared; seemingly overnight.
You’d have thought that the affliction would have realised itself in many different ways. But it seems that taking weight laterally on the middle finger of one’s non-dominant hand is a characteristic of only one event in life: carrying a cup of tea.
So I can carry a cup with my right hand, but if I carry one with my left hand, gradually, the support provided by my middle finger wanes, to the point where I simply have to put the cup down. Probably quite amusing to onlookers, but hugely frustrating for me. Think I need to find a different finger arrangement for tea carrying, or else only carry one cup at a time.
Maybe I’m getting old.
This and next: difference of opinion
OK. So it seems that response has finally tailed off on my this week or next week quiz. The 22nd and most recent responder submitted their response a second before 09:23 this morning.
And what an interesting set of results we have. Only two of the ten questions yielded unanimity. On any given Monday, it seems This Thursday will never result in confusion, nor will Next Monday.
The phrase most likely to cause confusion is Next Sunday when used on a Monday. 55% of responders believe it to mean the next Sunday to occur; 45% believe it to mean the one after that. And arranging a meeting This Monday on a Monday will also likely get people turning up on the wrong day. 64% think the meeting is scheduled a week from today, 36% thinking it’s happening today.
For completeness, below are the rest of the results.
- It’s Thursday 4th. Next Monday means either 8th (77%) or 15th (23%)
- It’s Thursday 4th. Next Saturday means either 6th (23%) or 13th (77%)
- It’s Monday 1st. Next Wednesday means either 3rd (18%) or 10th (82%)
- It’s Thursday 4th. Next Wednesday means either 10th (82%) or 17th (18%)
- It’s Monday 1st. Next Friday means either 5th (23%) or 12th (77%)
- It’s Sunday 7th. Next Tuesday means either 9th (32%) or 16th (68%)
Best be careful next time you use this and next in relation to dates. It’s more confusing than you might think. The quiz is still open, btw, if you’re interested in submitting your views.
Embedded Google Forms. Lovely
Hm. I’m liking the survey possibilities that embedded forms from Google Docs can offer, as demonstrated in my previous post on the use of this and next. (Survey results from that one will be published when the response levels die down from their current heady heights.) Will be doing more of this, I think, albeit shorter surveys, to gain people’s views on stuff.
Shame the surveys don’t appear embedded in Google Reader though. You’d've thought, given that the word Google appears in both.
This week or next?
I’ve written before about how people use the words this and next when referring to weeks. And the ensuing confusion. I’d love it if you could complete the ten questions below to figure out whether people are consistent in their views, or whether confusion reigns.
This was prompted by my friend Alan, reading from Austria a reader’s letter on the very subject in yesterday’s Telegraph.
Thanks for your time. (One submission each, please.)
T-Mobile twunts double the price to make life easier
On Monday, I received the following text message from T-Mobile, my network provider.
From 1 May we’re introducing a flat rate of 40p a min to call some numbers beginning with 08. For details of how this affects you go online to t-mobile.co.uk/08
(The URL wasn’t a hyperlink. I’ve made it so in this post. Just for you. Aren’t I nice?)
On visiting the URL, I was informed that the reason for the change was as follows.
Previously, call rates to these numbers varied between price plans and by 08 numbers. Customers tell us that they are confused by the cost of calls outside their core price plan charges. By standardising these rates and applying consistency across the pay monthly price plans, we are making it easier for customers to understand what they’re being charged for calls to these numbers.
On calling T-Mobile this evening, I was informed that under my current price plan, all calls to the affected numbers are currently charged at 19.5p.
So in a nutshell, T-Mobile are offering to more than double a flat fee for me to make it easier for me to understand what I’m being charged.
Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve changed price plan and now such calls are included in my minutes. But many won’t, and will be stung by the price hike.
GMail Labs features I use and like
I thought I’d put this post together for two reasons. One to highlight the GMail Labs features that I know and love to those GMail users who may not be aware of their work. And, perhaps more importantly, to make non-GMail users aware of the poetry that is Google Mail, and its ability to manage beautifully all your mail without you having a care in the world.
For those not in the know, Labs are essentially GMail extensions that can be enabled (or not) from the Settings link at the top right corner of the GMail screen. So, here goes.
Stuff I love
- Forgotten Attachment Detector: if you put some words in your email indicating that you’re attaching something, it warns you if you’ve not attached anything. Lovely
- Send & Archive: a new button allowing you to send the response and archive the conversation in one fell swoop
- Title Tweaks: changes the order of things appearing in your title bar. Upfront: folder and unread items. Way more useful to see in a tab than your domain name
Stuff I like
- YouTube Previews in emails: not used it yet, but I’m sure it’ll come in handy whenever someone sends me a YouTube link via email. Do people still use email for that now that they have Twitter?
- Picasa and Flickr previews in emails: a separate Lab feature for each, but they behave as for videos above. Less clicks for those lucky enough to be sent links instead of files. I expect it only works for publicly available images, but not sure
- Fixed-width font: adds to the Reply menu dropdown an option to view emails with a fixed-width font
- Custom date formats: lovely addition to allow 24-hour clock and UK date formats across the piece
- Old Snakey: at the press of an ampersand, a game of Snakes appears before your eyes. Useless, yes. Funny, kind of
- Hide unread counts: does exactly what it says on the tin. For those fearful of the task ahead
- Undo send: not used it yet. Not sure how effective it will be. I’ve never really understood how that feature works in Outlook; nor here in GMail
- Google Calendar Gadget: a little module bottom left showing your upcoming events
Stuff I see the point of, but don’t use
- Quick Links: creates a module of customisable links to searches and pages within GMail that you use regularly. One-click access is the idea
- Superstars: labels and stars not enough? Superstars gives you a wealth of other icons (ticks, explamation points, stars of varying colours etc.) with which to tag your conversations
- Mouse gestures: wow. Combines mouse clicks and directional movement to determine what you want to do. I’m too scared to turn this on
- Canned responses: useful for people who use GMail as a big driver of process-based tasks, I expect
- Default Reply To All: keep forgetting to copy everyone? This is for you
- Mail Goggles: makes you answer some maths questions if you try to send emails late at night to make sure your mental state is suitable for communicating
If you don’t have your own domain, then start using GMail and route everything to it. Seamless. If you have your own domain, then use Google Apps. You’ll never look back!
Confusion to follow
Here’s a quick addendum to my previous post explaning the confusion of toggles such as Mute and Unmute. I think the BlackBerry Storm has taken a step forward with its choice of Mute and Mute Off. Altough I’m not sure why. Mute Off could equally be read as a noun as opposed to a verb. Maybe the fact that it’s made up of two words signifies more of an undoing action.
The issue surrounds the abbreviation of the English language to the point at which verbs and nouns become indistinguishable.
The same is true in Twitter. A user’s page includes text showing X following and Y followers. Only by looking at the Y followers piece can I get my head around the fact that the X refers to the number of people that the person is following, as opposed to the number following that person.
It’s a dull subject, but from a user experience perspective, Twitter needs to sort it out, either graphically or editorially.
Sweet tea bags
I came up with another idea that could make my millions this morning: tea-and-sugar bags. As well as encasing a generous portion of tea leaves within the square, round or pyramidal bag, PG Tips, Tetley or one of their tea-making brethren would include a single spoonful of sugar.
The target market for the product would be labourers and office workers, essentially those without the luxury of a lovely ornamental sugar jar next to their kettle.
In homage to the branding of delayed-TV stations, the respective tea brands would simply add +1 to their names to signify boxes containing the sweetening spoonful. +2 could be considered as an additional, sweeter product, but I’d stay stop there, for the sake of the nation’s teeth and an overburdened dental profession. And to prevent a third of supermarket shelf space being dedicated to tea.
Anyone for a cup of Tetley+1?
Bonuses and numbers in context
Wow. Bonuses are big news at the moment. The most recent example is AIG’s proposed bonus payments in the US. I understand the backlash: the government is bailing out a mis-managed business to the tune of $30bn, and the tax-payer doesn’t want to see the money squandered.
In a similar vein, Citibank is planning to spend $10m on a suite for its CEO, Vikram Pandit, having been bailed out to the tune of $45bn. On this latter example, WXYZ says the following:
Plans and instructions call for the installation of at least one Sub-Zero refrigerator and icemaker in the renovated space, along with "premium grade" millwork and Madico Inc. "Safety Shield 800" blast-proof window film. The project includes 17 private offices, each with space for administrative assistants, as well as two conference rooms and open areas with "soft seating," according to the plans.
Pandit told Congress that he "get[s] the new reality and [will] make sure Citi gets it as well."
I’m not sure he does.
While I understand the need in AIG to continue to provide HR policies that keep attrition at an acceptable level, the Citibank example spanks of greed and a lack of remorse. As well as doing the right thing, more so now than ever before, these companies need to be seen to be doing the right thing. Which means Zanussi instead of Sub-Zero, Formica instead of millwork, and maybe a limit on administrative assistants to one per executive or, call me radical, shared resources for multiple executives.
That said, working in the government sector I am more aware than many of the press’s ability and tendency to use huge numbers to make a point. $165m in bonuses is a huge number. But if you compare this to the $30bn bailout, it’s 0.55%. Or the equivalent of $550 on a $100,000 bailout. The company should certainly think about whether the bonuses are warranted and necessary, but at the same time the press does not help by bandying about such large numbers without context.
I’ve thought about the issue of context for many years, but this cartoon from xkcd prompted me to start typing. That, along with this revelation on what a trillion dollars looks like. Wow!
Is personal blogging dead?
This morning, Kevin Rose, of Digg fame, questioned whether personal blogging was dead, what with the advent of Facebook :and Twitter.
is personal blogging dead? w/my facebook page/twitter, I’m not sure I need a blog anymore.. thoughts?
I’d hope not.
Twitter is brief—140 characters brief. I’d wager that I’ve never written a post under 140 characters. Well maybe one or two. But the point is that Twitter could never replace my blog because the content is so different.
As for Facebook, it’s useful for connecting with people, sharing photos, and sharing things of interest (although the market for the last of these is being eaten up by Twitter). It’s not used for ramblings, musings, and general thought.
Maybe the important word in Kevin’s tweet is personal. Maybe the personal blog has been replaced, if he means blogs telling their audience what the writer is up to. But I’ve never been a subscriber to such blogs, so from a selfish perspective my subscriptions won’t be affected. Meanwhile, hope you’re enjoying post 1,442, and I look forward to writing the next 1,442. And the next. And the next.
Twitter’s 140 characters: enough?
The 140 character limit imposed by Twitter is a stroke of genius.
I guess that the limit was imposed because of the 160 character limit of SMS messages—allowing for a 20 character wrapper, I expect—which were (and probably still are) a big source of updates to Twitter. Yet this 160 character limit is itself artificial.
Irrespective of its history, getting tweets down to 140 characters has become an artform. While people complain about its limitation, I think relaxing the limit would generate uproar from Twitterers. Increasing it would change the way in which people use the medium, turning it into more of a platform for blogs than one for tweets, and making sifting and reading of updates much more unwieldy.
Long may brevity reign.
Good and bad
My daughter has started saying .NET. No prompting from me, honest.
And I was slightly disappointed by the following extract from her report card from nursery today:
We had a few tears when Dad dropped her off [at 7.55am] but by 8.10am she was fine, smiling and laughing.
I have feelings too, you know!
Got the keys?
I expect Shuttle launches are planned a lot better than my family’s trips out of the house. Often, I’ll run back from the car to the house having forgotten my daughter’s juice, my iPod, or to check whether I’ve turned the gas off. (That last example is entirely fictional, intending to give the reader a stereotypical view of my forgetfulness.)
It would be refreshing to read about a Shuttle launch that was delayed because the pilot had forgotten the keys, or had forgotten to take the lunch that her husband had prepared (very PC, me) out of the fridge. Or to read of a short delay for one of the crew to have one last wee before the long journey.
Are we nearly there yet?
Designing glasses
I’m intrigued as to how people design glasses. Of the wearing variety.
As previously posted, I recently bought a pair. (A pair that I love, btw.) But the range of different styles was astounding. And always is.
I wonder what decision-making process spectacle-manufacturers go through in deciding what type of frames to manufacture, how many to go for in total, and how to divide their total between the different styles. Specifically, I wonder what the business requirements document looks like.
Not sure why I wonder this. But I do.
(As an aside, during the 48 hours since donning the new glasses, I have been compared to Chris Evans, Frankie Boyle, Ronnie Barker and Joe 90. I think it’s because I’m generally considered to be a funny kind of guy. My wife’s response? "Did you try them on in the shop?" Ho hum.)
Point within Zone 1 furthest from an Underground station
Draw the largest polygon possible by connecting Zone 1 stations on the London Underground. All Zone 1 stations will lie within said polygon.
Now find the point within the polygon furthest away from a Zone 1 station.
I’m interested to know the answer.
Where are all the maps?
After dipping my toes into the world of online mapping, I’m thinking there’s a market out there for organisations with some distributed presence (i.e. more than one location) but little web knowledge. And indeed, for organisations that just haven’t seen the value of online maps.
There are a bunch of organisations for which I’d like to be able to see a map of all locations, with the locations listed and be able to zoom in or out, or find directions to and from, any one of those locations in a Google Maps kind of way.
But no one does this.
Marks & Spencer: how on earth have you missed this? Starbucks: same question. Boots: ditto. B&Q. Church of England: map those churches. English Heritage: you should offer this for all of your blue plaques.
All it takes is a bunch of postcodes, full addresses to display on clicking, and some store details to appear in the resulting bubbles.
Would anyone be interested in a site that offered all of these in a single place, irrespective of the buy-in of the parent organisation? (After all, the data is generally available if you look for it.)
Geek-chic
I invested in some new glasses on Wednesday. The type that will help with my eyesight as opposed to those that contain liquid. The incumbent pair are scratched-to-buggery. This, along with a slightly deteriorating prescription, means that it’s time for a change.
The trouble with buying new glasses is that you can’t see what the hell you look like when you’re wearing them, given that they sport plain glass, somewhat ineffective to those challenged in the sight department.
Which is why the modern advances in digital photography are a godsend. Here’s a picture I took of me, looking rather serious, in Dolland & Aitchison.
On showing the picture to my colleague, her immediate reaction was: "Oh my god, geek-chic."
I had no idea what she meant, so on looking up the phrase, I found the following definition:
the embracing of stereotypically unpopular "geek" characteristics such as glasses, comic books, and computer games
Oh dear. Still, no one’s ever called me chic before. I pick the glazed artefacts up tomorrow.
James Corden giving England team a pep talk
I watched Comic Relief on the BBC on Friday night. All in all, above average comedy for a good few hours. The highlight? James Corden giving a motivational talk to the England football team.
If you didn’t see it, it’s worth watching. Catch it here.