Stefan’s blog

What is relevant to a society is how well people are communicating their ideas and how well are they cooperating, not how clever individuals are. Matt Ridley

President of Google’s EMEA operations talks about changes which are happening and their pace. Predictions are hard to make, but important decisions needs to be done now. Broadband access went from a nice to have, to a must have. People use Internet mostly for search, chat and entertainment. Community sites become very popular which rises interesting question: Is the content going to be in the center and communities will form around it, or community will form the center and people will find likewise communities to discuss relevant content? He concludes that the biggest brands in the last ten years were developed on the basis of product performance. People demand quality products. Most of these products were free to a consumer and there was a community side to it. I finish with two questions, which I seek answers to. What is the impact of the internet on traditional (4P) marketing? What are the relevant marketing strategies if the product is free?

Imagine a car which comes with an electric miles energy subscription similar to your mobile subscription from your favorite telecom provider. You pass a pump and just swap depleted battery for a new one. Or charge at home while parking.

Great thing about subscription model is that the more you use it the cheaper it is. You get mobile phone for free and unlimited minutes with certain subscription plans. Imagine taking mobile service subscription model to an automotive industry. Shai Agassi is working on such an exciting project:

Interesting talk about extraction of value from real people and real companies producing goods and services, to rather holdings, financial corporations creating myths around products. Companies which don’t make anything but rather become names on debt.

Douglas Rushkoff raises interesting question about our current economy. As money were created to hold value in the age of scarcity, they don’t work well in present age based on abundance. It is free to distribute stuff across the Internet. That’s why scarcity based lending banking model doesn’t work.

“They were so stupid, they bought shares of their own ponzi schemes”. Douglas Rushkoff talking about banks. If you have so much money created where are you going to put them?

If you like this talk, you will also enjoy Hacking the Economy article.

Barry Schwartz talks about how we stopped being wise. People more and more follow rules, which allow them to stop thinking.

He describes few features of wise person who:

• knows when and how to make exception to every rule
• knows how to improvise
• knows how to use moral skills in the pursuit of the right aims
• is made, not born

I have just remembered Ritzer and his McDonaldization of society theory. I think that it is very important to think critically and not just blindly follow any given rule. It is just sad that many people do not know how to be human these times. I would like to see honesty and kindness in everybody.

Philippe Starck is a french designer, whose scope ranges from deluxe objects to posh condos and hotels all around the world. I especially admire him for his believes and views on design and religion, which are very close to mine. Design should be done for the result. People, are going to use the product, so we should spent time thinking about how are they going to use it and make it the bast way, to create awesome user experience. This implies also on web design. I focus on usability while designing web sites and applications, because there are people going to use them.

“God is the answer when we don’t know the answer. God is a trap. When you do not know the answer, there is a God, that is ridiculous.”

As a web designer, I may see design in everything. But really, good design can drive sustainable development and reduce humanity’s ecological footprint. Watch Alex Steffen’s talk, who is the founder of worldchanging.com. He shares his thoughts about design of our cities, buildings and every day things.

Have you ever thought where does the stuff comes from? What is the cycle of average product you use? Annie Leonard nicely exposes the flow of stuff. From extraction through sale, use and disposal. From the point of view you probably never thought of. At the end of the video, you will find proposal for sustainable production and consumption. Enjoy it and do something.

There is always something to improve on the way how we do our presentations. Steve Jobs is very well known for his extraordinary speeches. On BNET, communication coach Carmine Gallo discusses various techniques Jobs uses to inspire his audience.

Things to remember from Steve Jobs presentations:

1. Set clear and consistent theme,
   …present it as a mantra to help your audience remember it easily (“Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone!”)
2. Provide the outline
3. Open and close each section with a clear transition
4. Show enthusiasm
   (Jobs uses words like extraordinary, amazing, cool, awesome, incredible)
5. Wow your audience
6. Sell an experience
7. Make numbers and statistics meaningful (compare them, how much it actually represents)
8. Be short on bullet points, big on visuals, tell stories
9. Give them a show
10. Rehearse
11. One more thing … ( give your audience a bonus )

Be optimistic. Jobs speaks with opportunity language and encourage others.

Professor Patrick Winston from MIT offers tips on how to give effective talk. He shares his insights about starting a lecture, cycling, how to indicate transitions, asking questions… Offers tips about how to use blackboard and overheads. This presentation published by MIT is excellent if you want to improve your speeches. Something what every teacher should embrace.