When did we start trusting strangers?

Came across this research report recently from Universal McCann, a communications agency. It provides some interesting data on something that I have seen repeatedly over the last 12-18 months. It is great to see this being reflected in empirical research.

Typography

Well, if you don't believe that typography (i.e. fonts) really matters in design, then take a look at this online quiz.

Can you guess these movies from a single letter from their poster? You'll be surprised how many that you can guess. Spotted originally on the firewire.

And while we are on the subject of design, I came across this presentation from Will Tschumy at the User Experience team at Microsoft the other day. I really thought this was a useful presentation - nice style too! You will find it here: http://www.slideshare.net/wctschumy/why-design-matters

The Very Best of the Insteps - 3 musicians and a drummer!

I found an old tape over the weekend and it made me laugh! It is from a band that I used to play in when I was in Sixth form. I played the drums.

"The Very Best of....." Not a very modest description given that these are the only tracks ever recorded!

The tracks were recorded in July 1981 at CBC 221 FM (Cardiff Broadcasting Company - a local radio station). The station disappeared in 1985 and later became Red Dragon Radio and is still on air today. The three tracks were recorded as part of a "Battle of the Bands" competition. Needless to say, we didn't win!

Dancing
Don't really want to be like you
He's so tough

Well, 27 years later, you can download the mp3 files for your iPod. How the world has changed! Who would have thought that over a quarter of a century later you would be able to download the tracks over the web to play on the equivalent of your "Sony Walkman". I have even sorted out the meta tags so the track and ablum titles should appear on your iPod.

But don't worry, somethings don't improve with age!

The late 1970's and early 1980's were a great time to be playing in a band and I have great memories of this time as well as some great vinyl. The rest of the band were Mark Wilson (Bunny), Paul Hardacre, and Geoff Munro. Guys, if you come past this way, drop me a line!

The Wizard of Menlo Park

Thomas Edison has become a legend in the field of innovation. Amongst other things, he invented the phonograph and the first practical electric light bulb. During his career he was granted over 1,000 patents across a wide range of subjects. As part of this success came fame – indeed, he is recognised as one of the world’s first celebrities – interestingly, it was a man of science rather than entertainment (in those days, I suspect that there wasn’t much difference!).

This book provides insights into Edison’s life – the roller coaster nature of being an inventor, his dogged determination to perfect the phonograph, the multiple commercial and financial setbacks, and the people behind the scenes who helped (and hindered) him along the way. I found this a compelling book, particularly having read so many dry textbooks recently on innovation. Innovation is a difficult process to describe and yet it is critical to almost all endeavours. Frequently when attempting to understand the innovation process, many authors reduce the process to a set of rather abstract processes that lack the human touch making the processes difficult to relate to. Ultimately, innovation is a by-product of an inquisitive mind in the right sort of social and commercial setting.

In many ways, it is the quintessentially human activity. This book helped to bring real life to a set of abstract processes described elsewhere. I would highly recommend reading this book AFTER reading a number of the innovation textbooks. It helps underline the more abstract issues raised by other authors as well as providing another viewpoint on the innovation process.

This book seems to take a very balanced view of Edison's life - offsetting myth against, what has become, legend. Highly recommended for anyone interested in innovation.

School of Everything

This week saw the launch of "The School of Everything" - a sort of ebay for knowledge. If you have something to teach, you can post up the details and find yourself some students. What a great idea! Why didn't I think of that!

Well, the School of Everything seems like an interesting approach to selling consultancy services. Mind you, we would all need to ensure that we have a skill to sell. What would your entry on The School of Everything be?

You will find more information on the background to The School of Everything here on BoingBoing.