John Winsor

Overheard

"the only thing I know is I know nothing" - Ben Slater, Future Holdings

When is Enough, Enough? (Updated)

Pretty funny... Here's an update - "Maybe O'Leary was just taking the piss this morning... Michael makes a lot of this stuff up as he goes along and while this has been discussed internally there are no immediate plans to introduce it," said a RyanAir spokesperson in response to the CEO announcing this morning they were thinking about having coin-operated lavatory doors onboard the aircraft.

 Ryanair, the Irish discount airline, just announced that they are considering charging customers for using the toilet while in-flight. They've proposed installing a coin slot onto the outside of the restroom, similar to the ones you find in public facilities. General consensus is that Ryanair is trying to make a “fast buck” at the expense of their customers. Wouldn’t it be easier and less degrading to their customers, by upping the fare slightly?

More or Less?

I caught a really great segment on NPR this morning talking about the history of the phrase "Do More with Less." While I've always looked at it from an athletic/efficiency lens, the context has certainly changed in these uncertain times.

It made me think of the shift in our global economic priorities. Only a few months ago we were living in an age of "Do Less with More." It's an attitude that promoted Cultural Obesity. While the shift is painful, it feels better to me that we are entering an era of "Doing More with Less."

Holistic Interaction

There's always been a odd separation between digital and physical interactions. Aren't all interactions, interactions? Playing around with Twitter, Facebook, etc. I'm having interesting relationships with people that I probably wouldn't come in contact often. Whether it's seeing a picture from a high school buddy or getting a business question answered at the speed of light, these interactions are powerful. The distinction between physicality and virtuality need to disappear to reveal more human connections in a multitude of mediums. This HP video is a good example of the thinking.

Quote of the Day

“If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they’ve had said a faster horse.”

– Henry Ford.

Always a good one to remember.

The New Transparency

Yesterday I got a note on Twitter from Steve Bendt, one of the founders of Blue Shirt Nation, that Best Buy  had just uploaded to a new Yellow Tag interview series on YouTube about Emerging Business. It's cool to see Best Buy using technologies to communicate not only with their customers but also with their employees. Social media, like YouTube, is making the wall between inside and outside of a company more porous.

The world is becoming more transparent whether we like it or not.

It's a Curious Case

Ed Ulbrich's talk on the technology behind the aging Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" blew me away. How long will it be before all of our actors are digital?

Siftables: The Best Technology at TED

David Merrill from MIT gave the coolest TED talk about a new technology he's developed called Siftables. They are little computer blocks that interact with each other and other devices. They could have the potential of making computing that much more engaging.

The Real 100

I've been chatting with Duke Stump of Northstar over the last few days and am impressed with his Real 100. It's a list of the 100 most sustainable brands. It's worth checking out.

TED Favorites

Elizabeth Gilbert's talk about the source of creative genius was one of my favorite TED conversations. If you struggle with being creative like I do, you'll enjoy this.