In No Particular Order

These my micropostings and bookmarks – June 20th through July 13th:

• Social Shopping Gets Personal: Lucky Magazine Partners With ThisNext – Lydia Dishman – Style, Inc. – Forbes – An interesting development linking a 'curating', style-hunting and aggregating magazine with a style-surfacing, member-as-retailer site, ThisNext.
• Armourtex Ltd : Cycles – Power-coating bike frames in Hackney. As used by Al.
• Among Six Types Of Failure, Only A Few Help You Innovate | Co.Design – What an interesting and refreshing take on the 'failure is good' mantra.<br />
  <br />
  Enumerating different types of failure on a 'failure spectrum' is a good idea. <br />
  <br />
  I would extend the thinking though to assess how predictable the failure was. Rather like the difference between manslaughter and murder, the determination is based upon intention, reasonable foreseeability (?) and levels of negligence or omission.<br />
  <br />
  The difference between 'experimental testing', recklessness and wilful, non-learning neglect should be considered as part of what makes a "good failure".
• Why I, Jeff Bezos, Keep Spending Billions On Amazon R&D – Yahoo! Finance –
• 3M Visual Attention Service – Eyetracking from 3M

These my micropostings and bookmarks – May 20th through May 30th:

• United Colors of Benetton – Official Blog - – "United Blogs of Benetton" – a nice new step in co-ordinated social media/contributions.
• All My Purchases Sorts Wad of E-ceipts From Square Users, Apple Stores, More | Fast Company – Nice service – scanning email to find receipts and then keeping them in an accessible 'folder'.
• MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II | japan exposures – Wow. Handmade, short-run, exotic folding lens… What's not to like?
• The Real Cost of Social Media (Infographic) – Drawing on some good sources there are some nuggets here of the costs of social media activity and some outline returns. Useful for making some points more visually appealing than a raw bullet point!
• “Capability and Maturity” – editorial from the May 2011 edition of InternetRetailing Magazine | Ian Jindal – This is my editorial from internetretailing.net.<br />
  <br />
  I mention the MSc in Internet Retailing. <br />
  <br />
  Applications for the MSc are now being accepted for September 2011 start: information at http://econsultancy.com/uk/training/qualifications/retailing. Open evenings on 26 May (Manchester) and 14 June (London) can be booked online . You will have a chance to chat with us, the academic staff from MMU and the Econsultancy trainers, as well as speaking with current students from the first and second intakes.

These my micropostings and bookmarks – April 12th through May 16th:

• Karl Falk Watches l Models – A singlehanded "einzeiger" watch. <br />
  <br />
  Like old clocks that did not use a minute hand, this watch gives reading accuracy to within a couple of minutes via a red-tipped single hour hand.<br />
  <br />
  Neat idea, but without a sweep hand, date, and better granularity then it's more a design statement than anything. 
• YouTube – Existential Star Wars (In French) –
• WVIL, A Glimpse At The Future Of Photography After Cameras Die [Video] | Co.Design – Interesting and well-thought-through example of how photography can escape its historical formfactors. As a committed Leica or simple SLR fan I like the simplicity and "hand-ful" heft of the established format, but given the extent to which cameraphones have opened the practice of photography and development from a sensor 'chassis' to link with some prime glass has got to be of interest.<br />
  <br />
  Sony NEX? RED digital movie cameras? The trend's already in train.
• The street still rules for shopping » Yanidel Street Photography – Great 'street' photo, with a juxtaposition between massive brand and individual seller, between the promise of the 'web' and the scale of the personal, "analog" seller.<br />
  <br />
  This image was made for powerpoint presentations – I'm trying to resist out of respect for the photographer, but boy is it a challenge…
• 10 Best Ad Campaigns "Life's too short for the wrong job" (Pic) | Daily Dawdle –

These my micropostings and bookmarks – March 8th through March 30th:

• Tell-all telephone | Data Protection | Digital | ZEIT ONLINE – Wonderful data visualisation of months of mobile phone use – movements, texts, calls – overlaid on an animated map over time. I particularly like the columnar, dense way that each day is shown. Via @fastcompany.
• Microsoft Wants You to Control Your Phone by Touching Yourself | Fast Company – "Skinput" – love it.
• Twitter isn't very social: study | Econsultancy – "50% of all content consumed on Twitter is generated by only 20,000 users."<br />
  <br />
  This could mark the change from 'conversational' to 'monetisable'.
• Optimizing a Screen for Mobile Use (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox) – Lovely example of ruthless simplification and device-specific polishing. I love the phrase "killing time is a killer app for mobile".
• What does the future hold for f-commerce? | Econsultancy –

These my micropostings and bookmarks – February 20th through March 7th:

• Photographic Science: Exposure – Moret than you ever wanted to know about lumens, lux, flux and exposure.
• Method: Eight Things Stand-Up Comedy Teaches Us About Innovation | Co.Design –
• BBC – College of Production – College of Production –
• Owle Bubo HD Video Kit (iPhone 4) – Interesting, but getting to be the same size as a compact professional camcorder… Looks like it's either unadorned iPhone chic (ie windy, distorted and shaky) or pro quality that's bulky…
• Digital remit advice – Committee of Advertising Practice – Summary of the impact of the ASA's new remit to include user-contributed reviews within its assessment of a brand's marketing activities. 
• http://patterns.ideo.com/images/uploads/pdf/patterns_vol3_shanzhai_final.pdf – Lovely piece by Ideo, considering the Chinese "Shanzhai" manufacturing/pirating as a 'design pattern' and as an open source model for innovation.<br />
  <br />
  Nice examples, well presented and a lovely design too.

These my micropostings and bookmarks – January 6th through February 20th:

• The Untold Story of How My Dad Helped Invent the First Mac | Co.Design – Fascinating article, showing the simplicity, elegant and durability of underlying concepts and approaches. Good to read – especially at a time when Apple's seen as industrial design… It's a fusion of design, business models, patterns, ruthlessness and restraint.
• Review of the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116520 | Luxury Tyme: The Rolex Reference Page – Nice review, covering the latest 'manufacture' movement.
• iRig Mic – Looks like an interesting way to mike podcasts. Possibly preferable to the Blue Mikey.
• Cult Pens – Pilot Capless Fermo Retractable Fountain Pens – Twist body and nib disappears behind airtight seal. Fountain pen pleasure with ballpoint ease ? Welcome to my wishlist!
• Ten Questions Every Game Changer Must Answer | Fast Company –

These my micropostings and bookmarks – November 27th through December 13th:

• [Editorial] "Purchandising" – This in my Editorial from the November issue of Internet Retailing Magazine. Also available as 'digital print' via the November digital edition.
• Exclusive: Foursquare's New Partnership With PepsiCo Takes Focus Off of Places | Fast Company – Interesting development. Using the 'location stream' to aid the targeting of adverts and promotions, even if not necessarily related to that intersection of space and time. <br />
  <br />
  A next stage must surely be the sale/exploitation of sentiment and attitudinal information…
• How a Personality Test Designed to Pick Astronauts is Taking the Pain Out of Customer Support | Fast Company – Very interesting read and shows the combination of psychology, business rules, linguisitic planning and the computing horse-power to deliver in real time.
• Kickstarter – "We’re the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world".<br />
  <br />
  Crowdsourced funding. Nice.
• thefridaynightakeout – Geurilla cooking, local quality produce meets entrepreneurship and pop-up approach. <br />
  <br />
  "I’m a freelance cook based in east London and I’ve worked for a number of years in London at restaurants such as The River Cafe and Moro. I’m starting a once a week takeout which will happen in the London Fields, Shoreditch, south Hackney areas. Every Friday I will cook a casserole style dish (or two) depending on whats in season and what produce looks good. The blog will feature whats on the menu for the friday night. I can take requests by text or email from early in the week. Produce will come from a range of sources, such as Leilas shop, Ginger Pig, Bensfish, Riverford organic, McKanna meats. I deliver between 5 and 7.30 on the friday evening and the food comes cold, it just needs to be warmed up. Each main course will be between £8.50 and £9.50 depending on what i cook. There will be a vegetarian dish available for £7 on request. frank.hannon@btinternet.com or text/call 079 043 84019"

These my micropostings and bookmarks – October 4th through November 22nd:

• The Best of Artisan Cosmetics | Fast Company – "If you wouldn't eat your bath and body products, you're using the wrong stuff"
• Comet boss believes less-is-more philosophy will beat Best Buy | Business | The Guardian – Nice article on the response of Comet to the "Big Box" and discount-led approach of Best Buy.<br />
  <br />
  Hugh Harvey, MD, said "Today the role of the internet is to provide the catalogue and the role of the store is to provide the experience of the showroom – almost like a department store. We have made the transition from an out-of-town shed operator to an out-of-town store and our fit and finish is much different to how it was."
• Helzberg – I Am Loved – Interesting new site, powered by Bazaarvoice and their Stories system. Note the way that UGC and stories are being edited into TV/broadcast video stories to amplify the intersection of customer's stories and brand values.
• China's Homegrown Luxury | China International Business – Intersting article, courtesy of the business of fashion blog, on this rise of indigenous, craft-inspired luxury in china. A glimmer of the future today…
• Literature and Latte – Links – Stupendously useful and informative page on writing tools, word-processing and screen writing. All that I need now is an idea
• Fashion 2.0 | Provenance? There’s an App for That − BoF – The Business of Fashion – Nice piece on the important of provenance and (as we non-luxury folk would say) "transparent supply chain".<br />
  <br />
  Cute to see the app angle, although people like Icebreaker make this available via their "Baaacodes" on their websites. Not sure that there's a sufficiently compelling call to fire up an app, but the trend is a positive one.

These my micropostings and bookmarks – September 12th through September 21st:

• The First Department Store – History of the department store – link courtesy of Michael Ross.
• Digital photo prints and stickies, canvas prints and free digital photo sharing – Could this be the replacement for the much-loved and sadly-lamented Panther Imaging? Dev and scan at a reasonable price…
• Cajon Drums – DJM Music Ltd – Saw a busker playing/sitting on one of these Cajon drums. Felt an irrational desire to find out more about them (eg their name for a start). Now I have a further desire to own one…
• GSMA and comScore Announce UK Launch of Mobile Media Metrics ~ GSM World – Statistics on UK's use of mobile – minutes, pages viewed etc.
• SALSA Vaya Frameset :: Frames & Forks :: Frames – Road/Touring :: Triton Cycles –