'Leave your comfortable office. Travel to Africa. Work on a construction site and build a house.' A simple challenge which 15 Scots met in May. I caught up with Grant Ager from the Fairfield Housing Association and Alan Hobbet of the Dunfermline Building Society and asked them about their visit.
Bearing in mind, these are both experienced business people; I expected a low key response. However, as you will hear, the trip was a real eye opener for both.
I came across a very impressive multimedia piece from Reuters which demonstrates everything that is excellent about "rich media". A slight health warning at this point, it is about the Iraq war and contains content which reflects the reality of war reportage and is best not viewed on a full stomach or before meals. Having said that; tight writing, clear editing and outstanding images make this piece so watchable.
My wife came back from Iceland and gave me this Buff headwear which I favour. They are always appreciated as the tokens of true love from a wife who knows what to buy for a husband who thinks he has everything. It's part of the Icelandic collection and features a print of Gullfoss, a spectacular waterfall. This company has a superb product range and this is a great example. I couldn't find the Scottish collection but I am guess the Saltire would be a good fit, no pun intended. However, there were already some Buffs that were aimed firmly at the 08 Mountain Bike Championships in Fort William. Great example of taking a solid product and really pushing it.
Clive Gillman is the Director of the DCA. He is an interesting guy with a challenging view of the arts in Dundee. If you thought the DCA was just a coffee bar with a cinema that showed movies with subtitles; you are wrong. The DCA is a whole lot more and Clive is the man to tell you why. In this interview, Clive is pretty clear about the role the arts can play in Dundee and it will take a lot of people by surprise.
I love Dundee and its sense of humour. This pub sign illustrates it well. Of course, Scotland can't lose; we didn't make it to Euro 2008. Half the battle mentoring and working with small start ups is to engender that 'we can't lose' attitude. A pitch to funders, prospective investors or clients is just that; a pitch. It is not the 'do or die' moment for the idea or the company. I blame the Dragon's Den. It is a little known fact that the unsuccessful pitchers are not subject to capital punishment on the programme. They go home, have tea with their loved ones and the world keeps turning. Most take positives from the experience and reshape some of their thinking. They didn't lose; they just got some valuable feedback. Rather like Scotland.
The other week, I met Mike Russell who is the Environment Minister. Good guy and complete Mac head. However, what was most surprising was his grasp of computer technology and its ability to shape the world we are in today.In my travels, my general impression is most members of our elected assemblies, from local to national to international, struggle with the concept of binary. The whole internet webby thing is waved away as being too complicated and being for 'young people' anyway. If you find 'new' difficult or too dynamic; it's a clue. Don't go into politics.
This is an interesting development with YouTube. Essentially, there is the ability to add notes to videos. This worked example, shows a couple of interesting possibilities.
I am the biggest critic of powerpoint around. "Adult literacy" is one epithet I have used with glee. So, can you imagine my surprise when someone hires me to come and do a 'Powerpoint Masterclass'. What is terrific about the opportunity is the subtle choice. Square peg meets round hole; let's have some fun.
Over at Blairgowrie High School, the Modern Languages staff are on a school trip with students. One of my top clients, Wendy Pieroni took wee digital recorders, a camera or two and a laptop. The result is over at the school website . It's very impressive. In a wiki, she has, together with the rest of the teachers, managed to post photos, interviews and actuality of the trip. There are funny bits and even some semi serious bits, but everyone is clearly having a whale of a time. There have already been some favourable comments, along the lines of " it's a great way to keep in touch with the little darlinks :-) " . I totally agree.
My question is; why can't this be the norm ?
