Life during the time of the pandemic has seen many firsts for me, some of which I have covered previously in this blog. My first online conference is yet another. I’ve been to, if that’s the right expression as I never really went anywhere, many webinars and online meetings but a conference is something else. … Continue reading Come on, Hopin
Now who’s the cool one?
Yes, that’s me, the old guy with the jacket and tie on. You see, with the very odd exception, I always wear a tie for work. I feel naked without one and somehow that I’m not really working but skiving off. I also like to differentiate my work clothes from what I wear at home. … Continue reading Now who’s the cool one?
North of Tyne Mayor’s event
It was my first time ever at the Queens’ Hall in Hexham. I hope it’s not my last as it is an impressive building and a great place for the performing arts. The reason I was there was for the North of Tyne Mayor’s question time. This is the first time that I have ever … Continue reading North of Tyne Mayor’s event
Worse than the product
I have no particular company in mind but my experience of over a quarter of a century working in senior positions within IT has taught me one thing - IT companies often seem worse than the products they sell. Let me explain. How many times have you been in a sales or pre-sales meeting when … Continue reading Worse than the product
Swarm!
Sabine Hauert is a swarm engineer. She is also a lecturer in robotics at Bristol University and spends a lot of her time designing swarming nanobots for biomed applications. I heard her give a fascinating presentation at Thinking Digital this year, another one to add to the ever growing list of reasons to have gone … Continue reading Swarm!
Making tax taxable
The Government issued the VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT back in March 2019. ‘Making Tax Digital for VAT requires VAT registered businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold to keep records in digital form and file their VAT Returns using software. It is increasingly common for business records and accounts … Continue reading Making tax taxable
Location, location, location
How do you know if your region is doing well or not? How do you know if a particular sector is successful? These are the questions I was trying to answer when I fell into the wonderful world of economic data. I was looking at the digital sector in a part of the North East. … Continue reading Location, location, location
Broader broadband
I'm not involved in the Digital Durham programme as much as I used to be, at least not in the direct provision of broadband. This is testament to the great work that the team is doing back at World Headquarters. They don't need me to poke my nose in. I was reminded at the board … Continue reading Broader broadband
Talking the tech industry up
I had the pleasure of attending the #NewcastleGateshead Digital Sector Mapping event at the Toffee Factory this morning. I had never been there before. The event was to launch a report on the tech scene in the region. I’d contributed to the report, in part by pointing out that the North East is more than … Continue reading Talking the tech industry up
Smart Stanley again
Smart Stanley seems to be going well. The idea is to have a number of small projects that use digital to enhance the experience of the town for everyone that lives there, works there or is a visitor. We made a major breakthrough with the launch of the web site a few weeks back. Daniel … Continue reading Smart Stanley again
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 