I expect to get a few blogs out of this year’s #CyberFest, indeed I’m surprised that this is the first seeing that it is at least two weeks old. I guess my head has been down trying to visit, organise, speak at and generally deliver the events. A couple of people have asked me, during … Continue reading My favourite CyberFest event
A sixth sense
I have taken to listening to audiobooks, to while away the longer drives in my car, not that I drive that much these days. I used to cover 60,000 miles a year but now the furthest I travel, at least for work, is about 100 miles. Still, this means about an hour or more each … Continue reading A sixth sense
Where’s your commitment?
I’ve been using Duolingo to try and learn Dutch. It’s a useful tool and allows me to practice every day. It speaks the sentences to be translated and allows me to hear the language in action. In the main I really like the application though sometimes it has the annoying habit of correcting my English … Continue reading Where’s your commitment?
A representative organisation
I often chew the cud with an old friend of mine about what is wrong with the world of work. Whenever we are together the conversation somehow gets around to the role of women and minority groups and how to get greater diversity and representation in the workplace. It is not an easy subject yet … Continue reading A representative organisation
Why I joined Dynamo
More than five years ago now, when I was still working at Durham and involved with the North East ICT Managers’ group, we became aware of a new tech group in the region. Charlie Hoult, of Hoult’s Yard and Bob Paton from Accenture had created Dynamo, volunteer led group set up with the core mission … Continue reading Why I joined Dynamo
A ski slope of data
There have been many times throughout my career in tech when the problem described is not the problem that needs to be solved. This has often been the case when people have complained about the ineffectiveness of a software application only to find out that it is not set up correctly or that they have … Continue reading A ski slope of data
Tech enabled care
Tech enabled care is very much in vogue in the social care sector. With slashed budgets and a seemingly never ending increase in demand, technology is seen as the panacea to all the sectors troubles, but is it? Technological change has been huge. We can all accept that our lives are very different now than … Continue reading Tech enabled care
My involvement in NWG’s Innovation festival
I went to Northumbrian Water’s first Innovation Festival a couple of years ago. It was just after I had left Durham and started my new business and must admit that I felt a bit out of my depth, drowning perhaps. There were hundreds of people there working on a range of different themes and in … Continue reading My involvement in NWG’s Innovation festival
The Drowned and the Saved
I don’t wish to invoke the memories of Primo Levi, a survivor of Auschwitz, in anything as banal as my blog yet this is how I feel about the plight of humanity sometimes. We are caught in a bind, trapped between the amazing, exciting world ahead of us and the very real threat of extinction … Continue reading The Drowned and the Saved
Young people trapped in small towns
The headline in the Big Issue (issue #1362) said that spiraling rents are forcing young people to stay in small towns instead of moving to cities with better jobs. This follows some research by the Resolution Foundation. The implication is clear, small towns are bad for young people. They do not offer them the range … Continue reading Young people trapped in small towns
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 