January 2010

Today I was trying to answer this question in a group discussion at AgendaCamp. Most of the time we talked about reasons to not stay in London. Personally, I moved back to London in 2000 after finishing school to regroup before figuring out what to do with my life… And I stayed in London because [...]

Did anyone really think Apple wants us replace our iPhones or MacBooks? I actually think it hits my sweet spot better than either its bigger or smaller cousins. It won’t replace my other stuff, but I definitely picture this as my primary device. Apart from a couple of hours I spend writing every day, most [...]

First I’m going to straight-up admit I don’t have the disposition for them. I just don’t like sitting or standing in any audience or crowd. But I have reasons as well. In a way, the bigger the crowd, the less social it becomes. Of course it’s social in a really basic way, but there isn’t [...]

Learning as a Craft

by Brian on 01-18-2010

in creativity,culture,education

Read The Craftsman by Richard Sennett — one of my favourite thinkers. This book gets right to the heart of things. From the publisher’s description: Defining craftsmanship far more broadly than “skilled manual labor,” Richard Sennett maintains that the computer programmer, the doctor, the artist, and even the parent and citizen engage in a craftsman’s work. Craftsmanship [...]

Stuff I’ve Been Reading

by Brian on 01-15-2010

in art,business,web

» … besides news about Haiti, Google, #teamconan (awesome!), prorogation… » How Fiction Works, James Wood — not so much a how-to as a brilliantly curated conversation across time between some of the greatest authors about subtleties I’d never noticed, e.g. how characters are efficiently “got in,” etc. » The Design of Business, Roger Martin … who has [...]

Hashtag Debate in London

by Brian on 01-13-2010

in london,web

• Don’t take it too seriously. There will never be consensus. Ultimately everything is decided by what people use. Debate about what we should use will just go on and on forever. • Sometimes the stupidest ideas (sometimes starting as jokes and accidents) turn out to be the most popular and effective. Think of LOLcats [...]

Other people will have a lot more insight into this than I do, but since everyone is talking about Google’s announcement [excerpted]… We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which [...]

Focusing on Opportunities

by Brian on 01-11-2010

in canada,civics,media

I’ve learned not to care as much when other people are being stupid. It’s their problem. Last year I did more blogging in the spirit of “someone’s wrong on the internet,” but lately I’ve learned to lay off and let people screw up. (I’m so kind.) When I started writing about media it was because [...]

With me it varies a lot. Sometimes I’ll write a blog post about it. Depends though. For the last couple of fiction books I wrote little reviews immediately after I finished them. I think I was trying to articulate “what they were about,” or something. Sometimes I’ll write a post that isn’t exactly about the [...]

For 2010′s Edge Annual Question, John Brockman asked 165 of the smartest people he knows “How has the Internet changed the way you think? ” [It's a familiar topic around here... and I actually answered the question when I wrote about last year's.] A surprising number of answers are about sex. More than a few [...]

I enthusiastically support Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue parliament… Here’s why. Proponents of more open, participatory, and directly accountable government have just been handed the best opportunity we could ask for. It’s a turning point in the narrative of centralized power that began with Jean Chrétien’s run in the 90s and has built up ever since. [...]

Picking up the Thinking in the 21st Century thread again… I’m nearing the end of the most philosophical stuff. It all turns on this one… Just a reminder to read this as a proposal — a basis for refinement and elaboration (not to mention citations and evidence), not presuming finality. A few weeks ago I [...]