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The structured vs. unstructured data dilemma
One of the first things you learn at university in your first year of computer science is data normalisation. I don't know about the other people out there, but I found it such an utterly boring course. Mankind has such... read full post
Tumblr: getting interaction right
Tumblr is a fascinating example of how to get user generated and community sites right. Fundamentally it's a microblogging platform, but I think this sells it very short of the whole picture. It's succeeding by taking the interaction patterns that... read full post
Creating customer communities
Anyone who follows my movements online will have noticed that I've been rather quiet recently. This is because I have, for the past month or so, been part of a Headshift team, which at various times drew upon the experience... read full post
Using behavioural data to create compelling content
Most owners of social software systems use the data generated through usage in their reporting of metrics. So, alongside the standard metrics such as unique users, page impressions, time spent, etc, social tools often enable actions which can also be... read full post
What motivates news eyewitnesses to share?
Yes, it's the second time The Telegraph has come knocking on our door this week - do these things come in threes?"People in the area affected by the Samoa tsunami', writes The Telegraph's Emma Barnett, 'have been documenting the event... read full post
Daily Telegraph asks Headshift: Is London World social media capital?
London is, suggests an article by the Telegraph's Emma Barnett, the social media capital of the World. Here's her evidence:10% of traffic to Digg, the link recommendation service, comes from LondonLondon is the largest geographical network on FacebookTwitter has revealed... read full post
Social media monitoring - more first step than end game
Prior to the rise of mass production and assembly line processes in the latter half of the 20th century, new products and services were often created in response to a direct conversation between consumers and businesses.If a consumer - they... read full post
I live or die by my Facebook - understanding social media through the works of sociologists
I would argue that to keep an active and continued presence on Facebook or similar social networks is not a trivial activity, but an important part of a necessary strategy to feel safe and sustained and understood in our daily... read full post
Teenage Tweets
The news this morning is full of a report from Morgan Stanley on teenage media habits - written by a 15-year-old intern, it dismisses Twitter and describes online advertising as pointless. Morgan Stanley seem to be promoting the report heavily,... read full post
Rebooting Britain
The great and the good of social media (as well as the rest of us) descended on the Institute of Electrical Engineers in London yesterday for Reboot Britain, a 1-day conference run by NESTA looking at "how the promise of... read full post
Companies at the edge of chaos are like our brains
One of the key fears of people that manage knowledge workers is that losing control might mean losing authority and standing. Perhaps they fear that conceptualizing innovation plans might lose the power of processes, quality guidelines or other built-up best... read full post
Social Networking for the Legal Profession
We are proud to announce a major new report, published in association with Ark Group, entitled Social Networking for the Legal Profession, which looks in depth at current practice in social networking and social technologies within the legal sector read full post
Futures planning with horizon scanning and social computing - Part 2
In the same way that the Web has changed the communication habits of millions of people, social computing is evolving to help us work with and in complex adaptive systems. The insights from Snowden and Jackson about 'foresight' and complexity,... read full post
Social networks as information filters
Yesterday, I went along to the InformatieProfessional Conference here in Amsterdam. As with all things associated with the web these days, the theme of the conference was Integrity 2.0. Key issues revolved around data privacy, information reliability and management of... read full post
Futures planning with horizon scanning and social computing - Part I
In today's complex and turbulent environment, organisations need 'foresight' to be able to respond promptly to various change drivers including technology, sustainability, globalisation and the economy. Essentially 'foresight' is a participative approach to creating shared long-term visions to inform short... read full post
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