Dan Hocking

Building innovation

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:53:36 +0000

One of his motivating passions was to build a lasting company. At age twelve, when he got a summer job at Hewlett-Packard, he learned that a properly run company could spawn innovation far more than any single creative individual. “I discovered that the best innovation is sometimes the company, the way you organise the company,” he recalled. “The whole notion of how you build a company is fascinating. When I got the chance to come back to Apple, I realized that I would be useless without the company, and that’s why I decided to stay and rebuild it.”

Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson

Never did I think that one paragraph could illuminate so much. I’ve been gravitating towards more operational bits over the last few months, but this sums up exactly my motivation in doing that. Brilliant stuff, as expected.

Things I just realised: I may be crap at it, but I started blogging in 2001 originally (on the ever...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:48:02 +0000

Things I just realised: I may be crap at it, but I started blogging in 2001 originally (on the ever so wittily named Whine Rack (not my idea)) - meaning I’ve been at it (off and on) for 10 years now. Safe to say things are more than a bit different.

If only I could write sentences without reams of parentheses (my favourite grammatical flaw, natch.)

Code Racer - multi-player game to learn code

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:39:06 +0000

Code Racer - multi-player game to learn code:

Interesting concept - in line with the math games from the late 80s/early 90s from TLC. Does gamifying learning code work?

Facebook brings sponsored stories to the news feed, but marked as featured.

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:38:54 +0000

Facebook brings sponsored stories to the news feed, but marked as featured.:

I give this a month before it changes back to sponsored. Beacon all over again.

BSkyB invests "double-digit millions" into Zeebox

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:54:01 +0000

BSkyB invests "double-digit millions" into Zeebox:

If you believe in the second-screen concept (and we do at Holler), this is a smart investment for a broadcaster to get their share of control over a content platform.

I’ve written this post before - how many years have I started off by saying I was going to...

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:50:19 +0000

I’ve written this post before - how many years have I started off by saying I was going to write more? Each year, I let something get in the way - usually work - and leave all of the rants, ideas, and anything else kicking around unpublished. The last couple of years, I’ve “smartened up”, and just given up writing without any thought otherwise. I remain envious whenever a post is created on Attention Industry - although I have no idea how Jon produces so much content on a regular basis - but even that envy doesn’t inspire any action.

In addition to this, I would say that in 2011 I struggled with focus issues when it comes to the industry and my thoughts. Ty’s summed it up quite effectively here. I’ve been very fortunate to be at a point in my career where I am able to shape what I do on a day-to-day basis, but that often leads me stretched too thin across a number of different areas rather than being able to focus on a few key ones.

So - this is the year when this changes. I’ll use this space for thoughts relevant to the world of advertising and digital, be them ideas, rants, commentary or anything else. In addition, I will focus what I do to ensure that I’m as effective as I can be - retaining my T-shape whilst ensuring that I’m working on the things most effective for the business and my own growth. This may mean a side project or two - something I haven’t done in years - but, suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to it.

In other words, watch this space.

Open Mode: Making Media Easier

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:28:06 +0000

Open Mode: Making Media Easier:

malcolmbastien:

Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ changed how we communicate. Now, people are familiar with social networking, and most importantly that means they’re comfortable with liking, retweeting, reblogging and sharing.

One great thing about sharing becoming mainstream is that any good content that’s out…

Nice post from Malcolm here - think that the sharing being mainstream bit is going to change a few more industries in 2012.

staff: Introducing the new and very improved way to customize...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:00:25 +0100

staff:

Introducing the new and very improved way to customize your blog.

With themes organized by category, realtime previews, and an advanced code editor, it’s never been faster or easier to make your blog yours.

Interent Explorer users will still see the old Customize interface while we wrap up IE testing.

Design Solutions for new Log-in Problems

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:17:12 +0100

Design Solutions for new Log-in Problems:

Love the approach taken for this one in trying to determine whether you have an account or not…

joncrowley: Yeah, marketers need to remember this. (Taken with...

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:42:15 +0100

joncrowley:

Yeah, marketers need to remember this. (Taken with instagram)

Redesigning TechCrunch: We Picked This Logo Just to Piss You Off

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:32:42 +0100

Redesigning TechCrunch: We Picked This Logo Just to Piss You Off:

While the logo is bizarringly low-fi, there are a lot of neat usability considerations on this, plus some long-needed performance improvements… Nice one.

In my opinion, you show your experience by the questions you ask, rather than the ones you think you...

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:51:53 +0100

In my opinion, you show your experience by the questions you ask, rather than the ones you think you don’t have to. Smart questions raise someone’s opinion in my mind more than someone who is completing tasks on their own.

Brand Butlers: Turn Your Brand into a Service

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:09:21 +0100

Brand Butlers: Turn Your Brand into a Service:

An excellent summary of the trend (especially using mobile) of brand experiences providing useful services, rather than just pushing brand messaging. Includes a TON of example apps/sites!

I would attend more conferences if the content was curated better; targeting a (tech/marketing)...

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:20:44 +0100

I would attend more conferences if the content was curated better; targeting a (tech/marketing) conference at a crowd skewed towards the upper-end of knowledge of the industry and presenting 101-style sessions doesn’t seem to be congruent with one another. In my mind, every conference should have someone responsible for content curation - whether it’s the only task they have or not.

"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I will understand."

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:40:06 +0000

“Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I will understand.”

- Chinese Proverb

joncrowley: jayparkinsonmd: The last 300 days: 50, 182,850...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:56:05 +0000

joncrowley:

jayparkinsonmd:

The last 300 days:

50, 182,850 worldwide deaths

5,850 deaths from H1N1

(via Michæl.Paukner)

Perspective is great, but let’s look at this honestly. Yes, you have a greater chance of dying from a car accident, or cancer, or cardiovascular disease. But there’s also a vaccine for H1N1. So, you know, I’ll put more stock in these graphical representations of ‘it won’t kill you’ when the cancer vaccine, heart attack vaccine, and car accident vaccine become available.

"It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit."

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:24:23 +0000

“It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”

- Author Unknown

Design Patterns to Solve Problems

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:51:14 +0000

Design Patterns to Solve Problems:

IA/UX/UI guys, this is for you - despite the Silverlight usage, it’s great.

dariusbashar: passthemike: Jonathan Lipnicki turns 19 today....

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:11:00 +0000

dariusbashar:

passthemike:

Jonathan Lipnicki turns 19 today. Now you feel old.

Good lord.

Also, “did you know the human head weighs eight pounds?”

"My little brother almost bought an album from iTunes the other day because it was too much trouble..."

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:45:03 +0000

“My little brother almost bought an album from iTunes the other day because it was too much trouble to find a pirated version. Why on earth hasn’t the music industry shifted their marketing to how it is more convienent to buy authentic than the “we will sue you for every dime if you don’t” approach?”

- (via danielpatricio)

The music industry push convenience, Daniel? But what about the hyper-exclusive super ultra limited edition with bonus acoustic disc?