Word of the day: Elasmobranchii

“Elasmobranchii is the subclass of cartilaginous fish that includes skates, rays (batoidea), and sharks (selachii).” (Wikipedia)
What a word! First person to get it into a conversation with me in the next week wins a fiver.

Elevator Psychology

Josh Porter showed this old video from Candid Camera at dConstruct. It’s very funny.

So, it’s official. We’re all just sheep in men and women’s clothing.
I reckon there’s a version of this you could do in men’s toilets. Actually, let’s not go any further with that.

How to write a killer elevator pitch

Saw this recently in the book Managing Agile Projects by Sanjiv Augustine (which is brilliant by the way. I’m intending to write a few posts on this book when I get time).
How to write your elevator pitch:
For (target customer)
Who (statement of the need or opportunity)
The (product name) is a (product category)
That (key benefit, compelling reason [...]

Joel Justifies my Expensive Chair

Even though I have a permanently sore neck and shoulders I still felt a bit guilty at spending 600 quid on a Humanscale Liberty office chair last year. Not any more – I no longer feel like Quasimodo when it gets to 6 o’clock. It’s been worth every penny.
I justified it to myself by calculating [...]

Birmingham Bloggers’ Meetup

Just got back from the meet up at Rooty’s, going to write a very quick one before bed. It was a great evening – really good fun and loads of good ideas to think about.
I think the Brum social media cafe idea that was coming out is killer. I’d definitely join and will help out [...]

Save the Spotted Dog! (or for non-brummies, a lesson in how to use social media to save your local pub)

This is great.
If you’re not familiar with the goings on in Digbeth, Birmingham then the basic story is that a few residents of brand new flats in Digbeth (well known capital of the Brum music scene) are complaining about the noise. The Spotted Dog is right in the firing line and is under threat of [...]

Artists and Creatives only need 1000 True Fans

This Kevin Kelly article’s a must read:

Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to escape the long tail?
One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans.

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They [...]

Phun: A bit like Digital Lego

Check out the best digital educational toy I think I’ve seen yet. This has so much potential it’s ridiculous.

I’d have loved it as a kid.
And of course, it’s open source and social. Do a search for Phun on YouTube to find hundreds of inventions.

Friday Fun: Are you an odd looking photographer? Watch your step.

I love the internet.
Here’s the government’s new strategy for catching terrorists:

You can just hear the rubbing of image-doctoring hands in glee at seeing this.
Here’s my favourite so far :

by Mr Atrocity
And here are some more courtesy of Boing Boing. Lovely.

Eight Random Things About Me

Oooh, my first blog meme – thanks Mark!
Here goes:
1. I play the bass and once got asked to do a tour of the UK and Japan with Fuzz Townsend (ex PWEI drummer) but it fell through. Another dream shattered.
2. I’ve done quite a bit of travelling over the years – my favourite trip was probably [...]