Many of our clients are just starting to take advantage of social media for their internal projects. This is valuable food for thought.
Dancing+ social media | in business+ media+ technology We were recently shown this video at an internal meeting with one of our clients. It went down really well with all those present - but this realisation is only step one. The really hard work begins now.
For Moore on this, check out the No Straight Lines website (and book).
Alan Moore+ networked society | in business+ customer service+ signs Many of our customers have Microsoft Sharepoint installed on their servers, but very few use it. Which is a shame, because solutions like this are exactly what they need to get collaboration moving on the kinds of projects were are working on. Here's a quick introduction:
The problem we have essentially found is that management doesn't have time to even glance at tools that will certainly make their work more effective and enjoyable than ever. It would be equally short- sighed of us NOT to insist that these tools are not only understood, but also used on a day-to-day basis. Change does not happen on its own.
Sharepoint+ business+ collaboration+ technology | in business+ technology So simple, yet so effective at making me feel quesy.
typography | in media Because Friday is no E-mail Day. And we're also very, very busy.
No e-mail day | in business+ signs ;)
It is a long time before computers will be able to do everything we humans can do, and this item in tech blog Arstechnica that if you turn problem-solving into a challenging game like Foldit, there is no limit to what people will do for free. It's a pretty amazing article and worth reading all the way through, but I'll only paste in the summary:
What does the future hold for gaming-inspired citizen science? It doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to picture gold-farmers converted to protein-folders. If scientific problems can be turned into something fun and easy-to-use (like Foldit), and offer Achievements or Trophies to show off, perhaps the legions of gamers could spend their free time a bit more productively, solving important scientific problems.
Hooray for "citizen science"!
I had a brief chat with Ben Mourra of Screencult yesterday, specifically to discuss their Traction offering, a trailer for which I have embedded below.
On the basis of what Ben told me - and I haven't looked into the history of the company - it is a full-fledged film production company that has been increasingly moving into the corporate sphere in recent years and months, while still making advertising and music videos like the one below.
As we have frequently written on this blog, video is an increasingly powerful and cost-effective way of reaching an audience, educating and changing minds. In Screencult's world, this development is slowly spilling into the Powerpoint-dominated culture of business, where minds are easier to change than behaviour.
Until now, the traditional approach to a meeting is to spend the first 45 minutes of a one-hour meeting plodding through a long "deck", leaving time for a quick Q&A to follow. This is boring, and it is a one-way street rather than a conversation - doesn't the word "meeting" imply a conversation? Ben and Screencult take a different approach, engaging conversation with a 5-minute video featuring genuine people with a real, practical message. The idea is to raise talking points rather than give fixed answers and tell people what they want to hear. The rest of the meeting will then follow the format of a TV discussion show (thik Kilroy), where the mike is passed around from mouth to mouth. The results: Better understanding and greater engagement. Bingo!
Of course, video has many other more high-profile uses. Everyone wants to make the next "viral" video, which might be the first port of call for a company like Screencult. Interestingly, Ben said he first saw the potential of taking video into the meeting room after working with Laurence on a project - commissioned by a big-four firm - to find out why people were leaving. This kind of work requires you to "wear a suit, rather than turn up in ripped jeans and a T-shirt", as Ben put it.
Screencult offers the full gamut of traditional film production services, including a green-screen (fixed and portable), scriptwriters, editing suites, animation, portable cameras, as well as workshops associated with the content they generate. It (almost) goes without saying that they can also build websites and host content themselves, like this: http://www.screenculttraction.com/invensys/l1/subjects
Finally, here are some Screencult client testimonials - in video form, of course:
