Remember, Remember...

Here are a few pictures from a major London (Southwark Park) Fireworks display. Results are from nothing more than my surgeon-steady hands and a trusty Nikon D40 with a Nikkor SWM 55-200mm lens (though ideally, I would've liked a tripod and a remote shutter release setup).

Yes, mainstream media continues to nudge me to temper my delight with a morbid awareness of the state of the Economy, potential Eurozone melt-down, the inconvenience experienced by the pets...

Is it acceptable to just savour the noise, smoke, colours and community and perhaps justify the event as being slightly deferred, significantly upscaled Diwali celebration?

An Im-perfect Circle?

Maybe not. A Googler and I once discussed the reasons and incentives for anyone wanting to explore the proposed social aspects (in making at the time) of big G's service in the face of the Book of Faces. My views were as grim on the idea then as they are now - not that I don't wish rainbow laced, sunny glow around any and all of Google endevours. I do. The company deserves it. It's the best at what they do. Unfortunately Social Networking isn't one of them.

Consider my investment in Facebook. I've been a member since when it first launched in the UK, in 2005 (only for Oxford and Cambridge before growing to about 30 Universities in that year). So I've been on it for more than 6 years now. I have more than 5,000 photos, a number of meticulously engineered 'limited views' friends lists with varying levels of permissions complexity. If I were to draw a Venn diagram of these lists and map common permissions, restrictions etc, I'd probably be drawing for a rather long time. Speaking of Venn diagrams, is that where you got your idea for Circles, Mr. Google?

Returning to the point I was making - why would I want to move the assets that I've accumulated for the best part of the decade, re-engineer all my 'Circles', and click twice when I spot something on the WWW (one for an FB 'Like' and another for a G+)?

Personally, I feel Google needs to invest in what it does best - Search. The Bings of the world have failed to even compare so why risk a narrower gap by getting distracted by a non-core area?

Really?

Recent personal failure # 1: Being environment friendly and ordering a small tube of hand cream online to save me a trip to the high street.

Recent personal failure # 2: Again, attempting to do my bit for the planet and switching to a 'green' tariff. (The heap alongside was just the introductory documentation).

Recent Species failure: Attempting to book a German hotel for an upcoming getaway and discovering my species is a disqualifier.

I did it! All 722 feet of it.

Some things are best not explicated in words. The highest free fall in the world at the mercy of an elastic band, in a foreign country may perhaps fall in that category. I'll therefore trust the video and some pictures of the jump to illustrate the sheer terror factor of this undertaking.


But first and foremost, I'd like to thank my supporters who were so generous with their donations that it helped me not only reach but beat the fund raising target for my chosen charity - Mind! Yes, the target was self-set really, but I'm sure, Mind, the people who are supported by their work and I are most thankful for whatever we've raised.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. I must warn you though that the video is not for the faint-hearted. A friend of mine famously claimed he was unable to keep his breakfast down after watching me jump. You've been warned.

1 G short of happiness

This delightful sketch from a comic on theoatmeal.com sums up my situation right now. I have been trying my best to somehow resist my urge to upgrade to the iPhone 4. But thoughts of important, adult stuff like saving for a house, food and clothes penetrated through the haze of my cultish/slavish fascination for all things Apple.

Still thinking, could food really be that important?

Image source: http://theoatmeal.com/comics

Just Jump Already!

Mission

Remember GoldenEye? Remember the terrifying opening sequence where Mr. Bond jumps off a ridiculously high dam in the Swiss countryside? (Please find video attached to refresh your memory).

For my birthday this year (last week of July), I have decided to bungee jump off the Verzasca Dam near Locarno, Switzerland which is the highest pure free fall bungee jump in the world at a giddying height of 220m (722ft). There are no guide ropes to limit the numbing swing after the jump. Just so you know, I am extremely scared of heights and participation in adrenalinefuelled adventures has so far been 'interesting', so there's always a possibility of me coming back with a gripping story or two in return for your generosity! (My last attempt at a sky dive ended in a plane half buried in the ground and shrieks of "Run! Run! Run for your life!" I wish I was joking...

Please try and donate as much or as little as you wish.

Every pound you donate will go straight to Mind, my chosen charity. I have paid for everything associated with the Bungee jump myself.

Why Mind?

Consider this:

• According to the last Adult Psychiatric Morbidity survey approximately one in four persons (23.0 per cent) in England had at least one psychiatric disorder and 7.2 per cent had two or more disorders.
• 1.0 per cent of the adult population had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The prevalence rate among children is also approximately 1.0 per cent.
• 5.6 per cent of people aged 16 and over reported having attempted suicide.

Having worked with patients with a spectrum of mental health problems - affective disorders, learning disabilities, I know and appreciate the value of work being done by charities like Mind. They not only provide an invaluable source of information for people suffering from psychiatric disorders but also work very closely with communities and local networks to provide specialist training, promote an accepting attitude of mental distress in employers and campaign for the rights of those affected by mental health issues. Mind is independent and envisions "a society that promotes and protects good mental health for all, and that treats people with experience of mental distress fairly, positively, and with respect."

Convinced? Here's what to do...

Please go to my Just Giving Page and hit the neat 'Donate Now' Button and you will be presented with a range of secure payment options.

Mind and I say Thank You!

Please allow me to thank you for taking the time to read this far. I very much hope you will consider donating to Mind.

Hopefully I'll manage to pull this stunt off with no ocular or spinal damage and post photographic proof of the Mind Jump upon my return - watch this space!

Data Morality

This is an age of data. Some boffins say that within the next 6 months we will generate more data than was generated by mankind since documented existence. Not only does this spawn the most obvious question - are we equipped to convert this data into usable, commercially viable information but also a plethora of associated concerns: Where does all this data come from? What is it used for? Who regulates it? Can we afford the spectacular failures that result from an absence or inadequacy of the same?

The capture and analysis of data on customer preferences has been and will be the chief tool for a marketer. The Gold Standard of customer service - a single view of a customer is a result of just such an ability. When a business records past contacts I have made with them, incidents and outcomes etc. and makes it available Enterprise-wide, I can be assured any person I speak to in the Company will know what I’m talking about. This is a powerful feature. When I visit a website regularly to buy BBC Documentaries and Books on SLR Photography, it would be wise to direct me to the most appropriate pages and indeed make informed recommendations based on this proclivity.

But when does this win-win arrangement turn into a one sided encroachment into a customer’s privacy? It would be hard to say that cognition is a uniquely human faculty. What's uniquely human though is the lengths we'll go to either preserve information about ourselves or disseminate it. Both the sides will have reasonable arguments for defending their position. There will be people who would tweet about their recent consumption of an apple and there will be others who have blocked even their names from appearing in Facebook Search results.
I personally believe intrusion begins where volition ends. If there is something that I have tacitly agreed to without being presented with an option to step out of the arrangement, I may view it as an intrusion attempt. No one is interested in the fine print of the Data Privacy legislation, what everyone would be (or rather should be) interested in is the extent to which this is breached. Identity theft concerns aside, there is always a sense of unease about the consequences of our actions where we have voluntarily or involuntarily relinquished our cherished control over our personal information. In summary, I consider that the safe zone for the marketing professional (and the customer) is to allow for optionality, a human choice to customers. As for the customers, they’ll have to make up their own minds and judge if the benefits realized from waiving their rights to certain kinds of information offsets the moral concerns regarding this waiver.