Research & Ideas
Whythawk Blog
Whythawk on TwitterAnalysis
Slowing down the process of innovation with buzzwords and newspeak
Written by Gavin Chait
"People will swarm more often and work solo less. They'll work with others with whom they have few links, and teams will include people outside the control of the organization," says Tom Austin of Gartner, a market research consultancy. "In addition, simulation, visualisation and unification technologies, working across yottabytes of data per second, will demand an emphasis on new perceptual skills."
Microsoft tries Orchestrated Freedom and unleashes an innovation army
Written by Gavin Chait
Microsoft is due to release their hope for recovering credibility in the smartphone market.
Windows Phone 7 will have a tough job. Apple's iPhone is the benchmark for style and sophistication. Google's Droid phones are now widely distributed and have overtaken US sales of the iPhone.
Read more: Microsoft tries Orchestrated Freedom and unleashes an innovation armyWhile a prestigious university could help you cross a border, could your Facebook friends?
Written by Gavin Chait
"I confirm that there's a Basij [Islamist militia] station around the square and they shot ppl from the roof. #iranelection" posted Iran09 from his Twitter account on 15 June 2009.
The disputed 2009 Iranian election resulted in outrage and street protests. Their government, determined to prevent an international outcry, blocked media organisations and rounded up journalists. Ordinary Iranians turned to their mobile phones to produce a stream of information and photographs.
Read more: While a prestigious university could help you cross a border, could your Facebook friends?Would dropping the value of its currency be good for an economy?
Written by Gavin Chait
The Financial Rand was an awkward kludge. Dreamed up by the dreary dictators of Apartheid, it was designed to prevent South Africans from taking their money out of the country. If you wanted to exchange your rand for dollars you first had to buy financial rand. Which were worth nothing.
When the financial rand went, in 1995, the new ANC government was fearful of currency instability. High interest rates of over 20% and severe limitations on exchange control held capital flight in check. Wags worried, with the rand drifting to R5 to the greenback, that South Africa would soon be the 7/11 economy; R7 to the dollar, R11 to the pound.
Read more: Would dropping the value of its currency be good for an economy?Long live the middleman as agents become distributors and researchers become retailers
Written by Gavin Chait
Market researchers can be a frustrated bunch. They're always arriving after their clients have chosen their products. All retailers want is for the clever advertisers to sell as much of this stuff as possible.
Forward3D, an internet search marketing firm, has turned that model on its head and become an online retailer. In a recent Wired article the firm explained how they set about doing this.
Read more: Long live the middleman as agents become distributors and researchers become retailersPage 5 of 54
