Things I Learned This Week – #46

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Doug Belshaw

Offline this week I learned that Twitter is often a quicker and easier place to sell things than eBay, that eagerly pulling decals off a car will can also remove the paintwork, and more than I could ever summarize in one blog post (or indeed the introduction to one) at Interesting North… 🙂

http://delicious.com/dajbelshaw/TILTW46

Tech.

Want a free, Open Source alternative to Garageband for audio editing? Try Jokosher!
Just as the Wii remote was hacked to work with all sorts of stuff including rolling your own interactive whiteboard, so it looks like Microsoft’s Kinect is going to be more than just an Xbox phenomenon…
Good news! TalkTalk and BT have forced a judicial review of the Digital Economy Act.
It turns out I’m not the only one who sends ridiculous (but funny) messages due to my smartphone’s autocorrect.
BBC’s iPlayer is going global.

Productivity & Inspiration

I’ve always fancied the idea of having a ‘virtual assistant’ but didn’t really know what to expect. This guest post at Tim Ferriss’ blog is a goldmine for those considering hiring one!
The secret of ‘great men’? Deliberate practice.
Some browse-worthy productivity tips at the99percent.com/tips
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll be writing a post like this on my 30th birthday too.
Seth Godin nails it about ‘organizational architects’ rather than ‘corporate chiropracters’:

Organizational architects know how to find suppliers, use the cloud (of people, of data, of resources), identify freelancers, tie together disparate resources and weave them into a business that scales. You either need to become one or hire one.

Education & Academic

I found this Slideshare presentation by Tabetha Newman very helpful with my digital literacy research this week:

Simon Schama sets out his stall for the teaching of History in UK schools.
I came across this from Paul Andrews this week. A useful overview diagram of which edtech tool to use when (click to enlarge):

Tom Barrett has, for the last few years, marshalled and encouraged the edtech community into producing an excellent ‘Interesting Ways’ series of collaborative presentations. Which is why an Australian company called Edsoft completely ignoring the Creative Commons license they’re released under and claiming them as their own is so wrong.
Professor Keri Facer will be keynoting the JISC innovating e-learning online conference the week after next. Listen to her call for a debate about the purpose of Higher Education here.

Data, Design & Infographics

Now this is an awesome idea. A table made out of tear-off paper sheets. Instant brainstorming and collaboration! (unfortunately the image isn’t CC-licensed…)
Want to create an awesome kinetic typography video like the Stephen Fry one that’s been doing the rounds? Check out this tutorial.
Talk about a labour of love. This artist meticulously rearranges newspapers so that they read alphabetically!
Just because someone creates a good-looking infographic doesn’t mean that they’ve checked their facts nor that it’s true. In fact, many infographics are created as ‘linkbait’ to improve the SEO of sites. It’s especially important for those who disagree with an interpretation to engage and disprove it, I think. With that in mind, I give you Contradictions in the Bible.
TIME magazine have released their yearly list of the 50 best inventions. The iPad, inevitably, features, but the ‘underwater kite’ to generate electricity is what fascinated me!

Misc.

Dick Van Dyke was rescued by porpoises last week. Fact.
Ever joked that it would be a good idea to tie a duster to a baby so that it can do the housework as it crawls around? The Japanese have invented baby clothes for that!

At Interesting North yesterday we played Rock, Paper, Scissors. I prefer Cow, Lake, Bomb [MP3] as featured on I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Hilarious!
The Atlantic magazine has been going for over 150 years. Here’s some good advice about what makes for a good publication.
Let me congratulate Microsoft on creating the wonderful Windows 7 phone. It’s much, much better than both the iPhone 4 and Android smarphones. At surviving a barbeque:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm0AkFUYpLQ?rel=0&w=560&h=345]

Quotations

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake. (Confucius)

Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. (Mark Twain)

As a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents. (Schopenhauer)

One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak. (G. K. Chesterton)

The best way to teach people is by telling a story. (Kenneth Blanchard)

Main image CC BY-NC-SA Rafakoy