Online lions and offline lambs
I’ve been thinking about personality, and how it differs between our online and offline selves. There is a hope, expressed by all sorts of people, that the internet represents an easy way to understand exactly what people think. According to this argument, if we listen to internet conversations (scrape them, analyse them, Google-alert them) then we know what’s going on. It’s just a case of data reduction. I think that’s incredibly problematic, and here are three difficulties that I see with this way of thinking. 1. Online lions may be offline lambs It feels...
Read MoreTell me what you think. No, really.
I went to a terrible conference some time ago. From the first talk, it was dull and worthy. During the coffee breaks, I talked to other people, who were also driven to comment on the sheer awfulness of the event. If you looked at the public response to this event - the Twitter coverage, for example - you would never guess that many of the delegates felt that the entire day was a waste of time.
Read MoreThe online educator: Interview with Florence DuJardin
This is the first in a series of interviews with people who specialise in interaction. I work across three or four different areas including research, user experience, training and science communication. My core interest is in high quality interaction, and I’ve decided to put together an interview series with people from very different subject areas who are involved in creating successful interactions. My first guest is Florence DuJardin, who is Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies at Sheffield Hallam University. Florence runs the online Masters programme in...
Read MoreManifesto
Some of us find it quite simple to put our real organisations and authentic selves online.
Others - well, let's just say that some of us can't bear to look at our own websites.
My mission is to help you transform your online presence so that other people understand and appreciate what you really have to offer. So that you can achieve what you want - whether that's better engagement, more readers, or more sales.