Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2009
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
After Netflix? What next?
The Netflix competition is nearly concluded.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Walmart Twitter Use
Dave Knox points out that Walmart does a good job organizing all their Twitter accounts in one place. It is here. I agree, most corporate examples are very haphazard.
From Putting People First
Google on designing useful mobile services for Africa
Last week Google announced a suite of SMS services in Uganda. In a follow-up post on the main google blog, the company explains that it is the result of more than a year of true user-centred research and design. “We knew we wanted…
From Putting People First
Supportive relationships are key to tackling social ills
The [British] government’s new public services reforms focus on rights and entitlements, but, argues Charles Leadbeater in this piece for The Guardian, supportive relationships are key to tackling social ills. “Radical public…
From Wild WebMink
links for 2009-07-09
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Woot has made these lists into an art-form and this one is a classic.
From Putting People First
The Generation M Manifesto
Umair Haque has a message for the G8: “Dear Old People Who Run the World, My generation would like to break up with you. Everyday, I see a widening gap in how you and we understand the world
From Putting People First
Book: Social by Social
Social by Social – a practical guide to using new technologies to deliver social impact by Andy Gibson, Nigel Courtney, Amy Sample Ward, David Wilcox and Professor Clive Holtham 2009 ISBN 978-1-906496-41-8 “New technologies are…
From Putting People First
Service design tools
“Service design tools – communication methods supporting design processes” is an open collection of communication tools used in design processes that deal with complex systems. Compiled by Roberta Tassi for her thesis at the…
From Putting People First
Civic apps could redefine the way citizens interact with cities
Will smartphone connectivity become the new measure of civic engagement? Can the app replace the neighborhood association? “While some might feel that engaging communities through handheld devices may erode civic bonds, apps…
From Putting People First
Why designers need to focus on focus groups
Today, market research is a $19 billion industry and focus groups are one of the most expensive types of market research. The question is, asks Ravi Sawhney, founder and CEO of RKS, in Fast Company, what role should design play…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Getting to Wow in Retail
From Knowledge@Wharton: Getting to 'Wow': Consumers Describe What Makes a Great Shopping Experience: The complete report by the retail council. Below an overview:' ... New Wharton research finds that 35% of shoppers have had…
From BLOG@CACM
Telemedicine in Latin America
What is telemedicine and how is being implemented in LA.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Coke Machine Gets Networked and Analytical
This article includes some technical details about how Coke is using RFID and real time networked analytics in its new dispensing machine. The system will allow late stage product testing and differentiation. The kind of network…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Crowdsourced Simulation
Had a most interesting conversation with Ken Karakotios. He demonstrated some of his prototype economic simulation models. He is looking for collaborators and funders for further developing the project. He also introducedhe…
From The Eponymous Pickle
SSN Numbers are Predictable
This saw much press yesterday, that a Carnegie Mellon professor has shown how using some fairly simple techniques social security numbers can in many cases be predicted, leading to increased potential for identity theft. It was…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Free is Not
Gladwell in the New Yorker looks at the curious consequences of free: Priced to Sell, Is free the future?. Reviewing
From The Eponymous Pickle
On Demand Business Intelligence
Good overall report on business intelligence use. I have used a half dozen BI packages over the years. Several were used and then abandoned as needs changed. Plus the added complexity and cost of maintaining packages and'…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Business Analytics and the Thinking Process
Good piece in SASCom magazine on how to link business process solving and analytics. This is the kind of thing that is rarely covered well in universities. You still have to adapt it to your own enterprise, but this is still…
From Putting People First
Spinning the web or the role of digital influencers
The New York Times writes about the power of grassroots buzz, exemplified by public relations approaches in Silicon Valley. “Gone are the days when snaring attention for start-ups in the Valley meant mentions in print and on…
From Putting People First
Jan-Christoph Zoels at London
Experientia partner Jan-Christoph Zoels was one of the speakers at London’s Media Futures Conference last week, which was themed “beyond broadcast” and explored the future of media. Willem Boijens (Vodafone) and Jan-Christoph…
From Putting People First
The Future of Innovation is . . . Together
David Simoes-Brown alerts us on UK’s Nesta Connect about an excellent new collaborative book about The Future of Innovation where hundred of authors give their views. Over 350 leading thinkers from business, government, consulting…
From Putting People First
Innovative service design for all
Re-Public, an online journal focusing on innovative developments in contemporary political theory and practice, has just launched its latest special issue, entitled “Innovative Service Design for All“. Applicable culture: Towards…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Wolfram Alpha
A good overview of the state of WolframAlpha in MIT's TechnologyReview. I have taken a look at it and reviewed it several times since its release, previous posts here. The article gives much behind-the-scenes motivation. A…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Design a recommender system: they read your resume
Goodreads is a Social Web site about books. They need a recommender system. Thus, they issued a challenge: design their recommendation engine, and they will read your resume.
From CSDiary
Watch Luis von Ahn on Nova scienceNow
PBS has posted the video from its Nova ScienceNow segment on Luis von Ahn.
From Computer Science Teachers Association
A Computer Science Honor Society: Is it Worth the Work??
Over the last couple of years, the question of whether CSTA should initiate an honor society for high school computer science students has been raised a number of times, both by members of the CSTA Board of Directors and by CSTA…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Buyology Inc Starts Up
Buyology Inc, an outgrowth and consulting extension of Martin Lindstrom's Neuromarketing work is now up and running. Their new web site has lots more information about the effort. I am involved and am enjoying it. From time…
From Wild WebMink
Lula's Free Java Ring
The Brazilian economy is powered by the Java platform - even their new Free digital TV standard uses it. They took the decision to use Java for so much in part when we (Bruno, myself and a number of others) assured them, a number…
From The Eponymous Pickle
1001 Inventions
Came upon an interesting book at the library. Libraries are still of value, they provide an alternate random encounter model for discovery. 1001 Inventions that Changed the World, by Jack Challenger. Bit of a coffee-table…
From BLOG@CACM
Campus Party Colombia
July 6 2009, is the starting date for the second edition of “campus party” which is one of the most important technological shows of the world.