Where the hell is Matt?

I just stumbled across the "Where the hell is Matt" website. It is a really simple idea - a guy travels the world and dances like a fool in front of famous landmarks. It appears, however, that this guy has turned into a phenomenon. He has sponsors and has extended his dance to include locals from all the places he visits.

The result is a really positive example of the internet connecting people (the phrase is a little trite, I know, but it really is appropriate here). Amazingly, if you enter "Matt" in google.com this is now the top result. Check it out!


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Hulu.com

I just read an interesting comparison of Hulu.com and mediaflo at telco.net:

http://www.telco2.net/blog/2008/09/hulu_and_mediaflo_visions_of_a.html

It refers to Hulu.com (advertising driven, media giant owned online distribution) as the kind of site Dad would have liked. I guess I always was a bit of an old-fashioned kind of guy - I think the site is fantastic.. at least if you have an IP-address in the US (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). It has all the latest shows from a couple of big players and some real chestnuts from yesteryear (geeky sci-fi fan that I am, I have been enjoying the reruns of Babylon 5!).

I hadn't come across Mediaflo until today, so I will be checking that out in the weeks to come and will post what comes of it.

Either way, it just goes to show that the optimist in me was right - high-quality free to the consumer content online is making a comeback.

Waterfall2006

In the last few days I have been frequently reminded of the challenges of implementing agile processes in large projects. The principles and basic structures feel right, but getting the details to work is a long-term process. I have fortunately found an alternative in the process model that was reinvigorated at a conference way back in 2006. Check it out at http://www.waterfall2006.com

;-)

Practical science

Having an educational background in the dreaded "mickey-mouse" world of business administration and working in an environment that is overwhelmingly populated with scientists and engineers, I am often reminded of how little I know about the world around me.

It is easy to develop a view of knowledge based on your work; I am (amongst other things) an analyst in the telecommunications industry and know a fair bit about how to design and build software applications. Despite this I know virtually nothing about how the world works.

This is, somewhat paradoxically, one of the reasons why I enjoy working in the consulting industry - there are so many interesting smart people from all walks of life who have a very practical understanding of why things happen in the real world to keep kicking me into thinking about stuff outside my work environment!

Why am I writing this? I was moved to reflect on what I know and don't know by a posting on www.ted.org by an educational consultant, previously from the BBC, showing how little we know and how much this has to do with our educations.

I suspect it is true for large portions of the population (myself very much included). It is a reminder to me how important it is to stay inquisitive about the mundane and to continually ask myself simple questions. And it is also a reminder to me of why I like working with so many smart and practical people from so many varied backgrounds. Thank you once again TED!

Here it is.