Singapore

In Singapore (well actually I’m back now). Thanks to the lovely people at Brainjuicer. At one of these wonderful international workshops where the sand shifts under the participants at hourly intervals. Learning (though it should have been learnt by now) was that conventional insight formulae: situation – dilemma – resolution work (sort of) for mature markets. But what about those where the dilemma is recognisably in the future, but not recognisable by a user. You can’t test it. More imagination needed. New sampling, new iterations, new flexibility from the research machines. Brainjuicer, being the type of people they are, are on it.

Singapore. Large shopping mall cunningly disguised as an sovereign nation. Clarke Quay for the flea markets; East Coast Seafood Centrefor your chilli crab. Jay walked once, but the cold hand of the Singapore police on my collar was only imaginary.

And all hail the Singapore Cornish Pasty. Spicy. marvellous.

Hello you

Got my hello from Virgin Media. Rather alarming really. I’d been used to the gently apologetic of ntl customer communications (we both know it’s awful but let’s grit our teeth and bear up…). This is a bit like being propositioned by a slightly scary girl in a night club.

Perfomance appraisal

Staff at a Vancouver coffee shop deliver their verdict. No news yet on Scott’s response. Found at

Parking in Beijing and WC2

Thanks to Good Experiencefor this. They don’t let you lock your bike outside the Royal Society of Arts even though they claim to be big into greenery. All is forgiven though, since they hosted marvellous debate on why we’re obsessed with actors (it being the season when we watch actors give each other awards). Michael Bywater, he of infantilisation fame was on form. The theory? We’re fascinated because we’re biologically hardwired for (among other things) spotting fakes and gossiping. Because we’re so acute at spotting fakery, we’re fascinated by those who pretend to be other people and do it very well. And because we’re hard-wired for gossip (important survvival skill in early human era), but have no-one in common any more, we’re reduced to gossiping about the globally talentless, all the while thinking ‘hang on, I could do that.’

Priceless

More encounters with signs to follow.

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