Blog

May 11, 2015

Launch of Australia’s Web Observatory

Last week in Adelaide and Sydney we launched our Australian Web Observatory which is now a “node” within the global network of Web Observatories. My presentation can be found here, and Ramine Tinati’s overview of SOCIAM and the Web Observatory can be found here.

May 7, 2015

CeBIT 2015 and how to under-sell the “digital” agenda

This week I went to CeBIT, “Australasia’s largest business technology exhibition“. Apart form the fact that I had to schlep all the way out to Homebush, they didn’t have my registration correct, and the organisation was poor, I was seriously underwhelmed.

April 19, 2015

Intersticia Foundation – Creating the Space to Imagine

It seems to me that that there is a lot of talk about the need for people and organisations to be more “innovative” and “creative” as the knowledge economy evolves and the need to manage and work with rapid change confronts us all.

March 30, 2015

Moving towards a “digital enlightenment”

Last week I participated in the “Digital Enlightenment Forum” in Kilkenny, Ireland.

February 11, 2015

Becoming “digitally savvy” …

Yesterday I sat and observed an old man as he waited at a bus stop in London. He stood with his trolley for almost twenty minutes, and watched expectantly, totally focused on his quarry.

September 26, 2014

Solomon Lecture 2014

Almost immediately upon my return to Australia I travelled to Brisbane to record and deliver the 2014 Solomon Lecture, “Government in the Age of the ‘Social Machine’”.

September 13, 2014

Meaning and money (or is that money and meaning?) at SOCAP14

I have just returned to Australia from my international wanderings, and, in particular, hot on the heels of having attended SOCAP14.

September 8, 2014

The “anthro-pocene” era … redefining “humanity”

I took this photo of “The Shard” amidst a storm a couple of months ago from the rooftop of the Tate Modern in London. It struck me that for anyone who discounts the impact of humans on the environment this was a startling demonstration … even the clouds parted for a man-made tower.

August 18, 2014

Forgetting and remembering in the digital age

In the past month I have participated in a number of events which have highlighted the juxtaposition between “remembering” and “forgetting”.

July 14, 2014

Observing the Web as a way of making sense of a world of “wicked” problems

In a previous post I talked about Socrates and notion of the “examined life”. Countless words have been written on human attempts to examine the psyche, and the challenge of more effectively understanding how we can live together more harmoniously for the betterment of all.

June 25, 2014

It’s about the people, stupid!

Last week I attended the “Humanising the Robot Economy” at Nesta, which was essentially the launch of “Our Work Here is Done: Visions of a Robot Economy”.

June 17, 2014

Brain, soul and spirit food

This past couple of weeks I have lived in London soaking up as much as I can of life in this dynamic and vibrant city.

May 25, 2014

A silver lining in the dark cloud of Australian politics?

She felt that so much time and energy was spent just dealing with the day to day of being a “politician” that there was precious little left to actually remain in touch with what people were actually saying, let alone to have much space to actually listen.

May 2, 2014

The World Wide Web and a still divided information world

This photograph says it all really! Three people, armed with smartphones, on the top of a skyscraper overlooking a polluted city.

March 17, 2014

Social machines in Action – Second ANZSOG Report

We have just released our second ANZSOG Research report as part of our “Government as a Social Machine” which can be downloaded here.

March 11, 2014

Patterns for living and learning – bringing forth a digital literacy

Two weeks ago I participated in the annual ANZSOG Master Class held at the Melbourne Business School and facilitated by Professors John Alford, Jon Brock and Mike Vitale.

February 15, 2014

Government … within a social machine ecosystem

Last week we submitted our {Government as a Social Machine in an Ecosystem” Paper for the SOCIAM workshop to be held at the 23rd International World Wide Web Conference in Seoul.

February 2, 2014

“He who tires of London, tires of life!”

I won’t deny it, London is, quite simply, my favourite city. And I am truly blessed to be able to live most of my time on Pittwater, with its breathtaking views, water sports and amazing bushland and then, a merely 30 odd hours away by plane, to come the other side of the world and be walking through Regents Park in mid-winter London.

January 19, 2014

The magic of trust

On Friday I went to see Cranked Up, this year’s marvellous performance of Circus Oz under the Big Top in Darling Harbour.

January 5, 2014

Moving towards a more “examined” world

There is nothing like looking at an image of the Earth from space to give a little perspective.

December 18, 2013

Generations of Hope

When I was in Berlin last year the one memorial that completely overwhelmed me was “Mother with her Dead Son”, by Käthe Kollwitz in the Neue Wache.

November 7, 2013

The Laramie Project

Today was the first rehearsal of the Intersticia Foundation’s first live theatre production – The Laramie Project – at the Zenith Theatre, Chatswood. Click here to visit the website.

October 28, 2013

The science of mind, and spirit

There is no wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest numbers of noble and happy human beings;

October 13, 2013

Web Science down under

Web Science Australia is delighted to announce that Professor Dame Wendy Hall, Professor of Computer Science and Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences at the University of Southampton in the UK, will be visiting Australia over the next few weeks to attend the 2013 International Semantic Web Conference in Sydney.

October 11, 2013

Our first Rowland Scholar – Dr Lionel Nizigama

This week I went to Goodenough College in London to met Dr Lionel Nizigama, a young doctor from Burundi, who is just starting a Master of Science in Tropical Medicine and International Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London.

September 25, 2013

Government as a Social Machine – First Report

Today ANZSOG released the first report on our “Government as a Social Machine” research project which can be found on the ANZSOG site here.

September 23, 2013

Leadership in an age of abundance

This has always been my favourite quote about leadership, because it is steeped in the concept of service, and reflects Robert Greenleaf’s philosophy of “Servant Leadership”.

August 30, 2013

Augmenting humans with technology

Gartner has just released it’s 2013 “Hype Cycle” in which the over-riding theme is “the evolving relationship between humans and machines”.

August 28, 2013

The “open” rhetoric … are we hearing more of the same?

On Monday evening I went to a talk given by Rufus Pollock of the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) at the University of Sydney.

August 18, 2013

In a world of “zigging” I’m seeking the “zaggers”…

Last week I went to an information session on Sydney Leadership, an eight month “leadership development programme” offered by Social Leadership Australia (SLA).

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect