Innovation by Flickr user theonlyone, cc-by-nc-nd licensed

My employer has gone through a restructuring exercise in the past couple of months. This means that from today onwards I will have a new job in the company.

I used to be Blended Learning Advisor in the global learning design and development team, now I will be Innovation Manager in the IT department of the Human Resources function.

I will be managing the innovation funnel for learning technology. I am very aware that this is a perilous job! As Machiavelli wrote in The Prince (via Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations):

There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things…. Whenever his enemies have the ability to attack the innovator, they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly, so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable.

I doubt the writing in this blog will change much (I see this change as a continuation of what I was doing before), but do expect some posts on innovation management pretty soon.

Leela James by Flickr user Pieter Baert

Ever since I attended a conference in a Disney World resort in Orlando I have been meaning to write a very cynical post about how authenticity is disappearing from our society (think Epcot: I visited Germany, Japan and Coronado Springs in twenty minutes total). In the post I would lament on how nothing is real anymore and that everything is fake. Have you looked at any ad in Wired recently? 100% photoshopped. Have you been to the great wall of China? No part of it is really old, it has all been “renovated”. Whenever I go anywhere or look at anything the experience that is delivered to me seems over-engineered.

I have decided not to write that post. I experienced some authenticity tonight: Leela James in the Melkweg in Amsterdam. This is the best concert I have ever attended. It was better than John Legend in Bruxelles, better than Postmen in the Melkweg. Even better than Zap Mama in the Westergasfabriek. Leela rocked the house for over two hours and showed that we still have artists that can express true feelings on the stage (shame on you Maxwell). The intensity of her show was incredible and her voice is truly exceptional.

Thank you Leela for keeping it real.

Internet Movie Database

I really like the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). It is the largest freely available database of movie related data. I use it mainly for two things:

1. Whenever I see an actor or actress in a movie and cannot remember in which movie I have seen that person before. IMDB list all the actors/actresses in the movie and allows you to click on the name of each person. On the page of the person it will then show you all the movies in which they played a role.
2. Whenever I am in video store and need to know whether the movie  that I am about to rent is any good. IMDB has a ratings systems that can give you a good general idea of the quality of the movie.

This post will be about the second use case. In the video store I use the Internet connection of my mobile phone. This is a tedious and often infuriating process, especially when you want to look up multiple titles. IMDB’s pages are huge (they have many images and ads), and this makes them load very slowly. In case of an ambiguous title two pages need to load before you can see the rating. Let’s look at an example. If I search for “pulp fiction” I get the following page:

IMDB results page (click to enlarge)

I then have to click on the  “Pulp Fiction” link to see the IMDB page which has the rating:

Pulp Fiction at IMDB (click to enlarge)

After another angry session at the video store, I decided to do something about it. First I looked for a mobile version of the IMDB website. There are some available options (see here and here), but they are geared towards iPhones and don’t really work well.

Next I decided to write my own small web application and tried to find the IMDB API. It doesn’t exist! Unfortunately there is no way to easily use and re-purpose IMDB’s data. I don’t understand why some web companies (in this case Amazon) still don’t realise that this actually inhibits the building of their brands.

Luckily there is always one last option: screen scraping. I was actually willing to try and write my own parser for this (would be great practise), but found Izzysoft‘s IMDBPHP class which makes this easy work. This class allows you to get a lot of data about each movie.

After about two hours of programming I now have the following result. I call it Rent it?:

Rent it? The results for "Pulp Fiction"

I tried to design it to be as fast as possible and made it fit for purpose using the following design considerations:

• I used a big input field at the top of the screen, with a big button underneath. This input field is also shown on the results pages, so that it is always easy to start a new query. The field gets automatic focus as soon as the page finishes loading.
• Only relevant information about each movie is shown: rating, title, year, director, run time in minutes and a user generated plot outline. The title links to the original IMDB page which will open in a new window.
• The standard IMDB score is converted to a percentage and gets a background colour on the basis of the height of the rating. Red has a rating of less than 60% (not worth watching), whereas movies with green ratings are above 70% and could be interesting.
• The pages are very light: no ads or images. All the processing is done on the server. If a search has many results, then this processing can still take a while. That is why the number of results are capped at five and results are cached for a week (also on the server to benefit everybody).

I hope you are willing to try it out and look forward to any of your feedback!

Try “Rent it?“

Rent it? is also accessible through my mobile start page.

Please choose what this post is worth to you and donate!

A former colleague of mine recently read a Dutch article about Martijn Aslander and the new economy. Whenever Aslander does a presentation or talk, he lets the members of the audience decide what the value of the talk was and pay him accordingly. My ex-colleague was fascinated with the concept and is now wondering whether he should do something similar. He especially likes the idea of having a more direct way of getting feedback about what he does. He has asked me what I think of it as a business model. I will try and outline my thoughts in this post.

Aslander is inspired by Radiohead’s In Rainbows album and probably by authors like Cory Doctorow who gives away electronic versions of his book under a Creative Commons license. The reason why this can work as a business model for music and literature is twofold:

1. The costs for the production and delivery of digital goods is so marginal that it can be considered as being zero. Once the CD is finished there are no real costs to Radiohead for delivering an extra copy to someone.
2. The problem of content creators is not that everybody pirates their content, it is that nobody knows about their content. Giving away your content can help build an audience, who then might be willing to pay for others things that you do or have (e.g. go to your speech or concert). Currently this is an usual model, which by itself also generates interest (this is why it can work for Aslander). Usually the money isn’t made with the content that is given away on a voluntary donation basis, it is made with the other opportunities that become available when you have a larger audience.

I personally have reached a stage where I expect digital information to be free. If there is no marginal costs to something, then I don’t really see why I would have to pay for it. This is why I like free software so much: it enables me to use software freely and legally. It is my belief that this is the future of music too, as more and more people find it absurd to pay about a dollar for something that costs absolutely nothing to deliver.

This begs the question of how content creators can make a living for themselves. Kevin Kelly (who has been thinking about the new economy for over a decade now) has written an fascinating manifesto about the things that people will always be willing to pay for, even in a digital economy with abundant and free copies: Better Than Free. One of those things is embodiment. People will pay to see you in person.

Back to my former colleague. Should he try a business model in which he asks the participants of a workshop to pay him what they think it was worth? I don’t think he should, unless he wants to use it as a marketing gimmick. What he does has a very real value. When he does a workshop he needs to be physically present to make it a success. His time is worth something. Also, there is an optimum amount of participants for a workshop. If you get any more participants, you negatively impact the quality of the workshop: an extra space has a real and tangible cost. You cannot say the same for a song download…

This leaves open the question about how to get more direct feedback. I will have to address that in another post.

I am moving from Stoas to Shell

Ever since February 2007 I have been working as an e-Learning consultant and Moodle evangelist for Stoas Learning, the Dutch Moodle partner. From May 1st, I will start in a new role at a different company. I will become a Blended Learning Adviser at Shell International.

Stoas has been a a wonderful employer for me. They have given me a lot of opportunities and trust, enabling me to learn a lot and pursue the things that I find interesting. I have had the chance to do exciting projects for interesting clients (e.g. the Council of Europe, the EO, ABN Amro and Shell), work with some great colleagues and connect with the larger Moodle community. It wasn’t an easy choice to leave…

However, I am excited at the opportunities that I will have at a large multinational like Shell. In this role I will be doing a couple of things:

• Build the capacity for blended learning in the Group
• Be the guardian for Shell’s global Moodle implementation
• Design exciting learning events that impact the business
• Facilitate and moderate Shell’s global community of learning professionals

It is my ambition to stay engaged with the Moodle and edublogger communities through writing this blog: I realise that the only way for me to maximise my potential in this new job is to share as much as I can of what I do and be in many external dialogues. Please tell me when you feel I am straying too far from that goal.

Reichstag, Berlin, photo by chris-dcx cc by-nc-nd

This evening I had the chance to go to the Reichstag in Berlin. This incredible building currently houses the German parliament (the Bundestag).

Admission to the magnificent dome is free. The last people are allowed in at 22:00 and are then allowed to stay till midnight. I hope our Dutch public institutions will take the Reichstag as an example.

The view of Berlin at night was impressive. Walking up the spiral (which is separate from the downward one) make you see the full panorama about three times.

The dome was designed by Norman Foster and built to symbolise the reunification of Germany. When you look down towards the inside you can see the seats of the parliament which get direct sunlight reflected through the mirrored cone in the centre of the dome.

Looking at that mirrored cone I suddenly realised Foster’s brilliance: the cone not only allows sunlight in, it also must allow the people sitting in the parliament seats to oversee all of Berlin when they look up. To me this makes the dome a wonderful physical realisation of a metaphor for not performing omphaloskepsis, but instead looking outward to the world at large.

A great city, Berlin.

Obama and Clinton in Florida

The day before yesterday I had the extraordinary privilege to see and hear an ex-president and the next president of the United States speak at an rally in Kissimmee, Florida.

We were taken to the venue by a Haitian cab driver, who not only is the best domino player of the US (by his own estimation), but also kindly let us listen to some of the Republican radio stations. He loves listening to those stations because of their extreme and ridiculous viewpoints.

We arrived at a big sports field around 17:30 where a very orderly line had already formed. During the wait we could buy all kinds of Obama buttons and T-shirts (my favourite: a Matrix spoof with Obama as “The One” and Biden, Michelle and Powell in the background). There was a heart warming amount of optimism and camaraderie in the line. The doors opened at 20:30 and we were quickly searched at a security checkpoint. Multiple helicopters circled the air, another security measure.

The field slowly filled up with everybody walking to the catheter. When we reached, we were pleasantly surprised to be only about 20 yards away from the speakers. At 22:00 congresswoman Brown, the senator of Florida and Jimmy Smith urged everybody to vote early. A lawyer ensured us that this time the Democratic party has five thousand lawyers in Florida alone, making sure that every vote counts and suing as soon as problems emerge. “They won’t steal the election this time.”

Right on time (23:00) president Clinton and senator Obama appeared. Clinton spoke first with Obama sitting next to him on a stool and smiling. Clinton said that there were four reasons why Obama is the president that the country needs:

• He has the best philosophy
• He has the best policy
• He is capable of making a decision
• He is capable of executing on the decision

According to Clinton both candidates had to make two presidential decisions during this campaign. The first is the choice of a vice president (no need to dwell on this point), the second was acting on the economic crisis. Clinton explained that Obama has had a lot of criticism for taking a while to respond, but that during that time Obama was calling his economic advisers, Clinton’s advisers, Warren buffet and other specialists realising that this was a complex situation that needed to be understood well. This is exactly what a president does according to Clinton.

Next it was Obama’s turn. He looked relaxed and spoke with an incredible clarity and purpose (without using a tele-prompter). The presence of the hugely popular Clinton gave Obama the opportunity to refer to those prosperous Clinton years in which the average yearly income rose by 7500 dollars as opposed to the Bush administration where the average income fell with 2000 dollars.

What struck me was the honesty of what he said and his willingness to also talk about the difficult issues. The US needs to tighten its belt. He will have to go through the budget “line by line” and scrap the things that we might like, but do not need. He spoke about investing 15 billion dollars in green technology and creating 5 million green jobs. He addressed the accusation of being a communist (“Yes, I shared my peanut butter sandwich in school, I am a redistributionist”). He praised McCain for his stand against torture but also pointed out the fact that McCain’s voting record has been with Bush on all economic matters. “Bush has been digging a hole for eight years and McCain is ready to take over the shovel.”

Finally he urged everybody to not think that the race has run. Everybody has to go out and vote.

It was an amazing experience being at a historic event like this.

Only a couple more days…

Segway, photo by oskay

I love Segways. In June I used one in San Francisco and I think it is an amazing extension of your body. Within five minutes riding feels completely natural. All the movements are intuitive, it is a brilliant piece of design.

I am at Learning 2008 in Orlando. I have been thoroughly impressed by how well designed the conference is. Everything seem to be consciously thought out.

The host Elliott Masie rides around on a Segway in between the sessions. I was looking at him and suddenly noticed that it does two things for him:

• It makes him unique. He is the only one.
• It adds height: he is the tallest guy in the room and can pet people on the back while they are looking up to him.

This reminded me of some research that I read years ago about taller people having more authority, being more successful and earning more (e.g. Short Changed).

I (obviously) wasn’t the first one thinking about this. See for example the height advantage.

This begs the question whether Masie is aware of this when he uses his Segway. If I look at how precisely designed the rest of the conference is, I can’t imagine he isn’t (which is fine…)

Robijn

Robijn is Dutch fabric softener brand owned by Unilever. I recently bought a bottle of their new “Robijn Crème” concentrated fabric softener. When I read the back of the bottle I could see that their marketing department had gotten free reign:

Verwen je zintuigen & kleding met Amandelolie. Robijn Crème is pure verwennerij voor jezelf en voor je kleding door de rijke crèmige samenstelling en verzachtende Amandelolie. Een echt verwenmoment! Zoals genieten van een heerlijke chocoladetruffel die smelt in je mond. Gun jezelf dat speciale moment. Ook op een gewone maandagochtend.

I will attempt a (quick and dirty) translation into English:

Give your senses and your clothes a treat with Almond oil. You are pampering yourself and your clothes with Robijn Cream because of its rich creamy composition and its softening almond oil. A true moment of pampering! Like enjoying a delicious chocolate truffle which melts in your mouth. You deserve that special moment. Also on a regular monday morning.

WTF?! I wish I could know the genesis of this brilliance. Does anybody know who is responsible?