In the first episode in 2021 of our monthly Small Data Forum podcast, Thomas, Sam, and I discussed the big picture of Trump and what's next for him, Joe Biden and America post-Trump, and in the context of our predictions in episode 42 in December. Those predictions weren't that shabby, as it turns out. We considered what social media is: platform, publisher, or leech, which provoked some lively and trenchant opinion. We pondered the consequences and outcomes of the Capitol riots or … [Read more...] about SDF 43: The wearing away of trust
Communication
The uneasy case for face masks and enforced wearing
In the UK last November, the most frequent locations people with the COVID-19 virus had been prior to testing positive was supermarkets. Two months on, that may still be the case. It makes sense, then, that if you are going to a supermarket, you wear a face mask for your own protection as well as that of everyone else. Unless you have valid exemption, wearing a face mask when in an enclosed public place like a supermarket is also the law now. It seems straightforward enough, right? But … [Read more...] about The uneasy case for face masks and enforced wearing
Post Trump, a better system must start in America
The eye-opening scenes of hundreds of people storming the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Wednesday January 6 - broadcast live and shown on television screens around the world - will have significant effects in the long term on society in general in ways that are hard to immediately imagine or understand. In the US, outrage at what happened that day is growing as greater clarity emerges on those events that many see as encouraged by President Trump. 'Insurrection' and 'sedition' are two … [Read more...] about Post Trump, a better system must start in America
FIR 202: We Regret any Inconvenience
Of all the topics Shel and I discussed in the December episode of The Hobson & Holtz Report aka FIR 202, published last week, two in particular stand out for me. The first addresses the way in which organisations make apologies to their customers and other stakeholders. With lockdowns, shutdowns and economic gloominess everywhere, the current pandemic provides so many opportunities to do it and do it right. Unfortunately, while the pandemic has sparked an outbreak of corporate … [Read more...] about FIR 202: We Regret any Inconvenience
SDF42: 2020 Caught in the Gaslights
Last week, we published the 42nd episode of the Small Data Forum podcast. As this is December, this is our Christmas Special that, in previous years, we have recorded live from the Olivelli restaurant in south London where Sam, Thomas and I enjoy some outstanding Italian cuisine and wine, during which we put the world to rights, analysing and dissecting the uses and abuses of data big and small that have dominated politics, business, and public life in 2020. This year, the pandemic put … [Read more...] about SDF42: 2020 Caught in the Gaslights