When Sam, Thomas and I recorded the 45th episode of our Small Data Forum podcast two weeks ago, who would have imagined that the major topic for us then - the EU's COVID vaccination mess - would continue to be a major topic today, one that's evolved and morphed into something even more alarming than it was then. We were pretty critical of the European Commission, how it is managing the vaccine rollout across the 27 member states, and its communication. The World Health Organisation calls it … [Read more...] about SDF 45: The vaccination mess in Europe
COVID-19
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
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
FIR 198: Is #WFH the post-pandemic future?
What coronavirus will do to our offices and homes post-pandemic is a question that prompts multiple answers on a daily basis. If there are ten questions, you'll find ten different answers. About the only thing that's consistently equal in opinion is that there will be change and it will be profound. It's a big topic that exercised Shel and I in the August 2020 episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report aka FIR 198. We anchored the discussion with a broad-brush picture painted by the BBC that … [Read more...] about FIR 198: Is #WFH the post-pandemic future?
FIR 197: A better social network
The July 2020 episode of The Hobson and Holtz Report, aka FIR 197, features Neville and Shel discussing… Emotional Intelligence as an Internal Communications focusAI avatars as a new tool for training and marketingThe latest TikTok newsWhat a better social network might look likeThe rise of Virtual and Augmented RealityThe staggering jobs challenge the world is facing Dan York reports on making video calls better, apps that keep copying each other, Amazon’s new live-streaming for … [Read more...] about FIR 197: A better social network