innovation

[Reading #8] Discounting, data stories and long journalism

May 1, 2011

1. Discounting So discounting is what retailers do – at Christmas, to seize the momentum of buying ahead of Christmas, and, in June, to get cash rather than debts on the books ahead of the end of financial year. But it’s something we all do. Think about the choice between watching TV or doing exercise. [...]

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Opening science’s books for the crowd

February 3, 2011
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Researchers can slave over their work, publishing modest increments for years before something really connects, and sometimes it’s not even then – it can be years later, when someone else makes the connection. But paying for that time can be politically tricky, and in any case the funding tends to come with the political cycle and with the tide of political opinion. Seems like a bit of a gap between what researchers need and what they’re getting, so what’s the answer?

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[Reading #7] Changing cities

December 20, 2010
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It’s clichéd to talk about more people living in cities than not, but it’s a milestone.  The way our cities work is changing too. We used to measure them every handful of years in a census, but increasingly we can keep much closer tabs through real time studies of the flow of people and information. So how does that change things?

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Science blogging, a rethink

December 16, 2010
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The NASA astrobiology debacle is a chance to rethink science blogging. People think of blogging as amateur or DIY media, which it can be. But I reckon it would help if scientists started to think about blogging as an extension to what they do at conferences.

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What do you think?

December 15, 2010

Are you finding this blog interesting? It’s been up and running three weeks – I’d hold out asking until a month, but that will be just about Christmas and I’m sure commenting on a blog will be the last thing on anyone’s mind. What with all the eggnog, Christmas songs and time off. So the [...]

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