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Vintage Technology

Jim MacLennan — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 03:29:03 +0000

Here’s one of those videos making the rounds via eMail. I found this in my inbox at work, from an observant friend who apparently likes the same web sites I do (although I had originally this as a great example of minimalist site design).

It’s interesting to note how the magical becomes the mundane. I did find it interesting that certain “timeless” concepts (a deck of cards? a marbles game?) have more resonance than these artifacts of a bygone age.

Yet we are still surprised when new technology comes along, with the younger generation and their newfangled ideas supplanting our familiar, tried and true tools that we use every day. Not many music fans want to go back to 8-tracks – so why do we resist the next version upgrade, the next user interface paradigm?

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Post tags: generational diversity, Technology, video, YouTube

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Art and Science of Data Visualization

Jim MacLennan — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 03:02:45 +0000

“Data Visualization” has been an extremely active and popular topic for a few years – we can use Google’s Timeline search feature to see the growth in interest since 1980:

Google Timeline results for

That local high in July of this year was due in no small part to David McCandless’ Information is Beautiful talk at TED this past summer. It appeared in my RSS stream here, here, and here, so I got the hint, spent 18 minutes watching it, and got suitably jazzed on the power and potential of visualizations.

McCandless uses a variety of visualization techniques to generate insight into a wide range of topics ..

Mountains out of Molehills – what are we afraid of? Funny stuff, but hidden patterns that jump out at you with just a little extra context.
Facebook break-ups – at 6:15, the roller-coaster graph of predictable relationship demise, recently Slashdotted
Military Budgets – a digression into the knack we all have of misunderstanding / misrepresenting that facts via statistics. Did you know that Myanmar is the world’s biggest war machine (as a percent of GDP)?

An important section comes when McCandless talks about the start of his work in design of data visualizations. Note that he’s not had any formal training – it was just sort of dormant within – and is very probably there within all of us, practically forced on us with the information overload of the web-enabled era. The bulk of your sensory input is visual, and the majority of our perception is happening unconsciously.

… the eye is exquisitely sensitive to patterns and variations … [it's] the Language of the Eye. And if you combine the Language of the Eye with the Language of the Mind – which is about words and numbers and concepts – you start speaking two languages simultaneously, each enhancing the other …

I do agree with his point that an effective visualization is self-evident, and appreciated by many – but I do not think it’s easy for the average Data Consumer to see themselves as a Data Artist, one who can conjure the magic on command. I have noticed that most of the data visualizations catching the public’s eye are not the ones you can easily generate with Excel (data navigation and manipulation tool for the masses). McCandless’ “balloon race” interactive diagram of health supplements is sublimely useful, easy to understand – and beyond the tool- and skill-sets of most of us.

Nevertheless – the inspiration, the examples, and tools are out there, and I am convinced that there are more Data Artists among us – they just don’t know it yet. I’m starting a series of posts today – I’ve been following many blogs and writing about this topic for some time – but it’s been a few months, and I’ve got a big backlog of topics to cover.

So check out the McCandless video; be prepared to get psyched, and then carve out some time to join me in this review. Data is the new soil, as McCandless points out – and just like good writing, those who can effectively help other visualize data and have their own insights will harvest some interesting insights, for themselves and their employers.

(… and learn how the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was carbon-neutral!)

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© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2010. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Art, cognitive science, communicating complexity, data visualization, David McCandless, Design, Facebook, Google, hidden patterns, information overload, Inspiration, multi-media information sharing, Presentations, Science, TED, video, visual, visualization, visualization techniques

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Design Thinking and Process – Is It In You? (1 of 2)

Jim MacLennan — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 03:25:08 +0000

Continuing a bit on my recent Design meme; I talk about the current relevance of design thinking, and the impact it can have on change management – but if it feels a bit foreign, how can you tell if you have it in you?

Do You Think Visually?

Interesting how Design always seems to have a strong visual component, even though functional design (like my data warehouse or the structure of my house) is not directly visible. Still, I thought Chuck Frey‘s post from last February is an interesting 10-part test, looking for some hints of visual thinkers. If you think beyond the simple yes-and-no questions, your feelings and interests in these areas could indicate latent design tendencies …

In the last month, have you drawn a diagram to explain something to someone?
In the last week have you drawn a diagram to help yourself understand or remember something?
Have you visited two or more art galleries or museums in the last 6 months?
Do you like to study maps of places before you visit them?
Can you visualize what a landscape might be like by looking at the contour lines on a map?
Did you like geometry at school?
Do you enjoy manipulating your digital photographs? For example, do you crop and edit them to improve the images?
Can you use the 2D engineering drawings of an object or the 2D architectural plans for a building to visualize what the object or building might look like?
Have you worked on a jigsaw puzzle in the last year?
Do you use mind maps to record and remember things?

Can You Appreciate Good Design When You See It?

From the always excellent FlowingData, an introduction to the talents of Cristobal Vila, who created this tremendous, design-sensitive walkthrough of Frank Lloyd Wrights FallingWater …

… and, if you like to see mathematics in nature, this little number (sic)

… I think should appeal to the techie/ programmer in you – the hidden order in the chaos of nature.

Need to Get some Peer Feedback?

Brian Hoff‘s site, The Design Cubicle is a terrific source for design ideas and thinking – and this past spring, pointed me to the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) site, which has started an area on their site where young designers are offering up advice for their peers, “seeking to develop a competitive advantage in the workplace”. Articles like Follow your passion and be the best at your craft, See no boundaries, and Work smart and prepare for a changing practice are good food for thought for any age.

Suspend your disbelief for just a moment, and explore a bit of your Design side. It can free up your thinking as you design systems, reports, transactions …

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Post tags: AIGA, American Institute of Graphic Arts, architecture, Brian Hoff, Chuck Frey, Cristobal Vila, Design, effective design, FallingWater, functional design, geometry, imagination, innovation, Inspiration, mind map, The Design Cubicle, video, visual, YouTube

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Sorting with Sound

Jim MacLennan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:31:48 +0000

via Geek.com – yes, I subscribe to stuff like this in my RSS reader …

I thought this was interesting on two levels …

The Engineering student within appreciates the differences in sorting techniques (although I think I could speed up that bubble sort …)
I also think these videos provide a simple illustration of the power of multi-media information sharing; the audio helps the animated “description” of the sorting techniques

I freely admit to be a bubble-sort bigot, as I never truly understood the heapsort algorithm. But think how this combination visualization / audio tool helps illustrate the concept; I’d love to see an interactive tool that lets me step through the sort and see the loops and the “stack” of values.

Another important power of effective visualizations – they get your audience thinking in new and different ways as well!

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Post tags: algorithms, Art, coder, communicating complexity, elegant, interesting stuff, multi-media information sharing, programming, Science, sort, sound, stack, subtlety, technical communication, video, visualization, YouTube

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What Really Motivates Us? Insights for your Tech Team

Jim MacLennan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:59:13 +0000

Over the last month or so, a large number of authors in my RSS reader called attention to Dan Pink’s ‘Drive’ video …

Props to Cool Infographics (home of the Caffeine Poster!) with the post that introduced me to the video. Key insight from Randy Krum: is this a video? A well done presentation? Or another innovative infographic?

Global Nerdy (a site with style and substance – content does not match the title!) calls out that this idea has direct applicability to work in software development – really, any systems design, development, and/or implementation work.

TechDirt draws a connection between the message of the video and Shirky‘s ideas around cognitive surplus – and how current incentive structures drive down creative output.

Aggregated Intelligence, Lifehacker, and Anecdote just linked to the video, no deep insights – just more votes on the relevance of this video!

And leave it to Coding Horror to pull the deepest insights (and the best post title). Atwood is a great writer, and draws a great straight line from the video’s call for a driving vision, to specific examples from his experience in building Stack Overflow.

With so many brilliant minds pointing me in this direction, I had to watch it – and yes, I was impressed by the presentation style and the content. It struck all the same chords that were called out above – and got me to stretch my presentation style a bit.

I hold quarterly meetings with my groups in IT, designed to continually invigorate and reinforce communications up, down, and across the business and IT organizations. And – free lunch for all, plus a chance to regularly hone my presentation style, and try out new things.

I have long been loathe to demonstrate software or do any sort of “live” presentation in front of a crowd – the silence can be deafening when Murphy strikes. But I like the message of the video – the style and length just fit nicely with the general themes I was covering this past quarter. So I took the chance and embedded the link in a PowerPoint slide, and ended my slides with the video. What did I learn?

Always test the internet connection beforehand – make sure there are no unfortunate proxy logins to get past
Do NOT rely on the speakers in your laptop (I had to scramble for some external speakers – thanks, Andy!)
Never underestimate the ability of a technical audience for introversion, insight – and outspoken feedback!

I did get some nice responses from my team – not in the group setting, but a couple of folks came to me afterwards, marvelling about how they had been thinking about the same ideas recently. A double win – new presentation tool, and new insights into the creativity and openness of my team!

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© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2010. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: A Whole New Mind, artistic expression, Dan Pink, design thinking, incentive structures, innovation, motivation, passion, People Management, Tech Management, video, YouTube

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The Sandpit

Jim MacLennan — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:24:05 +0000

(via GNC, thanks for this one!)

A bit of artistic inspiration; a visually stunning film, combining time-lapse and tilt-shift photography.

Click the picture to see the video ...

For the intellectually and technically curious – more information here.
For the artist and the observationally curious – tai chi under the freeway? Nice.

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Post tags: Art, cityscape, Inspiration, tilt-shift, time lapse, urban, video

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More Amazing Social Media Statistics

Jim MacLennan — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:36:16 +0000

A follow-on from my last post; speaking of interesting Social Media statistics … would you believe …

If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest
80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees
In 2009, Boston College stopped distributing e-mail addresses to incoming freshmen
80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices
25% of search results for the world’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content

Pretty amazing stuff … check out this video for more …

I was referred to this video short by a friend, and I dug into the source a bit – check out the Socialnomics blog for more stats and videos. For example, this one on Social Media ROI …

… although, I am currently still of the opinion that social media is applicable to consumer markets; I’m not sure how it applies yet to B2B industry.

However, I’m not going to wait around to find out … but I guess I can’t talk about that right now …

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Post tags: Facebook, Google, information, interesting stuff, LinkedIn, millennials, networking, possibilities, Presentations, Social Media, Social Networks, Socialnomics, trends, Twitter, video, Web 2.0, YouTube

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Finally! Relevant Applications for YouTube and Twitter in the Enterprise!

Jim MacLennan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:58:00 +0000

If you are involved with manufacturing these days, you’ve no doubt heard about Lean Manufacturing. I’ll not go deep into this area here, but one fascinating (for me) aspect is the thread (in some quarters) that ERP and computer systems are the enemy of Lean. On the whole, I don’t disagree – process improvement, kanbans, and attacking muda are typically very physical exercises; roaming the floor, walking through the processes (gemba walks), reorganizing workspaces for flow, designing and simplifying standard work – all very visual, participatory efforts that continue over time (constant improvement). Computer systems can just get in the way – metrics and measurements that require extra data entry, or inflexible processes that can’t be changed quickly. Much of Lean thinking is common sense and practical, applied thought – computers can over-complicate things!

However, it’s that visual, participatory nature of process improvement that can be something of an obstacle, especially if you’re working in an extended organization with many locations. It’s difficult to gain insight over the assembly process unless you’re standing at the bench, twisting and turning to reach for components. It’s hard to design practical speed improvements for changeovers if you aren’t there handling the tools / molds. And it’s often extremely difficult to get the folks who know how to do this stuff (operators) to effectively document their work!

Enter the YouTube idea (which I freely admit is not my own, but the originator has no problem sharing his insights). Travel budgets are shrinking, time away from the shop is tough – but all I need is a 5 minute show-and-tell of a process. Why not a quick video? It’s hard to describe how I can easily, visually manage WIP until you stand in that one key spot on the floor, and see how the sight lines to the various workstations all line up perfectly. Why don’t I just show you …

What about Twitter? Well, eMails, blogs, and wikis are really just fancied-up documentation tools, and nobody likes to create documentation. But Twitter can be terse, instant, and informal – not too intimidating for the itinerant author. Heck, sending tweets about ideas and observations on the job would be very much like sending text messages from your cell phone, an increasingly common, popular, and non-threatening task. The bonus, however, is that Twitter traffic can be broadcast (unlike your typical point-to-point text) and saved to a database for further review and insight.

Now, the public YouTube and Twitter sites are probably not the way you want to implement these ideas; much of what we’re Tube-ing and Tweet-ing is company confidential. Corporate IT should get involved – either host it yourselves or properly vet a third party site for access & availability, storage & security.

… finally, a chance to walk into the COO’s office and say “tweet” with a straight face …

Interested in more Lean Manufacturing resources? Here’s the best of what I’ve found on the ‘net … check ‘em out!

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© Jim MacLennan for cazh1, 2008. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Art, communication medium, documentation tools, innovation, kanbans, Knowledge Management, knowledge transfer, Lean, Lean Manufacturing, process documentation, process improvement, Science, speed improvements, Twitter, video, Web 2.0, YouTube

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BigDog: Impressive Robotics

Jim MacLennan — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:34:00 +0000

I don’t often post YouTube videos, but this one elicited a “wow” …

I’ve only dabbled in AI-type programming, but I can appreciate the amount of computation that’s going on in real time here. The Big Dog recovers nicely from a hard shove at about 0:40, but that’s nothing compared to scrabbling on the ice at about 1:25. I found myself thinking through the subroutines, if-then statements, and 3D math required to figure out where to move your feet to counterbalance the weight that your carrying.

A little research on Google and Wikipedia and covered some interesting facts about Boston Dynamics; they are a spinoff from MIT doing a number of different robotics projects.

This is the posted in many places. I saw it on Make and BoingBoing, but it’s cross-posted everywhere.

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Post tags: imagination, innovation, Inspiration, interesting stuff, MIT, possibilities, robotics, Science, Technology, video, YouTube

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