SMART CITY FANATIC

  ANSWER: It is whatever YOU make it! In the context of a city? It is possible to think of it, thus: 1: In PLANNING: Avoid urban sprawl. At ALL COSTS. 2: In ENERGY:   Be efficient with what we do have (fossil fuels; rising costs; even this government are trying, today, to handle that). Equally, be proactive with what we are yet to harness to the max.  That means alternative fuel sources from nuclear to wind/solar/et al. And think about whether you NEED to make that car / rail/bus journey. If you can work from home/ conduct a meeting, wirelessly? DO IT!  3: In BUSINESS :  Are your employees REALLY giving YOU value for money? And if not, why not? Think about how you can start a conversation with them. Be firm yet flexible.  Manage goals and targets, with in built review and negotiation. Make their welfare and development part of, rather than divorced from, the process of constructive criticism.  That way, pastoral care and professional growth coincide w...

Cars are BACK on roads. Well, they have been, for quite some time, in fact.  But: did you notice, when the pandemics and lockdowns were on? That it just felt a tad easier to simply walk down a street? There was quiet. You could actually hear the birdsong. And yes, above all? One could BREATHE, unfettered. Now, I do not wish to be some gloom merchant, stressing an end of the world forecast here. One gets enough of that, c/o imminent war predictions, worldwide financial meltdown prophecies and so on.  But what is, unavoidable,  alas, is that there is no escaping the fact, that it is indeed, harder to simply BREATHE, on roads. Why is that? Some of it might be psychosomatic. You are back in a crowded traffic jam. Stuck in an enclosed space, in a car? There are endless cyclists and now SCOOTERS using paths, instead of ROADS.  JOGGERS brush past with you, exuding a whiff of sanctimonious entitlement as they sniff their brand of bespoke, healthier air. And so on. I get it....

Ok. Yes. Deliberately gloomy, click bait friendly headline there. But I make NO apologies for that. Because in effect, THE GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND just did the same thing.  He used the term 'apocalyptic'. That is: 1: DEEPLY irresponsible. His job is to ensure calm, clinical, creative management of an independent financial system in the UK. He just did the very opposite; stoking the very panic he is entrusted to curtail and prevent.  2:  AND HE IS WRONG! Because 'apocalypse' is NOT the same as 'Armageddon'. For whatever reason? Those terms have become conflated and confused in recent linguistic idiom. Apocalypse = revelation. Now, that COULD, in theory, spell some world ending chaotic catastrophe. But it need not do so.   Revelations can be good, healthy, helpful. They can even enable GROWTH and PROGRESS, albeit, painfully so? So, in a way.. 3: Governor is also..RIGHT?!  As in, though he does not intend to be that, he is the bringer of necessary, tough bu...

  Ok, yes, that is a leading headline. It is what GOOGLE thinks you want to hear, right?  But what if I told you that travel apps are already facing extinction? Yes, they will always exist in some iteration. But the paradigm is shifting. Incrementally yet dramatically. Implicitly yet definitely. Here's why: 1: Tech changes, frequently.  The moment a new application launches? It has a thousand counterpart competitors, waiting in the wings. What you must ask yourself, therefore, is whether you, as a user want to invest time and perhaps 'fremium' monies, in a tool whose redundancy is all but inbuilt?  2: There are STILL things that apps cannot, or at least do not, as yet 'do'!  Sure, things have improved. An app can tell me at each stage of a journey, which direction / route/method to deploy. Yes, there is indeed, up to the minute updating available when delays or cancellations occur. But why stop there?  When was the last time an app gave you a PRECISE read o...

  Notice. I did not provide a question mark there. Did not even finish the sentence. I know: how rebellious! Truth is, more mundane than any specific grammatical experiment or bid to stand out in the saturated blog-o-sphere. My point is that, the MOMENT I keyed in 'why is my train' on Google, I was greeted neither with philosophical propositions on existence, nor vocal praise posts about 'why is my train so GREAT?'. The majority? ALL. TERRIBLE! As in everything short of 'why is my train so sh#t?!'.  That speaks volumes on the current state of affairs with rail transportation. Seriously. Algorithms do not lie. Facts are never post truth. And the simple fact here is that, statistically, the majority of queries surely are about why train and rail services are failing to satisfy travellers.  Does that mean all train routes are bad? That every carriage is awful? NO! And for the sake of socio-economic sanity? PLEASE STOP this NONSENSE about 'yeah they are gonna re...

    BLIPPAR IS THE NAME TO BEAT!  To quote the Google intro:  ' The Blippar app is an augmented reality browser. It uses the camera on your smartphone or tablet to recognize images and real-world objects and show digital content right on top . When you scan something, we use artificial intelligence to find relevant content.'  But that is not WHY these guys are WINNING. Allow us to highlight some other USP strengths, and that is just a start.       AR is their USP. The way in. Interactive; bespoke: They tell the user WHAT they want and make them THINK it is THEIR control.  WEBAR SDK: They TOOK AR and created an in house SPIN on said. PEOPLE = PLATFORMS! As in, it is NOT just a palm of hand travel app; it is a readied aid toward building an entire system, in house or personally. THEY USE THEIR TEAM! It might be an illusion, right? But that appearance of a personal, interactive touch is something we ...

  In short? It becomes just like a CITY! Seriously. The Smart City theme is everywhere. Even here.  Elon Musk now owns Twitter.   Anyone would swear it were some Armageddon level event; an end of the world scenario? Threats of multiple migration toward exodus; political meltdowns and so on.  People are forgetting a few critical points, there: 1: Musk is a POST Ideological figure.   His concern is about FREEDOM. Liberation from needless cost, concern, red tape and so on.  Now, whilst of course no science, tech or business can be truly 'neutral' at a moral level, it is spectacularly unfair to paint Elon as some agent for the resurgent right wing.  FREE speech means just that: FREE (as in, unfettered) but also SPEECH (as in aiding communication, commerce and evading the destructive trolling of old) .  Ergo.. 2: Twitter becomes a truly 'open' space.  Much like what we said about Facebook last week: think upon a social media platform as a virtual ...

 Their Subscriptions are decreasing. Stock/share prices to follow, surely? So WHY and HOW does the streaming phenomenon go from Hero to ZERO? Here's a few points to consider:  They INCREASED their price. At a time whereby the cost of living has gone UP. BIG MISTAKE! Would YOU have spent $16/almost £20 per month on VIDEO rentals? No. Ergo, one is less likely to renew a streaming counterpart which costs same. CONTENT! Yes, Netflix makes films and shows. Great! But you can get through that fairly quickly. And you possibly have most of it either on DVD/Blu Ray or can access key clips via YouTube. Speaking of which: YOUTUBE: It is now entirely feasible to derive daily entertainment from a FREE platform. Every review video etc arguably combs over the content you might otherwise watch, in half the time. Why invest in watching a Netflix product, when one can digest a summary and thereby, the entertainment value, via free counterpart platform? AMAZON! Pay for Prime and you get guaran...

  Connection to cities? FACEBOOK IS A CITY! AN ECOSYSTEM!  Yes. That's right. Facebook remains a vital tool.  Contrary to some narratives? you CAN use Facebook for business and indeed, publicity / sales drives etc. And it remains, at point of use/time of writing, 'free', thereby facilitating connection and communication with friends, family and the like, worldwide.  Has its 'influence' been tagged more by Instagram: maybe.  Is it the 'viral' back door that now occupies the likes of Pinterest? Maybe not.  And Twitter grabs the headlines on politics and the like.  But Facebook still stands. And it always will.  Which is WHY, effective immediately?  TREAT IT AS YOUR CITY SCAPE!  Seriously. Do you want to be a victim OR  a villain in YOUR city? No!   So, akin to SIMS / Second-Life and yes, any 'Smart-City' application/design? Build the Facebook YOU want. MANAGE that PROFILE!  Here is a non exhaustive list of how to do tha...

 Or rather? Maybe they DO it. But those features are not yet flagged up or tailored enough.  We have been talking, at some considerable length, regarding the many features and advantages which define travel focused applications of late. And one cannot in any way diminish those strengths. However, it is equally important to note that there are a number of urban themes which pervade the travel experience and it is in THOSE areas where the NEXT big app will take off.  In no particular order, a non exhaustive list, as follows: 1: DISABILITY!   We assume, immediately, a visible or aesthetically obvious point. Wheelchairs and so on. But think of say, DYSPRAXIA? Visual impairment and all the many iterations of limitation on one's ability to be truly mobile. An app that guides them through EVERY step of a journey, beyond simple tips/directions? ESSENTIAL. And in its way? STILL not 'there', yet.  2: AGE!   It is a problem. Older population. They do not all have to d...

 Clue: Smart-City Tech, and YOUR role in said? Might be key to BOTH Problem AND solution! But let's start with WHY there might be an issue here, to begin with.. RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN! If 'Da Covid' /Coof etc is all but abated? As in, yes, some spikes here and there, an occasional rogue variant cropping up and so on, but generally, a thing of the recent past?  IF I have been a good citizen, with minimal health risk; solid credit record/rating and no criminal convictions?  THEN WHY IS IT SO RUDDY TOUGH TO GET TRAVEL INSURANCE??   Well. Where to even begin? I can but try. So here we go! 1: MINOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS are STILL medical conditions!  So, if there is even a 1% chance that you have failed to declare or minimised the potential significance of said? INSTA-FAIL! The insurance providers and counterpart travel carriers may be inclined to treat that as an almost absolute certainty. Because they, too, have liabilities and premiums and duties of care to answ...

He can buy ANYTHING. Go ANYWHERE. Be ANYONE. And yet? Mr Musk just invested in a social media platform for micro blogging and comment. WHY? News just in: ELON MUSK has bought himself a nice 9.2% stake in TWITTER. In effect, therefore? The man now controls it. It is a curious move, in part because Musk was among the first to shun 'marketing' budgets, and with that, social media drives?  That is not an uncommon tactic. Indeed, CITY MAPPER does not invest hugely in commercial communications, allowing, instead, customer word of mouth and quality of product, to do the work for them. That said, I would not necessarily be too hasty in joining that bandwagon.  Every company needs marketing. Do not overdo it or present as something you are not. But equally, shunning such operations entirely is foolhardy, at best. You need those social media logos at the top and bottom of correspondence, same way an address /email/phone number complete the professional 'look'.  Content is key and...