guest host: john thackara

Gone Plogging

Fri May 27, 2005 at 12:34 AM

A new book is published every 30 seconds, so the hopeful author has to invent marketing wheezes at a similar rate if she is to remain visible for more than a few seconds. The hard part these days is to plug (= English for promote) ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 4 comments

Market Research Panopticon

Thu May 26, 2005 at 4:36 PM

A full-page story in the Financial Times (March 1, page 9) waxed lyrical about 'reality tv for the boardroom' and went on to describe the use of video footage to 'reduce the growing distance between the corporate elite and ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 2 comments

Make Art Not More

Thu May 26, 2005 at 4:28 PM

'Those who enjoy what they do never have to work any more'. An intriguing article by Sybrand Zijlstra Morf ) reports that 80 percent of students graduating from art academies pronounced themselves to be satisfied with their ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | Comment

Tech Research Priorities

Thu May 26, 2005 at 4:50 AM

My theme this week seems to have become the search for meaning in obscure reports. Can't be worse than tea-leaves. A survey of front-line researchers in 25 European countries reveals surprising devations from tech orthodoxy. The ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 7 comments

Happiness Index

Thu May 26, 2005 at 1:20 AM

After this I'll shut about work but I love this report even though I can't figure out what it means. A British organisation called City & Guilds has published a Happiness Index. Hairdressers are the happiest workers in Britain: 40 ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 1 comment

Infinitely Deferred Gratification

Thu May 26, 2005 at 1:17 AM

I'm not sure everyone in the financial world is up to speed on the attitudinal shift we're discussing. A half-page ad in last weekend's San Francisco Chronice featured the headline, "Why do we work?" displayed over the photo of an ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 3 comments

Work vs. Life

Thu May 26, 2005 at 1:08 AM

Apropos yesterday's discussion about dream time: I arrived here in Helsinki to be reminded me that it is European Union policy to promote "a better work:life balance". This sounds all very advanced and mature until you realise that ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 5 comments

Dream Time

Wed May 25, 2005 at 1:37 AM

I ran across some amazing numbers in a survey by the Center for a New American Dream of attitudes to consumption in the United States. More than eight out of ten Americans believe that "society's priorities are out of whack"; 93 ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | Comment

No Reason to Panic

Wed May 25, 2005 at 1:18 AM

At Doors (this was in March) people seemed to find Margrit Kennedy's talk about the end of the known financial world interesting, but not alarming. Their reaction reminded me of the newspaper clipping I keep pinned to my office wall. ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | Comment

Hedged Bets

Wed May 25, 2005 at 1:06 AM

To my cynical eye, the people I see on US on television reassuring us about hedge funds are acting just too relaxed - and when I saw one analyst describe fund managers as "much more sophisticated these days" I knew the rest of us ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 1 comment

Learning Communities

Tue May 24, 2005 at 7:13 PM

It's indeed rotten news that Fast Company's parent company, Gruner & Jahr, has put it up for sale. A magazine is one of those places - like a school, or town square (or an event like Doors of Perception) - that create far more value ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | 7 comments

Guest Host: In the Bubble

BY Heath RowMon May 23, 2005 at 9:26 AM

Ladies and gentlemen, John Thackara, guest host of FC Now this week! Author of In the Bubble, this month's Readers' Choice Award selection, Thackara is the mind behind the Doors of Perception conference and a globally conscious ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | Comment

Neighbour Power

Mon May 23, 2005 at 4:14 AM

The anarchist bookshop next to the pier in Seattle never fails to yield gem-like titles - although nowadays, even the most grassrootsy titles are often to be found on Amazon, too. I'm enjoying a book by Jim Diers called Neighbor ...READ»

GUEST HOST: JOHN THACKARA | Comment

Beware the Precautionary Principle

Mon May 23, 2005 at 3:56 AM

My book was only just published when Fast Company raised a sneaky question about its basic argument. In the section of the review "Things We Didn''t Like" someone said: "Many a garage inventor would argue that poorly designed, ...READ»