Why Do You Walk On The Wrong Side Of The Corridor In Tube Stations?

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

A typographer would say it’s because the “Please walk on the right” signs don’t use a clear enough font.

An ad man would say it’s because there aren’t enough adverts in the station reminding you.

A sociologist would say it’s because you just follow the person in front.

An architect would…

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Is It Newspapers Rather Than Politicians Who Should Be Learning From The 2010 Election?

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Most of the punditry about the internet and the general election has focused on the impact of the internet, and social media in particular, on politics. Although journalists often get a mention, the basic frame of reference is “how is politics changing?”

However, there was a hint of a…

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Individual Choice Doesn’t Take Away Collective Pleasure

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

The choice of music while we work in one of the floors of the Engine Building is a curious one.

The floor is full of tech-savvy people, well used to having their iPods, Spotify accounts and more – all of which deliver personal, individual music choices as and when wanted.

Yet they also…

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Barack Obama’s Email List: Not So Large After All

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

The 2010 general election campaign is already, in one respect, much like the previous two: it has plenty of pundits wondering if it will be the first internet general election.

The reality is rather more subtle than the question implies. If you look at internal organisation and…

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