Inspired by Vikki Chowney's Swishing Party.... The idea is simple. You bring along some of your old DVDs that you think other people will enjoy. You get a token for each DVD you bring. You look through all the DVDs everyone else has brought along. Swap your tokens for some awesome new films! We're still working out where we'll hold it and how many people we need to make it viable. If you've got any suggestions, let us know. FAQs How much does it cost? Entry is free but we ask that you…
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As I was walking home from work, I spotted an unusual sight - a police van parked in a disabled bay near my local train station. I snapped a picture of it. Police van in a disabled bay As soon as I had taken a shot, PC Smith (40144) came out from the train station and asked to speak with me. She asked why I'd taken a photo of her van. I told her that it was parked in a disabled bay. She told me that she'd been called because a woman was self-harming on the station and that was the only…
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Every single one of your tweets starts "RT". You've no idea who controls that honeypot proxy, hell, you don't even know what a proxy is. Your "source" has an "Islamic" sounding name and uses a hashtag. That's practically evidence. The plural of rumour is news. Unreliable stories should be tagged "UNCONFIRMED" rather than investigated. You're totally sticking it to the man. Even if you can't pronounce the man's name. You can convey the subtleties of a delicate political situation in 140…
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Tim Berners-Lee has made a call for governments to open up their data. Indeed, Tim's been appointed by the UK government to do just that. His central thesis is that we, the taxpayers, have paid for government research and data - we should be able to access it. Easy, free and unfettered access to raw, unadulterated data will allow us to do wonderful things. Take a look at his recent TED Talk, it's inspiring stuff. I think there's a fatal flaw in his plan. Data, in its raw form is hard to…
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I was deeply honoured to be asked to present the keynote address at the Mobile Data Association's "Monetising The Mobile Internet in Tough Times". I was a last minute stand-in for Henry Stevens of the GSMA. You can download the day's presentations directly, but as slides only tell half the story, I've written a brief commentary to what I was presenting. Naturally a presentation or blog post cannot capture all the questions & and answers (nor my "inimitable style") but I'll do my best. O…
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My new gaming addiction is Prime by 59Pixels. The premise is very simple. There are blocks bouncing around the screen. You have a limited number of shots to remove a set number of them. Each shot creates an explosion which, if it touches another block, causes that to explode. This can cause a helpful chain reaction. One of the many wonderful things about this game is how it pits you against other players. Rather than posting high scores, it shows you how many other people have r…
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[Full and utter disclosure, I get a free SpinVox service through work. I've also given James Whatley a man hug.] I love my SpinVox service. For the uninitiated, I turns your voicemails into transcribed text messages. I no longer have to interrupt my day to dial in and listen, I get send a text and email like this. --------------- "Hey honey, it's me. Sorry to say that I'm just leaving the office now. So give me a call when you get this and I'll text you and let you know what train I'm on …
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Hello! I'm what you would probably describe as a natural Labour voter. I'm middle class, the son of teachers, University educated, member and representative of the NUS, I'm employed by a big British company, I'm a proud union member and a home owner. I even spoke at the TUC before Gordon Brown took the stage. I probably won't be voting Labour in the next General Election. I say probably, because you still have a chance to win me back. Allow me to explain. I was a few months short of being …
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