Weekly Braindump is a curated list of things I’ve worked on, thought about, listened to or read during the last 7 days.

I’ve been working on…

• Trying to define what type of IT kit people need for the next 4 years. Interesting to see a large shift toward mobile devices & remote working. This is good!
• Doing some work on archival of data. You can stick it all on a removable hard disk, but what happens if that dies (backup the backup)? Online backup is an option but pricey for proper enterprise options. Is it just better to delete everything over a certain age and be done with it?
• Had some fantastic input from a fellow housing colleague on User Centred Service Design. Made me wonder if I’m sometimes too idealistic in trying to sell more progressive ideas to others, particularly the more pragmatic amongst us. Something to ponder on.
• I have singularly failed to put time into that staff digital skills prototype from two weeks ago. Need to make some space for this next week and try not to be too precious about what the ‘shitty first draft’ will look like.
• I’ve got three personal projects on the back burner that could yield some interesting results. Need to keep those on my radar and figure out how to do them in a small & iterative manner to develop or ditch them.

I’ve been thinking about…

• I’ve been battling with a large dose of impostor syndrome this week (I’m shit, this is shit, everything I do is shit). Might be due to being between big blocks of work and being slightly burnt out. Time to book some holiday leave to recharge!
• I’m not normally one to hop on the early adopters wagon, but I couldn’t resist the Amazon Echo. It’s funny how quickly Alexa has slotted into our family. The kids like to talk to her and ask weird questions, although she does ignore them quite a bit. The Echo very much reminds me of the 1st Gen iPhone. It’s got some glaring problems, but there’s something there so compelling that I’m certain voice interfaces are going to be a huge part of our daily lives. Alexa has even made me start using Siri more.

I’ve been reading…

• 1 in 5 British workers in ‘non-standard’ working arrangements.
  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/01/i-tell-theresa-may-working-lives-review-modern-employment-zero-hours-flexibility
• VR as a collaborative learning tool. By Robert McGregor.
  https://medium.com/@ID_R_McGregor/googles-tilt-brush-is-going-places-you-and-google-might-not-expect-8c0680d25cdf#.y7sqijjto
• Automation won’t replace jobs like for like, it’ll be death by a thousand cuts. By Alistair Croll.
  https://hackernoon.com/by-a-thousand-cuts-a772ff1130f8#.s7reqbytm
• Radically transparent & ethical housing.. why not?
  https://medium.com/@bhargreaves/ethically-sourced-housing-3533caaa5f30#.brhwcuyoa
• Open Data & Public Services by @PixyPirate.
  https://pixymaps.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/open-data-and-the-wellbeing-of-future-generations-act/
• Why Open Beats Closed by Greg Satell.
  http://www.digitaltonto.com/2016/why-open-beats-closed/
• Innovation has the best outcomes when applied to the core of the organisation.
  https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/29/innovation-is-in-all-the-wrong-places/
• Great post by Nic Ward about why it’s important to define what ‘digital’ is.
  https://medium.com/@nic.ward/a-definition-for-digital-that-changes-the-conversation-and-asks-all-the-right-questions-d9e25ba0c63a#.yngnbqn4m
• Communicators have an essential role to play in realising the needs of the customer. By Gerry McGovern.
  http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/new-thinking/communicators-firefighters-customer-experience-managers
• Ace post by Carl Haggerty. Eight reflections on digital in public services.
  https://carlhaggerty.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/event-reflections-redesigning-public-services-strategic-importance-of-digital/
• Entrepreneurship in the UK is still the preserve of the privileged.
  https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2016/08/the-entrepreneurial-renaissance-that-never-was–but-could-still-be?FN2208
• A White Paper on the role of digital innovation in tackling the UK housing crisis, by Alastair Parvin. This is really interesting, a must read if you work in the housing sector.
  https://medium.com/@AlastairParvin/scaling-the-citizen-sector-20a20dbb7a4c#.i0pg3e39g
• Solar Has Generated More Power Than Coal For 6 Months In The U.K.
  https://www.fastcoexist.com/3064370/solar-has-has-generated-more-power-than-coal-for-6-months-in-the-uk
• Why collective and collaborative action is required to tackle the big problems. By Carl Haggerty.
  https://carlhaggerty.wordpress.com/2016/10/06/once-upon-a-time-there-was-an-enormous-turnip/
• What do crash diets and digital transformation have in common? By Post*Shift.
  https://medium.com/@PostShift/what-crash-diets-and-digital-transformation-have-in-common-e89c5eb08293#.7yfcxxuic
• The difference between UX and Service Design.
  https://designnotes.blog.gov.uk/2016/10/04/service-design-isnt-it-just-ux-with-a-different-name/

I’ve been listening to…

• New Credit Card Tech — eInk signature strip codes!
  https://anchor.fm/w/A42051
• BBC Analysis — Time to break promises to pensioners?
  http://pca.st/oltC
• TED Talks — What reality are you creating for yourself?
  http://pca.st/GCmp