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3,000 into 100 will go (won’t it?)

The UK government has a very ambitious target of reducing the number of business support schemes in England from around 3,000, to no more than 100 by 2010.

Admittedly the current set-up is overly complicated, and in my experience people starting up in business are often confused about where to go for help and support.

The aim is for Business Link to become the primary route and the Government is seeking views on how they can be developed to play this role. The closing date for suggestions is 14 September, and the worryingly long email address to send them to is SimplifyingBusinessSupport@dti.gov.uk

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page40113.html 

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The monkey cult destroying the temple of knowledge

I should point out that the title above is not my own work, but the subtitle what is likely to be the most controversial book on the Web 2.0 phenomena this year.

The book titled The Cult of the Amateur is by failed Internet entrepreneur Andrew Keen (who ironically has his own blog). In it he attacks the amateur nature of Web 2.0 developments such as blogs. According to Lawrence Lessig a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School who is one of the targets of the book, Keen;

“spends 200 pages attacking the rise of the “amateur” and the harm — economic, social, cultural and political — these amateurs will cause. Without “standards,” without “taste,” without “institutions” to “filter” good from bad, true from false, the Internet, Keen argues, is destined to destroy us.
…
But what is puzzling about this book is that it purports to be a book attacking the sloppiness, error and ignorance of the Internet, yet it itself is shot through with sloppiness, error and ignorance. It tells us that without institutions, and standards, to signal what we can trust (like the institution (Doubleday) that decided to print his book), we won’t know what’s true and what’s false. But the book itself is riddled with falsity — from simple errors of fact, to gross misreadings of arguments, to the most basic errors of economics.”

Lessig has gone as far as to create a Wiki, TheKeenReader in order to help readers detail the books errors.

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Essential Humour

I am a great believer in the importance of humour (both in home and work environments). At work we have a talented limerick writer who keeps us amused on a regular basis.

In this spirit I enclose this YouTube ‘fake David Blaine’ video. Having had to fight through the crowds on my daily commute due to his ridiculous Tower Bridge Park 44-day starvation stunt, I find these two satirical videos particularly apt.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxu_MQSTTY]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGrTvNzGCZE]

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Kiva.org – small investments that make a big difference

Here is another great example of how the Internet can really make a positive difference in people’s lives by connecting those who need small investments with those who can afford to invest.

“Kiva.org lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.”

What is great about the site is that you can choose from hundreds of entrepreneurs and projects and then follow their success (or failure) on-line.

According to Andrew who is one of the lenders:
I loan because: We so make so much money in the western world compared to people in developing countries. I’ve met families in Indonesia, Samoa, Cambodia and elsewhere whose monthly budget is about what I make in an hour. Thank you, Kiva, for making it so easy for those of us with some extra money and an understanding of the huge role that small loans can play in the lives of people around the world to help out a little.

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Social = Enterprise

Tim Smit founder of the Eden Project has a very expansive view of Social Enterprise. He thinks all entrepreneurial activities should be social:

“The only distinction I can see between social entrepreneurship and ordinary entrepreneurship is the ultimate disposal of the surpluses or profits that come from that organisation, and the philosophies behind the protocols of the management. But if you had a business that was ethically sourcing its’ products, that was making as light a footprint as it reasonably could, that was treating its’ people well, and was trying to create products of social benefit or joy. After it achieved all those things I don’t really care what it does with its’ surpluses or profits because it would in my view be a social enterprise.”

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Management as Monkey Business

Once again Peter Day’s In Business has come up with a fascinating show, interviewing Tim Smit the man behind the Eden Project.

He explains what he calls his “monkey business” rules, which include all interview candidates having to ‘entertain’ their interview panel for ten minutes. It can be music, dance, juggling, storytelling or whatever you like. Other ones include trying not to take important decisions in the daytime, and to read at least two books each year which are outside your normal range of interests.

They all sound a bit wacky in print, but when you listen to Tim they sound more like common sense.

Despite initially sounding like a bit of a hippy it turns out Tim is ruthless when it comes to negativity. He just won’t tolerate negative people within his organisation.

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The future is bright, the future is a Big Lemon

One of the best things about my job is watching entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs (the fastest growing sector), as their business develop and grow.

One example is Tom Druitt, who by sheer coincidence hails from the village I grew up in – Forest Row. He had the remarkably brave idea of starting a social enterprise bus company. It is actually a Community Interest Company called the The Big Lemon CIC, which Tom set up in January to deliver good quality, affordable, ‘green’ transport in and around Brighton.

After many months of planning, licence applications, networking and fundraising he is now close to starting their first bus service on 1 September between Brighton’s two universities and the main railway station. You can read more about this exciting new venture on their Friends of The Big Lemon Facebook page.

Big Yello

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Cool librarians

A recent article in the New York Times ‘A Hipper Crowd of Shushers‘ has triggered a debate about cool librarians.

A NEW SPIN An interest in social activism and music led Pete Welsch, a D.J., to library school. Michael Temchine for The New York Times –  NEW SPIN An interest in social activism and music led Pete Welsch, a D.J., to library school.

It reminded me about my search for the coolest librarian, and the one with the coolest job, at each SLA Annual Conference I attend.

So far, the first is currently held by a librarian who is a drummer in a moderately successful death metal rock band. The second has to be the librarian at Cirque du Soleil who’s job it was to research for and visit new acts for the company.

All suggestions gratefully received.

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Too big to listen to your customers?

According to Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte, on the latest Windows Weekly show, Dell (in the form of returned CEO Michael Dell) have decided to listen to their customers after many years of thinking they knew best.

In order to do this they are adopting a Web 2.0 approach using salesforce.com powered IdeaStorm. According to the site the Dell Community has contributed 6,329 ideas which have been promoted 447,194 times with 30,364 comments.

Dell don’t say just how many of the ideas they have implemented but they introduced Linux software as an alternative to Windows. They are also moving away from only providing drab grey laptops.

dell_ideastorm_logo

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Dilbert does(n’t) do PowerPoint

I was rather surprised to see Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) using old fashioned view-foils and an overhead projector for his talk at the recent SLA Annual Conference in Denver.

Scott Adams at SLA Denver 2007

When he was asked about this during the Q&A session he explained how he wanted to control the way the audience read the cartoons, so we didn’t all rush to the final slide.

This reminded me of my first training course in public speaking many years ago. Our trainer insisted that only by using view-foils could we control the content of the presentation on the fly. In other words you could add or remove content without your audience being aware of changes you were making. This is crucial if your timing starts going out due to interruptions or other factors outside your control.

How many PowerPoint presentations have you been to where the speaker starts rushing through their slides, and you sit there wondering what you are missing as they whiz by?