speculations

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/06/14/conquering-cannes-don-t-forget-do-your-follow-ups-after-you-leave-the-croisette The hangover was progressing nicely. He reached for the capsules, some smart drugs or something. He could have explained how they worked… but not this morning. The windows were filtering the morning sun, gradually clearing but perhaps a little too quickly. He was enough of a professional to know… Read the rest

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/14/i-felt-i-was-talking-to-him-are-ai-personas-of-the-dead-a-blessing-or-a-curse We miss him. Some have forgotten him. We haven’t. His risqué jokes, his dress sense (sic), his formidable capacity for lunchtime drinking, but above all his creativity. His work speaks for itself but what you don’t see is the work he inspired in us. He was our mentor. I… Read the rest

https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/14/24178381/arc-live-calendar-google-meeting-join-button She dreaded opening her laptop. She didn’t hate her job, it was more pervasive than that. She sometimes tried to think it through. It wasn’t the isolation of working from home, her days in the office had the same heaviness. It wasn’t her boss. He was alright, supportive even.… Read the rest

https://digiday.com/marketing/what-people-say-versus-what-they-mean-at-cannes-lions-international-festival-of-creativity As the session started, they put their buds in. A chime announced it was connected. The older one made a comment about Babel fishes. The younger didn’t get it. They adjusted the settings on their screens. Another chime. The younger went for a voice he thought matched the speaker’s.… Read the rest

https://www.ft.com/content/2bee634c-b8c4-459e-b80c-07a4e552322c Strangely, an election campaign is not our busiest time. The politicians are all off kissing babies and avoiding questions and the officials are all taking time off. Purdah. That doesn’t mean we’re taking time off. There are always relationships to keep going. That’s what we do really. Without those… Read the rest

https://digiday.com/marketing/industry-vets-dos-and-donts-of-cannes It was like the England manager selecting who was going to go to the tournament. The Squad. Obviously juniors like me were all hoping we’d get to go. The industry’s not what it was but there are still some flagship freebies. When the announcement came, my manager called a… Read the rest

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/can-ai-replace-humans-for-market-research-this-firm-is-doing-it/ The room was clinical. No distractions some said. Others thought it was just a hangover from when researchers thought of themselves as scientists. There was the mirror of course, full length of one wall. Some still went up really close to see if they could see through it like… Read the rest

https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/09/new-york-moves-to-limit-kids-access-to-addictive-feeds/ At least he’d stopped trying to get them to play games, they thought. Well “games” was what he called them. As the driverless barreled along the strip, he was now the only one looking out of the wraparound windows, sulking a little, humming an old stream about counting the… Read the rest

https://newatlas.com/laptops/sightful-spacetop-g1/ It’s creepy. I mean really creepy. I mean I suppose it makes the office appear lighter, more airier. I suppose it’s what they used to call open plan… But actually open. You come in for your shift and you can see from one end of the office to the… Read the rest

https://www.theverge.com/24173645/smart-kitchen-summit-gadgets-apps-future They’d signed the contract but wanted the builders to go in before they moved. They’d agreed on the colour schemes and floors and now they were visiting the kitchen showroom. They both loved cooking and the size and airiness of the kitchen had been what had swung the deal.… Read the rest