October round-up

This month I did not manage to finish (and submit) a journal article; I learned that I was not shortlisted for a fellowship that I had applied for, and my inbox has practically exploded. But, it wasn’t all bad news. These are some of the highlights from October. Researching I may have failed to be … Continue reading October round-up

New book ‘Social Media in Social Research: Blogs on Blurring the Boundaries’

Today is the day. It’s the launch of the book ‘Social Media in Social Research: Blogs on Blurring the Boundaries’, to which I contributed a chapter on using social media for qualitative research. The book was curated by Kandy Woodfield and is original in that she invited a broad range of social research experts to … Continue reading New book ‘Social Media in Social Research: Blogs on Blurring the Boundaries’

Advice for creating short video presentations?

I was searching for some materials for my lecture, and came across the video below, summarising an academic journal article that I use in my teaching, and which I blogged about here. I really, really liked this video. The camera follows a woman walking in a busy high street, while a female voice-over talks about … Continue reading Advice for creating short video presentations?

Counting the days until January

I am not one to wish away time but, boy, I am sooo looking forward to January!!! The reason I am looking forward to 2015 is that I have some study leave scheduled for the first part of the year. A sabbatical. According to this dictionary, sabbatical is an "extended period of leave from one's … Continue reading Counting the days until January

The writing group

It’s the ultimate irony: as an academic, you need to write to get promoted (or to even keep your job). Yet, doing the job leaves you no time for writing. So, you just agonise in silence, thinking that everybody else is managing this whole thing better than you. An effective counter-measure to these feelings and … Continue reading The writing group

A marketing take on payment technologies

Last month, the Bank of England published a very interesting article about payment technologies and, in particular, the evolution of digital currencies like Bitcoin. You can access it here, and I warmly recommend that you read it: it’s an easy read, it provides a useful overview of the evolution of payment systems, and is a … Continue reading A marketing take on payment technologies

The old phone

The 7yo found this phone in the bottom of a drawer. He has been playing with it for a few days and, today, he asked: But how did you write in it? I explained about clicking on a key once to get the first letter, twice to get the second one, etc... He insisted: No, … Continue reading The old phone

September round-up

I like months that start on Monday. I don’t know why. I suppose it’s one of those quirky things that don’t require an explanation. With September starting on a Monday, and no-doubt fuelled by the amazing weather, I was filled with optimism and wrote this in my journal: “September is going to be good”. So, … Continue reading September round-up

Sentiment analysis in less than 500 words

I am working on a paper and a presentation on sentiment analysis, and decided to put together this very short overview for you (procrastination, anyone?) Sentiment analysis is one of those topics permeating every area of a marketers’ life. The other day, a colleague even mentioned that he was doing some sentiment analysis of social media … Continue reading Sentiment analysis in less than 500 words