September 2023 round-up

September was about going back to routines and tackling life admin – the kiddo was back to school and training; we are back to spending Sundays by the side of an ice-rink; various medical check-ups were scheduled and attended; and so on.  This month, I also joined a life drawing group. I hadn’t done any life-drawing … Continue reading September 2023 round-up

New paper: On your marks, headset, go! Understanding the building blocks of metaverse realms

The hype around the Metaverse may have subsided, but that doesn’t mean that the belief in the potential of this technology for business has decreased. On the contrary, technology research and consulting firm, Gartner, believes that the combination of Metaverse, Web3 and AI (and especially generative AI) technologies offers numerous possibilities for firms.  Nevertheless, there is no … Continue reading New paper: On your marks, headset, go! Understanding the building blocks of metaverse realms

Some reflections on the importance of awareness of algorithmic decision making

You could probably name half a dozen or so instances where you come across algorithmic decision making in your interactions with commercial organisations. There’s the news displayed on your phone, the adverts shown while you are browsing, the content recommendations in your streaming service, or the product suggestions on your online shopping platform, whether your … Continue reading Some reflections on the importance of awareness of algorithmic decision making

If the (self-service) technology broke it, the (self-service) technology should fix it

I have recently come across an interesting paper examining under what conditions customers preferred to interact with a human vs a non-human agent, after a failure with self-service technology (SST). That is, if a customer is using technology to perform a task (say, ordering something online), and something goes wrong, would customers prefer to be … Continue reading If the (self-service) technology broke it, the (self-service) technology should fix it

August 2023 round-up

August was a travelling month. First, to attend a conference. Then, for time out with the family, which included one week with my parents at the beach (it’s been 20+ years since we last holidayed together. Bliss!). There was some work done around these, even if not much was “shipped”. Research The main event, research … Continue reading August 2023 round-up

Book review: “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You” by Sam Gosling

This is a non-fiction book, authored by Professo of Psychology Sam Gosling. It draws on vast research by Gosling and others about how we are connected to the places where we live (e.g., the country or region where we end up settling) and those that we inhabit (our bedrooms, offices, desks…). The book unpacks how … Continue reading Book review: “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You” by Sam Gosling

July 2023 round-up

July was such a fun month! I am sure that that feeling was largely influenced by my 2-weeks’ holiday with the kiddo, which included a haphazard (but heartfelt) celebration of his 16th birthday. Though, that feeling also came from working on a handful of exciting projects, on the other half of the month. https://www.instagram.com/p/CvGRpnlIONP/ On the research … Continue reading July 2023 round-up

[Miscellany] Lack of originality, lack of empathy, and the upside of competition

This is another one of those blog posts where I put together some interesting stories that I have come across, recently. I will go chronologically (i.e., by date in which that blog post was published). Same old, same old  One of the worries about generative AI is that it will result in the end of … Continue reading [Miscellany] Lack of originality, lack of empathy, and the upside of competition

From metaverse games to serious customer insight

Enthusiasm for the metaverse as a business asset seems to have cooled down a bit. OK, a lot. At least, judging by Google searches for the term.  Nonetheless, if there’s one area where the Metaverse is still promising to deliver business value is in terms of generating customer insight. The combination of technologies such as … Continue reading From metaverse games to serious customer insight

My thoughts on the new platform in the social media playground: Threads

There’s a new platform in the social media playground: Threads. It was created by Meta (which also owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others). Threads' logo Like many, I have been feeling that I really do not need another social media product in my life. There is enough discovery / inspiration / knowledge sharing / … Continue reading My thoughts on the new platform in the social media playground: Threads