Topics Paul joined

• • Does Merb really offer anything more than Ruby on Rails?

  All I know currently is that Merb is a slimmed down version or Rails - perhaps with some 'lessons learned' applied.

  All I know currently is that Merb is a slimmed down version or Rails - perhaps with some 'lessons learned' applied.

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• • Hillary or Obama?

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• • Can Internet companies successfully license their brands to real world products?

  Great topic - no examples jump to mind for me. In theory it should work - so weird if there are no examples.

  Great topic - no examples jump to mind for me. In theory it should work - so weird if there are no examples.

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• • networking in london

  I co-founded internet people http://internetpeeps.com which has grown to about 500 members. The big skill of running networking events for me is…  more

  I co-founded internet people http://internetpeeps.com which has grown to about 500 members. The big skill of running networking events for me is getting interesting groups of like minded people together. I think format wise there is still plenty of room for useful innovation. Should yabb run offline networking style events?

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• • Is it likely that people will have the same skype conversation with different people?

  Hopefully ! For conversations that are important to people then holding the conversation a few times over a period of time will help…  more

  Hopefully ! For conversations that are important to people then holding the conversation a few times over a period of time will help people deepen their understanding of the topic.

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• • design patterns for social software

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• • UK Government policy creation. When will it become more transparent?

  In the UK we have a Freedom of Information act (2000). Anything related to policy setting is excluded - ie you can not…  more

  In the UK we have a Freedom of Information act (2000). Anything related to policy setting is excluded - ie you can not get access to information related to policy creation. I'm not sure of the thinking behind this exclusion - but it seem bad. I don't know if they have the same exclusion in other countries equivalent acts.

  http://www.yabb.com

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• • When are Think Tanks at their most effective in getting their reports acted upon?

  I am certainly no expert, but my current view is they are most effective when the area covered is: 1) Non moralistic -…  more

  I am certainly no expert, but my current view is they are most effective when the area covered is:

  1) Non moralistic - so not gay rights and abortion
  2) Not one where high level philosophy trumps all other arguments - e.g big govt versus small govt
  3) Not highly politicised
  4) Early in its wider debate - before it has even had a chance to get political
  5) One which the general public care little about - e.g. Structural reform of Govt.
  6) One where consensus between think tanks can be achieved
  7) Highly technical in nature and beyond the comprehension of most people other than experts
  8) Where ideas implemented abroad are presented - ie 'no brainer ideas - look they already work very well there'

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• • How to create a topic on yabb that lots of people then join?

  As of today there is little actual data to go on so most of this is conjecture: 1) Actively look at early people…  more

  As of today there is little actual data to go on so most of this is conjecture:

  1) Actively look at early people who do join the topic and ask them to call you if speaking with them is of interest
  2) Use the 'Suggest to others' feature
  3) Tag it sensibley
  4) Promote the topic on your blog (if you have one) or SN profile page

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• • Was facebook a better user experience before it introduced "applications "?

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• • Why children's education fails to deliver to kids the skills employer's want

  The education system seems to at its heart still be focussed on delivering kids into the next stage of traditional eduction - ie…  more

  The education system seems to at its heart still be focussed on delivering kids into the next stage of traditional eduction - ie University. Employer's like the ability of exams to filter the out the 'academically challenged'. But they don't like much else about it !

  Educators seem to pay lip service to listening to the employer community. I have been told that educators don't feel it is within their 'gift' to deliver on providing to kids the things that employer's actually want. I think this means that such skills are delivered via a kid's parents and social peer group.

  For a great list of what employer's are actually seeking - http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/careers/section/apps_ints/apps_skills.html#

  Educational establishments being institutions it seems unlikely much will change anytime soon. For me the biggest move to meet employer's needs will come from new opportunities offered to kids out of school. Ultimately there appears to be a business opportunity here ! What are those opportunities?

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• • What can be done to speed up the adoption of Ruby on Rails?

  We develop our sites using Rails. I started a networking event for Rails programmers in London called pizzaonrails - www.pizzaonrails.com .

  We develop our sites using Rails. I started a networking event for Rails programmers in London called pizzaonrails - www.pizzaonrails.com .

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• • new features for Yabb..

  As the founder of Yabb - I am of course deeply personally interested in this. As a person who uses yabb - you…  more

  As the founder of Yabb - I am of course deeply personally interested in this. As a person who uses yabb - you may well be also :)

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• • What type of person will get the most benefit from using yabb?

  I honestly don't know who will use yabb. But my best guess is: 1) People who value speaking rather than writing as a…  more

  I honestly don't know who will use yabb. But my best guess is:
  1) People who value speaking rather than writing as a communication channel
  2) Curious people
  3) People who enjoy complex problems and know that for every complicated problem there is a simple but wrong solution

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• • Why are people bad at predicting their intended behaviour vs their actual behaviour?

  There is some psychology around this which I am sure I have read at sometime - I just can't remember what it says!…  more

  There is some psychology around this which I am sure I have read at sometime - I just can't remember what it says! I think in part it is because for good psychological health people need to maintain a positive opinion of themselves - so to help achieve this the brain tells lies to itself.

  This is interesting to me as when I am coming up with new internet service ideas asking people if they would use a new service is an informal part of that process.

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