James Governor notes the fact that the “fireside chat” as a medium for communication of data is more effective than PowerPoint ever has been:

Could it be that briefing without PowerPoint makes us more honest, as well as more engaging? Or perhaps its just that the execs I have recently met under the format are confident enough to be really frank.

The difference seems obvious to me – in a fireside chat, the words are your own. They haven’t had the sincerity sucked out of them by iterative waves of examination from handlers, marketers, or other protectors of the corporate faith, and the communication isn’t merely broadcast – it is a genuine feedback loop. You may still be the product of hours of PR training and briefing by everyone under the sun — but in order to reiterate without props, you are also forced to understand – and the depth of your understanding is suddenly directly proportional to the depth of the message you are able to convey to others.

That being said, I don’t think it is fair to blame the slide software. To bastardize a catchphrase, PowerPoint doesn’t bore people — People bore people.

I personally aspire to more of a Pecha Kucha style of presentation. I sure hope my legions of handlers and marketing personnel can take the transition…

On Facebook (which I haven’t been checking at all):

“Suddenly, when all your friends have been reduced to teensy avatars, canned quotations, and endless ‘favourites’ lists, they don’t seem quite as special as you may have once remembered them.”

— Phil

On strange things written on pub rafters:

On my pre & post DEC vacation time:

“You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not at my best
I’ve been gone for a month, I’ve been drunk since I left
These so-called vacations will soon be my death
I’m so sick from the drink I need home for a rest.”

— Spirit of the West

On British condiments:

– You have ketchup & brown sauce.

– You have mayonnaise and salad cream

– You have English Mustard and French Mustard

(btw English Mustard tastes differently from French Mustard, but English butter is identical to Irish butter it just happens to be made in a different place. Go figure. )

After a week in Mexico relaxing, swimming, diving, and drinking an impressive number of cerveza victorias on the beach, my good friend Monty (pictured below) has managed to convince me that we really need to have a few Identity conferences in Mexico…

Personally I think Monty might be onto something :)