Author Archives: Adrian Short

It’s easier to mash than to filter

A common social media dilemma solved: Imagine you’re running social media for a public library service. You’ve got ten libraries in the service and you want to use Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. How many accounts do you need?

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Why councils shouldn’t run Google AdSense ads

Shortly after Nottingham City Council presented at the Google local government conference last year and announced their £15K windfall from AdSense, I took a close look at their site to see what kinds of ads were being served and how … Continue reading

Posted in Web design | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

How ebooks will replace printed books

Do you remember when film photography was ubiquitous and consumer digital cameras were just starting to come onto the market? (Worryingly, there will be readers of this blog that won’t.) At the time, there was any amount of commentary from … Continue reading

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Why wouldn’t you want an Apple iPad on your coffee table?

The Apple iPad isn’t just the first credible device in a new category — it’s leading the way towards a world of elegant, specialised computers. Continue reading

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Can you be sued for gritting pavements if someone hurts themselves? Ask the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers

So you decide to do the community-spirited thing and help to clear ice and snow from your public street. Then someone slips over and hurts themselves. Can you be sued?

Posted in Citizenship | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

What’s the point of a tweeting mobile library?

Last week I launched @SutMobLib, a Twitter account that tweets the location of Sutton’s mobile library in real time. No, I’m not sitting here all day sending messages. A program does that automatically. Every time the library gets to a … Continue reading

Posted in Design theory, Software design, Sutton, Urban design | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

A Litl bridge across the digital divide

The simple new Litl computer could be just the thing for first time computer users and may help to bridge the digital divide by bringing new computer users online. Continue reading

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Guerrilla noticeboarding with Barcode Posters

Here’s what we got up to with an underused council noticeboard, some RSS feeds, a barcode-reading iPhone and a little bit of hackery.

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Ode to a URL shortener

bit.ly, oh I love you so! Your API key lets me know Whether my links are worth a click Or whether I’m just talking sh*t.

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Save the planet — ban cycle helmets

Save the planet – ban cycle helmets Ethical Consumer has a feature called “Love this, ban that!” which asks an assortment of the green and the good which saintly products they love and which evil ones they’d ban. Sadly, no-one … Continue reading

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