Creative Writing

Empire

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Pixels buzz on dusty screens
Motors whirring in gestation
I built all of these machines
Calculating wrong equations.

In light it fell through tin roof rust
One raindrop sparks the crashing system
Night falls painting metal frost
Captures the corroding kingdom.

Then snaking vines constrict cables tight.
Weak walls collapse. And bursting in
Sunlight blisters unkeyed plastic.
Mold empathic eats synthetic skins.
Leaves blanket, dew coats nettles
bold with burning stings.

My empire was dead but it grew.
In the passage of years I may discover
In deep soil, a decayed resistor
And think back to when it was new.

Photo by Kiyoshi on Unsplash

Art & Craft

Robot waiters, chatbots, and AI image generation

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I love technology. I work in tech and I am a big consumer of tech in its various forms. But I’m not blind about the shortcomings of a lot of technology, and part of what I find fun about using new technology is comparing how it actually performs with the marketing bluster about it.

Yesterday I went to a hotpot restaurant which had a robot waiter. Not so much the sleek, cool and futuristic robot that you might have imagined if you were asked a decade ago what the robots of today would look like. This robot had a cat face, played muzak-style elevator tunes, and needed rescuing when it got stuck on the edge of a wall. It was cute and novel, but only capable of bringing out dishes and returning to the kitchen. I’m sure if the human cooks and wait staff there were asked if it made any significant impact on their workload, the answer would be a no.

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Customer Experience, Work

Refocusing on Customer Journeys

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A rethink

A few months back, I got offered an opportunity to create a new suite of training courses for an organization I like a lot. I would have owned the entire process, from planning to evaluation, and I would have had content producers to help me realise my ideas. These courses would have been my baby, and I would have had complete creative control over them.

Five years ago, a project like this would have been a dream.

But I turned that opportunity down. Why?

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Creative Writing, Recognition

MA Professional Education & Training Graduation

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I am extremely happy to have attended my official graduation ceremony from UCL for my MA Professional Education and Training.

Thanks to UCL Institute of Education for putting on a wonderful virtual graduation ceremony to round off a fantastic Masters degree experience!

Attending at 3am over Zoom in my pajamas with a DIY mortar board made out of duct tape by my wonderful partner isn’t quite the way I imagined it would go when I started this degree, but it was a very heartfelt and memorable ceremony that I will remember fondly for always.

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Culture, Customer Experience

Changing times – What CX means to me today

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I have been on a long hiatus from social media and business-related blogging. 2020 has been like no other year, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what all this change in the world means for me personally and professionally. Now, I’m digging in again, and I wanted to share where I’m at.

I’ve been trying to articulate my stance on all of this and I think maybe a story helps.

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Recognition

My 2019 Roundup

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I’ve had a awesome crazy amazing 2019, and I wanted to share a few highlights, personal and professional, that have made my year!

Finished my Masters degree in Professional Education & Training

This degree saw me become a part-time hermit, read so many research papers that I thought my brain would explode, and cry on more than one occasion.

More than anything though it gave me an appreciation for how much of a journey professional learning is. How much learning is irrevocably linked to our egos, identities, and preconceptions. How much we box up and pigeonhole learning into professions and tight areas when really it’s learning along the boundaries between them that’s full of the most tenacious issues. How much learning is vulnerable, and messy, and if you’re doing it properly, it can sometimes make you feel really crappy.

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