Blog / Opinion

Originally published in Made in Brunel 2010.

The Internet is an evolving entity, and how we use and consume it is constantly changing. But beyond the day-to-day development, what do we need to consider as businesses, individuals and citizens of the Internet, when it comes to defining the evolution of the net as we move into a cloud computing era?

Later this year marks the 20th anniversary of the world wide web. The Internet can trace its history back much further, to the 1960s. We’ve seen the web mature during this time, from its early start as a read-only, series of static pages and images, to a dynamic, social, and more collaborative environment.

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Remarkably similar?

The first time I saw the new adverts for Dixons.co.uk was on my way back from Gatwick, and even half-asleep after a overnight flight, I couldn’t help but notice them.

For those that haven’t seen the new ads, they talk humourously and tongue-in-cheek about an offline competitor (the first I saw was Harrods, and now there are ads featuring Selfridges and John Lewis too), and suggests “then go to dixons.co.uk and buy it”. This is something savvy consumers have known for a while – browse offline, get some good advice from the more knowledgeable staff in the large department stores, then hit the internet for the best price. Read more

Everybody asks me what it’s all about when I tell them that I work for Naked Creativity on placement. Usually I don’t have time to say more than a few words, so this article explains placements in detail, and how it benefits everyone to have a placement student around.

At Brunel, where I will be returning in September, you have the option in the design department to do your degree ’straight through’ in three years, or take your third year out and do a placement with a company, or spend a year studying at a partner university (San Francisco is a popular option). Then back for the fourth and final year. Read more

The recent takeover of National Express East Coast by the government threw up questions about whether they would rebrand the business (again).

Now, I’m not sure how much it costs to repaint a train, but I have a feeling it doesn’t come cheap.

Equally, traveling through some stations, you can see that the decorators have gone to town – painting anything that doesn’t move with the company colours. I must question how painting a pink band around a lamppost, or adding purple accents to the finials of a railing, really adds to the passenger’s journey?

Surely the point of a train company is to run clean, comfortable trains, on time, and at an affordable cost to the passenger? Read more