Category: Education

Everyone is a salesperson…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Delivery, Education, Information Technology, Leadership & Management, Sales, Technology

Good senior leaders and managers often enjoy being invited to speak to employees attending company training courses. The Badger certainly did. His sessions not only always delivered a message relevant to the training course but also provided an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about any subject close to their heart. Their questions were often diverse and required quick thinking to answer, but that’s what made the sessions fun! It was always rewarding to see attendees relax during the sessions, to hear their responses to the Badger’s answers, and to observe body language when the audience stayed silent. It was also pleasing when ‘light bulb’ moments spread across the attendees faces if an answer triggered a rush of understanding.

As a leader strongly focused on IT delivery, the Badger spoke mainly to training course groups from the business operation, delivery, and technical communities. Their questions were sometimes unusual. For example, on one occasion the Badger was asked ‘I hear senior people utter their favourite sayings frequently, but which of these have merit because they encapsulate a truth?’  The Badger gathered his thoughts for a moment before rattling off a string of common phrases in use in the company and signalling that they all had merit because they all captured a truth relevant in any company. The string included, for example, the following:     

‘What gets measured gets done…’

‘You don’t jump high unless the bar’s set high…’

‘If you bring problems then bring solutions too…’

‘Time is precious, get to the point…’

‘Decisions aren’t about making everyone happy…’

‘Everyone is a salesperson…’

This last one prompted an indignant response from a couple of attendees who were software engineers. They were contemptuous of  salespeople and unequivocal that  they were not, and never would be, a salesperson. On enquiring if they interacted with peers in their client’s organisation on their projects they answered yes. The Badger pointed out that they were actually representing the company when they interacted with external people, and that made them a salesperson of sorts regardless of their job title. He also highlighted that being ‘sales aware’ during such interactions was important because they were well placed to identify the early signs of potential avenues of further work which could be fed into the company’s main sales machinery for qualification and potential follow-up by others. They remained unpersuaded, and so the Badger pointed out that without sales the company would fail, and they would be out of a job! Their facial expressions changed as a ‘light bulb’ moment hit home on realising that even technical IT staff must be commercially and sales aware and acknowledge that ‘Everyone is a salesperson’ of sorts. ‘Sales’ is not a dirty word. It is at the heart of a company’s success and the employment of everyone within it. Remember, everyone is a salesperson…

AI and copyright…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Digital Transformation, Education, Ethics & Regulation, Information Technology, Intelligent machines, Legal matters, Online Services, Technology

Elton John recently had some sharp words to say about the UK government’s plans to exempt AI technology firms from copyright laws. Apparently, there’s currently a game of ping-pong underway between the House of Commons and the House of Lords regarding this plan. Many writers, musicians, and artists are furious about the plan, and Elton’s comments caused the Badger to scratch his head and ponder. Why? Because, like many individuals and bloggers, his website’s content could be plundered by AI without his knowledge or permission regardless of the copyright statement on its home page. With AI models and tools increasingly mainstream, Elton’s words made the Badger realise that he, and probably many others around the globe, should have copyright more prominent in our thoughts.

Copyright law is complex and, as far as the Badger understands, ‘fair dealing’ or ‘fair use’ allows limited use of copyright material without permission from the copyright owner under specific circumstances. Fair dealing/use is not a blanket permission, and what constitutes this depends on factors such as how much of the material is used, whether its use is justified, and whether it affects the copyright owner’s income. The Badger’s not a lawyer, but  he senses that AI and copyright is a legal minefield that will keep experts with digital and legal qualifications in lucrative work for years to come.

As the Badger pondered, he scratched his head again and then asked Copilot if AI used material held on copyrighted websites. The short response was that it (and other AI) follows strict copyright guidelines and only generates brief summaries of copyrighted material respecting fair use principles and with pointers to official sources. To test the efficacy of the answer, the Badger asked Copilot for the lyrics of Elton John’s song ‘Candle in the wind’. Copilot responded with ‘Can’t do that due to copyright’. Typing the same request, however, into the Badger’s browser readily produced the lyrics. Make of that what you will, but it does make you wonder why you would need to use AI like Copilot for this kind of interaction.

At the heart of Elton John’s point is the long-established principle that if someone or an enterprise wants to use copyrighted material in something that produces a commercial gain for themselves, then the copyright owner should give prior permission and be paid. AI is a disruptive technology, much of it controlled by the same giant US corporations that already dominate the tech world. AI cannot be ignored, but exempting tech firms from copyright law seems wrong on many different levels. The Badger’s concluded that he should improve his understanding of copyright law, and that AI tech firms must not be exempt from such laws. After all, if you were to take a leaf out of President Trump’s playbook then if you want something, you need permission AND  you must pay.

A career as a TikTok/Instagram influencer?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Education, Information Technology, Learning, social media

If a student says they intend to develop a career as a social media influencer on TikTok, Instagram (and other platforms), and they ask your opinion on their intent, what would you say? The Badger was put on the spot and asked this question during a discussion with a sizeable group of University students midway through their degree courses. Most in the group were studying various flavours of science, engineering, computing, or IT-based subjects. So, what did the Badger answer?

Well, to create a little time to marshal his thoughts, the Badger asked the group to raise a hand if they thought being a TikTok or Instagram influencer was a career path that needed a degree-level education? Only two students put a hand up. A couple commented dryly that most social media platform influencers had little underlying talent or expertise and were focused on their egos and gaining celebrity, notoriety, and money rather than something beneficial for today’s world. That’s harsh, but it’s an understandable perspective. Whether we like it or not, however, becoming a social media influencer is the aspiration of many young digital natives because it’s seen as an easy and convenient way to generate an income.

So, is being a social media influencer a real career path? Many believe so, ostensibly because some with that label make considerable sums of money through brand partnerships, sponsorships, advertising, and selling merchandise. They also perceive that influencers don’t need high educational qualifications although they must be adaptable and adept at analysing trends and staying relevant as audience preferences change. There’s no doubt that some influencers have skills in content creation, marketing, and audience engagement, and a natural charisma, and flair for storytelling, but the reality is that only a small percentage succeed in making a reasonable living from their efforts. Like in any career, success as an influencer on the likes of TikTok and Instagram requires some competence and skill, and so it would be foolish to suggest that being a social media influencer is not a legitimate career path in today’s world.

The Badger was thus careful when answering the student’s question. He simply communicated the advice given by his father when the Badger was first deciding to further his own education at University, namely ‘Get the best education you can in a subject you enjoy and are good at. Don’t pre-suppose how you’ll use that in the future because life has a habit of taking you in unexpected directions’. The students thought this was wise counsel because none of them thought they would secure jobs directly relevant to their degree subject. That’s a shame, but ever that’s been the case. They unanimously concluded that if you intend to have a career as a social media influencer, then it’s prudent to get the best education you can first.

Security: People are always the weakest link…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Privacy and Surveillance, Public safety, Security, social media

The Badger tried to suppress a giggle when the accidental inclusion of a journalist in the US administration’s Signal group chat hit the media. He failed. On watching the US President on television call the journalist in question a ‘sleazebag’, the Badger laughed aloud as the proverbial idiom ‘pot calling the kettle black’ came to mind. The administration’s subsequent bluster about the journalist’s inclusion and the group’s messages has not been its finest hour. Asserting that the military attack information shared was unclassified is, for most independent observers, just ludicrous. Indeed, the whole episode raises many questions, not least being whether the administration’s senior echelons actually respect and adhere to standard security policies and protocols.

Signature of the UK Official Secrets Act and being thoroughly vetted for a high level of security clearance were pre-requisites for the Badger’s first IT projects. Security has thus been an embedded ethos throughout his working life. Sometimes the constraints imposed by security policy and associated processes were frustrating, but the Badger has learned that a cavalier approach to compliance is never a good idea. Rightly, clients and his employer had zero-tolerance for any kind of security misdemeanour. Indeed, on the rare occasions over the years when a security mishap occurred, the situation was quickly rectified and the culprit dealt with swiftly and definitively. Something similar may be happening behind the scenes following the Signal incident, but the US administration’s public messaging doesn’t imply this to be the case.

Later in his career, the Badger was asked to oversee the operations of his employer’s security department. The head of the department expanded the Badger’s appreciation of security matters pertinent to premises, personal safety, vetting, and cyber threats. The department head emphasised the need to keep in mind just one phrase, namely ‘people are always the weakest link‘, when it came to security doctrine. This has proved to be wise advice over the years, and the recent Signal incident simply reinforces the point.

Today, the use of Signal, WhatsApp, X, and social media platforms is rife in the general public and in political and governmental circles. The Signal incident is a reminder for us all that it takes just one participant to leak the substance of a group chat for there to be a problem, and that there’s a greater chance that someone will spill the beans beyond the group when it has a large number of participants. The incident is also a reminder to think carefully about what you write in a group chat. If you don’t then you only have yourself to blame if something you have written comes back to bite you in the future. Think before you write, always, but most of all remember that technology is not normally the weakest link, people are. That’s right…you and me!

An inspiring, impressive, and heartwarming moment…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Learning, Software, Training

Take a moment. Think about the most inspiring, impressive, and heart-warming moments that you’ve experienced during your career. Does one immediately come to the fore more than others? The Badger’s experienced many inspiring and impressive moments over the decades, but far fewer that were inspiring, impressive AND heart-warming! The one moment that is always the first  comes to mind meeting these three criteria was the witnessing of a speaker at a technical conference overcome their stage-fright and public-speaking demons to receive a standing ovation from the audience.

The young Badger had attended the conference, about novel software design practices, to give one of many twenty-minute presentations to the ~350-person audience from across industry. His presentation went well, ostensibly because he was well prepared and had lots of previous public-speaking experience from presenting at large conferences during his academic days. On returning to his seat afterwards, the Badger felt that usual human reaction of being both pleased and relieved! The next presenter was another youngster. As they took to the stage and walked to the lectern, their hands were visibly shaking, but what unfolded was more than just the initial nerves most people experience in such situations. What unfolded was, in its own way, awesomely inspiring, impressive, and heartwarming!

The speaker introduced themselves. Thereafter their body perpetually quivered, their voice trembled and incessantly faltered, and their presentation delivery fragmented with long pauses between sentences and often between individual words. It was obvious that the audience found the situation uncomfortable, and after ten minutes one of the conference organisers approached and quietly asked if the speaker was okay and would like to end their presentation immediately. The speaker insisted on carrying on and did so overrunning their allotted time by 50%. On closing their presentation, they apologised to the audience for their nervousness, thanked the audience for their patience and understanding given that they had never presented to so many people before! As they left the stage the whole audience gave them a standing ovation.

The speaker’s dogged determination to complete their presentation in the face of their inexperience and rampant nervousness was inspiring. The fact, as the Badger learned talking to them afterwards, that they had consciously put themselves in that uncomfortable situation because ‘it was necessary’ in order to improve and have a good career, was impressive. The audience standing ovation was heartwarming because it demonstrated our inherent human empathy and respect for ‘those that try’. For the Badger, the moment also highlights that we all have weaknesses and that facing up to them by doing the right thing with dogged determination, and resilience in the face of personal discomfort, builds respect and demonstrates the ‘right stuff’ required to be successful. What happened to the speaker? They ultimately became a senior executive at an international corporation, and a much sought after keynote speaker at international conferences!

Banning social media for the under-16s…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Ethics & Regulation, Information Technology, Life, Online Safety, social media, Tech for social good, Wellbeing

Richard Holway,  a well-known, respected, and influential analyst in the UK software and IT services markets, penned an item last week for TechMarketView entitled ‘What have we done?’. The item relates to the harm that social media and smartphones are doing to children. As a grandparent with a background in software and IT services, and having a grandchild who’s just started school, it struck a chord and reinforced the Badger’s own opinion that they have indeed caused great harm for children under 16. Holding this view doesn’t make the Badger, or anyone else with the same opinion come to that, an anti-tech dinosaur, just a human being who is pro technology that has safety, security, privacy, and human well-being as its paramount priorities. When it comes to ensuring the best for children in their formative years, it seems to be mainly the unprincipled and unscrupulous who argue about having these as dominant priorities.

History is littered with ‘products’ of one kind or another that were widely popular but were ultimately recognised over time as being a danger to human well-being. Plastics, DDT, cigarettes, fossil fuels, asbestos, paint with lead in it, illustrate the point. Did you know that a century ago cigarettes were advertised as being beneficial for asthma and anxiety? Also, incredibly popular patent medicines in the 19th and early 20th centuries  had no restrictions on what they contained. Many contained cocaine, morphine, and heroin. A very popular cough mixture for children did, indeed, include  heroin! Things, of course, changed once society eventually realised the scale of addiction and early deaths that occurred. It has long seemed to the Badger that aspects of our rampant tech-dominated world, especially with regard to social media, are following this same historical template, especially when it comes to use by children.

In little more than two decades, social media has evolved from being a novel way of staying connected to family and friends, into a powerful global force that shapes many dimensions of daily life. Evidence that social media has harmful effects on children is growing all the time. Science shows that social media causes the release of large amounts of dopamine into the human brain just like addictive drugs such as heroin, and even alcohol. No wonder it’s easy to get hooked!

Like Mr Holway, the Badger fully supports the ban on smartphones and social media apps for children under the age of 16. As you can see here, the legal age in the UK is 18 to buy alcohol, tobacco products, knives, and certain types of DVDs and games. The legal age is 16 to buy pets and animals, petrol, matches, and to be in fulltime employment. Why, therefore, shouldn’t smartphones and social media apps be banned for children under the age of 16? As Mr Spock from Star Wars would say, ‘Isn’t it illogical, Jim, to do otherwise?’

People – they are always a challenge…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Education, Human Resources, Information Technology, IT Project Management, Leadership & Management, Recruitment

How would you answer if someone at the start of their IT-sector career asked you ‘What’s the most challenging thing you’ve encountered throughout your career?’  Your answer might be something personal like, for example, a family, financial, or health matter, or it might be something purely professional like a task that proved especially testing, getting the right people into the right roles to deliver project or business objectives, or coping with change during rapid organisational transformation or growth. You will have your own answer, but what’s the Badger’s? Well, it’s one word, and that word is ‘people’.

In the Badger’s experience, people are crucial for success, but they are a never-ending challenge! Why? Because people have unique backgrounds, experiences, thought processes, perspectives, fallibilities, strengths and motivations that make them a melting pot of unpredictability and surprises! An illustration from the Badger’s first role as a project manager is pertinent. A graduate programmer, a lady two years out of University, had been recruited by the Badger’s employer. Her CV looked good, and she’d done well during the recruitment process. The Badger’s line manager charged him with using her to fill a vacant programming role on his project team. She seemed like a good fit, and she appeared to have settled in well by the end of her first week with the team. Within a month, however, the project team were mutinous! Her work was poor, she had not completed any task, her attitude was surly and self-centred, and her timekeeping was appalling.

Chats with the Badger to encourage improvement and explore whether there were any hidden underlying personal problems proved fruitless. Formal HR processes came into play, during which it became clear that this person wasn’t interested in programming, being part of a team, or a career with the company. Employment with any company, she ultimately admitted, was simply her way of obtaining money for expensive holidays! She was exited from the company. The Badger learned that there’s more to people than is visible, that they are complex, have values that might differ from your own, and that they can take up lots of valuable management time!

The fact that people were the Badger’s most challenging thing throughout his career is not surprising when life is dynamic, circumstances change, and individuals are always adapting to new personal and professional situations. The Badger always rose to the challenge, because people from the most junior to the most senior matter if you want to succeed. With the relentless progress of automation and AI, it’s easy to think that dealing with people is becoming less relevant. Not so! AI may change everything, but it’s people who are crucial to harnessing its potential to making a difference. People will always be a challenge, but knowing more about what makes them tick will be essential for handling the challenges of the foreseeable future…

Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Light underpin the digital world of tomorrow…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Batteries, Change, Education, Information Technology, Learning, Obsolescence, Science & Engineering, Smart & New Technology, Technology, Transformation

A trip to the supermarket provided a reminder that without physics, chemistry, and mathematics none of our modern tech, internet, and online services would exist. Hardly a revelation, but what triggered this heightened awareness? Well, just the simple act of taking a small bag of spent disposable batteries to a recycling bin in the supermarket’s checkout area. The bin was full to overflowing with used disposable batteries from toys, clocks, TV remotes, cordless computer keyboards, wireless mice, and a myriad of other sources that use replaceable batteries as a power source. The act of depositing his spent batteries reminded the Badger that each one is actually a little capsule of physics, chemistry, and mathematics, and that our digital world depends on these subjects and batteries of one form or another.

On returning home, the Badger reflected on the science, materials, manufacturing, and recycling of these disposable batteries and whether they’ll ultimately be made redundant by newer power source innovations in the decades ahead. After all, the Titanium Citizen Eco-Drive watch on the Badger’s wrist uses solar and artificial light for power rather than replaceable batteries. It’s a technology that dates back to the mid-1970s, so it’s not new. Furthermore, the 1980s pocket calculator sitting on the Badger’s desk is also solar powered with no replaceable batteries. It’s a memento from a major 1980’s software development project and it works just as well today as it did back then! The Badger thus found himself wondering why power derived from light sources hasn’t rendered the disposable battery redundant in the last 40 years. Well, to make a functionally reliable, manufacturable, commercially viable product that has physics, chemistry, and mathematics at its core takes years of research to come to fruition. The good news is that it looks like lengthy research is bearing fruit and we may soon see a revolution that makes natural and artificial light the power source for a wide range of our devices, see here and here.

We should not be surprised that the coming years are likely to see a significant change in how our in-home devices, smart tech, and personal computing devices are powered. The use of replaceable batteries looks destined to decline. There’ll ultimately be no more charging cables, and no more trips to the supermarket to recycle spent batteries! Things, of course, are never that clear cut, but if light photons hitting panels on a home’s roof can generate electricity for household use, then it’s inevitably just a matter of time before light will power our gadgets and render disposable batteries redundant.

Fundamentally, power sources – and everything else in our modern digital world – are determined by physics, chemistry, mathematics and years of research. We should never shy away from being educated in these subjects because they – and light – are the seeds that will determine whatever we want the digital world of the future to be…

Contracted working hours, and achieving your potential…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Delivery, Education, Human Resources, Information Technology, Leadership & Management, Science & Engineering, Wellbeing

The UK’s A-Level exam period is underway and runs until the end of June.  Students sitting these exams receive their results in the middle of August. It’s an intense time, especially for those who’ve applied for University and need to achieve certain grades to confirm a place on their preferred course. According to UCAS, the proportion of UK 18-year-olds applying for University this year stands at 41.3%. That’s up from 38.2% in 2019, but marginally down on 41.5% for 2023. Since last year, however, applications for engineering/technology courses, and mathematical sciences/computing courses, have increased by 10% and 7%, respectively. The Badger thinks that’s a good thing. These subjects are, after all, at the heart of our lives on this planet. Whether we like it or not, it’s science, engineering, maths, and computing  that make everything possible.

While chatting to a teacher recently, their passionate focus on their pupils and desire for good exam results was strongly evident. In particular, they mentioned that seeing their students attain or exceed expectations in their exams was a source of great personal reward for their teaching over the school year. The teacher had strong opinions, one being that people don’t really appreciate that the hours worked by teachers far outweigh those stipulated in their employment contract. ‘That’s actually no different to people working in commercial enterprises; at least you have a long break over the summer’, the Badger commented without thinking. If looks could kill, the Badger would be dead!

The teacher, who’s never worked in a commercial enterprise, was adamant that no one works as hard, or as far beyond the hours stipulated in their employment contract, as teachers. This rankled with the Badger, because it’s not true! An incoming call to the teacher’s smartphone, however, fortuitously stopped the conversation from taking a potentially disagreeable turn. Health professionals in the NHS often convey a view similar to the teacher’s too, but the reality is that many in technical, management, and leadership positions at project, business, and executive levels in commercial operations often work beyond the hours in their employment contract without tangible reward irrespective of greater work-life balance awareness. The performance of their companies would suffer if they didn’t. In fact, research shows it’s the setting and profile of how additional hours are worked that differs greatly between teachers, doctors and their commercial enterprise counterparts, not the actual number of additional hours worked which do not differ vastly.

Well, good luck to those sitting their exams and striving for a place at University. Whatever the outcome, remember one thing. To be successful and have the job satisfaction and the type of rewards you want in your chosen field, an intelligent, hard-working, flexible and can-do ethos will always be a necessary imperative. Working only the hours in an employment contract will rarely help you achieve your full potential…

What development has had the most detrimental impact on society in the last 20 years?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Change, Education, Information Technology, Life, Online Services, Press & Media, social media, Tech for social good, Telecommunications

The Badger was asked the question ‘What development has had the most detrimental impact on society in the last 20 years?’ during a conversation with a youngster who’s just started the final year of their university degree course. The conversation was centred on the Badger’s experience in the IT industry and was primarily focused on helping the youngster not only look  beyond completing their degree, but also decide whether to stay at university for a higher degree or move into industry to bolster their immediate income. As the Badger described some of the dynamic technological changes encountered throughout his own career, the youngster paused for a moment, pursed their lips, frowned, and then unexpectedly asked this question.

The Badger was taken aback. After what seemed like a prolonged and embarrassing silence, but was really just a few seconds, the Badger took the easy option and answered with a bland ‘I don’t know. Different generations will probably have different views.’ The youngster smiled and chided him for being cleverly uncontentious! They then answered  their own question, and their answer took the Badger completely by surprise. Why? Because he did not expect what he heard from a Generation Z person who is completely digital-native with no experience of life without the internet, personal computers, social media, or mobile phones.

‘Social media is the development that has had the most detrimental impact’, they proclaimed. They contended that social media has developed such that its content is the  embodiment of 7 R’s – rage, rumour, rackets, rubbish, robbers, retail, and revenue – which is growing to be ever more corrosive to the fabric of society. They voiced their distrust of the likes of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter), and expressed  concern that users of such platforms are naïve about their impact on personal privacy and social stability. Their final assertion was that social media has had the most detrimental impact on the world in the last 20 years because it has undermined law and order, respect for others, encroached on privacy, and enabled the immediacy of widespread fraud and misinformation. The Badger, who was a little surprised at hearing this from a digital native of Generation Z, quickly refocused the conversation on the youngster’s post-graduate aspirations!

Whether you share the youngster’s view or not, history suggests that some developments which change society are lauded during their time, but ultimately prove to be devastating in the long run. For example, fossil-fuels revolutionised life in the 20th Century, but they have had a damaging impact on the sustainability of life on our planet and are now shunned. The Badger’s undecided whether social media, a once exciting early 21st Century development, falls into this category, but if you want some fun at a multi-generational gathering of friends or family then ask the youngster’s question. The result is almost guaranteed not to be what you expect…