MiramarMike: Blog

My statement on Open Access to research: Everyone needs paying for services rendered and that payment should always be at a level that recognises the true value of the output. This is why I am happy (nay insistent) that some of my tax dollars be spent on many types of research as we look to sustainable methods of ensuring value flows into New Zealand.  Having paid gaining that value is to ensure all of New Zealand builds upon it and, seeing as my taxes have already covered the costs, there should be call to "profit from the research" by charging for access as profit comes for what is build upon it.  I therefore wholeheartedly support the call that all NZ publicly funded research institutions and research funders that they adopt Open Access policies. Why pop this up now -   International Open Access Week starts on 20 October 2014

No, change management is not simple and for one very easy to understand reason - it involves people. And that's the first, most important, all encompassing and ultimately only real point of change management. People are what we are endeavouring to help through change and the outcome of change management is people doing something different (there is a change) But dropping the other attributes of change management can leave you open to a non-starter of a process or, at best, one that flops over the line with many weary participants huffing and puffing behind you. A little self disclosure before we get to the 6 main components of "change management". I'm actually someone that believes in constant change, that companies, Govt agencies, NGO's, communities and all people are constantly adapting to the environment within which they operate. Therefore a "Enterprise Change Process" (or even a "Transformation Programme") is a slightly false worldview

Knowing what you want to be when you grow up isn't something I'm particularly interest in and therefore something I find as a difficult part of my life. I'm known to many as the "Google guy" despite the fact that I've never worked for Google. Yes, I did have a business focused solely on their products AND I do use a lot of their services so I am quite comfortable with that BUT it's not what I have 'done' for quite some time. More generally I'm also known as the "cloud guy" having been someone that has talked "Web 2.0" and "cloud" for many many years - much longer than the plethora of Kiwi companies that have seemingly suddenly discovered the "cloud" and who, in my opinion, are still missing the point. So "Google" and "cloud" are two words I often hear used to describe me but those specific labels don't describe me that well (and I'll be honest with you they never have).

(cross posted from  +Ian Apperley 's article ) Wellington is running it’s first Civic Hackathon the first weekend of November to tackle transport issues in and around Eastern Suburbs and the wider city. We’ve got a bunch of people involved already and we’ve still got spots open if you want to join in . We’re looking for freaks, geeks, and companies that want to showcase their Smart City and Internet of Things devices, so get in. A group of like-minded individuals are coming together on the 1st and 2nd of November this year to participate in Wellington’s first Civic Hackathon. A hackathon is an intensive session where a group of people are giving a civic problem, data, tools, and bring their own skills & resources to solve that problem. Hackathon comes from merging “hack” and “marathon”. A number of sponsors have come forward already and are providing us with raw data and sensing devices that we can utilise to capture data that has otherwise been unavailable. We want