Paul Armstrong (@munkyfonkey)

I was going to start this off with the obligatory “I’m sorry for not blogging for a while…” paragraph but I am a firm believer in blogging when you a) want to and b) when you have something to say. Suffice to say, I’ve been busy beavering away with the team at Mindshare, away [see left] and just generally thinking about where everything is going.

I decided to get away from London for a while – one can only take so much rioting – and went to Paris.  I rode, I walked, I did the tourist thing but generally I people watched like never before.  I just stopped.  I observed how people interacted with the technology and world around them. From tourists to residents, young and old. I just grabbed the iPad, added some dark glasses, un Coke Light and observed.  My gawking was shameless. From the tourists taking holiday photos with their phones rather than a digital camera, the mum using her smartphone to pacify a child at a table, the QR code tour of the Latin district,  to an old couple asking a pair of young people for directions -

Then it was over.  Time to come home.  Whilst waiting for the (much overestimated) Eurostar (sorry guys – clean those things) some things struck me as I sat outside a Parisian cafe outside Gare Du Nord:

1) Social media remains utterly hampered by technological/business model limits. 3G connections, lack of wifi, expensive overseas usage rates – all make the gorgeous phone in your pocket… at best, a watch with no connection.  This got me thinking… should part of the evaluation for if an app is useful lay in what offline value it adds?

2) WiFi sponsorship is underused by brands. Sitting outside the cafe I realized that there was no free wifi outside the station – potentially the time when visitors need it most. This is a missed opportunity.

3) The French value their mobile devices but are completely unruled by them. This is very different to the British.  Often the first thing to enter the room is a Blackberry.  Speaking with a couple of people (badly) it became clear that their mobile devices are simply a way of staying in touch – often to meet up in person – mirrored by their usage rates and connectivity situation it’s easy to see why this might be. I suspect, however, that they [the French / remembering this is a City...] are generally more social – the abundance of open spaces and cafes seem to suggest this is true too.  Never ignore the landscape you are in – how can you blend in (or does it make sense to stand out?  What are you adding?)

4) I am letting the wrong type of information in. For one who preaches about signal vs. noise I let a lot of the latter in. During my time away I didn’t miss Facebook, Twitter or Google+ although I did realize just how much is automated on my computer. When I did get Internet connection in the (marvelous) hotel… *ping*…#barrrroooom#…&blip&…everything updated. Is this necessary?   What is it adding?  When was this the goal? Do I check everything? It made me aware of just how much unnecessary information I let in – time to cut back me thinks.

5) I miss writing. Not just on here but for other media outlets. So I contacted an old Editor and he’s starting a new gig – check it out, I’ll be writing about cool technology and gadgets.