It probably comes under the law of unintended consequences, but apparently Google allows people to think they’re cleverer than they are. This is because someone believes they know the answer to something; but they don’t. They know they can look up the answer – and confuse that with thinking they’re smart. There’s a big difference. … Continue reading A reminder re ChatGPT…you don’t hire a hammer, you hire a carpenter
Category Archives: punchline
Even with ChatGPT, original writing becomes even more valuable
BeWeDō founder Dr Mark Bradford has been developing what was originally his PhD thesis, into a marketable product for the past six years. He’s about about to leave his role as a senior design lecturer at Massey University and take BeWeDō® to market. His methodology is a way that organisations can improve meetings, workshops, seminars and other events; … Continue reading Seeing the wood from the trees; unearthing a story in a nutshell
“Perhaps you can help me,” he asked? It was July 2021, and on my way back from celebrating at my brother’s place, Ola driver Mo Hilal had found out I am a writer by trade. He was looking for a name for a kebab place/foodcart that he and two colleagues were going to kick off. … Continue reading The least I can do is gift a great name
Reckon you could spell spontaneity off the cuff without writing it down? I know I’d struggle…and I’m a writer! Being able to understand, picture and then say letters in the right order was the challenge 21 Year 9 and 10 (14 and 15 year olds) students from around New Zealand had to compete in on … Continue reading You mess up two letters, and you’re out of the competition
From your business point of view – how do you see the wood from the trees? That is, when there’s many different ways you could tell the world about what you do or sell, and why this is important, how do you narrow it down to one message? It’s blimmin difficult. It’s also why it’s … Continue reading Unearthing a business first story…seeing the wood from the trees
The words we use and the stories we tell ourselves really matter. None more so that when we’re talking about this third rock from the sun that we inhabit. So, if our government (and the world for that matter) is going to do more than merely mouth platitudes around saving our planet, then our future … Continue reading Reframing our future
If it’s good enough for Taiwan, should New Zealand adopt some of the same ‘funny’ medicine? Taiwan has, for almost a year, adopted a Covid-strategy of “Humour over Rumour”. Within 20 minutes of false Covid news, the island’s government social media team rebuts and replies in a humorous way. It works on the premise that … Continue reading How about an injection of humour to go with our Covid vaccines?
Killing two birds with one analogy-stone is a neat trick to pull off. BedsRus has managed a wee bit of magic with its (bus shelter) ad, ‘How big are your dreams?’ It forces us to simultaneously ask ourselves two questions. An existentialist one in the form of whether what we want to achieve for ourselves … Continue reading How big are your dreams?
Amid the sound and fury of the recent American elections, an eloquent acceptance speech by Joe Biden was missed by many. Unlike the bombastic ‘us versus them’ utterances of Donald Trump, Biden’s speech was a uniting ‘we’ – paraphrased from a term he used in it talking about the ‘Soul of America’. It contained a … Continue reading Some little lessons in rhetorical oratory