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The website of Chris Worth, marketing hobo.
Browsing All posts tagged under »information architect«
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This weekend I did something I’ve been meaning to do for a long, long time: got rid of all my books. Well, not all of them. A couple of cherished volumes remain. An edition of Ulysses I was given at 16; a few textbooks peppered with notes from b-school; rather too many graphic novel trade […]
Felicity J Lord: a tale of a tragically incompetent lettings agency
January 26, 2013
Working outside London much of the last year, I rented my house in the capital through supposedly reputable, but in reality appallingly inept, lettings agency Felicity J Lord. This ditty documents my (frustrating) experiences over the past year. In my opinion, it’s been not merely the worst estate agency, but in fact the worst company of any description I’ve […]
2012: moments to remember
December 29, 2012
2012 wasn’t a bumper year for the UK - hitting the third trough of a triple-dipper, socialism and its henchman the Public Sector on the rise (again), and business and consumer confidence beating their foreheads against the wall sobbing. But it was an OK year for me. (Of course, my definition of “ok” is any day […]
In praise of White Van Man
December 4, 2012
He gets a lot of stick for his black-and-white politics. His attitude to the taxman is somewhat less than servile. And the way he drives earns a lot of ire. But I’m a big fan of White Van Man. White Van Man is the working-class (stress working) male who spends much of his day in […]
The secret of business: they’re not clients, they’re friends
October 1, 2012
If there’s one phrase I hate, it’s “personal friend”. Why? Because people who use it are drawing a distinction between the friends you have in life and the friends you have at work – let’s call it Facebook Versus LinkedIn. After a decade earning a living the most honest way there is – charging other […]
London 2012: So, how was it for you?
August 13, 2012
The flame’s gone out. The confetti’s on the ground. The last leathery throat has rasped its signature anthem. Perhaps the closing ceremony had some odd musical choices – the house only started rocking when the dinosaurs came out, proving today’s youngsters can’t hold a torch to Who and Floyd even when they’re covering. (Even Eric Idle […]
Battling the zombie apocalypse in…. Reading
August 11, 2012
The Zombie Shopping Mall Experience! A derelict shopping centre in Reading, filled with actors playing the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse… the infection is taking hold, and this mall is one of the few places that may contain the cure. Armed with Airsoft pump-guns, played mostly without light, and with missions that include actual CCTV […]
Going Mac: the first 72 hours
July 31, 2012
It’s been three days since I landed on Planet Mac, and so far it’s been a pleasant experience. First thoughts… 1. The biggest issue is still with Windows. Outlook for Mac works just as well, but importing 12GB of data took effort and hasn’t quite worked properly. Why, for example, does anything in the Inbox […]
Going Mac: the why of it
July 22, 2012
After two decades in the PC paradigm, I’m going Mac. I’ve been in the Windows world, with brief diversions into Linux, since before Windows existed: my first PC ran MS-DOS and I pasted on Windows 3.1 around 1994. Excluding ipoddery, my total time at a Mac keyboard totals perhaps ten minutes. At times, I’ve been anti-Apple; […]
Freestyling: the mark of a true Londoner
June 26, 2012
It’s not about your ability to delete homeless people from your field of vision. It’s not about having a minimum of three locks on your door, or believing £30 is a reasonable sum to spend on a takeaway. No, being a true Londoner is about …. freestyling! Freestyling is the skill of staying upright on the […]
New pages on Chris does Content
June 25, 2012
Since they’re the three things I do, I thought I’d add a page on each: new content at chrisdoescontent.com on each of killer copywriting, information architecture, and data analytics.
Chris does Content: change of address
June 5, 2012
If you’re a Chris does Content customer or partner, please note a change of business address: Chris Worth Chris does Content The Leathermarket 11-13 Weston St London SE1 3ER All other details – phone, email, bank – remain the same. Thank you!
When one disused missile silo just isn’t enough
April 27, 2012
I’ve always had a thing about subterranea, and my Fallout New Vegas Tour last year reawakened an interest in missile silos. There’s a tiny subculture Stateside of people who’ve bought these monuments to Cold War military budgets as unusual living accommodation… and one day I want to join them. (Hey, it’s one hell of a […]
Why Nations Fail: not a book review
April 21, 2012
A great new book provides a useful further confirmation as to why socialism and the left wing in general are wrong: Why Nations Fail, by Darren Acemoglu and James Robinson. (Although the authors, as academics and probable lefties, may not like their work being seen as a vindication of global capitalism.) The book’s main idea: […]
Things you don’t see every day
April 1, 2012
Something I’ve never seen in ten years as a Londoner: a fully-laden gravel & sandbags open-bed cargo train, with open-platform steering wheel and everything, going through a Tube station! Of course, I knew such things must exist – it may be twenty storeys beneath the streets but it’s still a railway – but it just […]
The Slow People
March 24, 2012
Sunshine smiles over a spring-infused London, and the West End is warm and bright for the first time this year. I wander the streets freely, buying a T-shirt here, an Americano there; I am satisfied with life. But one thing mars this perfect scene. A writhing, weaving, suffocating mass of organic matter infests the ancient […]
How to do meetings
February 7, 2012
(Repost of an old blog from my former blogging provider!) There’s an expression I use in meetings when people are engaging in wishful thinking instead of solving the problems at hand. When they’ve come to a convenient break in their flights of unproductive fancy, I jump in with: ‘…and while we’re in Lollipop Land, I’d […]
What’s driving Britain’s public sector strikes: it’s all about risk
November 29, 2011
There’s not much argument about the figures any more. Median public sector pay+benefits: £619/week. Median private sector: £479/wk. Average public sector retirement income: £5,600/yr. Average private sector retirement income: £1,115/yr. These are official statistics not tainted by bias; indeed, since they’re from a civil service source the only bias could be towards the public sector. […]
The Roots of marketing
November 26, 2011
Apparently the judge in Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae Sauce case thinks “Marketing involves persuading people to purchase particular products my accentuating the quality and utility of the products or services concerned.“ My word. If there was ever a sentence that proves the law’s an ass, this was it. The argument’s about who cooked up the […]
When does a good concept make a bad ad?
November 22, 2011
One of these ads is good. The other one is bad. Why? The concept is classic Benetton: shocking and iconic. This time it’s about clashing cultures. The first execution – the Pope kissing a Muslim cleric – is shocking in the right way, because it’s got a message: two religions not noted for their, er, […]
February 11, 2013
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