According to Wikipedia, the stock phrase "Once upon a time..." has been in use in some form since at least the 14th century. And its prevalence is not just limited to the English language - the Wikipedia page lists variants in dozens of languages from around the world - as also the modern variants, "A long time ago..." and even "Not so long ago..."
storytelling Iqbal MohammedAdliterate recently penned a rant about targeting in online advertising. The experience that triggered it is something all of us have encountered (or will eventually do so) - search for something online and be bombarded with ads for the same for eternity.
advertising Iqbal Mohammed targetingIn a recent post, Bobulate concludes that "Well-placed complexity has a place. If only to encourage us to think more deeply and globally about simplicity."
En route to that, she quotes this fascinating passage by psychologist Adam Atler:
complexity Iqbal Mohammed narratives storytellingI subscribe to a mailing list called Idea A Day that sends out one idea each day. Any one can contribute an idea and most days it looks like anyone does. Usually you receive eclectic but whimsical and impractical suggestions that make you question the whole exercise. But just when you least expect it, there turns up a cracker making it all worthwhile.
Iqbal Mohammed TV media consumption[I wrote this piece quite a while ago for a collaborative book on social media, but ultimately chose to go with another piece.]
In ‘Traffic: Why We drive The Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)’, author Tom Vanderbilt explains how a right of way is negotiated in some places:
Iqbal Mohammed social media social media strategyEvery time I encounter the term "The Internet of Things", I feel a tinge of disappointment which arises from knowing what it means but concurrently hoping it meant something else. Something that is inherently implied in its name, at least to the uninitiated.
digital living Internet Internet of things Iqbal Mohammed technologyFrom a review of William Rosen's 'The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry and Invention':
"The author dismisses the more traditional explanations about why the industrial revolution began in Britain—such as an abundance of coal or the insatiable demands of the Royal Navy—concluding, instead, that it was England’s development of the patent system that was the decisive factor. By aligning the incentives of private
copyright creativity crowdsourcing Iqbal Mohammed patents
