Things of note for the week ending Sunday October 2nd, 2016.
1. FOR LUKE
A man I knew died. We weren’t huge friends. Acquaintances, at best. His imprint on the world will be long. And the sadness of his passing is immeasurable. For more reasons than are obvious.
I’ve said a lot of what I wanted to say already.
God this is painful. Darkness comes to all of us. This hurts so much. More so because I work – or at least feel like I work – hard at raising awareness around the issues on mental health. Specifically for men. And yet still. Yet still it happens.
If you knew Luke, or if he impacted your life in any way, Kai has organised a JustGiving page for the family he leaves behind.
And I guess – that is all.
Oh Luke.
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2. CHAMPIONS OF THE SHENGA
So this is interesting. Champions of the Shenga is currently seeking funds on indiegogo.
What is it? Well:
A collectable card battling game you control with your emotions, played with a wearable sensor. This Emotionally Responsive Game brings your emotional state into the core of the gameplay by tracking changes in your biometric data. Unlock powerful spells, creatures, and weapons to defeat your opponents in a tournament like no other. Earn mastery through practicing mindfulness in the heat of battle and better equip yourself to cope with stress and anxiety in everyday life.
The video for this is the thing that clinched it for me.
Gaming as a way of finding calm, focus, and flow? I’m in.
There are potentially huge implications for how this could help in other ways too.
Maybe I’m over-thinking it.
Think on it.
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3. EVER CHEAT AT AN EXAM?
I haven’t. But these people have.
Brilliant reading. <- Buzzfeed link. Sorry not sorry.
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4. STOPTOBER BOT
I’ve been working on a number of bot-related things of late. This one however, while originating from Ogilvy London, isn’t one of the them. That said, it is quite brilliant and I’m super impressed with what it sets out to do.
Introducing: Stoptober Bot!
Stoptober, if you’re unaware, is a yearly attempt to help people stop smoking. It takes 28 days to form a habit and breaking one is just like forming one. It’s habitual to do something therefore to not do that thing would also have to be habitual, right? That sentence probably makes more sense in my head.
The Stoptober bot ostensibly takes the place of the SMS alerts you would get in the form of a Facebook Messenger bot.
Know anyone who’s trying to give up this Stoptober? Send the bot their way.
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5. THIS IS WHERE I WORK
I wang on about working at the big O a fair bit but hey, I love my job so.. well, so there.
The new building is ace and, ten months in, Digiday came to find out how we’re all settling in.
Hmm. Lovely.
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6. HOW TO EMAIL
Do you send email? Yes? Do the world a favour and read this.
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7. WANT TO DATE MY FRIEND, WILLEM?
I don’t know if this will work but I’ve got to applaud the effort. My dear, dear [single] friend Willem (you may remember I was on his podcast a while back) has decided to take a new approach to the dating.
And fair play to him for it.
Take a look and please, if you know anyone who fits the bill, do pass it along.
It’d make a helluva story for the grandkids.
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Bonuses are taking some time off this week. They’ll be back again next time.
This one’s for you, Luke.
Safe journey onwards, old friend.
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