Phil Smeeton's Tech Thinking Blog

 A big win of virtual meetings is a significant reduction in the production of C02: What would be the impact on the planet if every distanced meeting could be done virtually with no travel/or carbon emission? The philosophy I think is of use for software developers is: You have met them in person but just wait until you meet them virtually. What needs adding to virtual meetings to make them more like in-person ones (this could be a goal of a specific virtual meeting application, use application x for the most in-person-like meeting experience) The opportunity to read body language and gestures and the ability to interact with objects physically in the same room.

I was chatting to a health professional recently about virtual meetings. One point they made was that they felt in-person meetings should (always!) be the preferred option over virtual, that in-person meetings were important opportunities for examining body language and this is currently missing from video calls. The more I talk to people about virtual vs in-person the more the issue of reading body postures appears. Maybe this part of meetings is too important to omit from future video calls, we would probably be talking about full length cameras of some kind. Maybe the solution to reading body gestures is a separate 2 nd  window that has another view and also maybe controllable by the viewer. It was obvious in the discussion that there are big travel savings when using virtual meetings, a big win for the planet. I find it is interesting talking to people about virtual vs in-person meetings, usually it is not long before the conversation moves to the stuff you can't do in virtual ...

Some useful example queries for an AI chat bot: Using the latest research give me five tips on how to make more appointments (1. in person, 2. on the phone, 3. by email) 4. Using the latest research in my country tell me how to increase the size of my customer orders in mobile phone sales 5. Using the most recent proven methods describe how to write a letter to a VIP client asking them for some new business referrals. 6. Given current trading and economic conditions how do I get more done with fewer resources in my business. 7. What are some valuable alternatives to a pay rise in my small company of 250 employees? 8. As the CEO how do I grow my business over the next five years, we are time and cash rich.

Historic hangover In person meetings have proven valuable for a long time, discussions, debates, negotiations, talks, chats, the list is endless, it is no surprise that we value in person meetings. The role of the in-person meeting in recent evolution, as the global population has increased so has the likelihood of in-person meetings. In terms of virtual meetings Pandemics like covid19 encourage the idea of virtual meetings. Virtual meetings are good for reducing co2 in the context of long distance travel and subsequent in-person meetings. Virtual meetings scale particularly well into thousands of participants and can connect over international boundaries.

Discover (and fix) your saboteurs Buy a personality assessment (Know yourself) Find out what the latest in demand IT credentials are (Keep your skills current) Consider hiring a life coach or finding a mentor (People with mentors succeed more than those without one) Set written goals for 2023 (people with written goals earn 9 times as much as those that don't in a lifetime) Have a wealth plan, fitness plan, beauty plan. Deal with any anxiety with meditation apps like Calm, Headspace Get fit by walking and running Stay in touch with your GP/medics, have regular checks, blood work Use a wearable fitness band, monitor sleep, activity, health, make sure your not missing anything important.

 This post is about using newly invented massive building automation to rebuild an entire country every 10 years using the latest knowledge and research on human environments. The idea is that if you completely rebuild an entire country every ten years you can incorporate the latest research and understanding of human environments and therefore increase productivity, safety, health and happiness of the citizens. This massive scale automation will use newly created materials to create thousands or even millions of buildings quickly and to modern specifications. In terms of preserving the existing buildings that a number of people will want preserving, I recommend extending the Google Earth project and move it into the metaverse adding richness and detail to each building creating an opportunity to experience the old buildings any time..

With the carbon argument for in person sales calls becoming more difficult by the year I see online virtual sales calls a solid solution for future business and trade. I think that some in person meetings are still viable and valuable and when used in proportions are valid now and in the future. To strengthen my argument for online virtual sales calls I'd like to use an example. Imagine a sales manager who wants to make one hundred calls, across 10 different countries usually most people would say to this guy, get ready for flying thousands of miles and staying in many hotels, lets take a look at what is happening using an application like MS Teams. With virtual meeting capabilities like MS Teams sales professionals can touch their prospects with extreme speed and efficiency. According to an authoritative source relationship building using virtual meeting systems is the same as in person although it takes slightly longer to develop the relationship using virtual techniques. I wou...