Introducing #TheProfileProject

Introducing #TheProfileProject

by | Dec 30, 2015 | #TheProfileProject | 0 comments

The Profile Project is about scratching beneath the surface of the avatars we choose to use on our social networking profiles. I’m a quite a visual person and I’m always curious about profile pictures and try to imagine what impression people intend to convey about themselves in their choice of avatar. I know from many conversations that there’s often a back story to an avatar choice which isn’t always apparent or obvious. This is a personal project in which, through interviews, I will curate the meanings that profile pictures have, what we are trying to convey, and how we may share different aspects of our personalities on different social networks. I’m particularly interested in photos/pictures as they give a more instant and visceral impression than words can ever do. So here’s my attempt to be candid about a few of mine… I change my Twitter profile picture quite a bit. The current one was taken by my 16 year old daughter who was particularly grumpy when I badgered her to attempt a half-decent decent snap of me. This photo is the final output of tons more that were rapidly deleted in quick succession. My unphotogenic features are a running family joke and my two girls once spent an entire train journey trying to get a flattering photo of me (they failed…) This photo has the obligatory Instagram filter to soften the edges (wrinkles and blemishes) whilst not being so refined that you wouldn’t know who I was if you bumped in to me at an event – I love meeting people in person who I’ve met on Twitter so a contemporary photo...

People centred participation – thinking forward to #kfdigital16

by | Dec 30, 2015 | #mHabitat | 0 comments

What are the conversations we need to be having about digital in health and care? Who needs to be part of those conversations? And what do we hope to achieve by having them?  These are questions I was left with after two days at the King’s Fund 2015 Digital Health and Care Congress which took the form of plenary sessions and breakout workshops alongside a public meeting of the National Information Board (NIB). Never mind the apps, what about the fundamentals? Many digital health events seems to orientate around a mix of policy issues and showcasing of apps and digital services. Whilst these are interesting and useful I believe there are more fundamental conversations we need to have about the role of digital in health. There are knotty problems and challenges that everyone is grappling with but which are not easily surfaced without a dedicated focus and a more deliberative participatory approach. These sorts of conversations did surface on Twitter during the Congress but the event itself did not facilitate their discussion in depth. Here are a few examples of fascinating conundrums we all should be thinking about in the sphere of digital innovation: Wondering how much #kfdigital15 debated will be about potential of digital to challenge, rather than accept, existing NHS power structures @jamesfm55 My concern is that focus on ‘apps’ will distract from what could really be done to improve population health #kfdigital15 @amcunningham I’m troubled a little by the idea of ‘taking responsibility for your own health’ filtering into #kfdigital15. Hope someone unpacks that idea @markoneinfour I’d like to attend #kfdigital16 where these sorts of thematic...