Thoughts on technology, internet of things, and YouGov polls from IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade, famed for playing Morris Moss in the IT Crowd and hosting shows such as Channel 4’s The Gadget Man, closed the IAB's final Mobile Engage conference today (14 May) with his insightful musings on topics such as the internet of things, mobile, and social media.
Here are some of his key takeaways:
On new technology excitement: I try to guard against excitement in all areas of my life. I keep an even keel. I don’t uncork myself. I approach new stuff with caution as there’s inevitably more stuff I have to incorporate cerebrally.
On updates: Anyone who gets a message saying they need to update, their heart immediately sinks. Update seems to me like: ‘Do you want your entire memory sieved?’
On the internet: It can be useful that it can lead you to silly things. I remember finding the full ingredient list to Keith Urban’s aftershave scent, it had tonka beans and suede. If that was the only thing the internet had given me it would be worth it.
On Twitter: It’s interesting. It’s like a jacket saying 'kick me' that expands all across the globe.
On a connected fridge: Is it talking about me behind my back? That conversation must be stopped.
On YouGov: They do great polls.
On YouTube: I always liked the idea of archiving things, to have a library. YouTube is like a crowdsourced library of material. But potentially life ending.
On mobile anxiety: I mean I’m operating a high level of anxiety anyway. I’m a coiled cobra.
On his favourite device: A motorcycle helmet that on impact immediately cools the brain. Most of the fatal accidents that happen are from brain swelling. Not a joke as such…but let’s keep searching.
On laughing: I laugh bi-annually. I’m a bad laugher.
On his favourite apps: iTunes? Is that an app? I have to use that for music on my phone, so that’s good. At the moment Flixster is quite slow so I wouldn’t recommend it. My friend told me about an app where you can scan the barcodes of your DVDs so that you don’t duplicate. Which is really useful for me.