I just want my data to mean something

Er… hello?

This is a blog of openly licensed thinkery. They are doodles, thoughts and ideas of Bryan Mathers – little curious tidbits which have emerged from juicy conversations. Also, this is a dumping ground for abandoned artwork. But one man’s dump is another’s treasure trove – amirite?

You can include artwork from this site under a Creative Commons CC-BY-ND licence.

  • Who draws the line?

    Who draws the line?

    Some days, it’s just not happening. So I remind myself of the process. 1. Go to trello. 2. Organise the things 3. Start at the top – half an hour later I’ve fallen down a twitter shaped rabbit hole…

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  • Future kinds of work

    Future kinds of work

    How I work has changed massively over the past ten years. Okay, so now I draw pictures, whereas I used to write programs – or lead others to write programs. Probably the biggest change I’ve had is being exposed to Mozilla’s way of working. They corale creative communities using some very clever practices and technologies. And…

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  • Copyright vs. Creative Commons

    Copyright vs. Creative Commons

    Copyright and Creative Commons licences come from totally different directions. I was talking with Kamil from Creative Commons about certificates and knowledge, and this contrast emerged. Read his full post here…

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  • Education is life…

    Education is life…

    This John Dewey quote caught my attention whilst trying to create a monogram for HJ DeWaard in return for supporting my Visual Stickery campaign.

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  • What have you done?

    What have you done?

    Well, I suppose it’s not just our lot then – the times they are a changin’ and here comes a generational shift (that’s the hopeless wrenching in your stomach). Yet, surely it’s always been this way. A time for peace, a time for war. A time for truth, a time for deception bots on social…

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  • The Open Elevator

    The Open Elevator

    How open is your organisation? Is it moving in the right direction? Need some help?

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  • From hunch to policy

    From hunch to policy

    What would that look like if it were a badge? I’ve long since thought about a badge prototyping machine that would take a person through the process of creating the badge on the fly, and easily create a prototype. There’s a danger that we start with the policy in mind, rather that going with the…

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  • Co-ops & Commons

    Co-ops & Commons

    One of the highlights of Mozfest this year was the privilege of being able to sit in (with my sketchbook) on a conversation between Ryan Merkley, CEO of Creative Commons, and John Bevan from the We Are Open Coop. They explored the commonalities and parallels that exist in the worlds of Co-ops and Commons.

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  • The Bird (or is it a fox?)

    The Bird (or is it a fox?)

    An idea often develops itself – or it certainly feels that way. An idea is most vocal when you return to it. When I shared this artwork on twitter, I wondered whether it was like the blank tile in a game of Scrabble, where I get to dictate how you see it. But Amy Burvall…

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  • Perspective

    Perspective

    …it took me a while to realise that prayer is often about perspective. The situation itself doesn’t change, but how you see it does. I don’t believe in a God that reaches out of heaven to tweak something in the space-time continuum in order just to make me more comfortable. If that were the case…

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  • Field of view

    Field of view

    I’m certain that I have no idea what the opportunities are that surround me. However, there are things that I can do to help those opportunities find me. But any plan I ever make is subject to change due to something happening tomorrow that I didn’t know about today. This is why a career makes…

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  • Mozfest 2016

    Mozfest 2016

    I’ll be up to my usual shenanigans at Mozfest this year, with my colleagues from @WeAreOpenCoop. If you’re there too, come say hello. If not, come say hello anyway…

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