This post is a round up of everything that’s been happening across the topics of career, product and marketing.
ON CAREER
I made the decision to depart Westpac for a new opportunity at Transport for NSW. Someone at Westpac commented that my blog must have taken off and asked if that was why I was leaving. Haha, I wish!
I have nothing juicy to tell you. Ultimately, it came down to a decision between my head and my heart. Stay tuned for more. I can already see some great blog content coming from this!
ON PRODUCT
The Chief Product Officer of LinkedIn, Tomer Cohen, publishes a fortnightly newsletter called “Building LinkedIn” all about the product experiments they are conducting and the key learnings. It literally gives you a direct insight into what their product teams are building and why. For example, removing candidate profile photos in the recruiter view to reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process.
Go and hit that subscribe button – how often do you get direct access to a senior product leader at a company you don’t work for? I love the internet!
ON SCIENCE
I just finished reading “Other Minds” by Peter Godfrey-Smith. In this book science and philosophy converge, taking you on a journey through the evolution of life to understand how intelligence and consciousness came to be. It has some fascinating explanations as to how the nervous system evolved in cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish).
What I did want to share is an interesting read about Octopolis that “Other Minds” explores. Octopolis is an octopus city just off Jervis Bay. Apparently, an object was dropped there that created a den for the octopuses. As they fed on scallops, the shells accumulated creating a surface for even more dens to be built. The scientists set up cameras to observe how the octopuses behave and the book reveals some of this fascinating research.
The book doesn’t talk about the second site Octlantis so that’s even more amazing. I wonder how many of these sites exist that humans don’t know about?
The thing that is really special about Octopolis is the fact this environment, not usually available to an octopus, is creating just the right conditions for their brains and minds to evolve.
For a long time people thought the octopus was a solitary creature. We now know that actually, octopuses can recognise each other and will even give each other a high five as they pass each other at Octopolis.
ON WINE
I really look forward to the weekends when my partner and I open a bottle of wine. If you’re looking for a good drop during lockdown here are two recent recommendations:
Annie’s Lane Cabernet Merlot ($16)
Blueberry Hill 2019 Tempranillo Rosé ($31.50)
I made the below video of a virtual wine tasting using the kit from Scarborough Wine Co. If I was applying for a cellar door position I’d submit this as my video resume.
Scarborough have sold out of tasting kits however Glandore Wines are doing a similar at home experience with wine & chocolates.
ON FOOD (AND MARKETING)
Masterfoods had a Dinner Hack Hotline on Facebook messenger. You send them a message with the ingredients you have and they send you back a recipe. I told them I had sausages, diced tomatoes and onions. They sent me back a recipe for Spicy Italian Pasta! I made it (adding carrots, fresh chilli and capsicum) and it was delicious!
It’s a clever campaign. Firstly, it’s timely and relevant to Australians in lockdown. Secondly, I went and bought Masterfoods Tuscan herbs mix without even thinking about it! And finally, it is such a simple and fun idea!
Finally, here’s a round up of some other easy recipes to get you through lockdown: