2014 in retrospective: statistics and other not yet facts

Looking back on 2014 I’d like to share some broken promises, unrealized dreams and plain lies due to statistical erors. Mark Twain’s quote on 3 kinds of lies still is popular by demand.

My Year in Music….according to Spotify

A shared Spotify premium account has its downsides. Let Spotify generate a personalized Year in Music, and my top 100 songs playlist is polluted by the different musical tastes of my teenage children. So skip the rappers and top 40 pop stars if you want to get a picture of my own flavours.

The 80/20 rule applies: 80% rock and 20% pop. Style names are doubtful, in 2014 as much as in 1984: Dutch rock, Christian rock, Modern Christian rock and Christian alternative rock. Sure. 3% of the 600 hours on Spotify is listened while on the go (Premium subscription offers offline listening, but my MP3 player’s battery lasts for 7 hours on an average Saturday’s long distance walk.

Playing it forward (better than backward masking, which is so 1984 by the way), gives inspiration of new music to explore these holidays.

TEDx Amsterdam without me

I was invited to attend the 2013 TEDx Amsterdam edition in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. On November 28th 2014 I wasn’t in for the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam spray of new ideas, not even in one of the viewing parties at a nearby location. Duty, i.e. work, called. To share in style, here’s one idea on statistics.
[ted id=846 lang=en]
On 28 January 2015 the second TEDxZwolle will be organized around Climate, Active, Cities. I was invited, bought a €75 ticket (Amsterdam doesn’t sell tickets, sponsors bear the costs) to attend.

First book on project management….not yet finished

Until this summer I spent several nights writing what I found inspirational in my field of expertise, project management. Yes, a first book is under construction. Like a real project, it takes a little longer than expected, though scope and planning are clear. Again, real life projects, balancing work and private, after the summer break, postponed the finishing touch, while inspiring new pieces of content. Two weeks Christmas break and a whole new year awaiting.

Trends that didn’t happen

A trend should be a measurable series of events. A hype’s one, but short lived. Remember #selfie, #icebucketchallenge, #iphone6, and #bringbackourgirls ? Klout.com will help you. Predicting trends is a curious hobby. Trend watchers earn a lot of money with their biased extrapolation of the past. And so, blog posts like Trends die niet zijn gekomen (Trends that didn’t happen) can be composed with hits and misses of modern age prophets.