The Illinois Model

Today, the recurring story in my social media feeds is that of police body worn cameras outfitted with facial recognition software.  And I have but one thought: American government is not ready for this.

In the last decade, nothing has complicated American policing as much as the deployment of body worn cameras.
When are they turned ON?When are they turned OFF?What about during civil protests?Can police record First Amendment activities?What are the Fourth Amendment concerns? Can officers watch the video prior to report writing?How about before interrogation about wrongdoing?What if the officer is involved in a citizen's death?When can the videos be released to the public?Who determines what is edited out for privacy?What about buffer zones that go back in time and record?How are innocent persons' privacy protected?When can video be used in courts of law? How about for police internal investigations?What if _____? The list goes on and on. Body worn cameras have certainly creat…

There's no value in collecting blocks unless you're connecting them to build something awesome! Fake science. Police & social media. Decision games. Automated work. Increased memory. Here are five pieces that I found valuable this week:
Power Poseur: The lure of lucrative pseudoscience and the crisis of untrustworthiness of psychology.James Coyne describes a trend where junk science is used or exaggerated to sell products. The brunt of his article is aimed at Amy Cuddy's research on power posing and the effects on testosterone and cortisol levels. Coyne's piece is a skeptical view into research, evidence-based, and marketing fields. Chris Hsiung - WINx Chicago 2017. In this 18-minute TED-style talk, police Captain Chris Hsiung of Mountain View CA Police Dept discusses government use of social media. In the heart of Silicon Valley, MVPD is a pioneer in their use of social media to further strengthen their relationship with the community. Having met Chris in Chicago …

I'm writing from the premise that some really, really(!) smart people tend to be terrible at connecting with their audiences. This isn't a claim that every academic ignores the power of emotional storytelling....but rather a generalization garnered from years of being put to sleep by boring lecture after boring lecture. 

You smart people have some great ideas, insight, and projects that should be shared with us working folk. But something is missing in the way you talk to us. Sometimes, we shut you down before you even start speaking.

Let's start with what should be the simplest step: the slide deck. While platforms like Prezi are gaining popularity, many presenters take comfort in the linear format of PowerPoint or Keynote to develop visual aids. (Personally, I'm partial to Apple Keynote.) 

Here are two fundamental concepts of slide theory:
You should not be useless without your slides.Your slides should be useless without you.I follow professionals like Garr Reynolds (Pr…