WEF Graphic - Evolution of global gender gap index top 10 over time

 

Source: WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2026 INSIGHT REPORT SEPTEMBER 2026

Graphic - Top 10 monthly media activities adults 15to24 vs 75plus in 2024

 

VOD = Video on Demand

Source of graphic above - Ofcom's Media Nations UK 2025 document published 30 July 2025

2024 - Top 10 Emerging Technologies

Full wef report is here

Learning from Macron's Success: Top Ten Tips from En Marche

Introduction - Emmanuel Macron's rise to the French presidency with his party, En Marche, was nothing short of remarkable. The young and dynamic leader managed to create a political movement that transcended traditional party lines and successfully challenged the status quo in French politics. Here, we explore the top ten lessons that can be gleaned from Macron's journey to success with En Marche.

Photo by Anthony Choren on Unsplash

Embrace Centrism - Macron's political movement positioned itself as a centrist alternative, attracting voters from both the left and the right. This centrism resonated with a broad spectrum of the electorate and helped him secure victory. Lesson: Seek common ground and appeal to a wide range of voters.

Fresh Leadership - Macron's youth and fresh perspective offered a stark contrast to established political figures. He projected himself as a new, forward-thinking leader who could bring change. Lesson: Fresh faces and ideas can be powerful assets.

Bold Vision - Macron articulated a clear vision for the future of France, emphasizing economic reform, innovation, and European unity. Lesson: Clearly communicate your vision and policies.

Grassroots Mobilization - En Marche's success was partly due to its ability to mobilize volunteers and build a strong grassroots organization. Lesson: Empower your supporters and engage them in the political process.

Pragmatic Approach - Macron was pragmatic and open to compromise, emphasizing evidence-based policies over ideological rigidity. Lesson: Pragmatism can appeal to a broad range of voters.

Digital Campaigning - En Marche effectively leveraged social media and digital tools for campaigning and engagement, reaching a younger and tech-savvy demographic. Lesson: Embrace technology and modern communication channels.

Inclusivity - Macron's party welcomed people from various backgrounds and walks of life. It positioned itself as an inclusive movement that represented all of France. Lesson: Build a diverse and inclusive coalition.

Focus on European Integration - Macron's pro-European stance struck a chord with many voters, especially in the wake of Brexit. Lesson: Highlight issues that resonate with the current global context.

Effective Debate Strategy - Macron performed well in debates, demonstrating his competence and composure. Lesson: Be prepared for debates and public appearances.

Adaptability - En Marche evolved and adapted its strategies as the campaign progressed, responding to changing circumstances and voter sentiment. Lesson: Stay flexible and adaptable in politics.

Conclusion - Emmanuel Macron's success with En Marche serves as a case study in effective political leadership and strategy. By embracing centrism, offering a fresh perspective, and employing modern campaign techniques, he managed to defy conventional wisdom and emerge as a formidable political force. The top ten lessons from Macron's journey can inspire politicians and movements worldwide, looking to make their mark on the political landscape.

Source: I asked Chat GPT3.5 to "write a short article with the top ten tips from the lessons learnt from macron's creation and success with en marche" and the text and post title above is what it came up with.  I made some minor formatting changes and added the picture

52s @wef clip - The 10 #happiest #countries in the world

16min 27sec @CineFixNetwork clip - Top 10 #Thrillers of All Time - #Movie Lists

Text from youtube "Continuing our journey through the genres, we're taking a look at all the best types of thrillers, political, action, crime, erotic, and more. It's time to bite your nails through 10 of the best thrillers of all time!

The Picks
- 'Fleeing the Monster' - No Country for Old Men
- Physical Thriller - Wages of Fear
- Comedy Thriller - In Bruges
- Erotic Thriller - Double Indemnity
- Film Noir - The Third Man
- Crime Thriller - High and Low
- Conspiracy Thriller - Blow Out
- Spy Thriller - The Day of the Jackal
- Contained Thriller - A Man Escaped
- Psychological Thriller - Vertigo"

1min 38sec #wef clip - The 10 most #corrupt #countries in the world are also some of the most violent

50sec #wef clip - These are the top 10 #risks the #world will face in the next decade

1min @wef clip - These are the 10 things the #world is most #worried about

16min #cinefix clip - Top 10 #Westerns of All Time

17min 43sec #cinefix clip - Top #10 #Tensest #Movie Moments of All Time

What is it really that makes our stomachs churn in film's most tension filled moments? This week, we're looking at all the different types of cinematic tension and our picks for the best versions of each. 

The Picks 

10 - Romantic Tension - Before Sunrise 
9 - Sexual Tension - Moonlight 
8 - Positive Tension - Deliverance 
7 - Hopeful Tension - Saving Private Ryan 
6 - Dramatic Irony - Rope 
5 - Hiding Protagonist - The Raid 
4 - Subtextual Aggression - Zodiac 
3 - Looming Standoff - Sicario 
2 - The Powder-Keg - Boogie Nights 
1 - Race Against Time - Back to the Future

top 10 best #opening #movie shots of all time - in around 9mins

found via sploid

#10 ways to fall asleep on a #plane

the most #controversial articles (measured by edit wars) in six #languages on @Wikipedia

found via a tweet by @Pulsar_Social using the #SocialDataUK

and to find out more of the background on this is using this slideshow by @TahaYasseri

11 headlines on why we use #facebook & social media #chsocm

The 11 points below are summarised out of a very rich buffer post by Courtney Seiteron on the psychology of facebook 


I found the post via an email from @abc3d & @hautepop.  


I highly recommend you go to the post by Courtney to get more of the detail behind the points.



1) When you get +'ve feedback on facebook your brain's reward centre kicks in


2) Browsing Facebook can evoke happy feelings like when you're totally absorbed in an activity


3) Liking something is like nodding in agreement to show support to what somebody is saying


4) We mostly like/share posts consistent with our views & doing so affirms/shares our own views


5) Sharing supports causes, entertains, keeps us in touch & gives others a better feel for who we are 


6) Via instant message chats we can be virtually empathetic with another


7) With brands and retailers we often like simply to get something in return like a discount code


8) Personal messages are more satisfying to receivers than one click likes


9) Commenting can train facebook to give you more of the content you want


10) Over-sharing from others can be one of Facebook’s biggest annoyances for users


11) Yet for those sharing the more they share the less lonely they feel (and vica-versa)

10 thoughts on some possible insights (& questions) from the UK Election results #GE2015

updates made this lunchtime are in red

1) The Conservatives will form the next Government 

- so should we just ignore pre-exit polls in future?(seeing as they got it so wrong)

- and is this an indication of a shift to the right in the English electorate?

Lunchtime Update - Conservatives have reached the magic 326 absolute majority number - and seem to have done so by winning seats off the Lib/Dems


2) SNP have won Scotland, Labour Wales & DUP Northern Ireland 

- so what future for a United Kingdom?

- do we need a debate on federalism?

-  will "English votes for English legislation" amplify the nationalism issue?

- will increased turnout  be revealed as a big factor in SNP's success?

Lunchtime Update - is this a rise in nationalism and if so will the Tories seek to encourage a rise in English nationalism (as some are saying the "anti SNP" message worked well for the Conservatives)


3) The Conservatives are using "one nation", "national interest" & "keeping the country together" language within their immediate reaction to the results

- yet plainly with the SNP results the "Scottish Question" will be a dominating political factor going forward

Lunchtime Update - and it maybe that the only hope for a UK future is a federalist approach - going beyond the "Smith" proposals (the "Smith" proposals are the language the Conservatives are using)


4) Next May's Scottish Parliament elections are key to the Scottish independence question

- next May's voting isn't 1st past the post - so some think they won't deliver a SNP landslide

- next May's voting will show whether Scots are happy with the extra devolution they have/will have

- if the SNP does win strongly then the issue of another independence referendum raises its head

- and that then may well bias Westminster decisions on investment in Scotland to be political (vs economic) and so this may bring into play a decision about whether to keep the nuclear sub fleet in Scotland


5) The "by 2017" EC referendum promised will be another factor dominating politics forward

- plus the Conservatives won't have the Lib/Dems to threaten their right wing MPs when they threaten revolt

- but maybe Cameron will have an arrangement with the DUP to use as a stick with his right wing

- at least the right wing Tories will behave until the EC referendum

- if the vote is to exit that will just strengthen calls from the SNP for another Scottish independence referendum


6) It looks like Farage (UKIP), Milliband (Labour) & Clegg (Lib/Dems) will go as leaders

Lunchtime Update - Milliband is stepping down (as is Harriet Harman), Clegg will quit, Farage has quit (but may put himself forward for the next leadership competition) - is 3 party leaders quitting within 2 hours some sort of record?


7) Labour faces difficult questions as to what direction it takes in the future

- will going left work in England?

- or should they go for the middle (and so say goodbye forever to Scotland)

- how do they escape the Tories message that Labour "wrecked the economy"

Lunchtime Update - given Labour representation is now down to levels similar to their 1987 General Election results should they return to the New Labour approach?


8) If people don't think your leader is PM material AND your don't think your party is economically competent then your chances of winning aren't good

Lunchtime Update - labour commentators are now describing Milliband as a "good & decent man" and in terms of the future of the Party are talking about "policy not personality"



9) Which messages worked and which didn't (within England)

- It looks like the Conservative "its the economy stupid" message worked

- and that the Labour "austerity" and "NHS threatened" message didn't (or was overwhelmed by others)

Lunchtime Update - the Conservatives "beware the SNP"  message success is being cited by Labour commentators as one of the reasons for their failure


10) The claim that local popularity of Lib/Dem MPs will save their skins has proven a myth

Lunchtime Update - and the significant Lib/Dem losses mean smaller parties will probably in future be very wary of going into coalition with a larger party 

a theology of #church #leadership in 10 points

the 10 points are summarised from this 2014 Faith & Order Commission document - Senior Church Leadership - a resource for refection

1) God calls & redeems people to become a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Exodus 19.6) & a light to the nations (Isaiah 49.6)

2) and the gifts of the spirit are given to the whole church (1 Corinthians 12.27–30; Ephesians 4.11–12)

3) so the primary exercise of leadership in the church is God’s. (1 Corinthians 12.4–6)

4) but God does call individuals to exercise leadership in and for the people of God

5) as a participation in God’s leadership of the whole people.

6) So the Lord of the Church calls both the church and its leaders to his service 

7) Entrusting both to bring God’s word and pastoral care to a world in need

8) Note that God’s interactions with the world are not confined to the church

9) and that church leadership is both local and at a trans-local level (Hebrews 13.7, 17, 24, 1 Peter 5.1–5, Acts 20.17-35)

10) and that the ethos of leadership in the church is as stewards (1 Corinthians 4.1, Luke 12.41–48) and pastors/shepherds (Ephesians 4.11, Luke 15.3-7, Matthew 18.10–14, John 21.15–17)

10 tips on how to use #twitter to build a learning #community

The 10 tips are derived from this paper "Understanding micro-processes of community building and mutual learning on Twitter: a ‘small data’ approach" by Hilde C. Stephansen & Nick Couldry. (There is a full citation at the foot of this post and below the citation are links to other posts you maybe interested in).  

The paper presents a case study of how teachers and students at a sixth-form college in the north of England used twitter to help construct a ‘community of practice’ for a department in the college.  

They managed to create a space in which – despite anxieties about privacy and context collapse – it felt ‘safe’ for students not only to contribute information but also to debate, joke and even disagree with their teachers.


I found this paper via a retweet by @MediaLSE of the tweet below

Routledge_MandC 

We've updated our Media, Cultural and Communication Studies Open Access page with more fantastic content-FREE! owl.li/LWKAz

In the tips below I use the original papers's terminology of "department", "teacher" and  "student". But I think this terminology could in a business setting be replaced with "directorate", "manager" and "team members".




1) Run the Department twitter account collectively - using a core of 4 teachers.



2) The core 4 should use the Dept. account to interact with and encourage students - rather their own individual twitter accounts (even when such interactions were ostensibly only relevant to a particular class or subject group) 

"We've not gone on individual Twitter accounts, we're combined, we're a joint effort and because of that it means that there is always something that you can talk about, and there's always something going on somewhere within the team".



3) Share seemingly mundane information and humorous quips via Twitter - this helps create a sense of informality and proximity, from which a community of practice can more broadly be built.

"One of the reasons why I think we get a lot of followers is because we do share things which as a teacher, there has to be a professional divide between personal and work, and that's a divide that has to be kept, but it's also quite a grey area, but because all of us are signed into the Twitter feeds, and because there's that accountability, you do feel that you're able to share a holiday pic, or, ‘Look what happened to me today!’ [ … ]. They [students] love that and that's what they like because it's something personal that you're sharing, but it's the ability to be able to share it that's safe. It's completely public, it's completely accountable, and it's quite nice that isn't it [ … ] they no longer see you as the teacher that's going to tell you what to do"



4) Craft tweets to focus on specific subsets of students - so students following the Dept. twitter account will be regularly exposed to information and interactions not directly related to their subject area.  Rather than being perceived as irrelevant ‘noise’ these tweets will contribute positively to a momentum that supports a sense of department-wide community. 



5) Encourage teachers and students to use the Dept. account to document & announce student group activities.  (E.g  a field trip out for geographers).  Documenting students' experiences through a collaboratively produced Twitter ‘photo essay’ strengthens bonds among the students involved as the collective narration affirms the group identity. 



6) Regularly tweet links to relevant articles and web resources - this enables students to take an active role as co-producers rather than just recipients of knowledge. 



7) Retweet all tweets directed at the Dept. twitter account - this is crucial to encourage students to share information (see 6) above).  Retweeting gathers students' tweets into one place, making them visible to the Dept's other twitter followers and so the students peers.  Also immediately follow up such retweets with a further tweet praising a students contribution.  Such public acknowledgement validates the student's status as a knowledge source and also acknowledges that those other than teachers have capabilities of value to the community.



8) Use twitter frequently as part of classroom activities - typically for revision. Teachers can adapt previous analogue activities (summarizing information into bite-sized chunks) by asking students to tweet revision notes.

".... especially if I hashtag up something like that, they can scroll through what other students and how other students have summarised or have expressed information."



9)  Use the Dept. account to post a tweeted debate amongst teachers - with the teachers starting their tweets with their initials to indicate who is debating.  Such a debate can have a mixture of arguments, factual references and gentle ‘digs’.  Crucially, students feel able to join in.



10) An important precondition for using twitter in such a way is pre-existing relations of trust among staff.  Indeed the collective way of running a department account means staff benefit from a safety net provided by the collective responsibility and mutual accountability of a joint account. In this way (paradoxically) the public and shared character of Twitter enabled staff to feel comfortable engaging in more personal and informal modes of communication.  Note sometimes students will developing strategies to separate different realms and so avoid losing ‘kudos’ among their peers: 

 "I had a few that said that they were going to tweet, ‘I'm only doing this for college purposes.’ [ … ]. 







Citation

Understanding micro-processes of community building and mutual learning on Twitter: a ‘small data’ approach

DOI:10.1080/1369118X.2014.902984
Hilde C. Stephansena* & Nick Couldryb
pages 1212-1227

© 2014 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.

The article was an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.

Permission is granted subject to the terms of the License under which the work was published. Please check the License conditions for the work which you wish to reuse. Full and appropriate attribution must be given. This permission does not cover any third party copyrighted material which may appear in the work requested.

The research behind the paper was conducted as part of Storycircle, a core project within the Framework for Innovation and Research in MediaCityUK (FIRM) consortium, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council under the joint UK Research Councils Digital Economy programme [grant number EP/H003738/1]. 

The authors thank the other members of the Storycircle team, Dr Wilma Clark, Dr Richard MacDonald, Dr Aristea Fotopoulou and Dr Luke Dickens, for valuable input during the drafting of the paper.

other posts on RSA, TED, other lectures, conferences, others blog posts

2015

The 10 problems which mean the process to allocate scientific funding is broken  - ht @LSEImpactblog 
where does creativity come from? - a @RSAEvents lecture by mathematician @Cedric_Villani @alexbellos 
how to innovate & survive - by @markf212  (Mark Payne)

18 top tips and thoughts about using #social media to enable #community source = an article by  Anatoliy Gruzd PhD & Caroline Haythornthwaite PhD 

thinking straight in the age of information overload - by @danlevitin 

how to become a soulful organisation - by @fred_laloux 

2014

thoughts & headlines from a conference on social media and images 

Data Protection & Privacy - 8 issues from an International Conference

escape your social horizon limit & understand more - source = a blog post summarising the work of  Jeffrey A. Smith, Miller McPherson & Lynn Smith-Lovin

OECD - challenges for the next 50 years - in an OECD report 

Want to help somebody - shut up and listen - by ermesto sirolli 

social media & death - 10 things you may not have thought about - #DORS conference

persuasion and power in the modern world and the rise of soft power - UK House of Lords 

2013

UK Government Policy Blunders & their common causes - by Anthony King & Ivor Crewe

the development of the U2 spyplane - source = CIA historians Gregory Pedlow & Donald Welzenbach

Guide to Comments (esp. #YouTube) for creators - by @vihartvihart

considering culture and business process improvement  - source = an article by Schmiedel, Theresa, vom Brocke, Jan, & Recker 

ideas for your organisation from the 2013 99U conference 

ideas that may help you attract older volunteers - source = a paper by Brayley, Nadine, Obst, Patricia L., White, Katherine M., Lewis, Ioni M.,Warburton, Jeni, & Spencer, Nancy

physical factors which help people get better quicker - source = a paper by Salonen, Heidi & Morawska, Lidia 

a new approach to school and education - by Geetha Narayanan 

principles for software to encourage participation - by Gerhard Fischer

guiding principles on designing construction kits - by Mitchel Resnick & Brian Silverman

how to identify the #culture of an organisation

signs of overparenting - source = an article by Locke, Judith, Campbell, Marilyn A., & Kavanagh, David J

making ideas happen - source = a 99U conference

2012

how to spot a liar - by pamela myer 

the related world of cyber crime, warfare and industrial espionage - by @mishaglenny 

ambiguity, irreverence, commentary & judgement - by lauren zalaznick

measuring happiness - source = talk by jim clifton, jim harter, ben leedle

10 ideas for a #goodlent - from last nights event @StPaulsLondon Cathedral with @JustinWelby hosted by @CanonOakley organised by @StPaulsForum

Mark Russell ‏@markrusselluk  16 hrs16 hours ago

Great to be @StPaulsLondon to hear @JustinWelby speak of a #GoodLent such a gift to our church

Hide photo

The event was free between 6.30 & 8pm on Thursday 19/2/15 and is the 1st of a series a of Lent/Easter events that @StPaulsForum have organised.  At the foot of this post is a video of the event that St. Pauls posted.

So my thanks to @StPaulsForum for the event and here goes with the 10 ideas I most liked - in no particular order

1) Listen & Quiet

1. Joey Knock ‏@JoeyKnock  

   Wonderful, thought chewing evening at @StPaulsForum with @JustinWelby. Secret to #goodlent not so secret: listen to God, pray in the quiet

so ......turn off the distractions

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   Silence: turn off the phone and the telly and take 10 -15 minutes, bring the wondering thoughts to God. Justin Welby #goodlent

2) Read Luke

1. Liz Guest ‏@76_TwinOne  

   Lent challenge to listen. Read Luke's gospel - what does it say , mean and what am I going to do about it. #goodlent

3) Speak less

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  15 hrs15 hours ago

   We can fast from having to speaking about things for a while. Justin Welby #goodlent

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   I quite often go into a meeting and write on the top of the agenda, shut up! to himself Justin Welby #goodlent

4) Peace time

1. Becky Stephens ‏@BeckyLStephens  

   Spending time where you know you can find peace #goodlent

5) Pray honestly & outwardly

1. Bids in Graceland ‏@BidsInGraceland  15 hrs15 hours ago

   #TipsforPrayer 1. Pray honestly (God knows anyway). 2. Be outward in your prayers @StPaulsForum #goodlent #JustinWelby #thoughtoftheday

6) Love someone a little more

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   #goodlent Don't beat yourself up! Do something extra, love someone a little more that you find difficult and don't tell them! Justin Welby

1. Mark Russell ‏@markrusselluk  

   A #goodlent for the Church is taking up the habit of paying attention to those with whom we disagree @JustinWelby

7) So for a parish church ....

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   Parish: get together for a simple meal, bit of time in silent prayer, talk about what it's like to be Christians. Justin Welby #goodlent

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   we hear God in the most unlikely places when we listen collectively Justin Welby #goodlent

8) Send me

1. brenda murray ‏@brenda_murray  

   Here am I, send me #goodlent

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   Here am I, send me - the emphasis needs to be on send, not me. Mark Oakley #goodlent

9) Fasting

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum  

   Fast from something other than food: try giving up TV and use the silence for silence - half an hour, the adverts... Justin Welby #goodlent

10) Meet people as if Christ

1. St Paul's Forum ‏@StPaulsForum 

   Benedict says that you must meet everyone as if they were Christ. Justin Welby #goodlent