Arrggghhh! Firstly, my apologies for being a ‘no show’, posting-wise, in recent days. Much as I love my ‘virtual life’ on the web, things have been insane of late. Plus I’m on holidays as of tomorrow, and given the fact that my missus will probably perform an act of terrible cruelty on me if I so much as even glance at my laptop whilst famile Roy enjoys some much-needed R&R in Spain, the following will have to tide us over until I return on August 18th.

So without further ado…

Congratulations and commiserations to The REaD Group’s sponsored golf pro and great mate, Peter Appleyard, on his sterling effort at last weekend’s British Open at Royal Birkdale. Having briefly shared the lead on Day One (two pars and a birdie put him level with world number four Adam Scott at one point), Peter finished Day Two with a 74, which included two double-bogey sixes. And how hearts sank around the office when he missed the cut by a mere one stroke.

Never mind, Pete – I reckon other wins will be yours for the taking over coming months.

Last week – or was it the week before? (I’ve lost count) - saw much fang-bearing and teeth gnashing in some quarters as Information Commissioner Richard Thomas and Wellcome Trust director, Dr Mark Walport, released their highly anticipated Data Sharing Report. Tabloid hysteria aside – this document is not the anti-DM tirade claimed by some media pundits – I for one support many of their recommendations. Whilst removal of Electoral Roll access for marketing purposes could potentially lessen the DM industry’s ability to validate data, Mr Thomas and Dr Walport’s calls for increased accuracy, transparency and security as regards personal data usage are to be applauded. With a recent European Commission Eurobarometer survey revealing that 64% of EU citizens are concerned about whether their data is being handled appropriately, the UK public needs reassurance about where, when and how their information is being used by organisations (only 42% of which have any form of data quality strategy in place, according to June ‘08 QAS findings). There is considerable room for improvement, obviously, and together with industry colleagues, I look forward to engaging in what’s certain to be a robust and wide-ranging discussion about improving the UK’s ‘data culture’ over coming months.
That said, I have sunscreen and golf clubs to pack (and not necessarily in that order). Whether you’re going away or working through the next three weeks, have a great summer.
More when I return on the 18th…