I saw this and thought of you

Tres cool social participation tool

2010-03-10T04:08:00.000-08:00

Just came across a new version of Forrester's Social Technographics ladder which looks at how people use social media. The main change is the addition of 'conversationalists' which acknowledges not just Twitter users, but also those who regularly update their Facebook status.

It's worth pointing out that people tend to participate in multiple behaviours + not everyone at a higher level on the ladder does everything on the lower rungs (which is why it doesn't add up to 100%).

But the most exciting bit (I think) it this clever tool which uses Forrester data to help understand the % of each type of user by country, age and gender. Pretty awesome!

1950's Soho

2010-03-07T11:03:00.001-08:00

Awesome. The 1950's is the first place I'll go once time machines are affordable. Or the 20's. Hmm..

Found here via @londonist.

Co-created comic

2010-03-05T09:54:00.001-08:00

This is a comic story co-created by a bunch of creative people, be they illustrators / artists / storytellers. And it's still in progress.

It appears that anyone can have a go by submitting a section of the story using their own words + illustrative style - once 10 sections have been completed the final result will be screen printed + displayed in an exhibition somewhere (?). It looks like 9 sections have created already, so only one remains.

I love how the collaborative nature of this project makes it stronger + more interesting - the mixture of different imaginations, illustration + writing styles makes for a rich, imaginative + visually exciting story. And I just love stories. Nice.

Top pad in central London only £65pw

2010-03-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

...surely not?!!

During my 8 years living in London I've had 2 periods of homelessness and 4 years in my early 20's where all I wanted was:

1) To be in the middle of everything

2) To be entirely spontaneous in every way - ready to react to whatever this great city threw my way, from nights out to meeting new people to trying out different things

3) To spend as little money on the non-important things (food, rent, bills) in order to allocate as much as possible to alcohol, gigs and having fun

...so why the hell did no one tell me about this. Or maybe it didn't exist back then, but either way, what an absolutely awesome thing this is?

Turns out there are office blocks, old warehouses and other kinds of buildings across London and beyond that are empty and in need of protection from squatters + robbers etc. Ordinarily this would mean the owner spending a fortune on security 24/7.

But Camelot Property Protection offers the perfect solution. They find 'guardians' to live in these spaces for something along the lines of £65 per week in rent. Guardians get their own lockable room and share a temporary bathroom + kitchen with any number of other Guardians. It's much cheaper for the property owner + gives the guardians a pad in the centre of town, where they'll be forced to mix with strangers (hmm, good or bad?), for minimal cost (more money for fun) and only a short term commitment.

Awesomeness extreme...

Another reason to go Android?

2009-12-08T01:24:00.000-08:00

I nearly bought an iPhone last week, but couldn't quite go through with it. I just couldn't get past the many restrictions + inferior features.

Then I saw this - Google Goggles launched this week is available on all Android phones. Clever stuff. Combined with the ability to see my gmail easily, access my Google maps, calendar and all other stuff totally intuitively means I'm definitely leaning in the Android direction.

But then I read this. And now I'm all confused. The likelihood is that I will be stuck with my painfully slow N95 until it finally keels over + dies or either Apple or Google have mastered total mind control + the decision won't be mine anyway - which ever comes first.

The Sun - an iPhone killer!

2009-12-02T00:48:00.000-08:00

The Sun have done what many have dared not to and taken on the iPhone. It's spoof of the familiar iPhone ad uses a similar soundtrack and voiceover and mocks the device by demonstrating how The Sun is superior in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

I know that no telecoms brand would attempt something like this. But The Sun I think can get away with it as it has sufficient distance from the world of telecoms. Also it's undeniable that in some ways + for some people, a newspaper is better than an iPhone.

I think it's going to crack a few smiles, especially with an iPhone backlash imminent (did I say that?) Clever, I like it.

Starbucks concept store

2009-11-11T02:28:00.000-08:00

Starbucks has opened a concept store on London's Conduit Street to test a new logo + store design.

Its manual coffee machine + mis-matched furniture gives it a cosy-cool feel + a whole load of character which seems more Leon than Starbucks.

It definitely looks like somewhere I could happily curl up for a while. The only problem being that they're probably serving the same tasteless, overly milky coffee that they always have. So while I may go once to check it out I suspect I'll be rushing back for the rich-smooth-deliciousness that effortlessly cool Brill (Exmouth Market) serves up pretty sharp'ish. Sorry!

Source: PSFK

Brilliant! Google Wave explained Pulp Fiction-stylie

2009-11-03T02:34:00.000-08:00

Source: Hypebot.com

Demographics are dead...

2009-11-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

It's funny how the TED Talks seem to magically answer the questions that are going around in your head.

I've been thinking lately, as we work more and more on 'content' briefs, that the traditional approach of developing a proposition to connect a brand + a story with its intended audience just doesn't work here. Different people connect with stories in different ways, depending on who they are, what they're into, what they've experienced themselves + what they're looking for.

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie talks about the temptation to form an opinion on a person or a place based on just one aspect of its being. A person, a place, a situation cannot be described by just 'one story'. It is what it is because of the multiple stories that have shaped it.

By taking the time to appreciate the many stories that surround who we're talking to will help us understand how we are all different, instead of how we are similar. Afterall, everyone is unique + wants to be seen as an individual, not as part of a demographic group.

So rather than transmitting a single message designed to appeal to a large audience based on just one aspect of their being, we can instead engage all sorts of people in different ways, through the various aspects of the story we're telling. Enabling them to interpret it in their own way, take what they want from it, share their thoughts, debate, hypothesise - and ultimately demonstrate their individuality- all of which allow us to connect with them on a much deeper level.

A vamped-up me!

2009-10-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

It seemed very important that to truly conduct vampire research I should 'vamp myself up' over at the True Blood site. Much fun...

Climate Chief Lord Stern "Go Veggie to save the planet"

2009-10-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Next time I'm at a dinner party feeling bad for being the 'difficult vegetarian', or when I'm having to defend myself against comments that I'm not observing the 'circle of life'...or even the next time I'm being chased around the room by a friend with a slice of ham, I shall remember this fact...

That meat production is responsible for about 18% of global carbon emissions.

That is a serious amount. Methane (emitted by livestock with each bottom burp) is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a global warming gas.

Lord Stern said that a successful deal at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December would lead to soaring costs for meat and other foods that generate large quantities of greenhouse gases. He hopes that over time, as people begin to feel more responsible towards climate change issues, we will soon regard the consumption of meat in large quantities as unacceptable.

I really hope so. Not only will it help reduce methane emissions, with reduced demand the conditions for livestock should improve (which will make Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall very happy). And since most people eat way too much meat as it is, our general health should improve too. It'll also reduce the destruction of forest land for cattle ranching and the production of animal feeds such as soy. Yippee!

However, considering how frequently I am verbally abused, chased by ham + served the vegetarian staple of Mushroom Risotto, I cannot see this happening overnight.

This thought-provoking?! image was borrowed from queenofheartss @ deviantart.com - thanks!

86% of brands plan to engage with original content

2009-10-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Good news!

An article over at at e-marketer shares the results of a survey undertaken by King Fish Media which reports that 86% brands are planning on creating original content with which to engage their audience, with 74% believing it to be more effective at generating ROI than traditional advertising.

In addition to this, brands now believe the best ways to communicate with prospective leads + customers are their corporate website (75%), social media (73%), custom content + media (70%) + face-to-face events (69%).

And in line with this, e-marketer + almost everything else I've read today (in particular) seems to talking about the importance of measuring the ROI of social media. And not just the non-financial intangiable return, or even against digital sales; but most importantly how we can measure its impact on offline sales.

Olivier Blanchard talks about this at length over here. And Coca-Cola's Carol Kruse shares a little about their aggressive digital plans for the future + how they plan to measure its affect on sales over here.

Eastenders online spin-off targeted at 'yoof'

2009-10-26T04:07:00.001-07:00

The BBC is to launch an online spin-off of EastEnders in the new year in line with the show's 25th anniversary. EastEnders: E20 will be broadcast online 3 times a week immediately after the main show. Its 6-12 minute long episodes will show Albert Square from a different perspective, focussing on a group of sixth-form students trying to escape from “family problems and crises of their own making."

They say they're going after the Hollyoaks demographic but want to create a feel different to the Channel 4 show + other shows such as Skins. I like that it's storylines will overlap with those of the main show + that the whole thing will be flipped so that we'll see the characters from the main show in the background while this new cast lead the online version.

I also love that the BBC is working with a team of 13 young writers aged 17-22 to create the storylines (chosen through a competition run by the BBC). What a unbelievable opportunity for these kids...and hopefully by doing this, it *might just* mean that its storylines will actually connect with its audience.

You can't deny that this will benefit from a huge existing audience + that EastEnders is a well established brand. But how many young people watch EastEnders by choice*? I'm just not convinced that it being linked to EastEnders is really going to do it for these grumpy** teens who wouldn't want anyone to think they were into the same things as their parents? I get the whole Hollyoaks / Hollyoaks After Hours thing. They're targeting the same audience - with the later show giving the audience a slightly 'naughtier' version of the main show. Got it. Not sure if 'teen version of ya mum's favourite show' is really gonna cut it?! I might be wrong..

* my 17 year old bro has little choice in the matter. Since birth, 7.30pm has always been Mum's slot in the TV viewing schedule. Thank goodness for the internet.

** they're not all grumpy!

Source: Broadcast

Measuring the ROI of social media

2009-10-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

Some nice tips here on how to achieve the impossible - to measure the ROI of social media activities. Now we just need to get sales data from our clients...possible perhaps, but certainly not easy?!

The original post shares all sorts of other helpful articles + presentations on this matter.

Kthxbye...

Olivier Blanchard Basics Of Social Media Roi

View more presentations from Olivier Blanchard.

Source: We are social

Dust off your wooden spoons people - it's National Baking Week

2009-10-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

Just this weekend I was trying to find a reason to bake spiced apple cake + I couldn't find one. I looked everywhere. Then this morning Twitter told me that it's National Baking Week. Yippee..reason indeed.

It appears from the website that a number of food + cooking brands have come together to invite us to not just bake, but to 'bake and share'. Ahh. Share our recipes, share the baking process + of course share our baked loveliness with those around us at home, at school + at work. They're also offering a free baking booklet if you fill in their little form.

In our office we have become quite excited + competitive over a little tradition we started a year or so ago whereby we bake for each other's birthdays. So in recognition of National Baking Week I've challenged my office chums to a bake-off on Friday. Spatulas at twelve o'clock..

CLICK HERE to tell global leaders you're ready to commit to a global climate deal

2009-10-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

tcktcktck talks about all things climate change + in the run-up to COP15 (the United Nations Climate Change Conference), it's asking us to submit our names to say that we're ready for the global leaders to sign an ambitious, fair + binding deal that means the world is committed to a plan which will hopefully turn the climate change problem around.

Please take a few mins to leave your name + then tell all your friends.

They're currently at 2.2m names + have until December to get as many names as possible. Go, go, go!

Source: You Might Like This

Rory Sutherland's TED talk

2009-10-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Rory Sutherland of the IPA reminds us about perception, lateral thinking + the importance of helping people see the value in the intangiable things in life. Topical, inspiring stuff delivered with wit + fun.

But most importantly, where can I buy Diamond Shreddies???

Source: Punk Planning

Lovely lovely Lordship Lane illustration

2009-10-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

Local artist Vic Lee has created a series of limited edition prints focusing on some of London's traditional hamlets. This illustration of Lordship Lane was the first in the series + was followed by Dulwich Village + Maida Vale.

The prints range from £35 to £50 + come with a very special numbered certificate. You can buy them over here if you would like.

I might add that Vic is a very nice man with a GSOH - I know this because he didn't mind at all being mistaken for a stripper when delivering a print to my friend's rather raucous birthday dinner party last week.

OMG how much fun stuff!!

2009-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Having today received a good few of the newsletters that kindly drop into my inbox to tell me about all the fun stuff that this great city has to offer on a weekly basis, I feel compelled to share a selection of their contents. There really is some incredibly exciting stuff happening (if you like what I like..which frankly is unlikely)..

First up and by far my favourite...

Be badly behaved @ The Underground Rebel Bingo Club

The Underground Rebel Bingo Club will host their version of granny's Housie at a secret location in Angel this Friday night (9th). This is how they describe themselves at their Facebook group:

We don't care what people think. We like to dance. We like to drink. But most of all we like to play dirty hardcore muthafuckin bingo on the down low. The Underground Rebel Bingo Club is a secret organisation that meets weekly to party hard and get our bingo on. If you don't like loud music, shoutin and dancin, don't come.

..sounds like f-u-n

Source: Flavorpill

On a softer + more glamourous note, I wish I could go to this, but I can't.. :0(

Bordello's Retro Hair + make-up masterclass

What an amazing idea! Next Thursday (15th) you + your friends can pay £45 to hang out at Bordello's lingerie boutique + learn the techniques need to achieve the 'ultimate in golden-age glamour'. The professional hair + make-up artists that will be sharing their secrets with you have worked with the likes of Amy Winehouse + The Scissor Sisters.

How cool to enjoy a lovely evening there, transforming yourself into a vintage princess or 50's pin-up starlet, before hitting the streets of Shoreditch with your favourite gals. I just hope they do it again. Soon! More info here.

Source: Flavorpill

The Museum of Everything

Opening on Weds 14th October in Primrose Hill, The Museum of Everything is London's first ever space for art by the 'untrained, unintentional and unseen creators of this, our modern world'. Its first exhibition has been selected by leading artists, curators + cultural figures. This is what they say:

In tiny crevices and under dusty beds, there lies a secret creativity by the unknowns of society. Unexpected, delicate and profound, this democratic work has inspired the world’s greatest artists.

In Exhibition #1, the museum presents over two hundred drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations, selected by leading contemporary artists, curators and cultural figures.

And if that's not enough, their site plays the rather appealing + slightly hypnotic sound of baa'ing sheep.

Naughty life-drawing @ 'In her room'

Go to David Carter's boutique Spitalfields hotel '40 Winks' on Weds 14th October and you will find a number of subjects in the various rooms of this 18th century house wearing Bordello lingerie + posing as aristocrats + flapper girls. Included in the price of this erotic life-drawing class you'll get wine, nibbles, pencils and paper.

Source: Flavorpill

Get creative @ Shoot Shoreditch

Shootexperience.com holds photographic treasure hunts mainly across the UK. And the next one, taking place this Sunday, will send teams off across historical Shoreditch to solve clues + provide their answers in photos. Quite simply, the best most creative shots win.

Source: Run-Riot

We're happy to be working with..Change for Climate Change

2009-09-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

We've recently started working with new charity, Change for Climate Change.

This is very exciting for us because, for once, this is a climate change initiative that feels like it will work! This is because it understands that it's only when business and industry change their bad habits that this problem ever has a chance of going away. And with this in mind Change for Climate Change wants to harness the power of consumers all over world to inspire that change..since it's the consumers who drive industry.

More about Change for Climate Change at their blog over here. Unfortunately they don't have a website at the moment (we're still working on it)! But this post talks about how they've recruited their first partner, David Lloyd Leisure. And how together they have created a project called The David Lloyd Lefini Project which will empower their members to help fight the impact of deforestation across the world.

Watch this space for news of CFCC's lovely new website coming soon.

Authentic Italian gelati around the corner from my East Dulwich flat

2009-09-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Heaven in East Dulwich!

Scoop opened up next to the Italian restaurant on Melbourne Grove, East Dulwich on the August bank holiday..and I was one of their first customers.

Their ice cream is as good as the stuff we were eating every day in Rome earlier this year. It's a small shop + so they can only stock 7 varieties for now..but they change them around each week, so I think that's variety enough. And they take requests!

They also serve coffee + waffles in the morning (clever) + according to their post at the East Dulwich Forum (where they've received nothing but praise, thank goodness!), they'll soon be selling those yummy churros too.

I can highly recommend the mango + coconut flavours. And I'd also suggest having a sit-down on the cute little bench outside to get properly stuck in.

Good luck Scoop! x

Take 3D pics + vids with Fujifilm's new 3D camera!!

2009-09-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

Just spotted this on Mintel..how very exciting!

As 3-D cinema offers an alternative to the download culture, 3-D cameras might offer manufacturers respite from the threat of phones.

Fujifilm is launching a camera which takes 3D video and photos, without recourse to special glasses. The FinePix REAL 3D W1 launches in the UK this month.

Its integrated processor creates an image from using two slightly different angles and as such harks back to the pioneers of sterescopics. Images can be vied on the camera’s LCD screen or shared on the FinePix REAL 3D V1 photo frame monitor or as prints on special lenticular sheets.

Source: Mintel, 22 September '09

Is this not the most VOM-INDUCING mousemat you've ever seen?!

2009-09-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

I never get post at work. NEVER! So I was like stupidly excited this morning when a A4-sized envelope arrived on my desk. Little did I know I was about to be totally sickened by its contents...

Erreuggghhh! This mousemat demonstrates a shocking lack of any kind of creativity or understanding of its audience on the part of its sender. Why send a creative agency a mousemat..yea, hang on just the fact that its a mousemat makes it totally boring. And a mousemat that was seemingly designed in Word...even more disgusting. Waaa, why would I want this on my desk I ask you?!

Am I being a bit harsh? Maybe. Maybe it's our job to be creative + our suppliers job to communicate what they can supply. But I can't help think 'just don't try' or 'try a bit harder, yea?' Or send us what we want + need instead. Chocolate on a Friday afternoon (+ not that awful advent calendar chocolate), headache tablets on a Friday morning, oompa-loompas to sing + help us get into the swing of things on Mondays.

But guess what? This fine example of bad design is now a feature on my nextdesk neighbour's desk! Yes, he claims it's so ugly that it's cut through the clutter of the averagely designed mousemats sent by other suppliers. So maybe I'm totally wrong + these guys have a complex understanding of how to engage the agency world. Hmm..or maybe not.

10 reasons to buy local

2009-09-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to my local East Dulwich green grocer and bought about 8 mushrooms, 4 tomatoes, a whole load of green beans, a pepper and 5 onions for £2.50! Bargainous. And that's not even the best bit - even though they were meant to have shut they let me in anyway, they then proceeded to make polite conversation with me (!) and they even smiled!! A very different experience to the one I'd have received had I gone to Somerfield.

Then today I came across this at PSFK + thought I'd share because I believe strongly that shopping locally is the thing to do + this gives a brilliant list of why we should all do it.

Local First, a Grand Rapids Michigan-based organization that encourages sustainable, locally-based economies has made a simple but effective illustration of how money flows if it’s spent at a locally owned business versus a non-local business. They also explain their top ten reasons to shop local first:

1. Significantly More Money Re-circulates

When you purchase at locally owned businesses rather than nationally owned, more money is kept in the community because locally-owned businesses often purchase from other local businesses, service providers and farms.

2. Non Profits Receive Greater Support

Local business owners donate more to local charities than non-local owners.

3. Unique Businesses Create Character & Prosperity

The unique character of Grand Rapids is what brought us here and keeps us here. Our tourism businesses also benefit.

4. Environmental Impact Is Reduced

Local businesses make more local purchases requiring less transportation and usually set up shop in town centers rather than on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

5. Most New Jobs Are Provided By Local Businesses

Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally.

6. Customer Service Is Better

Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service.

7. Local Business Owners Invest In Community

Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

8. Public Benefits Far Outweigh Public Costs

Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure and more efficiently utilize public services relative to chain stores.

9. Competition And Diversity Leads To More Consumer Choices

A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

10. Investment In Greater Grand Rapids Is Encouraged

A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

Source: PSFK via Local First via Curbly

Who Killed Summer? - all is revealed TONIGHT!

2009-09-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a long, hot summer for the Who Killed Summer? contestants. And for the most part it's been amazing fun rockin' up at festivals like Benicassim, the Croatia Garden Festivals + Relentless Boardmasters - they've met their idols, made new friends + some among the group have even reached more intimate levels of friendship!!

But recent events have seen the best summer ever turn into their worst nightmare..

It turns out that ex-junkie Tete's new boyfriend was actually paid by a warped blogger going by the name of David Hampton to seduce her and get her back on drugs. He also revealed pictures of sweet virgin Claire dragging a virtual stranger into a hotel room, destroying her relationship with her boyfriend. What sort of a weirdo would do this?

This is all just scratching the surface, but David Hampton fills in the gaps perfectly over here.

So needless to say, the whole group is hugely disturbed at how close David Hampton has been getting to them...and since finding out that David Hampton isn't even his real name + that he's in fact using the name of a dead conman, most are now convinced that David Hampton is one of them. He just couldn't have got hold of certain pictures and information any other way. This has led them to turn on each other and all the while David Hampton continues to twist the knife.

All will become clear tonight though. David Hampton sent each of the contestants a Facebook invite to meet him on a boat just off the Sussex coast..sounds a little fishy to me! They've all accepted, so all we can do now is sit back and watch as the mystery unfolds across 3 episodes going live tonight at 8pm, 9pm and concluding at 10pm over at www.wks09.com.

The Who Killed Summer? Facebook fan page will also be buzzing with activity as it works with fans to get to the bottom of this sinister storyline.

Who Killed Summer? is a collaboration between MWorks, Hideous Productions + Big Balls Films (the guys behind Kate Modern + Nokia's Somebody Else's Phone) + is sponsored by Vodafone. The depth + breadth of this combined expertise has delivered an online drama that demonstrates TV-quality production values, (properly) exploits the potential of social media to engage its audience, and allows people to watch it in (almost) real time, for the first time.