The Social Muser

Volvo Viral Video

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 15:18:00 +0000

A great viral video from Volvo, as it reflects all of the key product messages seamlessly tied in to an awe inspiring video. The stunt, music, and background contributed to the perfection of this “show, not tell” message, achieving views, exposure and engagement.

The Rise of Sexting

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Rihanna Sext to Chris Brown

According to a study from Pew Research Centre, we can see teen electronic device use is growing:

78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost half (47%) of them own Smartphone's. That's up 23% from 2011.
23% of teens have a tablet computer
95% of teens use the internet.
93% of teens have a computer or have access to one at home

Today the information superhighway is vastly changing. The internet is revolutionizing the way we communicate with each other, and teens are some of the first to experiment with modern technology. With a computer, camcorder, all-encompassing entertainment system, TV, camera, and phone all wrapped into one little package called a Smartphone, teens have accessibility to friends and worldly happenings 24/7. While these times can be exciting and exhilarating to adolescents, they can also be dangerous... especially to those who get involved with sexting.

Sex texting, known as "sexting" for short, is basically sending, receiving, or forwarding sexual photos or sexually suggestive messages through text message or email. If a teen owns an electronic device (Tablet, Phablet, Smartphone and yes, even a gaming device) that can take a picture and connect to the internet then they can sext. It's that easy... Plus, it only takes seconds for one picture to make its way to the recipient and surface the internet. One thing that I've heard people say about posting on the internet is to not put anything out there “if you wouldn’t want your grandmother seeing or reading it.” I think that's a pretty good rule of thumb to follow; especially in this day and age where digital citizenship is as important as our real world one. Online reputations are becoming synonymous to our everyday one; and one thing’s for certain: sexting can tarnish a good reputation…

One of the primary problems associated with sexting is that material can be very easily and widely circulated, over which the creator has no control. There was some research by the Internet Watch Foundation that estimated that 88% of self-made explicit images are "stolen" from their original upload location, like social networking sites, and are available on other websites, such as porn sites. It is known as sextortion when your FB or Social Networking sites or email accounts and pics are stolen. That’s scary, especially for those who only thought that photo was being shared with a romantic partner. Consider this: McAfee, the anti-software company, did its own study and found that 60% of sexts get leaked. Scary!

If you are a responsible adult, sexting can be a bit of harmless fun, however I believe a lot of younger users are a bit negligent and thoughtless to the risks, and don’t think about the consequences by future proofing their dignity and privacy.

For sexting to be harmless, I think there has to be a good level of trust between the sender and recipient. In that the recipients will respect the privacy of the sender and the content shared. Additionally, this form of communication can be embellished, edited and remain divorced from implied intent. Often sexting is about heightened fantasies with subversive contexts; how that translates in to real life can be very different, and for younger users they could often get themselves in to dangerous situations by sending out an impression of themselves that may be taken literally by recipients.

Not wanting to sound like a ranting woman, but I feel like role models that inspire and construct youth culture celebrate a certain type of sex, whereby woman are subservient to men, and men are bad asses and think women are there to please them. This must put a lot of pressure on young men and woman to act a certain way. I think it’s this sort of mainstream thinking that is worrying, and the consequences of sexting is an off-shoot of that, and the real issue is the portrayal of gender roles in society. Until we start seeing multidimensional woman and men being celebrated in youth culture, then this sort of behavior is going to become more and more prevalent.

Best Unusual Restaurants in London

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:17:00 +0000

So, I love to eat.

And I wanted to share my list of interesting and delicious venues in London.

1) http://thehawksmoor.com/

2) http://www.polpo.co.uk/

3) http://spuntino.co.uk/

4) http://www.tableno-1.com/
More info - http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/pollen-street-social

5) http://www.chiswellstreetdining.com/

6) http://sushisamba.com/location/london
http://www.herontower.com/the-building/the-restaurant

7) http://www.bubbledogs.co.uk/

8)http://www.balthazarlondon.com/index.html
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/balthazar

9) http://www.rotarybardiner.com/
https://twitter.com/RotaryBarDiner

10) http://mishkins.co.uk/

11) http://www.mlkhny.com/

12) http://www.redhooklondon.com/

13) http://www.gntrbt.com/

14) http://www.ec1local.com/

15) http://www.thplyr.com/about.php

16) https://www.stjohngroup.uk.com/

17) http://www.beardtotail.co.uk/

18) http://www.meatliquor.com/

19) http://www.bodeansbbq.com/

20) http://www.burgerandlobster.com/

21) http://www.thedelaunay.com/

22) http://www.themodernpantry.co.uk/

23) http://www.thebullandlast.co.uk/

24) http://www.londonpopups.com/p/london-supper-clubs.html

25) http://www.beaglelondon.co.uk/

26) http://www.itadakizen-uk.com/
Yummy - Europe's first Organic Vegan Japanese Restaurant
Food = 8/10
Service = 6/10 (a bit slow as there was only 1 waitress)

Urban Outfitters are first to bark up the Vine advertiser tree

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:19:00 +0000

6 seconds of woof-onderful visuals...

The most important Vine you'll ever see. #uodogs http://t.co/8RZyDxGw
— Urban Outfitters (@UrbanOutfitters) January 24, 2013

My New Favourite App: 1SE

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:50:00 +0000

Download from the App Store here

Top 10 reasons why Jennifer Lawrence would be the best Girlfriend Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:36:00 +0000

Jennifer Lawrence soon became a bit of a hero of mine after watching The Hunger Games... several times.

I mean I had read the books and they were so enthralling I couldn't put them down. Well done Suzanne Collins.

Anyway... I asked my friends to see whether or not thinking Katniss Everdeen was fit, was a bit wrong (due to the whole age thing). But most of my friends heartily agreed; she was attractive, and played the role superbly, adding a certain je ne sais quoi to the character which was not seen in the book. And now she is 22 years old ~ so everything is fine and none creepy.

After seeing this video from The Telegraph after her fall at the Oscars; Jennifer Lawrence became my number 2 favourite actress, because, as well as being incredibly attractive she also actually has a sense of humour. Maybe she's been hanging out with Seth McFarlane or something...

Top 10 reasons why Jennifer Lawrence would be the best Girlfriend ever.

1) She has a gravelly sexy voice - so even when she was whining about something (as women eventually always do) she'll sound pretty good doing it

2) She is quick witted and takes things in her stride - so when you accidentally insult her, or she falls over. She can just style it out and not cause a BIG scene, and probably throw a good few insults / witty repartee's back at you

3) She looks good wearing most things. Fact. She probably looks good wearing your clothes... (obviously because you have great taste in clothing...)

4) She has actual curves so you have something to hold on to

5) She could probably kick the shit out of someone - you wouldn't have to worry about her walking home late at night because she's pretty feisty and can handle herself well

6) She looks like she actually LIKES food. So at the end of a night she may eat a kebab, or have a 10oz steak, or eat the whole box of Frostie's (dry) whilst watching a Lord of the Rings marathon with you...

7) She has survival skills. So if you were ever stranded somewhere - she could be the bringer of skewered birds and rodents

8) Your friends and mum would like her... She is down to earth, modest and funny. So pretty much a winner on all accounts

9) She's famous. And probably has a good amount of money in the bank now... So you know. She'd be able to take you out to nice places, and go to cool parties where other famous people hang out, and you wouldn't be ushered out quicker than Jimmy Saville in a children's ward, because you'd actually have a valid reason for being there.

10) You'd probably be the envy of all your mates, and other people's mates etc. And you'd get to do all that amazing stuff that you get to do with your girlfriend - and not get arrested for it... because she'd actually want you to do it. Again. And again.

- One negative is that I dislike her hair that weird shade of dirty blonde. She looks too generic. So all of the above only counts when she is a brunette. Fickle I know - but you're allowed to be about famous people - right?

Just to satisfy my own evidently sad perversion, see some pictures of Jennifer Lawrence as she blossoms in to a young lady from a child actress.

Facebook Bots Strike Again

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:35:00 +0000

I didn't realise that Facebook advertising was under threat of bots....

Apparently so.

Full Sized: http://allfacebook.com/files/2012/10/SolveMediaBotInfographic.jpg

Harry Gets Snapped Naked in Las Vegas / Prince Exposes his Crown Jewels!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:16:00 +0000

I love Prince Harry.

Even his new title as Prince Henry of Wales, doesnt stop him from acting like a chav!

He just doesn't care ~ A true Randy Royal Rapscallion!

Let's play it out in role play style //

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PRINCE HARRY - "Let's go away to Las Vegas and get absolutely sloshed, what do you say old boys?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

He get's on a jet.

Lands on US soil. In true UK style, he dons a hat and get's his shirt off!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PRINCE HARRY - "Golly gosh, there is a lot of hot tail here. I need to got on that. Cressida Bones who?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PRINCE HARRY - "I think I need a smoke... just because I f*cking can. I mean it has my name on it... Rude not to."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

PRINCE HARRY - "Hello ladies... Fancy coming back to my suite. What is that? You don't do gingers. Well I am royal don't you know... Bloody loaded. "

PRINCE HARRY - "What's that... you've changed your mind?"

PRINCE HARRY - "Puh. Of course you have. Whose the daddy?"

Harry, along with a large entourage, went down to the hotel bar and met a bunch of hot chicks ... and invited them up to his VIP suite.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening...

During a game of strip billiards with a room full of friends in his VIP suite, it all went down Friday night during a raging party in a high rollers hotel suite.

PRINCE HARRY - "Let's play hide and seek... I'll go first. Count to 10"

PRINCE HARRY - "10!! Okay... you've asked for it now.. Can you feel it?"

What happens next is anyone's guess.

If I could hazard a guess. I'd say that, they stopped such Tom Foolery, and put their clothes on, realised how foolish they were being - went out to a local homeless shelter and helped to distribute food. Phew. Crisis averted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Unsurprisingly, no official comments have been made.

Social Media these days, makes it so much easier to exploit and share misgivings of unruly celebrities within a matter of minutes.

That, and camera phones.

Oh how I cherish the days before smartphones, and Facebook. When embarrassing moments remained in the minds of those who bared witness, oppose to nowadays when it's usually posted within 24 hours - visible to all your friends, and their friends to 'like' and comment. But that's just how things work these days. If you don't want something embarrassing shared about you online. Don't do anything embarrassing in the first place. Although that sounds pretty boring.

27 Cinemagraphs on Google+ Events

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:41:00 +0000

If you have created an event in Google+ you will have noticed their subtle GIFs... or cinemagraphs as they're now formally called.

They're really quite nice.

Setting the scene as to what we might use the events for... In Google's dreams perhaps.

The Low Down on Cinemagraphs

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 21:44:00 +0000

GIFs just got sexy.

Some bright spark decided to make them sound a bit more Hipster-ish, and has coined the word - Cinemagraph.

I'm not against a bit of Hipsterfication at the best of times. I mean, hell, they may not have dress sense but they seem to have disposable income. So why not capitalize on this growing target audience.

So who do we owe these cinemagraphs to?

The answer would be Kevin Burg (part time artist) and Jamie Beck (photographer).

This is them here...

Visual Graphics Artist Kevin Burg began experimenting with the .gif format in this style in 2009 but it wasn't until he partnered with photographer Jamie Beck to cover NYFW that Cinemagraphs were born.

So you might be thinking, what the fuck is a Cinemagraph and how does it differ from a GIF?

Let me tell you, it is an image that portrays an every day living moment, a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved. Elements of the image move, as if filmed for a second or two and looped, while the bulk of the image remains as still as a regular photograph. The effect reminds me of the moving painted portraits in Harry Potter stories where the background remains still but the subjects move around.

So basically, not that different to a normal GIF but these tend to better quality photographs, and a bit more subtle and stylish.

To quote supermodel Coco Rocha "it's more than a photo but not quite a video". God she's so deep.

Beck and Burg named the process "Cinemagraphs" for their cinematic quality while maintaining at its soul the principles of traditional photography. Launched virally through social media platforms Twitter and Tumblr, both the style of imagery and terminology has become a class of its own.

If you fancied jumping on this growing trend... check out this article on NET MAGAZINE which tells you step by step how you should go about making your own.

Diesel A/W Steven Meisel Cinemagraph Campaign

Diesel is a brand that has recently jumped on to the band wagon... with some pretty young things in tow. Steven Meisel has shot some ads for Diesel's A/W Campaign which will appear on digital billboards, and all jokes aside, they're actually quite good.

At first glance, the ads look like traditional, static outdoor ads, but take a second look, and you’ll notice the ads are actually subtly moving. Pretty Cool, huh?

So after lots of sifting through the interweb, here are the top 65 Cinemagraphs of 2012

Some of them need you to stare at them for a bit longer before you see the change, or if you've been there for 5 minutes and you think you're going a bit mental... first left click on the image and a nice screen show of images should show up, or if that fails, right click on the image 'copy image URL' paste it in to another tab and hey presto - it should work.

Olympics Started 3000 Years Ago... Twitter Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:33:00 +0000

Oh Lord, this makes me so sad. What are they teaching in school these days??

Remember - that if you are an idiot, try not to use twitter, because then everyone will find out.

But then again, if you are that stupid, it may not occur to you what the effects of social media are... It's fast, viral, real-time and can be exploited.

For those who are still clueless as to why the Olympics may have taken place 3000 years ago... here is a quick lesson (based on it being Aug 2012)

Once upon a time ago the earth happened. Somehow. I don't really know how exactly, so don't ask me.

Anyway it's mother fucking old. 4.54 billion years old to be precise, according to evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material.

We also had these things called DINOSAURS!!!

(I mean, I know some of you think they're mythical creatures, like unicorns or something but they were real)

... and they lived a bloody long time ago.

Waaay before your dad.

About 230 million years to about 65 million years ago...

And Emily Barrow - you absolute genius; anatomically modern humans have existed for 200,000 years... FYI

So I know.

You're probably scratching your little head, thinking...

Why is it not the Year 4.54 billion?... But instead it's Year 2012?

3)

You may have heard of this guy named Jesus (he's kind of a big deal), and when he was born, we started from 1 (again) i.e. Annus Domini, or year of the lord.

So our year today is 2012 years since his birth... or 2012 AD.

All years previous to that is not written as -1 AD, which I know would kind of make sense. But instead we use the term BC (Before Christ) to define that period.

For example:

Hippocrates was born 460 BC

(2012 + 460 = 2472 years ago)

One Direction's average birth year 1993 AD

(2012 - 1993 = 19 years)

School time is over kids.

I hope you learnt something.

iPhone 5 Launch Design Concepts - August 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 14:24:00 +0000

So according to many sources the new iPhone 5 is set to be announced on September 21st 2012.

But I won't hold my breath.

Some of the conceptuality designs out there are a bit far fetched, other's are pretty cool.

Here are the top 10 iPhone 5 Designs I have seen...

1) Sleek and Truly conceptual. I can't imagine Apple creating something like this... Maybe. But it's one of my favourites.

2) I actually think this could be close to the real design. Apart from the horrible logo on the back, and the software... A larger handset is definitely on the cards I think.

3) Too close to the 4 design... but a possibility

4) Same comment as above

5) Same comment as above

6) Something for the geeks who want to get behind the technical aspects of the handset...

7) Um. No. Too similar to the iPod

8) Again. Too thin. You might break it just holding it!

9) Similar to the first one... this sleek number is definitely eye catching

10) So this is the new one floating round Mashable and those types of sites... Boring.

Top FREE Streaming and Torrent Sites 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:52:00 +0000

So, if you're anything like me, and you hear about all these great TV shows, or films on the tail end of the popularity curve when they're no longer available on the normal 'on demand' sites/ apps, or they are American TV Shows that haven't aired in the UK - You feel a bit deflated and sad to have missed out.

Short of buying the episodes via iTunes, or doing the old fashioned thing of actually buying it on DVD.

The other alternative is to subscribe to a streaming site such as LoveFilm / Netflix - which are slowly but surely ramping up their inventory to make it a bit more enticing. If you have seen Netflix first TV Series - House of Cards, then that is definitely worth a watch.

Here are the Top 4 Streaming Sites (Verified Aug 2012):

TV Links
http://www.tv-links.eu/

One of the best one's out there, you do have to register but it's a fairly painless process and the quality of programmes and films are pretty good.

Side Reel
http://www.sidereel.com/

Another site where sign up is necessary but similarly to TV Links it's a simple pain free process, with access to lots of films and TV shows.

The other two are okay, if you can't find what you're looking for on the above sites the other two may have what you're looking for.

Alluc
http://www.alluc.org/tv-shows.html

I don't really know this one that well, but a friend of mine uses it - it aggregates lots of links to streaming sites which are hosting TV Shows and Films. I imagine that is the way a lot of them work but there seems to be a lot of broken links on this site...

UStream
http://www.ustream.tv/

While this site is fairly harmless, it seems a bit spammy - lots of advertising. A rogue click may not go amiss on this site if you catch my drift...

If you were interested in downloading - which would not be advised. Streaming is a lot safer and doesn't clog your hard drive up with lots of memory.

Here are the Top 8 Torrent Sites (Verified Aug 2012):

1) ISO Hunt
2) Kick Ass Torrents
3) Torlock
4) Torrentz
5) Extra Torrents
6 ) Bit Snoop
7) Pirate Bay
8) 1337x

As an FYI you should also download VUZE software to help you download the torrent for you.

So you locate the torrent file through the website, download the file to your computer, but then open in VUZE to download and encrypt properly.

Also - in the UK there has been a ban on some of the above sites, but many proxy sites have popped up. I would recommend this website Torrent Proxies to check out where to go to access your favourite Torrent sites such as Pirate Bay and Kick Ass Torrents.

Barclays Pingit Ad | Gangster Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:03:00 +0000

I love this advert so much!

Barclays is one of the few brands who have always been very forward thinking when it comes to TV advertising. Their ads, despite being a bank, have always been very slick, ahead of the curve and poignant.

Their new ads are becoming increasingly more comedic, especially with the introduction of voice over comedian Stephen Merchant. This one is definitely may favourite Barclays advert to date - it's got a whole host of black humour, but actually drills home the key message of using their new app, Pingit.

Genius.

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The Truth About Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:36:00 +0000

Twitter UK now reaches nearly 22 million UK unique visitors per month, with 9.2 million of these being logging-in every month - you don't need to login to Twitter to consume content on the platform.

Twitter's global reach is 400 million unique visitors per month worldwide. Except in China & North Korea where Twitter is banned by the state!.

76% of their 400 million global uniques are based in International markets (ie - outside the U.S.). They are particularly strong across the LATAM & Asia regions.

Do they track demographic data?

Twitter don't ask for user demographic info on sign-up (only the user's name & email address) so they have to use 3rd party stats (e.g. - Comscore) to get a steer on their likely gender & age split. Comscore UK has their audience over-indexing against 15-34's (versus the average UK internet consumer) with upmarket education & income levels. It also gives a slight male bias but female users tweet three times more than males!

Twitter's engagement rates are ridiculous (3 - 5% on Promoted Tweets, 25% and above on Promoted Trends). UK average CPC's on Promoted Tweets are averaging at £0.50 - £0.60 net, UK average CPF's on Promoted Accounts are at £0.80 - £0.90 net.

Overall

I definitely think twitter is a great platform worth investing time and energy in to, especially for real time engagement, viral spread of a core message/story, customer service and exclusive news.

As to whether to invest in Twitter advertising - that is a different matter.

For a minimal ad spend you will get a fancy branded page, so there is definitely value in the initial spend just to get the dynamic page.

But in order to get the most out of Twitter advertising you should have already pooled a lot of time and resource in to the platform, and as a company you should see the benefits of using this platform. The key metrics to define success would have to be brand awareness and brand engagement. DR metrics are equally as important but if the aim of the exercise is to get users to click to an external site - especially for sales - the landing page would have to be a very tailored and relevant to the targeted audience.

Venice in a Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:30:00 +0000

Great stop motion video of a day in Venice. Beautiful.

Microsoft Facebook Ad Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:05:00 +0000

There a 3 cardinal rules for brands when applying a UGC strategy to a social media campaign, and these are:

1) moderation
2) moderation
3) moderation

The cardinal rule is distinctly lacking from this Microsoft Facebook ad campaign. Much to my amusement.

When first looking over the ad I noticed that I didn't own a Nokia Lumia 800 nor did I really know what it was. Which made me think that this ad was poorly targeted, and the messaging was very unclear.

I thought the answers available were also very bias and wondered why they would put 47 available options (far too many in my opinion). So I clicked on the 47 more option to see what they were...

Dramatic pause.

And to my amazement I realized that people had put their own comments, most of which were rude and crude. This not only belittles the advertising campaign, which means that Microsoft Phone Shop loses credibility but also highlights flaws within their marketing strategy.

LOL.
FAIL

Talk That Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:11:00 +0000

Rihanna's PR machine is certainly a well oiled tank. She is delightfully talented and oozes X-Factor like no other; her raunchy and bad-ass persona is continuing to be elevated with her 'We Found Love' video and 'Talk That Talk' track.

Talk That Talk sample

Rihanna - Talk That Talk - Album Preview by superhotmusic

New Album Track List

TALK THAT TALK TRACKLIST (and partial list of credits)

1. “You Da One” (produced by Dr. Luke)
2. “Where Have You Been?” (produced by Calvin Harris, written by Dr. Luke & Ester Dean)
3. “We Found Love” (produced by Calvin Harris)
4. “Talk That Talk (featuring Jay-Z)” (produced by Stargate, written by Ester Dean)
5. “Cockiness” (produced by Bangladesh)
6. “Birthday Cake” (produced by The-Dream)
7. “We All Want Love” (written by Ester Dean)
8. “Drunk On Love” (produced by Stargate, written by Ester Dean)
9. “Roc Me Out” (produced by Stargate, written by Ester Dean)
10. “Watch n’ Learn” (produced by Hit-Boy, written by Priscilla Renea)
11. “Farewell” (produced by Big Juice, written by Ester Dean)

Awesome Facebook Viral | Take This Lollipop

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:04:00 +0000

My friend gave a caveat with this link by saying she almost sh*t herself when she clicked on it... and this made me hesitate. But curiosity got the better of me...

This is an awesome mechanic, and to be honest it makes you a bit scared of all the information readily available online for randomers to get a hold of.

It looks like it is a promotion for a film but it's hard to say without any direct links.

Either way it's worth checking out. The viral take up of this campaign is enough of a credit for you to click through Take This Lollipop

RIP Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:07:00 +0000

Timeline of Steve Jobs... He was a bit of a looker back in the day, not to mention a genius.

Now here is the face of Steve Jobs that we have been more accustom to in recent years since he became very ill, and was announced yesterday by Apple that he had sadly passed away.

Apple's announcement:

We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that
enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

You can email apple directly to send your condolences - rememberingsteve@apple.com

Biography of Steve Jobs

Born Steven Paul Jobs on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah “John” Jandali, two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave their unnamed son up for adoption. Steve Jobs’s father Abdulfattah Jandali was a Syrian political science professor and Steve Jobs’s mother Joanne Simpson worked as a speech therapist. Shortly after Steve Jobs was placed for adoption, his biological parents married and had another child, Mona Simpson. It was not until Jobs was 27 that he was able to uncover information on his biological parents.

As an infant, Steve Jobs was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Clara worked as an accountant and Paul was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist. The family lived in Mountain View within California’s Silicone Valley. As a boy, Jobs and his father would work on electronics in the family garage. Paul would show his son how to take apart and reconstruct electronics, a hobby which instilled confidence, tenacity, and mechanical prowess in young Jobs.

While Steve Jobs has always been an intelligent and innovative thinker, his youth was riddled with frustrations over formal schooling. In elementary school Steve Jobs was a prankster whose fourth grade teacher needed to bribe him to study. Steve tested so well, however, that administrators wanted to skip him ahead to high school—a proposal his parents declined.

After Steve Jobs did enroll in high school, Steve Jobs spent his free time at Hewlett-Packard. It was there that he befriended computer club guru Steve Wozniak. Wozniak was a brilliant computer engineer, and the two developed great respect for one another.

After high school, Steve Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Lacking direction, he dropped out of college after six months and spent the next 18 months dropping in on creative classes. Steve Jobs later recounted how one course in calligraphy developed his love of typography.

In 1974, Steve Jobs took a position as a video game designer with Atari. Several months later he left Atari to find spiritual enlightenment in India, traveling the continent and experimenting with psychedelic drugs. In 1976, when Steve Jobs was just 21, he and Wozniak started Apple Computers. The duo started in the Jobs family garage, and funded their entrepreneurial venture after Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his beloved scientific calculator.

Steve Jobs and Wozniak are credited with revolutionizing the computer industry by democratizing the technology and making the machines smaller, cheaper, intuitive, and accessible to everyday consumers. The two conceived a series of user-friendly personal computers that they initially marketed for $666.66 each. Their first model, the Apple I, earned them $774,000. Three years after the release of their second model, the Apple II, sales increased 700 percent to $139 million dollars. In 1980, Apple Computer became a publically traded company with a market value of $1.2 billion on the very first day of trading. Steve Jobs looked to marketing expert John Scully of Pepsi-Cola to help fill the role of Apple’s President.

However, the next several products from Apple suffered significant design flaws resulting in recalls and consumer disappointment. IBM suddenly surpassed Apple sales, and Apple had to compete with an IBM/PC dominated business world. In 1984 Apple released the Macintosh, marketing the computer as a piece of a counter culture lifestyle: romantic, youthful, creative. But despite positive sales and performance superior to IBM’s PCs, the Macintosh was still not IBM compatible. Scully believed Steve Jobs was hurting Apple, and executives began to phase him out.

In 1985, Steve Jobs resigned as Apple’s CEO to begin a new hardware and software company called NeXT, Inc. The following year Steve Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which later became Pixar Animation Studios. Believing in Pixar’s potential, Steve Jobs initially invested $50 million of his own money into the company. Pixar Studios went on to produce wildly popular animation films such as Toy Story,Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Pixar’s films have netted $4 billion. The studio merged with Walt Disney in 2006, making Steve Jobs Disney’s largest shareholder.

Despite Pixar’s success, NeXT, Inc. floundered in its attempts to sell its specialized operating system to mainstream America. Apple eventually bought the company in 1997 for $429 million. That same year,Steve Jobs returned to his post as Apple’s CEO.

(Source: http://www.smashiphone.net)

Musical Laundry

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:29:00 +0000

Saw this on Twitter and thought it was pretty cool. Stocco is making merry music using loops, repeats and industrial dry cleaning equipment - good for him I say, and he has pulled it off very well.

If you don't know about behance, it's a social media platform for those creative types and it's a great way for students, young entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals to showcase their work and get themselves known (and employed).

Diego Stocco - Music From A Dry Cleaner from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

How I Feel About the New Facebook in Graphic Form

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:33:00 +0000

The Tron Lightcycle | Legal & Road Ready

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:17:00 +0000

This is just too cool for school, words escape me.

It's a bit bulky and entirely impractical, but just LOOK at it. Sold.

The Electric Tron Lightcycle is powered by a 96 volt electric motor and lithium ion batteries. Its top speed is in excess of 100 mph, and its range is 100 miles on a single range, with a mere 35-minute recharge time (Not too bad).

Pricing and availability are unknown at this point, but as a reference, the old, gas-powered version costs close to $55,000.

(via Parker Brothers Choppers & Mashable)

Facebook Update | 21st September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Facebook are in the process of rolling out new features, some of which have come out over the last few days.

Most of you will have noticed that a ‘Friend Activity’ tab has appeared on the left hand navigation bar on Facebook brand/ artist pages. This is a fixed Facebook tab, which you have no control over and you cannot remove nor can you alter its position on the navigation bar. I believe that this tab may actually prove beneficial to brands, as users can see which of their friends are fans of the brand, as well seeing which content they’re engaging with. This is likely to encourage users to engage with content that they may have not yet noticed, and increase meaningful interactions on the page via indirect advocation of content from Facebook friends.

Another new feature is the introduction of predefined lists on user’s home pages, which will encourage users to create personalised news streams. This may prove negative for brands if users decide to freeze out companies from their news streams, on the flip side users may create company only news streams to allow them to view certain content at their own leisure. However, I feel that users will not adopt the list approach straight away (I know I won't be using it - It's taken me too long to create privacy lists).

There is a new real time side scrolling feed, featured on the right hand side of the homepage which will mean that brands and friends alike will still have visibility on a user’s feed (even if you'd previously unsubscribed), but much like twitter, the updates may move at a fairly quick rate, especially if you lots of friends.

This feature along with others will encourage users to stay on their home page in order to view their connection’s updates in one place.

For a full list of updates visit this page

Monopoly in real life | Foursquareopoly

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara Askew) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:46:00 +0000

I love this concept it is amazingly fun!

It's stuff like this that makes me want to be a student again, or makes me wish that I utilised my time as a student better. Just look at Mark Zuckerberg, a guy that definitely is being paid in dividends for his extra curricular activities.

The one thing that I love about foursquare monopoly is that it is simple yet genius,and also gives an added incentive to checking-in.

Foursquaropoly from Deanna McDonald on Vimeo.