Friday, February 26, 2010 Dear Northern Threads, I don't want to dress like a tool. Warm regards, Jon

I'm trying to cut down the amount of newsletters and spam I get in my Gmail inbox to make it properly usable again. Apparently I'm receiving an email from Northern Threads because 'my email was subscribed to their mailing list'.

Yes, I'm sure it was. Just not by me.

Anyway - do they really think I want to dress like this chap?

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Silent movies are back

Transport for London may be ridiculously backward when it comes to boobs or graffiti, but the tube is a wonderful showcase for the new craze for moving billboards.

I love this new use of old ad space. The silent vignettes last about 10 seconds but are fascinating to watch (particularly when bored while waiting for a train).

'Scuse the weird iPhone format.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Pret gets Fourjacked

I'm the mayor of my local Pret on Foursquare. Know what that means?

Absolutely nothing.

But as I checked in this morning while picking up my coffee, a new icon appeared. Apparently, there is a special offer nearby.

Guess what? I'm going to try them out tomorrow.

Location-based marketing works.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 If Alice in Wonderland thinks it's getting to my Facebook friends, it's mad (as a you-know-what)

Tim Burton's new excuse to watch Johnny Depp gurn is already causing controversy due to Disney's plans to launch the DVD just 12 weeks after being released in the cinema.

But despite the uproar, the marketing machine continues to churn out new ways to get bums on seats during the opening weekend. The latest is this interactive ad that you can personalise and control without leaving the page it's on:

But the execution of this ad worries me. A bit like the spectacular McDonalds / Avatar fail, this ad is all about the technology. You give it control of your webcam, then give it control of your Facebook account. I'm not one to freak out about that, so am fine with the mechanism itself.

What I find so wrong is that, in what seems to be a frantic rush to get at all your mates, ad agency Sprout has made something DULL. All the creativity has been taken away.

Remember similar personalisation tricks on 'Elf Yourself' and the 'Mini Adventures'? Those were funny. You forwarded them to show people how clever they were. I was amazed at how the tech worked seamlessly with the creative to make something wonderful.

This ad gives you the opportunity to create a static image of yourself and then stick it on your Facebook wall. Thanks but no thanks. Even the design and typography is tired and repetitive.

Digital comms is capable of so much more than this. It's been four years since we superimposed colleagues' heads onto the Scissor Sisters and made them dance. Why have we gone backwards?

Monday, February 22, 2010 Want to work on my team at WE?

There's a job going on Waggener Edstrom's Studio D team, based in the London office.

Here's the spec. If you're interested, or know someone who fits the bill, small r* me.

* 'Private reply'. It's OK - you get a glossary of terms when you join.

----------

We are looking for a versatile web developer and programmer to join Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. Responsible for the implementation of digital tools, the Experience Developer helps envision, design and implement online campaigns and marketing tools for agency clients.

The successful candidate must be highly experienced in front-end web development, with demonstrable back-end experience as well. You must be self-motivated and have a passion for designing interfaces, putting the user experience at the heart of the work.

You will work closely with a small local creative team and a large extended team of developers, designers, technology/IT staff and account staff. In addition, you will be responsible for managing web production and workflow processes.

Responsibilities:
You must have strong experience with the design and implementation of intuitive interfaces that delight users with elegance and simplicity. You have proven experience with using standards-based cross-browser code to build complex web application interfaces. You understand the importance of efficient code to performance, accessibility and search engine optimization.

Bring concepts to life
• Develop user experiences based on UX designs
• Develop user experiences, from design to workflow to content ideas
• Convert comps and concepts to functioning sites
• Code and implement web and multimedia content working with a variety of platforms and services from blogging tools, to interactive maps to traditional web development

Acquire and transform data
• Develop and implement data acquisition and transformation methods on a per-project basis
• Consult with team members and help define best practices for handling data via databases
• Use LINQ/XML to optimize data availability to various applications

Project Management
• Coordinate with producers, content owners and developers to deliver compelling web and video campaigns
• Partner with print designers, advertisers and outside agencies as needed to bring consistent user experiences across campaigns

Production
• Develop websites using HTML, JQuery, and common web interface tools
• Test and publish sites and solutions
• Work with directly with account teams and clients to manage content, research, vendors and day-to-day coordination of projects

Requirements:
• Excellent written and verbal communications
• Significant depth of experience in multimedia production or related field, preferably with an interactive or advertising agency
• Proficient with:

1. D/HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery
2. ASP.NET/C#
3. LINQ
4. XML/XSLT
5. Photoshop and Illustrator
6. SQL and MySQL
7. Common social media APIs

• Flash Action Script experience a plus

Sunday, February 21, 2010 The classic London Eye photo

 

Friday, February 19, 2010 The Sun still knows how to pun

Genius.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 One small step for man, one giant leap for IT support

Congratulations Wayne on facing your fears!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Google Buzz wants my location on every update? Two words: HELL NO

Google Buzz wants my location on every update? Two words: HELL NO,
originally uploaded by PR Geek.

@tailsdotcom takes delivery of his new WE netbook

@tailsdotcom takes delivery of his new WE netbook,
originally uploaded by PR Geek.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 Google Buzz is huge news for social networking... But could it be another Wave of disappointment?

So Google's decided to turn Gmail into a social network, and call it Buzz? And there I was wondering why Facebook had decided to update its interface today.

The slightly low-key launch represents a massive shift in the fight for social networking mindshare. After years of the social networks infringing on email's space via private inboxes and direct messaging, email has woken up and fought back.

And via pre-built friend lists (thanks to contacts) and a familiar interface (nearly 200 million people use Gmail every month) Buzz could catch on very, very quickly.

Or it could spectacularly fail, like Wave arguably has. Let's look at the evidence.

1. Like Wave, Google Buzz has a confusing how-to video that points out some fiddly usage quirks. Can we be bothered to learn the new techniques?

2. Not everyone uses Gmail. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that normal people are more likely to use Hotmail or Yahoo. (My Mum's on Facebook. She isn't on Gmail.)

3. It's a copycat move, designed to mimic Twitter and Facebook. Both have been around a while and do this stuff well. Do we really need another option?

4. Google Contacts is rubbish. I desperately want it to be my personal answer to a CRM tool, but in reality it's just a list of everyone who has ever spammed me.

5. I don't have it in my Gmail box yet. I haven't felt this alienated since I paid for my Wave invite on eBay.

What do you think? Bye bye Facebook or big Buzz about nothing?

The moment we nearly got arrested

No signs, no fences, no warning that you're not allowed to touch the Arc De Triomphe. Then the police cars arrived.

Note to the French: BETTER COMMS.

(At least I got a pic. Go Chad!)

Friday, February 05, 2010 Vodafone blames member of staff for Twitter 'hack'

A couple of hours ago Vodafone UK's Twitter account carried an offensive message (complete with poorly-placed apostrophe). It's been deleted, but you won't need to search hard to find it.

It got retweeted immediately, and a storm is brewing. The company is frantically addressing every complaint via Twitter, and I'm sure there are a thousand blog posts and news stories being written about it.

This is a classic example of how easy it is for things to go wrong. Is your business prepared should this happen to you?

Thursday, February 04, 2010 Is it right to broadcast your whole life to the internet? Mike thinks so...

My colleague Mike has just featured on his local news station because he has - shock horror - signed up for Blippy.



Stuff he buys from sites like Amazon or iTunes is now broadcast to his Blippy friends. He also took the decision to plug it into his bank account, so it broadcasts details of his transactions as they happen.

The story has created a bit of a buzz in the office. Half think he's mental. They also tend to be the ones who don't get Foursquare yet, despite my repeated demonstrations. Half think it's cool. They tend to work in the digital team.

The main worry for the non-believers is that someone will work out how to use this information to scam him.

I personally think it's a nice little experiment into social content, pushing the boundaries on the kinds of information we share every day, without giving you yet another site to update (as it all happens automagically).

That said, I'm not going to sign up yet. It's just not appropriate that you know how much I spend on booze...

Wednesday, February 03, 2010 Brain dump: Jaron Lanier at the LSE

Last night's lecture by Jaron Lanier last night (at the LSE) was fascinating. The computer scientist and musician is widely credited as the inventor of virtual reality systems, and has been working for Microsoft for some years as a scholar and architect. He was speaking about his new book, ‘You are not a gadget’.

Some thinking points for you:

• Phenomena such as Google Wave and Wikipedia are removing the human element of our interactions with technology, leading to ‘Digital Maoism’ and a false single version of the truth that forces us to act stupid to make machines look smart.
• Open ‘collaborative’ culture is damaging to innovation, leading to stale ideas and a lack of controlled risk taking by developers and technologists. The best way to innovate is by following the scientific model – keeping findings secret and only revealing new theories in controlled bursts.
• True IT security can only be reached through a mixture of diversity (lots of different IT systems so the strongest survive – not proprietary systems) and trust (people understanding that breaking into stuff is bad).
• The movement towards large walled gardens of content (Apple, Amazon) is a creativity bottleneck, stopping innovation by forcing developers to choose one system for their content. At the same time, this creates file sharing that is forcing artists to give up on their dignity and consistently promote themselves or risk disappearing.
• By allowing multiple copies of the same file to exist, the internet is a huge, wasteful and heavy industrial machine that is far from green.

While some of his ideas were radical and against many of the systems that are currently defining how we use and consume technology, he certainly made you stop and think about the way tech is affecting our lives. I’d recommend you read the book.

Monday, February 01, 2010 Have social media events hit saturation?

Two people have said to me - both this morning - that they can't attend much of Social Media Week London because they've got too much work on.

And then I spotted this post from Stuart Bruce over at Wolfstar that his lot can't do much either.

With so many tweetups, mixers, cafes, clubs and camps, have we gone passed saturation point?

I like to attend as many of these events as possible but the quality varies - some I come away with having learnt loads, some are a waste of time, while others are just a good excuse to catch up with old friends and frenemies.

Will be popping along to a couple of the #smwldn events this week (but not all of them)... Hope to see you there!