Last night, I went along to The Telegraph to take part in a focus group, about various aspects of the paper. A completely mixed group discussed values, requirements, possibilities and likes and dislikes (yes, I’m being vague, they’re doing research and it’s polite not to mention what on) It was a surprisingly fun 90 minutes […]
Books June 09
Summer in the City, Pauline McLynn. Following the lives of a group of people living on one close in London, it’s initially confusing, as you try and work out who all these people are and how they are connected, but it all starts to make sense and come together nicely. Everything ends well, a good […]
Weird Genetics
originally uploaded by RachelC. This ad is for Artificial Insemination, for egg donors. And it completely annoys me whenever I see it, because it’s wrong, all wrong. Not because the idea is wrong, but the maths is. (if you haven’t studied basic inheritance, a child gets half of its chromosomes ie genes from each parent. […]
Books April-May 09
Nothing really surprising these past two months, just my usual supply of thrillers, crime and scifi. The Inside Ring, Mike Lawson. Interesting thriller about an assassination attempt on the US President, the coverup and how the hero discovers the truth. The big ‘twist’ was a little too obvious, but good a good ‘travel’ read. Lifeless, […]
A changing role
A Press Release with reference to me TWENTYSIX LAUNCHES TWENTYSIX SOCIAL MEDIA It was announced today that full service digital agency twentysix is launching a dedicated business unit to provide brands with much-needed support in the world of social media. The new division, called twentysix social media, provides in-depth analysis of the social media landscape, […]
Twitter Censors
I woke up today to find that Twitter has decided to break itself and started to censor what it shows me. Before today, when I decided to follow someone, I saw all of their public tweets, all of their replies, no matter to whom they were replying. This was a setting in the system, allowing […]
A weekend trip
The other week, at a dinner, I volunteered for what sounded like it could be an interesting trip, taking 2 launches (small, motor driven boats) from Putney up to Wallingford. can’t be too hard, we though. The deal was that some friends were coming down river over 3.5 days, coaching a couple of women’s 8s […]
Amazon Fail
Update: this becomes even more confusing. First of all, Amazon’s response was that it was policy Then they blamed a ‘glitch’. Then a troll came out of the woodwork and announced to the world that he had done it, through clickjacking and other means Now an ex-employee Amazon blames the French, or at least a […]
Guardian Word of Mouth Chocolate Tasting
Last night, the Guardian Word of Mouth blog ran a chocolate tasting and they really did deliver. There was a room full of pieces of chocolate Easter Eggs for us to enjoy, ranging from supermarket basic types all the way up to gourmet organic chocolate. As well as bowls and bowls of choc, there was […]
SXSW – Behind the scenes with Mad Men on Twitter
How did characters from a show based in the analog 1960s fast forward to become a sensation on Twitter? Tweeters behind the profiles of Peggy Olson, Betty Draper and Roger Sterling discuss how it happened, why it happened and–most importantly– what does it mean for the future of entertainment branding? Helen Klein Ross Partner, Supporting […]
SXSW – Bringing TV to the Web
This is an advanced session from Six to Start and Roo Reynolds and Jo Twist from the BBC – learn how broadcasters and new media companies work in bringing about the intersection of broadcast television and online both now and in the future. Claire Bateman Jr Games Designer, Six to StartAdrian Hon Chief Creative, Six […]
SXSW – What can we learn from games
Experts from three different (bit connected) industries talk about game design, learning theories, collective intelligence, transmedia entertainment, and the value of play in a participatory culture. Henry Jenkins Co-Dir CMS, MIT James Gee Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies, Arizona State University Warren Spector GM Creative Dir, Junction Point – Disney Interactive Studios […]
SXSW – Dead Space a Deep Media Case Study
This in-depth case-study reveals the method and the madness behind Electronic Arts use of cross platform marketing to communicate separate, self-contained elements of the much anticipated release of their first survival horror game, Dead Space. For this release, EA packaged a comic book, a prequel DVD, and an online experience in order to build, create, […]
SXSW – report of the first day
Arriving in the US, I’d ticked ‘pleasure’ on the Customs’ form, the TSA immigration officer decided that was not the correct designation and insisted that I was here on business. Given I work in digital marketing and the SXSWi is about interactive stuff I can see how he can get idea, but for me, this […]
SXSW – Zoe Margolis – Blogging How not to get Fucked
While bloggers have a lot more power than ever before, there are still plenty of risk involved with personal publishing. Talk about the best ways to survive this tangled maze. Zoe Margolis Blogger/Author, Girl With a One-Track Mind (this was a conversation, so names not used. each line is a different person commenting in the […]
SXSW – Tony Hsieh and Zappos
At Zappos.com, Tony Hsieh has fostered a culture where extraordinary customer service is the norm. On Saturday, March 14, hear him talk about how good deeds can help you leverage the power of your audience to massively extend your brand. As a preview, you can read this story for a glimpse of a company that […]
SXSW – Is Privacy Dead
While many assert that "privacy is dead," the complex ways in which people try to control access and visibility suggest that it’s just very confused. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water, let’s discuss people’s understanding and experiences of privacy and find ways to 2.0-ify it. danah boyd Researcher, Microsoft ResearchJudith Donath […]
Books Jan/Feb 09
A mixed couple of months Sword Song; The Pale Horseman Bernard Cornwall. I love the Sharpe books from Cornwall, Here he turns his focus onto the Dark Ages, to the time of Alfred and the wars between the Saxons and Danes. He brings his customary story telling to these early wars, although not quite with […]
Watchmen Review
I got the chance to see the new Watchmen film today, at a bloggers preview sorted out by those nice people at Paramount and PPC. It was a pretty exclusive gathering, the numbers restricted by the less than 24hours notice and the fact it was at 10.30am. I was lucky in having an understanding boss! […]
CIPR, Non-for-profit and social media
On Thursday evening, the CIPR ran a session for not-for-profit PR types and for bloggers interested in the same, as part of their Fifth Estate activities. The evening was set up casually, with wine and nibbles and a short overview of social media to introduce the topic; the rest of the evening was spent in […]