Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Mobile stats

I've just found this little gem of a website for mobile stats. I will be sure to use this later!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Progress.

I’m a big fan of progress; in the past 20 years I’ve seen computers make massive progress. This has been great for me because it’s meant I’ve made a career out of working with comphooters. If this industry hadn’t of risen while I was growing up what might I have become… baker, shepherd, doll scum? I don’t know, but I have a feeling I’m suited to what I do now and not much else.

So it makes me massively irritated when consortiums / companies try to stop progress. For example, Microsoft is often told off for bundling it’s own products with it’s OS (IE, Media player, etc)… God forbid they should be allowed to earn more money, or actually be good (not that I’m saying IE or media player are actually good). Now the argument here is that consumers should have choice, but at the same time shouldn’t big bad Microsoft be allowed to progress? And now Apple is the bigger dog will people start saying the OS should be available to install on an HP laptop… who knows?

Another example that has irritated me is Project Kangaroo. The combo of iPlayer, ITV player, and 4oD which Virgin (yes, you know, that small company run by that gentle sweet innocent man Richard Branson) says shouldn’t be allowed to progress because it’s uncompetitive… well I’m sorry if iPlayer have created a product that’s fucking marvellous and now they want to add other channels to it. If Virgin can’t keep up (their on demand service could be a LOT better) then surely that’s their own fault…

What’s inspired this rant? Well basically I read this about how the FM industry is dying out because of advancement in technology and they want all mobile phones to have FM radios built in as standard. Bugger that! Why FM should DIE

Companies should not be forced to go backwards, they shouldn’t be told what they can or can’t do, unless what they do is a shit job.

Of course choice and competition is healthy… but instead of stifling progress of the topdog governments/people/they should be helping support the progress of the underdog. If people like what they do they’ll have their chance of being top dog, but they should get there by being good… not because the monopoly was told to stop  being good.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Pay walls

NMA reports news of the world pay wall due for October. I haven't read the article because it's behind a pay wall.


I WILL NOT PAY TO READ ARTICLES EVER (If all media sources go behind a pay wall then I will choose general ignorance and live in a happy bubble devoid of news)

Online ads

I found this article on online ads interesting considering I've recently started working for an agency thats main revenue stream is primarily from online ads.

To be honest I agree with the article, online ads are irritating and I never click on them. The only time I do is when they are well targetted (as on facebook). Atlhough I know this sort of targetting annoys some people as it means the ad companies have access to information you might not want them to know.

The short of it is for advertising to be effective it needs to be precise, tailored and suited to it's audience. Flinging ads everywhere just doesn't work.

quite interesting

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/

Looking at the shift in what people are using tinterweb for over time

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Bristol Pride

I'm currently having a great time at Bristol Pride!

Nice one to everyone who's organised this!

Less is more

Just read an article on treehugger about a chap who lives his whole life on his laptop... everything he says he needs is on there. And in all fairness I can kind of see his point (within reason).

It used to be that I had a mobile phone and an MP3 player. Now they are one. I don't buy CD's, I use Mp3's instead. Ok, I like physically owning DVD's but with a decent sized NAS (and back-up option, or a good VOD service... yet to be created) I could erplace the need to own DVD's with on demand HD video. A camera is always good, and I have one on my phone... I'm sure it won't be long until the camera on your phone is as good as a decent compact (or better?). Paperwork... online billing and banking... sorted! Books - well there is something wonderful about leafing a book... but one day perhaps I'll migrate over to getting an iPad or Kindle

Ok, I don't think I could live a completely nomadic l

Feeling manly

Isn't it great when we get our hands dirty. Like today I swapped my break pads over. I flipped my bike over, unscrewed the breaks, screwed the new ones, fiddled with the cables, covered my hands in grease and then took it out for a test ride. Ok, it wasn't like I completed a major piece of carpentry or plumbing but I still felt "manly".

Why is it that doing something physical with our hands (no jokes) makes us feel manly? I sit in front of a computer all day doing things far more complicated than swapping some break pads over but no one would consider that manly. If I was to spend all day producing www.killexplosionguns.com I still doubt anyone would say, "wow, hasn't he been busy doing manly things"... they'd be thinking "what a geek"!

Now while "stuff with computers" is no longer as geeky as it was, and people realise that just because you work in the production of software it doesn't mean you're there writing code in 0's and 1's anymore there is still a perception that it's just not that butch. Clever yes, well paid (I wish!), geek cheek... possibly... but butch, rugged, manly... it just isn't happening.


Right, I'm going to go and spit on something.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

I made this

@UNGtB: Figaro Digital describes GtB as "visually stunning, clear & empowering" http://ping.fm/ZCEiA

Now I don't like to brag but I helped produce this. So fuck it, I will brag! Plus it's a really important website for the UN... actually any website that helps improve sustainable behaviour is a good thing.
Check it out: www.greeningtheblue.org

A couple of other sustainability sites you should also take a look at:

How we spend our time

Aren't we an interesting race of media consumers. When someone says to me "I don't play games, watch TV, read much, watch movies" I wonder what they are doing. Clearly not sports (unless they look beefed). Often they are big fat liars... when they say they "Don't watch TV" they mean they watch shit constantly and have no idea how much they are watching. But seriously, as a digital person (I do go to the gym, but not often enough) I really do consume a lot of media. Last night I spent about 9 hours on the internet (with work), 3 playing Bioshock 2 on the PS3 (a rare night in which my housemates weren't watching America's next top something...) and 1 hour readnig (Karen Miller's The Reluctant Mage... very good). I probably spent 3 hours eating (2 of which were dinner with a friend) and not enough sleeping.

Good times.

Read more about how everyone else spends their time from the beeb.

PS: Spend more time playing games, buy Bioshock 2

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Why am I boring you with my crap?

 Here are 7 reasons why you should be blogging (and hence why I am)

http://eatsleepsocial.com/2010/03/15/7-reasons-you-should-be-blogging/

SEO

I've been asked a classic question, "How do we appear at the top of Google?" The response they want is "For £30 per month you'll appear at the top".

I'm vaguely aware of the reality which is you can't gaurantee anything.

I'm going to start by reading:
http://www.2createawebsite.com/traffic/search-engine-traffic.html 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization#Relationship_with_search_engines

Fleas

I feel rather grubby in saying this but we have fleas thanks to the combination of a household that has zero inertia to hoover and a cat.

I've just ordered a rather questionable device off ebay, essentially a lightbulb suspended over a stickypad. Will it work? I doubt it however for non-chemical control this is the only product on the market. I'll see how it works out. It may be that I have to go down the road of heavy chemical use... That or having the balls to say "let's have a cleaning rota" but I'm always "that" guy... I don't wanna be "that" guy. O well, watch this space

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Shirt and tie

Last night I stood with my housemates watching "Britain's next top model" ironing my shirt and trousers which I carefully hung on a hanger ready for the morning. In the morning I put these on carefully, did my hair, put on some polished shoes, found the least distressed coat and rode into work carefully avoiding puddles.

Of course I find out the meeting itself is cancelled. PANTS!

At the end of the day, why o why do we have to bother at all? What is it about someone wearing a smart shirt (ideally not off the rack) and an expensive suit (tailor made of course) that makes them so more impressive than some gimp in a tracksuit? Your average village idiot can still dress themselves so why is it important? That chap wearing a scruffy tee, battered Nike trainers and jeans with holes in could easily be the Creative Director of a top London agency... he (or she) could be the one who came up with "that" campaign you are always hearing about.

Now I could look up a whole bunch of studies about wearing a uniform and how the wearer takes on a persona but I'm not going to. You know these. Incidentally, that was exactly what happened in "Britain's next top model" - they had to do a horror shot and dressed up in Zombie make up found it easier to throw themselves into "character" than wearing a Bikini (last week's exciting episode). And do we really want people to be drones, to put on a uniform and conform to a stereotype. I don't, I want to be me, I want to be creative, I want to express myself through my shitty clothes.

I think I might get naked now and leave you with this

Monday, August 16, 2010

Facebook fans aren't a community

I'm just reading a great little article about why 10,000 fans of sausage rolls aren't a sausage roll community, they just like sausage rolls.

http://eatsleepsocial.com/2010/02/20/your-facebook-fans-arent-a-community-and-probably-dont-want-to-be-either/

Good point, now I'm hungry!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Dunkenness

Well that's a nice way to ease myself into Recruitment comms. Over the last 7 days we've had two socials and both times I've gotten myself horrendously smashed.

I think I've hit quite a few of the cliches - Karaoke, general verbal vomit with the MD, making full use of the bar tab, falling over, getting naked, attempting minor brain surgery, coming into work hung over with my t-shirt inside out.

Why do we do these things? There is a well known expression that if alcohol and cigarettes were discovered today they'd be made illegal... I wish they would be. What would society without alcohol be like, I guess a bit like Dubai... cool buildings.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Internet TV's

I'm rather excited about the prospect of internet TV becoming mainstream. Watch out Sky and Virgin indeed. There have been many occasions where I've wanted to find a YouTube video and put it on the screen for all to see. Going to get my laptop down is a pain the butt.
 
The idea that I could just stream films / tv on demand as well is pretty awesome; although a lot needs to happen to Broadband speeds first.