Archive for September, 2008
September 30th, 2008
Last night Tim and I attended the Revolution relaunch party, to see what the fuss is about with the new magazine. We knew that Gareth, Andy and the team had been hard at work since taking over the reigns at Revolution, reworking the magazine and coming up with new ideas, so to be honest we were intrigued to find out what they had been up to.
When we did get to see the mag, I must say it was impressive. Apparently the copies had only arrived a few hours prior to the party, so it really was a first look for everyone and it certainly wasn’t a disappointment.
The design has been reworked, making it much cleaner and easier to digest. The format has been altered, keeping some of the traditional favourites such as the special reports and the masterclasses, but introducing more opinion and indepth articles. As you might expect, there are also many more links to the web and more encouragement for the reader to visit the website for further news.
And there-in lies the future. We know magazines can’t compete with the web for news, especially on a monthly, so that link between the website, which will continue to churn the news, and the main mag which will focus more on indepth analysis, exclusive/major news and opinion is certainly one that i agree with.
Having said that, Revolution doesn’t yet have a new sparkly website to compliment the new magazine, but one step at a time, and i was assured last night that the site is on its way.
Overall, i think the new Revolution is an excellent title. Gareth and Andy’s experience in the sector and knowledge of the subject matter shines through, and as a result Revolution is in safe hands.
When you get to see the new mag, let me know if you agree.
SlotMusic, will it succeed or fail?
September 29th, 2008
Slotmusic is a pre-loaded micro sd card which promises to be of high qulity and DRM free - so far so good. Some big record labels have already got onboard and they include EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group .
Benefits for the consumer:
No need for a PC.
Slot the micro sd card into you micro sd enabled device.
Bundled with a usb sleeve to use with your PC.
Consumers can also add their own content to a SlotMusic card, creating a personal plug-and-play media library.
SlotMusic cards can hold songs, as well as liner notes, album art, videos, and other creative content.
Will SlotMusic fail or succeed?
It’s quite clear that CD’s are in downward spiral with sales down from 942 million in 2000 to 511 million in 2007. Minidiscs were meant to be the CD killer but look at what happened to them - they died a quick death. Digital music clearly works with iTunes selling over five billion songs, and with the introduction of its iPhone giving it seamless compatibility, who wants to go into the shop and buy a slot music card off the self when you can do everything online?
Another potential pit fall could be the fact that on some mobile phones the sd card holders are in weird places, and may even involve taking out a battery - too much hassle!
Personally I don’t think I’m gonna bother with SlotMusic, and I’ll stick to my own tried and tested methods, but you never know I might just end up eating my own words!
What do you think, will slot cards fail or succeed? The concept could certainly benefit from a good online PR campaign to raise awareness, or else it stands to be another music invention that never properly takes off.
Five on Friday - five fabulous web 2.0 tools of the week (26-09-08)
September 26th, 2008
Here is this week’s top round up of web 2.0 tools:
1. Got a tip off on Twitter about this web 2.0 tool. It’s a search engine called Kosmix, some people say it’s got to much information on it, but i say the more information the better the search result.
2. Splicd is a YouTube application that helps you shorten specific parts of the YouTube video, so it only plays the part you want.
Check out the splicd demo here:
3. Next on the web 2.0 tools list is a site called Ego Surf.
The about page says-
“You enter your name and your blogs web address. We search google and find links to your blog. We calculate your ego ranking.
We show you where your blogs appear in the search engines. 2Did we mention that we can search in Yahoo, MSN, del.icio.us and Technorati too? 1Got more than one blog or site? No problem, we can look for lots.”
4. About this site gives you simple information on any particular url fast. - Useful for some competitor research.
5. Finally on today’s web 2.0 tools list we have another search engine called Social Mention. A pure and simple social media search engine. The results are taken from a very good selection of social media authority’s.
More next week!
HarvestTwestival makes its debut
September 26th, 2008
I know, I know, no posts for weeks and then two in one day, I plead post wedding absence followed by return to work madness, but enough of that.
Harvest Twestival made its debut in London last night, at Doon off Trafalgar Square, and proved what a friendly bunch of Twittists you all are.
I must admit to a bit of trepidation prior to the event, I knew a few people on the list by reputation, and with minimal contact over email/Twitter, but had made no solid plans to meet up, so i was going in blind. But, as soon as i arrived I was greeted by friendly faces at the door, who as it turned out were volunteers, and it continued from there on in. Everyone was friendly, genuinely interested in meeting others and like me, most had turned up not knowing a sole.
The evening was a joy, everyone got on, and by the time the raffle came around we were all a little worse for ware, and slightly rowdy, but that just added to the fun of the event, the proceeds of which went to The Connection at St Martin-in-the-fields. Special thanks goes to @RobertSnell who joined me in my voyage of discovery as we met up with the good, the mad and the bladdered throughout the evening. Good to meet you finally @timhoang and sorry i missed you @simoncollister and @amayfield - it was too packed, and there were too many hiding places to seek everyone out!
So, to @HarvestTwest and @amandita, I salute you on a job well done, to all of those i met, too many to mention here, I hope we can stay in touch and thank you for a great evening.
Role on the next event, and I for one will be there.
ad:tech 08 - the first step in a wider format change for trade shows?
September 26th, 2008
The annual pilgrimage to ad:tech has come and gone for another year, and it seems there was a definite change in the air this year. Not so much to the exhibitors, most of the usual suspects were there, in fact what was more noticeable were the ones that weren’t.
The main change though, was in the opportunities for education and networking. The speaker slots were packed, the specific networking points full (the main one sponsored by Orange) and the omnipresent Google University well attended. This is a key point that the organisers have picked up on.
Some might say that all of these have been available at previous events, and you would be right, but at this year’s event education and networking was certainly more of a focal point. Anyone attending ad:tech, and the many other digitally-focuses shows, will have seen a dramatic fall off in attendees willing or looking to purchase. The simple reality is; many people go to shows to meet up with contacts, snoop on competitors and generally try to get a feel for what’s happening in the market. Not as many attend to buy, or research a purchase.
Although most exhibitors that i spoke to said it had been a successful show in terms of leads, I think we’ve seen a change to the format of trade shows that will only continue to evolve. The focus of ad:tech 08, as Paul Sinclair, event director said in his opening notes: ‘has developed inline with visitor’s thirst for knowledge’, and it must be said a thirst for networking.
So what’s next for ad:tech? Well considering much of the business and many of the best stories, and probably leads, come out in the bars surrounding Olympia following the close of the show, perhaps a day of drinking is in order, and as anyone who attended will know, some of the stands are not far away from that already.