An idea worth spreading

The media savvy blog readers here might know everything there is to know about TED the more pretentious among you might even label it passe but for the uninitiated you should probably get to know.

TED is quite simply just a conference. But it is the conference.

Some of the greatest minds in business, technology and literature come together to discuss, pontificate and present their ideas for the future.

You could think of it as the winter music conference or E3 for the good, the great and the digerati.

TED started of as a small conference in the 80's focused on technology, entertainment and design (hence the name) and has grown to become something of phenomenon.

The past speakers list reads like a who's who with Steve Jobs, Al Gore and Naomi Klein having all imparted their wisdom.

Check out this link for some of the interesting stuff that goes on there and if your really 'savvy' download the app.

For any madmen check out this link

I'm on that Drizzy flow.

So I got myself some tickets to see Drizzy Drake in 'Birmunum' last Friday so I was pretty damn happy with myself.

Succesful is a powerful song and there was never any doubt he was going to bring the girls out.

Opinion on Drake at the moment online seems to be 'overated rapper is overated' and perhaps that's true.

I severely doubt he'll be around as long Gil Scott-Heron or Jay-Z and he's not as cool or as 'loveabley' arrogant as Kanye but that didn't stop him putting on one heck of show.

The crowd were movin like they were in the club, the lyrics were crisp and we saw a charismatic showman own the stage.

It would of been nice to see some other Young Money members there but when J.Cole's got your back that's highly irrelevant.

My phone pictures were poor quality so to make up for that I leave you with a track.

Drake FTW

Handy

I'm often chastised for opening bottles with my teeth. What can I say, I'm just that dangerous.

Now thanks to Carlsberg I won't have to.

More simple but effective advertising, by creating some theater it's possible to be incredibly impactful and relevant with print.

Check it out.

1 for 11 on the 11th

I don't believe in perfection.

For me perfection is anguish and despair, after perfection there is no motivation, nothing to strive for and nothing to improve upon.

That being said I've got no problems with almost perfect.

It's also the most apt phrase to describe Dj Yasmin. uber talented Urban DJ, blogger and fashionista who just happens to be inferno level hot.

You can catch her set at HMV's Next Big Thing  in Camden on Feb 11th, it's a Friday so why the heck not.

May your Christmas be merry

......and your New Year even better.

I'll be taking a seasonal break but will be back in the New Year re-invigorated and re-energised with some exciting stuff for you.

In the meantime I leave you with a gift.

Get home safe.

Rock on

With a name like Mick Rock, you can't really fail in life. Mick Rock the revered photographer is testament to that.

He's been there done it and wore the same t-shirt for three days straight partying with Bowie, Iggy Pop and Andy Warhol.

He's been called the Man who shot the 70s and has master crafted artistic shots in his portfolio as well as raw images which capture the subjects true essence. Ancient tribes and some religious groups hated photography, they felt it captured a part of your soul. Perhaps they were right.

At the Idea Generation gallery in Shoreditch on Chance street (you're in for a treat if you haven't been to the area before it oozes boho creativity) you can see a smorgasbord of his work as well as buy his book with unpublished images from rock lore.

Check it out.

To Infinity and beyond

In the description of the blog I mention technology and it's something I haven't really discussed.

Technology for technology's sake isn't that interesting. What's engrossing and exciting is the impact it can potentially have on our lives.

I recently started playing Infinity Blade and I'm hooked. It's the first hand held game that really delivers on the iPhone promise.

The world you inhabit as a mythical warrior is as immersing and as graphically beautiful as anything you'll see on the Xbox or PlayStation 3, for a touchscreen game it's incredibly playable and certainly helps while away the minutes on a crowded tube journey.

The other thing making a big splash on the iPhone is Word Lens. See a foreign language sign, point at it with Word Lens and it will translate it. The YouTube Video displaying the technology has already received 1.4million hits and is all over Twitter.

Currently it's only available in a few languages but what's important is that it's definitely the start of something.

You wouldn't have imagined the technology on a phone as little as five years ago. I'll leave you with a quote which may come to typify our future.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'

Free Speech

I'm quite enraptured by this Wikileaks business we're obviously all reading about.

The implications this case has for the wider world are humongous. It's quite obvious that the World's Governments aren't exactly the nice guys they make themselves out to be.

What do you believe? Sometimes is sacrifice necessary for the greater good.

When I first read about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange being arrested I thought what a hypocrite. Delving further into the story it's obvious that all is not quite right.

Some might say he brought all this on himself and he's a fool, how long did he think he could get away with exposing the worlds secrets. Others might give him the moniker of a brave modern day freedom fighter giving the public the information they deserve. Never the less it seems he's getting a raw deal at the moment.

To make a stand perhaps we could take a leaf out of the NSPCC's book and all change our Facebook/Twitter/blog/obscure social networking site picture to the below. Then the worlds Government's will know that we're watching them just as closely as their watching Julian.

Awe-tastic

Sometimes it's hard to feel inspired.

and them Bammm. You see something and feel the need to create.

I saw these shots and was beyond mesmerised.

One of the best photography competitions I've seen in along time.

Check em out.

The future

People often talk about what the agency of the future looks like, It's interesting to pontificate but who really knows.

Will the big traditional agencies rule the roost. Could we see a return to the full service model or will agencies work in a significantly more collaborative manner with clients who have their own designers and creative directors.

One interesting view is of the agency without a creative department. Steve Henry one of the founders of the era defining HHCL talks about this alot on his blog and he's a creative!

Maybe we'll see small consultancies with incredibly talented strategists who don't just want to make ideas appear online or on telly because that's where their skillset is who outsource the actual production and are attached to a network of creative people who they draw upon depending on the task.

The Guided Collective are just that kind of agency. They send lots of multi talented creatives a brief, they shortlist the best ones and then make them happen.

They get the BIG idea with none of the costs and can pass those savings on to clients making for a happy Marketing Director.

Their recent campaign for Ted Baker was a little gimmicky but quite exciting. They tasked fashion bloggers with styling a shoot via twitter & a live video stream in a real fashion-off. It works on multiple levels: it's a nice piece of blogger outreach, use of social media and suits a cheeky brand like Ted Baker to a T.

Check it out