Diary Of A Madman

Madman is unleashed, uncensored and LIVE!

2008-07-09T21:47:00Z

This evening my Diary of a Madman blog took it's tentative first steps out to the big bad world and came out of the shadow of the Conchango blog zone.

This is not the end for my posts here - I have a plan that I will continue to evolve and develop (the final instalment of Non-Digital Man is coming...) however rather than feeling that I can't push the boundaries (remember the Porn post?) or feel the need to have a real dig and swing at a company (only to find that the next day we started working with them!!) I have now put up shop outside the confines of Conchango.

Now I'm not a web developer or a designer - so don't expect anything uber cool - however you can keep up to date with the new blog by signing up to the RSS then you'll never miss a beat!

www.diaryofamadman.co.uk

See you there uncensored!

Interview with NDM - "Non-Digital Man"

2008-07-08T15:23:00Z

In the second part of our journey with NDM (Non-Digital Man) it was time to track him down and speak to him face to face and see if we can get to the bottom of why he has not adopted a digital lifestyle and see if there is anyway to make sure that he doesn't have a shortened life span by needlessly worrying about stuff that really isn't that important. Lighten his heavy load and put him on the lighter path of enlightenment and enjoyment!

We find our NDM again rushing with his heavy load of two bags across the platform and heading towards his train which is due to depart in 2 mins. There must be something fundamentally wrong in the way that he works / manages his time if he is continually running and rushing that can not be good for him. (Mental note to check his working pattern...)

We catch up with him sweaty and exhausted on the train back home where we ask him a few pertinent questions to get this man on track so here laid bare is our NDM...

NDM is a married male in his early 30's lives in Surbiton with his wife and young son. He drives to the train station each morning and when the queue is low and he remembers he buys a weekly travel card, he has heard of Oyster - but never had time to look into it more. Home life they have a family PC that is a few years old and runs XP. Although he has broadband it is a low entry 1Mbps connection (unlike some of his work colleagues that have some "super Virgin 20Mbps lightening speed connection) Doesn't really spend that much time online when he gets home as he attends to his wife and son, before settling down to carry on some work. NDM works in London as a sales advisor and although he likes his job it's all about the figures that boost his salary. The continued work is completed on his work laptop - which is nothing special - bog standard Dell Latitude, that has been locked down so he can not run any other applications as he has no "administrator" rights - but even then not quite sure what that is. A lot of his work is spreadsheet based, which he then prints off on his own HP printer (which answers the question of why he has half a tropical rainforest in his bag) His company is not really technology focused and as such has no way to update any sales work or access the office servers from home. NDM did try wi-fi once (only once!!??) when his train was cancelled and there was a wi-fi campaign in Waterloo where he received a little booklet and free access key, but alas his PC was so locked down that he needed admin rights to switch it on and took him a good 20mins to find what to do - so gave up in embarrassment of not knowing what to do and frustrated that he was being treated as a "child" by not being allowed to work on his laptop as a responsible grown up. The IT department says that this is due to other employees who downloaded porn, virus applications, file sharing and more porn - so they made an executive decision to keep all company laptops locked down to the bare minimum.

His phone is actually quite good it is an older model of the XDA - but was given it from the last sales guy who left and was never shown what to do with it. It still has some of his contacts on there as well as a couple of pictures and some emails, but as a phone it works well and has a good battery life.

I mention that I have seen him with a Samsung MP3 device - to which he replies his brother in law gave it to him at Christmas time and chucked on a few albums that he likes - and after a failed attempt to get it working on his home PC enjoys the tracks that his brother-in-law gave put on there for him. The portable DVD player was a gift from his wife for his daily commute, and she signed up for a Love Film subscription that delivers movies for him on a rotational basis. He enjoys this and enjoys the escapism that this brings. The frustration lies in that he never knows exactly what will come and sometimes the discs are slightly scuffed and the journey is bumpy and can get some screen freeze. The reason for two sets of headphones is that because he is watching a movie, the little headphones "wouldn't be good enough?"

Time does seem to a be a big issue for him - he picks up the free Metro as he wants to catch up on the daily news - most of his news consumption comes in this form - free and easy to digest bite sized chunks. He reads The Daily Mail on a weekend - but never really has a chance to read it from cover to cover - as there is always things to do.

As we get near his stop - I notice that his bag is stuffed with catalogues - holiday brochures to be more precise! I tell him that I assume that he will be looking over the brochure with his wife so that they can do the booking online? "Oh no" he says "That would be throwing my money away doing that, don't you know there is lots of people lose their money by doing that - also do you honestly think that I would send thousands of pounds over the internet???"

...and with that our NDM leaves, smiles and waves - heading back to his wife and child - leaving me in no doubt that something has to change....

A Day In The Life of... NDM - "Non-Digital Man"

2008-07-07T10:36:00Z

As a digital media guru / evangelist or whatever I may be tagged as, I immerse myself in the benefits, convenience, lifestyle and immediacy that digital media can bring. The ease that I can access information, change what I want to watch, listen to or interact with in the touch of a button. So I am always interested in that age old tradition of "people watching" and observing their behaviours and what they do.

This little muse of "non-digital man (or NDM as we will refer to him from now on) " started when I noticed, as all commuters do, a regular pattern on my daily journey into work... so without further a-do lets sit back from a far and observe our subject in his natural habitat as he begins his daily commute...

It's 7.00am - NDM arrives at the car park and struggles out his car door not with one, but two bags ready for his daily work life. My immediate reaction is that he is either off to play sports after work, or perhaps a lunch time gym session? Either way NDM is uncomfortable and laden down with bags that are full of stuff! In comparison I arrive with no bags and have my muti-media wi-fi device and 2 USB keys - all of which contain all the work that I need contained in two small and compact keys. I also have the data that is on my keys stored within a virtual cloud - should I lose my keys or become corrupt - I can still access all my data from anywhere...

We move towards the station entrance and our NDM now struggles as he needs to purchase a ticket. The queue is long and there are other "suits" in the line that believe that they should be first and will huff and puff with their copy of The Times or FT tucked neatly into the top of their briefcase. Our NDM joins the queue and looks at his watch as the train is due in 10mins and the queue is not moving fast. The clock is ticking and his blood pressure is rising... Again in contrast the night before I logged on and renewed / topped up my Oyster to allow me speedy and hassle free access to the platform - on the way through I pick up a free copy of Metro.

With only minutes left I see NDM rush through the barrier and grapple a copy of Metro and runs up and over the bridge to get to the platform and in the tradition of the consummate commuter tries to get to his favoured position on the platform where he knows "his" seat is waiting for him! He doesn't. He is now hot and sweaty, annoyed that he cant have "his" seat and gives the lady that has now encroached on his personal space a stare - then trudges through the carriages trying to squeeze through with his heavy load of two bags. I follow him through and we find a selection of seats where he collapses in a sweaty heap, relived to down his bags.

We both scan the Metro - NDM looking at the "latest" news - for me I have already seen the breaking news and latest headlines from my device - and as such the Metro news is old news and enjoy reading the articles and doing the odd sudoku.

Now as we are into our journey - NDM opens his rucksack. The other bag contains his laptop and so much paper that I assume that he must have been responsible for some kind of de-forestation in South America. To carry that amount of paper is almost obscene - and he feels it with the sheer weight of his bag. The rucksack - alas did not contain any sports clothing or trainers - but instead contains his "journey material"!

Inside is a hardback book, a paperback book, a set of chunky headphones, an A4 notepad, more papers and a big shiny silver thing. The big shiny silver thing is a portable DVD player - that seems to be almost as thick as a regular DVD player. The sequence goes something like this...

takes out DVD player
Drops paperback book that squeezes out along with DVD player
Stuffs book back into bag
finds top half of chunky headphones
can't find other end of head phones - previous book stuffing has ensured that plug end has now molded itself to other items in the bag
struggles and eventually produces plug end of headphones and about 10 sheets of A4 go flying...
gathers A4 paper - hides as if MI5 secrets (is that not in folders or laptops?)
looks at rest of carriage as if our fault
zips up bag
untangles knotted headphone cable
plugs into dvd player
unzips bag again and begins new rummage
2 mins has passed and the rucksack is now on his lap, on top of his DVD player - much tutting and huffing ensues
locates Love Film envelope (carriage feel like standing up and applauding this miraculous find)
opens envelope to reveal Independence Day DVD
DVD looks quite scuffed - but clicked into place and envelope stuffed back into bag
rucksack zipped up again

At last a sense of calm washes over NDM as he presses play and starts to watch the opening credits of his long awaited and highly anticipated viewing moment. Meanwhile as this is going on I selected movies from my device - has a choice of 3 that I had downloaded a few days earlier and was watching in crystal clear picture and sound as all this was going on!

Hold on though, we trundle through Wimbledon, which has a rather bumpy through fare and the screen sticks and shudders as the internal laser is jolted around and NDM's enjoyment is short lived. He looks to the roof of the carriage as if perhaps the picture is now being shown up there, or perhaps if he looks up there by the time he looks back it will all be over like a bad dream. Alas no - his journey and timing means that the Clapham Junction station is his queue to start the shutting down of this little operation - and repacking of all the materials that he has just taken so long to get out, set up, and play! He was lucky if he watched 10mins of his movie - and now it was time to begin his descent into Waterloo.

By the time that we reach the waiting area before we get to Waterloo - I notice that another pair of tangles headphones have arrived - much smaller and more compact and more convenient - but now a new device immerges from his bag. This time it looks like a Samsung MP3 player. He starts to panic as he needs to get his MP3 player working and on the track he wants to hear, realises that he has not zipped his rucksack up correctly and the zip has jammed. Blood pressure rising again - as he knows that if he doesn't get down onto the underground in time he will not get his favourite spot on the platform there, and he has already missed his first seat...

While I stand up, push a button on my device that stops the movie, select a playlist of my favourite tracks, press play, and slips into my inside pocket of my jacket. As I wonder off to work feeling light and agile I notice up ahead that the underground has been closed due to platform over crowding. I turn round and see our NDM running towards the underground - oblivious that his world is about to take another turn in the stress factory - I can't help but feel a little sorry for him, but then it hit me!

My role as I said at the start is to evangelise the benefits, convenience, lifestyle and immediacy that digital media can bring - I can't control trains or delays, but I can help in easing the burden and lightening the load using technology and digital media to streamline what you need into byte size chunks. Giving you more time to do the stuff that really matters - LIFE!

Final note to our intrepid NDM: It's the 21st Century - digitise and enjoy your life!

When "Teenage Kicks" turn to "Middle-aged Hypocrisy"

2008-06-16T19:45:00Z

Sometimes I think that the music business today could'nt shock or surprise me anymore - then I realise that while we go through this defining phase where you have to think differently and Generation Y has a very different outlook on how they consume their media - then out of the blue a statement from another has-been!

Step up Mr Sean Feargal Sharkey. The ex-Undertones lead singer and voice of a generation back in 1978 (30 years ago!) Is now a voice of the middle-aged ex-punks (well Feargal was never really a punk - just the angst of a teenager from Derry) for the strangely bizarre BMR (British Music Rights - what the hell do they do - well according to their website:

is an umbrella organisation whose four members (British Academy of Composers & Songwriters, Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society, Music Publishers Association, and Performing Right Society) collectively represent more than 50,000 British music creators and publishers in the UK. We are a leading industry voice in raising awareness, through lobbying, research, education, and PR, of the value of music to the British economy, culture and society.

With members such as MCPS / PRS and MPA (and I'm sure that the PPL must be in there as well) a good bunch of Fat Cats trying to continue to "milk" the artists and industry dry with their licenses and fees, but of course under the "umbrella" of protection and value!

So the latest is that the BMR has just published it's finding from our GenY and guess what the shock and disgust from Mr Sharkey that this generation on their iPods have half their tracks are not purchased and that they have been shared among each other!! So one person buys the MP3 and then gives copies of that to his friends to put on their iPods?? Really?? NO!!!

Feargal goes on to say that when he was a kid in the 60's & 70's he used to go to school with tapes (for the GenY - Compact Cassettes consist of two miniature spools, between which a magnetically coated plastic tape is passed and wound - weird huh!!) The hypocrite - does he not remember the BPI back then with the cassette tape with the two bones going through it saying "Home Taping is killing Music - and it's illegal" That was before he had a couple of hit singles and wants every penny back each and every-time it is played, listened to, sampled, breathed on... of course to ensure that his royalty cheques keep coming in... Back then of course kids (just like today) are very social and passionate about music and in 21st century technology will distribute digital files among friends and servers - we didn't have that in my day or Feargals day - we had tapes and making tapes for your friends was great fun - making compilations and greatest hits so that your friends could share in your latest "find" that you heard on the radio and then went to your local record store and ordered a copy on delicious vinyl!! Back in 60's & 70's you can imagine the musicians of the 40's & 50's disgusted at these kids who were illegally taping music and sharing it among themselves along with a copy of The Beano or Dandy and a pack of Spangles!

Fast forward to todays kids - they have iPods and phones that they can use as their music players - however the premiss is the same sharing among friends and still the industry claims it's illegal - because they are missing out on their cash - never mind that they may just have found a lifelong fan of that artist - if they ever invested long term in artists anymore. So it's no different to what you and I did Feargal only thing that has changed is the technology - and the greed of the music industry as it hits a cataclysmic change in how it is funded and run. With brave and forward thinking bands such as Radiohead and Coldplay realising that there is no need for such greed from EMI (don't get me started there again!!) you have to wonder who is leading the way forward to embrace what GenY are doing and support the artists that they have left?

But then here is the irony - on the very next page a full page advert from Samsung's shiny new mobile the F400 Share - bet you can guess what it wants you to share? Well I can tell you its not The Undertones Teenage Kicks or other mobile numbers - but have actually gone for the real music fan (and not the damn awful brats playing their hiss tiss at high piercing volumes) - hell no - this is state of the art Bang & Olufsen ICEpower! To then share all your MP3s with your friends - why? Because that's what they want to do? Just as kids ALWAYS HAVE!!

Don't you just love irony

Google thinks I'm a virus?

2008-06-06T12:08:05Z

anyone noticed a LOT of error returns from Google recently, stating that "...your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application"

Has Google recently upgraded their servers, added more security???

I know it's not just me as friends and colleagues have also seen the same screen?

May be it is me and I'm now classed as a VIRUS.... cool!!!

File Sharers Beware!!

2008-06-03T10:17:00Z

Anyone who partakes in file sharing music files on P2P services be aware of what's recently been happening out in the world of illegal music sharing.

If you have been following the story on Friday and some additional information on Sunday via Torrent Freak you maybe interested to know and be aware that in the UK a number (6) of ex-OiNK users have been arrested under allegedly involved in the pre-release uploading of music albums, and accusing them of ‘Conspiracy to Defraud the Music Industry’.

This is a worrying trend for users since the launch of "Operation Ark Royal" where police are working with the BPI & IFPI- they already arrested a 27 year old man last October and the news on Friday that police had made further arrests is the beginning of a trend where prolific sharers of pre-release content are now being targeted.

However unlike eBay years ago - where pre-release CDs were being sold no criminal charges were ever brought against these people - probably because most of these were being sold by either people working within the music business or retailers and radio stations that would receive advanced copies to play before the release date.

So what you have to look at is - if these users are sharing pre-release content - where are they getting their original files from in the first instance??

This has been an issue for many years - and all the digital media age has done has made the sharing of these files more prolific and can cross the world in an instance. I remember the Metallica incident where I Disappear appeared on the old Napster and the band pulled the names of all the users from Napster and threatened to sue every one of them. The case never came to anything - but as mentioned above if this was an early version of the track (which it was) you would have to ask some questions:

Who had access to the track in the first place
If sample copies were sent - especially as it was not a final version of the track - this must have been an exclusive group of people
Where was the originating file sent from
Would this / did this harm the sale of the track itself (Yes after Metallica took the stance of pursuing their own fans) but generally NO - increases the awareness of the track

So ask those exact same questions of the people arrested on Friday and you may find that the actual leak of pre-release material came from a source closer to the home of the industry itself an not in fact from the file sharers.

I'm not condoning the actions of the file sharers but the fact that they are being arrested on the pretence of "pre-release" uploading you must assess where the source of the pre-release comes from.

So is this the purpose of these arrests?

I don't think so - the people questioned were quizzed further around OiNK, their understanding of the purpose of the site and what they did as a user there - as well as if the people arrested personally knew OiNK's creator, Alan Ellis - they didn’t.

Alan Ellis is to answer his bail on 1st July 2008 - the same time that the people arrested on Friday must return to their local police stations, one person who was not arrested but was a user of OiNK was Trent Reznor, who loved using OiNK - so there maybe more to this story that meets the eye!

BBC (a follow up..)

2008-06-02T16:11:19Z

Some of you may recall my blog a few weeks ago - with me ranting on about the BBC and how it doesn't really fit into todays digital media world - as well as the sheer amount that it spends on technology and "talent" click here for a recap!

Anyway today saw the report from the BBC Trust (the organisation that is set up to ensure that our money is being used wisely!!) Headed by Sir Michael Lyons - the report today although may say that the BBC gives "value for money" it does recommend that "a more consistent approach and some improvement to processes could ensure improved value overall for licence fee payers." Seems like a bit of the tail wagging the dog to me.

So you can't say that the BBC overpays it's staff - but "The BBC must find ways to demonstrate its efforts to achieve the best deals more openly to the public in order to generate greater confidence amongst licence fee payers that value for money is being achieved."

Anyway - watch Sir Michael trying to get around the ridiculous salaries discussion here... or download and read the full report here..

The fight goes on...

"Fashion...turn to the left, Fashion...turn to the right..."

2008-05-16T17:33:04Z

It's been almost a year since a crack team of Conchango experts went up to Bradford and delivered a little flash application that a year on is still being shown around the world and still being discussed at retail seminars as one of the key innovation ideas that has been successfully delivered in the last few years..

So after such a long time sitting in my "drafts" that it was time to tell the story I decided that now is a good time to have a slight diversion from the usual ranting's from deep within the digital media world and have a little spot on the other wonderful innovations that we did a year ago!

The crack Conchango team were dropped into the northern territory of Bradford to work with OTTO (UK) - my first question was "OTTO ? - a carnivorous aquatic or marine mammal part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, polecats, badgers - then realised that OTTO was in fact Otto UK (formerly Grattan/Freemans) is the UK subsidiary of Germany’s Otto Versand - the world’s largest mail-order company, and one of the biggest online retailers. Otto UK’s 9,000 staff generate revenues of £815 million per annum through both online sales and approximately 3 million seasonally issued catalogues.

The mission: to deliver a high street experience of browsing through a department store type environment and as one does - gather your items, ready to then go into the dressing rom and try them on for size, colour matching and generally the whole outfit!

Right... make a store experience of trying out clothes and stuff online- how do we do this - we thought??

Simple, you have some of the most talented guys in Conchango (were all talented here at Conchango - but this team did gel like a good super glue!) - lock them in a dimly lit room - bring in stakeholders and managers from the client that have an opinion and idea of what they want - and bingo in 3 days we have a Plan - and a raft of phenomenal ideas to boot. Then decide that instead of delivering the usual raft of A4 documentation - we decided (well Mr Venter in his infinite wisdom) that lets push the boundaries of what is expected from a discovery piece of work, to show what we really can do if you go beyond what is expected!! So we locked ourselves away in a scabby Hilton business lounge (never heard of wi-fi or customer service??) and spent the day adding all of our elements into a beautiful A3 compendium of work.

The result was that within 48hrs the client arrived in our London offices, went through the compendium with one of the team and our MD and the "Look Book" deal was done!

The next 29 days were full on integration into the clients team, getting to know them, them getting to know us, seeing how we work. Pushing the limits of a tight timeframe which was a stressful time for everyone (losing days and gaining days back) all over the place - but stuck with the 29 days in the end, a wonderful achievement from the whole team and the client was great as well.

So what did we have to do?? Integrate with Scene7 image store, work with Endeca and return product information based on the master slave relationship, hit their mainframe (called The Matrix) which was run by the CIO called.... Mr Anderson! (really!!) Then create a flash overlay that would do all these things while at the same time overlay over a classic ASP framework - with so much work and dedication by Mr van Rooijen we knew that this was going to be possible and achievable.

As I said at the start of this post - there has been a lot about this project that has been discussed all over the world from Australia to North America, Europe and into Asia - and even as recent as today it has been cited in another online discussion http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/138435/Going+virtual.html I have talked enough about it (as I'm sure people at Conchango would tell you!!) and enough press and publications as well.

Although you have to ask the question, why a year after it launched is our Look Book still being discussed. Well quite simply it was designed from a pure retail and ecommerce perspective that we know and understand inside and out - it was created with the user in mind and delivered from a true bunch of professionals. Other copies / imitators have come and gone in that year, because they were either to flashy and had no real retail substance, or not user centric designed enough and therefore too complicated for the user to understand or interact with, and that is why it has stood the test of time and still as relevant as it was a year ago.

Where next then?

We kept up the tradition and delivered a 42page compendium to accompany the final Look Book that had some future thinking and deliverables in there to keep them going for another 2 - 3 years, social shopping, live interaction with your friends, etc... so the possibilities are endless. Also we would like to try a Silverlight version of the Look Book as well - but we'll see what the future holds.

Below some pictures from the Project and Compendiums... or just visit www.oli.co.uk

Microsoft turn their back on WMDRM and their customers (again!!)

2008-05-16T12:57:59Z

I read with some dismay and anger that MSN Music UK - is to stop supporting the WMDRM from 31st August 2008. Which means that after this time users will not be able to relicence THEIR music that they purchased!!! No wonder it's so hard for people like me to evangelise to others about the world of digital media when short sightedness companies like Microsoft force DRM on us then - drop the consumer like a stone!! So what was Rob Bennett's (MSN Entertainment and Video Services General Manager) statement??...(read more)

Welcome to the Free World (Blog version)

2008-05-16T12:01:18Z

A little while ago along with my usual ranting and ramblings I actually was strapped down and forced to write in a cohesive and structured manner. This of course goes against the grain of what I do - as I like to ramble on and on and go off in various tangents (I'm like that when speaking as well :) - but when asked by Miss D & Miss B to create a white paper on my thoughts of where the media industry is going I started rambling on like a loon - and then the bombshell - 1500 words!! On THIS topic!!!...(read more)

BBC in the 21st Century - Time for a change?

2008-04-16T13:38:00Z

The BBC - a British institution, a corporation that has been funded for almost 80 years by the public by an antiquated licence fee that goes to fund the programs of television and radio - headed up by a Director General - currently Mark Thompson and has over 25,000 staff in the UK alone! OK, history lesson over - what is the issue? The issue, as far as I and many others see it, is that now in 21st Century with technology developments and availability of content readily available - why should anyone...(read more)

PORN - is it really a dirty 4 letter word?

2008-04-16T12:42:00Z

** Warning ** Just to point out and to mention - that the site(s) and topic that is being discussed below - if anyone does decide to review any of the content mentioned in my post below - be aware that the sites do show scenes, images and videos of very graphic and explicit adult nature ** You have been warned NO! However when 6 grown men start talking about the Porn industry - you don't half get some funny looks from people - even when your discussing it in Vegas! So why were 6 unkempt men in long...(read more)

Retailers: Get ready for Easter...

2008-04-09T21:20:00Z

...TO LATE!!!

As most (hopefully ALL) retailers know Easter is the second most important trading time after Christmas!

However - how many retailers were ready for this Easter ?? - because this Easter is going to be tough ride...

Most retailers will have planned Xmas >> Winter Sale >> Easter - roughly in that order - base their orders and campaigns based on some great business intelligence, their business systems will have given them the last 3 years data on this period, their campaign trackers will let them know how successful their ads and marketing was (and importantly what didn't work) so more of the same of the good stuff, STOP the poor performers - Buyers already have purchased based on these facts and all that is left to do is to walk your store - real and virtual to be sure that stock, pricing, messages,offers and all the cross-sell and up-sell items are linked together in one cohesive experience.

If you planned during Xmas - you may well have had a rather talented company :) designed a rich internet application (RIA) to enhance your website and users experience and make their shopping experience even more fun and interactive - that could also increase the basket conversion and value. This would have been carried out during Xmas Trading - tested during Winter Sale and now LIVE during Easter!! - If your reading this now, and have yet to deploy your RIA - then again your too late...

Is that it???

Hell no - look at the current financial climate that is currently clouding over the UK - doom and gloom everywhere!

So there is a final element that any good business guru would tell any retailer or e-tailer review your past years transactions across Easter - and plan for it depending on the current financial climate:

an example...

I own a Video Games store - I know that the kids are off and I have a great release schedule - however when I planned with my buyers there was a slight murmur of financial instability - so was cautious on my stock levels - however I may have planned the typical games family to purchase 2 -3 full price games during the Easter break - but now I react by ensuring that I cross merchandise some final markdown or sale items - or smaller ticket items that mean that instead of losing 2 potential full price sales - and react in an agile and flexible manner throughout the trading period.

Big or Small every company can do this as long as you have the right information when you want it, how you want it and use it correctly - then you will ride any uncertainty (also read my previous blog / rant about keeping up your appearance and ensuring that you are giving the right appearance to your customers and potential customers)

If not and all this seems a bit too far - or your getting the wrong data, bad data, corrupt data or no data at all - then... STOP! Pick up the phone, give us a call or drop us an email - we have a huge wealth of talented boys and girls that will get you back on track - all set for Xmas 2008!

If you already do all that - great - now get on with your Christmas planning :)

Disposable Heroes

2008-04-09T09:38:00Z

In my quest and mission to inform and of course to put my tuppence worth in in regard to the state of the music industry - I think you have got to look at the state of the business and how the consumer ultimately sees and feels about their music, bands, artists - and dare I say it "heroes"

Does that term even exist in today's MP3 Generation - where they consumer and explore on social networks where it's cooler to be "added" and seen - than to even listen to some artists - I've read on some MySpace music pages that people have had an add - and their only consumption or exposure is the 30sec sample of the mandatory 4 tracks!

So a real fan? A Disposable Hero for a disposable generation! - Well until the next "best" discovery (or plant) is found on MySpace, Facebook....

Look at the history of the biggest selling recordings... (I'm using the US as an example - the biggest territory) it has not really changed over the last 20 years - but what has changed is that the units are still rising...

THE BEATLES - 170million units
GARTH BROOKS - 128million units
ELVIS PRESLEY - 118.5million units
LED ZEPPELIN - 111.5million units
THE EAGLES - 100million units (Including the biggest US album ever at almost 30million copies)
BILLY JOEL - 79.5million units
PINK FLOYD - 74.5million units
BARBRA STREISAND - 71million units
ELTON JOHN - 69.5million units
AC/DC - 69million units

OK so the argument would be that this is based on the prolific sales of music during the 60s - 80s - Maybe - but why do the sales keep rising?

At what point does any of the bands / artists become less important, lose their "hero" status - Yes Garth Brooks may not be everyone's cup of tea - but hell he brought Country music to the mass market with its fusion of rock and country that had never been done or accepted before - and the key to Garth's success one of the best LIVE showman on the planet - which in turn resulted in him selling over 120million units.

Even the most hardened music enthusiast will have at least one of the above Top 10 artists in their collection, right next to Arctic Monkeys, Boy Kill Boy or Reverend & the Makers - whether that be a CD collection, or listed on their hard drive alphabetically or on their iPod!

Why?

Because they were and still are Heroes - they created music that lasted generations and inspired more kids to become artists than most (OK I would challenge that a 12 year old potential next Lilly Allen is listening to Barbara Streisand's Memories - but Bab's again is a great artist and wonderful live performer!

So what is the root cause and answer...

The current artists and bands are Disposable - here today gone by the afternoon - re-invented by the evening and in rehab by midnight! There needs to be a long term strategy again embracing the current ways that people consume music and art - LIVE is such an important part of the equation - yes its bloody hard work and long and arduous - but the benefits in the long term are astronomical - the Top 10 above all perform (or used to) in Massive Arenas and Stadiums around the world to sell out crowds - in the 21st Century - you can be there in person - or stream the whole event LIVE via a PPV (Pay Per View) - the technology is there now - and can be an additional revenue stream and allows more people than ever to take part in the event - with online chats, become the director and chose which angle you want to see or download the entire concert on MP3 after the concert is finished - the only restriction now is the imagination of what is a fantastic multi-media opportunity

Or we can continue to churn out artists and bands that can be consumed and be "added" for a day and then taken off the next day as they are no longer seen as the latest and greatest...

Disposable Heroes indeed

(I'm off to rehab, then I'm reforming my band - see you on MySpace! - add you if you if you ask?)

Free the West Memphis Three - WM3

2008-03-17T21:20:40Z

Now I normally rant and rave about the state of the Entertainment Industry or how Traditional retailers need to pull their finger out and review their business models or how e-commerce retailers need to sort out their basics before trying to explore "Web2.0"

This post is ~~slightly~~ very different - I do like to keep my personal beliefs to myself (well can a guy not keep himself elusive??) - from JFK Assassination (no way was it Lee Harvey Oswald) and the Moon Landings (best kept secret in America) - yes I' a Conspiracy Theorist! :) - well it is the "Diary of a Madman!"

However in-justice and wrong-doings also irate me and need to vent my frustration - one such case is the West Memphis 3 - 14 years of being incarcerated based on small town hick'sville attitudes and prejudice!

I hope to share this with anyone who will listen / watch / care at one of our Conchango Wine Evenings later this year - by showing the truly harrowing and yet compelling Paradise Lost I & II - Hopefully 2008 will be the year that sees the end for these 3 young (not so young now) men, who's only crime was being different and listening to heavy metal music!

I am a big supporter of the WM3 - both in terms of voice and donations - and with some of the next steps (DNA evidence) getting closer to a release for these men - we need as much support as possible.

Here is a small summary of what the story is about (thanks to the West Memphis Three Site)

Shortly after three eight-year-old boys were found mutilated and murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, local newspapers stated the killers had been caught. The police assured the public that the three teenagers in custody were definitely responsible for these horrible crimes. Evidence?

The same police officers coerced an error-filled "confession" from Jessie Misskelley Jr., who is mentally handicapped. They subjected him to 12 hours of questioning without counsel or parental consent, audio-taping only two fragments totaling 46 minutes. Jessie recanted it that evening, but it was too late— Misskelley, Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols were all arrested on June 3, 1993, and convicted of murder in early 1994.

Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution pathetically resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual. Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40.

For over 14 years, The West Memphis Three have been imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. Echols waits in solitary confinement for the lethal injection our tax dollars will pay for. They were all condemned by their poverty, incompetent defense, satanic panic and a rush to judgment.
But there’s still hope for them, and you can help.