Well that is the attitude of many in the music industry. We all know of the distain for music downloaders that Gene Simmons of Kiss has. It’s almost pathological and it’s based on some pretty screwed up ideas of what is actually going on in the music industry.
Talk about anti-marketing, but as you may guess from this post, I am not phishing for a job anywhere near Microsoft in the near future.
This looks like such an interesting conference, that is till you visit the site and see goofy Steve Ballmer’s mug on the front page. Steve Ballmer, really {developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, }
Not bloody likely. Still if you get off on an overweight sweaty guy telling us what is cool, or laugh at actual cool things {iPhone sniggers???} then get to this conference.
http://visitmix.com/2008/index.html
Now in its third year, MIX is an intimate opportunity for cutting-edge technical, creative and business strategists to engage Microsoft in a conversation about the future of the web
Still, nice site.
Check it out, Groove Armada are releasing a new album – well a greatest hits album.
Having seen these guys live (from the hundreds of concerts I have seen), there is simply none better live. Go get this baby.
Some observations from the floor – kiwi ones that is.
Ok first observations need to be preluded with the fact that this boy from Dunedin doesn’t get to conferences {not like this one anyway} very often.
The closest thing to this that I have been to is the Apple Updates that tour around NZ. They are small and very niche and geeky.
This too is niche – Newspaper Design for goodness sake – but boy 800 guests is not small.
Cutures. It’s so easy being from NZ that one’s image of a newspaper is the Herald, Domion Post, Press or OTD, The Guardian, New York times etc. However having just sat through my first Mexican presentation {you can kinda get it if you squeeze your eyes} you realise that newspapers are in fact global (Duh) and that they are doing some stunning stuff. What I mean here is that unless you speak spanish and are interested in spanish news/sports there is no way you’ll come into contact with this. If you can go make yourself familiar with these guys {I’ll post links and names soon}.
Technology: Who said the mac was dead? There are more macbooks and macbook pros here than there are cars in Dunedin, and yes I’m a sucker for it, everyone is blogging from this place.
The competitiveness of students. I’ve noticed it at UBC in Vancouver and there are over 100 students here some of whom are in line for internships, but boy are they ernest {nice though} and driven. Then this flows over into the business world. These guys make big money for themselves and their business. The organisations are big and can spend big – which not always but quite often produces big beautiful stuff.
More later…
Who said NZ is so far from anywhere, try flying just across North America – 14hrs from Vancouver to Boston argh!!!
Anyways I’m here at the Society of Newpaper Design Annual Conference {SNDBoston} and what a buzz. I had no idea what I was in for. I knew last week there were 265 people registered, turning up this morning there I was greeted with 780 people and climbing.
Right from the first presentation this morning, this has been worth coming half way around the world to get here, and things are only just getting going.
The conference is in the Boston Park Plaza and wow!!! What a beautiful place, stay here people.
Peole who know me, know that I am a Who nut. The ultimate boys band, there isn’t another band that can touch them.
They have a new web site on the verge of launch [Nov 5]. It’s amazing that Pete has finally convinced Roger to concede to the internet age, given that Roger has been so opposed to anything to do with the web for such a long time. Still we are allowed to change our minds aren’t we Rog.
I’m only adding this as a free add to those guys and their site, which isn’t too bad. I look forward to see what level of content they are adding – could be interesting.
Also they are the subject to a new documentary movie about them. As if The Kids Are Alright wasn’t enough of a look into the boys, Amazing Journey promises to be a real gem. All of the preview reviews are st gushing about how amazing the footage of the band is, and how wonderfully put together the whole package is. Compared to the somewhat inaccessible The Kids Are Alright [which honestly is so disjointed], this is a good thing. Just imaging at the tender age of early 60s and finding a whole new audience some 45 years after kick off?
The new site will be subscription based, but given the quality and amount of video and audio footage and everything in between on the old www.whotour.com site, this is not a bad thing. So check it out and get your credit card out.
I’m off to Vancouver for the next 6 months, which being one of the buzz towns of new media design should give me plenty of material to ret this baby moving along. I have people I am desperate to meet while there, there is so much going on in that town, to paraphrase Dr Johnston’s description of London in yee olde days, “If one gets no inspiration in Vancouver, one must be bored with life” (actually that’s no where near as witty or inspirational), but you get my drift.
One event I am looking forward to is the SND Boston conference on Information Design in Newspapers (www.sndboston.com). That should be amazing. But tat is just one thing I will working on. So ya’ll cme back now and I’ll ramp up the posts with bits from the northern hemisphere.
I know this isn’t strictly from New Zealand, but as a fan of typography and Pulp Fiction, the two go hand in hand nicely in this little animation.
By Jarrot Moody found at jarrattmoody.com. As you will see this is just one of many great animations that this dude has done.
Cheers Reggie for the title of my first post.
Thanks for stopping by. This is of course the very beginnings of what will be my observations, rants and raves about all the things I am into, but mostly design.
There is so much locally going on that it’s only fair that Kiwi design and designers are going to be getting their 15mins on my site. Why not start with this great book by Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, At Home: A Century Of New Zealand Design. It’s a primer of NZ’s rich design history, which is at home in anyone’s library. Recently another excellent book exploring the history of a Kiwi design classic Crown Lynn Pottery, provides a stunning historcal account of Crown Lynn – I didn’t realise I have Crown Lynn classics in my basement boxes.
On another tact for those interested in all things newspaper design (there’s more to it than reading it), check out the link to newspage designer site. This is a stunning site.
So cheers for stopping by, this BETA version of the site is very much a work in progress. Where possible I’ll be adding links and posting, there is a lot to talk about.
Lastly if you haven’t figured out yet, I am also running a blog for the design and architecture of the proposed new Carisbrook, Stadium Dunedin. It’s not so much a site about my opinions, I set it up so all interested people could have a forum to have their voice heard. As the blogosphere allows more than a “concerned of tawa” letters-to-the-editor, with interaction an information, this will be a great place for an all in discussion of all aspects of the design and architecture of the stadium. This does not include the merits of rate payer burdens etc, this is about design and architecture. So pop on over and have your voice. I really only want to moderate this, I want you to drive it, your contribtions will be valuable.
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