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Gigulate Launches API, But How Does This Help You?

April 21st, 2009 · Opinion

‘Tis interesting news that Gigulate, the Last.fm, Hype Machine, Techmeme, MusicBrainz inspired interwebs content mashup is releasing the hounds on their brand-spanking new and shiney API, providing general joe public web designer access to the data that runs their site.

But what does this mean for you and me?

Well in short it means the hurdles are being broken down in the kinds of access we get to the swill of related-content floating around the internet. In Gigulate’s case it means that punters get ready access to all kinds of music news, gig details and related ticket links (which allows them to make money and you get gig tickets). Is this ground breaking stuff? Well not really, and kinda represents more of the same, but in theory this is great for those that use the internet.

In a world where musicians usually just want to do what they do best, which is create music, having YET ANOTHER site to pump info into is yet another mountain to climb in the process of hitting the big time. In reality, Gigulate is designed to draw the strands of all these disparate sources together, but who knows what comes from where, and with less than tech savvy artists out there, the site and its service will be little more than a passing blip on the radar.

My on-going struggle with the sphere of music online is one in which the space is becoming increasingly fragmented, making it harder and harder for those that actually create music to reach their audience. If anything bands, artists, musicians and labels need to take control of their own space and destiny online and actually generate the content in a place which matters, that being their own web site. With blogs, feeds, samples and more, the so called “online music revolution” should be able and forced to reach out to the musicians to actually get what they have to offer to the wider world.

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Another Great Week …

April 20th, 2009 · Work

I have been having a great time ever since I joined the team at Stink Digital, but this week has been the week to surpass all weeks since ’08.

Having toiled with the team over the last 2 months to finish the video and web site for Philip’s new Cinema 21:9 microsite, along with all the other companies involved, agency Tribal DDB and post house Redrum, to name but two, we finally polished it off and pushed it out the door to great acclaim!

Thursday saw the site and video start amassing tens of thousands of hits a day, see it selected as Hotshot in the Shots Magazine, as well as make the plaudits on many other ad industry sites and newsletters, whilst today (20th April 2009) the site has been lauded with FWA‘s prestigious Site of the Day award, as well as personal credits on the Motionographer blog and a tip of the hat from Kanye West himself: “Hands down video of the year!”

It’s great to get broad recognition, both from the internet populous at large, available to see on twitter and elsewhere, as well as by industry buffs that keep the ad world ticking in cyberspace, all the more so when you work as part of a small team. From my perspective, it is great to be back to a small team environment where all efforts are appreciated, rather than being the chip of a much larger block where you are just another cog in the machine and pretty much non-existent.

Who knows where the Philip’s Cinema 21:9 site might go from here, but for certain, there are just as many exciting things on the Stink Digital block right now and you should definitely watch this spacing regarding cutting edge and gripping things to come. East London is definitely hopping with us in town!

Check out the director’s cut of the short film Carousel by Adam Berg on the Stink Digital web site, or better still check out the full interactive experience for the Cinema 21:9 TV.

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It’s Not Every Lunch That You Run Into Goldie

April 20th, 2009 · Personal

After dropping by Spitalfields for lunch, a work colleague and I decided to saunter up Brick Lane for a quick peep at any art on view in the streets and to pop into the new exhibition ‘Goldie: The Kids Are All Riot’ at the Maverick Showrooms on Redchurch Street. Little did we know that we would bump into the legend, his mouth bedecked in gold and his face sneering with the legendary attitude that makes this musician, artist and part-time actor so great.

For those who wonder what the man looks like in front of a pack of photographers:

Goldie does PR

Before we showed up, he had obviously been doing a little in-gallery demo for the journos present and was reveling in the glow of his stardom and the press attention. The show itself was pretty cool, though nothing that was jaw dropping or innovative. Perhaps the most interesting pieces were those from Goldie’s early days in the 80′s, which alas only comprised of some 2-4% of the show.

Post Goldie we went in to see Monsters Inked at the Idea Generation on Chance Street. Pretty damned good and reminded me of the work by the father of a friend Bob Conge / Plaseebo.

Definitely a great lunch, and the sun was blazing to boot :) Feels like Spring is here and soon the Vandals, Taggers and Artists will be out painting the town red again, with me following swiftly behind before the bastards from the council show up to clean it away.

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Junior Tea Enthusiast vs Office Gimp

April 20th, 2009 · Opinion

With this awe inspiring quote from the CEO of The Filter, David Maher-Roberts:

“The Filter’s ability to understand a person’s tastes makes it a breakthrough solution for the enormous amount of information online.”

They really knew how to nail the job description for their available intern position:

“Junior Tea Enthusiast – We’re looking for a tea enthusiast to join our team here at The Filter. You’ll have an active interest in discovering new and exciting teas as well as an obsession with brewing, pouring and serving tea.”

Not sure I could have put it better myself, though as those who know me best, I would probably have described it in the even more graphic detail.

What’s wrong with just saying you need a data entry clerk, an office lackey, or just plain old-fashioned gimp? Surely trying to be humorous is simply demeaning to someone who likes you service enough to want to come and join your team and work like a monkey during their summer holidays for a pittance, if any remuneration at all.

Anyhow, I love my tea, but I think my taste is a little too sophisticated for them, so I shall not be applying. Let’s hope they find an all deserving tea maid soon. For their sake, if not mine!

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A Great Day for a Ride or Guided Bike Tour Around London

April 19th, 2009 · Opinion

It’s Sunday the 19th of April 2009 and the sun is beating down on my balcony. It seems like the perfect day to go on a bike ride, or better still to take a guide bike tour around London.

I have always thought that visiting London is best done on foot, but in reality, this is great for micro-visits, and adventurous types who never feel like they are in the realm of getting completely lost. Moreover, time and effort is expended in walking for the value return in distance, conversely you can ride around London on a bike, safely if you know where to go, and actually encompass a lot more in distance. You could easily ride from one side of central London to the other in half a day or in just a matter of a few hours, but you certainly couldn’t walk it in the same time. The walk from Putney Bridge to Richmond alone is some 12 miles and 4 hours hike.

So how do you actually discover a side to London that you wouldn’t otherwise without traipsing around on foot? Well a good friend of mine, Ian McPherson, has started Spoke ‘n Motion. The operation provides small groups of 10 or so, courageous bikes the opportunity to discover Central, South and East London, by day and by night. I must say, the “Sights at Night” bike tour of London is a great ways to see the city, and ends with a boat cruise of the Thames and a post-ride tipple at a pub of your choosing.

Highlights of the tours Ian provides include, but are not limited to: Tower, London and the Millennium bridges, HMS Belfast, the Clink Medieval Prison, Southwark and St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as Westminster Abbey, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the South Bank Arts Centre, the London Eye, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, and of course the quintessentially english, Eerie Victorian gas-lit streets.

Though the cost of a ticket, starting from £16.95, is on par with any of the guided bus tours around London, after 5 hours of cycling around town you will certainly feel like you have fulfilled your vacation exercise requirements, had a fun, exciting, interesting and most certainly safe and friendly time, and most importantly, felt like an integral part of the tour, rather than just another bum on the seat of a bus or a boat.

So what are you waiting for? Get on over to Spoke ‘n Motion London Bicycle Tours and book a bike tour that will make your trip to London a memorable one, not least because of the crazy British foldable Brompton bikes they provide you on the tour.

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