So Wednesday night is Mandarin night. A full three hours of trying to master a language that has approximately 60,000 characters (or so they think, nobody actually knows!) due in part to the fact there are four different tones which can make the same word mean VERY different things!!
I'm in the middle of a 10 week course which should result in me having a vague idea of basic greetings, asking directions and ordering dim sum. (as you can probably tell I have no ideas of grandeur when it comes to my skills!)
This week we learnt how to introduce ourselves, say where we're from and ask after one another's well being.
Jokes aside it really is such good fun! Ming (our teacher) is a hard task master as she literally doesn't stop for the full three hours but she likes a good laugh (yes that is a picture of her laughing and not showing off her fillings!)
The other guy is David. He's an accountant and has real trouble saying the number 4 which phonetically sounds like the first part of the word 'sew'er.
More updates to follow and if there's anybody working for W+K Shanghai (or the like, those are the only guys who I can think of with an office out there) who are looking for an energetic digital planner, here I am!
Yesterday I happened to cycle past the first flat I ever lived in when I moved to London, suffice to say I hadn't been back nearly two years and I was suddenly gripped with that feeling that you get when you go back to your old school. In many ways it's indescribable but I think you know what I mean when I say I felt slightly apprehensive mixed with excitement as well as a sense that I shouldn't be there. It was odd and whilst I looked up at the windows and balcony all the memories of the parties and fun times flooded back and I felt immensely warm whilst chuckling to myself. People walking past must have thought I was slightly unhinged as I looked longingly at a block of flats grinning away.
One thing that I did think however was how great it would be if you could tap into this feeling through some sort of communication? Now obviously the biggest stumbling block would be that everyone's feelings are acutely personal (old schools, houses/flats, ex's etc) so whatever was being said and whichever medium was used would have to combine ambiguity with specifics. Ambiguity, to avoid wastage of ideas on un-receptive audiences and specifics, which tap into the key feelings that are generated in these situations.
Immediately I'm thinking that this might be something that is user generated at its core and maybe facilitated through the brand, for example Orange could offer users the facilities to put together a slide show of their memories of school which would include photos of old teachers and perhaps classrooms and playgrounds. From this I could see other people from the same class/school chipping in and giving their opinions and versions of the school/events etc. This is quite a large scale example and I imagine it would be for primary and secondary schools however that's not to say it wouldn't work on a really small scale personal level. i.e. destinations of childhood holidays, the first place you met, maybe track down your first car?!!!
Bit of a stream of consciousness and lacking in details but I think if it worked this would create a very neat network that would be fed from all sorts of different sources and could allow for people to share their early experiences using modern technology as a facilitator.
Just read about this quite cool technology that the guys over at City Sense have come up with. With the proliferation of GPS on mobile, tools like this were always going to be developed.
Although we're fairly habitual in our drinking habits (especially on a Friday after work) I think knowing where the hotspots are or aren't (depending on what sort of night you're looking for) could really help you to shake up where you normally hang out. Currently it's only on Blackberries so the current hotspots in London would probably be Bishops Gate and Holborn, but things should improve after the 11th of July...
I attended Interesting 2008 on Saturday and had a great time. There were talks ranging from how horses can get scared by the most mundane of things (crisp packets) to a quite beautiful demonstration of a Technics Zoetrope. There's already been plenty of coverage of this so I thought I'd just comment on the aspects I found most 'interesting'.
In order of appearance. Firstly there was Collyn Ahart Chipperfield who declared the 'death of nostalgia' and that 'authenticity was soon to die'. She supported these statements with examples of fashion trends and the innocence of children. The one thing that really hit home was (and is the theme of much of this piece) is that we should stop writing narratives about who we are and more about who we want to become. This idea resonated somewhat.
To help concretise my notions of understanding what you could become we were given a talk by Steve Hardy about what it means to be a 'Creative Generalist'. Again lots of resonation going on here, and his examples made me realise that getting massively over excited about various subjects but coming away with only a superficial understanding is actually not such a bad thing. Long live the Jack of all trades!
Jenny spoke about Churchill which I thought was a brave topic to talk about as it's easy to use examples that many people are familiar with, however whilst alluding to his satirical wit (drunk/ugly, drinking poisoned coffee etc) she told us about some other slightly less well known attributes of the great man. She ended it beautifully by saying that courage was defined by Churchill as not only having the courage to stand up and talk but also being able to sit down and listen. It reminded me of a pieceAnt wrote which I often think about in meetings and interviews.
James put together some beautiful animation using his Technics Zoetrope. I love the way he used something so simple to recreate a classic form of animation with such fantastic results. Maybe nostalgia isn't dead after all Collyn?
Spent most of the day chatting to Clive who's a freelance brand planner over from the states doing some work. We had some good chats especially when we got down the pub.
So in summary, I 2008 was a fun day. Met some interesting people and it helped me to develop and rationlise some personal preconceptions. Bring on 'Brief 2008!!
Nike are offering their customers the chance to get a unique pair of hi-tops designed based on the two most striking colours from a photo which they can text in to a special short code. Not sure I'm convinced, I mean how crazy are colours going to be for you to want them sprayed all over your shoes. Before I did any research into this concept I thought it was going to be something like what Anya Hindmarch does (don't ask me how I know about this) where you could scan a picture of your ex on the toe and go and score some hardcore goals in a muddy field, but alas it isn't. It's a good start though none the less.
Saw this on South Bank on Saturday. Not sure how welcome 'Czech Tourism' will feel when they read this, although the language is so colloquial they might just see the international sign for love and feel touched that the British had decorated the table for their arrival!
I had a chat with a nice man called Rik from Pocket Surfer yesterday who told me about the new version of their product, The Pocket Surfer 2. Basically it's a mini lap top that has no other functionality other than to surf the web, hence the name.
To be honest I found the experience a bit basic and un-rewarding. The screen was very grainy (although I was told the new version was improved - why show me an old version then?!) and for something that would be used by the occasional surfer who was looking for a bite sized online experience for a bit of entertainment for example, you can't even watch videos on it or listen to music!! The hook for the consumer is that for handing over £150 you get what is a quite cheaply made piece of kit and free internet for a year.
Their argument for why this is better than the iPhone for example is the amount of money we are charged for data. While I agree with this, I'd much rather pay a bit more cash every month which might work out as £10 a month (cheaper than £12.50 a month with Pocket surfer) and I get a phone and all the other cool functionality that the iPhone offers.
Ultimately I was being offered advertising opportunities and whilst their targeting is quite specific (location, direct competitor web sites etc) there are only 12,500 users which is far from convincing I'm afraid.
Posts
