 |
|
BY MATT 23 APR 2008, 03:11
|
What does it say about the China boom when this is the image chosen to represent the new life!!
Shanghai
|
|
|
BY MATT 17 MAR 2008, 07:09
|
I found myself on the 30 something floor of the Sony building a few weeks back in NY, presenting some ideas on all things music.
We then went up to the big cheese's floor - and in this huuuuuuge reception area they had a wee piano tucked in the corner. It occurred to me that this small piano could have been the very instrument upon which something of the world's best loved music was written.
I couldnt help myself - I darted over, threw out the coat tails and belted out a quick tune. Brilliant
If anyone knows whether I have now indeed sat on some immortalised piano stool do let me know. much appreciated :)
Sony Bmg, New York
|
|
|
BY MATT 11 MAR 2008, 02:17
|
Whilst in San Francisco we dived out to Google to explore with some of their very bright people synergies around some projects.
In the waiting lobby (of our builiding number 45 or something but am sure they have them in all lobbies) they had this small screen dropping from the ceiling, on which was projected in real time a catchment of scrolling google seach results. A new one appeared every second, mostly in english but also saw japanese, french, spanish etc so it must be some kind of global catch all.
I dont know if I've explained that right - but standing there in Palo Alto, staring at this scrolling loop, we were observing a global snapshot of what the world wanted to know at that moment in time. Brilliant.
I tried to film it but got told off by the reception people. I reckon Google are missing a trick - its such a weird and wonderful thing that they should have a 'window on the world' type thing on google.com that the 'world' can view. Surely they can activate it to overcome any data protection issues. Google?
San Francisco, Google
|
|
|
BY MATT 10 MAR 2008, 07:58
|
At the risk of highlighting my sizeable and growing carbon footprint (which I will innovate some kind of offset but refuse to be part of the 'plant a tree and hope it will still be here in 100 years' bollocks!) I can report that again Korea surprises...
you know how you get on most planes, making sure you've bought a mag or newspaper to flick through until you get to 30,000 feet and they turn on the entertainment - well not Korean Air. You get on, sit down and its all on and ready right away - and instead of some clunky menu drop remote thing, their screen is like a computer, with a mouse and cursor etc and you just scroll around and click your way through...
which means you're sitting down with noise cancel headphones getting into no country for old men when people are still getting on. Brilliant.
sounds wanky I know, but when you're on a round the world in 30 days on 8 different airlines these small details make a huge difference...same for most products!
Korean Air
|
|
|
BY MATT 09 MAR 2008, 08:33
|
the new seoul international airport looks like something out of the thunderbirds, and is to efficiency what heathrow is to tolerate.
altho its an ealry wake-up and hour long taxi ride to get there if you're flying at 9am.
so on rolling up to check in, which 1 of these 4 classes sounds most appealing; economy, morning calm, prestige or first? Brilliant.
Korean Air
|
|
|
BY MATT 09 MAR 2008, 08:21
|
greg rowland of semiotics.co.uk coined this phrase last november in our workshop for unilever in Japan. I think its genius, I love the grammatical tension and if you're looking for a 2 word summary of japanese culture this is it.
so now knowing this, I'm forever alert to the displays and subtle ways that 'politeness' culturally expresses itself or not depending on where I am.
this picture is taken on the metro in Seoul, an easy way to assign a few seats in each carriage for the disabled, elderly or pregnant etc - and it clearly is a cultural norm because even thought the carriages were packed, no-one sat in the empty seats in these allocated areas. Brilliant.
not so radical tho eh...just bloody good manners. would the same thing happen on the crowded tubes in London?
Seoul, Icons, Metro
|
|
|
BY MATT 09 MAR 2008, 07:42
|
we're in Seoul - a city of 13 million people. who knew!
that's a third of South Korea's population in 1 city...a bit like Auckland in NZ I think! urban drift is not anything new, but from what I've being experiencing re traffic and sprawl we still have a way to go for urban planning and developing to innovate new 'sustainble' solutions.
anyway, i've have noticed as we travel through Asia that the use of english language as signage and logos etc signifies 'premium' in some way. or, they just have found a better way to express a common activity.
what would you prefer - your hotel room cleaned or styled? Brilliant.
Language, Korea
|
|
|
BY MATT 09 MAR 2008, 07:21
|
you probably know or have read that lots of large corporations throughout Europe & North Amercia have banned access to facebook et al due to lost time and productivity.
however, in Australia last week we heard from some HR people that 'talent' is becoming ever more difficult to find, recruit and retain.
so the new idea is to offer access to facebook during work time as the competitive differentiator...come work with us you and poke as much as you want.
industryapproved has a view on the facebooks of this world but you know what they say about opinions! that, and we wouldnt want to be disbarring about the lucky country, cos maybe for some people in some jobs under some bosses, staying connected through facebook is...Brilliant.
Facebook, Australia
|
|
|
BY MATT 03 MAR 2008, 09:50
|
When we arrived in Shanghai we jumped a taxi into town..took an hour and a half. As we were heading in we saw the elevated monorail and thought we must check when we head out if there is a train to the airport....some train!
Its called the 'maglev' and its one of those freaky magnetic gravity free levitation train innovation thingys http://www.smtdc.com/en/index.asp
We got up to 430km/h. Made me think of that legendary fast kiwi Burt Monro. Brilliant.
Makes you think how amazing it would be for one of these on the London-Edinburgh line...but as the saying goes, anything is possible with team work and an unlimited supply of resources and labour.
Maglev, China
|
|
|
BY MATT 03 MAR 2008, 09:25
|
We've just left Shanghai..what a place, just mind bogglingly over-stimulating!
Thing is, every conceivable branded store from around the world has a 'high street' presence, from B&Q to Gucci, from IKEA to Marc Jakobs...except music! There is no HMV, no Virgin, no Borders even - piracy is rife, so it just doesnt make commercial sense I spose for CD's and DVD's.
Yet we are down here trying to work out how we can innovate music to market - good luck with that eh! However, we did learn of some websites where people pay for music at 1.00RMB per track (about £0.07p). On the low side for sure, but...
It's digital, so low cost to distribute..and there are literally millions of potentail music fans waiting to enjoy music they have never heard of! Brilliant.
Cd Stores, China
|
|
|
BY MATT 01 MAR 2008, 06:04
|
So having ticked off Europe, North America and Australasia Richard and I are now deep into Asia on our global insight tour. We're learning amazing stuff about women and music, but its starting to take its toll - it's Saturday here, but we are holed up in the hotel trying to download and make sense of everything that is rattling round our jetlag brains...
here's Richard letting off some steam to Native New Yorker...only not quite aware that we are in China. Brilliant
China
|
|
|
BY MATT 26 FEB 2008, 04:44
|
So most of us are trying to put more green into our daily lives - and for some that means getting on ya bike. However, not every office provides the much needed 'post-sweaty ride to work' shower... a barrier to many joining the cycle lanes.
So here's an entrepreneurial solution from some compatriots in downtown Auckland. They call themselves BikeCentral and they're a 1 stop bike commuting shop, from daily storage and showers, to personal lockers, bike repairs and morning espressos. Brilliant.
You can find them at the newly opened Britomart Centre, or check them out at www.bikecentral.co.nz
Sustainable Business, New Zealand
|
|
|
BY MATT 29 JAN 2008, 09:19
|
So we all know about how Radiohead recently released their new album direct online and fans got to choose how much to pay - well check this t-shirt we photographed last Friday morning on the San Francisco Cal Train out to Palo Alto...
not only is it a classic statement - the online model this lot (not Radiohead - but a company called 'tastytshirt.com) chose for 'release' was the same i.e. you got to choose how much you wanted to pay! brilliant.
altho their faith in humanity was a bit dented...average price paid was $3.37 - I'd say thats less than cost - altho in a further twist to the 'pay how much you like story' their average was more than the reported average of Radiohead's!
Does that mean the perceived value of music is now less than the perceived value of a cheap cheeky t-shirt?
check them out http://www.tastytshirt.com/radiohead.html
User Generated Purchasing, San Francisco, Music
08 FEB 2008, 09:16
BY RICHARD "That's my photo, I need paying! "
07 FEB 2008, 04:57
BY JK "Interesting"