Wednesday 24 February 2010

Rules For Writing

Since my days in Cambridge, I have linked the Guardian to my English degree (spending breaks between lectures solving the G2 crossword and complaining about the ridiculous shortness of the Sports section, mostly). I think this article can provide additional evidence for the above association:


Ten Rules for Writing Fiction


Good stuff.

A couple of quotes that stood out:

  • "Laugh at your own jokes." - Neil Gaiman
  • "Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire." - Geoff Dyer
  • "Write only when you have something to say." - David Hare
  • "Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other ­people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted." - PD James
  • "Be without fear. This is impossible, but let the small fears drive your rewriting and set aside the large ones ­until they behave – then use them, maybe even write them. Too much fear and all you'll get is silence." - AL Kenendy


Sir Ian McKellen spat on me last night. I had front row tickets for Waiting for Godot.

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Why A Music Strategy Matters To Brands

Why A Music Strategy Matters To Brands

In a nutshell:

"Music is both content and media [... It] offers the largest array of consumer-facing touch points (reach) than any other category and is by far, the most consumed entertainment content today [...] If attention is the biggest cost in marketing, then all of these are potential attention silos. If done collectively over time, it can help create the emotional equity to build trust with consumers, which is still the most valuable connection a brand can make."

Couldn't agree more. Brands + Bands = Love

Sunday 14 February 2010

P.S.

Post-Secret has been one of my favourite creative projects in recent years. It's based on a combination of honesty, human creativity, bravery and a little bit of love or pain (or both). The project, created by Frank Warren, invites people to design their own postcard which should reveal a deeply hidden secret of theirs and post it anonymously. The anonymity of the project was a key factor in its startling success. Ranging from happy to sad, from sweet to bitter, from funny to overly serious, the postcards are invaluable little gems of humanity. Each and every one of them deserves a careful look, and a few moments of thought.




http://postsecret.blogspot.com/


and something similar I found a few minutes ago.

Saturday 13 February 2010

Cute



A cute ad. Even though, personally, I would probably go in for some puppy petting.

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Gnothi Seauton

Finally, a bit of self-reflection in the MTV headquarters. The new logo was announced today, and, not surprisingly, the words 'Music Television' were nowhere to be found. The channel's general manager Stephen Friedman acknowledged that a new logo and rebranding process might probably come in handy in communicating to viewers that what's in a name (especially the letter 'M', in this case) doesn't really have to mean anything. On the contrary, it could be anything! Which means... time for fun speculation! M could stand for More? Manic? Modest? Mature? Maybe? Did anyone even actually pay attention to the words underneath the logo? Were they ever part of the logo? Could you read them on anything smaller than a 25" tv? Does it even matter? The UKTV Channel Dave actually got its name because, allegedly, "Everybody knows a bloke called Dave". Doesn't necessarily establish it as 'the home of witty banter', but it still works.

Maybe they finally realised that they haven't actually played any music since Britney Spears' debut album. Which is what everyone knew already. A bit on the slow side, these MTV fellas.

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Can it?

When the sausage roll manages to take on Cheryl Cole, and it's not even the sausage roll, but just a sausage roll, you seriously start to wonder whether social networks are the new form of direct marketing. IMO Cheryl Cole is one of the biggest rebranding examples of the 21st Century - if a sausage roll becomes more popular than her on one of the biggest online social networks, and following RATM's Christmas triumph over Simon Cowell, perhaps it's time to go online. TV was for the 90's. Facebook is now, it's free, and everyone's on it.

Funny how...

Motorola's market share in Europe was 2.06% last December, and they managed to almost overshadow the Superbowl last Sunday with this:



P.S. Check out the thumb double.

Monday 8 February 2010

Fucking genius.

You think everything has been done, the search for originality is a lost cause, and we have entered the age of recycled items and ideas.

And then this happens:

http://www.youtube.com/searchstories

Genius. Absolute genius. The best form of self-advertising I've seen recently. Kind of makes me want to read some Kerouac and go on a road trip.

Self-titled

I find opening titles are difficult things to write, especially if you want to sound original. I think this one says it all. Clear. Concise.

As a partial expression of my dislike of twitter, I have decided to start a blog. Start fresh. I have a couple here and there, mostly dead. Why try and raise the dead? I'm 23 years old, and I can use every day as a fresh start. Every day is a clean slate, and the way we use it depends on us. Baggage is always there, and as you get older it gets more, but as you get older you get stronger and more able to carry it. In 'Up In The Air' George Clooney says that 'moving is living'. Could be.

Just to stick to conventions though, this blog will try to:
  • inspire
  • inform
  • irritate
  • ignite
  • intoxicate
whoever stumbles upon it. If you're reading this, I hope you'll come back again. I realized that an interesting mind is a terrible thing to waste, and I also realized, belatedly, that you don't have to be a world leader or a rock star to be interesting. Additionally, and embarrassingly enough, I found that I type faster than I write and in 2010 time, like money, is little. Blogging isn't just about sharing with others. It's to help your increasingly forgetful self remember. I love how I'm using 'your' when actually referring to myself.



Guess I'm a serious lady living off a teacup full of cherries.

Now what?