Well the ‘big reveal’ was yesterday morning and I must say we are looking hot imho.

Mind you, it is still taking a bit of getting used to as everytime I come down in the lift, I think i have just  been transported to a rather cool hotel lobby rather than just down to our ground floor.

Thankfully the coffee machine is working today and our lovely barman Andrew was back to his usual singing self!

Well down to our boys in Facilities for sorting it all out for us!

Welcoming the great and good of the world, Davos attendees included British Prime Minister David Cameron, business leaders Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook) and Paul Polman (Unilever), and even ageing musician Mick Jagger. Included as part of the stellar cast of dignitaries, Hill+Knowlton Strategies client Wipro Chairman, Azim Premji and CEO, TK Kurien were also present.

Wipro’s Mr. Premji was listed, prior to WEF, as one of the top 10 power brokers to watch at Davos. It was evident that Wipro’s 2012 appearance would be one of its most significant. Representing a booming Indian economy, Wipro would discuss global growth in face of economic uncertainty.

To help promote its message, Wipro sought to secure an audience with some of the world’s most influential journalists. Flexing the global reach and network of H+K Strategies, the UK Technology team coordinated international outreach in partnership with its counterparts in the US and India.

In the weeks before WEF, the UK, US and Indian teams worked closely with the Wipro in-house team to arrange high-profile interviews with their respective media to ensure a global response. Populating busy schedules for Mr. Premji and TK Kurien, the teams arranged briefings with Reuters, The Economist, The Daily Telegraph, CNBC EMEA, CNN International, Bloomberg TV (Europe), BBC (Radio 4 and News Online) and New York Times. The response was overwhelmingly positive with media keen to hear from two of the world’s most relevant businessmen and gather their thoughts on how to repair the economy.

During a hectic week, where H+K Strategies and Wipro communications teams juggled schedules and continued to secure briefings, Wipro executives met with some of the world’s most influential media, sharing the company’s vision and building relationships for the future. In its 8^th year at Davos, Wipro acknowledged one of its greatest ever media responses and an exceptional quality of media reached.  Attending over 20 interviews, with international media, in just five days – H+K Strategies’ Technology, in partnership with our friends at Wipro, has set the scene for a great year ahead.

CNBC Europe

CNN International

Bloomberg TV

For more information on the H+K Strategies’ Technology team, follow us on Twitter – @HK_TechLabs

And on the hunt for a vacuum cleaner, I was interested to come across Electrofarm.  I am very tempted to buy one of their previously used cleaners.  Not ’second hand’ I noticed, the word does not seem to appear on their website.   I also liked the money back guarantee and the warranty.  I will let you know if I go for it.

(As an aside, does anyone know which PR it was who originally came up with that ‘most depressing day of the year’ crap? It’s been going on for years now, and each time I see it mentioned I imagine some jaded Associate Director boring their staff with the tale of how it was their great idea back when they were a JAE, and then slowly weeping into their BLOODY CUPCAKES about the likely fact that it will be their only legacy on this earth).

So as we gird our loins to take on February and the inevitable torrent of rubbish that we are fed by the media and brands across the world in celebration of the festival of lonely inadequacy that is the Hallmark Holiday, let me attempt to provide some brief respite in the form of this week’s Web Curios, which I can assure you will contain no references to the forthcoming saccharine-fest whatsoever. Aside from perhaps this one.

It feels like this sometimes, doesn't it? (Image copyright Melissa Cooke

Things About Things About The Internet:

• First off, read this. IT IS ALL TRUE. Are you a brand? Do you work for one? Are you on social media? HAVE YOU EVER BOTHERED TO ASK WHY OR WHAT FOR?
• The Facebook Section
  • So Facebook have now officially launched the Open Graph stuff to all developers. Now we will all be able to watch as our ‘friends’‘cook’, ‘plan a trip’, and, inevitably, overshare about all sorts of insignificant aspects of their lives. LUCKY US! THANKS FACEBOOK. Obviously what this actually means is that brands will start scrambling over themselves to try and find ways to make themselves and their products relevant to our lives and lifestyles – effectively companies will be competing to ‘own’ verbs within Facebook, much as Facebook now ‘owns’ the concept of Liking something online.
  • Autotrader gets in early: See, by way of a domestic example, the manner in which the Autotrader app works – allowing people browsing cars on the site to mark them as ones that they ‘want’ – information which will pop up in their Timeline with a link to the Autotrader Page. And, er, then people will buy more cars from them. They hope.
  • App Privacy Settings Change: All this stuff about brands wanting to be PART OF CONSUMERS’ LIVES (*vomits*) is increasingly significant, because as of this week it’s even harder to spam people’s timelines with activity from your branded Facebook app. All apps will now need to give people the opportunity to opt out of aut0-alerts to their friends, meaning that with a bit of luck you will never again need to know that the weird girl you sat next to in Chemistry (you know, the one who smelled faintly of milk) has just installed the Ann Summers’ FB app.
  • Spotify/Ticketmaster: My favourite clever thing of the week (in a workish context at least) is this app from Ticketmaster that lets you not only buy tickets from within FB, but suggests forthcoming gigs based on what you are listening to on Spotify. This is clever – and the potential for this sort of datasharing is huge. Doubtless it will just be used to do stupid crap like recommend crisp flavours based on the books your profile says you like, but I live in hope.
  • Oh, and Facebook continues its inexorable march towards total world domination
• The Google+ Section (because, you know, IT MAY WELL TAKE OFF YOU KNOW):
  • Record Video Directly into G+: You can now record and share videos from your webcam directly to people on Google+ without putting them on Youtube first. Which, if you think about it, is actually quite a cool thing for brands with access to celebrities, ambassadors, talent, etc – you can give your fans on G+ PROPER exclusive content that they couldn’t get if they weren’t on the network. Which is a) a nice reward and b) a decent way of persuading people to follow you on the platform.
  • Not Google+, but actually it sort of is because Google+ is Google is the internet, effectively. So as of this week it was announced that Google will share stuff that it knows about you across all its services – and that there is nothing you can do about it. The machine is watching you. And people whose job it is to sell stuff will pay the machine A LOT OF MONEY to know what it sees and tailor the snake-tongued lies accordingly. So that’s nice. In fact, this has just popped into my feed – a load of people in advertising talking about how it is in fact A GOOD THING! I don’t know about you, but I’m inclined to believe them implicitly, for it’s a truth of the world that the advertising, marketing and PR industries have nothing at their core but a deep and abiding desire to improve the lot of man.
• The Twitter Section:
  • The McDonald’s Thing: Not worth dwelling on too much, as it was a classic case of the internet getting excited about something for 24h and then moving on, but this story about McDonald’s is illustrative of how important it is for brands to realise that NOT EVERYONE LOVES THEM, and not everyone will behave in the manner in which they wish when presented with a hashtag that they can ‘comedically’ abuse
  • Ah, Censorship: It was inevitable really, but this still makes me sad. Earlier today Twitter announced that it would limit content’s visibility geographically based on ‘local cultural sensitivities’. Watch controversies about suppression of trending topics, etc, take centre stage again over the next 12 months. IT’S THE END OF INNOCENCE.
• A General Stupid Thing That Annoyed Me: So this tweet from technology INFLUENCER and general social media bore Robert Scoble riled me this week. He’s at Davos, and maintained that the world’s richest and most influential are ‘behind’ on social media. Mate, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THE WORLD (if you discount the Masons, the Illuminati, the Bilderberg lot and the lizards). Maybe, just maybe, that statistic proves that social bloody media isn’t that important to them. Maybe. Grr.

That doesn't look right (Image copyright Michael Burton)

More Internetty Stuff, But Generally Less Serious

• This has been a good week for well-designed single-page websites. Here are some nice examples:
  • The Evolution of Google
  • The Dangers of Hydraulic Fracking (more interesting than it sounds, I promise, and actually a pretty important issue)
  • Responsible Paper Purchasing for WWF
  • That website that shows the mind-buggering quantity of video uploaded to YouTube every hour
• It’s also been a good week for video-based websites. LOOK:
  • This one, for IKEA in Russia, is just very slick – as almost everything IKEA does digitally is. High production values, nice interface, and a generally feelgood vibe about the whole thing. Are Billy bookcases still called Billy in Russia?
  • This one, for a chair manufacturer I have never heard of, is I think my favourite thing of the week. Largely due to the conceit of brainwave-influenced art – it’s almost a waste that it’s used on domestic upholstery. Oh, and Lorenzo is ADORABLE. Do click.
• The Best ‘Your Face HERE’-style website I’ve seen in months. It’s a music video for a Japanese band, and it takes a while to load, but I really do recommend giving it a go. Clever.
• Timehop: What were you doing a year ago? Presuming that you were, like today, wasting your time reading stuff on the internet, pishing around on Facebook and Tweeting your brains, Timehop will let you go back and see exactly how you were spending your day. Interesting if frivolous idea – and something that will doubtless be exploited by a branded app on the Facebook Timeline VERY SOON (an aside – 1 year ago today I was talking to people about Kenneth Tong – remember him? No? Good).
• A Nice Use Of QR Codes: And that’s not something you will hear me say (or read me write, more accurately) very often. This one is cute, though, even though it was probably still only used by about 18 people. As a counterbalance, this is a VERY STUPID use of QR codes.
• The best 404 page ever. Even if it is in Flash, which pedants on Twitter pointed out to me is a BAD IDEA.
• A very clever little iPad ad for Audi
• Mattel are doing a lot of good work in digital / social at the moment, the latest example being this website for Barbie which re-imagines the ICONIC BLONDE BOMBSHELL (with balance issues) as a series of classic artworks.
• Think you know the internet? Think you know memes? Bet you can’t get all 20 of these. If you can, you win a poster (and my sympathy, frankly)

It won't hurt a bit. (Image copyright Maskull Lasserre)

Other Stuff I Have Found Interesting That You Might Too:

• The Biodiversity Project: Not only a collection of beautiful photos, but a chance to buy prints of them AND donate money to fund the future documentation of endangered species. They’re cheap, too.
• One Question Interviews: These do exactly what you’d expect, but there’s something illuminating about them (I think)
• A History of Pitchfork: VERY long, but if you’re interested in music journalism and in fact the music industry as a whole, this is a great read.
• In fact, while we’re doing ‘long’:
  • On ‘negative’ campaigning in US politics (worth reading as it has interesting things to say about the theory and practice of communications overall)
  • On Apple, manufacturing and assorted related issues (basically why the West is banjaxed)
  • On the concept of The Passion Trap, and why we really don’t like Mondays
  • On the ’salaried bourgeousie’, and a perspective on the makeup of the Occupy movement
  • On Muay Thai boxing, Thailand, travel and running away
• Right, enough LONG stuff. Have a FRIVOLOUS FRIDAY GAME
• The drawings of a middle-class child – in this case, Middle-Class Jamie
• Animals in hats. Look, it’s FRIDAY. This is what the internet demands on Fridays.
• Lists of Note. Like Letters of Note. But lists.
• The music of trees. A beautiful art project, I think.
• And finally, I am BAFFLED as to why this campaign hasn’t got more attention. SLIDES ON THE TUBE!

Bye! (Image Copyright Joey Bates)

VIDEOS! There were LOADS that I wanted to include this week, including this one, this one and this one. Below are the ones that made the cut (ha – like there’s some sort of stringent editorial policy going on here):

1) We’ll kick off with a proper labour of love – 6 months in the making by arty design-y video-y people Oh Yeah Wow, this video for ‘Rippled’ by All India Radio is all kinds of awesome. Enjoy:

2) Simon Spurrier wrote a book. It was ACCLAIMED. But because he’s not a famous, noone bought it. So he made this video to try and persuade people to buy the paperback. I challenge you not to want to shoehorn at least one of these phrases into conversation today:

3) I’d never heard of The Naked and Famous before, which sort of makes a nonsense of their name. Nonetheless, I quite like this song, and the video’s a nice example of arty slowmo oddity. It’s called No Way:

4) This is a video of a lego man being sent into space. No more, no less. There is, though, something just incredibly poignant about the unshakable smile and expression of benign optimism on his face, as we watch knowing HE WILL NEVER MAKE IT HOME. I’m getting all lip-quivery just thinking about it:

5) I am going to lift this direct from the video description as frankly it says it all. “Visualization of the 1st violin of the 2nd symphony, 4th movement by Ferdinand Ries in the shape of a rollercoaster” – gorgeous, and you will wish it lasted longer than it does:

6) This is A.Chal. Turn it RIGHT UP. There’s something pleasingly disturbing about this track – Roses On Your Silhouette:

7) Don’t know what the exact background to this is – the video is by Alexandre “Osmoze” Brakha, but doesn’t seem to have any connection to the song which is the D.L.I.D remix of Phoenix’s “1901″. Either way, I love this song and the video too:

This borrows a lot from early Eminem, and from hiphop fad genre horrorcore (of which this is my favourite example, should you care), but is no worse for it. Tech N9ne ft. B.o.B & Hopsin – Am I A Psycho?

9) Last but by no means least, IT’S POPEYE!!!! And Wilco, but, y’know, POPEYE!!! Bye x

Here are 5 Top Take Away Points that Official and un-official Brand Sponsors should be thinking about:

1. Sponsors should start rehearsing and testing their crisis plans and responses now

2. The London 2012 Olympics is the first real Digital Olympics – sponsor ambassadors must be ready to converse in the digital space. There will be a huge emphasis on the social media side of the Games

3. Journalism has gone full circle – they are digging around for stories on supply chains, sustainability, manufacturing etc. Your business with the Olympics will not be the only thing under scrutiny but your business in general

4. Management of Olympic venues are being let to different contractors so plans for post Olympics are well underway

5. Sponsors of London’s Olympics will now be assessing whether they will continue with their programmes, evolve in some way or withdraw from sponsorship completely

Although we are ready on so many levels, it is clear that there is still many areas that sponsors need to give great attention and forward planning to.

To get a full understanding of how ready London is for the biggest event we have ever hosted, watch the video

So here are our ‘ones to watch’.  They may turn out to be trends or they may not.  What we will aim to do over the course of the year is to write about how they change, grow or whatever…

1. Austerity living takes off

We wonder if this is the year, that living differently in an age of austerity becomes cool.  In our minds, this is not about depriving yourself, it’s about living in a way that saves you money, but can be fun and makes you feel good because it was smart.  It could be sharing more things rather than buying, splitting weekly shops with friends to save money and avoid throwing anything away or making money out of the things you no longer need.  We may have already seen some signs of this in the study by Young and Rubican published just before Christmas.

2. Companies exploring new business models

Last year we saw companies explore how they can find additional or new revenue streams from sustainable business models – things like new business models from the Co-operative, with its energy company and Recyclematch, launching an  eBay-like market for industrial waste, as well as start-ups like in.gredients, (soon to be launched),  which  will be the first package-free and zero waste grocery store or Dyesol (formed in 2004), a supplier of solar technology that has integrated solar cells into fabric,  such as backpacks and tents to give access to portable sustainable energy solutions. More examples are in WWF’s Green game-changers report.  Old models of consumption are no longer fit for purpose and we think we will see more renting, less ownership, reselling and making money out of waste…

3. Activists teaching us how to be creative…

Over the past couple of years we have seen activists such as Greenpeace, 38 degrees and AVAAZ use social media and other digital channels, to successfully protest in creative and innovative ways. Greenpeace had a taste of success in June 2011, when it was announced that, “the most-watched-ever advert to hit YouTube was Volkswagen’s “The Force”. Activists are teaching us all how to drive change through creativity. We see groups replicate previous successful campaigns, for example, one of the original spoof hijackings of Exxon Mobil, was so popular that, now when a brand enters a crisis, someone copies the idea and sets up another fake account for the brand they are attacking. When we find ways to get attention, we expect others to use these techniques. We now even have organisations like The Yes Men running a hub to teach other activist organisations how to creatively gain attention through media pranks and stunts. It will be interesting to watch how this grows over the next year, what else we can learn from activists and what other creative ways of protesting comes through…

4. Sustainability benefitting from the recession

Times are tight for companies and individuals, whether or not we fall back into recession.  We’re all having to make do with less and make that go further.  This is good for sustainability, so maybe tough times will help build the case for sustainability for both businesses and for individuals.  Will organisations think twice about cutting back a team who can help deliver efficiency and cost savings? Or companies who invest in this area succeed in making their businesses more robust?  Ironically this could be an opportunity for the leaders to push harder and get even further ahead. On the other hand, it may force a race to the bottom with companies simply offering cheaper and cheaper goods regardless of the environmental impact.

5. A new game changer emerging in 2012

For many years the sustainability business leaders have been companies such as M&S, Unilever and SAB Miller .  It seems to us that it is time for another leader to emerge.  We have a hope that it will come from the tech sector.  As we can see from Greenpeace’s Greener Guide to Electronics, tech companies are moving in this direction. Treehugger this month reported from CES 2012, that “consumer electronics manufacturers have a long way to go before the industry can be called “sustainable”… But companies have come a long way in even just the last few years in designing for recyclability and efficiency”. With risks piling up around areas like the supply chain and e-waste, 2012 could be an opportunity for a game changer to emerge.

H+K was joined by Kantar Health, Orital Consultancy, H+K Denmark, Kai Gait (former digital commerce marketing manager, GSK)and Google+ each of whom gave presentations highlighting the key challenges, developments and tips for healthcare PRs looking to extend their communications strategy into the digital sphere.

Kantar Health informed our attendees key stats about healthcare consumers. 47% of people write comments about brands, mainly to share or offer advice. Further to this, 70% of people surveyed said they are influenced by ‘social comments’, mainly from other users rather than from the brand. This insight reiterates the importance of social media and the challenges that brands must to respond to, listen to and engage with.

Arve Overland from H+K Denmark talked about Mobile Health. Digital’s move to mobile apps is an area in which the healthcare industry needs to assess whether the platform is right for them. Healthcare app devices generated $718m in 2011, although this figure is impressive, how can PR’s ensure they are creating a good mobile app in a cluttered environment.

1. Does it solve a problem – is there a need?
2. Does it extend product offering onto phone?
3. Does it provide information, reference or education?
4. Does it increase productivity?

Finally, the last presentation of the morning was on Advocacy 2.0. Jessica Walsh, Director in Healthcare spoke about Building Bespoke Comms. Having created a bespoke community for International Osteoporosis Foundation, OsteoLink, she  provided healthcare PRs with a few tips on how their own online communities can be credible eg- they must be transparent but also protect patient privacy and data. Content must also be relevant, regular and responsive.

The second half of the event started off with a wonderful visual presentation from Kai Gait who went back to social media basics by discussing the importance of building relationships. Crucially in order to build relationships online it’s important to provide all the information your customers need to make an informed decision otherwise they will be knocking at your ‘virtual door’ very quickly!

Joseph Taylor from Google expanded on Kai’s strategies by commenting that it’s hard for brands to truly connect in conversion with their audiences online-  the phrase ‘the party is only getting bigger and shorter’ struck a cord with many attendees. Statistically 56% of DVR owners fast forward through commercials, therefore how do you cut through and truly connect with consumers?

The answer Taylor’s presented was Google+ and the vision: to help people connect with everything on the web! It’s use of ‘circles’ and ‘video hangouts’ being just the start of how Google is ultimately looking to help users ‘link up’ all content.  The intuitive features of Google+ ultimately help people to better communicate, tailor content and segment their audience.

H+K’s Demystifying Digital Healthcare event was a fantastic day filled with inspiring dialogue and thoughtful questions from attendees. Collectively the challenge for healthcare professionals is about finding solutions to the obstacles that digital media provides and thinking about how the industry can make a difference using digital channels.

We’ll be back on the blog after the event to let you know how it all went!

And look! We have a new name here at H&K sorry, H+K towers. Truly, shiny 2012 is unrecognisable from dull, turgid old 2011. Let’s be honest – these are dark days, not helped by being greeted every morning with the radio telling us exactly how banjaxed everything is and will continue to be for the rest of the foreseeble future, and by having to observe the tawdry spectacle of what is already shaping up to be one of the filthiest political campaigns in living memory over in the US. And all that whilst having to try and keep that resolution you made in the hazy state of optimism with which you greeted the 1st of January. With that in mind, let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London some bits of the internet. It probably won’t make you feel better – in fact, there’s a reasonable argument to be made for a lot of this stuff making you feel a little bit worse, soul-wise – but, you know, tough. Suck it up. There’s another 11 months of this before you get to spend a fortnight drunk in your pants again whilst eating cheap confectionery, so deal with it.

Before I start with the links and stuff, though, I suppose that as someone who makes a living from pretending to know things about communications and the internet and stuff I ought to offer some thoughts on what this EXCITING NEW YEAR will bring in terms of digitally social media-y stuff. Except, you know, everyone did this at the end of last year or last week. Look, if you want predictions then Google is your friend – or go and read a roundup of last year and then extrapolate your own.  That said, in an attempt to justify my salary, you can have these two:

• People will start to realise that the emperor is naked: I sincerely hope that this is true, at the very least. I think that by the end of 2012, there will be a lot of brands looking back at the last 12-24 months and asking “Erm, so that money that we poured into social…why did we do that again? And why is it a good thing that 30,000 people like us on Facebook?”. This isn’t to say that all this stuff is pointless, just that if brands – and, as an extension, their agencies – continue to fail to demonstrate the real business benefits of using social media then they should expect tough questions from the person holding the purse strings. If you, your agency or your colleagues don’t ask “Yes, but why?” when some idiot wangs on about why you should plough £50k into a Pinterest campaign, then take a long, hard look at yourselves.
• Brands as Patrons: Yes, ok, so this is less a prediction than an observation. Still. I have had long conversations in the pub with my friend Adam about this, and come to the conclusion that, for a lot of smaller artists, taking the corporate shilling in some way is the only manner for them to be able to continue to make a living from their work. Smart brands will this year start to exploit this, particularly as the competition for eyeballs – and thus, for content – becomes ever more fierce. Grolsch are paying for a FILM, for Christ’s sake – this is only the tip of the iceberg.
• That’s enough semi-original thinking; now on with the shameless repurposing of other people’s material

From a series called 'Placebo' by Marco Vernaschi

Stuff that is about my job and that most people probably don’t read:

• Google and related matters: So this week’s BIG STORY in the world of the internets was Google’s announcement of ‘Search, plus Your World‘ (Google – great at making stuff, not so great at nomenclature). What this means is that Google search will, in the near future, begin to prioritise content based upon your Google profile; that is, your ‘friends’ on Google+, your browsing history, etc etc etc. Thus, effectively, reinforcing the already existing filter bubble effect (which, you may recall, I have railed against previously). Of course, Google likes this because it automatically makes it more important for brands (and, to an extent, people) to be on Google+ in order to compete in search; lots of other people don’t like it and have been quite vocal about why (you can read a more balanced range of opinions here). You will be able to turn if off – and, frankly, anyone with a shred of intellectual curiosity ought to. The concept of an internet that shrinks to fit your habits, tastes and interests is a horrid one and should be avoided at all costs.
• Might as well talk about Google+ here too: this week, Cadbury’s launched a new chocolate bar on Google+ (which is why noone knows about it ahahahazzzzzzzzzzzzzzz); big brands are starting to take it seriously (although, let’s be honest, the only reason Cadbury’s actually did this is so that they could shout “FIRST!” and then stumble under the weight of all the social media evangelists slapping them on the back for their courage and daring. It’s worth taking a look at that page and seeing how many people from the UK there are commenting. Not many, fyi). This short piece about why G+ is ‘here to stay’ is also worth a quick read, as is this wonderfully self-important (but technically interesting) rant about how it is RUINING THE INTERNET from last week. Oh, and they also recently announced that the ‘Hangouts’ feature is getting a facelift – which, if you have any sort of imagination, is the really interesting link in this segment. What I think Google+ could be, if used creatively, is an excellent deep communications tool; not used like Facebook for mass-market, broad brush stuff, but for much more interesting interactions between companies and individuals, artists and their public, etc. I reckon Ben Folds or someone similar will make a collaborative album using Google+ by the end of the year (LOOK ANOTHER PREDICTION!!!)
• Oh, and apparently Facebook Timeline for brands will be rolled out in the middle of next month.
• Exciting, eh? Oh.

Photo by Mark B Anstendig. Nice, isn't it?

Other stuff loosely pertaining to the industry in which I work:

• Clever Kleenex Facebook Thing: How much you like this depends largely on how you feel about brands effectively stalking you on social networks (remember, kids, you can do it too!). Kleenex in Israel found people who were complaining of having colds online, and sent them personalised tissue-based gift packs. Cue loads of people going “OMG THE BRAND LOVES ME!!!!”, posting pictures of said gift packs online, and doing the PR/marketing drones’ job for them. What I struggle to understand, though, is how Kleenex got these people’s addresses – apparently they ‘asked their friends’; I for one would have harsh words for someone who gave my address to the first snotrag-shilling conglomerate that asked for it.
• Clever Airline Facebook Thingy: Simple-but-nice – airline creates app that allows Facebook users to get cheap fares to visit their Facebook friends overseas. This is clever because it’s simple – you can imagine yourself being on Facebook, talking to (stalking) someone and thinking ‘Hm, wonder how much it would cost to turn up unannounced on their doorstep holding a gun to my head demanding marriage surprise them with a visit?’
• Genuinely unsettling Facebook app idea: This week’s prize for ‘theoretical Facebook app most likely to be cited in courtrooms’ goes to…
• Waterstone(‘)s: Whoever is behind this Twitter feed for Waterstone‘s Oxford St is my new anonymous crush (LUCKY YOU, TWITTER PERSON). This picture, posted in the wake of APOSTROPHEGATE, showcases why.
• Zombies RUN: Gamification is an early contender for most irritatingly over(and mis-)used term of the year. Nonetheless, this excellent app by the very clever people at Six To Start is a nice example of that very thing, and might well be useful if you have made some sort of ridiculous promise to yourself about doing exercise in January.
• I am sure that the person who wrote this is lovely, and that they will go on to have a happy, fulfilling life and career filled with love, and happiness and all the things they like best in the world. This blog post, though, is the reason why everyone makes fun of the PR industry and made me feel genuinely embarrassed about what I do for a living. So thanks.

Self portrait by Milan Nenezic

Other Stuff I Found & Liked Recently:

• The Ballad of Horse_ebooks: Or, the evolution of a meme. You may or may not be aware of the surreal genius that is the @horse_ebooks twitter feed; this is an interesting dissection of its popularity and a nice illustration of how memes evolve.
• Puppy Shelter – The Game: See if you can get all the puppies adopted! This isn’t from an animal welfare charity, but it feels like it ought to be.
• Megaman: Somewhat cheerier than the puppies, this is the whole of classic 80s NES game Megaman, in your browser. Go on, it’s Friday afternoon after all. Your boss won’t mind. Maybe you ARE the boss. Play it.
• Oh, and while we’re doing games you can also play 2011’s app sensation Cut The Rope online, should you so desire
• The Shortest Fiction: This week’s cute literary project comes in the shape of The Shortest Fiction, which prompts people with a picture to write a short short story (300 words or less). There’s some lovely stuff on there.
• Sensory Maps: My friend Luke and I once thought about doing this for the underground, but…er…didn’t. Interesting art project mapping Edinburgh in sensory fashion. Someone do London, please. Thanks.
• Shirtify: Awesome idea. Subscribe, to the service, listen to music by bands you love, get sent band tshirts, the bands get paid. Simple, and beautifully executed.
• Twitter and the Law: Philippa Thomas is a BBC reporter who covered the recent Stephen Lawrence murder trial. Her blog about her thoughts on how Twitter was used to report it makes interesting reading, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
• Fallen Disney Princesses: I think I ruined a few people’s childhoods with this yesterday afternoon. In the spirit of sharing, here it is again! Scroll right for the pictures.
• Raise Money for a Belle & Sebastian Film: Well, sort of Belle & Sebastian. God Help The Girl was Stuart Murdoch’s side project from a few year’s back; a concept album of sorts, that he had always said he wanted to turn into a musical. He’s now turned to Kickstarter to try and raise funds for it to be turned into a film. Go on, contribute, it’ll be good.
• Cliff Richard Dying Inside: Not much else to say, really.

Now, moving pictures. Enjoy them, and have pleasing weekends one and all.

1) Web Curios’ semi-regular commitment to bringing you the best in student animation continues with this STELLAR short by students from the Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques. It is called Electroshock and it is really rather good (and, you know, a bit French):

2) More animation, this time as the video for VERSIS ✖ DIBIA$E’s song “Fly Me To The Moon”, which is rather good I think:

3) Having mentioned Adam up there, I am now going to gently plug his latest single. It’s called Video Highway, it is from last year’s album “The Life Equation”, and it’s my personal favourite. Oh, you can see the first in what is a trilogy of videos here – that one’s rather good as well:

4) I know very little about this next one, other than I think it’s by a guy called Marko Slavnic. Table 7 is a nice piece of short filmmaking – 4 minutes that will make your life moderately better, I promise:

5) It’s a FACT OF MODERN LIFE that the youth of today (and not just the youth, in fact) have few qualms about sharing pictures of their naked selves with relative strangers (that sentence, I realise, makes me sound like Methuselah. No matter). If you need reminding how little of a good idea that can sometimes be, you can either check out the frankly jaw-droppingly unkind Is Anyone Up? (BUT NOT AT WORK, SERIOUSLY, YOU WILL GET THE SACK), or you can listen to this song by Ronnie Butler Jr – The Photographs of your Junk Will be Publicised

6) ‘Rome’ by Dangermouse and Daniele Luppi is a lovely album (and a nice website) and well worth a listen. This is the video for the song ‘Two Against One’:

7) You may remember They Might Be Giants from their one UK chart hit ‘Birdhouse in your Soul’ (which, if you happen to click that link, will be floating around in your head ALL DAY). They ought to be more famous then they are, I think. This video for their song “When Will You Die?” features a giant cardboard monster truck, which can only be a positive thing:

By far and away the most hipsterish thing on the blog this week, but it is a lovely song. July, by Youth Lagoon:

9) Finally a track from last year that I only discovered this week. Hand On Your Gun by Lowkey:

PLEASE PASS THE LINKS BELOW ON TO SUPER SMART, NICELY AMBITIOUS FRIENDS. While the specifics are all about H+K Strategies 2012, I truly think you’ll find this list serves as an accurate prediction of the marketing and communication industry as a whole. Happy New Year.
Stay with me after the jump, or go straight to the job specs:

• Head of Digital Studio
• Senior Digital Strategist, Consumer Packaged Goods
• Director, Change + Internal Communications
• Director, Issues + Crisis
• Intern, Food & Drink

Head of Digital Studio: This is the opportunity closest to my heart. We need an amazing person who can steer digital projects across all sectors. The sky is the limit for the right person in this role.  Ping me to discuss or RT to an awesome producer friend. >>

Senior Digital Strategist, Consumer Packaged Goods: There was a time when agencies would hire people just for generic digital knowledge. That’s not enough for us. We need a senior interactive thinker who also has a deep knowledge of our CPG clients’ business and industry. This is an amazing chance to join our biggest sector team in a leadership position and work on a career boosting showcase of famous P&G brands. Fast moving indeed. >>

Director, Change + Internal Communications: It has always irked me when people call Digital a ‘channel’. That’s such a old marketing / media buying mindset. Call email a channel if you want. Or SMS even. Digital, big picture, is like water. It is part of everything alive. And really good at seeping through walls, ceilings and silos. One wall that’s gone forever, imho, is the one between internal and external comms. Scott will have a more expert view on this, but we agree that the right person for this major opportunity in his team will understand the power of digital tools, inside and out. >>

Director, Issues + Crisis: One of the important things I’ve learned since joining H+K is about the dark side. Yes, boys and girls, not everyone that clicks ‘Like’ on your Facebook Page is really a fan. Nothing stops the navel gazing about who owns social in ad agency corridors faster than a threat to a brand reputation. The buck stops here. >>

Intern, Food & Drink team: My first four picks are all very senior roles. So why end with an entry level position? Because isn’t that how we all started on the road to career greatness? And while there are other smart agencies out there, there is no better way to kick off your CV than here at H+K Strategies. Broad sector expertise, unbeatable global network, and arguably the best client list in London. (Yes, I’m biased, but it’s true.) Our Food & Drink team is full on, but has lots of fun. They manage some of our top Facebook pages, including Tango, DairyLea and CarteNoir. Like? >>