Steelso V6.0

All started off well, I went for some tea at the Hallion with Debs, Brian, Topher and Johnny. I had a great slab of meat with some lovely creamed spinach that Brian kindly shared. It was lovely and a great start to the evening. And a lovely bottle of wine there too. Sweet.

Then off to see C-90 at the Arches. I as surprised as I thought this was a stand up but it was a little bit of theatre. And it was beautiful. I can’t really go into what it was about, I can’t really remember. I laughed and felt sad and felt happy and felt that I had no idea what had happened at the end but I was elated that I had seen it. I want to see it again. I loved the fact that one of the characters decided to be a lollipop lady rather than a lawyer as she could then save the lives of thirty children a day. A thoughful, moving, funny, wonderfully performed show.

Couple of G&T’s after the show then it was time to take the five minute stroll to Barfly to see Beecake. Earlier in the evening I had a chat with Topher about the fear of seeing a friend’s band. What if it’s pish? What if you hate the music? What if? And then you have to see them and have to give the honest answer to the question,”What do you think?”.

I needn’t have worried. The guys we’re great, for me they really kicked in around the song “I’m Sorry”. It was brilliant to be there. I jumped along with the best of them. Also got to see some people I haven’t seen in a while which was great too, esp. the lovley Mark. What a surprise, what a treat.

After the boys finished I spent some time talking to people, went “backstage” (silly little room) and passed on my congratulations to the guys and talked about me being a roadie in LA for them. Which would be hilarious. Have to learn to tune guitars though…

Talked to some peeps, esp the people who came from Japan for the gig. They were lovely and very sweet. I wasn’t sure who was more excited about being there, them or me. It was good to meet fans that are fans rather than hiding in fucking forums being nasty and cruel about people that they haven’t met and don’t know. Scared, sorry little fuckers. Anyway…..

Then off back to the Hallion to drink and laugh. Billy, Mark, Aude and Ali came up after and we had a right good chat about the gig, the importance of stories and how you tune guitars. I’m also getting my Garage Band lesson soon too. Turns out my camera works just fine when I’m pissed too. Good camera, good.

I got a bus home. At 3.15am. That was weird, I don’t usually get a bus home at 3.15am. All good.

S

x

steelso :: Jan.28.2007 :: Gigs, Glasgow, People, Pictures, Social :: 16 Comments »

As well as my shiny (well sexy matte) black MacBook I’ve also got a new camera. The reason being that I’ve had a lot of occasions that I wish I had a good camera and was missing my broken old one. So I decided to indulge in a sweet Canon Ixus 850IS. It’s small enough to carry around all the time even in it’s soft case. It’s very cute. And now with iPhoto on my Mac (have you heard, I’ve got a new Mac…) the management of the images is ideal and straight forward.

On Friday I was lucky enough to indulge in one of the reasons that I really wanted the camera. In out offices at GRP we look out upon the city and sometimes, esp. at this time of year, we get the most stunning sunsets. Friday was one of those days so I went outside and took some shots. As the camera’s first test it performed beautifully. The next test is to see how it works when I’m pissed…

steelso :: Jan.28.2007 :: Cool, Creative, Pictures :: 5 Comments »

Upgraded this week and became the proud owner of a new MacBook. It really is a thing of beauty. I was lucky enough to have it all setup quite quickly and given that I’ve only really dabble in the world of Apple before I’ve not had any real problems in making the switch. It’s all been fairly painless after I installed my desired software such as Firefox, Neo Office and Thunderbird.

I’m really happy with it, Frontrow is very cool and I burnt my first DVD. I like feeling a child like wonder when software helps you do things that you felt that previously was a heavily technical operation. I had all sorts of fancy pants transitions going on. Photobooth, using the built in iSight camera, is funny too, kids love it, I love it. Moved all myiTune information onto the Mac and it was easy enough if a little time consuming.

So far so good. It’s only been a few days but I’ve not really had any major problems with the transition. It’s been pretty smooth. If I stumble into any issues I’ll let you know. Sweet.

steelso :: Jan.28.2007 :: Cool, MacBook, Thoughts :: 3 Comments »

Wee thing i was asked to respond to. Not sure why it missed a deadline but I’ll post it here for fun. The questions I was asked is in bold…

How is new technology and innovation leading the growth of online communications?

If you want to find out just go on-line. Over the past year we’ve been invited to participate on various websites. From entertainment sites such as YouTube, social networking like MySpace and news sites such as “Comment is Free” section on the Guardian website we’re asked to contribute our thoughts and ideas. This was always the goal of the Internet, to share and expand information and with infrastructure costs becoming cheaper it’s becoming a reality.

Viral films, blogging, SMS messaging, digital TV, intranets, email marketing and online advertising have all contributed to the revolution in communication. How important is it that a full spectrum of platforms are utilised in a campaign to gain the full benefits of the online medium?

There is no point creating a fantastic website if no-one knows it exists. Alternatively you can’t create a brilliant SMS campaign that directs people to a below par website. Converting people from visitors to customers means looking at the entire spectrum of digital and traditional marketing and ensuring you’re using the right mediums to them.

With technology driving effectiveness and accountability, are they still key to online¹s growth as a communications platform or is it now proving to be the internet¹s widescale appeal that is the medium¹s pulling point?

The beauty of the medium now is that widescale appeal and accountability can work together, I don’t see it as an ‘either/or’ situation.

With the introduction of better web technologies the “Page View” metric will reduce which will force agencies to be even more accountable. The only metric worth noting will be “Visitors Converted”. This will only be for the good.

Is new technology making the web more effective?

Yes, but we won’t see the benefits until at least 2008. The web was originally designed to share academic papers, not perform complex shopping interactions or display huge amounts of video. With more and more Internet experiences becoming more and more complicated, the experiences will have a more “software” feel rather than done on a webpage. You’ll be able have more sophisticated interactions with a website without a crazy amount of mouse clicks and page jumping.

With new innovation increasing the webs functions, how important is the issue of accessibility online?

Accessibility, which also includes those accessing via dialup, is always important and the main players in the next phase of web technologies are certainly keeping it at the forefront of development. The issue is going to be with digital agencies implementing accessibility standards into their online projects.

Is technology being held back by the speed (or lack of) consumer¹s uptake? Ie unable to meet the high-end specifications?

Adoption has always been an issue for digital agencies. We’re always hoping that the end user will have the higher spec PC’s or the best broadband experience in the home and workplace and that they’re thinking about upgrading to the latest web browser or mobile phone so that we can share with them the best Internet experience possible.

That’s always been the case and one of the challenges for digital agencies; gauging the tipping point from when a technology becomes mainstream enough for the majority of users to enjoy and engage with.

It’s one of the reason’s boo.com failed all those years ago. The design and functionality was far in advance of the average user’s setup and so turned off all but the most technically advanced user.

Are clients now investing more in their online strategies, rather than just building a website and hoping that an audience will arrive? What examples are there of this? How have you helped develop clients online strategies?

The “build it and they will come” approach is thankfully fading out. Most of our recent clients are looking at their website then working out the best way to get people to there. Each client is of course subtly different. For certain clients press can be the best way to drive traffic, others natural search engine optimisation, others may need a cheeky wee viral to grab user’s attention. At GRP we’re looking at not just building a great website for the people our clients want to talk to but a compelling “garden path” that leads them to the website in the first place.

steelso :: Jan.26.2007 :: MySpace, Questions, Social Networks, Thoughts, Web 2.0, YouTube :: No Comments »

My team are a shower of cheeky bastards.
That is all.
S
x

steelso :: Jan.24.2007 :: Idiot, People, Team, biscuitmedia :: 3 Comments »

Due to some sadness with my ex’s family the week is now all over the place. I’m here to support her and as such the knock-on means I can’t get to Manchester for the gig on Thursday. While it’s “one of those things” I was really looking forward to it and a bit gutted I can’t go. But it’s one of those things. No one to blame, just one of those things. Which for me is a bit tough as I like to account (i.e. “blame”) for things when they don’t go to plan, even if I’m the cause, but this is just one of those things. Deep breath. It’s cool.

Weekend was quiet, on Friday Gareth and I had a chat on how the Internet had fundmentally shaped the whole gig experience and why theatre would have trouble replicating that. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Dave and Kirsty popped in and we went to a “Celebration of Political Song”. Actually I went for more beer and I really was annoyingly annoyingly sneery when I got there. That didn’t go down well. It was good to see Mr Sneddon though. So after winning a fiver on the puggy, Kirsty was kind enough to give me a lift up the road and I broke the no-indian-food-when-dwunk rule and had a chicken tikka chasni.

Kids at the weekend but we all had the cold and we spent the weekend blaming each other and feeling miserable. D thought it hilarious chopping down my trees in AC:WW. I was raging. J spent the time pretending to be a cat so he could rest on my lap and be pampered. He can’t purr but he can meow. Sweet baby jesus, he can meow. Esp for treats, juice and petting.

We held a family vote and decided that I (and in turn us) should get a Wii. Well, D and I are excited about it, J just kept saying “Wee” and pretending to, well, wee. He thinks it’s funny that you have to buy a Wii. He noted that he could give us Wee anytime he wanted. We’ll see who’s laughing when it comes to Wii Sports boxing! Sean and Sally are invited up so D can show them the Wii. More laughing from J.

Been writing some comments for a couple of publications up here. Not sure if they’ll see the light of day so I’ll post them here if thwey don’t. Not because they are magical just because I want them to go somewhere.

Four people at work will have a Xbox 360 all connected to the international net in the next week. We’ll be like a Clan and everything! I started making a dance for us. Stewart (not I) is not convinced, in fact he looked a little afraid. Jamie has a purple cable of joy. Old man Marc is still holding out, he’s saving for a big Costco box of Horlicks. Old man Marc, you daft OAP.

Toothpaste can help rid DVD’s of unseemly scratches.

Meeting the lovely GFO tomorrow then a trip to the Edinburgh city for some lunch and a chat with the nice people at koncept. Tony and I will be as witty and hilarious as the last time we went to the Edinburgh city.

I talked to Conlon today too. Like Thor on the phone. Loving his work.

Take care, hope life with you all is well.

S
x

steelso :: Jan.22.2007 :: Animal Crossing, Clients, Everyday Stuff, GRP, Kids, Nintendo, Thoughts, Wii, Xbox 360 :: 5 Comments »

It’s not all news and porn on the Internet, hell no. A whole lot of websites are there to make your life just that wee bit easier.

Take Lifehacker. Loads of tips everyday from geeky to obvious. Want to put a webcam into a bird feeder? Done! Did you know that drinking water can help a bad back? Result!

Social websites, like yer MySpace, yer Bebo, yer Facebook, have inspired loads of people to go online, create their own ‘look’ and connect with other people. Now a UK startup allows those same features through the power of the MOBILE PHONE! It’s called Buddyping and basically it can track roughly where you are by picking up a magic signal from your mobile and then connecting you with people with similar interests in that area! Freaky! You can see where I am right now here! I have no idea if it’s useful but it’s pretty cool. Expect to see lots more technology like this in the future.

Finally I think it’s cool to get in touch with your inner artist. Even then the unlimited power of the Internet can help. Take a look at Mr Picassohead, (here’s one I made of history’s greatest monsters!), make your own streetz artz or throw some paint around a canvas. Please feel free to send your work into the gallery but I’m afraid we can’t return any of your paintings.

steelso :: Jan.19.2007 :: Cool, Creative, GRP :: 2 Comments »

Happy Birthday. Read some more about Legend Ali reaches 65th birthday , and some great quotes. One of my favourite books is “King of the World” which gives some great history on the man. And of course “When We Were Kings” is a great film too. I’ll toast the man tonight.

steelso :: Jan.17.2007 :: Everyday Stuff :: 1 Comment »

Another of the good things about having music back in my home is that my kids are loving it too. Jake in fact can hear a song and then sing it back to me pretty quickly and I love it when he just kicks off. Esp on the bus as he did last week much to everyone’s amusement. Here he is singing Treehouse by I’m from Barcelona…

And Chickenpox by the same band…

I am a very geeky, very sad dad….

steelso :: Jan.16.2007 :: Kids, Video, YouTube :: 11 Comments »

Ali and I saw Joanna Newsom last night at Glasgow’s City Halls. It was a great concert though Ms Newsom did seem quite nervous as it was the first time that she had played with an orchestra before and it was amazing. She has such an incredible, powerful voice and the harp playing!!!! Wow, just stunning, her fingers went over the harp at such a rate and out came music. I know that’s how it works but it’s difficult to describe just how inpressive she was.

She also played a Scottish folk song that I listened to a lot growing up which was beautiful.

All in all it was an inspiring night. I hadn’t been at a concert for such a long time and it was great to see a 20 piece orchestra in full flow especially with such good, emotional music. My highlight though came at the end. When she sings “And I am watching you, And you are starry, starry, starry, And I’m tumbling down” it gave me chills. A great night, one to remember and looking forward to seeing her again.

Thanks to Ali for being a great friend last night and for being my backup to annoying ticket women. Ali would’ve killed her in one blow!

Next off to Manchester for the 29 Swedes!

Oh and Ms Newsom is very cute too. Well done!

Edit: Scotsman and the Herald review. I like the way she kind of splits reviewers.

steelso :: Jan.15.2007 :: Gigs, Thoughts, YouTube :: 3 Comments »