Steelso V6.0

Yes, its been a been a while and yes I am very ashamed. The reason is as boring as ever, work. Work has been crazy but it has been very, very cool. We’re doing some work I’m really proud of for Dunfermline Building Society and some fantastic, jaw dropping work that Beth did for a pitch that I can’t talk about. Yet.

I’m also working on Cosmopolitan magazine of all things looking into the murky world of social media. I’ve been loving it, it is so interesting though I do have to agree with the most wise Steve Rubel that all media is media is media, social or otherwise. I like his style.

Social networks though, that’s an interesting place. We had a chat today at work, the first of many great debates,  about social networks. It’s a selfish space, a place where people are nosy and all trying to find out about each other’s friends and acquaintances. It’s not a place that suits brand advertising unless it can help connect you. That’s the interesting part. How can brands connect you with people you care about? Do you want them to?

So. Social netorking. Lots and lots of places to do it. Who has the time to check all these feeds from Flickr, Facebook, Bebo, Digg, Mixx, Hi5, etc, etc, etc. It’s basically a hassle. I’ve been beta testing friendfeed for a while. It’s a website that brings all these strands together. I like it but I do feel that I’m getting overloaded with info and actually piling it all together is a real help but is too much. Also it doesn’t have an iPhone interface and one of the reasons that I’m blogging less is that my iPhone is really now where I spend most of my free knowledge time. I pick up tweets and do all of my RSS feeds from Google reader on the iPhone. It’s just easy.

The next debate at work is probably going to be about something on how advertising is dead. Online and offline. Is it?

Steelso :: Mar.31.2008 :: Clients, Creative, Equator :: 5 Comments »

Work is crazy at the moment. All good. The Glasgow International Jazz Festival website should be live today and we also launched a website for Falkirk as a tourist venue a few weeks ago.

We’re also pitching for a number of clients which is taking up a chunk of my time and the team are putting to bed a number of websites that will be launched in the next couple of weeks. All good!

steelso :: May.16.2007 :: Clients, GRP, new clients :: 1 Comment »

All crazy here, good news and bad. Sadly we parted company from Knockhill Racing Circuit. While we had won the business and gone quite a way down the strategy route we got stuck in/on the design phase. Which is a shame. They’re now with someone else and while we would have loved to have finished our design process with them we respect their decision and hope that their new agency can flick their switches. Or shift their gears.

Upwards and onwards. A couple of meetings on the go this week and looking to make a couple of websites more conversational.  It’s interesting on how things change. About 8/9 years ago a big attraction in creating a website is that you could appear to be a large, almost faceless corporation online even though you were a one man band in Outer Nowhere.

Now the shift is having conversations on-line, making the connection between brand and customer more intimate. This seems to be the big push on technology. The question isn’t how can I talk to my customers but how can I listen. Big brands are looking for the one to one. Little brands looking to show care. Transparency.

If you’ve ever searched the web for a review of a product, a camera, a TV, anything then you’ve been part of that conversation. I found that I haven’t joined in many and I feel I should contribute more. I’ll be reviewing my camera for Amazon. Not a big deal, just trying  to be helpful and part of the chat.

Feeling invincible today. That makes me thoughtful.

The picture above was a bit of street art that I found in Ibrox. I’ve passed a thousand of those utility boxes and wish that every kid was given a box of chalk and told to brighten them up. I’m loving this work.

steelso :: Apr.19.2007 :: Clients, Cool, Thoughts :: 2 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 »

This goes out to all my friends from across the sea. When you came to visit the UK how did you plan your trip? Did you kow here you wanted to go, did you wait until you got here? On the ‘places to see’ list did you research it on the Internt or was it through the recommendation of friends and family? Did you visit any muesums/visitor attractions while here? If so, why and how did you know about them?

This is all info I’m looking for based on a wee project we’re working on at GRP. I’d love your insights. Love them.

Thanks you beautiful people.

S

x

steelso :: Jan.10.2007 :: Clients, Questions, Travel :: 7 Comments »

I’ve been mucking around with MySpace for a friend. This is what the beecake came up with. I have to say I hate MySpace setup. Which probably why I’m not their target demographic. To old see.

steelso :: Nov.06.2006 :: Clients, MySpace, Web Launches :: 7 Comments »

Yes, yes, you heard right, style. It’s not something that I’m well known for but tomorrow I’m attending the Scottish Style Awards with some clients and the team at GRP. That means I have to get, emmmmm, styled up. Primark, here I come.Style of course is all very well. We recently launched a website for Ben De Lisi and his range of bathroom fittings. All very nice.

Tonight I’m off to a comedy club with some of the GRP team for some comedy. Which is useful.

Off to Primark tomorrow to buy a wee suit that will probably melt when I go in the rain. Pictures to follow of course…

steelso :: Oct.26.2006 :: Clients, Cool, GRP, Scotland, Social, biscuitmedia, new clients :: No Comments »

Happy, happy, happy. Kryotrans’ new website was launched today. It’s been a great project to work on, thanks to Chris at Kryotrans and also to Victoria at 7th Floor for making it a joyous project to work on. Go on.

steelso :: Oct.18.2006 :: Clients, Cool, Web Launches, biscuitmedia, biscuitmedia web design :: No Comments »

We’re not like the dentist, we don’t have the drill. Mostly we’re sweet and inquisitive like small curious animals. However recently I’ve been asked what a potential new client should think about before having a first meeting with their potential new web design company.

This isn’t a full list, it’s not in any order as such and I’ll probably add to it as I go but here are my initial thoughts.

1. Try and think why you’re looking for a redesign or a new website. Do you feel it is time for a change, has your business moved on but your website stayed still, do you see new ways for the website to help your business or are you just unsure if your website is working for you?

We’re not looking for the answers, we’re here to help. However any insight you can give as to why you’re talking to us that would be great.

2. Take the time to look at your competitor’s websites and see what you like or don’t like about what they are doing on-line. This can be useful in determining what’s working in your market and also help us understand where your market is heading on-line.

3. If possible talk to some of your customers to see what they would like to see on your website. This could be additional information about you or possibly placing some business processes on-line. Customer insight is something we believe strongly in and we’ll probably do some research into your customers but your views will be invaluable.

4. Bring as much of your current marketing material as you even if you are planning to change it. It’s good to see what messages you are currentl;y sending out and what values are important to you. Expect to be challenged on them. We’re not tryig to be annoying, we just want to understand as much as possible and that usually is by asking why and then asking why you didn’t do it an other way. This will help us get to know you and your market better.

5. At a first meeting please, please don’t get too hung up on the design. The design is created by understanding your business, your market and, most importantly, the people you are trying to reach with your website.It’s all about the strategy and planning at this stage. Of course you can look at our web design portfolio however at the moment we’ll focus on getting the direction of the website right rather than if it’s nice in red or blue.

Just 5 wee tips. I have a load more but I think these are the top five that I have. Have I missed anything? Anything that hindsight has taught you or any common practice that you’re using and care to pass on?

Loving it.

steelso :: Sep.18.2006 :: Clients, Hints, Questions, biscuitmedia, biscuitmedia web design, new clients :: No Comments »

Congrats on John Amabile’s new website that went up live last week. John was a pleasure to work with and we’re delighted that he’s delighted with the final results. We used some neat Flash video to highlight John’s presenting skills somethign that we’re only too happy to get involved with.

Lenny Crooks finally left GFO last week and I had the the sad task of removing his details from the GFO website. I felt cruel doig so.

Some good new client wins in the last week, Westpoint Homes are looking to us for a redesign and we won a Health Board contract for a new website to tie in with a project they are launching soon. All good.

And we won a game at the GRP bowling tourney on Friday night. My team were like tigers, tigers! I was proud of them all.

steelso :: Aug.28.2006 :: Clients, Cool, Video, biscuitmedia, new clients :: No Comments »