Our theme for this week is all about the power of the cloud and the crowd. We have talked in many a Friday mail about how the digitisation of media is making it easier for individuals to group together for collective benefit, without having to be encumbered by huge infrastructural or set up costs. We have also touched upon how the notion of a job is also changing. But many of the transformations that are taking place around us go beyond technology. A more sociological shift is happening which requires us to rethink the nature of both what we do and how we do it.
The first example below is a classic example of this. It highlights how an age-old publishing model is being completely redefined by what is quite a simple technological approach. The second example just got me thinking about how the postal industry has been decimated by sites like Flickr and Facebook. It used to be that baby announcements were made in a newspaper, then formal mails were sent out to kith and kin, supported by a beautifully shot photo. Thanks to photo sharing and social media sites, each organisation or service in this supply chain (newspaper advert sales, paper and pen manufacturer, stationary sales, film producer, photographic processor, postperson) has simply been removed. Or at the very least severely impacted. The final site just appealed because I like Scalextric.
Enjoy
A new model for storytelling (http://blog.storybird.com/)
Storybird is a service that makes it simple for families and friends to create short, visual stories together that they can share and print. For artists and writers, Storybird is next-generation publishing: global, viral, and instantaneous. The site goes live next month, but I love the business model, which enables artists and illustrators to form a direct relationship with consumers, rather than being forced to go through publishers. Tony. I expect to see your work up here sharpish!
If that doesn’t appeal, then just look through the illustrations. Some are just beautiful.
Storkmail (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=75111&id=566379719&l=596c944783)
Just as we welcomed a bleary-eyed Paul back to the team, with hearty congratulations, then Mrs Clode decided to have her baby early. For those of you who want to see the latest addition to the ever-extending Hodes baby club, Stu has dropped some photos on Facebook. Raya, apparently, means “friend”, “wise guardian” or “the heaven”. Aaaaaaaaahhhhh
An old game made new (http://www.magicsocket.com/)
As someone who never reached the echelons of Scalextric ownership, I was immensely jealous when my 8 year old was presented with his very own Dukes of Hazard Scalextric set for his birthday. And now, courtesy of Paul Gass, I now have my very own set, which sits as a backdrop to navigating through a site. Hugely addictive. Heavily interactive. The only issue I have is that it detracts from me actually looking at the rest of the site. But then, I guess I’ll be coming back again and again, so I have plenty of time to engage with the company’s brand.