Selfies

'Selfies' are a huge thing amongst younger people and have been for years. But recently the trend of taking selfies, mainly to put up on Instagram and Twitter, has been taken on by celebrities and even political figures when at high profile events. Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler were seen taking photos together at Wimbledon and today Obama, Cameron and Danish pm Helle Thorning-schmidt were seen taking selfies as Nelson Mandela's memorial service. The appropriateness of the situation has been called into question as obviously this was meant to be a sombre event.

Gas Station Banksy

A mural painted by Banksy back in 2008 has been sold by the gas station owner for £209k. The buyer has asked to remain unknown which isn't surprising considering the price of the work. Its amazing that the work, which is actually not too detailed and is a comment on the surveillance of society, has sold for so much due to the name of the artist. It's only graffiti really but the name 'Banksy' has gathered such a weight behind it in the last few years that the impractical piece of art (an entire brick wall) can be so for such a high price. Even more amazing since, as no one knows who Bansky is, we can't actually be 100% sure that it is a real piece by the artist.

Lenin statue

Thousands of protesters in Kiev, Ukraine, have pulled down and decapitated the statue of Lenin in the city centre. Protesters gathered to protest against the country's move away from Europe to Moscow in allegiance with Russia. The government did not seem too worried about the protest as no violence broke out but the statue has been completely destroyed. We are used to public gatherings such as these in the middle east but they are becoming more common in europe aswell as seen in the london riots and this incident. Most protests start online now and both the events mentioned actually originated online on sites such as Facebook and twitter.

PS4 killing

A 22 year old man has been shot as he went to deliver a PS4 he had sold online. The victim, Ikenna Uwakah of Daly City, was shot multiple times at about 3.30pm on Sunday at the location where he had agreed to meet the person and sell the gaming device. Although obviously we do not know if the console had anything to do with the murder it does raise the question of why are the sales of games now being used as a way to kill people. Personally I don't really understand why games are so important to people but clearly they are very important to some people. It also suggests there are more risks to websites such as Gumtree and ebay than we all first thought.

Advert to kill

A couple in Pennsylvania have been charged with murder after they stabbed a man who answered their advert on Craigslist. They apparently wanted to kill someone together to feel closer.

 As with all stories that involve people meeting over media platforms this story raises questions about the security measures taken for the users on these sites. I personally feel that with most websites it is up to the users to ensure that they are safe on these sites. But with sites that allow people to advertise maybe stronger screening processes need to be enforced so that crime like this does not take place. Many people, especially the young or those who have not grown up with the internet, do not understand the dangers and maybe new legislation needs to be put in place so that people who are not able to protect themselves are not at such a big risk. 

Obviously this murder is a rare occasion but child grooming, credit card fraud etc. are common and maybe the internet needs to be more regulated in today's society.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela has died following a lung infection. The former South African president and human rights campaigner famous for his time in prison following his fight against apartheid was 95 years old. The South African president said in his speech following Mandela's death 'we have lost our greatest son'. For many of us Mandela has always been a symbol of the fight for human equality and rights after he helped unite the people of south Africa and his presence will be missed across the world.

80,000

Tomorrow the homeless charity Shelter are going to present David Cameron with a 'Christmas card' petition signed by over 1000 people. The petition is a plea for the government to acknowledge the amount of children homeless this holiday. Numbers have risen to over 80,000 homeless children which is shocking and awful to even consider what they and their parents are facing this winter. Numbers may have changed but I read a couple of years ago that homelessness in London had reached the same numbers as seen in Victorian times. What I find most shocking is that I didn't know about these figures until I looked on the charity website. I hope that David Cameron acts based on the petition and actually tells the general public about the crisis.

And now for something different....

Monty python released tickets this week for their first show in 30 years. When ticket sales relied on people going to the ticket office and queueing obviously sales were slower but the ticket sales for these shows are amazing. The first batch sold out in under a minute with all the tickets snapped up in 44 seconds by fans of the comedy legends. The speed at which the tickets for the July 1st show is amazing and really shows the speed at which technology allows us and companies to work now. 

.London

In 2014 London is getting its own domain name with businesses in the capitol being able to get rid of .UK and take on .London suffix. The city is the first to be awarded its own domain name by ICANN who over see the internet. The new domain name will mean that businesses can fully take advantage of the branding of the city. London as a global brand is amazingly powerful and allowing companies to associate themselves with that brand. 

Christmas in London

When we visited London this week to launch our new brief, London was dressing up for Christmas. London is famed for having some of the best Christmas decorations in the world and this year they haven't disappointed. The usual suspects, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and Covent Garden, have all gone for simple but fun designs. Carnaby Street has opted for a red robin theme with giant cut outs hanging between the buildings and in the trees. Convent garden has created its usual giant Christmas tree in red and gold and Oxford street has beautiful silver balls hanging down the street and on the trees. And of course all the shops have gone to town with their own window displays.

Mrs Cardinal?

Rumours are surrounding the Vatican and spreading through the catholic community that Pope Francis, known for being a little more liberal with his views than past leaders, may be considering a woman for the role of cardinal early next year. This would be the first ever female cardinal but considering that 70% of church goers are female isn't it about time?

Considering it is so difficult for women to rise to power in the catholic church, it might not be surprising there are only 5 real contenders for the post. Two are Irish (one married!), one an academic in Rome, one a left wing who thinks the church needs a overhaul and one is the head of the women's section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Quite a range of women but for all it will open doors currently closed to them and the rest of the female catholic population. 

Drug stalling

Former government drug advisor Professor David Nutt has said that drug testing legislation is making the development of important drugs that could stop Parkinsons disease from being possible. British drug laws are preventing vital research into how the brain works which means the development of drugs is being stopped. 

Parkinsons and depression, the other disease this research could help, are diseases that affect thousands of people in the UK and abroad. Both diseases are believed to start with the loss of certain nerve control in the brain but scientists can't prove or disprove this idea without research.

Professor David Nutt has complained that the UK lead the discovery of over 100 different substances that make up Cannabis and yet the research labs have not been able to use any of them in their research because its just too difficult to get the permission. 

This is a huge issue as these are diseases that have a huge affect on people's lives everyday and by hampering the progress of these drugs just because some illegal substances are included in the research, drug companies are unable to improve these people's life experience. 

Twitter advertising plans

Twitter has revealed that they are going to try to reach more companies by widening its advertising. This is a huge risk as it means more adverts for customers which, considering this has been decided by the advertising department of the company and not asked for by customers, could cause a backlash from users. 

The other problem is that Twitter is targeting big and small companies and the smaller ones may not have the facilities to defend themselves against Twitter trolls; Twitter are going to have to get the right balance as this could badly affect both the customers and advertisers. Twitter trolls are more of an issue for smaller companies as they won't have the same loyal customer base as bigger companies and so can be easily attacked. The main thing Twitter needs to focus on is that they work for themselves and the advertisers and do not just plunder them for revenue. 

Facebook rape

Police in New Zealand have started to track down a group on Facebook who call themselves 'Roast Busters' who use the site to boast about luring girls as young as 13 into meeting them, getting drunk and having group sex with them. The men have even named some of their victims in videos posted to the site. 

Bullying and grooming online has been a problem for a long time but it is becoming more common in the news and is now forcing the government and companies to rethink how the internet social sites are monitored. 

The New Zealand PM John Key said that the behaviour of the group was abhorrent but like most crimes committed or bragged about online it's hard to have any hard evidence and therefore hard to prosecute.

 New laws are going to be put in place however that allow the police to prosecute those who attempt to sexually humiliate victims online which I think is a really positive move forward because if a embarrassing video or image or anything gets put online, it can quickly go viral and have a huge impact on the victim's life. 

Adverts based on you

Tesco has decided to start using in all their petrol stations face scanners that can tell age and gender. Despite how it sounds this is actually to help them decide what adverts to use. The retailer will introduce the OptimEyes screen, developed by Lord Sugar's Amscreen, to all 450 of its UK petrol stations, in a five-year deal, according to The Grocer magazine. The screen scans the eyes of customers and then runs tailored advertisements.The technology also changes adverts depending on the time and date, as well as monitoring customer purchases, The Grocer said. The screens are predicted to reach a weekly audience of more than five million adults.

Simon Sugar, chief executive of Amscreen, told the industry magazine: "Yes it's like something out of Minority Report, but this could change the face of British retail and our plans are to expand the screens into as many supermarkets as possible." 

The main issue, pointed out by Nick Pickles from Big Brother Watch, is customers are not being asked for their consent. The stores are assuming that customers are happy for their faces to be scanned whilst they are waiting to pay. It has been suggested as well that if the public are told that they are being scanned when they go into certain shops or buildings it will have a huge impact on the companies people decide to use.

Mobile Christmas

John Lewis have predicted a 'mobile Christmas' this year after mobile visits on tablets or phones accounted for 40% of all visits to their website. Last year there was a lot of talk of christmas shopping all being done online and this shows with John Lewis as 50% of customers shopped online with them last December 25th. 

A huge migration from shopping in actual shops to just going online has been seen recently and those of us who still visit the shops will often check on our phones when we see a product we want to know if we could get it cheaper online. John Lewis reported that 78% of all fashion department products were bought from a phone or tablet over the last year and its no surprise as it is quicker, often less frustrating and just more convenient to go online now. It's very often cheaper as well. 

I think it will be interesting to see how accurate this prediction from John Lewis is and how many of us decide to avoid the shops altogether this year.

TV Court Case

After a decade of campaigning Sky News cameras are finally allowed into the court room. Obviously there are strict rules about who and what can be shown but this is a major break though for the broadcast industry as it finally allows the public to see the cases in action. Only the judge and lawyers are allowed to be shown and only the person speaking can be shown so that the other's reactions can't be seen. Anything that can't legally be shown can be muted immediately or the broadcast can be paused. Critics have claimed that allowing the cameras in to the court will lead the way to American style televised justice but I think it's important for people to see what happens in court and that it will help massively with news stories, such as the Amanda Knox trials, which really only confused the public as we couldn't understand the allegations or defence without going into the courts. Viscount Hewart said that justice does not merely need to be done, but seen to be done and I think these new laws will help that to happen.

11 hours a night with no water

In Ireland until Monday the water will be turned off between 8pm and 7am every night due to a water shortage. More than 1.5 million people in Ireland have been hit by a crippling water shortage with 600,000 homes in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare facing 13 hours of disruption each day. The cause is the country's biggest water treatment plant losing 25% of its production. British treatment workers have had to be transferred to the Ballymore Eustace plant to try and find why production has fallen so low. 

The main issue is how this shortage is going to affect the people of the areas who will have no water through the night. Obviously there is bottled water people can buy to drink or people make sure they have enough to make drinks throughout the night whilst the water is still on but surely that defeats the point of turning the water off in the first place because people will just stock up in the day? The other issue that comes to mind is what are the people who need water in the night for making baby formula supposed to do? Or if someone needs an ice bath for a fever? Or even if a family run out of water for that night and have nothing to drink? Especially around halloween water shortages are a huge problem. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the water shortage had been briefly discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet and that the government was in touch with Dublin City Council. His comments came after Senator John Williams told RTE Radio's Morning Ireland programme that the government needed to produce a strategy to prevent Dublin and Leinster "running out of water". The Labour Senator said "housing estate upon housing estate" had been built during the boom but the government had not developed the water supply to meet the increasing need.

Fianna Fail has called on environment minister Phil Hogan to intervene in the ongoing crisis.The opposition party's environment spokesperson Barry Cowen said the lack of accountability over the water chaos is adding to the distress of homeowners and businesses across the region.The Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association have warned that the water restrictions could not have come at a worse time and urged the public to be extra vigilant over Hallowe'en. The capital's fire service responded to more than 600 call-outs in just 16 hours on October 31 last year and water contingency plans are in place should they be required.

Google Glass

A woman in California has been fined for driving whilst wearing Google Glass. The glasses by Google have a small screen above the right eye which let the user read messages and other things most people need their phone for. Californian law says that a screen can not be seen by the driver whilst driving because it is distracting although Sat Navs are allowed. This causes a little confusion as Glass can be used for maps and as a Sat Nav. The driving ticket isn't being questioned too much as Cecilia Abadie who the ticket belongs to was driving 10mph over the speed limit and would have been given a ticket even if she can prove her Glass was turned off. The main issue I can see is that its hard to now see when these glasses could be used. They distract the user so can't be used when driving or really when walking because the user would become a hazard to everyone else. These sort of cases with the user trying to prove that they were not actually using the device while driving will become more common as well as this is one of the only times people might actually require a hands free device. It will be interesting to see how the Glass does on the market if these sort of cases continue. 

Facebook told to remove videos

Anyone on Facebook will be aware that the number of graphic and violent videos allowed to be posted and appearing on the news feed has gone up recently. Facebook sparked a storm when it lifted a temporary ban imposed in May on beheading videos, on the grounds that the site is used to share information about world events. The ban was sparked by complaints over a video of a woman being beheaded by a Mexican drug cartel, but has now been removed. The company said it would still take down posts which celebrated or encouraged beheadings, but critics called for a rethink. Although Facebook is a social networking site that many use to spread news and gain awareness for campaigns against the violent acts shown in the videos, to many who watched the videos it may appear that Facebook was glorifying violence. David Cameron openly criticised the site saying  "It's irresponsible of Facebook to post beheading videos, especially without a warning. They must explain their actions to worried parents." Even though I think parents need to take more responsibility for what their children are watching, Facebook made it far too easy for people to see these videos even if they had not intended on watching them in the first place. 

Out of this world download speeds

The american space agency is working on a new high-speed system that will allow spacecraft to beam back 3D videos from space. NASA have been testing how to use laser beams to transmit data from Earth to the moon at record breaking speeds in the hope of making a high speed download network. Usually space stations use radio waves to transmit information but NASA are the first to use laser beams in this way and it means that eventually space shuttles will be able to transmit high quality 3D videos and imaging back to the stations from space. It used a system called the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), and achieved a download rate of 622 megabits per second. To compare, the average residential broadband speeds in the UK this year were measured at 5.7 megabits per second. NASA's Badri Younes said: "LLCD is the first step on our roadmap toward building the next generation of space communication capability. We are encouraged by the results of the demonstration to this point, and we are confident we are on the right path to introduce this new capability into operational service soon." This new technology is incredible as it will allow us to see information from space in a whole new way and, in a few decades, allow for ultra high speed broadband around the world.

Banksy in New York

The British graffiti artist Banksy is in New York until the end of the month and has promised the city a new piece of art everyday. He posts a picture of the new piece on twitter or instagram and gives a general location i.e a town or area code and then it is up to the 'Banksy hunters' to find it. This work by Banksy is really clever as his political statements may be offensive to certain members of the public or the government and, as shown in the video link, might attract unwanted attention to the owners of the property the art is on but it's still too valuable and sought after to completely remove. He plays on the idea that many people, especially in the poorer areas he often works in, will ignore the messages if they can make a profit. 

http://news.sky.com/story/1152002/banksy-in-ny-better-out-than-in-on-show

Sueing Apple

Apples Chief executive Tim Cook is being sued by Mark Manacher in California after his apple devices automatically downloaded ios7 updates without his approval. Manacher has filed a legal complaint with California's small claims legal department because his phone automatically downloaded the update which uses a lot of data off of his phone meaning files were removed. His main complaint was that Apple just automatically updated without his consent which I think is a reasonable thing to be angry about as it has meant he has lost files and certain apps or functions are now missing from his phone. Apple have refused to respond to interviews and insist ios7 has received the best reaction from customers for any update they have released. Its a shame that since Tim Cook has taken power of the company customer service has apparently plummeted. 

Graffiti in Machester

Manchester's northern quarter is filled with design studios and galleries so it's no surprise that art also covers the street. I had never been to Manchester before and the amount of graffiti covering nearly every available public space was not the quick territorial markings I'm used to in London but real art. 

The graffiti is influenced by everything from iconic fashion shots, such as Twiggy shown above, to anti war campaigns, seen below.

Even in the main shopping area there was art that had been commissioned by the owners to draw audiences in and continue the artistic look of that part of the city. In a shopping mall the entrance was a bridge that ran over the photo collage shown to the left which can be assumed to be made up of photos of local residence and celebrities from the area. At the Printworks there was the graffiti shown below to fit with the area and contrast the old industrial look of the centre. 

The influence of the graphic design and art industry which has taken over the old mills of the city is clear as you walk around the area. The local industry has clearly influenced the branding of the area heavily as even businesses that have no real connection to design or art have taken advantage of the areas reputation and used creative design in their branding. 

May Ninth Relentless design

May Ninth are a graphic design company based in the north quarter of greater Manchester and, despite being a small company, have made a big impact with their designs. One of their most recognisable clients are the energy drink Relentless. 

Relentless have used a graffiti inspired design for a while but May Ninth have made the design bolder, more recognisable and generally energetic to fit the product. I really like how the colours now seem to be brighter and come in a wider range to go with the different flavours. When we were lucky enough to be able to meet the designers they told us that Relentless were quite specific about what design they wanted but the two owners of May Ninth and free lancers they employed were allowed to be as creative as possible within the requirements. 

Below are the old and new can designs.

Negativity

In 2012 negative advertising, the advert saying it wished the product wasn't as good as it is, was everywhere. The advert below for Ariel played on the idea that the colours would never fade and so the wife is annoyed about her husbands flamboyant clothing. This is a very clever idea as it points out how good the product is without the character raving about it. The interview set up grabs your attention as well because it is less like the elaborate adverts commonly seen.

Awkward viewing

A few companies, such as the one below, have caught on to the trend of keeping the audience's attention by making the adverts slightly awkward to watch. Ariel have really used this in their 'that's my Ariel' campaign in which they have a series of different people explain why they use Ariel whilst their relative or friend tries to hide their embarrassment at being there listening.

The adverts hold the audience in the same way as 'The office' held people attention because it is awkward and cringe worthy. Confused.com have also used this technique with their introduction of 'Brian' the robot who tries to help out people with expensive car insurance but always ends up getting them into trouble. 

YouTube adverts

Although adverts on youtube.com have been used for the last couple of years at the beginning of every few videos, new features have now been added. Now as well as there being the option to 'skip ad' this is captioned with a small plea saying 'don't' in the hope that viewers will watch beyond the obligatory 5 seconds.

Another new feature I have noticed is videos uploaded specifically for the adverts and often ads attached to vevo videos have options to 'see more' or a link to another part of the campaign. This is really clever as often people on Youtube are just browsing and the audience will be more likely to follow the campaign if they feel they are taking part in it or this is special footage only the youtube audience gets to see. 

The new advert below for Marmite has these links at the end.

Golden wrappers

Roald Dahl's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is one of the most read and loved books in the world so it's no surprise that Cadbury's have taken their imitation of the story's Wonka factory further than before. The new campaign tells customers to find a golden lining of the wrapper on any bar they buy to win a prize. Sound familiar? Although a clear copy of the golden ticket, I like how the golden wrapper promise has made buying chocolate that bit more exciting and childish again.

And its not just old clips

Sainsbury's has joined Tesco with the blast from the past. Using updated and acoustic versions of classic old songs recognised by most of the general public Sainsbury's 2013 campaign focuses on the idea of food being simple and rustic. In the version below the classic 1983 'Ain't nobody' by Chaka Khan has been covered.

Love every old clip

Tesco's new 'Love every mouthful' campaign started this summer to promote the love of food instead of the cheapness of it. They really needed it to bounce back from the horse meat scandal and clearly believed that showing us some familiar images might distract us from that.

The new ads pick a type of food or a quality about food from their stores, i.e being local and British, and use old clips from the archives to show the love people have for it.

Try some Rotten Tomatoes

Sites that review recent releases are more and more common but Rotten Tomatoes.com is a site that reviews recent releases as well as up coming ones. The critics are made up of journalists and free lancers but anyone who wants to leave a comment to welcome and applying to become a critic takes only a few pieces of information.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/