ThoughtSpurs

The BBC just launched a new version of its iPlayer ap for people with a web connected TV.
The Beeb has an enormous store of content and a less restrictive model than most commercial broadcasters. As both content creator and distributor it can decide its own rules. While this might be a unique position in the market and give the broadcaster a slightly unfair first mover advantage it does offer a glimpse of what ‘TV’ might mean in the future that is converging upon us. Features of the new app: •    on-demand •    advanced search •    playability on multiple platforms - mobile and static. Audiences have become used to adding layers of experience to television viewing. TV remains a channel with few restrictions on quality based on bandwidth. It is a fire hydrant compared to the relative trickle of the web. In recent years a significant proportion of the viewing audience have also overlaid secondary media to their viewing experience. Laptops, tablets and smartphones mean engaging

Today I attended a conference organised by New Zealand's Ministry of Science and Innovation. Frankly - my head spun. The international speakers were genius. The ideas that formed were exciting. I was covering the event for Idealog Magazine - for some reason it was invitation only. It should not have been. However, let me chat about this video. Wow. That is all.

A few years back Saatchi & Saatchi CEO popularised a new take on brands by coining the phrase Lovemarks . A clever repositioning of his agency that proved popular with clients and staff. But in the era when brands are scrambling to find meaning in social media, perhaps Lovemarks is a little bombastic - asking too much? Facebook's 'Like' is ubiquitous. Commercial pages are deemed successful by the number of 'Likes'. It is, perhaps, a lazy way of expressing approval - and it certainly can't be extrapolated into the kind of passion for the brand that Lovemarks describes. But the people have spoken. So - I have created Likemarks™. More thoughtful essay to follow.

I don't keep food at home. There are a number of reasons for that. Principally: buying uncooked food comes with responsibility. You have to cook it. I am OK with pot noodles. But the subtlety of anything more complex eludes me. In pragmatic terms I also have to deal with the small matter of having the right equipment to prepare the raw ingredients for consumption. Have you seen the prices of Le Creuset pans or a decent set of knives from Henckels? Then there is the simple fact that my cooking talent could fit on the head of a pin with room left for a million angels. So, once I have spent my small fortune (and believe me my fortune is small) on grocery items and the obligatory impulse purchases - have you seen the price of fresh vege and meat?! (...It is criminal. Our prisons are crammed full with lesser offenders.) …I don't seem to be able to get out of a market without dropping forty bucks. Minimum. I could be cooking peanut butter and