Three of the best pieces of news/views I have seen in the last week.
1) Responsive design, eConsultancy talks about some of the best responsive designs of 2014 (I am still not wholly convinced about responsive but that is another post) read it here
2) Re-designing iconic typefaces for Arabic, interesting article from the always reliable Fast Company website here
3) Inside Apple's design studio's. Prepare yourself as this is from the New Yorker so will be a big one. Enjoy it here
& some music for Monday Morning:
Simon's blog on life at 5xThinking
Monday, 16 February 2015
Thursday, 12 February 2015
Starting up..
One month in (or just slightly longer), now would be a good time to share my initial thoughts. Like many people, I had romantic ideas of starting my own business (I was even called an inspiration this morning), for years it was my dream and now I have finally plucked up the courage to do it.
Firstly, I had a bit of a head start, I was very lucky to pick up a very talented business partner who has some amazing contacts and is keen to help push forward this business and see it succeed. I then hit up all my old contacts and started forming a network of trusted suppliers I could introduce to companies and use myself.
The most important part; I managed to launch with two great clients, so I actually had some real work to do and keep me busy. This and starting to pitch for new work which, at moments, can be tough and amazing all at the same time!
I have learned two key things when you start start-up. First, people are so supportive and generally keen to help push you forward, even if it does not lead to instant results. We have also been extremely lucky for the support received from friends, former colleagues and contacts which has been overwhelming, people genuinely want you to succeed. At the same time I realised how important it is to open up and try and help other people, hopefully this will all come back-round and support our business in the future.
Finally, I have also spent more time in coffee shops in the last 6 weeks then in my previous 6 years and I have noticed that a lot of my fixed ideas of what I thought the business would be and where it would go are changing constantly, developing in new ways I was not expecting. Exciting.
To Month 2.
Firstly, I had a bit of a head start, I was very lucky to pick up a very talented business partner who has some amazing contacts and is keen to help push forward this business and see it succeed. I then hit up all my old contacts and started forming a network of trusted suppliers I could introduce to companies and use myself.
The most important part; I managed to launch with two great clients, so I actually had some real work to do and keep me busy. This and starting to pitch for new work which, at moments, can be tough and amazing all at the same time!
I have learned two key things when you start start-up. First, people are so supportive and generally keen to help push you forward, even if it does not lead to instant results. We have also been extremely lucky for the support received from friends, former colleagues and contacts which has been overwhelming, people genuinely want you to succeed. At the same time I realised how important it is to open up and try and help other people, hopefully this will all come back-round and support our business in the future.
Finally, I have also spent more time in coffee shops in the last 6 weeks then in my previous 6 years and I have noticed that a lot of my fixed ideas of what I thought the business would be and where it would go are changing constantly, developing in new ways I was not expecting. Exciting.
To Month 2.
Thursday, 5 February 2015
The best of eCommerce from around the web
Interesting articles on eCommerce we have spotted over the past week:
A interesting blog post about something close to our hearts, the eCommerce opportunity in China. On the eConsultancy blog, check it out here
Jay Z is taking on Spotify and Apple by buying Scandinavian music streaming company Aspire. Check out the full details on the Guardian
How to become a 1 billion pound company in 2 years, listen to what Slack CEO has to say about it via Fast Company
Even Twitter think they suck at stopping internet Trolls, according to their CEO. Via the Drum
If you are outside of London and trying to build a tech business, you are going to struggle, according to Wired
A interesting blog post about something close to our hearts, the eCommerce opportunity in China. On the eConsultancy blog, check it out here
Jay Z is taking on Spotify and Apple by buying Scandinavian music streaming company Aspire. Check out the full details on the Guardian
How to become a 1 billion pound company in 2 years, listen to what Slack CEO has to say about it via Fast Company
Even Twitter think they suck at stopping internet Trolls, according to their CEO. Via the Drum
If you are outside of London and trying to build a tech business, you are going to struggle, according to Wired
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Superbowl Ads
Here are our top 5 Super Bowl ads..
The Mindy:
The taken it too far:
The odd:
The Inspiring:
The Winner:
The Mindy:
The taken it too far:
The odd:
The Inspiring:
The Winner:
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Predictions: 2015
So why would anyone ever write predictions? They are just asking to be proven wrong and worse they are hard to deny in the future, so do not do it. Here are mine (see you in 12 months to review).
Note: Before I start, I just want to say I live by the fact all ideas which are going to be big in the next 5 years already exist in some form at this moment, so really this should be predictions for the next 5 years not just 12 months (the excuses start early...).
Here we go:
1) Virtual Reality, if you have seen anyone wearing a virtual reality headset they look strange, always freaking out (a lot like a silent disco, without the companions) however this is about to hit mainstream, when you can use your iPhone, Google glasses (maybe not, see post) it is easier to forget about Candy Crush and step into an alternate reality. I predict the first viral video of people playing virtual reality games on the tube in 2015
2) This is less a prediction and more just something I think is cool, VNYL is a crowd funded (the Kickstater raised 36K in record time) personal curated Vinyl sharing company. What does that mean? Every month they deliver 3 Vinyl records for you to play, listen and potentially keep (if you pay extra) or return and receive 3 more the following month. It's a clever idea and I like the sharing/personal curation concept.
3) Sharing/Borrowing, so Airbnb have already made this huge and Uber are revolutionising the taxi industry. So it has already started but now the sharing/borrowing/renting will be huge, whether it is sharing tools, ski equipment or even storage space. The sharing industry is going to come into it's own this year. One of my favourites of the new bread is Roadie a lot like Uber but for delivery/removals, anyone with a car/van can sign up and all payments etc completed through the app, once the item is delivered, just list it on Roadie and anyone going your way can deliver it for a the price you are offering. Brilliant.
4) Baidu will start becoming a bigger player in the west. Currently doing the business in China and fast expanding internationally, the search engine will start eating into Google's dominance of the market and become a even bigger behemoth.
5) WeChat, the Chinese social network (a lot like What's App) will become the norm, it is already 10 times better then What's App and even has a Tinder angle, shake it and see who is close, basically how you hook up in Shanghai.
See you in 12 months to review.
Note: Before I start, I just want to say I live by the fact all ideas which are going to be big in the next 5 years already exist in some form at this moment, so really this should be predictions for the next 5 years not just 12 months (the excuses start early...).
Here we go:
1) Virtual Reality, if you have seen anyone wearing a virtual reality headset they look strange, always freaking out (a lot like a silent disco, without the companions) however this is about to hit mainstream, when you can use your iPhone, Google glasses (maybe not, see post) it is easier to forget about Candy Crush and step into an alternate reality. I predict the first viral video of people playing virtual reality games on the tube in 2015
2) This is less a prediction and more just something I think is cool, VNYL is a crowd funded (the Kickstater raised 36K in record time) personal curated Vinyl sharing company. What does that mean? Every month they deliver 3 Vinyl records for you to play, listen and potentially keep (if you pay extra) or return and receive 3 more the following month. It's a clever idea and I like the sharing/personal curation concept.
3) Sharing/Borrowing, so Airbnb have already made this huge and Uber are revolutionising the taxi industry. So it has already started but now the sharing/borrowing/renting will be huge, whether it is sharing tools, ski equipment or even storage space. The sharing industry is going to come into it's own this year. One of my favourites of the new bread is Roadie a lot like Uber but for delivery/removals, anyone with a car/van can sign up and all payments etc completed through the app, once the item is delivered, just list it on Roadie and anyone going your way can deliver it for a the price you are offering. Brilliant.
4) Baidu will start becoming a bigger player in the west. Currently doing the business in China and fast expanding internationally, the search engine will start eating into Google's dominance of the market and become a even bigger behemoth.
5) WeChat, the Chinese social network (a lot like What's App) will become the norm, it is already 10 times better then What's App and even has a Tinder angle, shake it and see who is close, basically how you hook up in Shanghai.
See you in 12 months to review.
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