Countdown to 'The Chaos Scenario'

Read read read! This is what I did not do best lately. Digital is interesting and very powerful, however digital is also very futuristic and as a result highly unclear. August 3 will mark the launch of 'The Chaos Scenario'. The book is written by Bob Garfield.

Quoting from the adage site 'the book documents the converging forces he believes doom mass media and mass marketing as we've always known them. The historic disintegration of "mass," he writes in the introduction, "will change your media environment in dramatic ways. It will change the advertising industry in melodramatic ways."

In the second half of the book, Garfield goes on to discuss what he calls the "art and science of Listenomics," which begins with the recognition that neither marketers nor any other institution accustomed to dictating from the top can do so for much longer. Garfield prescribes a series of measures in the digital-technology and social-media realms for not only listening to the "group formerly known as the audience," but treating them as stakeholders with much to contribute to a brand, and to every aspect of the economy and society.'


More about this at the adage site: http://adage.com/article?article_id=138006

Espresso and aggregation

Here it goes, TimesofMalta has upscaled its aggregation efforts, and it style if I may add. The new Espresso section aggregates the top stories in one simple page. I would add an RSS feed to the site and possibly a twitter status update!
Have a look: http://www.timesofmalta.com/espresso

Digital Family Trees

If like me you are a fan of the digital world than you need this link: (http://adage.com/digitalfamilytrees09/) and this poster (http://adage.com/images/random/datacenter/2009/digitalfamilytrees09.pdf) to find your way through the leading digital entities and services. But then again, where would my/your dream digital start-up feature one day?

New Media at the Digital Arts Expo

This week I had the pleasure of presenting a seminar about 'New Media' at the first ever Digital Arts Expo locally (MIDA 2008). The seminar explored successful new media initiatives taking place globally within Vodafone companies and why digital media players such as MySpace and Yahoo are teaming with Vodafone.

Apart from the Vodafone seminar there were a number of very good seminars / workshops:
Allied Newspapers shared their redesign of their daily and weekly newspapers;
A number of seminars / workshops related to Apple's range of products (Final Cut, iLife, etc.)
A selection of practical seminars related to the printing industry (Metal FX, Canon)

Other highlights at the expo were the Digital Artist Gallery Zone and the Advertising Agencies Gallery Section. A Mac Lab was also set for attendees to get their hands dirty on one of the 25 iMac on show.

In one of my future posts I plan to draw up a wish list of what BLAB wishes to see at next year's expo.

eInterview with eBusinessMalta.com

'eBusinessMalta.com is a consortium of Malta's leading eBusiness organisations, namely company & fiduciary services providers, hosting & co-location facilities provider, e-payment solution provider and a recruitment agency / portal'

BLAB caught up with Jonathan Dalli and eInterviewed him about the whole idea behind this eVenture.

KG: It seems to me as the perfect one stop shop for any company in the eCommerce industry...how did it all come together and how do you ensure it really remains a one stop shop?
JD: The consortium, made up of Malta's leading eBusiness organisations, came together following the close business relationship that exists between the various consortium partners. The various partners within the consortium have been involved in e-commerce / e-business for the last 6 years, particularly since the inception of online betting / gaming in Malta. The aim of the consortium is to assist foreign companies relocating to Malta with a range of services enabling them to streamline their ebusiness operations. The main scope of the consortium is to have one single brand particularly when exhibiting in international conferences / trade shows / expos. However, the consortium is not limited solely to exhibitions but also focused on online marketing efforts and referral marketing.

Services offered include Company Set-up & Incorporation; Regulatory & Licensing Consultancy; Directorship & Management Services, Accounting & Secretarial Services; Back-Office & Support Services; Fiduciary & Trustee Services; International Trade Mark & Patent Registration; Personnel Recruitment; Relocation & Residency; Bank Accounts & ePayment Solutions; Internet Bandwidth, and Hosting & Co-Location Services. The partners within the consortium make sure that it really remains a one stop shop by means of periodic meetings that are both product development focused and also marketing / sales focused.

KG: The website lists various events where partners in the consortium attend and promote the brand but how do you ensure presence in key online websites/blogs/etc.?
JD: Key online presence is mainly ensured through Search Engine Optimisation, in order to ensure that the brand (also in the light that it is a .com brand) is present online as much as possible. Furthermore, such online efforts are also complemented by posting our press releases on a number of media / news sites on the net which also help to direct traffic to ebusinessmalta.com. Finally, advertising in various ecommerce publications (print and online) also complements online marketing efforts.

KG: Do you see other partners joining your Ebusiness shop in the future?
JD: This is not excluded by the present partners, as we're always on the look-out for prospective strategic collaborations with new partners, especially those in the financial and online banking sector.

Cool blabs: Interview with Director of YouTube's Best Short Film of 2007

I got to know about Shelton films whilst going through the winners of this year's YouTube awards. Shelton Films won the 'Short Film Category' and my curiousity led me to briefly interview Ben from Sheltonfilms.com, the producers of the award winning short (online) film 'My Name is Lisa'. The film placed third in 'YouTube project: Direct' and aims to raise awareness about Alzheimer Disease.

Picture: Ben Shelton

Interview follows below:
It actually started with a flair for film making but the web took it to another level?

Yes. When I was 13 years old, I started making short movies and I knew immediately it was what I wanted to do. It may be seen as an unrealistic "dream" to become a filmmaker for some, but my uncle was a filmmaker, so I knew it was a possibility. My uncle Ron wrote and directed Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup.

Now, if I wanted to be a professional basketball player, that would be somewhat unrealistic, but that's because none of my relatives are in the NBA... Except for my dad's cousin's husband's nephew, but I've never met him.

When I was a kid making movies, the internet didn't exist yet, so I had no idea HOW I was going to get my movies shown, but I knew that it was what I wanted to do. After college I started submitting short films into film festivals, but I got no response. Once YouTube came around, the internet became a place to share my movies to millions of people without having to go through all the film festivals or mailing out DVD's. It's all one click away now. It's great!

What is the most important...a well-produced & well scripted movie or a strong presence in a successful online network?

The most important thing to me is to create something I'm proud of. I want to tell stories, make films, and share my art with an audience, and the internet has allowed me to do that. If your question is: "How do I get my work shown by millions?" The answer is to create great work. Now, there are always cheap tricks and gimmicks to create an online community. I'm sure if you make "shock" videos or "nude" videos, you will get more views, but there's no integrity in that, and I'm not a fan. At the end of the day, great work will get noticed, but you have to work hard and get it out there.

What about the MySpace Deal and the Paul Brogan character?

What about it? We made the first Paul Brogan video after about 100 takes. We wrote it, re-wrote it, and all the focus was on making it great. After we finally enjoyed it, we posted it on YouTube and it just started to grow in popularity. Next thing you know, we're in the MySpace offices signing a deal. Since then, we've made 5 more videos that have been featured on MySpace.com and one of them was shown on the Super Bowl pre-game show. But it all started with us being perfectionists and making sure the first video was as funny as it could be.

"My Name is Lisa" is one of your latest successful productions which again has made it big on established online networks. Was this production specifically made for the online audience?

I made the film for YouTube Project: Direct, so I knew it was going to be seen on-line first. It was in my consciousness, and so I added the video-log to the story because I knew that that was what people are used to looking at. That's the only thing that was related to watching it on-line. And I probably would have had the video blog anyway, because that's just the world we live in today.

How does an online video become so popular? Is it just posting it on the net?

It's never just one thing. It's always a combination of a compelling story, great acting, good writing and just the right amount of luck.

Watch the film:


Get to know more about SheltonFilms

Get to know more about 'My Name is Lisa'

Apple Mac Music Video!

You may be asking is this an advert or a music video!? This and many other blog posts prove it's both!



Video: Digital filmmaker Dennis Liu
Music: “Again & Again”, The Bird And The Bee
Programs used: Microsoft Word, Notes, Photo Booth, iTunes, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Time Machine, iMovie, GarageBand, Finder, Quicktime, Spotlight, Widgets...(and more)
Desktop machine: Mac (any doubt about that?!)

Press Digest #1

Since BLAB is about media and marketing, one would expect BLAB's own press digest to focus on nothing but the brands that make up the local market! We hope you'll find this digest useful.

Brands that shouted the most this Sunday:
Celebrating its 80th Anniversary, Gasan's automotive brand occupied the front inside full page of today's Sunday Times. Other full-page ads. in this newspaper included Sound Machine and U-BET's Programme. Automotive Brands who opted for a full-page also include BMW, SEAT and Citroen. eWorld and KLIKK both occupied a full-page in The Malta Independent IT Supplement.

Front page ads. featured the Miss Selfridge Mid-Season Sale (Sunday Times), Fino's March Living Room Event (Malta Independent), Credit Europe Bank (MaltaToday and Il-Mument) and HSBC's Home loan ad. (Classified)

Atlas Insurance, Sanex Products, BOV Personal Banking and Home loan occupied the back-page of MaltaToday, Malta Independent, Sunday Times and Classified respectively.

HSBC's Yachting Financing & Leasing advert occupying an innovative 'L-Shape' space definately deserves a BLAB.

Most prominent online banners this Sunday included The Coca-Cola - Idea Casa DreamHome Competition (Maltastar & Di-ve), Credit Europe Bank & AirMalta (TimesofMalta.com), JMFS (Maltarightnow.com).

Brands that got a mention:


CCDK's new fashion collection featured in today's papers in relation to next Tuesday's open-day at TheFashionHouse in Fgura. The open day will also offer free hair, make-up and nail art.

In retail, Tommy Hilfiger announced its first store in Malta. The store will join the long list of international brands and Baystreet Shopping Complex in St. Julian's.

From the branding world, TurqouiseBranding and ANG won Benchmarks Best Telecommunications Brand Award for GO's re-branding exercise.

The Fiat500 is not the only automotive brand to get a mention in this Sunday's motoring sections, yet we particularly like the Fiat500 Optical Mouse, won by 10 lucky attendees at the Fiat500 launch.



Out Today
First Magazine (Malta Independent on Sunday)
FM Magazine (Times of Malta)
Solaris and Bernard's Real Estate Promotional Magazines

Coming Soon
Below are the publication dates of some local magazines:
Pink Magazine, 22nd March (Times of Malta)
Weddings Supplement, 30th March (Sunday Times)
Flair Magazine, 23rd March; and Manic Magazine, 6 April (Malta Independent on Sunday).

Computer Arts gets new layout

I hope i am not the last one to know, but UK Magazine ComputerArts has been given a new look. Take a break from all the text and statistics you may see at the office, and view this preview: http://mos.futurenet.com/resources/computerarts/Computer_Arts.swf

If you already have the print issue you may opt to ignore this post forever...and pass it on to me!

Too much to digest on the local web

This week a number of local websites have been redesigned completely.

#1: www.xfmmalta.com

BLAB! had predicted this would be the first local website to get a 'face lift'. The new full screen XFM website is all nice and flashy. Layout was designed by the girls at Lab1977 who also designed the Virtual Model micro site. New features include movie trailers and podcasts.

#2: www.maltarightnow.com

maltarightnow.com was also given a new look today. New features include an appropriate Maltese font and an English version of all the pages. Media.link has also redesigned both Radio101 and NetTv websites. A highlight is the launch of another website dedicated to 'In-Nazzjon' and 'Il-Mument' newspapers. The interesting thing about the latter is that it is not another news portal but a soft copy of the actual newspaper layout viewed using macromedia flash player.

I can BLAB extensively about all these new spaces in the online web yet I'd really like to get to know what my loyal readers and friends think about all this. Only then I will add BLAB's initial thoughts.

Digital Arts 2008 Calendar

This year Malta will host the first DigitalArts Expo. The Expo has been given extensive publicity through a free calendar which was distributed with The Times today. I am very excited about the expo and hope the content will be as good as the publicity the event has got so far. The brains behind the expo reside at ICA Ltd. We hope to be able to BLAB! about this very soon.

(digital illustration by Neville taken from the DigitalArtsExpo Gallery)

Short post: What's your digital world?

AT&T has launched a site totally dedicated to your 'digital world'. My (Our) dependency on the digital world is evident. Making a fuss about it makes good sense...it's a digital realization. And by the way, what is Mandy Moore's digital world made of? check site here