20th November 2016

This is an impressive piece of work from David Carr (@djc1805). A Map Of Modern Brand Building. ‘It’s a complex map of a simple truth: Distinctive, emotionally-powerful work that cuts-through with more buyers than your competition, consistently and in the long-term, builds great brands and revenue.’

Concise and compelling piece from @ashadornfest. Subscribe to a national or local newspaper, pay for quality journalism and don’t get your news from Facebook. ‘Facebook is many things, but it’s not a news source. Facebook’s job is to keep you clicking, and it does that by tweaking your newsfeed so you only see what you want to see. Go to Facebook to talk to friends, but go elsewhere for your news’. This is what happens when you stop paying for quality journalism.’

Airbnb claims to be part of the ‘sharing economy’, and disrupting the hotel industry. However, data shows that the majority of Airbnb listings in most cities are entire homes, many of which are rented all year round –disrupting housing and communities. 

Succinctly put from @wired. The Snoopers Charter is set to become law. Hacking powers, bulk hacking, Commissioners, web records and bulk data sets. This is how the Investigative Powers Bill will affect you.

Here is Ofcom’s latest research into the media use of 5-15 year olds. Interesting to see that TV is still important, especially for younger children, whilst mobile phones are most important for older children. Tablets and games consoles are less important than you might think.

A really nice, illustrated infographic timeline charting the increasing temperature of the Earth, 20,000 BC to the present day. 

Cracking piece from @cntraveller. How Instagram Is Ruining Travel. ‘At its best, travel is about curiosity, outwardness, a search for authentic encounters with the other. Photography was once a medium that enabled this: with its premium on stopping, framing, thinking, it encouraged seeing as opposed to merely looking. Lately, however, we seem to have stopped using photography like this. We’ve turned the camera around, focusing not out, but in.’

This is a pretty powerful Christmas ad from Alzheimers Research UK. Santa Forgot, narrated by Stephen Fry, imagines a world where Santa is living with the effects of dementia and no longer visits children on Christmas Eve. The message is that the charity believe in the power of research to change the future, but do we? 

Mike Pence did not receive a great response from fellow audience members at Hamilton The Musical, but an actor who appealed to him directly from the stage stole the show. ‘We are the diverse Americans, anxious you will not protect us’.

Illustrator and designer Ash Thorp, known for work on films such as Prometheus and games including Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, has released a short cyberpunk film called Lost Boy. ‘Produced entirely without dialogue, the nine-minute short provides a gripping and atmospheric glimpse into a dark and gritty future as two characters make their way through a barren landscape.’ Is this the shape of films to come? 

Finally, this guy photoshops himself into a series of hilarious scenarios with celebrities.