3rd July 2015

1) The Social Network Illusion. Network scientists have discovered how social networks can create the illusion that something is common when it is actually rare. This is the Majority Illusion – the local impression that a specific attribute is common when the global truth is entirely different. The most famous example is the friendship paradox: on average  your friends will have more friends than you do.

2) Terrific or Terrifying?  The Future of Facebook is telepathy – ”You’ll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you’d like,” Zuckerberg said. “This would be the ultimate communication technology.”
And here … a brief timeline of  Facebook copying it’s rivals.

3) The Power of Programmatic – two interesting pieces in the developing debate over the role of data in content creation. Firstly,  how data is taking over branding and secondly – there is a Google Firestartersdebate, taking place next week, on how data can inform creativity. One question being considered, is whether you now need any creative input that is not driven by data. Interesting and controversial stuff. 

4) RIP the Creative Director?  Couldn’t agree more – ‘… successful agencies need employees who can collaborate across disciplines to ensure every aspect of a client brief is addressed’.

5) Great fun. A good way to to understand the world is to play with it. Here is a collected short playlist of simulations of physical processes from  mosh pits to zombie apocalypse.

6) Loving (as we do) a fleeting but fashionable acronym to describe a digital demographic; here is the latest of the millennial sub-groups – the Henrys’ (high earning, not rich yet…..).

7) How Apple Music is  looking to replace Radio.

8) An interesting read from @copyranter: “It’s Time to Kill the (Cannes) Lions”. Because 1) the festival has become a complete charade, full of scam ad entries, and 2) the kindergarten-level  pettiness of the judges.

9) Two recent resources from the excellent  Open Strategy Newsletter:

‘Digital Strategy 101‘ – Bud Caddell guides us through the core concepts of digital strategy and where it is today in this Slideshare presentation.
‘Google Creative Sandbox‘ – Browse ideas from brands that blend creativity with cutting-edge technology using filters and categories to find exactly what you’re looking for.

10) It’s 35 years since the wonderful film Airplane was released. Here are some of the  funniest bits.
… and here is an interesting  mashup that shows just how heavily the scriptwriters borrowed from the 1957 film drama  Zero Hour.