Who better to interview me than my good buddy Spam the Monkey…

Spam: You started this blog a year ago this week, tell us why you started?

Nick: [bluurb] stuff and things started about 2.30am when I couldn’t get to sleep in an odd period in my life. I’ve always been inquisitive and liked to collate and share information and reached my own tipping point to start blogging after meeting and seeing the goatee’d legend that is Greg Verdino in action while at Modem/Digitas and reading his words and also being inspired by a former colleague Professor Emmel. I chose wordpress as they’re free and I’m a tight get.

Spam: give us the headlines…

Nick: 268 posts, 108 comments, 808 spam comments (that’s junk, not comments about you), c.25,000 total hits. Unknown feeds as WordPress don’t track these anymore and I’m not geeky enough to know how to find this another way. I have no idea if these are good or bad or ugly. I enjoy doing it though.

Spam: last year was pretty shitty for you wasn’t it, huh?

Nick: yeah, that’s why your mum, Sue, sent you over from Boston to cheer me up. My dad died unexpectedly in April last year so that’s not going to be a happy anniversary in a few weeks. It’s still so hard to describe without falling into cliches. I’m just amazed how strong my mum has been through it all. And then my brother did his best to scare the shit out of us with his serious car accident in September when with slightly different circumstances he may not have been with us either. Through it all it makes you realise what’s important. I’ve also changed jobs twice which has been interesting and met some great people and learned some new things too but I’m hoping where I’ve landed will be all tickety-boo as Billy Connolly says. I think and hope 2008 will be better on many levels and you’re going to be Uncle Spam soon. Better tell your Uncle Brendan and your mum too otherwise they’ll be pissed with me for not knowing.

Spam: Damn straight mo fo, you don’t want to upset the Philly boy, Uncle Brendan. Anyways, what have you learned through being a member (fnarr, fnarr) of the blogosphere?

Nick: that it gives you confidence and credibility in talking about social media, web 2.0 etc. with your clients and colleagues alike. It’s a bit like homework and showing desire to know your subject. I’m amazed at how many people still have out-dated opinions about blogs, flickr, facebook etc. when they don’t actively participate and experience and be part of the conversation. Why aren’t you? I’ve also “met” a great deal of people, made new contacts and found some incredible sources of new inspiration. I like the fact that you can take a few different viewpoints from both seasoned and respected guys and some completely unknown chaps and enhance your own views and perspectives. I like the fact you can never stop learning.

Spam: and what’s not so great about it?

Nick: because you constantly find new stuff it’s easy to suddenly have a reader that’s way over 1,000 unread items. You have to continually refine your reading otherwise you just get swamped. There’s also the temptation to sign up for every new thing that’s out there (the next big thing or shiny box syndrome) and suddenly you’re having to update your status across many different applications. I’ve tended to stick to the blog and facebook with a smattering of Twitter.

Spam: we could go on for ages but I’m desperate for a pint… Ringwood Brewery pint of course. Shall we?

Nick: Yes, lets. You’re buying you tight f…

Thanks for being part of this adventure. Here’s to the next year!

Continuing the adventures of Spam the Monkey. This time: New York!

Previously on Spam the Monkey: episodes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

So I went to New York a few weeks back for work to meet some folks, do some meetings, present some work etc etc. Work side all good. Although I found myself oddly detached from it all. And I’m still unsure as to why this was. Here’s my thoughts on various subjects and maybe by the time I’m through I’ll have figured it out.

JFK

Last time I went to NYC, I was a wee lad of some 18/19 years of age. I flew in solo to meet up with my then girlfriend who’s sister lived out there and she’d gone ahead. I remember a fearsome true noo yoiker at the passport control who looked not unlike the great Andy Sipowicz in the glory days of NYPD Blue. Somewhat scared I managed to mumble my way through my responses and at the same time ascertain that that ever-so-familiar-looking chap that had just been frog-marched round the corner was one Boy George and that he had to be “searched” as he was a known drugs felon. Rubber glove time, George. That made me even more petrified. Anyway, I got through and met up with everyone and had a blast.

But this time round JFK was a soulless place. Posters on the front of the customs desks bleating on about our pledge to do this and that. A bored customs official motioning for me to get finger-printed, stare at the screen and then out to baggage. Hardly intimidating at all. I felt let down. Where was Andy? Or Jimmy Smits? She didn’t even have a noo yoik accent. Perhaps this is where my feeling of being let down started?

The subway

For some reason I’ve always had the mentality when it comes to expenses that I treat it as if it’s my own money. Perhaps that’s what comes from being brought up in the direct business where budgets have never been plentiful for that type of thing. Or you’d never get it signed off and be fuming at the largess of your choices. I remember a chap who used to work at an agency with the letters T, J and W (in a different order, I try to protect the innocent) where they would regale us of tales of them going left as they entered the plane and the clients going right to the cheap seats. That always struck me as odd. I digress. Again.

The subway. So, I decided to take the subway. Perhaps naively buoyed by my experiences of the trains in the Netherlands which are clean, punctual and cheap and our own dear Expresses of Heathrow and Gatwick which are clean and punctual but not cheap. I presumed that JFK to Manhattan would have a similar route (that’s pronounced root, not rowt by the way). So I hopped on the terminal train type thing to one of the Metro terminuses. And then completely baffled by the need to buy a card. How much? No info. Ask an attendant? No English spoken here it seems. Ask a fellow traveller (with two l’s)? Essentially, you have to buy a ticket and the train system thing debits you $7 for the trip to anywhere in Manhattan. So I try and buy $7 worth but it doesn’t take my card. I am in America and it rejects American Express. So I have to break into a $20 as that’s all the cash machine plopped out. But it doesn’t give change. I am now down on the deal and feeling annoyed. I then step outside. Feckin freezing! Minus 6 says the outsized thermometer. Jesus. Thankfully I had my gloves.

Eventually exiting, again I found myself being hit by the cold - it was a mild 12 degrees when I left Blighty. Eventually I found the hotel after belatedly discovering that Broadway was in fact 7th Avenue. Why do they do this? Is it to confuse Johnny Foreigner? I actually found navigating my way around quite easy with the block system but that annoyed me. It’s the small things, people.

Hotel

The W in Times Square. Very trendy, very cool but also very dark. Couldn’t see in the lift to hit my floor number so ended up going up and down a few times and squinting by the small amount of light that was emitted when the doors opened. Eventually found my way to the 39th floor and had a not at all bad view up 7th Avenue.

And a big billboard of Corona beer staring at me. Mmm, beer. Mmm, mini bar. I wonder if they see a spike in Corona sales in the side of the building? It worked on me.

Room was what you’d expect of a trendy, urban style-seeker hotel. But why oh why do hotels have such noisy air con units? Every hotel I’ve ever stayed in seems to have the same problem. And I always switch it off. Not the green hippy in me, just the fact I like it peaceful. Perhaps I should work out how to make a silent air con system and make my millions of dollars?

Manhattan

I explained that I’ve been before a while ago and I somehow had this romantic memory of tall buildings, cool places and just generally jaw-droppingly cool. Maybe I was just in the wrong parts of town. Maybe my head wasn’t fully wired to wanting to do stuff. Maybe because it got agreed last minute that I didn’t have time to plan or try and get in touch with (reach out/connect) some people I know in NYC. For example, the very week I go to New York, Spam’s mum is in Aruba for a pitch. I’ve been there too. I liked it. A lot. So I was probably in the wrong headspace for it. Nonetheless I wandered a bit, went into some shops etc. Macy’s felt like a 1970s department store not too dissimilar to Grace Brothers.

Dear Macy’s, have you never visited Selfridges for what a cool, aspiring department store brand should be?

MOMA - nice shop. Couldn’t be arsed (bothered) to go to the museum. Which is odd because I actually wanted to. Again, a clue as to my headspace. Hersheys/M&Ms stores - full of chocolate and cheesy stuff. Annoyed that the Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cup Cakes were not available in an easily manageable format for me to take home. Grrrr. I took a walk down 6th Avenue. Why is every other shop a chemist (drug store) or have peep shows? All felt a bit brown, dull and especially run down. Everything seemed in need of repair. Again, the 1980s seemed to resurface.

Felt compelled to go to the site of the World Trade Centre. Last time I was there was just after some less successful terrorists had tried to car bomb the basement so you couldn’t get anywhere near it. Couldn’t see much this time either as it’s a massive building site. Thought I’d feel some emotion. I felt more thinking about going than when I was there. Probably because you can’t see anything. I thought there was a memorial thing there. Either I didn’t find it (again, crappy signage) or not there. Looked out over the water at the Statue of Liberty. Took a cab back uptown to hotel. Ate in the hotel. Nice food. Wine had a lot of sediment.

Cloverfield

The city was awash with advertising for Cloverfield. I’ve wanted to see this for a while as it looked interesting and different on the trailers, had an innovative digital campaign utilising user generated content. And more practically I was convinced I wouldn’t get to see it at home. So I took myself off to the cinema. Experience-wise not at all different to the American inspired multiplexes we have in the UK these days. One huge difference was the size of the drink I got. I asked for a regular. It was HUUUGE. Literally about 3-4 litres in a massive receptacle that required two hands to hold it. It was also so sugary sweet that I could only stomach a few sips.

Onto the film. After the initial nausea caused by the hand-held style and the character setting the film really sets off about 20 mins in and from there it is edge of seat stuff. I hadn’t quite realised that it was a bit of a monster film. And reminded me of the horrible little critters in Resistance: Fall of Man. Really enjoyed the film although again slightly odd seeing a disaster movie set in New York when you are there. Un-nerving when they’re way up in a building and you can hear the wind howling outside and when you get back to your hotel and hear the wind howling in the corridors. I think the threat of the monster and the non-conclusions of the film were the most interesting parts. You never knew why the creature appeared and assumed that at the end they had to total the area and the monster along with assuming the protagonists died. An innovative piece of film-making with some really good effects. Although the prat (idiot) who shouted out after the helicopter crash moment near the end “wooo! now that’s a movie!” somewhat spoiled it for me. Also had the Under Construction trailer for the new Star Trek film also by JJ Abrams which should be exciting judging by his Lost and M:I3 outings.

Starbucks

On every corner. Literally. And oddly, not another coffee house brand in sight. At least you get choice in the UK: Nero’s (actually the nicest in my humble opinion), Coffee Republic, Costa etc. No, every one a Starbucks. Despite this, some thoughts: the coffee not as strong as at home. In fact a bit insipid. I did like the fact that someone would ask you in line what you wanted and then radio it to the barista and there it would be scrawled with your name indecipherable on it. Speeded the process no end. Something we could learn over here where sometimes we seem hopeless at efficient service.

I also discovered that Starbucks is now the natural home for weirdo’s. Two examples here for you. One, a guy who spoke to himself quite loudly all the time. Two, another guy (it’s always guys) who would constantly keep standing up, re-setting his clothes and then sitting down. A touch of OCD? I backed away from them and found a corner to myself in both instances.

Flight

Virgin Atlantic, premium economy. Serene, nice food, comfy seats. Good selection of entertainment. Good supply of wine when sat on the tarmac at JFK for 3 hours when power failure at the tower grounded everyone. Makes you never want to fly economy again. And the overall experience was miles better than BA who I flew to Boston last year.

Spam

Spam got in on the act. After missing out on South Africa, he made sure he jumped into my hand luggage here. A Spam Show will follow.

So I felt a bit flat. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was the lack of planning. Maybe I was just not in the right mood. Maybe I wanted to be at home. But it didn’t feel very go-go or taste that nice to me. Just a bit drab and dreary and 80’s. Or maybe London actually is a lot more interesting these days?

(pics at top taken from 19th floor in BBH offices on 6th Avenue. Nice offices, nice people.)

I saw this map on an art director’s wall. I like it in that quirky digital way of looking at the world. This and many others including a map of the island in Lost can be found here. And check out the always informative & thought provoking Mr Verdino’s post on trend blends for 08.

Warholizer to Andy Warhol-ize any image you like. So here’s Warhol Spam. (source: Bnox)

Data on Facebook about the balance between having the right number of friends and too many.

This is just brilliant.

And Google had a Lego version of their logo this week to celebrate 50 years of Lego. Lego always makes me smile. And I cannot wait for Lego Batman and Lego Indiana Jones to come out on PS3 as Star Wars is just the best.

Continuing the adventure of Spam the Monkey: SPM LDN

Video extra at Buckingham Palace

Previously on Spam the Monkey: episodes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Die Hard 4.0 came out on DVD yesterday so I finally got to watch it after missing out on it in the cinema. And here’s Spam with a tremendous vest courtesy of Total Film (it’s actually a beer bottle sleeve but don’t tell him). And an interview with Bruce Willis in Second Life found on the microsite (lots of good detachable content) which I haven’t seen for any other film. Mind you, I haven’t been actively seeking the content so maybe there is. I still like the launch campaign using his famous line and subtle biblical references regarding the film release date.

Vacanza! Continuing the adventures of Spam the Monkey who arrived from Boston earlier this year. This time, Spam goes on holiday to Tuscany.

Previously on Spam the Monkey: episodes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Spam’s mum/mom has recently moved to Atmosphere BBDO in New York. And she’s loving it. And still missing her little Spam. So today brings two Spam related posts, this & the latest episode that’s been a while coming: vacanza!

Spam rocks at The Police concert, Twickenham, London.

Previously on Spam the Monkey: episodes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Previously on Spam the Monkey: episodes 1 | 2 | 3 | 4