Idealog
- Business Magazine of the Year MPA Awards 2007, 2008 & 2009 Business Website of the Year MPA Awards 2009
A site for sore eyes
Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.
A site for sore eyes
It’s faster, it’s easier to navigate, and it’s prettier. Yes, it’s the new, souped-up idealog.co.nz, now celebrating its fourth day in public. It’s also now much easier to add your own Idealog Directory listings. Hundreds of New Zealand’s most creative companies and people are already listed in the directory, and we’re always looking for more. Directory listings are free—hey, we want the world to know what you’re doing—so take a few minutes and sign up now.
If you’re an Idealog subscriber you get an enhanced listing—highlighted and placed in multiple categories. If you’re not a subscriber, we reckon you should be. It’s just $45.60 (sometimes cheaper) and it’s a breeze at idealog.co.nz/subs.
Rising to the occasion
Traditionally, wheelchairs are designed for getting around, but Samuel Gibson and co-inventor Campbell Easton dreamed up a wheelchair that lifts and allows the rider to do things most of us take for granted—like wash dishes, use an ATM machine, grab tins from the high shelf at the supermarket and—most importantly—look people in the eye during conversation.
Okay, so the EziRiser is a handy machine, but it has another feature that kids especially will love: it’s one tricked-out ride. “Being in a wheelchair, you get a lot of attention,” Gibson tells Lauren Bartlett in the latest Idealog. “I wanted to turn that into a positive thing—especially for kids, so they can be proud of the ride they’re in.” So what’s the one big downside? Find out in Lauren’s story, now on our website.
Our man in San Fran
Ben Kepes is at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, taking in events, things and people at the monstrous Moscone Centre. Being Ben, he’s blogging about schwag. Oh yes.
Pretty picture
At Xero, the end of the financial year is the time to add customers, and March 2009 was a doozie. Rod Drury published this chart of customer growth on the Xero blog this week, and it's a thing of beauty. I don't think many people realise just how ambitious Xero is, and although 6,000 customers is just a step on a long road, when you can add 1,600 customers in a month, you're on your way. Roll on March 2010.
Job of the Week
Business Manager — Digital (P0494)
International agency • Work with a highly skilled management team • Entrepreneurial acumen required
Our client is looking for a Business Manager to join their interactive team. You may have worked in the interactive/digital industry or within the wider creative industry in a similar role. You will have a significant business skill set, be financially astute along with having a solid business acumen for company growth.
You will be insightful and have the energy and enthusiasm to continue the outstanding continual growth that this agency has been experiencing.
This role will work alongside the management team to advise on best possible means of achieving business objectives; write and prepare concise presentations to a high standard, along with identifying opportunities to develop accounts with specific regard to digital activity.
If you feel this is the right next step for you, please send your details to Louise Lawton at Portfolio Recruitment on 09 379-9303, or apply on our website.
Improve your tennis (with Photoshop)
Layer Tennis is a simple and brilliant game where two designers take turns ‘volleying’ a design. But the most recent bout, between Jason Santa Maria and Derek Powazek—both Webstock veterans—took on some extra pressure when Powazek twittered this message: “A warning to @jasonsantamaria - my last Layer Tennis competitor wound up marrying me. Just saying.”
Forewarned is forearmed. Santa Maria arrived equipped with his Layer Tennis cheat sheet, and managed to win the match and avoid nuptials with his opponent. He’s posted each volley and some commentary on his website.
The next Layer Tennis match—Simon Cook vs Rex Crowle—starts in a few hours.
Who knew?
This, the third edition of the inspired ‘Did you know …’ infographic videos, contains plenty of stuff that’s surprising, illuminating, thought-provoking and that I indeed did not know. I did know, however, that Fatboy Slim is great’n’all, but something a bit less well-known would make a better soundtrack.
Check out the earlier versions too. (via Cool Infographics)
Tickety-boo
The Phoenix Foundation comprises six musos, five of them bearded to some extent. They’re now announcing their first full New Zealand tour since 2007, starting April 14 at the Mussel Inn, Golden Bay, and ending at the Sawmill Cafe up in Leigh.
That’s cool, but it’s also nice to see way-cool listings site Eventfinder selling the tickets itself, taking on the big boys: Ticketek and Ticketmaster. Well done.
Dust off your ideas
It’s time again for the James Dyson Award, the ninth year in running. Attention, emerging inventors, engineers and product designers with inspiring new design ideas: head over to the website and enter.
The award is open to final year tertiary students studying in the areas of design, technology or engineering, and to graduates in these areas who are in their first five years in the work force.
Judges are seeking innovative design concepts that provide solutions for everyday problems. Previous award submissions include a bamboo crutch for amputees in Third-World countries, a digital talking book for the blind, a practical yet stylish skateboarding shoe with a replaceable outer shell and washable inner, and a man-overboard lifesaving device.
The winner gets a trip to to the UK with $3,000 prize money and accommodation in London and will meet key members of the UK design community, including a tour of Dyson’s world class design facility. Plus, there’s another $3,000 in legal or business advice from Auckland firm Farry and Co, an official fee prize package from IPONZ tailored to their design’s intellectual property needs, and a year’s membership to DINZ.
But there’s more: for the first time, all New Zealand entries will be in the running for the national People’s Choice Award, and the international James Dyson Award, with £10,000 to the global winner, and another £10,000 to the winner’s university to fund future design education projects.
Entries close on Monday, 15 June, and the winner will be announced at an award ceremony in Auckland in July.
Relativity and violins
Don’t miss this: in a unique duet of lecture and concert, Professor Brian Foster of Oxford University and UK violinist Jack Liebeck explore Einstein’s life, his involvement with music, and the way his ideas have shaped our concepts of space, time and the evolution of the Universe.
As well as Einstein’s famous theory of relativity, Professor Foster discusses the discovery of radioactivity and how that led, through the development of particle accelerators, to the foundation of quantum mechanics. The lecture also outlines other modern ideas that are built on the work of Einstein, including the evolution of the Universe after the Big Bang. Mixing it up, the lecture also has musical interludes related to Einstein, including Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, some of Einstein's favourite music.
Auckland and Palmerston North have already been musically lectured, but here are the remaining dates:
Wellington: 7pm Friday, April 3 at Soundings Theatre, Te Papa Museum, Cable Street
Nelson: 7pm Saturday, April 4 at Waimea College, Salisbury Road, Richmond
Christchurch: 7.30pm Tuesday, April 7 at Great Hall, The Arts Centre, Worcester Boulevard
Dunedin: 7pm Wednesday, April 8 at St David Lecture Theatre, Cnr St David & Cumberland Streets
Meet the luvvies
Next Thursday, Aucklanders can head down to ASB Theatre at the Aotea Centre, The Edge, for a free question and answer session with actors Josh Hamilton, currently starring in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, and Simon Russell Beale from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.
Part of The Edge International Arts Season and hosted by Silo Theatre’s artistic director Shane Bosher, the Artist Talk with Hamilton and Beale is on April 9 from 5.15 to 6pm. Stalls only, seating subject to availability.
Quote of the week
“As my father used to say: ‘Everyone’s an environmentalist until the power goes out’. Which is where Sustainability 2.0 comes in. Our sustainable future should be cast as exciting and bountiful instead of dull and limited. It should be about innovation, growth and solutions, not cutbacks and reductions”
—Peter Salmon, chief executive of Moxie Media Group, reckons green need not be grim
More at Idealog online
Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, creative directory, Idealog TV, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.
Juha Saarinen
Ideologue, Weekly
{Dual control} Previous
Next {The not-so-great indoors}
Previously in Idealog Weekly …
October 30, 2009: Man of the moment
October 23, 2009: By the numbers
October 16, 2009: Pavlova principles
October 9, 2009: The secret of the songbook
October 2, 2009: Free and easy
September 25, 2009: What the world wants
September 18, 2009: A slice of the pie
September 11, 2009: Walking man
September 6, 2009: A calmer kind of business
August 28, 2009: We have issues
August 21, 2009: Mincing about in waistcoats
August 14, 2009: Wired on pop culture
August 7, 2009: Trust is not a commodity
July 31, 2009: Fuzzy logic
July 24, 2009: Game of life
July 17, 2009: Grape expectations
July 10, 2009: Blade runners
July 3, 2009: Free: another word for nothing left to lose
June 26, 2009: Poorly pleased
June 19, 2009: The giver
June 12, 2009: Buggy on down
June 5, 2009: Brand Cambo
May 29, 2009: When the going gets tough, go proactive
May 22, 2009: Bayerische Wasserstoffmotorenwerke
May 15, 2009: Rugger blogger
May 8, 2009: Get on our cloud
May 1, 2009: Easy Tiger
April 24, 2009: Tiki tacky
April 17, 2009: The not-so-great indoors
April 3, 2009: A site for sore eyes
March 27, 2009: Dual control
March 20, 2009: Worth their Alt
March 13, 2009: Biofuels or bio-fools?
March 6, 2009: It's electrifying
February 27, 2009: Experience-rich and theory-poor
February 20, 2009: It's a hundred-and-fourteen-pager
February 13, 2009: Own your mistakes
February 5, 2009: Rules—made to be broken
January 30, 2009: Money: that's what I want
December 5, 2008: Framed by the thousands
November 28, 2008: Spank-branding novelty next week
November 21, 2008: In the Loop
November 14, 2008: Your good health
November 7, 2008: Misfits of science
October 31, 2008: No absence of colour
October 24, 2008: Plain-speaking Peri
October 17, 2008: Rebels with a cause
October 10, 2008: Seoulipsism
October 3, 2008: Fall seven times and stand up eight
September 26, 2008: Don't label us
September 19, 2008: Bloody Graham
September 19, 2008: Dream proposition
September 5, 2008: Taxi!!!
August 29, 2008: Up-Skilling on Idealog TV
August 22, 2008: 144 pages of pure pleasure, plus politics
August 15, 2008: Wash down that Lovemark with a Steinie
August 8, 2008: Strange journey
August 1, 2008: SMElly and happy
July 25, 2008: What a dive
July 18, 2008: Softly and woolly does it
July 11, 2008: The saviour from Timaru
July 4, 2008: Last laugh
June 27, 2008: King Kev
June 20, 2008: Slow ART
June 13, 2008: Killing two birds with methane
June 6, 2008: A combine harvester
May 30, 2008: Gold paint
May 23, 2008: Rock, out
May 16, 2008: Goodwill hunting
May 9, 2008: No wine jokes please
May 2, 2008: Who's bad?
April 24, 2008: Succession success
April 18, 2008: Out now or thereabouts
April 11, 2008: Paint by numbers
April 4, 2008: Reincarnated good
March 28, 2008: Making it
March 20, 2008: Knock three times
March 14, 2008: The customer is always tight
March 7, 2008: Beautiful words
February 28, 2008: Goodnight, I'm off to work
February 22, 2008: The art issue
February 15, 2008: Straight to the top
February 8, 2008: H for hot
December 13, 2007: Nothing in common? Perfect
December 6, 2007: Who needs a beer?
November 30, 2007: Dirty secret goes public
November 23, 2007: Don't speak
November 16, 2007: Worthy work (and free beer)
November 2, 2007: East meets best
October 25, 2007: Raid the fridge
October 19, 2007: Looking good
October 13, 2007: Can't miss it
October 5, 2007: Fresh meat delivery
September 28, 2007: If the walls had eyes
September 21, 2007: Phoenix rising
September 15, 2007: Can we fix it? Yes we can
September 6, 2007: Feats of social engineering
August 31, 2007: Doesn't bite
August 24, 2007: Telling us where to go
August 16, 2007: Tomorrow time
August 10, 2007: Going West
August 3, 2007: How to ... be your business
July 27, 2007: Freaky food
July 20, 2007: Meet the neighbours
July 12, 2007: Free Hollie
July 6, 2007: Green queen
June 29, 2007: The truth about youth
June 21, 2007: Walk this way
June 14, 2007: Times ten
June 7, 2007: The ape woman needs a label
June 1, 2007: Impossible is something
May 25, 2007: Yeah, we're still here
May 11, 2007: Trophy time
May 3, 2007: Friends with the band
April 23, 2007: Why worry?
April 19, 2007: Done by the big jobs
April 12, 2007: A rockin' good read
April 5, 2007: No fear
March 29, 2007: Out to pasture
March 22, 2007: Hip-hop and The Human Touch
March 15, 2007: Crazy Frog and Billy T
March 10, 2007: The Benadryl edition
March 1, 2007: We can be Xero
February 22, 2007: Back on board
December 15, 2006: Free beer
December 8, 2006: December 8, 2006
December 1, 2006: December 1, 2006
November 24, 2006: November 24, 2006
November 16, 2006: November 16, 2006
November 9, 2006: November 9, 2006
November 3, 2006: November 3, 2006
October 26, 2006: October 26, 2006
October 19, 2006: October 19, 2006
October 12, 2006: October 12, 2006
October 6, 2006: October 6, 2006
September 28, 2006: September 28, 2006
September 21, 2006: September 21, 2006
September 14, 2006: September 14, 2006
September 7, 2006: September 7, 2006
August 31, 2006: August 31, 2006
August 24, 2006: August 24, 2006
August 17, 2006: August 17, 2006
August 11, 2006: August 11, 2006
August 3, 2006: August 3, 2006
July 27, 2006: July 27, 2006
July 21, 2006: July 21, 2006
July 13, 2006: July 13, 2006
July 6, 2006: July 6, 2006
June 29, 2006: June 29, 2006
June 22, 2006: June 22, 2006
June 15, 2006: June 15, 2006
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Audi designer Wolfgang Egger brings the A5 Sportback to life right in front of our eyes. It’s all about three lines, apparently, but those three lines have been obsessed over. Enjoy the autospeak: the rear comes complete with both accent and elbow.
Latest issue: Under the sea
Tweeted
- Fetching tweets …
Overheard
- Mark on Bigger, faster, more productive:
Fantastic! Finally some vision in establishing a key infrastructure to support New Zealand's future prosperity and commercial competitiveness. Good work Rod, Sam and Steve - your country thanks you for your patriotism! … - Margaret Holmes on NZ Institute thumbs down Key's agenda:
Unfortunately it is not just red tape - it is also the laid back kiwi attitude, compounded by educators who think achieving national standards is a bad thing. - Tim Marshall on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
The target of higher GDP per capita is all wrong. Aiming for it encourages more production and consumption, often at the expense of quality of life. We need to construct a Genuine Progress Index (GPI) to guide policy. Fr … - Peter McL on New note:
"You got caught up in events at EMI.." and yet shes STILL with EMI - their local branch is distributing her new album. Wonder why?
I blogged some more of Hollies comments on the details behind the fallout … - Phil Wollerman on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
Brilliant, insightful article, VH.
This situation has principally arisen because - simplistically - the world no longer wants what we are intrinsically advantaged in supplying.
And yeah, it doesn't look like our co … - Anon on Smile, you’re in New Zealistan:
The answer lies in a) increasing the returns to capital and b) decreasing the cost of capital. To do a) we need to reduce corporate and income taxes and replace them with land, resource, pollution and infrastructure char …
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