One small step for Facebook, one little hop for retailers...

I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I said Facebook has changed the way people interact. Its lure has evolved by the convenience of communication. In recent years email revolutionised the way we communicate, followed by mobile phones and text messaging. Facebook married all of those things and more, and just happened to be the social network people agreed to stick to, such was the autonomy of the social web at the time. If Facebook were created today, I'm guessing it would be one of many networks that could interact. That's a whole other blog post though.

This morning Facebook is launching ‘Places Deals’ in the UK and Europe. Facebook users will be able to get discounts and special deals in shops, cafes and restaurants by checking in on Facebook Places on their smartphone. Now, I've used Places before to check in to a rugby match. I was interested to see if anyone else would see me there and check in too. There were a couple of people as it happens, although that was as far as my interest in it extended. What Facebook has done with Places Deals is to make this feature meaningful. If you check into a cafe you might get a free cup of coffee. If you check into a clothes shop you might find big discounts. Retailers might give money to charity whenever you check in.

The more cynical amongst us will probably assume this is yet another grab for our privacy, that there will be marketing lists everywhere being padded out with shopping trends. Who knows? Maybe? The less cynical will think that maybe retailers are just wanting to explore an evolving avenue of marketing and getting its consumers to spread the word amongst their friends. Yes, more likely.

I can't see this taking off overnight. However, I do see it as a small but significant step towards marrying our online social connections with a real, monetised world. Yes, there are other companies doing this. But the fact that Facebook has thrown its hat into the ring means that millions of people are going to find it harder and harder to separate their online and offline worlds.

Does the guitar capo bring us closer to God?

Before we begin, the capo used on a guitar should not be confused with a high ranking member or the mafia. Although that capo can shorten things it generally isn't guitar strings for the purposes of making sweet music.

You have to love Wikipedia. Is it true? Who knows! Probably! Am I going to quote it? Of course! According to the people's encyclopedia a capo is "a clamp-like device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the strings, hence raising the pitch...Various styles of capos use different mechanisms, but most use a rubber-covered bar to hold down the strings, clamped with a strip of elastic or nylon, a metal clamp, spring clamp, or screw clamp."

The guitar is an amazing instrument. With an instrument like, say, the piano, most of the workings are hidden away. You press the key down and it makes a sound. Next time you're next to a piano, open the lid and take a look. You'll be amazed at the science of it all. The guitar, however, wears its heart on its sleeve. The 'science' is there in all its simple glory, right in front of you. You have to be a scientist to play a guitar: you have to understand the principle of shortening a metal string to raise the pitch, to know how hard you strum affects the rate of vibration. So to be an amazing guitarist, you can't just be very creative. You have to have a certain scientific acumen that walks hand in hand with creativity. If I was on Twitter typing this (140 characters? eek!) I'd probably add a tag saying #scienceandcreativitybringusclosertogod, because those kinds of guitarists generally produce technically correct, logical and ultimately emotive music.

Blimey I do ramble on don't I? This was going to be a short post about how the capo makes my life easier by giving me more options on the guitar. The simplicity of its science makes it a doddle to use and you can be playing in keys you wouldn't have considered before. However, I've got to the end of this post thinking that maybe it isn't the capo that is a wonder of science, it's the guitarist. Happy strumming everyone.

The Times paywall...the answer to the publishing problem?

In my humble opinion, the publishing industry has been in trouble for a while. People thought that with the launch of the iPad everything would change over night. Of course, it didn't. The evolution of technology is just that, a slow rethinking over time of how science can help is in our everyday lives. As technology catches up with our great ideas, more sophisticated gadgets and machines slowly emerge, driving down prices of previous iterations. What's my point? Well, the publishing industry has been waiting around for technology to emerge. The Times has finally picked up on the fact that it's not necessarily what you read their newspaper on, it's about usability.


Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. One big problem has been that people are used to reading newspapers. We've grown up learning how to handle and fold, to avoid getting the ink all over our fingers. Another problem is that when the internet was born, newspapers decided that putting their content online for free was a good idea. Such is the evolution of man that barely a decade later we can't believe the publishing industry are going to charge us for said content, even though we've been paying for newspapers all our lives. Disgraceful!


Or is it? Let's remember that it's not really about the content. I have tried roughly four gazillion RSS reader apps for my iPhone, plus various newspaper apps, and on the whole they have been disappointing. By charging for content, the Times has been able to clean up it's act instead of relying on dwindling subscriptions to fund a low budget website. The website looks like the newspaper, and that for me is the biggest selling point. The evolution of the newspaper layout has taken hundreds of years to perfect, and it's now online. 


The first time I logged into thetimes.co.uk I felt immediately at ease, like I had been reading this website all my life. Because I had. So publishers, your content is fine. The key to your success is usability. Sort out how to put your readers at ease and you'll find yourselves back in the game.

Mr Fry, would you mind narrating all audiobooks please?

I love reading. Didn't used to. I'm one of those people where it has to be an extremely good book if I'm to have even the slightest chance of getting through it. I'm not one of those people who particularly loves the smell or feel of a book, in fact I've always found books to be slightly awkward to hold, never finding the ultimate comfy position. So when I discovered the audiobook format I was encouraged. They started out pretty expensive but, like all technology, they came down in price once the competition kicked in.

Key to the audiobook is the narrator. Some stories need a certain type of voice. For instance, I spent a couple of days on a sun lounger listening to Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last year. I couldn't think of a better person to be the voice of JK Rowling's amazing creation. In fact, I have just bought the Fry Chronicles to listen to at the gym. He has one of those very interesting voices doesn't he?

Oh, I also got over my book lethargy with an ebook reader. I can fly through books now, so I'm guessing it was the constant reminder of how large the book was that squashed my enjoyment.

Back to audiobooks. They're great for long car journeys. I have devoured Sherlock Holmes books on trips to see family and friends, sometimes driving slower if I know I can finish a book. I've chuckled to Nick Hornby books as I whip up a storm in the kitchen. I've fallen asleep too many times to Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers. I've now rowed several thousand metres to Mr Fry's life story.

What a joy it is to still have books in our lives as the publishing landscape changes. It seems that with audiobooks, ereader formats and interactive books for the iPad, the future of publishing will be about choice. And for me, that's a good thing.

Defrostiamus!

I looked out of the window this morning and wondered if I was actually dreaming of being on the ice world of Hoth. With no taun-tauns or AT-ATs around, I concluded I was actually awake and facing an imminent struggle with the de-icer and scraper. With an audible groan I picked up my bag and slipped and slid down the path to the car. As I yanked the frozen door open I had a flash of recollection: YES! I'm not in the 1950s, I have stuff that defrosts cars!

Now, back in the late eighteenth century when I passed my driving test things were slightly trickier. One had to ride the choke like a pin-ball machine even to get the damn car started. Then it was de-icer (don't get any on your hands!) and a fight with the windows armed with a scraper. This morning, however, I simply turned the key in the ignition and pressed a couple of buttons. One for the rear windscreen, that hasn't changed over the decades. But the other button, well, that's where it gets clever. One press and, in one simutaneous and marvellous moment, the heater kicked in for the windscreen, and both the headlights and wing mirrors defrosted. A couple minutes selecting a CD to listen to and I was ready to go.

One twist and one push, like some kind of Harry Potter wand magic. I have vowed to stop moaning as a new year's resolution.

Twitter, the tip of the iceberg...

I haven't been on Twitter very long. In fact, I haven't really been a fan of Twitter before now. Didn't see the point, but I thought that coupled with this blog it would be a good way to promote the blog, catch up with tech news and maybe follow a few funny people too. My golly gosh, how I have underestimated the power of Twitter. Imagine if you could whisper and be heard on the other side of the world. Imagine a place where you can hear the informal thoughts of some of the best minds. Imagine a place where people with a particular interest can have a global conversation.

I recently started to follow a fake Twitterer. For anyone who has seen the US telly series The West Wing, President Bartlet seemed a better choice than the then-real-guy-in-charge at the time, George Dubya Bush. Now I clicked the follow button I suppose because I thought it might be funny. What happened next made me understand the power of Twitter a little better. Now, on Twitter you can put a hash in front of something, and anyone else who does the same has their 'tweet' propagated into a list following that reference. The fake President Bartlet, or @Pres_Bartlet as he is known, sent out a tweet to his followers wishing anyone working over Christmas all the best, and a request to hear their stories. From nurses, to husbands and fathers in the armed forces, to people who are desperate to work, these are the stories of real people around the world, sharing their thoughts about something dear to them.

As human beings we are drawn to connecting to each other and communicating how we feel. I suspect that even if Twitter disappears over the coming decades, this form of human connection is only just beginning.

For the record, @Pres_Bartlet has over 7,000 followers and rising. Currently I have 6.

The Blue Snowflake, I loves it I do...

Awwww that sounds cute doesn't it? Leeeetal shnowflake cutchy coo! Well folks, the name might sound cute, but this little sucker packs a punch.

I don't know about you, but I've spent years in and out of studios, music shops, front rooms and bedrooms, trying to get recordings right, trying to sound the best I can with what I have. In the last ten years home recording has changed. Thanks to the company who shall not be named, the podcast has become its own medium, up there with radio and TV like it had always been there. So too have the tools to make them. Ten years ago I was using a 4-track recorder to capture my quirky take on life through music. Now I record drums, guitars, strings, vocals, brass, anything I can possibly imagine through my MacBook at home. Amazing.

Recently a friend set up four analogue microphones, put them through a mixer and into the line in of his MacBook. I offered this as an alternative. Guess what? Twice as loud as all the others put together. It provides a beautifully crisp sound and can slip onto your laptop screen with its handy design. I imagine it would be amazing for podcasts on the road although my experience of it has always been in home recording. Most of what you hear over at musicofedgar.com was recorded using the snowflake, so make your own mind up.

If you're looking for an entry level USB microphone, you could do a lot worse than the Blue Snowflake. I loves it I do.