Lisa --

I am proud to announce my nominee for the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

This decision affects us all -- and so it must involve us all. I've recorded a special message to personally introduce Judge Sotomayor and explain why I'm so confident she will make an excellent Justice.

Please watch the video, and then pass this note on to friends and family to include them in this historic moment.

Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.

Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America's finest legal minds. As a Supreme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.

A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on:

http://my.barackobama.com/SupremeCourt

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Bloggers Note: I like that there is a typo in this email from the President of the United States to me. It shows that the White House, just like the rest of us on earth, is not perfect either.

As many of the world leader’s gathered in London to hash out new plans for new economic promises at the G20

summit here this week, I went along to join thousands of others who marched to the Bank of England, 1 April. All day I tagged along to follow protesters, as they strongly expressed views on the financial crisis, jobs, lost homes, the environment, war, lost pensions and savings and plenty more issues. I followed along behind the Green Horse, which was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a theatrical series of parades staged to wind through the city, converging on the Bank of England.

 

Everyone had a myriad of  issues to demonstrate for this week, in hopes that G20 summit attendants would listen, and what form of expression people chose to take stretched from 60s-style peace, love and flowers, to radical black masks and throwing things.

 

While many other eyewitness accounts include reports of poor treatment by police, I left the areas of concern just prior to any major incidents happening, however, during the day did see plenty of activity that created intense escalating tension, which left me fearful for what might happen.

 

For a short time, I could not find a way out of the area, as police surrounded and corralled about 4,000 people. This, I learned, is what happens when police “kettle” protesters to keep them under control, and it freaked me out. Despite being in the middle of it for hours, with a handful of individuals causing damage, it all seemed to be a mostly festive street party atmosphere with live music, dancing and even bubble blowing machines. The sun kept shining, splashing the impressive fortress that is the Bank of England in glorious light, where in its shadow, thousands chanted calls of “Bankers are Wankers!” There were serious, but mostly happy faces, for what was turning out to be a street party.

Among the crowd, some tossed eggs and fruit, some smoke bombs were set off and reports came in of windows

being smashed in at the Royal Bank of Scotland. A few masked men jumped fences and tried to flee the area, and soon the police appeared in full riot gear, blocking entry and exit points in the Threadneedle Street area. I saw a man climb up the front of the Bank of England and hang up some banners, and a few protesters ran about the area spraying graffiti onto the walls. Those in masks circled together at one point, and were under careful scrutiny by the police. The police were comprehensively documenting people in attendance, with photos and videos.

By late afternoon, those who remained inside the cordoned off area, including many press and remaining protesters, needed to use bathrooms, get water, get home – get out. I circled the perimeter of the area, to find lines of police refusing exit to anyone. Asking police about the situation, one cordially told me “sorry love, you’ve just got to stay here for a little while longer” and refused to let anyone through. Realising that, in fact, we all might be trapped in this kettle thing, and could be for hours, fear set in for others and me.

Protesters started pushing up against the police, demanding exit, and I saw the officer’s lift up batons in ready action for any confrontation. Then I got uneasy, and wanted to get as far away as possible from the situation. A man I talked to told me that there was still an exit open, and pointed me toward a narrow street that seemed free and clear. I found it and left the area, to seek out a bathroom and go see if I could visit the Climate Camp, an encampment that had set up with tents, a composting toilet and even hot food, in front of the European Climate Exchange.

Finding Climate Camp at Bishopsgate was like discovering some sort of urban oasis in the middle of what was increasingly feeling to be a very tense situation. A woman handed me some free granola, and welcomed me to the area. A farmer’s market was providing fresh food, and people were sitting calm and relaxed, hanging about their tents, aware but not overly concerned about the increasing gathering of police on the edges of the encampment, and the circling helicopters. Workshops were being held on climate issues and people gathered to hear speakers share ideas.  A group kept some of the crowd dancing with drums, and from above, office workers looked out from windows on at the happenings below, most smiling and laughing.

I saw a couple of well-dressed men in suits stop by to watch the activity, and no one paid any attention to them – glad to see the were not targets for any abuse, given that police gave repeated warnings to city workers to beware of the potential for attack from protesters.

From other people’s Twitter updates, I started hearing about police on horses riding into the bank area and further corralling protesters who remained. Apparently, shortly after I left the area, authorities tightened grip and blocked all exits. Seeing these reports, I was relieved and grateful to have found Climate Camp where the situation remained calm. I stayed a couple of hours at Climate Camp, talking to people who had travelled from other parts of England to join in the protests, and looking at the latest edition of The Evening Standard with others. The newspaper’s front page photo showed a man covered in blood being beaten by police, not far from where I had been standing for hours near the Bank of England. Shock.

While I heard bursts of shouting while standing there, I had thought the excitement in the area had been mainly for the appearance of Chris Knight, a University of East London professor, now suspended for his statements about hanging the bankers, who media say was the instigator for much of the protesting surrounding the G20 summit. It seems the noise was a result of windows being smashed at the Royal Bank of Scotland and clashes between police and a few of the protesters.

 

Later picking up some of the mainstream media’s evening newspapers, it seemed all press attention was toward the individuals and violent moments of the day, with headlines screaming out “Anarchy In The City!”

By this time evening was fast approaching and police were increasing in numbers surrounding Climate Camp. It all seemed quite likely that the protesters would achieve their goal of spending the night camped out in the city streets, and I decided to make my way home and leave them to it.

The journey home was a relaxed group of commuters, with fewer than you would normally expect during peak rush hour. I was glad to have escaped the kettle situation, impressed by the level of organisation and teamwork that I found at Climate Camp, and glad to be going home to an area far from the heart of activities.

Upon arrival home, and finally getting to recharge my mobile phone’s batteries, I checked Twitter updates from others in the protest, and once again discovered that the situation turned very different from what I experienced. Reports said police had blocked in Climate Camp and then proceeded to dismantle the encampment. Some protesters reported that they were roughed up, and at first trapped in the area, some then found themselves being dragged out by police. Dogs were brought in to chase people out and the police requested that people give their name, address and photo ID before being allowed to leave, apparently a request that is not legal. All this was reported by a number of people via Twitter, but I wasn’t there at that point, so can’t confirm or deny any of it myself. If you want to see some of the eyewitness accounts, visit:

Climate Camp

http://twitter.com/climatecamp

G20 Meltdown

http://twitter.com/G20Meltdown

notq

http://twitter.com/notq

G20 Voices

http://twitter.com/G20Voices

The Times journalist Kaya Burgess:

http://twitter.com/kayaburgess

IndyMedia UK has been following along with most incidents, here:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/03/423717.html

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/02/421421.html

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/04/426159.html

*For a great view inside the G20 Summit happenings, follow the Tweets and blog posts of G20Voice, a group of 50 bloggers who were given security access to the event and got to interview Gordon Brown, Bob Geldof and other high profile individuals here:

G20 Voice

http://twitter.com/G20Voice

I reported what I saw during the protests, while I'm concerned about the economy and envirionmental issues my main objective was to observe, learn about the issues and have the experience of being there, peacefully. You can see my blog post over on DigitalJournal.com. I featured a few of the people I talked to, including the group War On Want, fighting against poverty, who carried a dead canary to represent the end of the city's finance district at Canary Warf. I think that for the most part, I wasin a shiny, happy place where there were bubbles and nice food being shared about – I didn’t see blood. I didn’t get treated badly by any police and I saw nothing that seemed at all like the “riot” some media reports were calling it

Having been through both 9/11 in New York City and here for 7/7 in London, I was nervous about going to see the events of the G20 protests. I’m grateful that I didn’t experience anything overly traumatic, as seems to have happened for some, but still feeling stress about the tense atmosphere in the city. I hope things remain safe.

I considered going along to further protest happenings on Thursday, but feared the possibility of things getting too dangerous and opted out. This was partly the result of getting a few nasty hate monger comments to my Twitter feed (follow @lisadevaney), from right wingers and also getting some criticism from left wing activists. After getting support from friends, I'm back to blogging and uploading thoughts and photos to Twitter and Flickr, and won't be afraid.

Now I’m watching events unfold via Twitter feeds, and the mainstream media, to see what others are experiencing, but have been hiding out from all the action. Saw enough action for one week really, having also attended the Put People First rally over the weekend, and too intimidated by what might happen to venture out solo and experience more. Guess I’m just not that brave, but I respect the people who are making their views known peacefully. I am angered that the pockets of violence have clouded over the demonstrations and painted an unfair angle to the intentions of the majority of the participants.

I hope everyone remains safe throughout London,

-Lisa

 

 

 

 

 

I've been neglecting my Vox blog for weeks now. A social worker would surely put my child into custody if I had gone for weeks without feeding it, and that's what it feels like is happening here.

There is a reason for my neglectful behaviour -- travels, focus on work and another blog that has taken this blog's place.

I'm writing over on Brand Republic magazine's website with a new blog called Quick Peeks. There I'm posting about business, art and entertainment from time to time.

Read my latest post about The Culture of Meanness: Are Brand and Ross Victims of It?

I'm still going to keep my Vox blog alive, and thanks to all that have stopped by to read what is happening in my life from time to time.

                                                                                                                                                      Feeling guilty,
                                                                                                                                                                  -Lisa

Last weekend I was tucked away in the beauty of the English countryside, near Cambridge, to debut Hai Media Group's all-female production of The Wind in the Willows at the Secret Garden Party.

Our show, a re-make of the childhood favourite by Kenneth Grahame, was my own interpretation of how the elements of the story might play out in a quirky festival environment. I played Toad of Toad Hall, joined by a cast of talented women portraying Badger, Ratty, Mole and Weasel.

Without my co-horts I couldn't have pulled off such an entertaining production and I'm grateful that the following women joined me in the adventure, including sticking around to enjoy the delights of the four-day festival:

Lucy Lowe as Ratty

Lucy is a recent graduate of performing arts and her training was demonstrated in playing the role of Ratty. Her boyfriend Matt Price, a comedian, also joined us in hosting the evening as MC. Thanks Lucy!

Ali Rawlings as Weasel

Ali (aka Punk Rock Dolly) has been a key strength in the music industry for nearly two decades now, working first for a number of record labels and then in radio as a show producer for Kiss FM. In the last few years her focus has been in Artist Management, with a focus in the European country rock genre. She kindly accepted my casting for her as lead Weasel, helping us round-out the primary cast with strong female personalities and performers. This was the first time Ali performed on stage, and she took on the role with enthusiasm and a lot of courage, transforming herself into a terrific and funny Weasel in our creative production. Thanks Ali!

Cheyne Pride as Mole Cheyne played the role of Mole and an adorable Mole she made! 

Cheyne is a gifted singer and songwriter by trade who sings with both National Debt and her band The Wildcat Tamers. Cheyne's also a professional Cheerleading coach, who trains children of all ages in the fine art of Cheer. Her dance troupe Cheer-A-Go-Go performs at music and club nights throughout London and Europe. Thanks Cheyne!

Mary Epworth as Badger

Mary is a singer and songwriter who played the role of Badger, giving this character wise words of wisdom. Mary is the lead artist in her Jubliee Band, and you can watch her perform in this beautiful music video that was produced earlier this year:

Thanks Mary!

Dancer Amanda Mae Steele provided the grand finale dance at the Toad Hall celebration. We also had a few supporting rabbits and weasels to join us in the performance (Will Twynham, Andy and Sadie Spector) and following the show we invited the audience to join us at a banquet table and feast on delicious food at our make-believe Toad Hall. Thanks Weasels and Rabbits!

 

Make Your Own Props: It's Amazing What Can Be Done With Cardboard and Poster Paint

Toad in his motorcar

Lisa Devaney as Toad

As Toad, I had a blast making people laugh as I ran around in a little motorcar that John & I constructed of cardboard, along with a small Jail and a small boat.

Feedback has been terrific from the event organizers and it was a terrific learning experience. Much gratitude goes to Kate Risker aka Miss Risk and Simon Harris, from the Hand of Glory record label, for inviting me to create this performance.

The Wind in the Willows Cast and Crew

Here's ten things I loved about the Secret Garden Party:

1) Brands were nowhere to be seen, and if they were there, any were in attendance, they were virtually invisible to the human eye. The brand-less festival let a few hundred artists emerge for attention, and allowed the mass of quirky creative ideas shine through. Instead of tribute banners to lager, you’d find Action Camps inviting guests to make their own superhero costume, listen to an experimental musician or watch a performance.

3) Skanking to the brassy funky soulful beats of The Fontanas, and having a fireside chat with lead singer Gavin Skeggs and finding out that he is also in a band called The Tarantinos , inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s films.

4) Getting a huge kick out of the performance antics and musical skills of Rat Fink who delivered big sound and big fun.

5) Watching the pyro-technical extravaganza of the Pirate Ship getting blown-up, a very Burning Man-esque moment.

6) Hanging out in the tree house of the Where The Wild Things Are venue.

7) Making a cape at the Superhero Action Camp, making a carnival hat at another Action Camp and listening to Green political talks at the Green Action Camp.

8) Not spending endless amounts of time waiting in queues for food, drink and loos.

9) Bumping into many friends, something that is less likely to happen at Glastonbury, where everyone gets lost in the crowd.

10) Unwinding in the Lost Horizons sauna.

Among the music performances I enjoyed was seeing Grace Jones headline the festival, at the only festival gig she is doing this year. She’s 60 now, and still a powerhouse of music and towering good looks.

Many thanks to Jim Hanner for his fantastic photos from the show and the festival:

Thanks Jim!

Jim Hanner at The Secret Garden Party

 

Still grooving on the Secret Garden Party,

-Lisa

 

 

Hai Media Group Logo by Dan Boultwood

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

Would, Kenneth Grahame, the author of The Wind in the Willows be delighted or disgusted to know that his fairy tale classic for children has had a makeover?

His four main anthropomorphised animal characters Toad, Badger, Ratty and Mole will be played by a cast of entertaining women who are hell bent on making their own version of the tale rock.

My company the Hai Media Group  has produced and cast a new cabaret show that takes inspiration from the lazy river days of life along the river in the very English countryside adventure story. I’m playing Toad of Toad Hall and will present this magical story, that evokes the best of pastoral English settings for summer, to quote the book:

"Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." –The Wind in the Willows

Who’s Who in the Cast?

• Toad played by me, Lisa Devaney
  

  Matt Lucas as Toad
  

  Toad of Toad Hall
• Badger played by Mary Epworth, lead singer with her Jubliee Band, on the Hand of Glory record label
• Mole played by Cheyne Pride, a country rock singer
• Ratty played by Lucy Lowe
  
• Weasel, played by Ali Rawlings, aka Punk Rock Dolly
• Sexy Rabbit, played by Amanda Mae Steele
  

We are merrily on our way to The Secret Garden Party, bringing a cast of colourful, loveable, characters who will treat guests to a scrumptious feast of sight and sound at none other than that magical childhood place Toad Hall. Greeting weary travellers who come from far and wide across this great green land of Britain, and beyond, will be our joyful celebration, of dancing, and a spectacular banquet table, in a place to revel.

We’ll debut our all-female revue of The Wind in the Willows at The Secret Garden Party, arts and and music festival this week where Grace Jones is the headline act.                         Grace Jones:

Our show is among a talented line-up of music acts that will be part of the ‘Come and Play’ area of the festival – a collection of tents that invite guests to play with arcade games, or interact with the performances happening around them.

"The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea." –The Wind in the Willows

Spread before our guest's eyes will be a dining table, gigantic banquet table, as only would suit Toad of Toad Hall to entertain, along with his friends, all evoking the magical memories of childhood favourite tale The Wind in the Willows. White table cloth, OTT décor and upon this marvellous display, unexpected delights – of poetry reading, dancing and comedy skits, played out spontaneously, between sets of live music.

If you are planning to attend The Secret Garden Party, please plan to see our performance – scheduled for 8 PM, this Thursday, July 24^th, at the ‘Come and Play’ area. We’ll plan to keep in character and costume for the night, so stop by after setting up your campsite and dive deep into this festival’s creative spirit, and come play with us.

"Animals arrived, liked the look of the place, took up their quarters, settled down, spread, and flourished. They didn't bother themselves about the past--they never do; they're too busy." –The Wind in the Willows

Here’s the night’s line-up:

 

19:00 hrs - 19:30 hrs           DJ Bomber
19:30 hrs - 20:25 hrs           The Ratfinks
20:30 hrs - 20:50 hrs           Hai Media Group Presents: The Wind in the Willows
20:50 hrs - 21:45 hrs           Kid Id
22:00 hrs - 23:00 hrs          The Fontanas  
23:00 hrs - 00:00 hrs           DJ Bomber/ I Heart What?
00:00 hrs - 01:00 hrs           Chin Supressor
01:00 hrs - 02:00 hrs           Symmetrik

‘Come and Play’ is an exciting new festival venue, which has been put together by the team

responsible for bringing Eco-Arcadia to events throughout the UK for the last 5 years. Join in the welcoming feast of the festival, or just sit back, relax and unwind after your travels, to watch the silly, festive antics unfold, enjoy the music, and dine! Dine! Dine! Upon festival delights.

The only question is – are you a Rabbit or a Weasel? Pick one or the other, and join us! Whiskers and bunny ears will be supplied, or bring your own to be a participant in our version of The Wind in the Willows.

"It's never the wrong time to call on Toad. Early or late he's always the same fellow. Always good-tempered, always glad to see you, always sorry when you go!" -The Wind in the Willows

Many thanks to Kate Risker, aka the fabulous Miss Risk, who invited Hai Media Group to produce and perform this new twist of the old tale of The Wind in the Willows.

                                                                                                                          A proud & stupid Toad am I,

                                                                                                                                                                  -Lisa

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

 

 

 

My comedy cabaret show the House of Hee Haw! will be back on stage this coming Friday, July 4th, to celebrate:

 

**Download your flyer here and bring it along to claim your

This party is going to be country fried finger-liking good fun.
*And I bet a £1 that everyone will be hee hawing it up all night. No party poopers welcome, this is dance all night, sing all night wild and wacky fun.

***Please note, the artists request that you please leave your hat at the door, following pretend cowboy, cowgirl and hillbilly fun times at the party -- so we can use the hats the next time!

Featuring...

♥♥♥ Cheer-A-Go-Go! ♥♥♥

(Hillbilly Comedy Cabaret)

♫♫♪♫♪   HellzaPoppin’ ♫♫♪♫♪

(Rockin’ Stray Cat-Style Trio)

London debut of:

♫♫♪♫♪ The WildCat Tamers ♫♫♪♫♪
(Country,Soul,Rock’n’Roll)

♫♫♪♫♪ DJ Jon the Boatman ♫♫♪♫♪

& Surprise Special Guests

Barbecue & Grill. Very Reasonable Bar Prices

Friday 4th July 2008. Doors 8 ‘til late. £6/£5 concs. 

Inn On the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close,  Portobello Green, London W10 5XL.

1 minute walk from Ladbroke Grove Tube Tel: 0208 962 5757  www.iotg.co.uk

www.myspace.com/littlebitcountryuk

At bTWEEN 08 the motto was Seed Share Sell -- with many of the UK's digitial industry gathering to offer up ideas,

listen to ideas, and in some cases sell concepts. It was a mash-up that saw indie and fringe digital media types meet up with the mainstream superstars of the digital media industry, and it was a match that proved fruitful for all.

Last week I was part of bTWEEN, held at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, representing my agency Hai Media Group, where my seed idea for a promotional campaign called Rare Fruits was among the final selections to win a £5K prize, and possible commission by a company to support their marketing efforts. Along with my talented media partner Isabella Hu of Ecolocate, we bravely faced a panel of digital media and branding experts to showcase our idea. We were honoured that our Rare Fruits idea for the Branding Talent competition was selected, and nervous to present our ideas to 4Talent, BBC, Aegis, Ogilvy, and others.

It was a learning experience, and one that took a lot of courage for the many small entrepreneurs or, simply a few folks with good ideas, to face their more senior peers in the creative digital industry. In talking to other finalists, many

likened the situation to being in the TV show Dragon’s Den, complete with its very own Digital Dragonoids. The finalists presented their sometimes fragile ideas to a panel of experts, most who were helpful idea cultivators, and never shy about picking and preening at concepts, all in effort to help support making the ideas a reality. As the experience moved along, bTWEEN, for me, as I do not speak for others who attended, morphed into far more than just a contest entry.

The two day conference included a star studded line-up of speakers from the emerging

media space. Highlights for me was learning more about Flourescent Media from Carolyn Maze, hearing what’s happening with music in the emerging media landscape from Kevin
Bacon of AWAL and seeing all ages represented. Teenager jellyellie spoke and over 60 cartoonist Bill Tidy drew pictures and told stories. Cory Doctorow, co-founder and editor of Boing Boing focused his talk on digital rights, and Matt Locke, Commission Editor of Education & New Media at Channel 4, was an excellent ‘navigator’ of current happenings with this innovative broadcaster, including youth programming.

Keynoter Kaiser Kuo, from Beijing, gave bTWEEN attendants an insider’s look behind what many Westerners

describe as being “the great firewall of China” with his speech Censorship, Culture and Chinese Netizens. You can read his thoughts about the conference here.  He was a popular person at bTWEEN, as attendants discovered that he is also in a Chinese heavy metal band called Tang Dynasty, in addition to his role as Group Director of Digital Strategy with Ogilvy (China). He won the prize for being the Most Inspirational Person at bTWEEN.

I met other competitors who’s ideas were representative of new creative, new technology, social and environmental motivation and above all enthusiasm and passion. Here’s a few magic moments that I witnessed at bTWEEN:

1 + 1 = A Better Business Model

Andy Davison presented his idea for regenerating abandoned and derelict space in communities across the UK, that involves documenting the effort with film over a three year period. The documentation would track progress, but also provide a film archive that a broadcast outlet (Channel 4, BBC or other) could turn into a documentary or film about how the UK is Going Green. Andy’s professor also attended to support the idea and offered this commentary about the project:

“Exactly the kind of thing we should be supporting in this age of environmental destruction. This is something we should all get behind - use new media tools to do something REAL and meaningful in the world.” –David Robinson, Lecturer, University of Bradford

The magic happened when later that night I met Mark Alexander, who’s seed idea is called Hugs Everything, a concept he describes as “Facebook for environmental awareness.” As it turns out, his idea complements what Andy Davison is getting up to, and the two have connected and have started meeting to incubate how to bring their mutual ideas to life.

Like I said in the title of this blog post -- Rare Fruits are growing from bTWEEN!!!

1 2 1 = Incubation

Among the senior mentors attending bTWEEN was Steve Taylor, Director of Development & Innovation for Aegis. Steve was a judge in the Branding Talent competition, and from what I understand was instrumental in pulling in more agency creatives to bTWEEN than have previously attended, making the conference a real mix of agency types, entrepreneurs and technologists. He also set up his own mini-incubation lab at bTWEEN, where he kept back-to-back appointments to discuss new business ideas with entrepreneurs. I heard that he met with more than 20 people, helping them better define what role they can play in the industry.

Somewhere in bTWEEN 

bTWEEN included a number of features that I’ve never seen used at conferences before. The organizers deserve praise for incorporating:

Live Webcasting

The crew of Kinura worked non-stop to keep the speaker’s discussions and other happenings broadcasting live from Manchester. The webcast included a chat feature, that allowed anyone watching the speakers from elsewhere to contribute, and ask speakers questions. The chat also made for hilarity at times, when the chatters commented on speakers presentations, or in some cases, got sadly mean about a few things. bTWEEN's chat feature was created by muchosmedia.

Another highlight was Timelines, a techy feature that allowed attendants to ‘bookmark’ points of interest, connect with people, and re-visit the experience online, using RFID tagging devices, supplied with registration badges.

Most amazing was that so many of the new technology industry of the UK were in attendance, alongside what can be

credited as part of the very beginnings of computing. At 60-years-old, ‘The Baby’ was probably the greatest star of the bTWEEN show, as it’s the world’s first stored-program computer. The Baby was designed by a dream team of engineers at the University of Manchester in June 1948.

My Photo Magic Moment

For me, one terrific magic moment was meeting a truly impressive multimedia installation artist, who I plan to spotlight

in the future on this blog. While chatting about his upcoming installation in the north of England, we started taking some photos. He took my camera and informed me that he would take the best photograph of my life. Sure I thought, whatever, I can’t stand most photos that are taken of me. But he proved his artistic genius on the spot, and sure enough this is the best photo I’ve ever had taken in my life:

Thanks for the best photo of my life Simon!

 

What's happening with Rare Fruits?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention what became of our contest entry. Well, we didn’t win

the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but we did win plenty of valuable insight and

counsel for pitching our Rare Fruits idea to others. The champion of our Branding Talent competition was Robin Cramp, who’s Little Me  idea won over the judges, and may likely be developed further for use with Littlewoodsdirect.com.

We got awesome feedback from the mentors about our idea, including spot-on tips from 4Talent about what we can do with the Rare Fruits idea. I'm now cultivating the seed of the Rare Fruits idea, and hope to see it grow into something absolutely beautiful, in time.

Coming up this July 2-3 in London is a new event called 2gether08 that is being organized summer-festival style, combining the best of conference, with a bit of Festival fun mixed in. Check out what’s happening here:

2gether08 is brought to you by the innovative UK broadcaster Channel 4.

***Early Bird Discount Passes Available Now***

You’ve got until this Monday, 16^th June, to get an early bird discount for passes.

Register here: http://www.2gether08.eventbrite.com/

Come along and help...

Solve Bigger Problems at 2gether08

On offer are two days and nights of talks, workshops, debates, interviews, parties, awards and some surprises. More than 300 people from throughout London’s creative industries are planning to attend and the speaker line-up includes politicians, writers, a philosopher, economists, entrepreneurs, technologists, scientists and more to soon be announced. See the who’s who list of speakers here http://2gether08.com/programme/

Among attendants you’ll find many of London’s top influential creatives from new technology, business, media, art and entertainment, all gathering to hammer out new ideas, along with a few positive action steps that can be taken to make the world a better place. I’m hoping that this is going to be similar to what happens, when ideas get started, and spreading at TED talks.

2gether08 is a Grassroots, DIY, Co-Created, People-Powered Festival of Ideas

Most inspiring is how 2gether08 is being organized, with the active participation of those attending. Invitations and calls for ideas went out among London’s creative entrepreneurial community to begin shaping the agenda for what 2gether08 will tackle, and topic discussions will cover every subject from climate change to international relations to community issues. At the heart of the concept is a focus surrounding how new technology can propel social change, and it is social networking that has been shaping out 2gether08 across London.

I can report that the organizers are listening, with about 100 workshops being organized for attendants, by attendants.

My agency Hai Media Group is proud to be among the supporters of 2gether08.

We are helping out the organizers with PR support, if you have queries about press passes, please contact me. Download the 2gether08 Event Alert here:

http://www.haimediagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/microsoft-word-2gether08-festival-event-alert-july-2_3_08.pdf

**If you have a blog, or Twitter, or know someone who does, please post news about this event, and help get the ideas going.

Please mark your calendar for 2gether08! and I hope to see you there.

I’ll be blogging about what ideas emerge from 2gether08, and if you have any pressing topics that you’d like to see guest’s put their heads together on, I’m interested to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment about what is happening in your part of the world that needs attention. You are welcome to contact me here, or email me at info [at] haimediagroup [dot] com

 

This month my agency the Hai Media Group heads to Manchester, along with other digital media creative entrepreneurs from throughout the UK, for the conference bTWEEN08, where our agency is a finalist in the Branding Talent competition.

HMG has teamed up with media partner Isabella Hu, a designer, to develop this seed idea for an integrated promotional campaign to support Littlewoods, a popular online shopping site for fashion and house wares. We’ve presented the judges with our Rare Fruits concept, that invites customers to visit Littlewoodsdirect.com, to pick rare fashion fruits from the branches of trees, growing on islands. The virtual world concept wraps around what we’ve already been told about Littlewoods new branding initiatives to build excitement with a television commercial involving a desert island, scheduled to be aired in the 2008 holiday season.

Among our mentors for this experience will be 4Talent (an innovation arm of the broadcaster Channel 4), Aegis Media, Just-b (the creators and designers of bTWEEN08) and Littlewoods.

bTWEEN08's Sponsors

We join other finalists to develop our seed ideas into a full proposal for the client, during a conference workshop, and find out Friday, 20th June 2008, if our Rare Fruits campaign is a winner. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with our digital creative peers for bTWEEN08, and hope we have a good chance at winning the cash prize of £5K. You can see some screenshots of our Rare Fruits campaign concept below:

Check out our Rare Fruits entry here, which is up for public vote online, among other contenders:

http://www.just-b.com/btween/branding-tallent/rare-fruits

How do you vote? Please sign up to the bTWEEN08 online community, a helpful resource for digital entrepreneurs.

Creative Branding Inspiration

Hai Media Group hopes the judges will love our Rare Fruits campaign, a concept that aims to build website traffic by creating consumer excitement around exclusively available items from popular brands such as Miss Selfridges, Diesel, Love Island, Henleys, and other brands the retailer currently stocks. We've also suggested the possibility of offering prizes or products from the brand’s official spokeswomen Trinny & Susannah, who are leading fashion divas in the UK. We’ve been inspired by the successes High Street retailers have had in recent years by offering shoppers fashion lines from celebrities and designers, and see this new branding initiative as an opportunity for Littlewoods to capture the same excitement online.

Kate Moss, Madonna, Lilly Allen and others, have unveiled their collections at Top Shop, H&M and other retailers, but we think the best case study example is when Stella McCartney’s collection debuted at H&M in November 2005, which launched consumer fervour outside the Oxford Circus retail outlet on its launch day, with thousands of fans queuing for their chance to own an original piece of the collection. The store sold out within the first day, and remains a coup d'état moment among the fashion industry marketing types.

We hope to fuel similar excitement for Littlewoods, and offer busy women a new way to have a chance to own an original fashion item, that doesn’t require taking a day off from work, or raising kids, to queue for hours at a shop. In the run-up to our Rare Fruits campaign debut for Littlewoods, we’ve got integrated promotional strategies surrounding our campaign, to build buzz and excitement over an 8-week period in the run-up to the holidays, that we’ll be discussing further with the judges of this competition.

We are looking forward to working closely with other entrepreneurs, and media mentors to finalize our campaign ideas during the bTWEEN08 conference.

We join other finalists in a development workshop on Wednesday June 18^th June 2008, to develop our seed ideas into a full proposal for the client. We’ll find out Friday, 20^th June 2008, if our Rare Fruits campaign is an award-winner.

 

Hoping we've got a winner with the Littlewoods Rare Fruits campaign,

-Lisa

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

Who’s Isabella Hu?

Hu is an artist and designer who works across the fields of interactive arts, motion graphics and new media. Her experience includes design consultantcy specializing in digital, film, and print media. She has screened her work internationally at various festivals throughout Europe, Canada, Asia, Australia and in the UK. Visit her portfolio here: Ecolocate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hillary Clinton let me know today (see her letter below) that this Saturday she is going to step aside and let the Democrats get on with the tough election they face this year, conceding the race to Barack Obama.

Thanks Hillary! Yes, it's time, and you are very needed in helping the Democrats win back the White House this year.

Many congrats to Barack Obama for running what has been, and continues to be a campaign that inspires hope among voters. He has really fired up the USA Democrats, and seems to be achieving a remarkable appeal, crossing over party lines and making mince of traditional voting patterns. This blog will be enthusiastically supporting Barack Obama in the run-up to the November '08 Presidential elections, as he did completely win me over earlier this year. I'd been on the fence for the early days of this race, and had wanted to see both candidates stop the primary campaign earlier, set aside their differences, and pal up on the Democratic party ticket to make a powerful partnership. Who knows, maybe that will still happen?

This is an exciting race, and I'll be watching it, from across the pond.

A Letter from Hillary to Me

Dear Lisa,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Who’s Lisa Devaney?

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com