A bit of big thinking

I had a lovely day today, it wasnt directly because of work as I promised myself I would never talk about that on here. It was during a work like experience that I had a real revelation about my life. I didnt actually go into work today. I got to go to a cool event by the APG which is a group of all the thinky people from advertising (known as planners) talking about things that interest them. Guess what it was called... the battle of big thinking.

Sometimes it can be quite an egoboo and naval gazing event. The great thing was that it actually brought up some very interesting topics for everyone not just advertising people. Im not going to get into what the day was about, you can read my 'work' blog for that. But during a little bit of an energizer after lunch. They had this wonderful musician play (see above). During this I had my little revelation. I love living in London because it gives me the freedom to think big.

It made me realise that all the supposed big thinking Id done elsewhere was nothing. As I had no one to truly share it with or people that pushed me further to think harder and bigger. The 'positive friction' I have had with many different types of people has lead to even more interesting thoughts. It is probably also a somewhat sense of maturity but also a better knowledge that being mature doesnt mean you should lose the curiosity and naivety of being a kid as we saw today with a younger presenter who was brilliant.

I was given a pretty good education and got pretty good marks but only because I figured out how to play the system. Not because I truly saw the relevance or value of an education that in hindsight I feel somewhat bad about. But anyone my path I felt was that I would much prefer to experience life and learn as I go in the real world and not be forced into reading something about it. Its funny how things changed. But the value of education as a whole has started to really resonate with me as Ive realised it means much more than I was supposedly taught. I can experience things, I can read things, I can share things I can discuss things. I hated all the discussion when I first arrived in the UK. But I have started to gain an understanding of its value. So I have been able to start to mix it up. Read this, share this, experience this, share this. Then start to reach out to different people but also take the time to listen to different people. I can often be brash and harsh. But I need to remind myself to bring back that childhood curiosity and realise you can truly learn something from everyone not just the ones that are obvious.

All in all the more reading, talking and experiencing you do the more you understand what you are apart of and what you want to take from that... but also what you want to give back. Because at the end of the day we are all just looking for some fulfillment and Im realising this is a great way to get it. (for me anyway)

Full TRON Legacy Track Found

A few new tracks to share....

An old favourite chromeo are back with a new video and collaboration with La Roux. Lots of nice synth.

Expressway Mix Pt.2 by Russ Chimes

Here's another old favourite with a new mix track. Russ Chimes bring us the French stuff... a little run Mahogany Blog.

If you ever wanted to know how the advertising system works... this is it

Great article on the future of our industry from fastcompany.

But if your out there dad or any of my friends who dont know what I or any other advertising people do. Here you go

The ad business became an assembly line as predictable as Henry Ford's. The client (whose goal was to get the word out about a product) paid an agency's account executive (whose job was to lure the client and then keep him happy), who briefed the brand planner (whose research uncovered the big consumer insight), who briefed the media planner (who decided which channel -- radio, print, outdoor, direct mail, or TV -- to advertise in). Then the copywriter/art director team would pass on its work (a big idea typically represented by storyboards for a 30-second TV commercial) to the producer (who worked with a director and editors to film and edit the commercial). Thanks to the media buyer (whose job was to wine-and-dine media companies to lower the price of TV spots, print pages, or radio slots), the ad would get funneled, like relatively fresh sausage, into some combination of those five mass media, which were anything but equal. TV ruled the world. After all, it not only reached a mass audience but was also the most expensive medium -- and the more the client spent, the more money the ad agency made.