It’s 2015 and everyone’s going bonkers over podcasts like it’s 2006 (I remember you, Odeo!). Obligatory references to Serial and StartUp go here.
But as the Gimlet Media folk have alluded to, there’s currently a lack of tools to help discovery (especially if you’re a non-iTunes user). So for the past few weeks I’ve been digging into the podcastiverse and sampling a variety of aural delights outside of the big guns mentioned above. These are some of my findlings.
Waterman’s Fortnightly is a new thing I’m doing every, er, fortnight or so. It’s a newsletter covering interesting things, with a slight slant towards digital content and community stuff.
Has any work software ever received as much glowing coverage as Slack? You can barely open a browser without encountering an article claiming how it’s set to change workplacecultureforever…
…depending on your workplace. The majority of office workers are more likely to identify with the story of the US government employee who worked from the bathroom in order to bypass his employer’s IT security measures.
Slack is supposed to be so compulsive that users are reluctant to leave the office. And while we’re all addicted to web-enabled devices these days, this dispatch from 1982 illustrates computers’ ability to transfix us before you could even do much with them.
If smug Slackers’ screenshots are the summit of #LoveMyJob self-satisfaction, what’s the opposite? Toshers are certainly contenders for Quite Likely The Worst Job Ever, having made their living sifting through raw sewage in 19th century London. Pure-finders run them close, though.
Shared recently in Non-Fiction Addiction
The self-castrated hatmaker who killed the guy who killed Abraham Lincoln; why the FBI investigated The Kingsmen and their hit ‘Louie Louie’; what became of the children who survived the Holocaust; and more at Non-Fiction Addiction.
A little suntin suntin for the marketomatons
Links for online content and marketing folk. Skip ahead to Phew glad that bit’s over if that sentence makes you spit chips.
New to me is Wappalyzer, which is a browser plugin that allows you to see what software websites are using.
Online design tool Canva has introduced free infographic templates.
Tottenham Community Choir, to whom I lend my lungs on a regular basis, are putting on a winter concert on December 11th 2011 at Gladesmore School in Tottenham. All the money raised from ticket sales will go to the Downhills School Playground Fund (Downhills is where we rehearse every week, and they’re facing tough times at the moment).
What can you expect if you come along? We’ll be doing several of of your Christmassy favourites (including that one up there), and a load of other numbers we’ve been rehearsing all year, from classic soul tunes to – gulp – a piece from a Russian opera. There will also be guest spots by other North London acts including Artcha and PanNation Steel Band, plus some songs from the kids of the Downhills School Choir and Gladesmore School Choir. Get your tear ducts ready.
For us, DIS IS DUH BIG WAN. Since I joined in March the choir’s aim has always been to put on a proper concert, and all the rehearsals and smaller performances we’ve done in 2011 have been leading up to this. We’re really excited, so t’would be splendid to perform in front of a full house.
If it’s not your bag, or it’s too far away, we’d be most grateful if you could forward the details of the show to anyone who you think may be interested. There will be no gangsta rap (I campaigned for some, but to no avail), so it will be suitable for all ages.
Last week we were on stage with Chipmunk and Tottenham MP David Lammy, but this concert is the most important thing we’ll do this year.
*Lastly, thanks so much to everyone who voted for the choir in the NatWest CommunityForce competition, and to those who tweeted about it. WE FLIPPING WELL WON, which means we’ll be able to buy our own instruments rather than have to hire them out all the time. Untold thanks again, you diamonds.
Tottenham Community Choir Winter Concert
Saturday 11th December, 4pm
Gladesmore School, Crowland Road, London N15 6EB – here’s a map
At the end of March this year, I started attending rehearsals at Tottenham Community Choir. I wasn’t sure it was going to be the kind of thing I would stick with, but stick with it I have.
When I tell people I’m part of a choir the differing reactions are quite interesting. They range from bemusement, to jealousy, to disbelief, and tend to be followed by a barrage of questions. There are usually too many questions, all at once, and I hardly ever feel like I answer them sufficiently.
With Tottenham getting a lot of attention for the wrong reasons at the moment, now seems like a good time to talk about something positive in the area.
Therefore I have decided to compile answers to the questions I am most frequently asked about joining Tottenham Community Choir.
