You only need four chords for a hit record

I listened to the radio a lot over Christmas and on Radio one on Sunday whilst driving in the car they featured this Australian Band demonstrating just how many songs which have been hits have used the same 4 chords.


I guess advertising isn't so different - my friend Aaron Martin at Syzygy reminded me of the fact everyone in advertising knows there are only 7 true ideas anyway:

1 the superlative
2 the comparative
3 celebrity endorsement
4 philosophy, the product story
5 the demonstration
6 the pastiche
7 sponsored gag, art piece

He did a pretty good job of making this point at a debate we were both in last year - here is his winning presentation.

Nintendo takes over the world

Well not quite but the Wii seems to have won the battle for the hearts and minds of the populous living room. Now they are making a bid for the 'on the move market' with the introduction of vending machines in Airports selling Nintendo DS!



Got to take your hats off to them that is an inspired move - especially if you have a 6 hour delay and no business lounge to take refuge in - a £100 to dull the pain of an airport gate seems a small price to pay.

Ambulance Chasing or Good Business Sense

In time honored fashion I took a visit to Homebase in the period between Christmas/ NY and the return to work, looking at Kitchen and bathroom suite's. This caught my eye, I thought it was a pretty logical and relatively good way of picking up customers - I presume they may have some sort of rescue package incentive to provide Homebase Kitchen's at a reduced price to the poor buggers who have been left stranded without a Kitchen or Bathroom. Always good to see a retailer thinkinng on their feet.

Frank Cocaine Basement

An interesting addition to the talk to Frank site - Frank The Cocaine Basement. An interactive experience demonstrating the dangers of Cocaine use. Some interesting use of video, games, experience etc.

Tracking Santa - Google Nasa Mash Up

I heard about this on the radio and thought it was quite a nice festive development using GPS and Google Maps. The Norad Santa Tracker - Allowing people to track Father Christmas around the globe on the 24th Dec.

Some more future gazing

I found a few interesting videos on the BBC Technology pages showcasing developments in retail, living, dining etc for the near future. Most of them seem to be developed by German's, oh well maybe its the technology equivalent of the towel on the deck chair.

Here are the links to 4 short videos (sadly the BBC hasn't quite grasped the concept of allowing people to embed their videos yet but perhaps that is in another video called the BBc of the Future - let's hope so).

• Inside the house of the future(04.54)
• Germany's 'robot' restaurant(01.49)
• Supermarket of the future(02.56)
• Germans create 'future hotel' (03.51)

What Tech Developments We Want To See 2009

A great post here on fast company about 6 major tech developments we want to see in 2009

1. Free National WiFi
2. Powerful Mobile Internet Devices
3. Linux On Everything
4. Connected Cars
5. 4G Wireless
6. Windows' Redemption

I wonder how many will come true.