blog.david.bailey.net - David J Bailey on Media and Technology Musings from the fringes of consumer entertainment software, with some biological analogies and comments on the life of start up companies

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

davidjwbailey — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:31:14 +0100

I'll be closing this blog and moving the content in clumsy steps to http:\\www.fomentors.com over the next month Frankly, I just got fed up with fighting Blogware.

Tech Crunch Summer Pitch Battle

davidjwbailey — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:31:31 +0100

TCBattle
#tcbattle

Summer was definitely warm in the TechHub, as 30 start-ups had 60 seconds each to explain who they were, what they did, why they were amazing and what they wanted.

Sitting along side were the eagle eyes and sharp minds of Eden Ventures, M8 Capital, Moonfruit, Neuhaus Partners, ...

This is what you are missing

davidjwbailey — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:44:02 +0100

S0103 Abu Dhabi 2003 Pool team 0126-245, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

This used to be my playground.

When I had a proper job, this was where I lived.

If anyone tells you that entrepreneurship is glamorous or exciting, tell them to compare it to a career in accountancy, ...

Absent Without Leave

davidjwbailey — Mon, 31 May 2010 09:42:04 +0100

It has been a month since I posted content here - a cardinal sin in blogger land, and one which instantly cost me readers and raised questions.

My effort simply went into clients and other projects, but they have given me insight into new areas of entertainment media and publishing ...

GEEKnROLLA - The Afternoon Must Remain A Secret

davidjwbailey — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:25:23 +0100

This is only Q2 of 2010 and the atmosphere could not be more different from 2009. As in the late 1970’s the reaction of the UK creative has been to turn to punk rock. Only now it is 2010 and we are talking about startup creativity and the geekNrolla punk attitude that Mike Butcher has been cultivating. It clearly resonated with Morten Lund for one. UK entrepreneurs have woken up and are no longer prepared to wait for an economic recovery; they are going to create on of their own; and they are going to do it the hard way, with ultra-lean startups, microcapital and massive derisking and leveraging of their business through the startup ecosystem. That is all good, if it works. And it might just work, not least because the London scene is now large enough to support itself, and because the network extends into the EU, Nordics and Eastern Europe. The entrepreneurs are not alone. The investors appear to have woken up to the change, and we must all give credit to them for doing so. The older among them have seen this all before and know a good resurgance when they see one. The younger ones are smart enough to feel the buzz and ride it. This was a good event. It felt like San Francisco. It felt like London tech entrepreneurs have woken up, and decided to get down and make their future. Which is something we should all applaud and support. Applaud loudly, GEEK’n’ROLLA style.

GEEKnROLLA - Startup Pitches

davidjwbailey — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:14:53 +0100

Twenty or more start-ups challenging the panels for their futures. I'm not going to comment on them, but I list them here as a way to get you to pay them some attention!

GEEKnROLLA - Wisdom from Investors

davidjwbailey — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:12:37 +0100

The critical session of the day for most start-ups - with serious insight from some of the best investors in the world.

GEEKnROLLA - Wisdom from Founders

davidjwbailey — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:11:00 +0100

Summary Post from the morning sessions at Geek'n'Rolla 2010 (#gknr) with wisdom from founders and the media who love them.

Mystery and Imagination Have Always Powered Innovation

davidjwbailey — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:06:29 +0100

Boscawen Un - Bringing out the mysterious, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

the 4,000 odd year old iPad of its age

Gone Exploring

davidjwbailey — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:10:31 +0100

Gone Exploring, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

Collaborators will be shot! Upwards!

davidjwbailey — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:11:16 +0100

Enjoyed listening to Charles Cecil and the panel talking about collaboration between video games and other creative media (and remembering to include comics, books, music, tv and film). Ubisoft sharing a platform with a flash games company, an indie movie company and BBC Kids TV and chaired by TIGA and paid for by NESTA. Having read this far, do you want to know what you missed by not being there? OK, read to the end, here

UK Digital Economy Bill - oppressive, ill thought out, and just plain wrong #debill

davidjwbailey — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:54:40 +0100

<flame on> I can't write anything better than has already been written or said by people like Techcrunch or Cory Doctorow about the Digital Economy Bill.

Rather than analyse the immense ignorance, stupidity and blatant special lobbying by Geffen and Murdoch and their empires that is embedded in this ...

Party Political Broadcast (aka 'The Deadbeat Club')

davidjwbailey — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:21:09 +0100

Doug Richards has fired me up with his post on the requirements for massive societal change to create a culture of entrepreneurialism in the UK. It comes on the day that the UK will be told when it is to go to the polls for the most important election in 30 years. And it is time for me to get off the fence. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown paid clever lip services to the entrepreneur. They launched a cloud of buzzing, brightly coloured initiatives to support small businesses. From the Technology Standards Board, to NESTA, to Gordon’s own ‘Regional Development Funds’, they made a lot of fuss and noise. Sadly, it was all rather badly co-ordinated, with no follow through and even less real economic value. Funds were diverted to pork barrel projects (as any political finance always is) and thousands of mid-rank civil servants were able to re-launch their careers and improve their fully funded final salary pension schemes. None of that really matters, and pretty well none of it will prove to have had any lasting impact, in say, 10 years. What does matter is the underlying major forces that the Labour government set in motion. ..... The sad thing is that I have no idea how to change that without massive social upheaval. Do you? If you do, I for one, will vote for you.

New Season - Pasque Flower

davidjwbailey — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:23:00 +0100

It Must Be Easter - Pasque Flower, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

Vital Equipment, recycled from trash

davidjwbailey — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 12:25:21 +0100

Anomalous Unit Explorers - Penny Stoves, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

Vital equipment, made from simple, readily available materials. Click on the photo to read more!

A Tremble on the Web

davidjwbailey — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:51:15 +0100

You may be happy to give up your personal data and privacy in exchange for discounts and services. I am, most of the time, provided I can see what it is you know about me. How is the relationship between you, me and the brands who hold my data, going to change in C21? Well, I just spent a happy half hour listening to Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network and TheAlloy tell me about how they see that things are changing in the digital space. I've come away seriously thoughtful about one of the twelve great points they made. That point was "what if the creators of User Generated Content start asking to be paid - in cash or kind - for what they add to your brand or product?"

The Apple Forest is now mature - no seedlings will thrive

davidjwbailey — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:20:00 +0100

The iPhone / iPad hype is now reaching its peak, with a flood over 100,000 applications to the iPhone App store, and a closed financial system controlled by Apple, the market is effectively closed to new entrants. “What?” You say, “have you gone mad? Apple has the lowest barriers to entry and easiest monetisation of any platform, surely the ride has just begun!”. We’ll I disagree. The ride has indeed begun, but only for a very select few. Those few have some key attributes and are already in the market. So, basically, I don’t think a new entrant can, after today, come to dominate the App space. Well, not without $100m and some serious luck.

Collapse - why civilisations fail?

davidjwbailey — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:21:44 +0100

I enjoyed Jared Diamond's book "collapse", in the way it describes the range of forces that have bought earlier civilisations down. It teaches us humility and caution. He talks about drought, war, disease, ecosystem failure and a range of external and internal forces.

I think he missed one: ...

Timing is EVERYTHING

davidjwbailey — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:13:15 +0100

Plum Blossom, Spring, retouched, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

timing is everything, in flowering strategies as well as business.

are you putting out your flowers just as the pollinators are flying past, or when the wind is blowing? how do you know the time is right to launch?

Weekend thoughts

davidjwbailey — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:03:17 +0000

Dear Entrepreneur

"it is going to take twice as long and four times as much money as you think to get half as far as you expected to go"

When you approach an experience investor, this thought is going through their minds. They are not casting aspersions over your competence, ...

Kiss That Frog

davidjwbailey — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:34:00 +0000

Kiss Me!, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

when handling frogs, or toads, first kiss them to find out if they are a Prince

davidjwbailey — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:37:30 +0000

Spade, Sand, Minehead beach, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

get the right tool for the right job.

Ada Lovelace Day

davidjwbailey — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 09:13:23 +0000

It is Ada Lovelace Day - and this is not something that you would normally expect a 46 year old, 200+lb bald bloke to write (or even care) about. But I am writing and I do care, because, you see, I have a secret.

You need to look back to ...

Learn from the Cockroach, innovators

davidjwbailey — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:19:03 +0000

Cockroaches will inherit the earth, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

Next time someone steps on your great new innovation, think of the cockroach. Then look them in the eye, lean forward and say "we will inherit the earth, you know". Then scuttle out, thinking of your next irrepressible idea. ...

What really entertains us?

davidjwbailey — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:36:15 +0000

I strongly suspect that far too few game designers really understand what “entertainment” means. They do appear to be getting better at it, but are not quite there yet. They are also somewhat unaware of the “unintended consequences” of really good game design – consequences that can serious damage the long term viability of a game or even the publisher. - I'll explain a little hear about the 'pre-cradle to post-grave' user experience, and fun, and some design issues in games of every type - There is one drawback of getting this absolutely right, of course. Can you guess? Yes, long term: a really great game is compelling, addictive, rewarding and so damn fine you don’t want to play anything else. Which means, of course, you will never sell another game, as everyone will keep playing the last one. Did you think about that in the design phase?

Perfection is not your job

davidjwbailey — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 19:13:02 +0000

White Orchid, retouched, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

It is not your job as entrepreneur to make perfect flowers. Would be nice if you had the time and the money and the expertise, but would the market be large enough?

Metallic Plants

davidjwbailey — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:15:13 +0000

Crocus Look Like Purple Barnacles, originally uploaded by davidjwbailey.

Sharp colours and fast movement, even in plants, attract the eye

The Parable of the Stick

davidjwbailey — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:20:26 +0000

The Parable of the Stick => A man was walking through the woods with friend when his friend fell and twisted his knee. Seeking some way to continue to their destination, their eyes fell upon the coppice of hazel alongside the path. The man realised that a market need had been created, in which at least one person has an urgent requirement for something that can be supplied, and the features can be specified: it must enable one to walk, be portable, help reduce pain and be available immediately. (based on an almost true story. Read on here ->)

It is Time to Stop what you have been doing [part 1]

davidjwbailey — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:52:48 +0000

There are two good excuses for going to trade shows technical knowledge and business knowledge. I’ll examine both as they affect start-ups and innovators in computer and video games, and hopefully show you ways to make the $5,000 cost of getting to a trade show for a week (including beer!) much better value for money. I’ll also dig into what a world in which games are released on 3 to 6 month cycles means for innovators and trade shows. [PART 1]

Close to the Edge, Down by the Water

davidjwbailey — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:56:15 +0000

Rapid cycles of development and rapid changes of business model are now the norm in iPhone and mobile games. 3 to 6 month cycles, with constant patching and upgrading in the released version mean a radical change in the games environment. Much has been said about the technical and games designs issues involved, but what about the cash flow?