So within the next 24 hrs we are going to be witnessing the dawn of a new era, the phoenix rising from the flames, the revenge of a scorned facebook victim! Well, maybe nothing quite so dramatic. But we will be exposed to the all new myspace.

With an all New logo (which i’ve already blogged about) and what is promised to be a new cleaner design to “showcase you and your interests”, the new myspace will apparently be more magazine-like for content and more tv-like for video. This all sounds good to me as I felt the current design was a mishmash of widgets and content you were interested in was too hard to find.

I hope that myspace has found something of a middle ground between control of the design and flexibility of allowing customisation. In comparison to the current mobile os’s, a sort of in-between an ios platform and android. If they have they will be on to a winner.

Myspace will let you add friends and then make it as easy as possible to share your discoveries of music, games and tv shows. This will be building a massive pool of data in the background which will be analysed to push you recommendations based on your interests.

The new myspace will also let you Sync all your social accounts for simple sharing across networks. Myspace are obviously hoping you will use their website as your hub rather than leaving to talk about your interests.

To me this all sounds very impressive and a much needed step in the right direction for myspace. What has surprised me though is the marketing, or rather the lack of it, surrounding the launch. A fair amount of coverage online was made of the logo change, but apart from that nothing much has been announced about the new myspace. Certainly not when you compare the coverage a new feature like “Facebook Places” received.

This just goes to show how much ground myspace has lost over the last few years. I only hope this new site can help it grow once again into the powerful online presence it once was. This will only be a good thing for the Internet as too much emphasis is now put on facebook and google – we need some competition!

This could be the shortest blog post I’ve ever made. It’s simple just visit www.neilsmithdesigns.co.uk your best choice for a local Leicester web designer! …

Seriously though, how do you go about choosing a good trustworthy web designer that will suit your individual need.
It’s one very difficult decision and not one that you can take lightly. This new investment you are about to make is your shop window for the world to gaze into.

Before you start researching who to use, first ask yourself why you want a website? What is the objective? This is the single most important factor that will make or break your website. There are some fantastic web design agencies that can provide pretty much any solution you throw at them. But some will have a particular flair for certain areas, so it’s best to pick one that’s a good match with your objective.

All web design agencies have to build up a portfolio of websites to be successful and just like an actor that plays a certain role very well, they can get typecast. Therefore an agency that starts off building a website for a restaurant for example are more likely to be exposed to others in the same marketplace. It makes sense. If you’re a restaurant looking for a new website – you’ll look at other restaurant websites and the agencies that have built them. Therefore when you visit the agencies website – look at their portfolio and see if they have developed anything in your field. After all, there’s no substitute for experience.

The next point to consider is the DIY approach. Depending on the complexities of what you need, i.e. if you just want your company contact information online or you want to start up a blog. With just a little bit of technical know-how and time, there is no reason you couldn’t give it a go yourself. Blogger is fool-proof if you want the simplest solution for blogging and wordpress is a fantastic tool for setting up a simple website that looks good quickly.

If you don’t want to get your fingers dirty though, then ask any friends/colleagues that have had websites designed, do the research and see a few agencies before making the choice.

Try picking an agency that’s local. This way you can have meetings easily at the crucial stages of the project. The initial meeting is vital – the agency should put you at ease and should instill confidence in you from the outset. If they look like they are glazing over at your input, it’s probably best to avoid as they are probably missing the point.
They should also ask you why you want a website, what you want to do with it and how you would like it to grow.

Think about the long-term. Some agencies will make it impossible for you to update the website yourself, therefore forcing you to use them again… for a cost. Think about the parts of the website you need to be dynamic, maybe database driven. This may cost a little more initially, but long term will pay you back.

Finally, make sure you keep records of all your details. Login usernames, passwords, ftp access, hosting providers and domain registrations. This way, if the agency ever goes under your website doesn’t go down with them.

A re-brand rarely comes when a company is thriving. If Google, Facebook or Apple re-branded today there would be more than a few raised eyebrows.
A re-brand often occurs when a company needs to revitalise or force a change in direction to once again steal a lead on the competition.

That’s why re-branding comes at more of a cost than just agency fees, consultants and re-tooling for their shiny new look. The real cost is in the customers perception of a re-brand. A brand is more than just a nice looking logo, but it is inevitably the logo that should define the brand.

This is why the aesthetic appeal of a logo is so vital to a companies success. Ask anyone in marketing and they will tell you the best brands in the world are those that a clean, simple, unique and distinctive. The big 3 I mentioned at the start of this blog tick all of those boxes… but then so did GAP and pretty much so did MySpace, yet they have both recently decided to re-brand.

The reasons why we rebrand and what makes a good brand are clear, but should we ask MySpace and GAP if re-branding is the right thing to do? Well, let’s see if we think they’ve done a good job before we start thinking they’re experts in re-branding.

Gap Old	Gap New
MySpace Old	MySpace New

Let’s analyse the two.

GAP – Both old and new tick all the boxes in being simple, clean, unique and distinctive. However I have to question why GAP have re-branded their 20 year old logo at all. This updated brand stands for nothing new. As far as the design is concerned I have no problems and given time, it will no doubt become as recognisable as their old incarnation – but that hasn’t achieved anything.

As far as the brand is concerned GAP will only be at the same point they are now 10 years down the line.

So why have GAP re-branded? Well that’s not too difficult to answer. They seriously need to breath new life into its slumping sales. With their old brand image it would be difficult to imagine any new type of marketing campaign, any new style to their outlets and in turn any new custom. For me it looks like they have therefore decided to re-brand in the hope a new softer logo may present opportunities for a new marketing direction and a new customer perception.

The outcome – in short, GAP fans have been outraged! They have been posting on social sites and forums like mad accusing GAP of creating a logo more suited to a bank than a clothing retailer. I have to agree. The most surprising outcome of this though is how GAP have responded. They have said – “If you think you can do better, go ahead!” (not an exact quote!). They’ve done this by opening the floor to the public to create a new GAP brand. I’m really not sure if this is a desperate or ingenious move?

MySpace – I don’t think we can compare this situation with GAP’s. MySpace have so seriously fallen behind the behemoth that is Facebook that it needs something that is innovative, dynamic and even pioneering to turn around its fortunes. The other aspect that is for certain, is that MySpace will need to do more than just re-brand to make this happen. They need to pull together an experience for the user that in-compasses everything MySpace has to offer into a simplified and uniformed quality online offering.

That’s a big job – but I think this re-brand is a step in the right direction. I know this logo is going to be brutally treated with all sorts of photo-shopped shenanigans posted all over the web. But that is part of its appeal. It will devide opinion and create discussion after discussion on what in the world MySpace were thinking about but again, that’s part of its appeal.

MySpace are saying this is not our website, but yours. Fill in the blank. Make it what you want. With everything that MySpace is trying to offer – this is spot on.

I saw one fantastic comment on the TechCrunch blog about this saying “Only two more characters left and myspace will forever be deleted from the internet”. While this is a fantastic comment, I don’t think it could be further from the truth.
I like what MySpace are trying to represent with this new logo and most of all I like the fact this change is brave.

It hopefully signals a new era for MySpace – and at last competition again for Facebook.

Of course, this is only my opinion – so please take part in the poll below to share yours!

It’s going to be one of the biggest tech fights we’ve experienced in a long, long time and the winner will be decided by us, the consumer.

It will also change the way the majority of us consume news, music, films, local business info, games and search the web. The fact is, our tv is about to become the central hub of our lives (if it isn’t already), by opening up a portal to the world wide web.

Apple TV and Google TV are the reasons why consumers will be using their TV instead of their laptops to update their status’s one minute then stream a movie the next. But the question is, which one is the best choice for the UK public?

First things first, if you want to get into surfing’n’streaming via your TV now then there is only one option and that’s Apple TV. Apple have stolen the lead in terms of this technology through releasing their Apple TV globally first and here in the UK, although it’s not appeared in many stores yet, you can order one online and it will be with you inside two weeks.
Google on the other hand have not officially released a UK launch date as yet, with the only indication of a launch at all coming from Logitech who is building the boxes for Google in the US. They have said we will see “developments” leading to its roll-out in the UK from next January.

So, if you want one of these in the UK now, it has to be Apple TV.

However, if you are prepared to wait, then which one should you spend your hard earned monies on?

With both offerings you are going to be able to stream HD films from Netflix at the same price of approx £3.50. You’ll also be able to watch everything that’s on YouTube and flick through your holiday snaps on Flickr.
Alongside this both have good music offerings with Apple granting access to iTunes while Google loads up Napster.
Both make use of your mobile phones as remote controls, with Google allowing Androids to control the device as well as share media content to the big screen. The same goes for Apple; the iPhone or iPad can be used in exactly the same way.

Alot is on offer… but what are the differences?

Apple TV… what’s the deal?
It’s Apple. I know that will annoy some people, but in my opinion Apple’s design oozes quality and this small shiny black box will look the part in any home.
Connects to the iPad. I know Google allows their Android phones to connect to Google TV but the iPad is a bit different. You are more likely to have a lot more media content on your iPad just begging to be streamed over to the TV.
iTunes. Apple TV give you access to the proven excellent storefront that is iTunes. This may also get even better soon with the introduction of Ping. Opening up social networking on your TV.
Bound to set up very easily OK, I’m plucking at straws but I bet my bottom doller that Apple TV will be the easiest thing to set up you will ever plug into your TV.

Google TV… What’s the beef?
Open Source – Just like the difference between Apple and Google with regards to smartphones. Google are opening their TV offering up to the community to encourage them to develop apps for their black box. This could open up a whole host of possibilities.
Web browser – Google have included a version of Chrome so you can surf the web from your TV. That’s a biggie. If you want to find a local plumber your TV may now have the answer.
Power House – Googles box is full of power and can offer full 1080p rather than Apples 720p. The Intel chipset used in the Google box will also lend itself to upgrades… or a little tampering with at least! No chance of that with the tiny Apple TV box.
Apps – I really don’t know why Apple TV doesn’t have apps… but it doesn’t. (Steve – a word: It’s what made your iPhone the best selling smartphone of all time!). Yet it is only Google TV that will offer up apps, with the operating system being an Android platform.

And Finally…

It will be very interesting to see which one wins. Googles device is clearly the more powerful and encompasses all media rather than just giving you access to iTunes and a few channels like YouTube and NetFlix.
Google TV has opened itself up to developers, fully specced its device to run 1080p and included a proven web browser (Chrome) running on a proven operating system (Android).

But for all this, who would bet against Apple? They have launched a £99 device first and is the only option here in the UK. It also looks gorgeous when compared to Google lump of a device. iTunes is the comfiest jumper you’ve ever worn and that’s your arena for your content. Finally you can also be certain of a marketing campaign that will push this device like mad in the next few months. This may just steal a lead that Google TV finds too hard to claw back.

I came across this video of a concept phone, the Mozilla Seabird, recently and it’s the first time I’ve thought the future really could be fully handheld.

It’s common knowledge that smartphones are outselling desktops 2 to 1 and many business-folk are leaving their laptops at home in favour of taking out their iPhone or Android powered device. However in both these cases the reasons can be easily explained. Smartphones are outselling desktops because many households would use just one desktop whereas a mobile (smartphone) each family member wants one. Also the majority of houses are also equipped with desktops, wherease smartphones are a relatively new technology.
Business-folk on their travels can also do many of the tasks on their smartphone that they can on their laptop such as email and catch up on documents/presentations. But at the end of the day they will probably return home to be productive on their home computer.

But what’s interesting here is the incorporation of the pico projectors in the mobile device and the projected keyboards either side of the device. That’s what makes me sit back and think – this is a development that would make mobiles productive.

I know this is a concept device – but look at what this could open up if it became a reality.

Possibly, with a small separate flip-out screen, you could set up office anywhere just by projecting from your device onto the screen and away you go.

Ok, so battery life on this would probably be in the region of 10mins, but that’s with technology as it stands. Also if you’re being productive with your device, the likelihood is you’ll be in one place long enough to warrant docking the device.

I also love the Haptic clicking device – now that’s a controller!