Seeing as it's the done thing (and also chronologically accurate being the very end of 2010) what better time to reflect on an eventful year. Rather than being doomed to repeat it, let’s learn from 12 months of History.
Now I’d love to say that an exhaustive and detailed list will follow but that simply would be a lie. Believe it or not it’s actually New Year’s Eve and I have things to do so given that I’ve left it a little late here are my abridged take aways from 2010…
The (re)advent of 3D
Thanks to the record breaking success of ‘James Cameron’s Avatar’, 3D became the Lady Gaga of the movie industry in 2010. Self promoting, self aggrandising and very much the hyped hot topic of the year.
It makes absolute sense for the studios to focus new releases in 3D. For the same reason 3D was the movie industry saviour during the last movie going recession, cinemas need to provide an experience not available to viewers at home; and with 3D TVs prohibitively priced, this does for the immediate future make business sense. Add to that the prospect of disabling pirates and the obvious conclusion is that 3D is here to stay.
However, Chritopher Nolan’s masterpiece Inception was the standout movie of 2010 - mind bending, breath taking and immersive in the luddite 2D format, proving that the best movie going experiences don’t necessarily require plastic glasses. Personally, I don’t think the benefits for a multi-billion dollar studio justify my spending £9 for a single ticket, so for the time being which means 'Cats vs Dogs 3D is still as uninviting as it's two predecessors.
“That boy literally has three lungs”
…as Jamie Redknapp very helpfully pointed out this season. Jamie has became more known for his unnecessary use of the word ‘literally’ when deploying a similie or figurative turn of speech without even a hint of irony than for his footballing achievements as a Spice Boy or physio's nightmare.
Although he does have a point… I for one am a huge fan of Gareth Bale’s and have been since before Uncle ‘Arry turned him into the player he is today. It’s incredible how Redknapp turned him from laughing stock/voodoo curse into the player he is making seasoned Brazilian full backs look like Gary Neville with a hangover whilst simultaneously doing the opposite for club captain Robbie Keane.
More probably it's that Bale’s an extremely talented young player as demonstrated by Damien Comolli’s decision to cough up £10 million for him as a prodigious 18 year old, with his head thoroughly screwed on and a work ethic to match that of any other Spurs player (Ledley King notwithstanding). The hard work is paying off and his undisputable talent is now coming to the fore.
This is exciting as a Welsh fan and I can only hope Gary Speed can find a way to harness Bale and Ramsay's unquestionable talents, giving each the freedom to express themselves and build the next underachieving Welsh team around them.
“Too many tweets can make a Twat”
Inspired observation by the then leader of the opposition and now prick-in-chief. Despite David Cameron’s doubts, 2010 has been the year of Twitter. Twitter is now mainstream. From the confusing lexicon (retweet, follow/unfollow, hashtag, trending topic etc) to examples of crowd sourcing (how often is your timeline polluted by someone asking for the ingredients to Jamie Oliver’s 30 minute Sunday Roast or “who is the girl Buddy falls for in Elf?”) information distribution and crowd organisation (UK Uncut, student protestors).
I use my Twitter account every single day to syndicate information from blogs, feeds and websites for work and my own interest. I share this with my connections and also interact with them when they do likewise. Far from a superuser, I am passionate about Twitter and have even converted my girlfriend Layla who is now the Community Manager for the Charity she works for, Cycling Projects.
2011 will be even bigger for Twitter as they implement 'Operation Cash Cow' where they look to monetise the platform, the first steps being the redisign. Businesses are quickly picking up on the potential of Twitter for commercial purposes from engaging fans, pushing content including discounts, blogs etc and CRM.
Twitter is quickly becoming the embodiment of web 2.0 – the idea that we can have multiple online identities and manage these ourselves, along with subscribed and recommended content. Whether we choose to mix or separate business and pleasure is our own prerogative, and this will continue to spark discussion into 2011 and beyond.
So there is my 70% reduced fat post summarising my 2010. “Always leave them wanting more” I was once told, so there it is, my second and final post of 2010.
All the best for 2011 when you can look forward to equally amateur but more frequent musings from me.
Now I’d love to say that an exhaustive and detailed list will follow but that simply would be a lie. Believe it or not it’s actually New Year’s Eve and I have things to do so given that I’ve left it a little late here are my abridged take aways from 2010…
The (re)advent of 3D
Thanks to the record breaking success of ‘James Cameron’s Avatar’, 3D became the Lady Gaga of the movie industry in 2010. Self promoting, self aggrandising and very much the hyped hot topic of the year.
It makes absolute sense for the studios to focus new releases in 3D. For the same reason 3D was the movie industry saviour during the last movie going recession, cinemas need to provide an experience not available to viewers at home; and with 3D TVs prohibitively priced, this does for the immediate future make business sense. Add to that the prospect of disabling pirates and the obvious conclusion is that 3D is here to stay.
However, Chritopher Nolan’s masterpiece Inception was the standout movie of 2010 - mind bending, breath taking and immersive in the luddite 2D format, proving that the best movie going experiences don’t necessarily require plastic glasses. Personally, I don’t think the benefits for a multi-billion dollar studio justify my spending £9 for a single ticket, so for the time being which means 'Cats vs Dogs 3D is still as uninviting as it's two predecessors.
“That boy literally has three lungs”
…as Jamie Redknapp very helpfully pointed out this season. Jamie has became more known for his unnecessary use of the word ‘literally’ when deploying a similie or figurative turn of speech without even a hint of irony than for his footballing achievements as a Spice Boy or physio's nightmare.
Although he does have a point… I for one am a huge fan of Gareth Bale’s and have been since before Uncle ‘Arry turned him into the player he is today. It’s incredible how Redknapp turned him from laughing stock/voodoo curse into the player he is making seasoned Brazilian full backs look like Gary Neville with a hangover whilst simultaneously doing the opposite for club captain Robbie Keane.
More probably it's that Bale’s an extremely talented young player as demonstrated by Damien Comolli’s decision to cough up £10 million for him as a prodigious 18 year old, with his head thoroughly screwed on and a work ethic to match that of any other Spurs player (Ledley King notwithstanding). The hard work is paying off and his undisputable talent is now coming to the fore.
This is exciting as a Welsh fan and I can only hope Gary Speed can find a way to harness Bale and Ramsay's unquestionable talents, giving each the freedom to express themselves and build the next underachieving Welsh team around them.
“Too many tweets can make a Twat”
Inspired observation by the then leader of the opposition and now prick-in-chief. Despite David Cameron’s doubts, 2010 has been the year of Twitter. Twitter is now mainstream. From the confusing lexicon (retweet, follow/unfollow, hashtag, trending topic etc) to examples of crowd sourcing (how often is your timeline polluted by someone asking for the ingredients to Jamie Oliver’s 30 minute Sunday Roast or “who is the girl Buddy falls for in Elf?”) information distribution and crowd organisation (UK Uncut, student protestors).
I use my Twitter account every single day to syndicate information from blogs, feeds and websites for work and my own interest. I share this with my connections and also interact with them when they do likewise. Far from a superuser, I am passionate about Twitter and have even converted my girlfriend Layla who is now the Community Manager for the Charity she works for, Cycling Projects.
2011 will be even bigger for Twitter as they implement 'Operation Cash Cow' where they look to monetise the platform, the first steps being the redisign. Businesses are quickly picking up on the potential of Twitter for commercial purposes from engaging fans, pushing content including discounts, blogs etc and CRM.
Twitter is quickly becoming the embodiment of web 2.0 – the idea that we can have multiple online identities and manage these ourselves, along with subscribed and recommended content. Whether we choose to mix or separate business and pleasure is our own prerogative, and this will continue to spark discussion into 2011 and beyond.
So there is my 70% reduced fat post summarising my 2010. “Always leave them wanting more” I was once told, so there it is, my second and final post of 2010.
All the best for 2011 when you can look forward to equally amateur but more frequent musings from me.
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