Five things on Friday #155

Things of note for the week ending Friday December 18th, 2015.

Things of note for the week ending Friday December 18th, 2015.

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One week ’til Christmas.

1. DIGITAL TRENDS FOR 2016

Trends, yo

The first time we did it, it was so successful that we joked that we were probably already on the hook to do it again the following year.

The second time we did it, we half-joked that we’d probably made a yearly rod for our backs.

This time around, our third in the series, we just got our hands dirty and got the darn thing completed via late night emails, corridor conversations, and the occasional early morning breakfast meeting.

And so, with a decent support team (special thanks to Leo and Ed), Marshall and I cracked it.

The deck is available on Slideshare [for viewing, sharing, and downloading] and comprises of three main sections:

Section 1: a review of our trend predictions from the previous year (eg: did we actually get anything right last time)
Section 2: our key digital trend predictions for 2016 (the good stuff)
Section 3: a few bonus things (that we’re still noodling on and may have more throughout 2016)

It’s about 80 slides (but that’s mainly because of the slide builds) and it’s fairly digestable. 12,000 people have read it since it went live on Wednesday, so why not go make it 12,001 and see what you’re missing out on.

2. MOVIES
It’s Christmas for movie people – not least of all because OH MY ACTUAL GOD I’M GOING TO SEE ACTUAL NEW STAR WARS TONIGHT WAAAAAAGH (sorry / not sorry) – but also because all the trailers came out this week.

Ready for this? 

  • Bryan Singer is completing the ‘First Class Trilogy’ with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Trailer makes it look a bit silly but screw it, the rest of [these versions] have been awesome, so I am IN LIKE FLYNN.
    [watch the trailer]
  • Haters gonna hate but the new trailer for STAR TREK BEYOND looks IMMENSE and I will be seeing this one big and loud at the IMAX when it hits later next year.
    [watch the trailer]
  • Missing the world of Harry Potter? It’s barely a teaser but we’ve had a first glimpse at FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM this week and, it has to be said, I got shivers.
    [watch the trailer]
  • This one came out of nowhere. HIGH-RISE. I will say no more. Just watch the stunning trailer and then count the days until March.
    [watch the trailer]
  • What else? Well, howsabout HOUSE OF CARDS S4: #FU2016. Love it.
    [watch the trailer (if you can call it that)]
  • And finally, INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE is one you should all look at too. Yeah, it’s been ages since the original but what the hell, I’m a sucker for a good switch-your-brain-off actioner.
    [watch the trailer]

yay1

Much to look forward for next year (and tonight too – did I mention I’m seeing STAR WARS later?) – YES.

Right, where were we?

3. FEMINISM IN 2015

Screen Shot 2015-12-18 at 12.58.28

God this makes some sombre reading. One could argue that we’ve come so far in the realms of equality but when you read this, you’d be forgiven for thinking we’d been going in reverse.

Read this and remind yourselves just how many times people just GOT IT WRONG on so many levels throughout 2015. Go on, I dare you.

Oh, and if you ever see something resembling anything even barely close to any of this: CALL. IT. OUT.

Thanks.

PS. Who you gonna call?

4. TRANSPORT IN MESSENGER

Game changer? Possibly the start of one.

MESSENGER WILL EAT YOUR LIFE

So this is only in testing phase in some parts of the United States but the whole FACEBOOK MESSENGER WILL EAT YOUR LIVES thing (see Thing 4, here) is slowly coming to pass (and do please expect more of this in 2016).

In short: if you’re in the test group, you can type an address in Messenger, tap that address to see an Uber quote, then book said Uber to that address, and then track /travel etc… all without leaving Messenger.

Astonishing.

We live in interesting times, my friends.

Ps. There’s a video too.

5. GETTING A CONSOLE THIS CHRISTMAS?

PS4

If you’re buying one for yourself or for someone else this Christmas, of if you know someone buying one for themselves or for someone else then please do pay attention to what I’m about to tell you:

If you’re gifting or getting any of the big three consoles this Christmas – aka: a PS4, an Xbox One, or a Wii U – I would 100% recommend OPENING THE BOX and installing all updates before wrapping it up / opening it on Christmas Day.

Here’s why:

  1. A LOT of people will be getting consoles at Christmas – the servers, for all of them, will be overloaded and it will take a LONG time to download 30GB+ of updates across each one.
  2. Servers could even go down (last year, both Sony and Microsoft suffered attacks from hackers throughout the holiday period).
  3. You will want your console to work RIGHT AWAY and not have to wait for many, many hours/days to get it up and running.

So please – if you’ve got a console under that tree, do this.

You’ll thank me on Christmas Day.

H/T Lifehacker.

___________________________

Bonuses this week are:

  • Christmas Party pain kicking in? Maybe you need a visit to the hangover clinic. And yes, if any of you have spent enough time with me you would’ve heard my pitch for a similar idea. This kind of gets most of the way but not completely in line with my overall vision for a hangover shop but hey, there’s still time.
  • The first annual ‘Comedy Wildlife Awards’ came out this week and they are ALL amazing. Go, laugh, and enjoy.
  • JackFA80 is new to Instagram but he’s one of the most respected mens’ style voices in the agency. Do me a favour and go follow him – he’s going places.

___________________________

And that, ladies and gents, is that. My hangover from last night’s Christmas party is kicking in so, for now at least…

Whatley out, x

Highly-Commended-Yuzuru-Masuda

PS. Got feedback? Reply, tweet, or comment. I’d love to hear from you.

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Author: James Whatley

Chief Strategy Officer in adland. I got ❤️ for writing, gaming, and figuring stuff out. I'm @whatleydude pretty much everywhere that matters. Nice to meet you x