Experience-rich and theory-poor

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

Experience-rich and theory-poor

You don’t just float to the top, no matter how talented and clever you are. Malcolm Gladwell knows that success is a complex mixture of circumstance and your own contributions. Read Stephen Jewell’s interview with Gladwell, and learn what connects Canadian ice hockey players with Silicon Valley software moguls, and why New Zealand’s great middle distance runners in the late ’70s were no fluke, in the latest issue of Idealog—out now—and on our website.

Free the IP

Whodathunkit? The politicians listened to the people, at least the ones protesting about the new nasty copyright law that’s so vaguely written nobody quite knows what it means.

As someone whose livelihood depends on copyright, I’m glad that the PM delayed the introduction of Section 92A and may end up canning it altogether. Of course we should respect intellectual property, but that doesn’t mean we need to stack the law to give copyright owners more control.

Creators don’t benefit from this—quite the opposite, because nothing exists in vacuum and what’s around us is now almost fully copyrighted, trademarked and all rights reserved. That is not a healthy IP environment that encourages creativity, and the new copyright act sadly does nothing to improve on it.

IP laws must encourage innovation, not prop up dying business models. But the truth is that in New Zealand, we’re importing IP by the brainful while failing to protect our own inventions. We’d like to see the government addressing that.

Allan Main of MAINly Consulting points out a great example: in the UK, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) joined forces with the London Science Museum with an exhibition around the “cracking idea” theme (yes, Wallace and Gromit ride again).

“The UK IP Office appears to have received the message that they are charged with building a national culture of innovation and value-add through IP, beyond their core function of transacting the nation’s intellectual property protection rights,” says Main.

“Presumably this is founded on a central government commitment to enabling a creative population that can bring greater value to their national economy. Surely this must be New Zealand’s aspiration too, but what are we doing to get there?”

What indeed?

Fully Webstocked

Last week was the week of Webstock, and we had our people on the ground. Ben Kepes went into full blogging frenzy, and Lauren Bartlett and editor Matt did some Idealog TV too, talking to Jane McGonigal, Ze Frank, Adrian Holovaty, Derek Powazek and Matt Biddulph on the camera. Check out the results on our website.

Selwyn up to nogood

“No nation on earth likes a spot of reckless driving quite like the Kiwis. For a relatively roomy, first-world country of only 4 million, New Zealand suffers road-rage, gridlock, tail-gating, poor signalling, drink-driving, teenage-racing, and a total lack of respect for other road users, at a level that would make even a Mumbai taxi driver take to public transport. And that’s just the women.”

Selwyn Nogood says how it is at Kiwianarama.

OMNOMNOM that album

Fantastic device and even better copy in this ad for the Record Muncher.

Job of the Week

Design Director (P0484)

Our client is an innovative boutique agency specialising in branding. This vacancy is a fantastic opportunity for a talented designer who has leadership experience. Alternatively an exceptional senior designer who displays the potential to step up and take on this responsibility, could also be considered.

The successful candidate will need to be truly inspirational, have a hot portfolio of work, great interpersonal skills, and hands-on design ability.

You’ll work with a fun, talented and passionate team and have the chance to play an integral part in taking them to new heights.

If this sounds like the creative challenge you’re looking for then send your pdf CV and portfolio (ideally less than 3mb) to Debbie Kitson at Portfolio Recruitment on 09 379-9303, or apply on our website.

Bigger is better

… when it comes to brain capability at least. March 16 to 22 is Brainweek, a “brainwave” from the Neurological Foundation aimed at … growing some more cells. In your brain that is.

Head over to the Brainweek website and register, to give your brain a good workout.

Benga boys rock

Get your copy of Extra Golden’s ‘Anyango’ 320kbit/s MP3, Benga stylee, which transplanted Kiwi Richard Cotman writes about thusly:

The music is Kenyan in focus, so are the band’s politics and lyrical interest. Ukimwi deals with the scourge of AIDS sweeping through the country, and Thank You Very Quickly is an acknowledgement of the friends and fans who helped protect band members during the post-election violence in Kenya last year.

Glitz and glamour go fringe

Once again, it’s time for the Fringe Awards, where cutting-edge entertainment will be showcased. And, a party will be held too, natch.

The Fringe Awards 09 follow the NZ Fringe Festival 09, and take place at Wellington’s Paramount Theatre on Sunday, March 1. Doors open at 6pm with the ceremony kicking off roughly 6.45pm.

Comedians Derek Flores and Vinyl Burns will host the evening, and yes, there will be a huge party afterwards at the bar in the Paramount.

The successful Fringe 09 saw the largest line-up in many years with 108 participating productions, and the celebration will award the best, brightest and most bizarre of the festival across 14 categories.

Pasifikart

Artstation’s exhibition Language People is a mixed media exhibition that explores the verbal and visual language through painting, video installation and cartooning, to celebrate Pacific Culture.

Language People runs between March 4 and 14, and features artists like cartoonist Johnny Angel, Leilani Burgoyne, Lily Laita, Siliga David Setoga, Tuafale Tanoai aka Linda T, Nooroa Tapuni, Nooroa Te Hira, Vaimaila Urale and writer Albert Wendt.

Head over to the Artstation website for more information.

Quote of the week

New Zealand’s middle distance running prowess in the late 1970s seems impossible to explain—that a small country can do that! But New Zealand was incredibly efficient in how it found and developed its talent in that area.

—Malcolm Gladwell Quax lyrically on what we (once) did right, although it was a while ago.

More at Idealog online

Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, creative directory, Idealog TV, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.

  Juha Saarinen
  Ideologue, Weekly