A couple of us went to the RSA on Monday to listen to Jaron Lanier talk about his new book You are not a Gadget.

This book is critical of web 2.0, crowd dynamics, creative commons and all that it has spawned. In essence, and the talk was far more complex and philosophical than this, Jaron was reacting to the pervasive mantra of Web 2.0’s most ardent supporters. This mantra is probably best typified by Chris Anderson’s new book Free, and the free-conomics it persuades us to believe in.  Jaron, and bear in mind he was until recently banging this drum the loudest, believes that Web 2.0 has had its chance to define the culture and economics of the future. But has failed.

He cites Journalism and the music industry as proof that the way we use this technology has devalued human enterprise, creativity, and intellect and cannot sustain itself. As he says, “the vast majority of journalists, musicians, artists and filmmakers” are “staring into career oblivion because of our failed digital idealism”. Yes, yes, he knows that there are lots of examples of bands giving their music away for free and making money on branded pencil cases and whatnot. But as a whole he believes the industry and the creative people who work within it cannot be sustained this way. This is an important point, for Jaron is not arguing against particular success stories – ‘more power to you’ he says, he is arguing against the system as a whole.

Perhaps Jaron will find it amusing that I also went to the launch of Chris Anderson’s book where one of the other speakers invited to add meat to the bones of Chris’ free-conomics argument was the editor of The London Paper. The London Paper went out of business shortly after he spoke.

Is Jaron right? Well, by the timethat there are enough people who believe he is, it will probably be too late.

Anyway, here is your free blog post. Would you now like a website?

Buy the book here
Some FAQ here
And a good review in NYT that discusses the other implications of his point

Sharlin So what’s the Apple tablet then?

Creative Director It’s probably some sort of touch screen tablet computer

S I don’t get it

CD Well, you know a PDA…

S The boxy thing with a pen at the top?

CD It’s more like a small computer you can press with your finger

S You’re going to need good nails!

CD Think of it like a big iphone

S I’m not keen on that

CD What!? So there’s no need for a tablet?

S No, they don’t need to invent it, it’s just a waste of money. They just need to scrap it. They haven’t invented it have they? I won’t be buying one.

CD Ok, well, urm ,think about an Ereader

S Oooh, I want an Ereader

CD Ok, but now imagine if that Ereader could also browse the internet, play films, have all your photos and music, a load of different apps, as well as an interactive keyboard. So what do you reckon, do you want one now?

S Yeah, I do.

CD But I thought you said it was a waste of money?

S Yeah, but now I know it can do all those things, I want one. I’m going to go out and buy one.

So there you have it folks. No one really knows what the Apple tablet is going to look like or how it will operate, but one thing’s for sure…our receptionist is sure as hell going to go out and get one.

Twas the night before Christmas… well the 18 December 2009 to be honest. A few of us were drowning our sorrows in the Duke of Wellington after realising we’d been excluded from Michelle’s leaving lunch. What we needed was a way of showing Michelle just how creative, funny and technically amazing our small band of outcasts were.

In an attempt to cheer ourselves up, we began to chat…

“Aren’t those Hitler parodies funny” – said someone.
“Yea. Great.” – said another.
“Shame we didn’t have time to create one for Michelle” – said us all.

At that moment we all looked at each other smiled, downed the rest of our pints and made a dash back to the office.

Two hours later we embed the following video and shared it with the rest of digit:

http://www.digitlondon.com/bye-michelle

How did we do it?

1) Download the Original bunker scence without subtitles
2) Create the subtitles using the Youtube subtitler
3) Create a You Tube account, upload the video and add the captions
4) Embed the video on the digit site http://www.digitlondon.com/bye-michelle (It’s the only way to force the captions to play by default)

The place where we look new starters straight in the eye before giving them a firm handshake.

Name
Orlaith Grainne Feardar Finucane (No I’m not from Lord of the Rings, just Irish)

What’s your Twitter ID?
Don’t have one! Whoops.

What’s your online guilty pleasure?
Stumble upon

Which website do you spend most time on?
Timeout.com

Where were you before Digit?
Up at Edinburgh University finishing my degree in History of Art.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?
Definitely when I worked in a café at Wimbledon Tennis. I had to wear a purple bowl-like cap making hot dogs and pizza near court 16; I couldn’t have been further away from the action if I’d tried!

What’s your favourite book?
From recent reads – The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Which celebrity would you never tire of hitting?
Louis Walsh

Who would play you in the film of your life?
Rachel McAdams – happy, wholesome and sexy (I wish…!)

If brands were people who would you shag, marry or kill?
Shag: Christian Louboutin
Marry: Mr and Mrs Smith  
Kill: Von Dutch

North or South?
I’m a southern girl, born and bred.

What’s your favourite biscuit?
Oooo, that’s tough… A tie between Ben’s Cookies and Duchy stem ginger biscuits covered in dark chocolate. Or homemade peanut butter and chocolate biscuits. Do Ladurée macaroons count?