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the perils of a club where the clubbers generate real energy (51.529251355189906 , -0.15380859375) The London tabloids have been abuzz with the news that one of the world's first eco-clubs is opening in town.

The idea, not too different from health clubs, where users generate power for the building, is to get the dancing clubbers, with the aid of a special dance floor to generate the energy (up to 60% of the club's total needs)

It sounds interesting, but isn't it yet another example of putting "green" before the product experience?

Clubbers go to places where there's a good scene, good sound and great DJs.

Presenting yourself as an eco-club isn't really going to work.

Despite the desires of young adults to do good things for the world, they don't want to spend a lousy night at an eco-club.

Environmental credentials need to be built on top of great product performance, but cannot be used as a substitute.


Posted by Ed Cotton Here are some new food ideas I spotted in London last week, it includes some interesting concepts that put "health" or "healthier" at the center of the idea and a twist on the typical chocolate store.

1. Hamburger Union

A burger chain with a difference, it only uses beef from grass-fed, free-range cattle.



2. Maoz

A veggie fast-food chain with locations across Europe and now a couple in the United States and one in Australia.


3. Pure California

A new concept that exports the California fast food concept of wraps and smoothies to London.


4. Hummus Bros

A hummus and pita bread chain.


5. Hotel Chocolat

A chocolate themed hotel, not really, instead it's a luxury chocolate store.


Posted by Ed Cotton Sometimes ideas are so powerful and iconic, that the power drowns out questions about effectiveness.

A great example is the CCTV camera in London.

Cameras are literally everywhere and appear to provide citizens with greater security. However, if you dig a little deeper, you discover the CCTVs don't seems to be effective as it might first appear.

Despite the presence of 10,000 cameras in the city, 80% of crimes remain unsolved.

Analysis of clear-up rates across different neighborhoods shows the presence of cameras don't impact the rate.

Be careful, ideas can be seductive and shiny, but we always need to be asking ourselves the question about impact, effect and challenge everyone to understand if they are solving the real problem.

Interestingly, with the CCTV camera, the desired political goal might be to provide the illusion of safety.

Via Tom Hume


Posted by Ed Cotton Seen in London's Covent Garden last week.

Posted by Ed Cotton


Posted by Ed Cotton There’s no doubting the functional power of iTunes software, but it plays second fiddle to the more powerful and dominant iPod.

Now it looks as if Apple would like to beef up the  iTunes brand a little more.

No 9 on Influx's prediction list for 2007 is happening

In the UK, Apple worked with the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) to create the iTunes Music Festival. The festival takes place during the month of July at the ICA where bands and artists will play to an intimate crowd of 350 people. Acts lined up for this include; Ash, Athlete, Groove Armada, Imogen Heap.

Not surprisingly, there’s some nice integration with the iTunes brand, as all the concerts will be recorded and be available for sale on the site.

You can’t buy tickets, you can only win them in a prize draw, so Apple gets to capture lots of nice data.
 

Posted by Ed Cotton