Shiny Media

Shiny has a shopping list of talented bloggers that one day we hope will join our team. So I am massively pleased to say that  we have managed to tempt one of our top targets, Gary Cutlack of UK Resistance and Idiot Toys, to come on board. I could witter on about how he is a hugely funny writer and new media genius, but instead I'll let him do the talking. Over to you Gary.

Ashley

Hello new friends and existing internet enemies! I'm Gary. Shiny Media's just hired me to work on its games and gadgets blogs. This is pretty much my dream job, as even if I was unemployed I'd be sitting in front of a PC writing games and gadgets blogs all day for free. So lucky old me.

I used to work at Future Publishing on its games magazines. Before that I worked at Computec on its games magazines. And before that I worked at Emap on its games magazines. I've been around a bit. It's time for a change, frankly, and working on the web is much, much more exciting than the slow-moving, continental drift world of magazines.

Shiny Media's kicking arse in the blog world right now, and the opportunity to reach Shiny's millions of readers with my poorly-thought-out, one-sided opinions and sweeping generalisations is too good an opportunity to miss. The two existing sites I write - Idiot Toys and UK Resistance - have joined the Shiny network too, so I'll be able to blog HARDER, LONGER and about MORE STUFF than ever before.

I've already posted a few rambling messages over on Tech Digest and look forward to keeping you full of news, gossip and the occasional outright lie when nothing interesting happens, over the coming months. I look forward to being brutally slagged off by each and every one of you in various comments sections across the Shiny portfolio.

Gary Cutlack

Here at Shiny towers we obviously believe passionately in new media. We also think - in fact know - that our readers are jolly influential people: well educated, rounded individuals who like to spend money, engage in debate and tinker with new media themselves (blogs, social networks yada yada yada). Funny then that big ad spends still seem disproportianately focused on TV and Radio when all the cool kids (and adults) are turning off their TVs and doing something more interesting instead. Yes things are changing slowly, but being impatient folk we're hoping to move things along a bit.

Which is why we've got together with our new ad agency Unanimis to hold a conference on July 6th, 11.30am at London's fantastic Centre Point. Called Brands and Blogs: Talking With The New Influentials it's an opportunity for the great and the good to talk about all the creative and commercial opportunities which new media brings.

Speakers include:
Steve Wing, Head of Research and Development, The Guardian
Helen Nowicka, Managing Director, Shiny Red
Richard Rocca, Senior Director, Glam.com
Jeremy Wright, CEO, B5 Media
Ashley Norris, Chief Executive, Shiny Media

This free event will be chaired by new media guru Mike Butcher. 

Some psychologist recently worked out that the most miserable day of the year is sometime towards the end of January. He is of course very wrong. For myself and probably quite a chunk of the UK population I imagine that last Thursday May 24th will go down as the bleakest 24 hours of the year.

For on that day the Champions League final, the last big game of the season, was history and a long football-free summer stretched out ahead. What made it even worse was the knowledge that the new Big Brother series was just six days away.

Of course it is very fashionable to slag Big Brother off at the beginning and then to catch the odd episode in week three before becoming completely addicted by week five. Trust me though, I will be anywhere but in front of a TV set between 9-10 each evening for the next 13 weeks. For those who don't quite share my jaundiced views Shiny has launched availableforpanto.com, our take on reality television which will feature Joseph, Grease, X-Factor, Love Island (if we have to) and more. For the moment though the blog is very focused on the TV freak show that is Big Brother. It is also the first Shiny blog to be sponsored from launch, with the investment coming from Virgin Games.

For those like me who want to escape the TV freakshows, there's Shiny new travel blog - lostweekend.tv. 'Trip Advisor meets mid 90s Loaded' is how we are billing it, and yes it is more about short footy trips, stag weekends and European music festivals than romantic breaks. Lost Weekend is currently running a competition with the first prize being an all expenses paid trip to see David Beckham's debut for the LA Galaxy.

We have two other new launches. Kerching.tv is Shiny's first foray into the world of personal finance. Edited by Paul Sorene of anorak.co.uk fame, the blog will offer an authoritative but slightly quirky take on mortgages, shopping and investing. Finally Shiny has unveiled mychemicaltoilet.com, which rounds up all the latest news on the ever-growing number of European music festivals.