Howdy.
In the last few minutes, I’ve spectacularly ruined a cup of coffee and fallen down the stairs. They say bad things come in threes, so here’s the Betanuggets. ENJOY.
BIG CHIPS
We begin our roundup of North East tech and startup news in the North West. Ummm, yes.
Last night, talented tech companies flocked to the (bar of the) Palace Hotel in Manchester for the Big Chip Awards, a celebration of glorious digital stuff happening in the North. And the folk from the North East didn’t come home empty handed.
(No, they didn’t nick any of the table decorations. Honestly, stop bringing down the tone here)
Gateshead mobile development studio Gospelware was highly commended in two categories for their work on the VACS Mobile Snapshot app, which allows medical professionals to share video and photos on the scene so the hospital can be aware and prepared for the patient’s condition on arrival. The company received commendations in Best Mobile Project and Best Application of Technology.
Fueled also scooped a commendation in the Best Use of Brand in Digital category for Fueled Collective, its Manhattan-based co-working space for startups. The Gateshead and New York company was also in the running for the Tasty Website award, but lost out in the vote to Fat Media.
SHAREMYPLAYLISTS RE-BRANDS
Boldon startup ShareMyPlaylists was listed in Mashable this week as one of the UK’s top 25 startups, which means some folks will be tapping its name into search engines over the next couple of days. As many of you know, it’s a platform that allows people to create, share and discover playlists based on tracks available on Spotify (and it receives 1.5m unique visitors a month).
Seems like a good time to mention that it’s changed it.
It’s now officially called Playlists.net, which CEO Kieron Donoghue says “reflects the platform’s prominence as a music discovery tool as opposed to simply a playlist sharing platform”. It also takes a lot less time and effort now to spell out the name in Alphabet Spaghetti.
Playlists.net has also announced it’s launching a new version of its Spotify app, featuring its recently-revealed “moods” feature, charts featuring the top 100 playlists and the top 100 artists and tracks each week, a re-built playlist generator, and playlist reviews. The app is compatible with Spotify’s web player, and the company is working with Spotify to integrate it into the new Discover tab.
GIVING BUSINESSES
A little while back, social donation platform Givey launched its service for businesses, which allowed companies to find out more about which causes their employees were passionate about and support them in their goals.
They’ve released a product demo explaining how it works, which you can view below. You can also find out more about how your company can embrace charity more effectively by getting in touch with the company itself.
I’ll now hand you over to your tour guide for the next few minutes, Givey’s Di Gates…
THINK FAST
This probably won’t be any good to you if you aren’t a previous delegate, but here’s a quick reminder: You can still get exclusive early early early bird registration for Thinking Digital 2014, which will take place from May 20 to 22. If you’ve been before (or you’re friends and family of someone who’s received an email), you can get in at the ground floor for £199 + VAT (That’s £238.80 for those of us that like our VAT mixed in, rather than floating on top like curdled milk).
But the offer only lasts until 5pm on Monday, so dig out that email.
KICKSTARTED
A small plug here for Fluid Pixel and inventor Tom Lawton, who reached their £30,000 goal on Kickstarter this week for the BubblePod, a device that grips your phone and rotates it around 360-degrees so you can take high-quality panoramas of everything around you.
It’s got a fair amount of time to kill until its 30 days runs out too, so it’s now offering backers the chance to get hold of a wide-angle lens version which increases coverage further. This has taken it close to the £40,000 mark with 11 days still to run. Check it out here.
NEED HELP?
A couple of Newcastle firms are already taking advantage of the services of Timely PA, so I thought I’d mention it here. Run by Patrick Collins of Spontly fame, it’s a company which handles admin jobs for busy tech startups, from diary management to training, shopping and personal assistant duties.
If that sounds like what you need, give them a shout.
ON BETAROCKET
We go to SuperMondays to find out a few tips about presentations (SuperMondays and the Presentation of Doom)
BLOGPOSTS THAT ROCK
Where did the word “geek” actually come from? Former GameHorizon speaker Tom Chatfield finds out more, in a journey that includes biting the heads of chickens (Geeks: From Freaks to Chic)
Kevan Lee writes about turning your life into a game, and making yourself healthier and more productive in the process. I’m not using the “G word” here as some game industry folk may hit me (Games and Your Brain)
We’ve mentioned things like Coffitivity before here on Betarocket, but how much does a certain amount of noise help you work better? (Turn It Up: How the Right Amount of Ambient Noise Increases Creativity)
LUXr co-founder Kate Rutter travelled from San Francisco to talk to the teams at Middlesbrough accelerator Searchcamp. Community manager Sarah Thompson grabs her for a chat (From San Francisco to Middlesbrough)
A FEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
It’s not long now until the DigitalCity Hack, which will roll up to Boho One from July 5 to 7. There are talks on the Friday, and the 24-hour hack begins at 10am on the Saturday. Want to start your own thing, or give your skills to a good cause? Check out more details here.
Skeptics in the Pub has lined up an intriguing speaker for its event on July 10. Journalist Will Storr talks about his travels to meet people who believe in a variety of things, from creationism to UFOs. If you head down to the Bridge Hotel for 7.30pm, he’ll explain a little more about the theory of a Hero Maker, in which we perceive ourselves as the main character in a life story full of heroes and villains.
For more events on the North East calendar, waddle over to Tech Diary.
Remember, you can share your own news or list your event by emailing john@betarocket.co.uk. It’s safe to come out now.