NORTHERN PLANNER

I’m not really into fashion (as some of the sporadic self portraits on this blog will confirm) but I still like this great example of a corporate blog from GQ.

On another tack, it’s another example of our increasing need for editors in our lives. The Long Tail and the increasing plethora of choice means it’s harder to actually make your mind up. From top ten credit card deals and pension guides to things to wear this summer and albums you must buy this year, editors help us decide. In the UK we’ve got ‘Happy’, basically a magazine that tells women what to buy and where. We’re going to see a lot of brands making themselves useful just by helping us make sense of the limiting effect of having so many options.

It used to be a lot easier to find new music for example – back in 1990 you just read Q, the NME and Vox (remember that?). Now you have to know what you like and find a source that likes it too. But that means you just find more of the same thing. Luckily I have a source called "Muller" the man who also introduced me to Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2005 and Prince in 1986. Indeed, some people think we’re only best friends because no one else likes our records or shares our humour.

By the way, I’m in love with The Guillemots at the moment (Made Up Love Song describes everything I feel about Mrs Hovells). Muller hasn’t got it yet, which means he’ll pretend not to like it at first.