#11 Soundcloud & what the city could look like
Good morning peeps - hello, hello.
Today, it seems like more than ever new companies are popping up and the more we understand about culture, having a strong vision, different business models and how to create winning products the more people want to be a part. For me, best practice says we should include users in the development; co-create with them and help them to articulate their needs (not as easy as it sounds) so we can deliver value for them.
Anyways…this is a short newsletter mainly focussing on the Soundcloud story and imagining what our future cities could look like in the next 5,10 years.
To my new subscribers, this is a weekly newsletter focussing on business models, how we create winning products and offbeat news around town.
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What is a ‘Great’ Logo?
Time and time again I see logos on the internet and I can’t help but ask myself — does it solve their problem of representing their business? 9/10 times I tell myself it doesn’t.
From Me To You Links & News
Soundcloud - damn, we nearly lost you
Soundcloud has reportedly laid off 40% of their staff in the past few weeks affecting employees in London, Paris, Berlin and more. What has been overwhelming, however, has been the support I have seen on LinkedIn.
Whilst Apple Music is filtered through artist curation and Spotify’s playlists are guided by label interests - Soundcloud still remains the place for music recorded in a makeshift booth to get heard.
One place that intrigues me is what about the DJ’s. This is definitely the best place for their remixes to go out. DJ’s, for example, can practise a mix, put it out, see the comments and get live feedback before their show.
I don’t know what’s going on at Soundcloud but I know that DJ’s, Creators and Consumers like me rely on it to get away from the club noise.
Reimagining cities from the internet up
This article is from the CEO of Sidewalk labs.
Alphabet’s (then Google) Larry Page and Daniel Doctoroff share a view that a combination of digital technologies — ubiquitous connectivity…
They are trying to integrate innovation into the physical environment, especially in cities and answer the question: What would a city look like if you started from scratch in the internet era — if you built a city “from the internet up?”
What I like about it is the experimental approach they are taking using labs.
It’s a good read. Read it for yourself
Why offices should be open to the local community
In 2015, KPMG opened up the KPMG club - not like your WeWork space; rather a free-to-use place to work for their staff, clients, suppliers.
Brands are competing for talent, so they want to be nearer the people they serve. It’s not local councils that are insisting public space is provided, it’s developers and employers believing it’s the right thing to do, to plant themselves more with their locality – and to make the environment more pleasant
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