On Friday afternoon two colleagues and I launched iThinkFootball.com. Being snowed in throughout January, things were slow so we began the site as a pet project but it has turned in to something we really quite like. It is still beta (beta beta) but we wanted to get it out there and see how people interacted with it and what feedback we could gain to improve it. Here is the blurb from the site, so you can get an idea of what it is:

iThinkFootball is for anyone with thoughts about the beautiful game from supporters, fans and bloggers through to commentators, players and managers. Anyone can use it, anonymously.
There are lots of football sites out there; some of them are really good and others struggling to be. We recognised that there wasn’t a dedicated place for all football fans to say what they think quickly and easily. We go to football matches and/or follow football on TV and Radio. We search the internet and newspapers for the latest news but the most interesting thing we have in common is that we’ve got thoughts and opinions on everything football. Ithinkfootball.com is the place to share them. It’s simple to use, just register with a valid email address and post thoughts anonymously. Thoughts are broadcast within your chosen team and on the home page and you can read the most current posts by clicking through. Once registered you can posts comments on any team, which could be fun.

Over the weekend, what with John Terry getting the axe, we’ve had quite a bit of activity, but for the site to thrive we realise it needs a lot more. Please take a look and get involved. Let me know how you think we could improve the site.

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These are the Outlier 4 Season OG Pants. I picked up a pair about a month ago and I wanted to write a little about them, because I think they are brilliant. The basic idea is a pair of cycling trousers that are lightweight and water resistant, but that look sharp enough to be worn to work and out and about at bars and restaurants. They go a little further than this and have been developed in such a way that you don’t sweat much in them and they are also really flexible, unlike the usual skinny jeans. At $180 plus postage from the states, the price point seems fairly high, but then again the equivalent boiler-suit aesthetic waterproofs available in the UK aren’t much cheaper. These trousers look better than passable - they are pretty slick, though I wouldn’t opt to wear them on a day I knew I wasn’t riding. The only disappointment is that they do feel a little tackier than the photography on the website suggests. The thing that has really clenched it for Outlier in my book is how effective they are. I was suspending judgement until a day with at least moderate downpour, and last week this happened. After a couple of hours in my studio I noticed rain water had been rolling off under my desk and I’d not even noticed. A quick brush off and the rain and dirt was gone, just like in a Billy Mays infomercial.

These are the Outlier 4 Season OG Pants. I picked up a pair about a month ago and I wanted to write a little about them, because I think they are brilliant. The basic idea is a pair of cycling trousers that are lightweight and water resistant, but that look sharp enough to be worn to work and out and about at bars and restaurants. They go a little further than this and have been developed in such a way that you don’t sweat much in them and they are also really flexible, unlike the usual skinny jeans.

At $180 plus postage from the states, the price point seems fairly high, but then again the equivalent boiler-suit aesthetic waterproofs available in the UK aren’t much cheaper. These trousers look better than passable - they are pretty slick, though I wouldn’t opt to wear them on a day I knew I wasn’t riding. The only disappointment is that they do feel a little tackier than the photography on the website suggests.

The thing that has really clenched it for Outlier in my book is how effective they are. I was suspending judgement until a day with at least moderate downpour, and last week this happened. After a couple of hours in my studio I noticed rain water had been rolling off under my desk and I’d not even noticed. A quick brush off and the rain and dirt was gone, just like in a Billy Mays infomercial.

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This image is a pretty well known piece of communication by now but I still feel it makes a point worth repeating over and over.

This image is a pretty well known piece of communication by now but I still feel it makes a point worth repeating over and over.

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A little perspective injection, this was just brought to my attention by Pete Naughton in regards to the iPad and some reactions to it.

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Foursquare: who's in?

I downloaded Foursquare when it first became available but it has since gathered dust on my fourth page of apps. If you were to check out my stats it would show that in two months I’ve been to the pub at the end of my road once. In reality I should probably be in the London top 20 somewhere, but I’ve had little motivation. The problem is none of my friends use it, so the incentive to check the leaderboard when I’m out is non-existent and I forget to log all those wild nights out.

I searched my mobile contacts and found one user; connecting to Facebook yielded nothing and Twitter gave me just one more friend. I’ve told people about Foursquare in conversations but it looks like people are having trouble ‘getting it’ for the time being. I’d like everyone to catch on and the above slideshow provides the reasons. Over the next month I am going to religiously check-in, partly so I can monitor my own lifestyle, but in the hope that some others join in the fun and that I get a free pint from somewhere.

Friday, January 29, 2010   ()
Brilliant graphic depicting the internet’s social-networking landscape, by Ben Bowen - one of the graphic designers I work with.

Brilliant graphic depicting the internet’s social-networking landscape, by Ben Bowen - one of the graphic designers I work with.

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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

A new track by Will Ward, featuring some inflections from me.

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