A new website is launching this weekend that aims to provide Londoners with a searchable platform where they can find hidden hot spots in the capital. Secret London is made up of recommendations by fellow city dwellers – via facebook.
It all started just three weeks ago as a facebook group. Launched by recent Bristol University graduate (and I must admit, my friend) Tiffany Philippou as part of the first round of Advertising company Saatchi and Saatchi’s summer internship – which is being offered exclusively through a group hosted on the social networking site. Graduates were asked to make their own group with a popular enough hook to ensure it went ‘viral’ reaching an audience much wider than their immediate circle of facebook friends.
The Secret London group exceeded expectations with over 190,000 members in 3 weeks and within weeks Philippou, with help from another internet start up, is moving the group to a website of it’s own – with searchable categories and a community based recommendation system. The group has already spawned copycats in cities over the UK so expansion will no doubt be fast on the horizon. There’s now a holding page and Twitter account (@secret_london).
She told Rag Doll: ‘What I love about secret london is that people keep on returning to recommend places and ask questions. It has developed a strong community spirit and that is why this website is happening. This weekend a team of volunteers are gathering to build the website and it’s just amazing how London is coming together to make this happen.’
Secret London now has over 190,000 members
A new website will be launched this weekend to give Londoners a searchable platform to explore the hidden spots of the capital that their fellow city dwellers recommend.
It all started just three weeks ago as a facebook group launched by recent Bristol University graduate (and I must admit, my friend) Tiffany Phillipou as part of the first round of Advertising company Saatchi and Saatchi’s summer internship which is being offered exclusively through a group and set of tasks hosted on the social networking site. Graduates were asked to make a group with a popular enough hook to ensure it went ‘viral’ and reached an audience much wider than your immediate circle of facebook friends.
The group exceeded expectations with over 190,000 members in 3 weeks and within weeks Phillipou has secured funding to move the idea from a group to an independent website with searchable categories and a community based recommendation system. The group has already spawned copycats in cities over the UK so expansion will no doubt be fast on the horizon. There’s now a holding page and Twitter account (@secret_london).
The group, as it stands, is more than just a list of off-the-beaten track London locations, it is a huge community of Londoners ready to answer questions, make recommendations and provide photos and links to an eclectic mix of stuff around the capital. The site, innovative because it taps into the community vibe of facebook while understanding the need for well curated, hyperlocal information, may struggle in keeping up the continually evolving and personal nature that had made it so popular.
But bridging that gap is the next step for social media. Community suggestions through social networks like facebook and twitter or the news and views from bloggers are a valuable content resource but the curation of that resource, without losing its collective vibe, is a challenge pioneering real-time websites need to crack.
Time Out, long established arbitrator of London’s minefield of listings, is complied by a traditional, centralized editorial team. But increasingly people don’t want an editor to tell them where to go or what to see, they the advice of a resident or a special a friend or an acquaintance. Traditional travel guide should be shaking in their boots, or at least re-evaluating their editorial model.
Extricating yourself from the buzz of online activity and establishing your own personal, viable brand before you are even considered for a job in the creative industries.
Being an entrepreneur is increasingly a prerequisite rather than a career choice for young, ambitious and creative graduates. And in a world where graduate vacancies fell by 6.7 per cent in 2008 and a further 17.8 per cent in 2009 jobs are at a premium. Falling back on personal inventiveness is a
In the creative industries the recession is the least of their worries. In many cases the business model of the last 150 years – content – advertising – money – content is failing and will soon likely be gone forever. Young graduates hoping to put their talent into newspapers, television or publishing you’re probably not going to get a job, so being an entrepreneur isn’t a choice, its necessity.
The group, as it stands, is more than just a list of off-the-beaten track London locations, it is a huge community of Londoners ready to answer questions, make recommendations and provide photos and links to an eclectic mix of stuff around the capital.
The site although innovative because it taps into the community vibe of facebook while understanding the need for well curated, hyperlocal information, may struggle in keeping up the continually evolving and personal nature that had made it so popular.
But bridging that gap is the next step for social media. Community suggestions through social networks like facebook and twitter or the news and views from bloggers are a valuable content resource but the curation of that resource, without losing its collective vibe, is a challenge pioneering real-time websites need to crack.
Time Out, long established arbitrator of London’s minefield of listings, is complied by a traditional, centralized editorial team. But increasingly people don’t want an editor to tell them where to go or what to see. They want the advice of a resident or a specialist, a friend or an acquaintance. Travel guides should be shaking in their boots, or at the very least re-evaluating their editorial model.
Next stop will have got to be a killer app so smartphone users can locate themselves within the london community and get local advice on the go. Companies like Qype and Yelp have opened up this market but are unlikely to be able to compete with the huge content gleaned from a 200,000 strong facebook community nor the real-time recommendations that SecretLondon should be able to provide.
Extricating yourself from the buzz of online activity and establishing your own personal, viable brand before you are even considered for a job is becoming a must for getting into the creative industries.
Being an entrepreneur is increasingly a prerequisite rather than a career choice for young, ambitious and creative graduates. And in a world where graduate vacancies fell by 6.7 per cent in 2008 and a further 17.8 per cent in 2009 such careers are not easy to come by.
In the creative industries the recession is the least of their worries. In many cases the business model of the last 150 years – content – advertising – money – content is failing and will soon likely be gone forever. Young graduates hoping to put their talent into newspapers, television or publishing are probably not going to get a job, so being an entrepreneur isn’t a choice, its necessity.
Rag Doll 