Mobile Phone Networks Say 'I Do' To The Music Industry

Which mobile phone network are you with? T-Mobile, O2, or Orange, whichever one you’re with, these three communication companies have something in common, what is that? Well, they all sponsor major music events. I know you’ve all heard of the O2 Arena in London, and T-Mobile Transmission, let's not forget Orange Rockcorp. I’m only going to talk about two mobile network companies today (Oct 28th).

To date, O2 have sponsored countless music events, from festivals, to major artist tours. The company, aim to please and intend to present entertainment, and communication in an all in one package; they believe their sponsorships with music, bring interactivity, introducing new customer experiences, by bringing exclusivity to their consumers, which add great value to the O2 brand.

Putting that aside, the O2, and many of the other networks like T-Mobile, value customers as first priority the benefits of sponsoring a music event, for these major mobile networks are simple. It shows loyalty to their customers, but at the same time consumers can respond by rewording the supplier with the same loyalty. These sponsorships, have gained company reputation, making it value at £6 million a year. However, let's not forget the day, when O2 and AEG, combined forces in three key ways, these are as follows:

1) Bringing exclusive music content to O2 phones and other devices

2) Every customer in the UK, Ireland, Germany, and other countries VIP rights such as tickets, upgrades, entry into the VIP lounge, fast track entry and finally reserved parking.

3) Interactive services ranging from mobile ticketing, music downloads and event guides using O2’s mobile internet and O2 Active.


‘The future’s bright the future’s orange,’ Orange, another major mobile network, who introduce you to Rockcorp. A place to get the latest tickets for music events fast, and hassle free, promoted by Blackberry, and Channel 4. Rockcorps is the only company, to bring forward the idea of ‘Give Get Given,’ basically giving customers one free ticket to an amazing gig. In return for four hours of community service.

Using the power of music, to unite people from all cultures, hitting two birds with one stone. Providing top class entertainment, and helping to improve the community all at the same time.

There’s no doubt that these major mobile networks want to attract the younger generation, and so far they’re succeeding. This connection takes mobile networks to a whole new level. Not only by increasing revenue, but showing loyalty, and dedication to consumers. Network companies have started to realise, that without music, the world doesn’t go round. So, why not combine the two together, and bring something new to the table.

Facebook Locks Up Tightly On Privacy

We all know, as Facebook users, how much of an issue the privacy\security element of the social networking site has been. The wait is over it was May 26th 2010, when the popular social networking site, Facebook responded to user complaints. Bringing you a more enhanced, and innovative controls for personal sharing. The new controls, give over 40 million Facebook users the opportunity, to control, who exactly can see the information, and content published all this, with just a few clicks of your mouse. As well as the new changes,

Facebook has also made it easier for the consumer, to turn off third party apps and websites. There are five goals to making Facebook more secure, and comfortable to use. These are as follows:

• Users have more power to be in control of how their information is shared

• Facebook assures clients that personal information will not be distributed to third party services or unauthorised users

• Facebook will not give advertisers permission to access users’ personal information

• Users’ information will not be sold by Facebook

• Facebook promises to remain a free service that everyone can use

There’s only one objective, for the popular social networking site. Which is to simplify privacy control, putting users minds at ease, and socialise freely.
Users, and professionals’ reaction to these changes have been positive. The president of centre for Democracy and Technology, Leslie Harris, who’s convinced Facebook’s privacy system is simplified. She states; “While more work still needs to be done, these changes are the building blocks to giving people what they want, and deserve."

Facebook go onto claim, that users were involved with the updated privacy settings, in every step of the way. Getting involved with this procedure, not only gives Facebook one on one insight, but users are also kept up to date, with the changes the second it happens. So, what does this mean? You get to have your cake and eat it too right? The new features give consumers variety, and more choice on how to control what information is shared to the public.

The new features, guarantees that only a certain amount of personal information, will be available to the public. The details is currently restricted to name, profile picture, (if the user has one), gender, (even though members have the option to hide this), and finally network and joined groups visibility. But wait, it doesn’t stop there, users also have the opportunity, to choose which fan pages can be visible to other consumers.

It’s fair to say, Facebook have been working hard, in mastering these issues with privacy. There’s no doubt, in the future, Facebook will solve these problems, and maintain consumer satisfaction. I want to know what you think, of the privacy options in Facebook. What would you change? What’s the one thing you’d like to have in privacy that Facebook doesn’t have at the moment? Comment below please.

Celebrities Who Reach Out - Peace Of Mind For Everyone

I want to throw a question at you, are you ready? OK, what do Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Alicia Keys have in common? Besides sharing the Hollywood spotlight, still can’t figure it out? Well, they are all involved with, and the co-founder of humanitarian foundations.

Today, (Oct 21st 2010) I’m only going to talk about two celebrities, who are involved with helping people in need. So, let’s get started shall we? Who’s supporting which foundation? Don't worry, the answer to this question is coming right now, R&B and angelic voice Alicia Keys, is the creator of Keep A Child Alive. Keep A Child Alive, has one purpose, providing treatment, love and support, to families with HIV\AIDS. The organisation goes out of its way to pay for medication, and living expenses, in third world countries. To date, ‘Keep A Child Alive’ has saved the life of 250,000 people.

The charity has its own website, that encourages people from all over the world, to make a donation of $5. The official link to the website is the following: http://keepachildalive.org/

Up next is a man we know and love, Brad Pitt. The man who made Fight Club a Hollywood classic, and ‘The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button,’ a legacy. Pitt’s organisation is entitled ‘Make It Right.’ the foundation, reaches out to the victims of the hurricane in August of 2005, in New Orleans Florida. Not surprisingly, the hurricane left a huge scar on the community, killing over 1,577 people, in the Lower 9th Ward. The 9th Ward was the one location that endured the hardest hit, and over 4,000 homes were destroyed.

‘Make It Right’ first launched in December 2007; since then, the organisation aims to bring hope, build a new community, that’s not only more durable, but environmentally friendly too. In December 2009, the organisation met its target, and built fifty new homes. By December 2010, they hope to increase that number, and build 150 new homes. There are four goals for Make It Right,’ these are as follows:

• Safety – durable, strong enough to survive the next unexpected storm
• Healthy – constructed with non toxic material and harm free gasses.
• Green – houses are powered by solar panelled energy, making it environmentally friendly.
• Smart design – beautifully built homes, stylish and elegant homes, with the most talented and professional architects.

To get more information on the ‘Make It Right’ campaign, visit the following website, http://www.makeitrightnola.org while you’re there why not donate, and be part of a miracle.

The Controversy Of The Exorcist

It was March 14th 1973, when director William Fredkin triggered controversy with The Exorcist hitting the big screen. Based on a true story, and inspired by Peter Blattly’s bestselling novel of the same name. The horror\thriller movie has since been recognised as ‘the scariest movie of all time, for one reason, it strongly delivers on what we expect from the horror genre. With a dramatic imagery of blood, guts, gore, and aggressive violence it definitely has it all. If you haven’t watched this horror classic; then there can only be two possibilities, either you’ve been living under a rock for thousands of years, or you’re just not a fan of horror.

I can honestly say, The Exorcist was one of the few horror movies, where I was genuinely scared. Controversy surfaced, when the movie debut in cinemas, but didn’t receive a warm welcome, as it exasperated vomiting, fainting, and heart attacks due to the explicit content. The British Board of Film Classification, (BBFC), felt it was appropriate, to issue the uncut version of the film an 'X' certificate. Later, in 1979, the BBFC requested to review the movie again, in order to fully understand if The Exorcist violated the New Protection Of children Act of 1978. Due to the film consisting of horrifying, and sickening scenes, of a young child possessed by the devil.

So, what are these horrific, and unforgettable scenes you might ask\? Well, it might not be good to go over them all right now. But, I will say this much, in the uncut version of the film, we see the 13 year old girl Ragan, real name Linda Blair, walking down a flight of stairs, with her legs over her shoulders. This horrifying scene, amongst others, prevented the movie to have a UK release until the early 1990s. The BBFC finally issued the video release an 18 certificate. The consequences were strong, as the film was removed from store shelves. Further action was taken by the BBFC, which resulted in the movie being outlawed for eleven years. It was the distributors, who wanted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Exorcist by re-releasing the movie in UK cinemas, after a close inspection from the BBFC, it was realised that it didn’t come with any of the pandemonium that happened in 1973. However, later in March 2001, The Exorcist debut its first premiere on UK television on Channel 4.

Since the 1973 release, there have been follow ups of the movie; entitled Exorcist: The Heretic, released in 1977, Exorcist III released in 1990, and Exorcist: The Beginning in 2004. However, the follow-ups didn’t really have as strong of an impact, compared to the original release in 1973. Have you watched The Exorcist? If so, I would like to know, which scene scared you the most? Don’t be shy feel free to comment. I will definitely be waiting!

Hollywood Hidden Gems: Box Office Movies

The sparkling world of Hollywood continues to shine with its latest movie releases. Grab a seat at the cinema, with an overflowing bucket of popcorn, and a refreshing drink as the perfect movie companion. Here are the top ten movies that made the box office this weekend, (1st Oct) according to IMDB.com

#10 - With an outstanding weekend total of £302,196 for 6 weeks, a comedy masterpiece with a five-star cast from director Dennis Dougan. Grown Ups is the story of five close friends, and former high school basketball team mates, who come together on a Fourth of July holiday weekend.

#9 - Devil - an exceptional £332,949 weekend total for 2 weeks, director John E. Dowdle tells the story of five people, who are trapped in a lift that is haunted by the devil. This cross-genre drama thriller, and horror movie promises to leave you on the edge of your seat, and popcorn flying out of your bucket.

#8 - Instant kids’ classic, Toy Story 3, with an amazing £413,759 weekend box office total for eleven weeks. Yes, all your favourite characters are back for a third instalment. Little Andy is all grown-up and ready to leave home to go to college. Things start to go wrong when Woody and the gang are mistakenly delivered to a day-care centre.

#7 - A blast from the past, Back To The Future, originally released in 1985 from director Robert Zemeckis. This movie enters the box office chart, with an incredible £461,194 weekend total for a week. Relive the adventure one more time with Doc Brown and Marty Mcfly, when they travel back in time, and Marty’s existence is at stake.

#6 – Nigel Cole’s Made In Dagenham, starring Sally Hawkins, and Bob Hoskins, with a massive £674,059 for a week. A movie which exemplifies the Dagenham strike, that took place in the late 1960s, a time when women would protest against sexual discrimination.

#5 - The Hole - by director Joe Dante, with an astounding £700,763 for two weeks, a story of two brothers, who find a mysterious hole in their basement, that leads to them facing their worst fears and nightmares.

#4 - Eat, Pray, Love - With a huge £800,533, Ryan Murphy shares the story of a woman who’s not completely fulfilled with her marriage and decides to go in a different direction.

#3 - Buried - £820,631 for a week, Rodrigo Cortes introduces the story of a man who’s attacked and buried alive by Iraqis, with only a lighter and a mobile phone.

#2 - The Town - An eye-watering £890,309 weekend total for 2 weeks, director Ben Affleck highlights a story of gangs, crime, and romance. The Town is Affleck’s fourth production project, as a leading director since he began his directorial career in 1993.

#1 - The Other Guys - From director Adam McKay with a whopping £976,459 weekend total for three weeks. A movie about two guys who aspire to be like the New York cops they idolise, but things don’t go quite to plan.
The time has come for me to ask you a question...Which Hollywood gem are you going to see?