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694 posts

It's takeover time

Author: Isaac Pinnock

I’m counting down the hours until thirteen of the many (including myself) head out to Austin for SXSW. Just as the tradition of us sending a swarm over to Texas is well established, so is the idea of South By ‘taking over’ our homepage for the duration. So, here’s a sneak peek at this year’s page (and a reminder of what’s come before).

Made by Many goes Southwest

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On your radar for SXSW: we're launching Picle, a storytelling photo-app for iPhones

Author: Tim Malbon

SXSW has been an important event in the Made by Many calendar over the past few years.

We take as many people as possible and we always have a great time - we learn, we swarm, we go to lots of parties and we live together for a week in some big houses in Travis Heights. We also get to spend some quality time with our clients, do some new biz and hang out with lots of people we'd only otherwise know through Twitter and Instagram. 

For the past few years, we've tried to launch something new for SXSW: a homepage takeover and/or a new app. Last year we launched Hollergram for the iPad - an app designed specifically for SX that turns your iPad into a  glowing sign, and that simultaneously tweets your wittiest bon mots into the stream. Gosh, how we all laughed!

This year we are beyond super-excited to announce the birth of Picle. Our most ambitious Made by Many product yet - an iPhone app that uses photos and sound to give users storytelling super-powers.

Here's a little preview...

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We're hiring: Mid-weight designer

Author: Isaac Pinnock

UPDATE: This position has now been filled.

We’re looking for a mid-weight designer, a creative geek type obsessed with the coming web and fiendish about making new things. This could be your second job or you could have a bit more experience behind you – either way, your attitude is more important than your work history.

We want someone brave, bold, talented and ready to roll with the punches. We’re *not* interested in people who want to design banner ads and out-of-the-box microsites. If you want to punch the clock and fade into the background, this job isn’t for you.

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Design to inspire confidence

Author: Isaac Pinnock

Part 1 in an occasional series about how digital products and services can learn from real world experiences.

What happens when a new service replaces one that you’re familiar with? A service that you’ve used for as long as you can remember, infrequently but at times of high emotion and potential stress?
 
The new service is intended to be better – speeding up a process by being available anywhere from the palm of your hand. It has the potential to make a moment in life easier, but is the transition from old to new easy or a moment of strife?
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The Guardian reinvents the match report as picture story

Author: William Owen

This is a small thing, but something I really like: a story well-told with lots of pictures and a few words, but a story of the kind that's usually told with one picture and about a thousand words - a match report. 

It's the Guardian's piece on Wednesday night's Classico at Camp Nou, where Real Madrid crashed out of the Copa Del Rey to Barcelona, made entirely in pictures and captions but - obviously - on the web and not in the newspaper.  

Harking back to a format developed at Life, Paris Match and Picture Post, it starts with a portrait of Mourinho's twisted face and a teaser: after a first round home defeat and leaked stories of a split in the squad "only a victory tonight would he salvage his reputation" Over 13 further pictures the drama unfolds:

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Can Good for Nothing help solve the 80/20 split?

Author: Cath Richardson

Two weekends ago, Andrew and I went along to the third Good for Nothing hack weekend, appropriately titled Occupy Blue Monday. It was as inspirational and invigorating as ever. I've written before about what it's like to do a Good for Nothing. I love the way they take new, collaborative ways of working and hack culture to support the true innovators in social enterprise. As a participant, it's amazing to be able to use your skills to provide real value - a new kind of volunteering with tangible results.

Really, if you're thinking of going, the weekend is best summed up as there are no clients, no  creative constraints and no time for bullshit. What's not to love?
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Introducing Will

Author: Cath Richardson

This week, we welcomed Will Roissetter to the Many. Being such a fresh addition, he's yet to be given an avatar. So while we wait to put a face to a name on the blog, we thought we'd ask him to introduce himself to you in his own words. 

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