Sunday, 19 April 2009

Follow me on Twitter!

Yes, I'm on Twitter! Follow me so I can reach a million, too! Now that's out of the way, let's get to the real crux of this short Sunday post!

Twitter has been overshadowed by the 'halo of celebrity'! There are public figures who charmingly engage their myriad followers such as Jonathan Ross (@Wossy) and Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano).

This has witnessed a paradigm shift in the Twitter culture. Long time followers, with whom I'd shared engaging discourses, unfollowed me without warning nor apparent cause and switched to monotone broadcasts as their follower numbers disproportionately increased.

I saw my own following increase and I reciprocated, for a while, before realising that I could no longer extract any 'value' out of Twitter due to so much activity in my stream - 24/7. Thus begun the cull - a subjective process! This didn't go unnoticed, and some followers began bombarding (and flaming) me with repetitive tweets, that I had to block...

On the one hand, I was evangelising the service, to both family and friends, and on the other, I was contemplating joining the exodus... To paraphrase Doctor Who's Cybermen "Delete! Delete! Delete!" Thankfully, after careful consideration, I, ultimately, chose not to!

@Documentally recently posed this question:

"I'm looking for the best explanation of what Twitter is in 140 characters or less.. No prize just the love and respect of all."

I replied -

"Twitter is whatever you want it to be!"

For me, it's not about numbers - incorporating circular ideological arguments regarding why are you following them and not me? - and broadcasting ad nauseam, it's so much, much, more... It's about communication, connecting and, you know what, having fun. Can't wait to have jam sandwiches with my peeps @SEGA!

You should follow me on Twitter here.

Monday, 6 April 2009

Twilight descends on Forbidden Planet!

The Forbidden Planet Megastore in London was the heart of Twilight mania last night as fans descended on the store at midnight to be the first in the UK to grab the DVD release of the astonishing cult hit movie of 2008.

Fans had already started queuing by midday & the line constantly grew throughout the day as evermore eager fans arrived, all excited at the prospect of getting their hands on the DVD at midnight!

From the massively popular series of books, the movie release last year cemented the Twilight phenomenon. Forbidden Planet has become the fan centre for the best place to find the finest Twilight merchandise and books.

Thirty lucky ‘Twilighters’ got their hands on DVD sleeves signed by members of the cast – and there were goodies and give-aways galore.

As well as the DVD, merchandise on sale included replica jewelry from the movie, posters, T shirts and an action figure of the film’s star, heart throb Robert Pattinson!

Forbidden Planet is the largest store of its kind in the world. Some of the biggest names in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comics and Cult Entertainment have come to our London Megastore for signing events, including: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Terry Gilliam, Simon Pegg, William Gibson, Mark Millar, Guillermo Del Toro, Brian Froud and Stephen King.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html

Friday, 3 April 2009

Twilight Midnight opening at Forbidden Planet

Be the first to bite on most eagerly anticipated release of the year – TWILIGHT on DVD is coming to 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Sunday 5th April at exactly midnight!

The vampires are coming to FP! You can take the forbidden romance of Bella and Edward home early when you come down to the London Megastore to pick up your copy of TWILIGHT on DVD or Blu-Ray. Plus we’ve got goodies and give-aways – and loads of gorgeously dark merchandise just waiting for you to treat yourself… or that forbidden lover of your own!

EXCLUSIVE! First 30 purchasers of the Special Edition will receive a DVD sleeve signed by one or more of the following cast members: -

Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen)
Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen)
Christian Serratos (Angela Weber)
Justin Chon (Eric Yorkie)
Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen)
Free posters!
Huge range of Twilight goodies available on the night - including restocks of the Edward action figure!

Forbidden Planet is the largest store of its kind in the world. Some of the biggest names in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comics and Cult Entertainment have come to our London Megastore for signing events, including: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Terry Gilliam, Simon Pegg, William Gibson, Mark Millar, Guillermo Del Toro, Brian Froud and Stephen King.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html

Thursday, 2 April 2009

Sega's Madworld of Social Media

Long time readers will already know that I'm a self-confessed Sega fanboy! There's really no more eloquent way to express it!

Since the 8-bit home computer era, Sega has held me enthralled with the likes of Congo Bongo and Zaxxon! From playing Space Harrier, in a Clacton Pier arcade, to Virtua Fighter, in SegaWorld Bournemouth, Sega has been synonymous with most, if not all, of my favourite video game franchises. To use an overused soft drinks analogy: if Nintendo is Coca-Cola then Sega is its cooler competitor Pepsi, which I've always preferred!

The last few months have witnessed the exponential growth of Twitter and, with it, a surge of internationally recognised brands establishing a substantive presence on the social media service. Sega has been quick to embrace Twitter, both as a broadcast and conversational medium, and started following me prior to the end of last year.

To be honest, I wasn't even sure that it really was Sega until I'd undertaken some detective work! Rest assured Sega is officially on Twitter and, if you truly care about video games, you should be following @Sega too! Followed, good, lets continue...

Fast forward to last Friday and, in the midst of twittering, the offer of reviewing Sega's video games came straight from the horse's mouth. Double take.

Over the coming weeks expect to see my review of Sega's Madworld (Wii) and, hopefully, many more illustrious titles from Sega's stable...

SEGA on Facebook

You should follow me on twitter here.

Wednesday, 1 April 2009

Gerry Anderson signing at Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet is pleased to announce a signing by cult icon Gerry Anderson. He will be signing two volumes of Century 21: Classic Comic Strips From The Worlds Of Gerry Anderson at the Forbidden Planet Megastore, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR, on Saturday 18th April 1 – 2pm.

Gerry Anderson’s astonishing and ground-breaking career has spanned over 50 years and has created many iconic series including the world-famous Thunderbirds, Stingray, UFO, Space 1999 and Captain Scarlet – all of which have since entered the hallowed halls of SF fandom nostalgia.

Launched in 1965, TV Century 21 (later known as TV 21) ties into these astounding science fiction puppet series created by Gerry Anderson's Century 21 Productions. In these great new collections of reprints, authorised and supervised by Gerry Anderson, Chris Bentley has assembled some of the most thrilling stories from TV21’s classic years including Thunderbirds, Lady Penelope, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90.

Forbidden Planet is the largest store of its kind in the world. Some of the biggest names in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comics and Cult Entertainment have come to our London Megastore for signing events, including: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Terry Gilliam, Simon Pegg, William Gibson, Mark Millar, Guillermo Del Toro, Brian Froud and Stephen King.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html