Jeeni Blog

Helping the next generation of talent to build a global fanbase

Huawei to Hell

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Huawei to Hell

Today, Jeeni returns to Crowdcube to raise more funds for helping new talent. Jeeni founding director Mel Croucher says, “We’re ahead of our original schedule, but there’s still so much more to do. We need to scale our online platform globally now and build our mass artist showcases to hit all our targets, and give our new artists the recognition they deserve.” If you want to see our pitch click HERE.

Mel has been writing the best-loved column in top-selling tech magazines for over 30 years. Now he’s agreed to share his work with our members. He’s a video games pioneer and musician, and to to find out more about Mel check out his Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Croucher. Here’s Mel’s latest!

Trade wars are dangerous. When tariffs are imposed, and when sanctions get slapped on, and when one nation ceases to trade with another nation, then a trade war has a funny habit of turning into a real war. And here we all are, slap bang in the middle of a lulu of a trade war between the world’s two most powerful states. This is a trade war that’s not based on essentials like oil, or wheat, or toilet paper, but a trade war based on the pixies and fairy-dust of software algorithms. One day a peace treaty is waved, next day missiles are launched. Here is what happened in the future.

The proxy war between the Donald Trump and Boris Johnson axis against Xi Jinping didn’t affect me much, seeing as I had never owned a Huawei handset. I admit that I did find some comfort in the fact that cellphone zombies became totally bereft at the prospect of not being able to view TikTok on their little Chinese screens. All I could say to those morons was - suck it up guys, you had it coming!

In the first few hours of the Huawei denial of service attacks, the bewilderment and confusion of being unable to access social media apps soon turned to anger. This was triggered by the fact that the masses were unable to access social media apps to tell one another that they could not access social media apps. They soon realised they couldn’t remember any contact details of any of their virtual friends, or why they were virtual friends in the first place. Neither could they remember where they were, or where anything else was, or how to find their way around the real world at all. And without the Uber app they found themselves physically marooned within the perimeters of their ignorance. Deliveroo failed to respond the following day, so to avoid starvation, people who had a strong sense of smell managed to find their way to MacDonalds. But the computers were down and riots began when the Cola ran out, as slow-motion customers blamed Covid19 for the fact that China and the USA were having a software spat.

That night, the younger, more active elements of society went on the rampage and looted Tescos for pot noodles, which was a total waste of effort because the electric kettles no longer worked, thanks to smart-meter reliance on dodgy apps. Tuesday evening, after martial law and compulsory prayers, the county lines failed to supply recreational drugs to their app-driven client base, and hospitals were targeted to fill the gap in the market. Amusing video clips of the descent into chaos were not shared, not because of any sense of social responsibility but because Instagram was kaput. This added to the howling rage of the mob more than somewhat. Then, not long after the dogs began to disappear, the hunting of the weak began, and there was the smell of woodsmoke and bacon in the air. On a more positive note, a lot of overweight people slimmed down fast and learned new skills like shadow puppetry and crossbow production.

And so it was that all those predictions how civilisation would end as the result of electro-magnetic-pulse attacks turned out to be wrong. There was no need to launch missiles, zap communications or fry every electronic circuit in the land. All it took was an old man with an orange face to start a pissing contest. The irony that the old man’s preferred means of communication was Twitter is not lost on me, but then I don’t need Google Maps to tell me that we’re all up shit creek without a paddle.

And that, dear reader, is how come we all ended up on the Huawei to Hell.

01
Apr

MUSIC STARS JOIN NEW TALENT TO BEAT COVID

On April 10th seventeen acts from around the world will beat the pandemic restrictions and join together to perform in a virtual festival called JAM, and they guarantee complete unknowns will get equal billing with world-famous headliners. Grammy Award nominee Barrington Levy contributes from Jamaica, in defiance of the Covid virus. Spanish youngster BlueVein will multi-track his own backing from his bedroom. Number One Billboard Dance Chart star Zeeteah Massiah will appear in her own spectacular James Bond movie sequence. Indie rocker How Mean will perform from his grandmother's house in California. Daisy Chute, the lead singer with platinum-selling supergroup All Angels, performs live from her home in London with newcomers on the other side of the world in Australia. Grammy-Award winner Skyler Jett, whose Record Of The Year with Celine Dion for Titanic is the highest-grossing movie theme of all time, will perform his latest track with complete unknowns dancing in lockdown on every continent in the world. And more artists will beam in their contributions from Detroit to Brighton, from Northern Ireland to Rhode Island. The producer of JAM is Mel Croucher, veteran founder of the UK video-games industry, and creator of the world's first million-user viral marketing campaign. Mel says, "Members of my team have made it to the top. We've been responsible for over 500 million record sales over the years, we've pioneered the online music revolution, and now we're giving something back to help unsigned independents and new talent in an industry that all but collapsed in the face of Covid. We've got Paul McCartney's Wings Over Europe double-decker bus ready to roll out as a mobile live venue, and we can't even think about using it until the crisis eases. So we've gone online. This is our third online festival, and by far the biggest. And it's absolutely free." Mel goes on to explain why it's called JAM. "The Festival is a collaboration between three organisations. The J is for my own company Jeeni, where performers showcase their talent and keep 100% of everything they make. The A is for AmplifyX, based in Los Angeles, where you invest in artists you believe in. And the M is for MultiView Media, an amazing streaming platform where fans get to be the director and control the action." The JAM Festival is at 12 noon Los Angeles time, 8pm London time on Saturday April 10th 2021, free to live stream on: https://mvm.multiviewmedia.co.uk/jamfestival For further information etc... jeeni.com amlifyx.com multiviewmedia.co.uk

12
Mar

Kings of Leon Post Teasers of New Material

It's been 4 years since the Nashville rock legends have released any official new material, but this week sees them releasing snippets of new singles. The Kings of Leon have so far posted three teasers of new material over the holidays, which have fans eagerly awaiting their arrival on 7 January 2021. 'Walls' was their last album, which sold over 77,000 units in it's first week. In March 2020, the band shared a live recording of a new song, 'Going Nowhere'  The performance was recorded in their hometown of Nashville and featured only frontman Caleb Followill, on acoustic guitar. It's been a long wait for their fans. The first post was a snippet of the new single, 'Must Catch the Bandit' on 25 December with all the signature sounds of previous Kings mega-hits. “Blame it on the holiday ‘cheer’, but I just feel like sharing,” bassist Jared Followill tweeted on Christmas Day (December 25). @kingsofleon then tweeted ‘the w8 is nearly over’ TEN MONTHS ago. Enough.” https://www.instagram.com/kingsofleon/ On New Year's Day, the second teaser was released, 'Feel The Way You Do' and today, third track 'Dancing in Your Head' has just dropped. These two tracks have a mellow sound with some thoughtful melodies and riffs. The video clips are all be black and white so far, sitting within simple frames and bold graphic type. 'Must catch The Bandit' has already clocked up over 145k views. In June 2020, the Kings of Leon were due to headline the Finsbury Park Festival, their first London performance since 2017, but as with all the summer festivals, the pandemic cause another postponement. Announcing the cancellation in May, promoter Festival Republic said they were 'working hard' with Kings Of Leon to arrange a new show. There are five more days to the official release date of this highly anticipated eighth album, so can we expect a new track each day - let's hope so?! www.jeeni.com

05
Jun

Why In-Person Connections Matter More Than Ever

by Kelli Richards, Jeeni MD USA People call me a ‘super-connector’; I literally make my living connecting people and opportunities to each other and I have a very broad and deep network that I’ve built over many years of establishing long-term trusted relationships. Many of these relationships were developed the old-fashioned way, by having ‘live’ conversations of substance in person or over the phone over time. That said, we live in a fragmented world where more and more we connect through devices and technology (whether via text messaging on our phones, e-mail over the Internet or via Zoom conference calls online). While these technologies are arguably convenient and time-saving, something has gotten lost in translation. Look around whenever you’re out in public, and the vast majority of people have their faces buried in their smartphones or in their laptops. This applies regardless of age, gender, or any other consideration. One of the saddest (but most prolific) examples is when a couple are out having a meal together but each has their face buried in their own device, and are in their own worlds. At a minimum, this type of behavior certainly seems to push intimacy away and can lead to undesirable outcomes because people have stopped looking at each other and engaging in active conversation. The film producer Brian Grazer has just published his new book entitled “Face to Face: The Art of Human Connection”, and of course I love it. In the book, Brian argues that one of the secrets to a better life lies in establishing personal real-time connection (like we all used to indulge in before we had access to these devices). He argues that burying ourselves in our individual devices destroys an essential facet of the human experience we can only get when we look at someone face-to-face and engage in a real conversation. When we do so, and look into each other’s eyes, we form strong connections and bonds with each other, we understand each other better, we expand our world views, and we create memorable meaningful moments that can lead to a range of possibilities. When we connect and understand each other, we become interested in what matters to one another and that leads to wanting to support and add value to each other’s lives. This is what truly matters folks. No matter how convenient our technology and devices are or become, the bottom line is that trusted relationships rule the world — and that applies both personally and professionally across the board. So, I strongly urge you to reach out and make time to connect with people face-to-face more often. Seek to understand others, pay attention and invest genuine time in getting to know what matters to them so you can figure out how you can add value to them and help them to achieve their goals. Be yourself, more uncensored — drop your masks and be authentic, the kind of person you want others to know and respect. Show up fully as yourself, vulnerable and caring, which encourages others to do the same. And as you do so, watch what happens as your relationships shift and evolve. I’m willing to bet your life will improve and create a ripple effect that impacts the lives of others around you as well. Click HERE to visit or return to jeeni.com