BACK PAGE Rants and ramblings Bits and pieces from the editorial cutting-room floor


We’re in the business of reporting on the technology trends that we encounter at trade shows, but there’s one that we haven’t really touched on until now – the technology of press kit distribution. We’ve identified six distinct phases in the development of personal information dissemination technology that have appeared over the past half- dozen years or so. They’re not distinct phases – in fact we saw examples of all of them at InfoComm last month – but they definitely mark an evolution over time.


In the olden days, press kits were entirely paper-based. Typically one


would receive a folder containing a few printed press releases and usually some printed photographs. It was always a ritual, when packing to come home from a show, to discard the folders and just keep the information – paper is surprisingly heavy when you have a lot of it. Phase 2 saw the move to CD. The weight was much less, and you could stack them neatly in your suitcase or on your desk when you got back. They weren’t so easy to browse, though. As USB memory sticks grew in capacity, they were used for press material - Phase 3. Again, not so easy to browse, and not stackable, but they do have the advantage of being reusable. Canny exhibitors would try to curry favour with journalists by giving them the largest capacity memory stick there was. After all, reusing it increases your brand visibility, which is surely the point of sticking your logo on things. Our favourite development was Phase 4 – the novelty shaped USB stick.


A few that we have amassed in recent years are pictured here. Again, brand recognition is key here. One minor quibble, though, is that the larger ones may block access to adjacent USB ports. Then there was Phase 5 – the credit card-shaped kit with a USB connector that you have to either pull out or flip round. We never really got on with these, being unsure what to do with the connector and often breaking it off in the process, until it looked like… Phase 6 – the miniaturised USB key. We’re not terribly fond of the ones


where the metal contacts are visible, as we can never remember which way round they go to plug in. Last month, RGB Spectrum’s was the smallest we’d ever seen – with the cover removed, the body is only about 5mm deep. We were worried a small child might swallow it – not that there were any small children around. Phase 7 brings us fully up to date – the virtual press kit. Because people still like to hand things over, some companies now give you credit- card sized pieces of plastic printed with the URL from which the press information can be downloaded. The really jazzy ones have a QR code – which actually isn’t that useful for those of us who don’t do our main writing work on mobile devices. So there you have it – a brief history of the press kit over the past decade. We think there might be a book in this – albeit a highly tedious one. But what should we put it on to send to the printers?


If you’re a fan of this page – assuming the previous item hasn’t been the last straw in relationship that was on-off at best – then we should warn you that its content will be somewhat different from next month. In fact that won’t be the only change, as the magazine as a whole will be getting something of a revamp. We don’t want to give anything away – just watch out for a new-look Installation, starting with the August issue. We’re really rather excited about it…


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Installation is published 12 times a year by Intent Media London, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18-26 Essex Road, London N1 8LR, England Editorial tel +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel +44 (0)20 7354 6000 Circulation & subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)1580 883848 Email: installation.subscriptions@c-cms.com Editor: Paddy Baker paddy.baker@intentmedia.co.uk Managing editor: Joanne Ruddock jo.ruddock@intentmedia.co.uk Deputy editor: James McGrath james.mcgrath@intentmedia.co.uk Designer: Tom Carpenter tom.carpenter@intentmedia.co.uk


Sales manager: Ian Graham ian.graham@intentmedia.co.uk US sales – Executive vice president: Adam Goldstein agoldstein@nbmedia.com Production manager: Evan Graham evan.graham@intentmedia.co.uk Digital content manager: Tim Frost tim.frost@intentmedia.co.uk


58 July 2014 Printed by Pensord Press, Wales ADVERTISERS The Twitterati on the InstallAwards INDEX


Albiral....................................... 14 Amina.......................................... 5 AMX.......................................... 17 Analog Way............................ 26 Atlas Sound.............................. 9 Audio-Technica.................. 4,27 Audac....................................... 55 Blackmagic Design................. 7 Comm-Tec............................... 53 coolux......................................... 3 Datapath.....................


31


Digital Projection.................. 35 Faital........................................... 8 Gonsin...................................... 49 Hetec.......................................... 8 IBC............................................. 51 InOut......................................... 11 InstallMarket.......................... 21 Kramer..................................... 43 Lectrosonics.......................... 30 Lightware..................................... .....................Inside front cover Matrox...................................... 15 Meyer Sound............................... ..................Outside back cover MiPro......................................... 52 Optics....................................... 23 Peavey..................................... 39 Pioneer..................................... 47 Plasa......................................... 37 Riedel..................... Front cover RGB Spectrum....................... 41 Shenzhen Leyard.................. 42 Sommer Cable....................... 33 Taiden......... Inside back cover Vaddio...................................... 44 Xavtel....................................... 21 Zonar........................................ 11


Publisher: Steve Connolly Managing director: Mark Burton Contributors: Mike Clark, David Davies, Ian McMurray, Steve Montgomery Special thanks: Torsten Haack; Sara Mather and the Intent events team


© Intent Media 2014. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owners.


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