A Luddites Salvation

I freely admit it - I am a Luddite
The Product Diffusion Curve shows the different stages of product adoption:

I am happy in my position in the final 16%

Technology I own:

• Desktop Computer

Things I don't own (which everyone else seems to, and no-one believes I can survive without):

• Mobile Phone
• iPod
• Laptop
• iPad / other Tablet PC
• Facebook
• Twitter

In this same category, I would include streamed/downloaded music - theres just something about the physical product I prefer.
As a result of this, I have been no more than a cursory user of Spotify.  I don't doubt that it is indeed a revelation, having a virtually unlimited selection of tracks at your fingertips.  And in a market where physical product is on the verge of dying out, this must surely be a cornerstone of any future model for the business called music.

But now I find myself spending more time listening on Spotify and creating & sharing playlists - why now?

Well its a long story (forgive the self indulgence in what follows):

This Year marks 25 years since I started my apprenticeship

40 blokes aged 16/17 (and one girl) thrown together in a lecture hall, destined to spend the next 4 years (at least) in each others company.
And so we did the "Forming, Storming, Norming" thing that Management Theory tells us about.
Distinct groups of people collecting together over shared common ground (football, music, comedy etc).
Whilst it might sound like a flimsy basis for a long term friendship, Ozzy Osbourne and Monty Python proved to be the commonality between me and my (soon to be) best mate ("best mate" sounds like a childish statement, but I really can't think of another term)

Friendship continued right through the Apprenticeship and beyond.
Around 1992, I had what can only really be described as a mid-life crisis (if it was a mid-life crisis, then my life span is only 44!) - I went off and got married.  We remained in sporadic contact, meeting up for a chat/moan, going out for'Beer & Curry Nights', but as often happens, our lives drifted further apart.

Eventually, he moved to America and we completely lost touch, apart from the odd phone call.
Why did we lose touch?  Despite my job title being Planning Manager, its quite shocking how dis-organised I am in my personal life, and the e-mails and phone calls that I fully intended to send never happened.  And due to my refusal to sign-up to Facebook (on principle, but I can't remember what the principle is), there was no possibility of maintaining contact through that medium.

Well, thankfully, there are people in the world better at making phone calls than me, and my mate Skyped me just the other week ('Skyped' sounds like it should be followed by the phrase "Oo-Matron!")

So after a long chat about important stuff, and a healthy dose of inconsequential bollocks, we have re-established contact through the use of Spotify Playlists and supporting e-mails.

I've already sent and received a number of playlists, and have been introduced to some great stuff that seemed to have completely passed me by.

Top of the pile so far is 3 albums by Frank Turner

Frank Turner - Try This At Home

And to round off the self indulgence, this TV Theme (especially in its full length form) always seems to resonate.
By the way, I always thought I was Terry Collier.  Turns out I'm actually Bob Ferris.

Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads (TV Theme)