Whodeani, aka yours truly, has caught a case of the ‘muso’ bug.

Those close to me would know that I have long harboured a desire to be more involved in the music business, less so from a performance perspective and more to with the whole creative process bringing musical ideas from just that, ‘ideas’, through to being released commercially.

Back in the mid 90’s I was heavily involved in the nightclub industry moving from being a DJ to then designing and managing a very popular nightclub in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne known as Jooce.

As outlined in an earlier post (Anatomy of a Hit), I got together with a couple of friends of mine and created a jingle for this nightclub that was then turned into a full length club track that was quite popular in its day (climbing to the top of the club charts and breaking the regular top 50 here in Australia.)

Since then my musical aspirations have taken a back seat to more ‘regular’ pursuits. That was until mid last year when I was ‘inspired’ to bring to market a track called ‘Tweet Me’, a track originally called ‘Release Me’ and created with some friends back in the mid 90’s.

The release of Tweet Me was a lot of fun, enough so that I have decided to significantly expand my musical aspirations ‘and’ output with a project called ’50 songs in 50 weeks’ (or as a good friend of mine refers to it… ‘The Final 5’.)

As the project name ’50 tracks in 50 weeks’ suggests, my aim here is to produce 50 ‘release ready’ tracks in 50 weeks… ie 1 track per week for the next 50 weeks.

The inspiration behind this concept of ’50 Songs in 50 Weeks’ comes from Stock Aitken Waterman, the UK song writing and record producing trio made up of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman.

With great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s the three are considered to be one of the most successful song writing and producing partnerships of all time, scoring more than 100 UK top 40 hits, selling 40 million records and earning an estimated $103.78 million (source: Wikipedia).

Their standard method for creating the music was to first write the songs, next they would record the music with extensive use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers and then finally bring in a singer solely to record the vocal track.

Their remarkable ‘production line-like’ output and similar song structures had the trio being referred to as the "hit factory".

My thinking is to ‘2.0’ their model using todays relatively inexpensive music recording and production technologies ‘and’ potential global exposure via Social Media.

I’ve teamed up with Paul Brandoli (from Psyked) who I met through his work as producer/arranger on the Tweet Me project. Since Tweet Me, Paul and I have worked on 2 more tracks and are about to start a 3rd.

Am extremely happy with his work and more importantly how we are working together on these new tracks. Enough so that I have committed to have Paul work as producer/arranger and sometimes ‘writer’ on all tracks in the project.

We’ll notify you as the magical tracks come to life week by week and from time to time release snippets of the tracks we are working on. Exciting times.

UPDATE: With the planned re-listing of The Swish Group gathering momentum (and my role as The Swish Group's Managing Director occupying the lions share of my time moving forward), I have handed over the day to day management of the '50 songs in 50 weeks' project to Paul Brandoli.

Much has been done in the weeks since announcing this project and I am extremely happy with the work Paul has been doing. The project is in good hands.

Is it really that time of year again…?

With projects as varied as the contents of Santa’s sack, 2009 has been a very productive year.

This year Whodeani has managed to somewhat live out his dream of becoming a rock star with his first commercial musical release in around 15 years titled ‘Tweet Me’.

Dean has re-discovered his passion for music so in 2010 expect to see some more Whodeani tunes come to life including a 2nd single due for release February/March 2010 and 'hopefully' an album which he has half written and expects to complete over the Festive Break.

On the movie front, the film Dean is producing and co-writing has made some steady progress this year. With completion of the story due early 2010, fingers crossed the movie will shoot mid next year for a late 2010 release.

In other Whodeani news the printed version of the Better Sports Pocket Golf Guides was released to retail late in the year so you may notice them popping up on the counter tops of Golf Clubs and various stockist around Australia. The iTunes version of the guide is also quite popular and if you haven't downloaded it as yet, head over to iTunes now, it's available for free (http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/golf-guide/id305594968).

The Marketing e-Book, written by Dean along with co-writers Richard Mataska and Tim Giles, is nearing completion and will be available 2010.

On the corporate front, yesterday it was announced on the Australian Stock Exchange that agreement had been reached to recapatilise The Swish Group (ASX:SWG) and that Dean is as of now the companies new Managing Director. Damian London, a long standing partner in many of Dean's ventures, also joined the board of the company.

Lastly, Dean has recently invested in a stealth start-up company by the name of HotShot Media based out of the US. We could tell you what it's about... but it wouldn't be stealth then would it. Watch this space in the New Year.

For Whodeani in 2010 there will never be a dull moment. The New Year is shaping up to be a biggie creatively, personally and corporately.

Merry Christmas and we say cheers to much success, good times and great health for you all in 2010.

Whodeani has an idea…

Actually Whodeani has hundreds, maybe thousands of ideas and I’m the lucky one who gets bombarded with them daily.

Some ideas are genius. Some are hilarious.  And some are well… Some are just a reflection of the weird and wonderful world of Whodeani… I often need to get inside his head to understand him, so I can say this and not be fearful of losing my job ;-)

If you’ve stopped by the Whodeani site you’ve had a taste of the often hard to ‘put into words’ world of Dean Jones.

If you haven’t checked out the site, hurry up, it’s almost Christmas so you should head there right now.

The idea behind the Idea’s Book was to showcase and put some of Dean’s idea’s out there.  A point of difference, a point of controversy, it adds some spice to the common Entrepreneurs websites you may come across.

As I am the filter of these ideas, there are some strict guidelines around what I will and won’t publish.  The so called ‘genius’ ideas (and he has an absolute doozy ‘beer’ idea) I keep closely guarded, to some day run away with, make millions and purchase my custom white on white Maserati (a girl can dream). Whereas the amusing and weird I’ll happily share with you all.  Scrutiny and criticism is welcomed as long as you can make us laugh out loud or maybe provide an alternative point of view.

And because I love to stroke my Bossman’s ego, I’ll sometimes publish ideas that ‘he’ came up with before ‘someone’ took it to the market and made it what it is today. (Check the date markings for each idea to see when they were originally created.) So I open the vault and bring to you the latest round of Whodeani ideas…

At the top of the list I introduce the concept of ‘Onedoms’ (yes, that’s a one handed condom to avoid timely interruptions).  An ingenious idea that both men and women could be thankful for…

The ‘Next Generation Medical Bracelet/Jewellery’ is a new school take on the traditional medical bracelet.  It transforms into a world of knowledge of the wearer in an easy to access and read format by designing a USB device into the bracelet or necklace.

I often think pampered pooches are treated better then human beings.  I know of pug dog that only eats Osso Buco (any other meat is frowned upon) and Magnum ice cream for special treats.  I once tried to feed him a McDonalds chicken nugget only to receive his snout in the air of disapproval.  So this idea of Dean’s would be ideal for the pooch elitist of this world… Recyclable, disposable ‘Dog Water Bowls’ conveniently packed in a batch of 7.  A pooch on parade cannot just drink from any old water outlet.

For those of you who have never had a beer with Dean, you won’t know that he is a serial label un-dresser.  Read into that what you please.
So it was only natural that he came up with the ‘Removable Beer Labels’ idea using the back as a space for special promotions and competitions, cross advertising, marketing messages - what ever you like. The possibilities are endless.

Last… Well that’s not entirely true as there will never be an end to his ideas… Is the ‘Pen Shaped Perfume for Men’.  Not everyman can confidently carry the ‘man bag’ and more and more men are taking on womanly practices.  Running from meeting to meeting a man needs to spritz and refresh just as much a woman right?  Slide one of these babies into the inside of your suit jacket and you’re sorted.  Just remember its contents before you pull it out to sign that all-important contract and seal the deal.

Sharing is caring and I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest offerings of Whodeani’s ideas.  Always a delight to hear your thoughts so drop us a comment.

But wait there’s more… Well next month that is.

Some of the mystery that surrounds the Whodeani brand will be uncovered today with the launch of the official Whodeani website. It’s live and it’s exciting.

You may have asked yourself at one time or another “what is it that Whodeani actually does?” Or simply “what is it that Dean actually does?” (I find myself asking this very question on occasion.)

We could answer and say that there isn’t much Whodeani or Dean hasn’t done or won’t do.

The Whodeani brand as you may know is the essence both personally and professionally of it’s creator Dean Jones, a ‘Genuine Entrepreneur’.

Whodeani as you’ll come to learn has no limitations.  It is as broad as Dean’s imagination… and that’s limitless.

The Whodeani site invites you to enter a world out of the ordinary. 

Dean Jones is not your common entrepreneur.

Inspired by the ‘old world’ aesthetic of steam punk and the likes, the site takes you on a journey through Whodeani’s world.

You’ll learn how Whodeani acts as an outlet and umbrella to house his many and varied projects.  Keep up to date with what’s happening within Whodeani through the Take A Chance section of the site.

Enjoy interactive areas such as the Ideas section, within which Dean invites you to view, discuss and potentially work with him on some of his personal ideas.  Here you’ll sense Dean’s entrepreneurial tendencies from an early age with some of these ideas dating back many years.

Find inspiration through Whodeani via varied sources Dean has personally chosen to share and if you haven’t already subscribe to his popular Blog. 

Could it be you need some guidance to take your start up business or idea to the next level? You may find it here at Start Me Up.

Dean is often viewed with an air of mystique. Many have wondered where and how he started out. Get to know him and learn about his exciting, proven track record of business success through the detailed Who Is Dean section. 

Maybe there is an opportunity you see being a great fit for Whodeani. Connect Up will give you an overview of how Dean can potentially work with you.

Visit Whodeani to make Contact with Dean, be it to introduce yourself, seek advice on a project or even ask for a date (true)… discreetly added by yours truly, Entrepreneurs Assistant Extraordinaire.

The Whodeani site was built to showcase a far from average gentleman and his brand. I trust you’ll enjoy the journey, a journey that is constantly paving new paths.

Be sure to make yourself familiar with this ever evolving destination.

Guest post by Lindy Waldeck.

Realtime Search is a project I’ve been developing since March 2009.
 
I have been watching the explosive growth of Social Media, in particular sites like Facebook and Twitter.
 
I noticed that while there were some great sites developed to help people search these vast databases of user generated content, there wasn't something specifically for the Australian market.
 
Enter Realtime Search, a simple site that allows you to search in real time for what Australians are currently saying about any topic.
 
You can visit Realtime Search here.
 
http://www.realtimesearch.com.au

As you can see from the image above, the site is quite basic and currently in 'Beta'. We are already at work on the next major update to the site which all going to plan should go live before the end of June.
 
For now though I was keen to get the basics live and into the Australian online space and see what people think. Good, or bad, all feedback will influence updates and new features on the next version of the site.
 
OK, so what is Realtime Search and why would you use it?
 
Firstly, what it is 'not' is a replacement for Google (or for that matter any of the other search engines operating in the Australian space.) Google, and others like it, are the best place to go when looking for information that isn't time-sensitive, be it company web sites, the official homepage of your favorite band or where you can buy the latest electronic gadget (as examples.)
 
If however you are looking for something more immediate, be it a variety of opinions on the recently released Star Trek movie, the latest news on the Swine Flu outbreak as it happens or what people are saying about 'me', Whodeani :) then Realtime Search is a good place to start.
 
A good example of just how powerful and 'useful' this style of website could be can be found in a fairly significant announcement that was made in Australia earlier today about Telstra, one of Australia's largest companies.
 
Telstra announced earlier today that they have hired a new CEO, David Thodey. As a result social media users here in Australia has been very active.
 
So while traditional news services have done a great job of reporting the actual story, that David Thodey was hired (see the ABC news story here http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2564513.htm) etc... where would you go to see what people are saying about this story 'now' (that is minutes or even seconds ago) as its breaking?
 
See the screen grab below for an example of what people were saying about Telstra shortly after todays announcement (this was taken around 30 minutes ago).

You can see what people are saying 'right now' about Telstra by visiting Realtime Search (http://realtimesearch.com.au/search?q=telstra).
 
The above results are interesting as not only do you get links to the various stories posted on the topic 'as they are published' and other interesting commentary on Telstra in general, you also get to see what people 'think' on todays CEO hiring at Telstra ranging from "Good news that David Thodey is new CEO of Telstra!" to "Why does everyone think the new Telstra CEO is going to be better than the American?"
 
The Realtime Search site is now live in Beta and we of course welcome any feedback, comments (add them below.)
 
As above, the next major update of Realtime Search is due before the end of June. If you would like to keep track of Realtime Search's progress, please 'follow' it @realtimesearch.

You can also follow me, @whodeani on Twitter.

You can view the competition here... http://99designs.com/contests/20971

Guest post by Elahn Zetlin.

When Dean said he was going to revive his jokes.com.au website the first thing I could think of was “How can Hitler help?”

Hitler, for those of you who don’t know, was a very funny man. He was also German, which is a huge contradiction to him being funny. Most Germans are not funny. Take this short joke -  “Warum hat das Huhn die Straße? Weil ich es gekickt.” A little giggle, but that’s all.

While most SS guards were hired for their brutish  chest size and capability in absorbing bullets aimed at Adolf (Ado to his mates), the furthest they ever got in entertaining him was the regular Wednesday night game of strip twister. This was of course after a few shots of cherry schnapps. I mean, you’re in a bunker being bombed to shit, what else are you going to play? Backgammon? Come on.

 

Brainstorming was never a problem for Ado (not to be confused with the Biggest Loser winner). He was most capable of instant brain farts and trains of thought unheard of by the best comedians.  His writings for the Berlin version of Mad magazine “Madder” were warmly received along with his stand-up routines at the Shultz Lounge. He was of course able to choose from his pick of comedy groupies lining up at his change room after the gigs. This is where he met Eva Braun, the then cynical lesbian poet. Unfortunately her poems were funnier than angry, and she quickly gave up for Ado.

 

Later, in his memoirs, “Mein Komedy,” he would say being with Eva was like high school all over. She would go smoke in the girls toilets and he would have long hot showers with the boys after gym class. I honestly don’t get this but I’m sure it’s a German “thing”.

 

So it came to be that I would revive jokes.com.au with the help of Ado, or Hitlo, or Ads, Hit That or The Drude. Thanks to a popular online meme taken from the film “Downfall”, which shows the last few days of Hitz in the bunker, I was able to quite literally make Dean wet his pants laughing. Score for me. The video - ,  was made simply by editing new sub-titles over a particular scene. Numerous others online have used the same scene.

Everything from real estate - ,

Adam Sandler movies - ,

and even problems with Windows Vista - .

 

The wonder of modern “do it at home” editing applications and DVD ripping software now allow any of us to make Dean wet his pants. A lot try, a few do. If only it were an Olympic sport and I was the team mascot. I’d be a giant ball of belly-button lint called Linto.

Jokes.com.au, he told me, will be a beacon for all to come to when the darkness of night falls. All those thirsty for a 2am pick me up, after getting some “munchies” after a session of bong hitting. All those teeny–whatsit Y-Gen-ers hoping to impress their MySpace friends with the latest viral video of a cute fucking kitten. All those Nigerian scammers bored while waiting for some decent replies that don’t ask them to perform the Dead Parrot Sketch from Monty Python in exchange for some money.

Plus I could finally see a way of getting paid for doing what I do anyway.

 

Over the years I’ve managed many attempts at making Dean wet himself. A lot of the time this was by photoshopping images with him in it –

With me in it –

... and me again (tastefully in the background).

And with his friends –

Thus my acceptance in helping Dean help many other people wet their pants looking at jokes.com.au’s pages of funny shtuff. (not a typo)

 

The logo, I told Dean, needed to be refreshed. We should get a new design. Agreed, he said. We then proceeded to overlook locally brilliant and expensive designers for the underrated brilliant and cheap stock of the world wide web via crowd sourcing site 99designs.com. Here we started a competition for a new logo design (see it here – http://99designs.com/contests/20909)

In a world becoming smaller and smaller, competition for work is becoming fiercer. That makes it easier for us to offer a prize of $150 US and not feel bad about it. It’s not like we’re getting a logo designed by a child labourer from India. I mean, to be a good Illustrator designer you’d have to be at least 12, the age Indian kids are married and old enough to bet on the cock fights (Have I gone too far? Send your complaints to Whodeani on Twitter.)

 

So my new job starts now.

It may mean long days locked in my bedroom with the blinds pulled down, surfing the net for hilarious content, feet up on the desk, not getting out of my pyjamas, yet finally getting the respect of my industry peers, fellow webmasters, Oprah, Ashton and of course the hot chicks and VIP treatment at computer swap meets one expects from running a jokes portal. I put all my confidence and trust in Deano, or Whodeani, or Deanski, or The Dood. He’s never let me down and I intend to never let him down either. I just look forward to many more opportunities in making him wet his pants.

 

Elahn Zetlin.

www.elahnzetlin.com
www.twitter.com/elahn

       

Click here to download:

Whodeani_and_Me.zip (990 KB)

As you may have noticed from my previous updates, I’ve been very busy of late establishing and developing many varied projects. 

But help has arrived and it couldn’t have been better timing!

Lindy Waldeck (my previous PA at Ansearch Ltd.) has officially started as my EA (Entrepreneur's Assistant) early last week, Tuesday April 14th, 2009.

Lindy will be actively supporting all things Whodeani allowing me to free up some much needed time to venture into new projects and do more with existing projects.

In addition to this I will be working with Lindy to bring to life two very exciting ideas she has bought to the table.

They’re still rather hush hush and in the early developmental stages but she has let me tell you one is a form of travel aid which will probably have you saying “why didn’t i think of that” and the other a funky re-design of the standard wine bottle, that works in a way yet to be seen or heard of.

Both very, very clever ideas.

With Lindy now with us, and the next phase of Whodeani’s development in motion, now is as good a time as ever to provide a quick recap of ‘some’ of the more interesting projects I am working on currently…

Quick Whodeani project re-cap

• My father and I recently launched the Better Sports ‘Golf Guide’, as an iPhone application and the response has been positive. The printed version of the Golf Guide is also now available and we are in the process of preparing the product for retail sale (POS display packaging etc.) Both versions are available on the Better Sports Golf Guide website.
  
• Real Time Search Engine. The Real Time Search Engine (which you may be familiar with from the recent blog post here) is set to go live in a matter of days. I will of course update this blog when the site is launched so stay tuned. 
• Some of you may remember my mention of developing an 'action movie'. It’s been a dream of mine for many years and last year whilst holidaying on Calicoan Island in the Philippines I set myself a deadline to have a script written by the end of 2009. Just recently I returned from a 6 week working retreat in Bali where I was joined by Tim Giles who is co-developing the script with me. The ball is now well and truly rolling. Stay tuned for more exciting updates, maybe even a casting call or better yet casting couch... :)
• Another exciting project nearing completion is a book I am co-writting with two good friends of mine, Richard Mataska and Tim Giles (yes, the same Tim working with me on the movie project.)  We don’t as yet have a title for the book however much of what the book is about has been covered in very basic form in a recent blog post of mine titled ‘The 4 Pillars of Measurable Marketing’. In essence the book will cover anything and everything needed to get more ROI from your businesses online marketing efforts.
  

In addition to the projects mentioned above, Lindy will be helping me bring the Whodeani brand to life including development of the Whodeani logo.

Being that the brand is the essence of me personally and professionally we need to to bring to life a brand that I’m absolutely passionate about.

With considerable research over the past 6 months or so, I now have a very clear idea of how the Whodeani brand will be represented. The design brief is almost completed and I will shortly launch a competition on 99 Designs, as I did previously for 'Real Time Search'.

Following the completion of the logo/branding project, the official Whodeani website will then be set for launch. (Currently www.whodeani.com  houses a basic temporary website.)

So that’s some insight into just a handful of projects circulating within the Whodeani space. Watch this space for further updates.

If you cant wait for the next blog post to learn more about whats happening at Whodeani, feel free to follow us on Twitter. @whodeani.