One of the really nice things about “working” at Matmi (in quotes because I just don’t think of it that way….) is that we get to meet some really nice people. I don’t mean the famous ones like Johnny Depp and Bill Bailey – I mean my colleagues, clients and our competitors too.

I have total respect for all our competitors (bar one) and we don’t even think of each other like that; we’re more of a collective melting pot for gaming and all things digital. We even call each other up when our latest work goes live to say “That’s a great piece of work, Jim, nice one.”

So most people would think I wouldn’t give my competitors any airtime whatsoever – especially in a blog where everyone can see it – but I think that Jim at Kerb was my twin separated at birth! It struck me at the Develop Conference last week where he was also a speaker. First I pinched his topic, so he came to heckle my talk, so I heckled his. Then we sat down for a chat and ended up in hearty rivalry (that’s a couple of rungs higher than slagging each other off – which we’d never do), much to the bewilderment of the group that gathered around us. It seems that we both suffer from ADHD.

Of course the day wore into evening and we had a few beers in Brighton – which turned into a few more – and the evening ended with us crashing on Jim’s floor like the students we once were. And our careers have followed a spookily similar path to the point where we both run specialist digital agencies outside London. (Just outside, Jim, alright?).

But there’s one area we’re definitely different which earned me plenty of points with Michelle, my PA. My desk is a mess at the best of time, but it’s a damned sight tidier than Jim’s. I know a messy desk is the sign of a genius, but I think even Jim’s genius would get lost in that!

Jim: thanks for a great night, Big Respect, Don’t ever change (or I might have to as well).

The Develop Conference I presented at last week was a lot closer to the Royal Pavilion – in spirit – than in yards. It was a showcase of all the latest and best that the (gaming) world has to offer; it was definitely eye-catching and different; and you got to meet some very important people there. Gaming royalty, in fact, but why was I there?

To get very nervous! Bear in mind that I’m an upstart casual gamer in the middle of a worldwide conference on console games – with nothing but a presentation for protection. Soon the stats from our advergames started wowing the crowd – they couldn’t believe the millions of players we can reach and target – so when I concluded that casual and console gaming are on a collision course, they could see that I had a point. That collision is going to meet on your mobile and of course, we’ve just mastered that platform with Monster Pinball which has been included in the annual bible of the apps industry by O’Reilly Media. It’s a select bunch – 200 apps (not just games either) from a choice of 50,000. I’m pretty proud of that – for a first iPhone release J.

It was great to meet so many people from the games industry too, learn a lot, get excited by a lot (and find a lot of people who like Monster Pinball!). And what about the gaming royalty I mentioned? None other than David Braben, maker of Elite, the very first 3D computer game – and David Jones, creator of Lemmings and GTA. Good to meet you guys, and fascinating to hear that the dynamics of GTA1 were based on the principles of pinball.

Maybe we should test that out and morph Monster Pinball into Monster Auto Theft or Auto Theft Monster. Mmmm – the acronyms don’t have quite the same ring to them. You’ll have to leave that with me…. . Susan, Owain, I’d love to come back. And I wonder what George IV would have made of an iPhone. A chandelier, probably.

In true Warhol “15 minutes of fame” style, it seems that our advergame accompanying ITV’s Saturday night game show “The Colour of Money” has caused contestant fever!

14 contestants played on the TV show, but thanks to the show’s simulation in the game, over 150,000 viewers were able to take part and experience the TV show for themselves online. We had a massive return rate of over 43%, the average play time was just slightly longer than the real show, and we were fascinated to see that many people played online as “The Colour of Money” aired live on Saturday evenings.

The UGC uploads of players’ images and celebratory activities (!) earned us a short list at this year’s coveted “Big Chip” Awards. We didn’t win, but the winner of our category won the Grand Prix so I didn’t feel too bad. Better still, comedian and actor Bill Bailey hopped across the road from the Palace Theatre to the Palace Hotel to do some stand-up. James and I got to meet him at the bar (where else?) and had the pleasure of buying him a pint. He’s a thoroughly nice guy and if he’s reading this, get my business card out of your pocket and give me a call about immortalising you online!

Big thanks to ITV for all your help with the award entry, and thanks also to the Big Chip Awards for one of the best run award evenings I’ve attended. It’s (not) grim up North (all the time).

Our multi-award winning charity game for Comic Relief Red Nose Days 2007 and 2009 has finally crossed over into the stuff of legend.

It was delivered in three weeks free of charge.
It topped the (old) worldwide Viral Chart on the eve of Red Nose Day 2007 and has been there at least 4 more times.
It never left the Top 20 worldwide games.
It delivered 10% click-thru rate to the Red Nose Day website.
And last we know, it was played over 30 million times in every country in the world (including our discerning and mysterious monsignor in the Vatican City) and was still being played between 10,000 and 20,000 times a day as it crossed to the other side…..

…. of the Viral Chart. Sadly, we’ll never know just how successful “Let It Flow” may yet be because its tracking was lost in the switchover to the new chart. But are we bitter? Not at all.

“Let It Flow” is irrefutable evidence that you reap what you sow. We donated a month’s resources free of charge, got Matmi noticed, received multiple awards and nominations, make some phenomenal new business introductions and landed some serious client campaigns as a result.

If you’re a start-up agency or company, take a leaf out of our book. Make a worthy donation to a cause you believe in and all the good karma you put in will come back ten fold. I wouldn’t have believed it unless I’d seen it with my own eyes.

So it’s easy to let go of “Let It Flow” – because really, it’ll never stop

It could only happen to me. A few blog posts ago, I regaled you with the tale of getting locking in the office after an awards ceremony until 5 in the morning. The ‘Lock In Pixie’ obviously has it in for me because this time it was the toilet of a Virgin West Coast main line train (how glamorous) and after 15 minutes of indecision, I finally had to hit the red button to get out. Sorry to all my fellow passengers but….

… my day got worse (or maybe better, depending on your mood). My 4 back-to-back meetings in the four corners of London (don’t argue with me…) included ITV and as I’m waiting in the corridor I see a familiar face but can’t place it. This happens a lot, so I take my time and after 10 minutes decide I have to deploy Plan B: “Hi, I’m Jeff, Your face is familiar – do I know you from somewhere?” “Hi, I’m Johnny,” the familiar face replies. “Sorry?” I say. “Johnny Depp,” says he.

For once, I’m completely lost for words. And for those of you who know me, this may be a first. Losing my cool completely (and hoping that he thinks I’m a screwed up rock star of some kind (I have the right hair), rather than the nerd that I feel) I shake his hand and saunter back to my pitch in the corridor to go into my meeting with as much nonchalance as I can muster.

Describing the incident to my client, Denise (who’s worked for ITV for years), she waves her hand and says “Yeah, we have celebs in here all the time.” I guess being known as one of digital’s most brilliant minds doesn’t stop a humble lad from Macc getting star struck. Sorry Johnny. How about an advergame for that new film of yours? On the house?!*! Then again, it’s not the first time Matmi’s got to Hollywood, so it’s not all bad.

Cringe with me (please), Jeff