Darrell Whitelaw

i taped a @thebeancast episode tonight with guests @malbonster, @jaffejuice, and @southsideadguy and when asked for our “topics to watch” i talked about my interest in the return to boutique shop models, and growing freelance by choice workforce culture we’re seeing come about. i wanted to take minute and talk more about it, and why i referred to it as a lot like the revolution summer that happened in the 80’s in the DC hardcore scene.

i’ve included the wikipedia entry (that has disappeared off wikipedia for some reason) if you want to read in full detail about exactly WHAT the revolution summer was, for now i’ll just summarize and draw comparisons.

in recent years we’ve seen people of all levels getting tired of an industry that just isn’t what they want anymore, much like the bands in DC that got tired of the element that their shows were attracting, we’ve seen people break off of the “agency culture” and start new studios, take up freelance as a lifestyle (not just something you do between Q3 and Q1 when holding companies start staffing FTE positions again) and generally begin doing things their own way.

it’s pretty awesome.

disclosure: after october of 2008 i had a really hard time getting a job, honestly i would have killed your enemies for a job anywhere at that time. so i turned to freelance work, and eventually that snowballed into that little company called MIR. so i won’t try to pretend that i’ve ever been part of a movement i’m having more and more respect for everyday. i’m just happy to have done something that coincidentally happened around the same time.

the past year has been crazy watching places like @co, @socialisticny, @bfg9000ny, and more get started by LONG time industry veterans, as well as amazing places like @breakfastny and many more boutique shops opening their doors from equally talented but less “seasoned” ad folk.

not to mention people going off to create new startups and products like @percolate, @bondsy, @shesays, etc. and the countless friends i’ve had this summer who have decided that working a corporate job isn’t for them and have voluntarily left their agency gigs for “full time freelance”

even the co-working environment has gotten a shot in the arm, with great spaces like @grindspaces, @studiomatesnyc, and @meetnyc (excuse my lack of knowledge about co-working spaces outside NY as i’m sure there are solid ones everywhere). as well as the general open arm philosophy of the digital world in general, @deepfocus started as a desk inside @bigspaceship, @MIRnewyork began as a desk in @fplusp. it’s never been easier to get out there and do your thing.

the future is unclear, but what is clear is that RIGHT NOW all these people were unhappy with the environment they were in and decided to do something about it, much like the DC hardcore scene in the mid 80’s, they took it upon themselves to MAKE change, create something they wanted to be a part of, and anyone who didn’t would stay away from.

i think it’s pretty amazing, and i’m really excited to see where this “revolution summer” of the ad world goes.

basecamp, dropbox, and a dream.
@darrellwhitelaw

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Revolution Summer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article or section has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.
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Revolution Summer refers to the metamorphosis of the punk rock community of Washington, DC in the summer of 1985. The most notable and memorable of the Revolution Summer bands are Rites of Spring, Moss Icon and Embrace, though other bands such as Gray Matter, Fire Party, and Beefeater were involved and vital.

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Background

The DC punk rock and Hardcore punk scene of the late 1970s/early 1980s spawned dozens of fast and aggressive bands such as Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, and Faith. These bands and their numerous counterparts, many of whose recordings were documented on Dischord Records, helped to shape the very definition of punk rock and hardcore, and lend influence and inspiration to this day. However, the fast and aggressive music they produced at the time was attracting an element of violence and intolerance to the venues these bands would play. White power skinhead groups were largely responsible for the unrest at DC punk venues. At one DC (WUST Radio Hall) Dead Kennedy’s show in 1985, a DK crew member was hit by a bottle thrown by a skinhead and later in the show Jello Biafra jumped out into the crowd and brawled with a skin that was causing trouble. Not coincidentally, the first song in their set was Nazi Punks Fuck Off.

In an effort to end the violence and take back the community that they had worked to create, the idea was launched to start bands that played a more melodic and mid-tempo type of music, and to focus on more introspective and emotional issues. In theory, this type of music would keep away the violent crowd and allow a more inclusive, artistic, and creative community to flourish. Thus, Revolution Summer was born.

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Influence

Revolution Summer, though short lived, helped redirect the energy of the DC scene and give it a sound to build on. In the years following, bands such as Fugazi, Soulside, Jawbox, and Shudder to Think would arise from this change of direction and expand upon its ideas.

It bears mentioning that the Revolution Summer bands are widely credited with starting the sub-genre of punk rock known as emo, by the time known as “emotional hardcore”. Certainly, this is a label that has been applied to these bands in retrospect and not something that they called themselves at the time or would likely associate themselves with presently.

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References in popular culture

There is a brief account of Revolution Summer in Michael Azerrad’s book Our Band Could Be Your Life (2001). The movement is also well documented in Dance Of Days by Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins (2001). The significance of Revolution Summer is disputed — others beyond Andersen/Jenkins regarded it at the time as a small, cliquish, and incessantly self-promotional affair, and far from representative of a diverse and vibrant punk scene that went far beyond Dischord-centric hardcore.
Categories: Punk | Emo | Culture of Washington, D.C.

today we closed MIR. it was a great two years, but sometimes you just need to move onto the next adventure.

currently my top priority is making sure the incredibly talented staff i’ve had the pleasure to work with and build amazing things beside are transitioned into rewarding and challenging jobs. if you are hiring and want to bring on members of the team that helped make MIR what it was please email me at darrell.whitelaw@mir.mx and i can connect you with people in strategy, creative, and production.

We are hiring. We are always hiring. I thought i would take a moment and outline the real cost of adding employees at MIR, because i didn’t even believe it myself at first. Before we even deal with a dollar of payroll, overhead for space, desk, and even expenses related to business or the gadgets we have to regularly buy for the entire office (do you know how much handsets cost off contract?), there’s still a standard to be met to make sure that everyone is able to not only do their job, but do it well and comfortably.

15″ Macbook Pro – $2499.00
24″ Apple Cinema Display – $899.00
27″ Apple Cinema Display – $999.00
Incase Sleeve – $49.99
Griffin Elevator – $39.99
Apple Magic Mouse – $69.99
Apple Bluetooth Keyboard – $69.99
Aeron Chair – $879.00

we bargain shop to the best of our abilities, but this is the reality of upfront costs. $4,706.00 before someone even sets foot in the door.

crazy.

this was the presentation brian jeremy and i gave to the class there. we followed torrence boone, he had so much great data and insight into all the tools that google gives advertisers that we may have been a bit underwhelming. felt like everyone had a good time though.

from my #btvsmb presentation.

MIR is staffing up for it’s second location right now. A few people have asked why at 10 people in NYC we are taking the risk on another location, so i figured i would make a bit of a statement about it even though it’s completely unnatural for me to talk about what we do at MIR.

1. this is about talent
we’re doubling our development workload monthly at this point, and to be honest, we’re just not finding the talent we need in NYC. don’t get me wrong, there are brilliant developers here and we’re hiring them when we can, but the reality is that the greater pool of talent is in northern california. we need a hub there to further recruit and grow our abilities as a top notch development shop. my logic is if you’re going to poach, poach from the people who invent the platforms you service.

2. this is about clients
we’re servicing more clients in san francisco, chicago, etc. these days and we need a stronger presence in these markets. i feel very strongly that the key to MIR operating as well as we do is the close proximity to our client agencies. some of us have keycards to the front doors of several of our agency partners (though we still can’t get on most of their WIFI’s). we want to make sure that we can service their needs to the best of our abilities, and that is done by having small localized units who can give that extra bit of attention to make sure the work comes out awesome.

3. this isn’t about relocation
MIR will always be HQ’d in NYC. we love it here, our core clients are here, and Adam Wohl loves the humidity. we plan to run all creative and strategy out of new york and make the focus of san francisco mobile development. we will still have front end mobile web, android, and iOS development in NYC, but plan to have SF put our nerd merit to shame.

i hope this answers even a few questions from people, you can follow @MIRsanfrancisco on twitter for hirings, announcements, and general awesomeness.

thanks for caring,
D.

a lot of people ask what exactly it is we do at MIR, especially because when people ask what i do i tend to tell them i’m unemployed. the truth is that even though we love our niche as a mobile and emerging platforms shop, we do a whole lot more. we’re responsible for a lot of strategic thinking for our clients (and have been since our third month in business) as well as overall creative for far more than just applications.

i’m talking about this right now because i’m finding myself doing lots of things i never imagined nor desired to do, and i’m finding myself liking doing them. these days i get to play in everything from overarching brand creative, to broadcast, to experiential pieces. it’s really making me broaden my horizons from the hardline digital creative i have always pegged myself as. i always had a mentality of do one thing and do it really well, your skillset is representative of you, but i’m finding more reasons to dabble in a few different areas.

the past year has seen me get the chance to really explore new areas, i hope the coming years let me keep doing that as well. if not there’s always a life blending scotch in the mountains waiting for me