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I can’t stand being part of the ‘attention economy.’

Unfortunately, if you produce any kind of media for a living (or otherwise) these days, you have no option but to join the scrum.

Sharpen those virtual elbows compadres, because the competition for real eyeballs and dopamine-addled braincells is absolutely ferocious.

It sure was a simpler time when we first set out sharing our excitement for local culture, food, indie businesses and creative projects by launching Kentishtowner as a daily website and print newspaper, well over a decade ago.

The disruption of digital was fully underway back then, of course, but people inherently understood the proposition of quality, magazine-style content dedicated to their neighbourhood, whether it was engaging their synapses via traditional newsprint or ‘new media’.

In fact, our cross-platform flexibilities were seen as innovation, and earned us coverage in the Sunday Times and this slot on BBC News, back when people still relied on actual news sources for their actual news.

Regular deep dives into the quirky history of Camden landmarks, interviews with eccentric local faces and meticulously well-researched reviews of revamped pub menus joined people’s fledgling social feeds alongside photos from friend’s weddings and holidays, actual news (see above) and casual bonhomie around hobbies, music and other shared passions.

These people would then take some time out, at their leisure, to click our links and enjoy some time reading the lovely stories. How quaint.

Today, capturing such luxuriant chunks of attention is rare, what with the onslaught of hyper-engaging 15-second videos, targeted ads and devilish AI slop feeding compulsive doomscrolling habits, and an ultra-processed smorgasbord of on-demand sport, box sets, gaming, porn and inane/radicalising niche influencer and podcaster rabbit holes into which to descend.
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In today’s media environment, tricking people into focusing for just a few more seconds is the depressing endgame. Brainrot rules supreme, and there’s a grim belief that likes, follows and BIG metrics are all that counts, regardless of the quality, truthfulness or impact of the actual content.

That’s why this newsletter – in your inbox on a Friday, far away from the social feed cacophony – has become my preferred outlet.

While I acknowledge the need to write things that people actually want to read, the aim here isn’t simply to smash big numbers. It’s to build a genuinely engaged community who welcome Camdenist as a break from the madness of so much other digital media.

As AI tools render social platforms little more than addictive distraction engines, genuine communities (not follower counts) surely become more vital and necessary than ever.

Camdenist was born during lockdown - you may even remember that it was published in print a few times too - during a period when people felt a surge of community-mindedness that has sadly all but evaporated since. We’re now living in an intensely self-obsessed era (see below) that digital platforms have supercharged with their imperatives of personal brand-building and artificially curated, image-focused lives.

But within the confines of our stark media hellscape, I do see some really positive potential for kickback. That’s why we’ll continue to build the Camdenist community by harnessing all the same tools, but with very different goals.

Thanks to those who shared a subscribe link in their local WhatsApp groups last week - the invitation is still open if you haven’t got around to it yet. Feel free to add it to Nextdoor or any other places where locals could do with some more inspiring local storytelling, too.

My hope is, by not pandering to the mores of bottom-scraping clickbait and metrics-driven media models, we can deliver something you really want to take time out to enjoy each week, plus demonstrate we have an audience that really engages with our lovely partners and sponsors as a result, to ensure we can keep the lights on.

If that’s what being part of the attention economy can mean, especially as the AI bots stake their claim to what’s left of our ragged concentration, then I’m all in.

FESTIVALS

Park politics + win SXSW London music festival wristbands

Those interested in London’s cultural landscape will no doubt have been following the battle for/against Brockwell Park’s summer festivals, which has been raging this week. Here’s the latest in London Centric’s excellent ongoing coverage today.

It’s all been a perfect example of today’s febrile and absolutist social media climate, and the many tensions of urban living, from cash-strapped councils to well-funded protest groups.

Personally, when I see fences go up in parks and the thump of generators and basslines from within, I can’t help but feel excited about living in amongst it in London, even if I don’t have a pricy ticket to venture through the turnstiles. Other views on the comoditisation of public space by corporate concerns are clearly available.

It seems this weekend’s festivals will go ahead, which is a good thing seeing as hundreds of contractors, staff and small businesses would have lost out were they to have been banned. But plenty of damage has been done, and the balance of power remains in the hands of a few, while thousands of music-lovers get the impression that their having fun is actively and aggressively being limited at every turn.

As ever, it’s all about the money, and the subplot to the furore over park uses and noise nuisances has been the investment firm who now own the festivals and it’s links to investment in Israel.

The Mighty Hoopla and Field Day have had to issue statements distancing themselves from genocide, while tonight’s Wide Awake Festival has had to defend it’s choice of headliners, Kneecap, one of whom has been charges with terror offences for waving a Hezbollah flag at their Kentish Town Forum gig a few months ago.

Add to that the fact that having so many corporate-owned festivals in London’s parks each summer sucking funds over to the US, which is probably further damaging the capital’s beleaguered nightlife scene, and its a rum old mix of positives and negatives.

It all sums up the chaotic media, political and late capitalist global mess we’re in, where self interest rules (or at least tries to) over the collective effervescence that make festivals some of the most memorable occasions of millions of lives.

It’s going to be a long summer of similar battles.

5 pairs of SXSW London all-week music festival wristbands up for grabs

Camdenist has partnered with the inaugural edition of the SXSW London festival, taking place across 28 venues in and around Shoreditch from June 2nd - 7th.

It offers a world class tech and creative conference by day, with festivals dedicated to both film and live music by night.

A full week music festival wristband (worth £99 each) gets you access to a mind-boggling 500+ gigs featuring artists, including Miraa May, Sienna Spiro, Mabel, Alice Glass, Lila Iké, Carleen Anderson and masses more across six nights.

But you have the chance of winning a pair of wristbands for free - just share this newsletter with a friend using your unique referral link in the box below. The more of your friends who subscribe to our free weekly updates, the more chances you both have of winning free SXSW London music festival access. You can also enter simply by replying to this newsletter with the subject line ‘SXSW London wristbands’. Go for it!
We’ll draw and announce the winners at random on Thurs 29th May. Over 18s only please. Prize value is not transferrable.

MORE CAMDEN CULTURE

🎶 I couldn’t make it to the grand opening of Camden Market-based brand new hologram performance and music memorabilia attraction Live Odyssey last night, but MetalTalk website have got the first early report here. We’ll dive in in more detail in coming weeks, as the exhibition in association with John Lennon’s sister looks like a great start.

🔊 Talking of musical legends, local hero Jazzie B OBE is playing an intimate gig this Sun 25th May in a secret Camden penthouse location that might just be the members club at KOKO. You can grab one of the last tickets and you’ll get a copy of his new Soul II Soul Live at the Roundhouse LP too.

🎯 High tech shuffleboard socialising is landing in King’s Cross in a few days time, with the opening of a new branch of Electric Shuffle near Coal Drops Yard, where you can play games, drink cocktails ordered at the table with a push of a button.

🔵 We know that the Borough is stuffed full of culturally important locations, and it’s nice to see the more quirky ones highlighted, (not just the usual Amy Winehouse, Karl Marx etc) such as the blue plaque unveiled at the Aroma Spice tandoori last week. It honours a curry eaten in 1969 by the Monty Python team where the seeds of an all-conquering comedy juggernaut were first laid. Coldplay’s arguably just as impactful LPs might have been recoded just down the same strip, but it’s the cultural significance of a decent lamb buna and onion bhajis that get the treatment, and that’s great.

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