The John Robins Vibemail - Issue #1
Dear friends! It is I! Old Johnny JR!
I do hope this first Vibemail finds you well? I hadn’t planned to send you an update quite so soon but hours of diligent #Brand #Strategisation have been overtaken by events!
I’m sure the style of these missives will change dependent on factors such as mood, urgency, cans or how distracted I am by the mysterious intermittent noise the energy saving light bulb makes in my lamp. However, after waking early from one of my semi-regular cliffmares (nightmares involving cliffs) I have a bit of time to sit with my morning tea and compose an agenda! What do you reckon to this?
Members Present
Apologies
Thank You’s
Announcements
Headphones / Any Other Business
Goodbye
I DON’T MIND IT MATE! I’ve always thought I would make one of the great treasurers. But, for now, my Parish Council’s loss is terrestrial radio’s gain. Here we go!...
Members Present
Johnny JR! Present!
Apologies
Elis sends his apologies. Though this is a #BrandRobins initiative, Elis has been forced by my own hand not only to subscribe himself but also to admit that it will benefit him in terms of a reduced admin burden. In the future I shall endeavour to make him come round to watch me type out these Emails, but today he’s gone to a pre-booked appointment at the tip. Even in peacetime that would be exciting enough, but I have to concede I’m actually quite jealous and may even find an excuse to visit my own recycling centre later. Maybe to get rid of that blimming light bulb right guys?! You have to laugh don’t you?
Second apology is from I, JR. When you signed up to this newsletter you will have received a painstakingly planned out welcome mail (apart from the handful of legends / detectives who found their way to the mailing list before we ‘went public’). I am ashamed to say that in that email was a defective link. I KNOW RIGHT! Thank you to the eagle eyed hyperlinkophile who spotted it. This Email is powered by a service called Revue, and it was a faulty link to my Revue profile. This unforgivable error has now been fixed. This profile is where past newsletters can be viewed, (I think Revue is geared towards journalists / bloggers / commentators who may want to build up some form of canon). For our needs it’s less crucial, but I suppose any late adopters will at least be able to go there to relive the glory years of this first Email.
Thank You’s
Over the years I have endeavoured (with varying degrees of success) never to take much notice of either praise or criticism, as neither is particularly helpful. If you ride too high on the wave of acclaim you are vulnerable to drown in the criticism of the guy who kept texting in to the show yesterday calling us W’s, C’s, F-ing D’s and to say that the show was S. At one point he called us “Tossess” which really made Elis laugh. I find sporadic smidgens of pride and a constant simmering of self-doubt are the perfect recipe for #passable #content. However I have had to force myself to make an exception for the very kind messages people have sent on various forums to say how the Isolation Tapes have given them some relief during this strangest of years.
The Isolation Tapes (which you can find here) have played a really important part in maintaining my #mentalhealth, and it means a great deal to hear that they have also done so for others. Even though it’s just three friends talking about a mixture of the everyday, irrelevant and frankly dull, they have replaced a small amount of what I have lost in connection since last March. So thank you to those who have sent kind words, especially following episodes where I’ve been especially bleak/melancholic/maudlin!
Announcements
Here we go! It’s the big one! Hold on to your D’s!
Elis and I are doing another online gig! We’re not sure how many more we’re going to do, as the world opens up they may be in danger of losing #relevance, but we shall see. Anyway, we thought we’d pull out a few stops in case they’re drawing to the end of their natural life and get the band back together…
I. AM. VERY. EXCITED.
The show will start just after 8pm on Sunday 28th March and you can get your tickets here. You can also rent the show for 48 hours afterwards if you are busy on the night. As ever £1 from each ticket goes to Standing Together Against Domestic Violence and Dr Mz
Headphones / Any Other Business
HEADPHONES: On a previous episode of The Isolation Tapes I praised a recent headphone purchase. In order to maintain #balance I couldn’t mention the brand or model and as the words left my mouth I knew I was setting myself up for an @message landslide. You responded in your dozens and I’m sure you understand that I wasn’t able to reply to each by typing out Sony WH-CH700N, so I do it here, for any #CanFans / #PhonesFreaks. For me they hit the sweet spot in the much discussed quality:price ratio that I obsess about when it comes to pretty much every product I buy.
FACEBOOK: If you know a PCD, Robins-Apologist or #FunFan whose main method of communication is Facebook please point them in the direction of this newsletter. You can forward it or direct them to my profile to sign up. I don’t know about you but I’ve found FB to become an increasingly cumbersome and inefficient way of connecting with people. Navigating the notification / alert / menu for pages is like being in an anxiety dream, and I get enough of those from the damn cliffs! So hopefully I’ll find a way to disentangle myself from it as the weeks draw on.
CAMEO: You can book bespoke content from me at Cameo. Most of the time videos will be with you in 1-3 days but can take up to a week depending on #factors. I'm only available via the website and not the app. This is because Apple charge you a whopping 30% extra as it counts as an ‘in app purchase’. This policy is insane.
If a bespoke message from a digital DJ floats your boat then here are a few tips for the (admittedly restrictive) message space Cameo provide.
Please give as much info as you can on the person the message is for, don’t feel you need to be polite, just head straight on in! Bullet points are a good tactic. The more specific the info the better. Questions or tips you or they might want answering are always good fun. Below I’ve made up an example of the kind of message that works well and comes in under the character count.
Tim, 35th bday on 12/04
- From fiancee Chris (she)
- nickname Timber Tim
- lives in Manchester
- getting into Zappa, what albums shd he get?
- thank him for support when cat (Rocco) was Ill. Better now!
- I love him / our Sunday pickle & pie parties
As I always say, “efficiency of space, efficiency in space”. I say it every day!
WEBSITE: I have a new website, designed by the extraordinary web design talents of Thinking Fox. They are a digital marketing agency that come with a bona fide ‘Robins Rec’ (Robins Recommendation). You can see it in all its glory here.
Goodbye
And so we come to the end of the first ever John Robins Vibemail. I have enjoyed writing this immensely, and, remarkably it has taken over three hours! Though that was mainly spent checking for errors I also managed to fit in a quick chat with Dave about historically low interest rates and ate my breakfast of choice (toasted wholemeal pitta with Vegemite and Sabra humus). Another stone cold Robins Rec! There is another announcement coming in the next two weeks so expect more inbox action soon!
Takecareloveyoubye!