Anglo-Russian secret relations strong as Moscow and London meet

Nikita and me in front of secretlondon's mural

We were all very excited to welcome the creator of the Secret Moscow facebook page today at secretlondon towers.

Nikita Turkin, founder of Secret Moscow came to have a chat with me about our two cities and the secrets we had discovered! We also discussed differences between the two cities and what that meant for the development of global secret cities. Currently, Nikia informed me, most Russians use a facebook rip-off called vkontakte, and although some are moving over to facebook there came the question of how Nikita could unite both groups to create a secret Moscow community.

It was really interesting to discuss the different social lives and online habits of  Moscow in comparison to London, but what was clear was an international desire for people to discover lesser known, independent places in their city, wherever they are in the world.

secretlondon, now eighteen times better

After the launch of the secretlondon website only a few weeks ago, we have received some great feedback (thank you!) and we have been spending all our time thinking about improvements. We decided to completely overhaul the design of the secretlondon website and make everything simpler and, well, prettier. Now after two weeks of caffeine-fueled coding and design sessions, it’s ready!

First off, you’ll probably notice lots of changes in how things look. You can find a little bit of everything on the homepage; latest discussions and secrets, new photos and some recent visitors to the site. Browsing and searching discussions, secret places and photos are now all just a click away on the top of the page. Uploading photos is a breeze now and participating in discussions hasn’t been easier. Also, try out the new search; we still have a few things to add (location search, map results) but it is a big step in the right direction. Please continue to give us your feedback, as without you this new and improved version would not exist!

What would make the secretlondon event work for you?

At secretlondon towers we’re plotting to bring you a special secretlondon event. We’re hoping to celebrate our new website with members of the secretlondon community, but of course we want your input!

What would make a great event for you? Would it be a day or night time affair? What kind of music, atmosphere or special surprises would add to the proceedings? Should we keep it underground and exclusive, or take over a London park in our thousands?

We’re keeping it pretty open, so any suggestions you may have, from the practical to the weird and wonderful would be most welcome. I can’t wait to hear about what London is craving from us, so help me out by answering what would make the secretlondon event work for you?