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aaaa's digital conference- twentysomethings panel
2008-05-31 03:56:00
On Wednesday, I ran a panel of twentysomethings at the AAAA's Digital Conference .Anyone who was there will hopefully echo my views- they were a great bunch.Creative, inspiring and full of love for the possibilities of the digital world. They had no time for brands pretending to be their friends, but plenty of time forbrands who helped make them cool. At one point the session turned into an Apple commercial, nearly all the panelists owned an Apple laptop.The idea of reading a newspaper in the conventional sense was beyond them, they were somewhat divided on the issue of pirating and intellectual property rights, they hated pop up ads, didn't much like banners on Facebook, but couldn't live without it unless they had to pay a subscription to use it. According to these guys, we are already in the post-TV age, they were consuming loads of video content from the internet and directly onto their laptops that it had rendered the television irrelevant.  They like the idea of watchin...
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live events 2.0
2008-05-30 16:18:00
With people spending more time behind screens the urge to get out from behind the computer, mingle with others, network and learn is greater than ever. It's surprising how live events are becoming more intriguing than ever before.Organizers are playing with the concepts and bringing unique experiences to lucky attendees. The important thing here is that these events are very different. They are eclectic, entertaining, sometimes shorter than their conventional cousins and way more interactive. Here are some that Influx likes:Dorkbot- Science and technology evenings happening all over the worldPecha Kucha- Design focused- 20 images only- 20 seconds eachBar Camps- Originally developers weekends where stuff got made, now all kinds of people are running themInteresting Amsterdam- Russell Davies and his wonderful circusPosted by Ed Cotton
More About: Events , Live

the impatience of web users
2008-05-28 13:21:00
According to the BBC, web usability guru Jakob Nielsen's latest report finds web users less tolerant and patient when it comes to web sites.Some key quotes from Dr Nielsen in his BBC piece"Web users have always been ruthless and now are even more so.." "People want sites to get to the point, they have very little patience.." "I do not think sites appreciate that yet,they still feel that their site is interesting and special and people will be happy about what they are throwing at them."It's a big challenge for brands to get their emotions, richness and feelings across, when all a user wants to do is find out the price of a product. I guess this is all about options and navigation, allowing the user to get to a place fast if they need to, but according to Dr Nielsen,  most want to take the expressway. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Users , Impatience

product innovation back on the agenda at unilever
2008-05-27 07:08:00
At a time when product performance now trumps marketing spin, Unilever 's Chairman is looking for more product innovation from the giant multinational. According to an interview in the Times of London. "Michael Treschow thinks there is not enough “wow” at Unilever. The Swedish chairman likes inventions, gadgets and new whizz-bang things. He has been in his job for a year and, after a shake-up and streamlining of the top team at the Anglo-Dutch food and soap company, he wants the men in white coats to work faster, creating an assembly line of new products. The marketing is good, the selling is good, it's the product line that needs attention, he says. “The single most important thing is that we speed up our innovation machine, which means that we bring more highly appreciated products to the consumer so that they say, ‘Wow, this is really something I would like to have',” he says."Can we now expect increases in R&D spends as packaged goods compan...
More About: Product , Innovation , Back , Agenda

the price of gas- a history lesson
2008-05-25 17:45:00
This graph from WTRG Economics, shows the history of crude oil prices since 1947 and shows our current situation in context. The knock on impact of this in obviously considerable with most industries finding little place to to hide from the impact and effects.The significance of this cannot be under-estimated especially as forecasts suggest the price is unlikely to come down.With the recent report from the OECD that food prices are also likely to stay high for at least 10 more years, shows that previously "cheap" essentials for life are fast becoming luxuries. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: History , Price , Lesson

this american life- storytelling and chris ware
2008-05-25 17:16:00
This American Life , the NPR series has made a move into the world of TV with a series on Showtime. Here's a clip of a story with art by Chris Ware , which is fantastic. It's a great piece that shows how memory plays tricks with us and how two people's version of an event can be radically different. In a way, it explains the problem with real versus reported data. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Storytelling

brand timelines- planners love great visuals
2008-05-25 17:00:00
Noah Brier just gave us a new world of Brand Tags and now Dear Jane Sample has come up with something many of us have always wanted to do, but could never get quite right, the simple art of the Brand Timeline. It's a way to visualize the brands we interact with over the course of the day. It's really Brands in Your Day. Planners love this stuff because it's a nice way to bring thinking to life and it's great to be able to see the time when brands are being used this could even have media implications for example.Perhaps there's another version of this which examines the depth and scale of relationships individuals have with brands something relating to distance. Shown below is the timeline from Doug Jaeger of Happy Corp.Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Love , Great , Visuals

influx interview-design series- stiven kerestegian- sustainable designer
2008-05-24 01:41:00
Stiven Kerestegian is a sustainable designer who lives in the South of Chile where he is involved in several projects most of them related to sustainable design. He's also a partner in a full service production and design studio in Santiago and a sustainable product company Essustainable.1. Briefly describe your background?My background is in industrial design but I have worked in almost every related field from hardware design for Microsoft to conceptual or "innovation" design for Kodak to brand, packaging and web UI design for startups. Today, the projects I take on are as diverse as the market but more and more, clients reach out to me because they have an interest  in sustainable or "green" design.2. Sustainable Design is a current buzzword, how do you interpret it?The concept has been around for a while. Victor Papanek and Bucky Fuller were among the first to start pushing for more responsible solutions to our everyday needs not because they were hard core environmentalis...
More About: Series , Interview , Designer

more blink- visual perception- faster than a speeding bullet
2008-05-24 00:13:00
Our minds process visual information at a rapid rate, which makes it tough for designers who need to create both instant impact and depth. However, if people get the chance to click their mouse and move away because their perception tells them there's no point to going deeper, it means impact is everything. Recent research conducted by the University of Vienna shows just how fast people process visual information. Its study focused on art and asked subjects to compare similarities and differences in various pieces. Researchers found that subjects could register content in less than 1/100th of a second. Within 1/20th of a second subjects had already started to interpret style. All this happening before recognition of the whole object. It shows that art directors and designers have less time than we originally thought to capture attention and stop people from clicking away with their remote button or mouse. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Visual , Speeding , Bullet , Blink , Perception

gates is beating jobs
2008-05-21 04:36:00
Given the cult of cool around Apple's leader Steve Jobs , it might have been safe to presume that he is leading the search war with bitter rival Bill Gates of Microsoft.According to Google that doesn't appear to be the case and despite Apple continuing to grab the headlines, Microsoft's Gates is a more popular search term. Despite  Bill's semi-retirement he still has iconic status. Perhaps, Microsoft needs to remember this!Posted by Ed Cotton
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maverick architect- michael reynolds-garbage warrior
2008-05-20 23:49:00
Interesting story of one man, Michael Reynolds , who is trying to take on the system and make a push for more sustainable architecture. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Garbage , Architect , Warrior

deep diving into 2.0 data- learning from flickr
2008-05-20 15:29:00
Students at LIAFA University in Paris partnered with a team at Orange Labs to do some deep dive investigating into the Flickr site using some data from 2006 and produced this paper. They came up with some interesting findings.- 20% of users account for 82% of all photos- Pro users make up just 3.7% of users, but account for over 59% of all photos- 39% of users are inactive- 23% of users have no public photos, but have used the site to communicate- 64% of contacts are reciprocated - To become famous on Flickr you can't just be a good photographer, you need to contribute. One of the star photographers made over 51,000 comments in an 18 month periodWhat the research shows is the amazing power of a very small group of users to shape the community. This group puts enormous efforts into tagging, commenting and discussion that turns Flickr from a photo storage site into a vibrant community.Flickr appears to have managed this group really well giving them enough freedom and listening when ...
More About: Data , Deep , Diving , Learning

the economist on san francisco business etiquette
2008-05-19 06:35:00
It's great to see The Economist try its hand at giving advice for  businessmen traveling to San Francisco . It reads a little like a field manual for a new potentially hostile territory.Here's what they say about meeting etiquette."Meetings and greetings• It is important to both start and end appointments on time. If you’re driving between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, add 20% to your travel time and always take highway 280 over highway 101 if you can—it is usually faster and always prettier. When possible, schedule your meetings between 10am and 3pm to avoid rush hours.• Don’t be offended if people neglect to shake your hand or take your business card in large business meetings. Americans (and Californians) are more informal than you may be used to. • Having said that, carry as many business cards as possible, after making room for all the newest high-tech gadgets.• Be generous with your contacts. People here will remember and rew...
More About: Business , Etiquette , The Economist

jelly- the casual co-working get together
2008-05-19 01:22:00
In the Brand You economy, everyone seems to be working for themselves which has huge upsides and one big downside, you lack the social connections of the typical office environment. Amit Gupta (the founder of Photojojo) missed the interaction of other employees, so he decided to open his home, his place of work, up to anyone. This doesn't happen every day, but every few weeks Amit benefits from interesting conversations with a host of different freelance workers and gain new contacts, ideas and general stimulus. Amit called the concept Jelly and now this thing is taking off from its humble birth in NYC around a year ago, there are now Jellies all over the US and the seem to be spreading across the planet. Here's a 10 month old video that shows the diversity of talent at an early NYC Jelly. What is Jelly? from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.It's interesting to see how people have an amazing capacity for ingenuity, understanding the "social gap" that's lacking in the freelance world and ...
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brand as media - as record company and software developer
2008-05-17 17:00:00
Smart brands are starting to look at new ways of reaching their consumer base by moving into different media. Here are a couple of interesting recent examples. Bacardi Signs Groove ArmadaBack in March, Bacardi signed GA when their contract with their record company expired. The band will record music for the brand and play at a number of live events. Ikea as Game Software If people are spending more time on computers screens, than TV screens brands need to find a way to be there. Here's an appropriate solution from Ikea. The idea that brands are media is an obvious one, the challenge is how to do this in a powerful and interesting way. Thinking about the variety of different content you can create is an obvious place to start. If that content can add value and provide interest for consumers like for Ikea in the gaming situation it makes sense. In the case of Bacardi, it's a little different, here the brand is playing the role of talent curator by using external content. This model ...
More About: Media , Developer , Company , Brand

americans and their cars
2008-05-17 16:28:00
Something big is happening right now. For the first time, Americans appear to be using their cars less. Looking back at data from the Federal Highways Administration that tracks distance traveled, we can see the first ever decline in miles traveled since the data series started in 1983. This indicates the real impact of gas prices on behavior and is a signal of a revolution that's happening in the car market. America appears to be shifting away from the domination of SUVs to the more appropriate compact car. It was only a few years ago, when people said this would never happen and proves that the most powerful force of change is rising prices. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Cars

work hard.live neutral.
2008-05-17 09:34:00
Everyone knows the co-working is the new cool way to work for those freelance Brand You-driven types. It would also be safe to assume that these forward thinkers might be partial to a little bit of green lifestyle. If you happen to be one of these folks and live in NYC, you are in luck because Green Desk is where you should be working. Its list of green features seems impressive.  energy efficient lighting solar panels on the roof recyclable furniture carbon offsets from nativeenergy.com low/no VOC finishes power from renewable energy sources recycled paper products shared bicycles paper, plastic & glass recycling rooftop garden online paperless billing filtered water on every floorWhile it might seem a stretch to the environmen...
More About: Work , Live , Hard

do you care about the users you purchased?
2008-05-16 00:03:00
Comcast just went out and purchased Plaxo for $170 million, so the big communications giant can integrate some social networky type feature. Of course, Plaxo has a few loyal users who are more than a little upset at the news.Here's one."I think the consensus is "what a shame." How is this positive at all? Plaxo is getting absorbed by a big comms player. Imagine how people feel if Microsoft subsumed Facebook. Social-oriented sites cultivate customers who start to trust them When one gets acquired by a big comms player, the initial reaction is "I don't want that company's paws on my data." And now you can't guarantee that. All the work -- Pulse -- to free up siloed e-mail contacts is for naught, no?"This creates all kind of interesting strategic questions.Could this group of loyal users contaminate the water for Comcast and make gaining traction difficult?Should they do something and keep them happy?Should they even care, knowing this is all about scale and buying an application t...
More About: Care , Users

nike-entering a new era?
2008-05-15 18:43:00
Nike is a brand that was built on the back of raw emotion of sports, but is it about to change? Are product performance and technological innovation going to be the drivers from now on? Take a look at the amazing exhibition the brand is putting on in Beijing that celebrates the 100 most important innovations in the company's history. In the past, the company has been reluctant to let technology dominate the story, but in this show, it's the star. Perhaps, the brand feels it needs to demonstrate the substance that lies at the heart of the company and put fear into anyone, especially the smaller Chinese upstarts, that Nike's success isn't something that can be easily copied. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Nike

you've lost me with your environmental stats
2008-05-15 07:05:00
This is a great video from Flight 404 which ended up winning a recent D&AD competition. It's good because it's a clever use of time and space to tell an alarming environmental story. However, it's also kind of numbing because after a while the numbers tell a story that shows the impact and responsibility we all have. Where's the meaning? The data is rendered meaningless by units of measurement we aren't used to and can't compare. It's a big problem and something artist Chris Jordan has been working on. Using scale to bring to life the size of the problem. If we are going to ever get people to take action on a personal level, someone is going to need to show what difference this is going to make from a macro and a micro level. Video from IainPosted by Ed Cotton
More About: Lost , Environmental , Stats

re-inventing the world's biggest and most boring band
2008-05-13 17:01:00
Coldplay sold 10 million copies of their last album, but despite the success they realized they were in serious need of re-invention. Their music had become predictable and formulaic. They were just like U2 in 1992, who turned to veteran producer Brian Eno to reinvent themselves. Coldplay followed U2's path to Eno. Eno is clearly a master of shaking things up and getting the band to think and behave differently. This month's article in Q Magazine, mentions some of Eno's tactics.1. Hypnosis-Using it to help the writing process2. Changing the studio hours from rock star hours, to business hours3. Thinking about making music as performance, not a studio act4. Encouraging experimentation- getting the band to play with rhythm and time signatures5. Cutting things down- encouraging brevity6. Widening the bands musical knowledge- getting them to listen to German death metal and African folk.On the evidence of the first single- The LA Times seems impressed."there are moments where "Violet...
More About: Band , Boring

is green marketing working?
2008-05-13 16:10:00
There are a some interesting data points from a study completed earlier this month by Ci for its SHIFT Report on North American environmental attitudes and behaviors. 1. Consumers Aren't Recognizing Social ResponsibilityWhile consumers feel its important for companies to be socially responsible, they have trouble naming companies that are. Two of the biggest companies, Wal-Mart and GE, who've been big spenders in PR and advertising to demonstrate their green creds, are only recognized as socially responsible by 19% of consumers.2. Green Ad Campaigns Aren't ProofConsumers are smart enough not to be Greenwashed by advertising. In making their purchase decisions they are going deeper and investigating other areas. These include product design (65%), packaging (64%), produced locally/sold by a locally based business (57%). Both these findings illustrate the importance of proof, it you are going to say something you have to back it up with hard evidence. While this is becoming a perva...
More About: Marketing , Working , Green marketing

getting insight from web research- the next generation
2008-05-13 15:52:00
People have been using the web to do consumer research for over a decade. Its had its fair share of problems especially in quant, where it's already been proven that only a very distinct group of consumers ever complete surveys online. However, as people become comfortable with sharing more and more of their lives online, it's becoming a very interesting place to get a feel for what people are thinking and doing. People are using blogging tools and media uploading tools to help them get a better understanding of their consumers and these are often richer and more insightful than the typical focus group. With 2.0 technologies, all this only going to improve. One example I really like is Noah Brier's Brand Tagging project. This simple application that allows people to enter words they associate with specific brands and see the results from others. What I like here is that the tool employs some good thinking. It feels more like play, than research. It doesn't take a lot of time and...
More About: Research , Insight , Generation , The Next Generation

harley says screw it
2008-05-02 18:52:00
Picking up a copy of USA Today this morning it was easy to be struck by the negativity of the content.- Nelson Mandela is a terrorist- Jet fuel prices set to make air travel a luxury item- Fed rate cut does nothing to change Wall St. sentimentBasically, doom and gloom all around. Then there was this Harley ad, which offered a contrary point of view. It reminded us that America is a strong nation and it's bounced back from tough times before. It took the long view and reminded us not to be fearful with the simple statement:"We don't do fear"Some might say this irresponsible, but I say it's brilliant to seize on the moment and offer a counter point that's so true to the brand and its ridership. It's brave and gutsy, just like the brand. I don't have the ad, but there's a taste of it on the Harley web site. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Screw

clay shirky's talk about the cognitive surplus
2008-05-01 07:12:00
Lots of smart thinking in this from Clay Shirky's presentation at the Web 2,0 conference and therefore, plenty to steal, or use and build upon, depending on where you stand. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Talk , Surplus

how far can you go with an idea that's bigger than your product?
2008-04-30 18:59:00
AEG Electrolux has embarked on an interesting campaign in Europe, the company sells quieter washing machines and has developed a campaign about noise pollution to sell them. I've often talked about the need for brands to rally around a big idea that transcends their products, but I am not sure about this one. It certainly works great in the cities where AEG's innovative interactive billboards inform citizens of noise levels, but it seems a little far removed from the washing machine that creates a fraction of the noise compared to construction work and of course, transportation. On the positive side, it demonstrates good citizenship in helping drive awareness about an important and often ignored topic. I also wonder if AEG has got themselves wrapped up in an issue that's too big for them to make an impact?When Unilever celebrated the goodness of kids getting dirty and playing, they could demonstrate their belief in the idea by taking urban kids on trips out to the countryside. Ot...
More About: Product , Idea

psfk conference in san francisco july 17th
2008-04-30 07:23:00
The PSFK empire knows no boundaries and it was just a matter of time before it landed in San Francisco . On July 17th, Piers is hosting a conference here in town and I am flattered to have been asked to speak. It looks he has already lined up a great bunch of presenters, including some friends and people I've been wanting to meet for some time; Adrian Ho, Zeus Jones, Andrew Hoppin, NASA, Chris Riley, Apple, Eric Ryan, Method, Jean-Marie Shields, Starbucks, Mark Lewis, DDB, Polly LaBarre, CNN, Rohit Bhargava, Ogilvy PR.NOTE: This is a partial list. More details on the event can be found here. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Conference

starbucks and crowdsurfing - the ideas are flooding in
2008-04-30 07:12:00
Back in March, Starbucks asked their customers for ideas, it created a website and the ideas have been been flooding in, exceeding the expectations of the company. It makes me thing that every brand should be doing this, why not?Here are the top 20 ideas that are being considered. It's a great list that includes new products and experiences, ways to reduce waste and more healthy items. Option to not print Receipts Complimentary Wi-Fi The Road Trip Great Conversations at Starbucks Starbucks Facts on Cups Punch card system Coffee Ice Cubes Dark Chocolate Mocha Flavored Foam More Sugar Free Syrups & Sauces (more than 180 posted ideas for this!) Increased Personal Cup Discount Healthy, High Protein Breakfast Smaller Portion Sizes More Whole Grains Gluten Fr...
More About: Ideas , Flooding

the brits and american culture
2008-04-28 23:17:00
"Grand Theft Auto IV is such a simultaneously adoring and insightful take on modern America that it almost had to come from somewhere else. The game’s main production studio is in Edinburgh, and Rockstar’s leaders, the brothers Dan and Sam Houser, are British expatriates who moved to New York to indulge their fascination with urban American culture. Their success places them firmly among the distinguished cast of Britons from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards through Tina Brown who have flourished by identifying key elements of American culture, repackaging them for mass consumption and selling them back at a markup."NYTPosted by Ed Cotton
More About: Culture , American Culture , Brits

does you data viz fit your brand?- current tv's does
2008-04-28 22:11:00
Interesting data visualization exercise from the folks at Current TV. It's a technique that fits the brand. In 48 seconds they cover the 500 most popular images on current.com. The length of time the image stays on the screen represents its popularity. Done as an experiment for the Web 2.0 conference and spotted here. Posted by Ed Cotton
More About: Data , Brand