Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

For National Geographic / Discovery channel-types or for those of you with inquisitive kids – here's an ambitious project to immerse visitors in all of the species of Organisms on Earth, coming in 2008:
 
http://www.eol.org/
 
“Comprehensive, collaborative, ever-growing, and personalized, the Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Our goal is to create a constantly evolving encyclopedia that lives on the Internet, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike. To transform the science of biology, and inspire a new generation of scientists, by aggregating all known data about every living species. And ultimately, to increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity”
 
Watch the video – starts out slow but they give you a nice preview of what is to come including some nice integration with Google Earth and an interesting means of traversing the nodes of a genus/species evolutionary classification tree.
 
Tomas Roldan

For all you Homer Simpson fans who've been craving a pink-frosted Sprinklicious doughnut, this is for you.

7-Eleven partnered with Twentieth Century Fox this past weekend and agreed to alter the identity of 11 convenience stores across the nation to promote the forthcoming "The Simpsons Movie".
 
The stores were converted into Kwik-E-Marts, stocking products made famous by the show such as Buzz Cola and other Simpsons favorites.  Employees wore uniforms with the Kwik-E Mart logo, and said "Thank you, come again," to customers.
 
This unique gorilla marketing idea did a great job engaging loyal fans of the show, driving them in droves to the convenience store to clean out the shelves of all items “Simpsons” as well as hyping the movie release.
 
Read all about it here. 
 
More store photos here.
 
Henriette (Cohn) Anapolsky

At the time of this writing, a search of ‘Jeep’ on Flickr.com yields 99,794 results. That may seem rather inconsequential when you consider the volume of user-gen photography on Flickr, or the entire web for that matter. But consider this - that’s 30K more than if you search ‘Toyota’ or ‘Coke’; 50K more than ‘Nike’ or ‘Chevy’; 80K more than ‘Scion’. I think our strategy folks say it best…”Jeep people don’t collect things, they collect experiences.”

There are, of course, more scientific ways to measure brand affinity, but our search query test certainly helped in showing the client that the Jeep brand mojo is very much alive and well in the world of user-gen, social media. Whether its Youtube, Flickr, Myspace or any other place on the web where people share experiences, Jeep owners distill the brand down to its very essence, celebrating one simple truth – these are fun machines, for fun people.

Our partner agency, Cutwater, has tapped into that fun mojo with the new brand campaign and tagline, “Have fun out there. Jeep.” And in collaboration with Cutwater, the Organic Jeep team built havefunoutthere.com, the tip of the iceberg in what will evolve into a long-term, social media party where everyone is invited. Later this Summer, Phase Two will launch with expanded reach into more social media properties, more user-gen interaction and more of that Jeep mojo.

By the way, after an hour of writing this post, ‘Jeep’ results on Flickr are now at 99,872.

Happy 4th of July! Hope you're out there having fun and collecting the experiences!

Adam Wilson and team
 

If you have an interest in mass psychology and the power of advertising,  this is a remarkably eloquent and epic 4 part series from BBC 4 and director Adam Curtis which explores the influence of Freudian psychoanalysis and Edward Bernays’ PR techniques in shaping western mass media, politics and consumer culture.

If you can look past the dark and ominous veneer and sit through the 4 one hour segments – it will provide some truly  relevant back story for anyone involved in the advertising industry  and especially those that use powerful empathy tools like personas. 

More details of each episode below ...

Here's a collection of images that reflect individuals and events that have changed our World.

(Warning: several are pretty dark reflecting the dark nature of mankind.)

When you look through these, you're reminded of how truly powerful a single still image can be - how it can capture and convey an idea and tell a story.

Worth remembering in today's broadband-enabled, immersive experiential world.

David Feldt 

Usually airline online experiences or airlines for that matter are not known to make us laugh and we rather hurry along, do our business of booking and leave. However, Jet Blue recently teamed up with 20th Century Fox as one of several co-branded sponsors of the upcoming Simpson's Movie.  Early this week we talked about the Kwik-E-Mart/7 Eleven promotion, and you can view all of the participating brands at See Yellow.com .

However, for me, Jet Blue truly took a gamble and their site is, as Mr. Burns would say "excellent":

http://www.jetblue.com/simpsons

Not to start a flame war with rabid Apple fans, but I'm wondering what the opinion of the collective mind is regarding this article posted on Engadget about close similarities between various Apple advertising campaigns and works from uncredited artists.  Examples cited included Louis Psihoyos' video installation wall (bottom photo, vs. the Apple ad above) and a shot-for-shot recreation of a music video from indie band Death Cab for Cutie.
 
I don't think anyone can justly accuse engadget of being anti-Apple, with the way they gush over any Apple release.  I believe it is an honest gut-check on their part to publish the article, and put a spot light on Apple's "borrowing" of creative inspiration.

It raises a few questions, doesn't it? Is it an honest attempt to humanize the digital medium, bringing creativity to the environment?  Or is it disregard for the artists themselves?
 
Personally, in the case of using artists work without actual sign-off from the artist, I wonder if Apple is a victim of their own success.  As companies grow and expand (rapidly!) there tends to be a wider and wider gap between the hand doing the negotiating and the hand creating the campaign.  With launch dates and deadline looming, is it possible the creative and marketing teams at Apple simply could not afford to wait on the negotiation with the artist to be finalized - to the point that when negotiations faltered the cost already incurred far outweighed the implications of reworking the campaign from scratch?  At that point, of course, the decision no longer lies with the creative or marketing teams - can they really be held accountable?
 
What do you think?
 
Tim Willison

Our Warner Bros. team in SF worked on the advertising campaign to promote the upcoming International release of the fifth Harry Potter film.
 
In this spellbinding tale, Harry, Ron, Hermione and their friends fight two battles: one against Dark Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters and another against Hogwarts oppressive new Headmistress, Delores Umbridge, and her band of snitches.  The excitement and fun of the school shines against the darker side of the story and the Flash experiences in our ads capture both aspects.
 
The online campaign is a mix of custom edited Video ads, Standard Flash ads (squeezed into 30k), along with the 30k “Proclamations” ad which allows you to print your very own proclamation from the banner. (In the film Umbridge’s Proclamations are an endless source of frustration and hilarity for the Hogwarts students). We also created an Interactive Expandable ad which allows users to explore the Ministry of Magic, interact with the characters in the movie, and download some goodies. And lastly, a Yahoo Overlay Ad which will start running on Yahoo Movies UK this week leading up to the movie release.
 
All the ads can be viewed at the link below. Congratulations to the team on an amazing collection of work!
 
http://awards.organic.com/HarryPotter5/

Celia von Bernuth 

Graffiti has always been stuck in a grey region between vandalism and art; personally I would argue the latter, but that is another story. Combined with the ease of digital photography these days, a new form of art has emerged termed “Light Graffiti”.

This process utilizes a long exposure and some form of light (LEDs, Glowsticks, etc.) - It's great for street artists since it is simple to execute and is not illegal, like its more tactile counterpart.

On a recent trip to Montreal, I saw some beautiful photographs in a gallery that utilized this technique. At first glance I thought the photographs were directly painted on or digitally manipulated. Check out some examples here.

Light Graffiti was recently used at www.sprintahead.com (a new campaign for Sprint by Goodby Silverstein.)

So if you're up for some experimental photography, try it out…don’t forget to have fun.

Joe Gamalinda 

HBO Voyeur is a collection of stories that play out through an interactive flash site.  You can watch multiple story lines at one time, and zoom in to focus on one.  Characters will move from one apartment to another, connecting their stories.  More than just that site, you can follow the “learn more” link where it leads you to some interesting info. 

It’s an experience from HBO that allows users to immersive themselves in learning the true meaning of the stories created.  Users are encouraged to search for the artifacts of the story which are strewn across the web, and cable (HBO, HBO OnDemand). 

Ultimately the “experience” is convergence of multiple media channels that make us question, why we like to watch.  

This is an example of how media companies are recognizing a pattern of the fragmented consumption of content/media and the direction they are taking to connect with us. 

I highly recommended that you check it out.

Chris Chavkin

Note once you have visited the main site, check out the blog here.

I was sent this article from the NY Times today about JC Penney's new approach to advertising and wanted to share it with everyone. After years of dull product-focused ads, the middle-market retailer is looking to create an emotional connection with the brand.

As a follow up to reading this I jumped around on YouTube to track down some of the new ads from Saatchi & Saatchi. I hadn’t seen any of them. I stumbled across this one which — in my opinion — is a masterful example of short-form storytelling. No prices. No labels. No consumer benefits. Just emotion.

The summation given in the Times article is a poignant statement about speaking to today’s savvy audience — regardless of medium: “There is one thing I have learned. If you are doing the same old warmed-over product-based stuff that everyone else is doing, you are wasting your money.”

I’m really looking forward to seeing what JCPenny does with the “flipped” Webisodes.

Scott D. Lange

Here are two great little security applications that attempt to simplify the online authentication process while making sites more resistant to bot and brute force attacks. Vidoop is a digital authentication system that eliminates the need for multiple and complex passwords. By making authentication dependent on image recognition and human cognition its creators have found a way to circumvent the need for traditional text-based passwords.

A Vidoop password is a sequence of image categories. If a user selects the categories “stereo, beverage, and boat” then that user will be required to select variations of those images, in that order, every time they log on. When signing on to a Vidoop enabled site a user is shown a grid containing a series of eight photographs with a single character overlaid on each image. By selecting the images that correspond to their predetermined password categories the user automatically enters a single use access code. Each time a user engages Vidoop the images in the grid are repositioned and repopulated with new variations. So, an image in the category “boat” may, at any given interval, be of a speedboat, a sailboat, or a canoe. The system may not totally hack-proof, but it beats having to remember several or more complex text-based passwords.

What makes Vidoop really interesting is its potential as an advertising platform. The images in the grid can be sponsored. So, for example, if the sponsor is an automotive brand every password that contains the category “car” will display a grid with an image of one of that brand’s vehicles.

Hotcaptcha is a similar, less sophisticated, visual authentication application. It is designed as a captcha alternative, primarily to prevent bot-run spam attacks. The images displayed in the grid are ported from the infamous hotornot.com. Users authenticate through the subjective process of selecting the three images of people that are “hot.”  It’s a fun idea that could be made commercially viable by opening it up to a sponsorship model like Vidoop’s. Above all, it’s better than having to read those wonky numbers.

Dan Neumann

It is a busy time in the online space – competition for top talent has never been as fierce as it is now, with many studios vying for the best and most creative minds.  This is not surprising, as there is a great deal of revenue at stake.  More and more it is becoming recognized that creativity is a chief contributing factor in the success (or lack thereof) of not just studios, but entire metro economies.  For an interesting discussion of the economic impact of fostering creativity, see Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida.

Here in Toronto, the results of an extensive investigation into fostering creativity have recently been released (imagineatoronto.ca) and support the notion that cities, and by extension companies, can live or die on their ability to seek out, and retain, top creative talent.  So how is it done?

1. Grow your own.  These days a company that does not have a viable continued learning program will die.  Unfortunately, too many companies see this as a problem they must throw money at to solve.  It is, rather, an opportunity that often requires a small amount of time investment over money.  Smart companies recognize mentors in their midst, and use their own people’s natural talent for teaching to great effect.  Learning programs should be extended to anyone in the company, including contractors.  Contractors represent the most viable source of talent for companies in a growth period – why not develop continued good relationships with them?  Continued learning is often an all-or-nothing proposition because it thrives on group spirit.  It is hard to have half of a company involved in continued learning.

User Generated Advertising – we’ve heard a lot about it.  From the natural expression of enthusiasm for a product (Apple) to more ham-fisted attempts by brands to get users to rearrange their assets into ads (Chevy Tahoe), user generated advertising is on everyone’s minds.  Now, it’s Al Gore’s turn.  Gore’s been on a roll for the last year, almost single-handedly keeping climate change on everyone’s mind.  Prius, one of the more annoying cars to drive, is now a status symbol for caring for the earth. 

Just short of one zillion people caught Kelly Clarkson at the Live Earth concerts talking about how easy it turns out to be to change a lightbulb.  Now, as Gore’s presidential awareness campaign continues, he has announced a competition, open to anyone at all, to create an ad campaign explaining global warming and calling viewers to action.  Whether donors are found to buy airtime or not, we can assume the winners will get a lot of play on news shows and YouTube. 

I admit I’m annoyed that the spots are all video.  Why leave out ad formats that work better online?  In announcing the contest – the unfortunate prize for which is a car (ok, a hybrid Toyota Highlander, but still) – he offered as a template a truly excellent ad that an environmental group in Australia did (http://www.climateprotect.org/ah12).  We can’t wait to see what people come up with, we’re big believers in user generated content.  But when this is the template people are asked to aspire to, the if-you-have-a-camera-you-can-create-content ethos is going to be put to a serious quality challenge.

Matt Rosenberg

You may remember last spring’s addictive Google movie tie-in with The Da Vinci Code. In keeping with the film’s puzzle themes, a dedicated Google site offered a series of brainteasers whose solutions required careful study of movie preview clips and extensive use of Google search to complete. 

Google has upped the ante this summer with a partnership to promote Universal's The Bourne Ultimatum, the third installation of an action thriller starring Matt Damon as a rogue spy. 

This is a masterful piece of product placement and product promotion, right down to a (perfectly credible) in-film Google search. 

The Search for Bourne, which launched today, is an interactive game that requires not just use of Google search but Google maps, images, translation, and YouTube.  As with the Da Vinci promo, there are daily puzzles to complete which keep the user coming back to interact with the Google brand, as well as keeping the film top-of-mind through what is essentially a fifteen-day countdown to the film’s general release.

According to this press release, the chance to showcase its more obscure products was so compelling to Google agreed to host the game for free.  From our friends at Big Spaceship.  Happy hunting!

Misha Cornes

You may have read that UTA, one of the large Hollywood talent and literary agencies, has partnered with Spotrunner to start a “studio” called 60Frames, which will create video content to pair with brands.  They see that many brands are unwilling to take a high-budget flyer with user generated content and see an opportunity to leverage their stables of professional writers, directors, and actors.  In fact, the first film makers they are working with are the Coen brothers, which gives them some instant credibility.  There is a lot to chew on here, but the story underneath the story is, I think, the canary in this coalmine. 

Between UTA’s move and CAA’s finding VC money for Will Ferrell to develop funnyordie.com (no doubt you’re among the 40 million people who saw his first video, “The Landlord”), the Hollywood agencies seem to be looking beyond the ten percent business.  In the short term, there’s a likely work stoppage coming when the writers guild likely goes on strike after their contract runs out.  It is in the agencies’ interests to find non-Guild work for their talent in order to keep revenue coming in.  But in the long term, the agencies may be doing what their clients have largely failed to do, which is get nimble and hedge against the decline of the old media business model by looking for new ways to monetize their assets.  I think that just the first couple of kernals have popped and we may see a lot more new digital efforts coming out of the Hollywood talent community in the very near future.

Both the New York Times and trend forecasting experts Iconoculture featured pieces this week on bottled water - specifically, emerging consumer awareness about the environmental effects of drinking bottled water. 

“'More than 90 percent of the environmental impacts from a plastic bottle happen before the consumer opens it,” said Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Oil for plastic, oil for shipping, oil for refrigeration — and in the end, most of the effort goes to landfills.'"

That delicious, $4 bottle of Fiji water?  It traveled 8,000 miles to get here. 43 million gallons of water are shipped from Europe every year, creating 3800 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 660 cars running for a year.  And what about all those used bottles? 

There's no question that water is more healthful than any other drink.  But once again, it's proof that there's no free lunch when it comes to "doing the right thing", whether for yourself or for the environment.   

From a marketing perspective, there are two opportunities here.  The Times emphasizes an advertising push from city governments to make drinking tap water cool again.  Iconoculture points to a reduced environmental footprint as the next evolution in the “cause water” category.  First was Ethos, acquired by Starbucks, which donates some profits to help purify water in developing nations.  Now BIOTA is one of the first to market with the bottles made from biodegradable/compostable corn. Something tells me that the convenience of portable water and the marketing savvy of CPG companies will ultimately win out.  photo credit: wellingtondany

Misha Cornes 

Today I came home to find an unexpected package sitting on my front porch. It was a small box from Samuel Adams Brewing Company. Inside the box was a note, a small booklet, and 2 glasses designed to maximize the enjoyment of their beer. The glasses were sent to me free of charge from Sam Adams for being a subscriber to Beer Advocate magazine. The glasses were designed by Jim Koch, Brewmaster at Sam Adams, along with several several beer and wine critics. The goal was to design a glass to enhance the flavor of the beer, just like different wine glasses enhance the flavor of different wines. The end result was glass with a unique shape designed to highlight malty beers and bring out the aroma of hops.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any Boston Lager in the house, but I did have some Sam Adams Summer Ale. The glass did seem a bit small, but it held a 12oz bottle perfectly, with the head stopping at the rim. The bottom of the glass has a very thin circle etched into it, which released a slow stream of bubbles. The walls are very thin, similar to those on wine glasses. The beer seemed to swirl into the larger bulge as you drank it, releasing a nice hoppy aroma. The beers head was also retained longer than it does in typical pint glass. The beer did seem to finish smoother using this glass when compared to a bottle.

"Undecided" is (what their creators at themovement.info) refer to as:

A product which provides new tools for making decisions through comparative analysis, seeking to provide an alternate model for voter participation through online networks. Voters inform party policy, and parties present platforms to potential supporters. Each of the major parties are allowed to put forward a limited number of issues. These issues then make up the core criteria of The Undecided. The parties are required to take a stance on each issue, which affords side-by-side comparison for undecided voters.

What I really dig about this is its unbiased approach to choosing a political platform - sorta working in reverse like one of those personality tests you find in Cosmo (I don't read Cosmo - just sayin').  And not unlike one of those tests, you learn some pretty shocking things about yourself, politically speaking.

Apart from its obvious agenda, the UI is also really clean and simple - surprisingly fun to navigate. Check it out:

http://www.theundecided.ca/

Mark Rozeluk

UPDATE: Send us your before and after Simpsons portraits! s u b m it at o rg an i c do t c om 

http://www.simpsonizeme.com

Simpsonize Me is a newly launched “Web 2.0” tie-in with The Simpsons Movie release and - surprise! - the front end of a Burger King summer promotion.  If it works the way it looks it does, I think it’s brilliant – there’s been a huge surge in traffic today the site is running pretty slowly right now – the nice tie in with BK’s “Have It Your Way” tagline, for example.  

I...
...like the BK landing page with the Simpson eyes that follow you around. And the animated gauges.
...wonder how long before these start becoming profile pictures?
...am curious about what happens with photos of pets/animals... or different photos of famous people?

More from mashable.com
The press release
And of course by now Kwik-E mart promotional items can now be found on Craigslist (check the Krusty O’s @ $100/case of 12!)

Your thoughts?

Jay Bain

Recently I’ve noticed a new trend in site design, which is the use of full motion video as a background — a kind of moving desktop wallpaper, over which information is laid. Now, when I started out in design (way back in the last century, with the coal-fired computers) one of the fundamental tenets of the craft was that “good” design directed and focused the viewer’s eye around the page/screen. And even for web design that largely holds true, especially with regards to UI. But as with so many things, technological advances are changing the rules, at least on a design level. Example 1:

http://www.visionstreetwear.com

Whew. (Attn fogeys: the music “Off” is top right.) I actually love the look of all this, perfect for the brand, even if the content itself isn’t as energized as the video. Furthermore, once I realized the video was just looping, I “pulled back “and used the navigation (although I thought it was funny that for all the sensory overload of this site, there are no “over” states on the buttons!). At one point, they even run video clips over the video background. That is some serious picture-in-picture action.

Take a dip in the Idea Pond, a creative place for visitors to submit,
discuss, and vote upon their best ideas related to the topics of
sustainability in technology. Challenges include “eWaste”, “Power
Conservation”, and “Untapped Resources”.

Geek Squad is sponsoring the online challenge as part of their main sponsor role for IdeaFestival 2007, an event that attracts leading, diverse, and accomplished thinkers from across the nation and around the globe to explore and celebrate innovation and cutting-edge ideas. Geek Squad agents guide users throughout the site with inspirational video tips and articles about sustainability in the “Knowledge Pod”.

Organic designed the playful contest online ad campaign and microsite, which features a richly interactive “idea board” interface that allows a user to upload photos, link to video, and use drawing tools to support their big idea.  The top 10 ideas for each topic that receive the most and highest rankings will become finalists. Winners will be flown to Louisville Kentucky to participate in Idea Festival “do-tanks” and collaborate with renowned innovators such as Steve Wozniak, Michael Kaku, Ray Bradbury and others. 

Submit an idea and vote now, and stay tuned for the agent blog that will detail the festival events as they happen.

Angela Di Pietro 

In the 2+ years that we have been running ThreeMinds, no post has garnered more responses than last week's Simpsonize Yourself.  As of today, 29 71 people have weighed in, mostly to express their dismay about the broken experience.  This tells me a few things:

1. The Web audience LOVES The Simpsons. 
2. The concept of creating a Simpsons character from your own face was an inspired piece of co-branded marketed. Simpsons fans have displayed almost infinite patience with the faulty rendering engine. 
3. People crave a community of experience.  Since there was no commuity functionality on the site, folks couldn't resist venting on ThreeMinds, pleading for help, or bragging that they had beaten the system.  "Share your image" seems like it would have been a no-brainer.
4. After setting such high expectations, both Burger King and The Simpsons franchise have given themselves a serious black eye by falling down so badly on the execution of the site. 

Favorite comment? "Me fail web design? That's unpossible." -Ralph Wiggum

Misha Cornes

This is exceptional because of how a single change can make such a potentially large impact.

When your screen is white - an empty word page, or the Google page, your computer consumes 74 watts, and when it’s black it consumes only 59 watts. Mark Ontkush wrote an article about the energy saving that would be achieved if Google had a black screen, taking in account the huge number of page views. According to his calculations, 750 mWh per year would be saved. That’s the kWh per year that 1,000 average US refrigerators would use. Ok, so it’s not an enormous amount to stave off global warming, but it’s significant just by doing something small like changing the color. (Of course in the world of graphic or visual design, changing a color isn’t small.)

In a response to this article Google created a black version of its search engine, called BLACKLE, with the exact same functions as the white version but with a lower energy consumption. Check it out ! 

http://www.blackle.com/

With questions submitted via YouTube and answered by the Democratic candidates onstage at The Citadel, last night's presidential debate was a watershed moment in digital culture. While the 1960 election was famously influenced by Nixon's decision to forego makeup, which made him look extra sweaty on the small screen, the next election may be decided by digital-age savvy. No matter what happens with our oft-indifferent electorate (one can hope that this level of accessibility would prove to be motivational), the real winner last night was YouTube, which furthered its inroads into the political discourse with an impressive showcase of its populist potential.

Within hours of the debate's conclusion, Barack Obama's camp had fired off a mass e-mail citing the Washington Post's favorable review of his performance in the morning fish wrap. It also linked to a video of one of his most poignant responses of the evening (about Iraq, natch), as well as a clip from 2002 where he is making much the same point. Pretty clever use of technology to drive home an important point about consistency. Oh, and of course it has send-to-friend functionality too.

But alas this is a nonpartisan commentary about the utility of Web 2.0 technologies to run a lithe and agile campaign, not an endorsement. And I'm certain that Obama's camp isn't the only one that's running mad-crazy digital game to motivate that sleepier 50% of voting-age adults. Feel free to use the comments to highlight some others that you've come across. Regardless, the real winner last night was (once again) YouTube, which may in fact have a role to play in re-democratizing the national discourse.

Watch the highlights by clicking here.

Daniel Turman

 
Awareness of the environmental, social and health impacts of suburban sprawl has increased in the past few years and has inspired a lively debate in the United States and Canada.
 
As we North Americans battle obesity, one simple solution may be to move to a denser area: People who live in suburban areas walk less and tend to be less fit than their urban counterparts. Unfortunately, those suburbanites who do get out of their cars to walk or cycle are more likely to be hit by a car as roads are not built to accommodate pedestrians or cyclists.
 
Environmentally, suburban sprawl contributes to deforestation, global warming, water quality degradation and species loss. A family of four living in an urban sprawl area will drive 40 more miles a day than the same family living in a walkable urban area. If that suburban family is driving a car (not an SUV), they are releasing 37 more pounds of Carbon Dioxide into the air than the urban family, every day.
 
However, social interactions are another story. Contrary to popular belief, a denser area does not contribute to increased social interactions between neighbors. A new study by UC Irvine shows that for each 10% decrease in density, the chances that residents are talking to their neighbors at least once a week increases by at least 10%. Someone please tell my neighbors this as I live in a very dense area and I can't walk to the store without being stopped for at least three separate friendly chats and invites to BBQs.
 
Ok, so you've added up the pros and cons and are sold on living in a walkable area - but how do you know where that is?  Walkscore.com plugs your address into Google Maps and then adds up all of your neighborhood facilities that are in a walkable distance. Your house is then given a "walkability" rating on how easily you could live in that area without using a car. The results show you all of your local shops, restaurants, schools, libraries and parks.
 
It's also a very handy way to discover that grocery store or new bar around the corner!
 
http://www.walkscore.com/index.shtml
 
Camas Winsor

I had a fun time judging last night's NewTeeVee Pier Screenings.  This was the third in a series of user-generated content showcases, this one dedicated to short films involving product placement.  I was joined by Tim Street of FrenchMaidTV and the Greg Goodfried, one the co-founders of LonelyGirl15 and the real star of the show.

The audience of more than 200 had that same casual energy, geeky pride, and we're-part-of-something-really-big optimism that I remember from the dot-com boom.  That became a dirty word in the Bay Area, but personally I remember that time fondly. It made me feel like an old-timer.

For me, the evening gave me a number of insights about the current state-of-the-art in indie web filmmaking:

We still expect web content to look it was shot in someone's bedroom.  The winning entry, a static camera on a guy painting a wall mural of Colonel Sanders using the sauce from pieces of KFC Teriyaki Chicken, had the kind of quickfire whoah-what-was-that originality of the best YouTube material. I was fascinated to learn that the LonelyGirl crew, now one of the most professional independent web shows around, deliberately dumbs down the shooting style to match the show's original (faux) webcam format.

Be pro, or be amateur. Don't get caught it the middle. The higher production value videos suffered the most, because they weren't slick enough to pass for a TV commercial ported to the web.  Somehow because they didn't look totally homemade, the audience was less forgiving of bad lighting, thin dialogue, or dance steps that weren't quite in sync.  You really get a sense of how limited your patience is online when you are watching something on a big screen and you can't close the window.

It's harder than you think.  The great thing about the explosion of video online is the huge numbers of people who are trying their hand at the medium.  It's also the worst thing.  I talked about the sniff test for judging "viral" videos- would you pass it on to your own friends? Despite the success of shows like LonelyGirl, Ask A Ninja, or Prom Queen, the door is still open for Hollywood types to crash the party.

We're obviously in a state of flux in terms of the evolution of web content.  There's clearly a difference, for example, between episodic web shows (and the fanatical audiences they attract) and the kind of snack-food videos that typically get passed around to more mainstream audiences (see, for example, this amateur video picked up by McDonalds).  Will one form win out?

Misha Cornes

ABC.com just announced that it is testing streaming HD video over the Internet ... The technology is provided by Move Networks, and it's pretty impressive. Their clients include ABC and Fox.

Check out the demo or go to the Fox MySpace Page or ABC's Episodes Player - It's still in beta and you'll need to install the HD player.

David Feldt

When looking for inspiration for innovative interface and interaction design, the first place I turn is to video games.  When done well, these design elements become integral to the gameplay itself, woven into the experience where the flow between action and configuration becomes seamless.
 
This weeks source of inspiration is the recently released Dirt--the latest Colin McRae franchise rally racing game--has a unique menu system that is unlike any other.  And yet, it takes about 5 seconds to learn.  
 
Check it out:
 
http://uk.media.xbox360.ign.com/media/826/826336/vid_1993340.html
 
Charlie Zicari

For the upcoming all-CG Robert Zemeckis movie Beowulf, the animators used a process called Electrooculography ("OEG") which maps the actor’s eye movements, down to the eye-lid flutters.  They place three sensors on the skin around the actor’s eyes that pick up electrical pulses given off by the eye muscles and surrounding nerves. 

The result, I think you will agree, is pretty damn impressive. The overall animation is pretty mind-blowing too.
 
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/beowulf

Daryl Brewer

As the interactive Agency of Record for Best Buy's Geek Squad brand, we're pretty interested in the NBC's new fall show, Chuck's Secret. Chuck is a sad-sack tech support guy who becomes an unwitting spy. His character works for "Nerd Herd", a subsidiary of "Buy More", where all the employees wear green polos (instead of blue).

Leaving aside the merits of the show, which looks a cross between Alias and a Jimmy Fallon movie, this pilot breaks new ground for product placement.   I haven't been able to find any official announcements, but it looks a number of brands have already inked deals to be featured in the series. 

Chuck's official site, launched this week, takes the browsing experience inside Chuck's laptop.  It makes sense, because Chuck is a wired 20-something Geek. And wired 20-somethings use applications like Digg, Del.icio.us, Twitter, Ning, Xbox Live, and Last.FM, all featured on his "desktop".  (Although the most built-out co-branded experience is a themed area for Meez, which is aimed at a much younger audience.)

I think this is great example of not hitting the audience over the head.  There are natural synergies here, much like the partnership between The Office and Staples.  Could it be that a primetime TV show will take these cult Web 2.0 applications mainstream?

Misha Cornes

Here's a simple but very entertaining site for Léo et Choc, two voiceless cartoon characters that promote chocolate milk in Quebec.  I've never seen the series before, but it looks like each vignette ends with either Léo (the milk) or Choc (the chocolate) killing the other and, uh, drinking him, then exploding. Fun!

http://leoetchoc.com

The site is being seeded through in-game advertising on XBox live as well as pre-rolls on major video sites.  According to a press release from Touché! PHD, this is also one of the first campaigns to use an interrupt model during video playback. A "video egg" is displayed as a semi-transparent overlay on top of the video window.  If the user clicks, whatever content he or she was watching stops and the advertising rolls instead.  Thanks Yannick.

Misha Cornes