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02/ 1/2008

Garmin Targets the iPhone

garminnuviphone-lg1.jpg In a surprise move by Garmin, the GPS maker announced that they are planning on targeting the quickly emerging iPhone world of touch screen mobile devices, with the Nuvifone. The big hits so far are 3G, GPS (obviously), Wi-Fi, and integration with Google maps. No mention yet of specifics such as storage size, operating system, or music capabilities. However, the idea of building a phone around a GPS unit is an interesting one.

Look for it this summer.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/01/30/garmin.nuviphone/

Max Zabramny

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Visualizing the 2008 Presidential Race

presidentialwatch.jpg
http://presidentialwatch08.com/index.php/map/

Presidential Watch 2008 has launched a set of tools to see, hear and feel what citizens and supporters are saying on the Internet about the 2008 US presidential elections. Their non-partisan observation of the 2008 netcampaign monitors and analyzes the important trends of the campaign, the opinions of citizens and the continuously evolving standings of the candidates taking part in the race, from the primaries to the final run-up.

The tools give users a great insight on the presidential race by answering questions such as: Where is the debate happening? What are the hot topics on the agenda? Who's making the news? Who are the online community leaders?

One of its tools features a Map of the Political Blogosphere, highlighting the 292 influential sites and opinion hubs making the online debate on the presidential race. The map shows the different political communities represented by: Progressive, Independent, Conservative and Mass Media.  Courtesy of Visual Complexity (also a really cool site if you like Tufte)

John Stoll

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02/ 3/2008

Thoughts on MySpace's Closing Arguments

myspacedebate.jpgSaturday, February 2nd, MySpace and MTV hosted, Closing Arguments, a "super dialogue" between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama and Ron Paul.  The event was supposed to represent the candidates final dialogue to a crowd of mostly young voters before Super Tuesday, and make most of the interactive tools brought to the table by the social network sponsor, MySpace.  While it was certainly a highly watchable event, much opportunity was lost by not pushing the interactivity far enough.

Continue reading "Thoughts on MySpace's Closing Arguments" »

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02/ 4/2008

Superbowl Ads I

SUPERBOWL-42-LOGO.gif The Superbowl has come and gone, and the NY Giants’ surprising 17-14 upset over the Patriots has been called one the best games in history.  As exciting as the game was to many, I prefer watching the commercials.  Unfortunately, they don’t show the same commercials here in Canada, so I got to repeatedly see ads for upcoming CTV shows.  This year, the NFL and Fox rightly anticipated peoples fascination with, and demand for, the ads by creating a MySpace page preloaded with all the ads, broken down quarter by quarter (nice tie-in by Fox of their key online media property).  They even advertised it during the game.  Check it out at

http://www.myspace.com/superbowlads

For the geeks, Valleywag has also compiled a list of the Top 10 most memorable tech-oriented Super Bowl commercials ads ever here.

Warning: Do not watch the dreadful, yawn inducing, Sales Genie ads. I don’t think there is anything remotely memorable about them, which leads me to believe they sponsor Valleywag.

Gautham Hegde

Superbowl Ads II

Super-dooper-expert-commentary on the super bowl can be found here:

http://www.superadfreak.com/2008/02/super-bowl-xlii.html

It’s actually kind of fun to scan through and read the real-time comments and reactions as the ads broke.

I was just as big of a nerd with my laptop open, waiting for www.thewebsiteforthiscommercial.com.

Adam Wilson

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Superbowl Ads III

USA Today’s Ad meter checks the second by second responses of a panel of viewers during super bowl ads and ranks them from best to worse.  It also shows these ratings across demographic segments.
 
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2008admeter.htm

It’s a very interesting tool for monitoring what exactly got people’s approval for each ad.
 
Joshua Fischer

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Superbowl Ads IV

A couple of advertisements really stood out for me, not for their ad meter quality, but because they broke new ground.

On the positive side, Sunsilk's spot was the first Superbowl ad that I can recall aimed directly at women.  Nice to see women finally acknowledged as sports fans.

On the negative side, Sales Genie used questionable racial stereotypes to promote its services - an Indian man and his seven kids, Asian pandas with Mr. Wong accents.  Stir in a decidedly low-budget animation look, and you have a recipe for a terrible waste of money.  Blog commentators like Jason Calacanis agree.

Misha Cornes

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The Coolest Coming Soon Page Ever? Maybe.

akari.jpg Using sound and fancy equalizer visuals, Akari Inc. has created what could possibly the coolest “under construction/coming soon” page ever. Sound, I’ve always believed, is a highly overlooked element in websites, but Akari uses regular everyday sounds to get you to listen and visuals to keep you interested.

What is Akari Inc.? Who cares, I hope we never find out based on this pretty site.

Check it out at: http://www.aka.jp/ (while its still coming soon)

Lau Ardelean

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02/ 5/2008

Busy?

50568093.JPG I recently started reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, and while I don’t plan on quitting my job to start selling widgets and become a millionaire, I was intrigued by some of his recommendations for time management and achieving efficiencies in your day-to-day life. One of the first things he mentions in his book as a way to achieve personal time nirvana, is to outsource your life as much as possible to personal assistants.  This includes outsourcing your inbox!

Not to worry, he doesn’t expect everyone to have personal assistants, but instead recommends getting affordable virtual personal assistants who will do everything from setting appointments with your doctor, to paying your bills.  AskSunday is one which seems fairly reasonable.  This flow chart shows how it all works.

Granted, the flow chart doesn’t cover any of life's contingencies, but hey I haven't had a personal assistant, so maybe life really can be put into four colorful boxes if you have someone in the background taking care of things for you.   For the low low monthly subscription price of $29, AskSunday will process up to 30 email or phone requests from you.  And you thought you couldn’t afford a personal assistant!

The major concern for most people is obviously going to be the security of their data, and apparently they claim to have “a highly secure data center keeping all of your data safe and protected.  Agents can't see any of the passwords you have provided in the Sunday Portal”.  I'm sure this pithy description of their data protection methods isn't going to be enough comfort for most people, which is why I'd love to know how comfortable you would be in “outsourcing” your life to one of these services?

Gautham Hegde  

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Bembo's Zoo

bemboo.jpg A high concept abecedary (or book arranged in alphabetical order), this site is a highly entertaining graphical exercise for the debut of  deVicq de Cumptich's first book for children.  I can't imagine the book being a better experience than this. 

http://www.bemboszoo.com/

Bill Camp

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JumpChart - An Interactive Sitemap

jumpchart.gif Being a web developer & a user of the web since the early 90’s I consider myself to be a pretty savvy surfer.  I did something last night that I hardly ever do – I clicked an ad on purpose!  *gasp*
 
So I visit the site I do the video tour (4 demos about 20 seconds each) and they had me.  I signed up and played with the service for about a half hour and came away impressed.   Their free version lets you handle 1 project up to 8 pages – more will cost money but it’s not ridiculously expensive.
 
We can all appreciate that for clients it’s sometimes hard to fathom how a site will look and/or behave when all they have in front of them is a collection of flowcharts, wireframes, and visio docs.  That’s the beauty of this service, you can quickly create a site shell in a matter of minutes that produces standards compliant css and xhtml.  The interface is easy to use & updates in realtime (I especially liked their “reorder” nav tool).  
 
My favorite part was the export feature.  You take the zip you download and then place anywhere.  You post it somewhere where the client can see and voila, they have a clickable & interactive shell that gives an insight into the user experience and how the content will be organized.   Instead of a mass of papers/files & the client trying to picture the experience in their head, they now have a clickable and usable “site”.   From this point you can take what was produced by JumpChart and customize the CSS as much as you like and can add all the bells and whistles you desire.
 
To me it’s a no-brainer and an ideal starting point to get up & running quickly. 
 
My one negative is that the service doesn’t appear to accommodate any layout – but that may be asking too much.
 
http://www.jumpchart.com/
 
Patrick Dunphy

02/ 6/2008

Blackberry Tracker

track_history.jpg Organic has been pretty busy with location based applications and various prototypes for our clients. As part of this process, we have spent considerable time with various applications, services and devices - both with GPS and without GPS.

I recently learned about the "Blackberry Tracker" application and web site by Tech9 Computer Solutions which is built for use with the Blackberry 8800 (with GPS) platform. If you have a GPS enabled Blackberry, you are in luck and can experiment with this project.

Essentially, the project tracks your current locations and allows you to share them with friends. In addition, you can set up "Geofences" which will trigger alerts when your device (or perhaps a friends) breaks the perimeter of an area that you define.

Once your locations are tracked, you can view them on top of Google maps or Google earth. You can also  save physical bookmarks of locations of interest, as well as tag various locations for future review.

Its just a matter of time before location based services start to show their potential, and while this project is still in development, it certainly is a good example of features to expect from the mobile future.

Check it out at www.blackberrytracker.com

Devheads should head over to their development wiki where you can get an API license and also take a look at some of their code.

Chad Stoller

02/ 7/2008

City Settings

mehretu-01.jpg Even though I come from an art background, or maybe because of it, I’ve never been one to automatically accept or appreciate a work of art just become someone has labeled it such. So, on a recent trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, when I walked past the work of Julie Mehretu at a distance, I was ready to dismiss it as merely aesthetically pleasing splotches of ink and paint.

It wasn’t until I got within a few inches of one of her massive works that I realized their significance.

“Julie Mehretu’s abstract paintings explore the often unwieldy issues of mobility, social organization, political entanglement, and global competition. Most cities are built, dismantled, and rebuilt over time, yielding structures and spaces that reflect ongoing urban change. Mehretu’s paintings follow a similar course as she layers and, in her most recent works, erases information from her compositions, showing how each new level becomes a foundation for new iterations, stories, and identities. Embedded in her abstract images, are elements taken from architectural blue prints, maps, sports arenas, and commercial logos.”

Photos can’t do them justice. If you go to the DIA, be sure to check out Black City.

Julie Mehretu: City Sittings
The Detroit Institute of Arts
through March 30, 2008

http://www.dia.org/exhibitions/item.asp?webitemid=1059
http://www.universes-in-universe.de/car/istanbul/2003/antrepo1/d-tour-01.htm
http://www.whitecube.com/artists/mehretu/

Sandy Marsh

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02/11/2008

Tide My Talking Stain - UGC Version

Using 'face insertion' technology in an unusual way, this site from Digitas and Oddcast lets users create their own version of the "Silence the Stain" Tide ad from Superbowl Sunday.
 
http://www.mytalkingstain.com
 
A few are already posted on the YouTube page, and the best one will air nationally after the contest ends.  (We talked about this trend last year, and it was a big part of several advertiser's 2007 SuperBowl ads - Ed.)
 
Watching these I went from "what?" to "aha" and laughter different scenarios that I could relate to (and have experienced) were shown. 

The stain voice is not just funny haha but funny very strange (good viral potential?).

Jay Bain

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How Did I Live Without TripIt?

tripitlogo.gif
I'm always intrigued by web 2.0 travel tools, because if anything in the world needs to be made easier it is the process of planning, booking, and taking a trip. TripIt is one of the first tools I have used that actually does what it promises.

TripIt is an online service that allows you to create a "master itinerary" online that you can then access from the web or mobile phone. All your travel plans can be automatically synced with your calendar program. And through a useful social element, you can share trips with family, plan trips with colleagues, and get alerted when your travel plans overlap.

The best part to me, however, is not the full capacity of what it CAN do. What I love is what I DON'T have to do, and that is manually enter the data for my trip. By simply forwarding any confirmation e-mails I get from the hotel, the airline, the car rental company, even OpenTable.com, TripIt slurps in all of the detailed goodness with check-out times and confirmation numbers. And when I log in finally, it knows where I am going and even gives me useful information like directions and weather.



Marta Strickland

02/12/2008

H&M allow consumers to choose

H&M.jpg

As a fashion lover I am always curious to see what new styles are coming out from my favorite brands.  Unfortunately I have yet to find a brand that does so in a way that takes into account my time-line and my interests.  For example, JCrew will send me emails for womens and kids clothing, which have no use to me so I end up canceling my email updates out of frustration. 

I this got an email from H&M and although not perfect I think it is headed in the right direction.  At the bottom of the email (see picture) they have several areas where I can choose how to interact with the brand: their home site, Facebook, MySpace, and also sharing with friends and family.  This allows me to dictate the terms of how I interact with H&M and at the same time allowing me to keep updated on the latest collections.  The idea that brands are communities is something Organic has been preaching for years so I am finally glad that they are finally catching on.  Now my email box is getting one less email and I can interact with H&M where I want to, in my Facebook mini-feed of course.

St.John Oneil-Dunne

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Yes We Can

This video mashup is a collaboration between will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, director Jesse Dylan, and numerous celebrities, set to the words of Barack Obama's inspiring New Hamsphire concession speech.

Since Superbowl weeked, the video has had more than 7 million views on YouTube and another 3.6 million on DipDive, will.i.am's personal site.  I found it incredibly moving and well worth sharing.

If there's a bias on ThreeMinds towards the Obama campaign, it's a function of how effectively he has leveraged new media compared to the other major candidates.  He has clearly inspired the younger demographic that create content online, starting with Hillary 1984 and running through Obama Girl and Obey's Sheperd Fairey.  If Obama is a Mac, Clinton is a PC. 

Read more on the making of the video from The Washington Post.

Misha Cornes

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02/18/2008

Contribution = Connection

obama thanks.jpg

I never thought that contributing money to a political campaign could be an exceptional experience, but I was delighted by how the Obama website made a connection with me and then facilitated a connection between me and another supporter. During each step of the process, a video played of Barack Obama talking to me about why it was important for me to make a contribution. He told me that every dollar I gave would be matched by another grassroots donor.

When I completed the form, instead of a standard thank you page, I was presented with a message from the person who matched my contribution, in my case Sarah, K., from Westerly, Rhode Island. I then sent her a message back. In a small way, we connected. This was a simple, surprising and effective way for me to feel a part of something larger, and to make an unexpected connection with a stranger over a shared action. Both of these effects are basic promises of the internet and used to great effect by the Obama campaign. No wonder he raised $28 million online last month.

www.barackobama.com

Whitney Browne

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02/13/2008

Donor Exposure

huff.jpg After the last couple of decades of presidential campaigns we’ve grown accustomed - or perhaps weary - of reports about which famous people have donated to which candidate.  This availability of this information is designed to keep the campaign coffers relatively transparent, but it used to take a lot more effort to retrieve.  The Huffington Post’s FundRace2008 mashup caters to our more voyeuristic urges by plotting ALL donors (yes, that could be you) by address, employer, which campaign was donated to, and how much.  Look up your neighbors?  Easy.  Sort by employer?  Done.
 
There’s nothing technically wrong going on here, but at what point does the online channel provide a level of transparency that’s kind of creepy?  I punched in my hometown zip code and dragged the map around to see who was donating in the old neighborhood.  What about sweet, old Mr. and Mrs. Gaskin on Tuxedo Terrace?  When we were kids they used to give us candy if we picked up sticks in their yard.  Their son who now lives in the house gave $2,200 to Giuliani’s campaign.  (Maybe we should have held out for more than candy).  I’m impressed enough to call this an Exceptional Experience. Perhaps it’s just an Eerie Experience.
 
Michael Beavers

The Future of Cell Phones is This Thing?

ti-android.jpgWhile it looks well… ugly, to be frank, this little baby was all the rage at this week’s Mobile World Congress. That’s right, it’s an Android phone. Or at least, it will be.

A full write up can be found at last100, but I will summarize the highlights of what everyone is getting so excited about:

1. A benefit no longer reserved to desktop computers, Android will allow for the integration of different applications. Texas Instruments gave this example: “a real estate agent could combine information from a database with mapping software to let customers easily locate properties on the go.”

2. One of the first applications finally brings multi-player gaming to the US market, but in an interesting twist, combines real world activity. It is a called WiFi Army and allows players to meet on the street using Google Maps and use their phone cameras to “shoot” at each other.

3. With so many manufacturers on board, people feel that means an almost sure success rate for adoption.

Android fans should also look out for an upcoming application called ZERO. It is Organic's first effort developing on the Android platform and is based on the winning concept from a recent Camp Organic.

Marta Strickland

Photo Credit: Engadget

men.style finally Upgrades (a little)


menstyle.jpg

I have always been a big fan of Conde Nast’s men’s magazines GQ and Details.  However, the men.style.com site which houses both GQ and Details online in my opinion has always been sub-par.  There is very little or sometimes no search functionality, the pages are hard to navigate, and the online content generally doesn’t build too much on what I read in the magazines.  I understand their goal is to protect the magazine but please can you help me a little.  I always thought it would be great to be able to search “wine” so I can remember which Long Island Vineyard they recommended.

With that said, the section Upgrader has been a great way to combine editorial content with user generated content.  I can seek guidance on products in Style, Gear, or Living categories.  The editors give the product a little description and can even stamp the product with an editor’s pick.  The users then get to rate the product moving it up or down to form a ranking list as well as an option to write their own testimonials.  If I find a brand I love I will gladly go out of my way to tell others and this gives me an outlet to do so.  I already found my new favorite jeans from A.P.C (rank #1) using Upgrader.  Hopefully the rest of the site will be soon as useful.

St.John Oneil-Dunne

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02/14/2008

Who's Clicking on Your Ads?

A new study released by Starcom MediaVest Group shows that heavy clickers are distorting click-thru metrics on online advertising. Apparently, 6% of people online account for 50% of display ad clicks.

The study goes on to say:

"Heavy clickers skew towards Internet users between the ages of 25-44 and households with an income under $40,000. Heavy clickers behave very differently online than the typical Internet user, and while they spend four times more time online than non-clickers, their spending does not proportionately reflect this very heavy Internet usage. Heavy clickers are also relatively more likely to visit auctions, gambling, and career services sites – a markedly different surfing pattern than non-clickers.”

While the theory of “heavy clickers” has been floating around for many months, the results of the study cement the idea that the “click” is not the end-all-be-all it used to be. Measurements such as view-throughs, user path, engagement, and sales are beginning to take on ultimate importance in campaign analysis.

Continue reading "Who's Clicking on Your Ads?" »