Jacqueline Thomas, discusses the most used and abused web designs of all time. Make sure not to commit these designing-faux pas. Designers or not, we know we are guilty of at least liking one of the things on her list, which are:
UNIQLO's site is amazing and uplifting with its beats, and on top of that they have high quality fashionable products at great prices! Why haven't they opened up shop here in the West Coast? They're known for their design of their sites, take a look, need I say more?
Becky EbenKamp of Ad Week's creative news reports that agencies are bringing a new twist to their sites with a navigation bar which links their work to sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube, and to Google for news. Agencies like CP+B, Modernista and Ignited, who are one of the first to dive into social media, are even posting blogs about their work to give people a "sneak peak" of who and what the agcency is all about. Visitors can also share stories via Facebook or subscribe to an RSS feed.
According to Chrispin Porter + Bogusky they say that their site gets approximately 1,000 visits per day, with visitors staying an average of 8 minutes. Will this be the trend for other agencies to follow?
Enter Jinni, it's like Pandora meets movies, how brilliant! Their team of movie and TV experts created the Movie Genome, an ambitious, ongoing project with the Jinni community to map more aspects of movies, shows, and semi-professional videos than ever before - so that all different viewers can match their personal tastes and moods, and find what they really want to watch next. The Movie Genome powers the search, recommendations, Taste Types and more.
Calling all dog-lovers -social networking isn't just for humans too! Dogster is a really cool website for dog-lovers where they can register their best friend and meet other passionate owners.
The days of free Internet TV on Hulu might be coming to a close. Jonathan Miller at News Corp. has been hinting lately, and talks of a subscription model for at least some of Hulu's services. He says they would at least like to see some content on the site may be restricted to subscribers, calling in an “environment for premium content.” Also, he offered a lecture on how content purely supported by ads “doesn’t work” and that many sites were introducing micropayments as a way to ease customers away from free gradually. Digital Trends says that the service will be expanding soon to the UK, so it’s quite possible that will be the time for some major changes.
Which of thee do I love more, the iPhone or the Palm? Thanks to Daniel Ionescu of PC World, you can decide! Pros and cons of both phones.
Agencies, Retailers, and Publishers are reorganizing their structure to keep up with this powerful movement of mommy bloggers, which is up 73% from the past year and companies are adding them to their list of servies (ie. Walmart & BabyCenter.com). This is a huge business for marketers! View the video for intersting facts.
According to Brian Morrissey of ADWEEK'S digital news, on behalf of USPS, AKQA has helped USPS deploy a new use for technology-Augmented Reality, that has connected with consumers for a more involved 3-D brand experience where they can see if their objects will fit into the real shipping boxes.
How it works? It's quite simple- a webcam and a print out of the virtual box stimulator- the "eagle" icon, and users are able to play with the functions on the site of different virtual boxes. Check the site out here.
For you gamers out there, check out the innovative history of game controllers. We've come a long way, can't wait to see what's in store for us in the future.
This pen called the Color Picker is nothing short of awesome. It can scan a color from anywhere and then recreate it instantly for your writing / drawing needs.
Color Picker is an innovative design of a concept pen that can scan colors from anything around and instantly use the color for drawing. After placing the pen against an object, the user just presses the scan button. The color is being detected by the color sensor and the RGB cartridge of the pen mixes the required inks to create the target color. This superb device will help people to observe the changing colors of nature. With color picker, all range of artists will be able to cerate a more sensorial and visual insight of their surrounding nature’s colors.
Check out this article from Mashable regarding the possible future of social media. The article was written by Mike Laurie, a Digital Planner at UK Integrated Agency JPMH and is truly thought-provoking, especially #4--what a trip!
We've noticed that engaging influential bloggers has become a staple in many social media strategies, and whereas some companies employ monetary compensation for favorable posts, General Mills has created a more organic approach to spreading the word about its brands.
MyBlogSpark is a General Mills-created blog network comprised almost entirely of moms. These bloggers are privy to General Mills' latest products, such as cereals and yogurts, in hopes that they will provide positive reviews to their readers. Not only is the program completely voluntary, as these bloggers opt-in to participate, but General Mills also asks that the bloggers contact the company if they feel they can not write a favorable review of a particular product. As Mashable states in the original post last week, "This is social media done right."
Wiffiti, by LocaModa, is an application that enables people to publish real-time messages directly from their phone or online to screens in locations and on the web. According to their website, Wiffiti has been used at thousands of large-scale events, including both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, allowing people to send text messages, Twitter or Flickr updates to large screens for everyone to see. In addition to location-based experiences, Wiffiti also has an embeddable website widget that allows users to take their interactive messaging experiences online to any site and welcome real-time comments.
Check out this new site for the upcoming movie The Haunting in Connecticut. The interactive site goes deeper into the story of the haunted house that plagues an unsuspecting family who has recently moved in. The site features a blog from a parapsychologist who discusses various paranormal encounters with photos and videos. In addition, visitors to the site can find out if the live in a haunted region by entering in their zip code and accessing a Google Map that reveals to them the scary truth.
Ever find yourself harassing your friend to send you the photos he/she
took during your Friday night out? Well harass no more! The makers of the new FacePAD Add-on for Firefox simply want you to stalk your friends instead. When on your friend's page, FacePAD allows you to download entire photo albums from your friend's page with just the (right) click of your mouse. All you have to do is add the FacePAD add-on which you can get here.
All you thrifty ladies out there, I know you were all excited when Rite-Aid announced that they would accept the return of used cosmetics if you didn't like how they looked on you. Now, thanks to IBM, you no longer have to buy and try...just apply. Well, digitally, that is.
According to Trend Hunter:
IBM will show their first “Virtual Mirror” kiosk at the National Retail Federation Show in NYC. Upload your photo and choose different brands of makeup products and watch them virtually make over your face. The mirror is already being used in Israel, and look how it’s improved the beauty of that country.
It will hit major retailers in the U.S. this summer.
Daily Candy shows up like a sweet treat in our inbox every morning with information that usually proves interesting and helpful when it comes to Los Angeles. Now, following the same free email newsletter model, I Heart Daily aims to appeal to teenage girls with news regarding fashion, makeup, music and everything in between.
If ever there was a time to adopt this type of business model — free content delivered straight to readers' inboxes and/or RSS feeds — it's now. Because while most mags have websites (and as of late they've certainly been pumping that virtual real estate for all its worth) the idea of an online destination with no strings (read: paid subscriptions) attached seems like a refreshing and welcome change.
Who doesn't want to be like Willy Wonka?
Need gift ideas?
Curious about the buzz your blog or website is garnering in the world wide web, but clueless as to how to find out about it? Artiklz is hoping this is you.
Currently in private beta testing, Artiklz is a new service that aggregates and manages user generated blog or website content that answers the questions of who, where, why, when, and what people are discussing across the social media.
The site says:
The rationale is simple; Content Sharing, Rating, Review and Blogging services have become the mainstream venues for communicating and connecting publicly for a vast majority of the internet population. And Artiklz's goal is to be the centralized aggregator for this dynamic user generated content.
For blog or website owners, Artiklz provides direct access and ability to interact with your blogs or website, allowing the real-time tracking, immediate updates of new and changed user content.
In addition, Artiklz enables you to receive e-mail, SMS, IM or web interface notifications whenever a new comment is made about your post anywhere across the social web.
We love it already.
Wouldn't it be cool if you could type in 'funny pirates' to a search field box and these movies came up, as well as a link with where to watch them for FREE? Yeah...enter Jinni. Jinni is a startup with what they call a 'Movie Genome" that indexes over 10,000 movies and television shows searchable using natural language. TechCrunch says:
The site has created what it calls “The Movie Genome” - a database of 10,000 movies and television shows that can be searched using natural language. The index has been tagged by a team of humans aided by a computer algorithm, with attributes spanning fifty categories and is reminiscent of Pandora’s Music Genome Project (which is also sorted by human professionals). Users can either search for movies based on a manual search, browse through movies by their attributes, or can generate recommendations after completing a brief test that determines their movie personality. After finding a movie or show they’re interested in, users can buy or rent them (or in some cases, watch them free) through a number of linked services, including Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix.
In practice the search seems to work well. Each match is visually displayed in a grid as a thumbnail, with the most relevant matches emphasized with larger images. This style makes it easier to quickly identify movies you might be interested in, and also makes false matches less jarring.
Today wee would like to share this great post that we found on Mashable:
Fidg’t
is a desktop application that aims to let you visualize your network
and its predisposition for different types of things like music and
photos. Currently, the service has integrated with Flickr
and last.fm, so for example, Fidg’t might show you if your network is
attracted or repelled by Coldplay, or if it has a predisposition to
taking photos of their weekend partying. As the service expands to
support other networks (they suggest integrations with Facebook, digg, del.icio.us, and several others are in the works), this one could become very interesting.
You know what pdf stands for? Pretty Dull File--well, that is until it meets Issuu. Instead of presenting your online publication as a pdf, Issuu is a new site that will convert your documents into interactive, magazine-style online publications that can be viewed directly in a web browser. You can also create your own custom library by adding works from other users that you find interesting on the site. Compared to a YouTube for magazines, Issuu combines the content of a blog with the visual appeal of a magazine, creating a vast library of publications at your fingertips. If creating your documents wasn't fun enough, you can also use Issuu's viral toolkit to post your document on your blog, website or any social network. Pretty Damn Fancy.
What's better than using Google Earth to play Where's Waldo? Using it to tell a story, of course! In mid-March, UK-based Penguin Books' digital fiction group along with alternative reality gaming firm Six to Start launched We Tell Stories--an initiative through which the storylines of six different novels can be followed online in various ways, including one using Google Maps where readers can follow the main character as he travels about the world. Other online applications to follow the stories include blogs, Twitter and real-time storytelling.
Mojo is a new way of sharing music where users can browse, select and download music from other Mojo users as well as update those playlists anytime they are online. All downloaded songs can automatically be added to users iTunes libraries. It's a cross between Napster and eBay to create the first file-sharing economy of agents, servers, and search
engines so that senders and receivers can agree on prices for each
transaction and use micropayments to get paid. Oooh behave!
...you might want to consider TagLauncher. Taglauncher is a Windows only downloadable application that allows you to tag files and put them in virtual folders to access whenever you need to. By tagging, you won't have to remember the name of the file, nor will you have to worry about copious folders covering that cute picture of your dog on your desktop.
For bloggers who want to give their readers some personalization, Minekey offers an embeddable code for a Recommendations Widget that displays personalized content for readers of your blog. The recommendations are based on what your reader has viewed in the past and what they are currently reading. Not only is the service free, but it also provides you a better connection with your readers because the recommendations are not reliant upon categorization, popularity or tagging. Here's how it works:
The Minekey recommendations engine continuously analyzes what the reader is viewing, what they have read in the past and the collective behaviour of all readers and experts visiting a specific blog or website. It filters the content to derive "themes of interests." These are then matched against the content available to provide the most personally relevant recommendations. For more information, please visit our Technology page.
We're interested in anything that claims to have a "personalized algorithm," so that's why we checked out Thoof. Thoof is a user generated news and information service ("interesting stories" might be a better way to say it) that delivers information in which you'd be interested based on your actions on the site. If you don't like a story, just say so, and Thoof will better understand your interests and how to cater to you. In addition, Thoof operates much like Wikipedia, allowing users to propose changes / additions to posted content via voting.
Inspired by the Nike + Ipod kit that records a runner's performance and provides audio feedback, Skimondo aims to provide skiers with similar results. A downloadable application for Nokia GPS-enabled phones, Skimondo not only shows the details of a skiier's performance, but the free service also allows users to see where the rest of their party is located via GPS and alerts them if anyone is in trouble. Currently, Skimondo only operates at two Swiss ski resorts, but the company plans to add more locations as the user-base grows.
Fliptrack is dedicated to providing consumers with the
next generation of online Slide Shows. They offer
constantly updated Slide Show themes, effects and music and users can
view and share their creations via mobile phones."Friendship Slide Shows" lets friends or family
copy, edit and add photos, text and music to their Slide Shows. Artists can
let fans create Slide Shows including the artist's images and music. Fliptrack's patent-pending technology allows users to
synchronize the movement of images in Slide Shows to the beat and
rhythm of music - in real-time, with no waiting.
This post is to serve as nothing more than a quick thirty seconds to think (and perhaps to laugh) about the influence that technology has on societies all over the world, as evidenced by London's padded lampposts and the names popping up nowadays on Australian birth certificates.
To coincide with the popularity of text messaging, a study in the UK found that one in ten people actually managed to hurt themselves by walking into a post while staring down at their screen and texting. The charity Living Streets is set to launch their "safety pads" in Brick Lane, London as a test market to see if further injuries can be avoided.
According to News.com.au in Australia, social analyst Mark McCrindle looked at Australian births in 2007 and discovered that “the use of a ‘y’ instead of an ‘i’ has hit epidemic proportions, as has the use of ‘k’ over ‘c’ like in the names Jaykob and Lynkon, double letters like Siimon and Chriss and hyphens like Emma-Lee." McCrindle says that the increasing trend could be attributed to the phonetic spelling in email and text messaging.
We think we're in love. Trapster is the object of our infatuation because it's a new site that utilizes GPS and wireless location, voice transcription, geocoding, reverse geocoding, and SMS, and a central database server to alert users of speed traps. When you create an account, your phone is sent alerts when you are in the vicinity of a speedtrap, based on information provided by other users. There is also a credibility system in place so that you're not receiving misleading alerts. Speed on people...speed on (no, really don't).
San - Francisco based BluBet is a social wagering website where users can bet on various topics using virtual currency. With a little help from "its friends", Blubet received an undisclosed sum from backers including YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim and Slide vice president Keith Rabois. BluBet combines user-generated content with predictive markets, allowing users to create contests where players can wager "BluBucks" on the outcome of events such as sports games, entertainment, finance and current events. Users can incorporate pictures, news articles and comments on their bets, and use a widget to embed bets on any website, social network page or blog.
Graffiticms is a SUPER easy content publishing platform that blends traditional cm with blogging. To customize your site, Graffiti has incorporated the program Chalk, a simple templating language that gives both designers and developers the ability to customize how content is shown. In addition, you have the ability to manipulate the site's navigation as well as implement content widgets giving you full control over your site.
Carol describes itself as "The Care Marketplace" as it allows consumers to compare health care services from local clinics and hospitals before they purchase. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Carol offers comparisons of health care services, practitioner credentials, quality dimensions, and costs—with or without insurance--in the Twin Cities. Understanding the nature of a marketplace, Carol leverages the competition among health care services to provide their users with the best possible price for the quality care they receive.
Introducing adNav's Boomerang, an ad-supported mobile concierge system with
built-in GPS navigation that's currently targeted at hotels, airlines
and car rental agencies as an extra amenity for out-of-town visitors. It works something like this - when a traveller arrives at an adNav partner
hotel (DoubleTree and Omni) they are offered the Boomerang for a few
dollars a day.
In addition to voice-guided GPS navigation, the Boomerang includes
unlimited connectivity to the web through wifi and cellular networks. Tele Atlas,
Citysearch, Ask.com, FlightView and CustomWeather are among the
providers of the Boomerang's content. Source : Springwise
We all know that making an appointment is sometimes worse than actually seeing the dentist or doctor. Launched in September of 2007, ZocDoc aims to change this hassle by providing an online service that allows you to find doctors / dentists in your neighborhood, read patient reviews and ratings about them, filter listings by your insurance and schedule your own appointments 24/7. At the moment, the service is only relevant to the Manhattan area, but look out for your city to be added in the near future.
If you ever find yourself in need of worldwide statistics, Worldometers provides them--in real time. The site also features a "statistic of the month" which is usually a worldly fact that will boggle your mind.
Yoonew is an electronic exchange that allows buyers and sellers to trade ticket and ticket derivatives, like stocks. Instead of waiting for a sale you can instantly buy tickets on the yoonew exchange by simpling entering the maximum price you are willing to pay. Launched in 2004 by two students from the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Baltimore-based company aims to bring order to the chaos by selling futures contracts on sports tickets. Under this arrangement, fans buy the right to take delivery of tickets when--and if--their teams make it to a coveted playoff game, which might be months away
Given the uncertainty of betting, Yoonew provides professional gamblers with a real money making opportunity by allowing users to trade future contracts for specific teams in a championship event or speculate on fluctuating ticket prices as they would speculate on fluctuating odds over the course of a season.
With more than 35,000 new jobs posted each month, The Ladders is a unique new employment search site that caters to people in the market for $100k+ / yr positions.
Virtual Paramount Pictures paraphernalia will be available for purchase on Habbo, a virtual world for (currently) 1.8 million teens to meet each other and "hangout." For the purposes of "decking out" their avatars, Habbo users will be able to buy virtual movie-related goods / accessories from flicks like “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Beowulf” and “Mean Girls,” to name a few of the first. Paramount considers this partnership an ideal way to market their movies in an interesting and engaging manner to its most finicky target.
Tired of spending what they considered to be unnecessarily large amounts of money on "yawn-inspiring blazers," Jeff Horowitz and Coley Dale created Dress Monkey--a site that allows users to design their own blazers at a fraction of standard retail prices.
Rulesofthumb.org is a site that is dedicated to growing the world's largest database of...well...rules of thumb. What exactly is a 'rule of thumb'? The site states:
"A rule of thumb is a homemade recipe for making a guess. It is an easy-to-remember guide that falls somewhere between a mathematical formula and a shot in the dark."
I guess you can never have too many of those.
Zannel is a new Facebook application that enables you to instantly post video, picture, and text updates from your phone or the web to your Facebook profile so that your friends can remain "in the loop" on your life, even when you're out.
A movement to save a Facebook application? Yup. The Facebook group "Save Scrabulous" has set out to do just that. The BBC has announced that Mattel and Hasbro, makers of the board game Scrabble, have asked Facebook to remove the popular Scrabulous game from the social network. Scrabulous currently has almost 600,000 daily active users, so one would wonder why the two companies (who share the trademark) just don't buy the application?
