Jason Bruges has created a bluetooth-fuelled installation on the London Bridge that demonstrates how art can intersect with technology for startling results. Here’s his description of the project:
“Using Bluetooth sensors, the movement of individuals carrying active Bluetooth devices will be captured on London Bridge. The information is then transmitted across the Pool of London to the high level walkways on Tower Bridge, where a dynamic band of light displays the activity for all to see.”
Brands should be considering how to involve people in experiential communications like this. When data is reinterpreted with artistic prowess, the outcome can offer a degrees of implicit participation and collective input that only emerging technology can enable. This is another wonderful example of the online and offline worlds colliding.
More details and images at the creator’s site: http://www.jasonbruges.com/
Published by davidk March 27th, 2007
in Uncategorized.
In a bid to better understand the inner workings of virtual worlds, such as Second Life and Sony Home, St Edmonds Lab has hired Holden Mulgrave in the position of Cultural Attache. This important role will assist us in offering clients rich insights into how brands can be successful in these emerging landscapes. Holden will be blogging here from time to time, posting to our FlickR feed and can be reached via email at holden.mulgrave@netx.com.au. We’re all very excited to Holden on board and look forward to his missives from exotic virtual locales.
Published by davidk March 25th, 2007
in Social Media, Mobile and Consumer Generated.
QR codes have been around for while but Smartpox makes it easy for everyone to get into. By creating 2D barcodes (or “poxâ€), users can share text, links to one’s social network page or email address that can be picked up by strangers using their camera phones.
Smartpox is a mobile “viral messaging†application that enables users to make these barcode tags containing personalized data which can then be put on business cards, stickers, posters, or other outdoor mediums for people to see and decode with Java-enabled phones.
After installing the Smartpox reader, phones capture and scan the pox-laden image to decode the information. For example, one may be planning a party or scavenger hunt and can embed directions/clues within the pox for the invitees to use. Bands can create tour posters with tags of their MP3s for fans to instantly access by taking a photo with their cell using Smartpox. For those with equipped camera phones, posting and sharing personal barcodes offline is a novel way to share information with people online.
Go codify: http://www.smartpox.com/
See also: http://www.shotcode.com/
Published by davidk March 22nd, 2007
in Social Media, Blogs and Consumer Generated.
David Armano, an avid blogger from Digitas, is about to speak at Sobcon on the topic of ‘Designing Conversations’. Much of his presentation will probably focus on blogging (eg. ‘How you can get noticed by mainstream media and other influencers’). But formulating conversations between brands and consumers is something we here at NetX.. er converse about a lot. The notion of Conversation Architecture attempts to put a framework around what might seem a little intangible at first. It’s delicate though. You can’t script a conversation, but you also can’t just sit back and hope it happens.
Valeria Maltoni digs deeper in the whole thing and David’s slides (in beta) are here. This is one my faves of his:
 MIT’s Henry Jenkins, called the Marshall McLuhan of the 21st century, talks here about the role of fans in content production. It’s a very similar topic to the story that Adnews’ Mark Chenery interviewed me for this morning - Viacom vs. Youtube. Jenkins says:
“Historically, people imagined fans depreciated things, they wore intellectual property out, they did damage to it by their public activities. Now there’s a growing understanding that fans appreciate things, both in the emotional sense — they like it — but even more powerfully in economic sense — they create new value around it.â€
Check out the video: http://wbztv.com/video/?id=27945@wbz.dayport.com
A recent announcement by MTV demonstrates the impact online video outposts (you know the one we’re talking about..) have had on it’s once hipper-than-though brand.
Despite already having more than 150 sites, MTV has said it plans to develop thousands of niche experiences that will allow viewers to aggregate around favourite franchises and slice ‘n’ dice TV content on their own terms. This is already happening online but the concept of permitting, or even driving it, is an interesting move for a broadcaster. Of course, Viacom has been hit harder than most with it’s key audience members being the first to adopt newer connected services. On the surface MTV’s response is at least encouraging as it shows a willingness to experiment with alternative distribution strategies, including the recently announced deal with P2P TV darling, Joost.
The Reuters article linked below suggests MTV’s brand might be diluted by developing these niche experiences but we would suggest that the ‘do nothing’ alternative would be more risky. In fact, by reaching out into targeted, relevant online locales, MTV’s individual shows have the opportunity reach and engage greater total audience numbers, and drive better value for specific advertising partners. The key here will be the company’s willingness to watch, measure and change direction if (when?) some of these environments don’t get traction with it’s audience.
MTV Networks embraces Web chaos (MSNBC)
Recently at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, Reuters interviewed Jerry Paffendorf from the Electric Sheep Company. There are some very interesting concepts discussed in this 30 minute chat, not the least of which is the idea of how Google Maps might mashup with Second Life. This is where the whole planet might exist in an alternative, mirrored video game format, complete with geo-location aspects tying the real and virtual worlds together. Have a listen, some mind-blowing stuff:
http://int1.fp.sandpiper.net/reuters42/2007/03/sxsw/jerry-paffendorf.mp3
Published by davidk March 16th, 2007
in Gaming.
..kinda. Yesterday Stanford University demo-ed the Playstation 3 version of Folding at Home, the networked application that uses spare CPU cycles to conduct Alzheimers research. Cool huh? St Edmonds Lab will be installing Folding on it’s black beastie as soon as it’s available. The app’s been running on PCs for years but the significance of it running on a PS3 can be seen in these stats (this is a little geeky):
“..the 826 PS3s doing Folding in beta are already doing 1/6 the processing of all the active Folding PCs out there - over 155k of them!”
Just think of the tasks that 2 million networked Playstations can achieve together?
More at http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/ps3folding
UPDATE: Check out the movie to get a feel for the offering (of particular interest to St Edmonds Lab is the mention of sponsored spaces).
This just in from the GDC: On the surface, it looks like Sony have finally made a good move. They’ve just announced that the previously leaked Playstation Home is indeed real - and coming in just a few months! From the screenshots, this looks like a virtual world rendered in the kinda of detail Second Life can only dream about (actually, it’s a little more like a HD 3D version of Habbo Hotel). You’ll be able to customize your avatar, pimp your own apartment, invite your friends over, earn achievements and get exposed to other Sony properties. Although, knowing Sony, it will probably be quite ‘canned and limited, in a way this could the notion of virtual worlds to a more mainstream audience. For me, this is the only reason so far to get a PS3 (but for $1000 I’d still prefer pimp my own pad).
