Did I Just Click That? – April 30, 2008

Sometimes you browse the web, and most of the time you never notice the advertisements. However, sometimes there are some ads you have to click on because they are soooo ridiculous. Here are several examples of those types of ads:

So like an idiot I had to click on one of them, I mean wouldn’t you have? It ends up taking me to a site for Toyota, "The Other You", of all places, where it immediately asks me if I want to prank a friend.

Naturally, I say yes, just so I can see where it takes me. I end up filling out a decent amount of info to prank one of my colleagues, but the site freezes up on me. I try several more times to complete the process, but to no avail. The site freezes every time. Now I’m actually kind of pissed I wasted my time.

However, if it had worked I would have “pranked” my friend for a series of 5 days according to this schedule provided by Toyota:

- 3/13/08: The Mystery Caller
- 3/14/08: We Know Where You Live
- 3/15/08: The Coronett Motel
- 3/16/08: The Sign
- 3/17/08: The Grand Finale

Good thing the site kept freezing up on me!!! (serious sarcasm)

Moral of the story: Dear Toyota, learn how to build a website, or at least hire someone who can. Oh and by the way, Toyota, you’re still an annoying car company. In all honesty here's what Toyota could have done to make the site experience that much better:

1. Lose all the weird crap that is meaningless in the micro-site. It's too distracting, and doesn't add to the experience

2. Better explain the stages of the prank up front

3. If you're not using our information for wrong doing, then why the need for agreeing to terms and conditions? Explain why I have to read through 6 pages of stuff just to play around with the site

4. Make sure the site doesn't suck, and make sure it works in a timely fashion (it doesn't take 20 minutes to do)

Dunder Mifflin Infinity – April 28, 2008

Oh the Office, such joy and hilarity. Even though the original British version was still funnier, I’ve become accustomed to the American version (FYI, my favorite character by far is Dwight).

In the latest Office episode, the once intern now corporate mogul, Ryan, mentions that Dunder Mifflin’s Web 2.0 website, “Dunder Mifflin Infinity”, had issues with the social networking feature being infiltrated by sexual predators. Much of the staff complains about why this feature is even necessary. See the video below:

(Props to NBC for actually embracing video sharing across the web via Hulu!)

I’ve come to find out that NBC actually launched this social networking site. You can actually go and become apart of the Dunder Mifflin team!!!

This is one of smartest tactics I’ve seen by a corporation (NBC) to aggregate its fan base utilizing web 2.0 technologies (i.e. social networking). Besides the pure kitsch of receiving an official email from Dunder Mifflin saying I’ve been hired by them, NBC has managed to figure out how to sustain engagement within the site, and encourage users to participate over time.

“Employees” can decide what branch office they want to be apart of, they can upload photos, vote on polls, enroll in “tasks”, upload videos, write comments, browse the employee manual, and so much more. Anytime the “employee” does any of these tasks, they are rewarded with funny money (“Schrute Bucks”) that they can redeem to buy items to decorate their desks. Additionally, the more money one acquires the more likely one is to be “promoted.”

Overall, I think NBC did an awesome job of getting their fans to participate with the Office in a way that they couldn’t do so before. What’s even more incredible is that they did it outside Facebook or MySpace, which unto itself seems like a miracle since most companies are seeing that it is incredibly hard to start a community versus leverage and existing one.

Play Day Friday - April 25, 2008

I came across these two websites, and thought you guys might enjoy them. First off the bat, customize a Kleenex box! Yay, so cool...kinda at least.
Secondly, dress Devendra Banhart, which is pretty much what you do. Enjoy!

Logos - April 24, 2008

I'm in the process of finalizing a logo for my little business, and I wanted to share with you some inspiration that was needed to aide in the logo development process. Creating a logo isn't easy. Where does one start? Step one, figure out what you don't want. For me, that meant I didn't want some really stupid looking Web 2.0 logo, which means one that is all happy and glowing (kinda like a cartoon version of a real logo).

Step two was getting a book filled with hundred of logos, and marking which ones I liked. Step three is figuring out why I like them, and figuring out how to incorporate aspects of their design into my logo. Step four is actually making some logos and figuring out what works.

I wanted to share with you the logos that I liked. I chose them because I liked the smart/edginess to them, and because they are fairly simple. Also, I wanted a logo that didn't need multiple colors to bring it to life (although I did choose one or two with cool colors I liked).

Hopefully, my logo will be developed in the next two-three weeks, which I'll be happy to share with everyone.

Web 2.0 "Now With More Dudes" - April 23, 2008

So I went to a Digg party last night. In case you don't know Digg is that service that only promotes/surfaces content that users vote upon.

Anyways, they threw this party, partly because the Web 2.0 expo was going on in town, but also because it's cool to throw parties, right? Long story short, the entire place was filled with dudes. I want to say there were like 15 guys for every girl, at least! Basically, I've come to the realization that anytime there is a big tech event of sorts, it gets bombarded by dudes...maybe because we're more into gadgets and shiny things.

I managed to bump into iJustine, which was cool, given I had known about her for some time now. Other than that, the Digg party was a bunch of dudes (mostly overweight and old) playing Rock Band.
p.s. click here to see my YouTube video of barging in on a lifestreaming party with iJustine

iFLY - April 23, 2008

I took my brother and sister to go indoor skydiving. Basically one of those wind tunnels that makes you levitate. Here are some of the results:


\

What Type Are You? – April 22, 2008

Do you sleep with your iPhone strapped to your leg, or have you no idea what e-mail is? The Pew Internet & American Life Project wants to know! I love Pew because they produce great reports that are not only free, but contain oodles of great information. Pew puts brilliant thought into the construction of their research executions, and the ways in which they solicit information about internet users that they need to know.

I noticed on their site the other day that you can find out what type of Internet Typology you are, so naturally I clicked on it. Given that I do sleep with my iPhone, I had a suspicion I would probably fall into some obscure group of users that is constantly connected. Sure enough, that was the case.

Here’s what they said:

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Omnivores typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic.

Omnivores make up 8% of the American public.

Basic Description
Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. Omnivores are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining their Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting their creations to their websites, they are creative participants in cyberspace.

Who They Are
They are young, ethnically diverse, and mostly male (70%). The median age is 28; just more than half of them are under age 30, versus one in five in the general population. Over half are white (64%) and 11% are black (compared to 12% in the general population). English-speaking Hispanics make up 18% of this group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many (42% versus the 13% average) of Omnivores are students.

Take your own Internet Typology quiz here!

Social Media Presentation - April 21, 2008

As promised, I wanted to share a presentation that I recently gave to my agency. The idea was to bring them up to speed on where the Internet is now, how people are utilizing it to share information and create communities, how word of mouth spreads via the web, show a couple of brands that have utilized social media to their advantage, and give them on advice on how to think of social media when thinking about incorporating it into a campaign.

V

| View | Upload your own