tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287874462024-03-13T19:32:48.864-04:00Ad Krispies::: Daily Krunchy Creativity Bits & Plump Ideas :::David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comBlogger455125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-76866666135041010122009-11-15T10:22:00.006-05:002009-11-15T10:42:37.260-05:00Machinarium<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAIWIpSrHxQBqRgl9OUEaCQbsbqpi8Cup-9boGp0OdZcc4_wacSQtVG5kFcOdAy3AJlccO7htqTtEPq0vfNysHTqGtN0yoM0DTai-UNlt4zRupIT6QwuGXEhnlJXWmnD5JB9gwQ/s1600-h/9899.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAIWIpSrHxQBqRgl9OUEaCQbsbqpi8Cup-9boGp0OdZcc4_wacSQtVG5kFcOdAy3AJlccO7htqTtEPq0vfNysHTqGtN0yoM0DTai-UNlt4zRupIT6QwuGXEhnlJXWmnD5JB9gwQ/s400/9899.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404354181159173170" border="0" /></a><br />An intricately and beautifully crafted 19th-century-czechoslovakia-inspired-steam-and-junk-world. An out-of-the-ordinary tale. A little robot. This is the premice of <a href="http://www.machinarium.net/" target="_blank">Machinarium</a>, a wonderful adventure game created by <a href="http://www.amanitadesign.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Amanita Design</span></a>, a czech republic independent games developer. If you're a web-based adventure game aficionado, you might know them from independant successes such as "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/games/questionaut/pop.shtml" target="_blank">Questionaut</a>" (a point-and-click game developed for the BBC), or the widely acclaimed "<a href="http://www.questfortherest.com/" target="_blank">Quest for the rest</a>", developed for pop-rock band <span style="font-weight: bold;">Polyphonic Spree</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Machinarium</span> is among the winners of the 2009 Independant Games Festival, claiming an award for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Excellence in Visual Arts</span>, and not without reason: the game is a pure delight for the eyes, with a subtle blend of humor and adventure, it's suited for kids and adults alike looking for an original tale and an addictive game.<br /><br />Only 20$ will buy you the full version (mac or pc), and trust me, it's a *very* good bang for your buck - some games selling at 60$ on popular consoles and computers wouldn't even compare at offering the level of "virtual vacation" Machinarium delivers.<br /><br />Try out the free demo at <a href="http://www.machinarium.net/" target="_blank">www.machinarium.net</a>. Like me, you will fall in love.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-16039506328379890202009-11-02T08:44:00.002-05:002009-11-02T08:50:46.316-05:00Short Movie Monday™: AlarmA nice 3D treat for you this monday morning: "Alarm", a masterfully rendered animation directed by Jang Moo-hyun from the independent team of <a href="http://www.mesai.co.kr/" target="_blank">MESAI</a>. You will be drawn into it because of its soft visuals and life-like environment rendering. You'll be stuck to it because of the compelling storytelling. You will be caught by your boss, procrastinating and drooling over whatever you were doing. You can thank me later.<br /><br /><object height="225" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5472812&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5472812&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="225" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/5472812">Alarm</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1836823">Meteorix007</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-77201996207987111842009-10-21T07:27:00.001-04:002009-10-21T07:29:20.193-04:00The Cat PianoYour little morning comic, courtesy of Ari White and Eddie Gibson, narrated by Nick Cave. Enjoy.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Uj4RBmU-PIo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Uj4RBmU-PIo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-59090498552063020482009-08-08T07:49:00.003-04:002009-08-08T07:59:03.653-04:00How To Shave Your Groin, by GilletteDear readers, you're in for a royal treat. You know how we're into this trend of communication authenticity and how consumer-brand conversation is now ever important. Well, I guess after many "conversations" about the matter, the nice people at Gillette decided to finally let men in on "how to properly shave their groins" -- quite the edutainment, I'm telling you. I don't know about you, but I think it's great. I think they have balls (hah!). Whomever came up with the idea and actually had it produced, you're my hero of the day. Let's cut (wee!) to the chase and view this historic piece on the art of trimming your front yard.<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1TiJNewpCnY&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1TiJNewpCnY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-73481193572475387762009-07-16T08:21:00.001-04:002009-07-16T09:21:39.098-04:00Google Classic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5z-m3qinFirpf2sDrWgR_vSXG23Y8gRIFCzkeMZc8DBuSTYBxNiDukkCVZxc6JVD13GGgvsE6_VG9wDaVKlFPZGxCkHP_uGbWjL0U3awxf_SWMfmM-oag1e_f2RzVwGTlnJDFQ/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5z-m3qinFirpf2sDrWgR_vSXG23Y8gRIFCzkeMZc8DBuSTYBxNiDukkCVZxc6JVD13GGgvsE6_VG9wDaVKlFPZGxCkHP_uGbWjL0U3awxf_SWMfmM-oag1e_f2RzVwGTlnJDFQ/s400/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359032218036477522" border="0" /></a><br />Brilliant.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-23079599505263613812009-07-07T10:20:00.008-04:002009-07-09T13:46:50.312-04:00Evian Live Young: 3D Babies For The Win!<object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_PHnRIn74Ag&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_PHnRIn74Ag&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object><br /><br />Nice TV ad for Evian's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Live Young</span> Campaign, directed by Michael Gracey and created by agency <span style="font-weight: bold;">Euro RSCG</span>. Music is "Rapper's Delight" by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/dantheautomator" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dan the Automator</span></a>.<br /><br />Check out the Live Young website at <a href="http://evianliveyoung.com/" target="_blank">http://evianliveyoung.com/</a><br /><br />(Hey you people at Euro RSCG, let me know more often when you have good stuff like that! Write at <a href="mailto:latenightdave@hotmail.com">latenightdave@hotmail.com</a>).David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-9634276542585513652009-07-07T09:15:00.005-04:002009-07-07T13:10:10.257-04:00Vuzix IWear AV230 XL+<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUf8Ps09FERKME_DdUeuvwu_cAk1zN9QAs5pWx0O_r6D2X6xa276Y6GgkeuNPLT2N7ezdvv0umDEcTZnFxqP_5R_Q3biBWvSFMiXWFhpkehCIFfORZues0-HzDFQJMNzELJQvuiw/s1600-h/vuzix.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUf8Ps09FERKME_DdUeuvwu_cAk1zN9QAs5pWx0O_r6D2X6xa276Y6GgkeuNPLT2N7ezdvv0umDEcTZnFxqP_5R_Q3biBWvSFMiXWFhpkehCIFfORZues0-HzDFQJMNzELJQvuiw/s400/vuzix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355716783996959842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Folks, this is the kind of product that truly will propel you into...TEH FUTURE *insert echo here*<br /><br />(and yes, I always say it this way. It provides somewhat of a dramatic yet slightly ironic tone to my tech news).<br /><br />Discover the <a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" href="http://www.vuzix.com/iwear/products_av230xl.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vuzix iWear AV230 XL+</span></a>, a lightweight pair of stereoscopic glasses which provide the same experience as <span style="font-weight: bold;">watching a 44-inch screen viewed from 9 feet</span>.<br /><br />Short of getting yourself a <span style="font-weight: bold;">$3000 flatscreen complete with THX sound</span> or a <span style="font-weight: bold;">$50,000 full-on VR headset with touch feedback</span>, these glasses might provide a pretty awesome gaming or movie-watching experience. As mentioned on the site, the dual displays provide <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">"</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">crisp images and vivid colors through optics aligned to military specifications</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">"</span>, and the glasses feature <span style="font-style: italic;">removable</span> high-quality stereo headphones (altough when a product description features the words "<span style="font-style: italic;">removable</span>" and "<span style="font-style: italic;">high-quality</span>" in the same sentence, I always tend to read "<span style="font-style: italic;">removable quality</span>". But that's just me. I like alphanumeric naming. Feed me XTX-2000 bran and nut flakes anytime, I'll feel like a superhero.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I haven't had the chance to actually review these goggles yet</span>, but I like the premice this new model offers, just from description. Just so you know, past reviews about these type of glasses featured rants about "annoying scan lines" affecting picture quality, average sound and tired eyes -- all for a steep price. But it seems the good folks at Vuzix heard the cries of our people, and came up with this product retailing for less than $200 bucks while providing a kickass-end experience.<br /><br />If you own a pair and would like to give me your impressions, go ahead and let the readers know!David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-80117211017434674932009-06-11T08:24:00.003-04:002009-06-11T08:28:46.836-04:00EmilyI've introduced the incredible work of CG company <a href="http://www.image-metrics.com/" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.image-metrics.com/">Image Metrics</a> </span>in a <a href="http://adkrispies.blogspot.com/2008/04/image-metrics-performance-driven-facial.html">past blog post</a>. But I've recently stumbled across this incredible CG feat on the web: meet Emily: The Tech Demo. She's entirely <span style="font-weight: bold;">3D</span>. Threeeeee-D, friends.<br /><br />Watch and be amazed.<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bLiX5d3rC6o&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bLiX5d3rC6o&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-52818211134822884122009-06-08T13:53:00.002-04:002009-06-08T13:58:39.480-04:00So You Think You're A "Social Media Expert"?Author and "personal brand" evangelist <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dan Schawbel</span> wrote a thoughtful piece about "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why you shouldn't brand yourself as a "Social Media Expert"</span> on his blog, a mandatory read for anyone trying to figure out social media and giving themselves the title "expert" as they do it.<br /><br />Read it <a href="http://twurl.nl/va80w7" target="_blank">here</a>.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-23762451186964643612009-05-20T16:58:00.007-04:002009-05-20T17:37:55.365-04:00Inspiration Wednesdays™: Nick BertkeYeah I know, it's usually "Inspiration Tuesdays", but this was so good I couldn't wait 'til next week to share.<br /><br /><span>Introducing</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Nick Bertke, </span><span>some guy I discovered off YouTube. It appears our friend Nick is a natural talent at producing genius music and films, and if he keeps going at it, might make a decent living being a superstar. Scrounging inside some old Walt Disney animations, Nick came up with delicately crafted, otherworldy mellow tunes. Something <span style="font-weight: bold;">Björk</span>-like, with a hint of sweetened <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chemical Brothers</span> but with its own smooth flavour. Being a musician myself, I'm no music critic but I know talent when I hear it.<br /><br />I first got blasted off by <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.yooouuutuuube.com/v/?rows=20&cols=6&id=pAwR6w2TgxY&startZoom=1" target="_blank"">this page</a> I stumbled upon<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.stumbleupon.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a>, moving on to YouTube where I discovered his other productions. Homemade sights and sounds copyright Nick Bertke. Here are some of my favorites (keep reading after the break):<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X2-gHbSh2AY&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X2-gHbSh2AY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></span><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PuZ5tzr11Eo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PuZ5tzr11Eo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Nick also has excellent flair for storytelling and film photography. Take your eyes on a ride with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Out With It</span> (see at end of post), a short movie about a guy, a girl, and something real bad happening. M. Night Shyamalan could be red with envy on this one, if it was only pursued into a 2-hour flick. I know I was sucked into it instantly.<br /><br />I don't know of Nick's other talents, but I truly hope he gets discovered by big cheeses - something great might happen. Check out Nick's work on YouTube: search for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fagottron</span> (interesting choice of nickname), and look him up on <span style="font-weight: bold;">Last.Fm</span> as well. Google him, for all it's worth, things are getting interesting for our friend. I do expect this guy to get his 15 minutes of fame sometime soon.<br /><br />Good luck with that, amigo.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4fqdGQRaTKg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4fqdGQRaTKg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-76468009284035642782009-05-13T07:49:00.004-04:002009-05-13T07:51:32.044-04:00Discover 1000+ web applications you've never heard of<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.go2web20.net/" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR50S4T7sX-NJAOHEbiUfZaU_651uhpHUfDrXVP550sqxVm_e2ym8aqpPDusECzVzxYJnbYVvlkwHEz6UszUVGAeijbamyuj1sTjFeFfQrV2Z1dpnFDrNrumPW6CfnEQObEk7tkQ/s400/go2web20.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335274385278171106" border="0" /></a><br />I just discovered <a href="http://www.go2web20.net/" target="_blank">Go2web20.net</a>, a great place to discover some truly cool web 2.0 applications that'll change the way you use the web. Happy browsing!David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-10367140268296115212009-05-12T08:40:00.007-04:002009-05-12T10:13:24.797-04:00Need a change? Create something.Being creative is about generating new opportunities for yourself, and for others.<br /><br />Every day should be a new, empty slate allowing you to make use of your own creativity: Whether it is as about finding a new or better way to do your work, daring to go someplace you never would have in other times, inventing something you think could generally <span style="font-weight: bold;">change</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">your</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> status quo</span>.<br /><br />It can be big, it can be small, but you never know how far an idea could go in creating some "new" in your life, generating new goals for yourself, and making you feel in charge.<br /><br />Creation is change. And in the words of Winston Churchill: "Change is the essence of life. Be ready to surrender what you are, for what you could become."<span class="sqq"></span>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-38824419582180744712009-05-06T07:23:00.045-04:002009-07-16T09:22:37.897-04:00Social Media: Right Now, It's Still All Talk.<span style="font-weight: bold;">If you've been following</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">marketing circles on Twitter recently</span>, you're likely to admit there's a lot of talk about social media in business communications. I can't count all the "10 tips for this", "Tools for that" tweets, or various miracle uses of tweet-related 2.0 apps that abound in the worldwide nest.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It seems like the discussion around using social media in business has garnered more attention and spilled more digital ink than its </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">actual use</span>. Influent marketing Tweeters have taken upon themselves the responsibility of evangelizing their followers; said followers are on a del.icio.us bookmark craze on the subject; Bloggers flourish in profound studies and in-depth analytics on the phenomenon, and one doesn't have to look far to find a plethora of so-called <span style="font-style: italic;">social media experts</span> on LinkedIn -- fighting to deliver the next great piece of insight.<br /><br />Everyone's on the hunt for the great Social Media marketing ElDorado. And it's particularly true within marketing circles on Twitter.<br /><br />What is behind this<span style="font-style: italic;"> social media information-sharing craze</span> in the Tweetosphere? Is it truly driven by the noble search to <span style="font-weight: bold;">better serve one's clients</span>, or rather by the need to build a <span style="font-weight: bold;">personal brand</span>? I guess the latter is the hidden truth. Twitter is about the need for <span style="font-style: italic;">one</span> individual or corporation to stand out. Talking to a mass of followers. For marketers, Twitter is social media's social media.<br /><br />Twitter is composed of thousands of <span style="font-style: italic;">individual mass mediums</span> (the <span style="font-style: italic;">Tweeps</span>) adressing their own communities of thousands, who most often are passive listeners. There's nothing truly "social" on Twitter - it's actually more like <span style="font-style: italic;">a cable TV of people selling their personal brand on their own channel</span>. A lot of TV shows. By creating or hunting for information, these "show hosts", are trying to generate critical bits of information to use them as perceived advantage, contributing to building their own individual mass media potential, their own <span style="font-style: italic;">personal brand</span>. The success of their daily show.<br /><br />Which is to say that the current social media tweeting trend among professionals seems to be biased. It isn't really about "Social Media And How It Does Miracles For Your Company's Marketing". It's about "Social Media And How Talking About It Empowers Your Professional Credibility".<br /><br />When Marshall McLuhan said the "medium is the message", he probably didn't realise how <span style="font-style: italic;">social</span> this notion would become.<br /></div>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-77912163340542913852009-05-05T21:14:00.003-04:002009-05-05T21:16:53.278-04:00An Incredible Recyclable Trash Design<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.inewidea.com/2009/04/22/7437.html" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1S0NkTKPzq4bXhtJi6wTd2B_ogTY71WtogsCLiKSWPqGrdGPdjf6Ne1JjxlgaijYlkk90qPVmeV2IiBGN_NdMBPNuQPmph0fJzGlQtBccCTu9KkWrQS1b6cyzRBB38fZiCidYA/s400/image027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332513212837783810" border="0" /></a>...and a ton of other BRILLIANT ideas you wish you had, available at <a href="http://www.inewidea.com/" target="_blank">http://www.inewidea.com/<br /></a>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-10234239870041066602009-05-05T16:35:00.002-04:002009-05-05T16:39:25.996-04:00Twitalyzer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.twitalyzer.com/" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3MHPehlRWtjtyn6vfrygDn0rgr9s7VwqB-WtRlGyeywUIPuCdBk1V6Ph86IdIFkmiWxH67xI8rN2yFbMwmwyJsgWAnR0RJzDgoaixazje29AWwJd22ojuLp3qWOHugZVHDbEOQ/s400/twitalyzer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332441971843102578" border="0" /></a><br />"Measure your impact and success in Social Media".<br /><br />In other terms, a fantastic tool for discovering if you're an influent twit, or not.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.twitalyzer.com">http://www.twitalyzer.com</a>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-49478736143203362052009-05-05T16:31:00.003-04:002009-05-05T16:33:17.039-04:00Social Media in Plain EnglishThe simple vanilla facts. A repost from an earlier blog post that disappeared (?), back by popular demand. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MpIOClX1jPE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MpIOClX1jPE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-27129393398818154722009-05-05T15:40:00.004-04:002009-05-05T15:55:52.979-04:00The Hunt For Gollum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thehuntforgollum.com/" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga26qAt8dghGyc06m0ZP9TufePgO4_MBvmrUs9w6GwpTBaxYhE6pPndJX-Tq8hOfN2X9NdeRJg6naHFSO1eGVJ0PHLSDAznAZgwt3-ra4aPvZiBbZokfPvP0Esa231P0eSUbEbRg/s400/huntforgollum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332430113294311378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Tolkien fans, you will go crazy on this one. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Hunt For Gollum</span> is an entirely independent movie created by (very technically adept) fans and directed by writer-director <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chris Bouchard</span>. And this one will keep your stomachs full until (unafilliated) Peter Jackson goes crimson with envy and creates three more.<br /><br />Production began in early 2007 when Chris started adapting the script from the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings, and was released on May 3rd for public viewing *<span style="font-weight: bold;">entirely free</span>* (most probably with the hope that some huge distributor will notice and buy the distribution rights).<br /><br />I've watched it. It's surprisingly well done. All along you wonder, for every element that comes on scene, "will they get it right?". Well for an indepedent short that, as for every indepedent short, usually deals with limited budget and rests on the talent and passion of its makers, trust me, "they get it right". It hits the spot much more that anything George Lucas recently made, if I have to make the sorry comparison.<br /><br />You be the judge. <a href="http://thehuntforgollum.com/" target="_blank">Click here to watch the movie for free</a>.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-34606558615877621722009-03-25T19:57:00.005-04:002009-03-25T20:09:08.823-04:00New LinkedIn Policy Penalises User-Made Groups<span style="font-style: italic;">An open letter to my Social Media Marketing group on the LinkedIn network, from group moderator Michael Crosson (a typical user, not a LinkedIn employee). If you're on LinkedIn and are using groups, this concernts YOU. You be the judge.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">"Hello, everyone - I am using a new feature on LinkedIn to contact you about something very important to all of us - social networking. I'm sure you joined in order to find information and resources, get feedback and network with other people interested in Social Media Marketing. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><br /><br />But LinkedIn has just made some policy changes that have severely restricted what group managers can do and makes the functionality of this group much more limited. </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><br /><br />What they have done: </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> 1. Taken away my ability to send you the monthly email newsletter that I have produced in the past. I can no longer access the group's email list. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> 2. Taken away my ability to send you individual welcome letters or direct correspondence. I can't even view who is a member of this group, it is limited to seeing only 500, not the entire 15,000+. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">3. Forced advertising onto profile and other pages - but the group managers do not profit. There is no revenue share. I don't make a dime from any of the work I put into LinkedIn. </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);">[Note from Ed: This is just like you creating a web page, and some company putting web banners on your page without you getting any money from the advertising. Cheap.]</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> 4. By disabling the email list download, I now have ZERO visibility into group performance reports that I used to have through my email management system. I can't tell how many people are unsubscribing, how many undeliverable emails there are, etc. etc. LinkedIn has NO reporting capabilities whatsoever. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> They claim they had to do this because some unscrupulous managers were building lists for spam. Their response is penalize all the legitimate group managers for the actions of a few bad apples. There are far better ways to deal with this issue. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> I pride myself in moderating and managing this group to the best of my ability. For almost a year, we have grown at 25% a month. LinkedIn overall has grown almost at much. The fact is, it is groups like ours that makes LinkedIn successful. But now they are biting the hand that feeds them. My ability to interact and network with you as individual members has been completely hamstrung. This is the only way to reach you individually. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> I URGE YOU TO TAKE ACTION AND VOICE YOUR OPINION. Ask them to rescind this heavy-handed and totally unnecessary tactic. Send an email directly to the Founder, Chairman and CEO of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, directly on his LinkedIn page: </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);" href="http://snipr.com/eke5g">http://snipr.com/eke5g</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"> Thanks for taking the time and for participating in Social Media Marketing. Let's keep growing and improving it, and that means growing and improving LinkedIn, too."</span><br /><br />Comment away.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-17616071439862220332009-03-16T15:48:00.003-04:002009-03-16T16:04:46.380-04:00Lost GenerationPowerful video about<span style="font-style: italic;"> change, </span>created by a Chicago student for the American Association of Retired Persons's <span style="font-weight: bold;">U@50 challenge</span> (it placed 2nd! I'd like to see what came first...). It was based on "Recrear", a message created by agency Savaglio\TBWA that won a silver lion in 2006.<br /><br />But that's besides the point: the adaptation is simply outstanding. Well chosen, and well done my Windy City friend -- you chose the right vehicle to get a powerful message across.<br /><br />Enjoy. (<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Thanks, Virginie!</span>)<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/42E2fAWM6rA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/42E2fAWM6rA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-58395487938874078282009-03-15T13:19:00.003-04:002009-03-15T13:25:25.849-04:00Sexy Motion Graphicky Goodness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vimeo.com/3583880" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgau708NLyN4iZD5Jb0ukc3IXW-oLH2RlZX9Vk7Ad0QNAeN6NvwEs2rePEkGCBYe9wY_9K_VFuT0Ej8NV2XtS2uLctJy5Au7zwMvPosN6x2bb0R2DEXN05YvaiEXXdRP7X3Nukt3g/s400/buzzimage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313466556066933202" border="0" /></a><br />Delicious homemade promo by motion graphics and 3D mighty house <a href="http://www.buzzimage.com/en/home" target="_blank">Buzz Image</a>, here in Montreal. Enjoy!<br /><object height="270" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/3583880">Way too sexy... lipdub</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/buzzimage">Buzz Image</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-83529466773502305622009-03-10T12:08:00.001-04:002009-03-10T12:10:07.372-04:00Awesome<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy6OtOxIAUZy0j67tMr_oHxyt5o4uDQoKBwJIFSfR8qUKOn6rZJA3hUkX2Yj0G5WX88vpCCkHDYruToZmfP-euk-6JL3onnN_GUCg7yr0lMZ8DYH6sgy_St9K1R2kU3Q3rkWQqA/s1600-h/pancheros.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy6OtOxIAUZy0j67tMr_oHxyt5o4uDQoKBwJIFSfR8qUKOn6rZJA3hUkX2Yj0G5WX88vpCCkHDYruToZmfP-euk-6JL3onnN_GUCg7yr0lMZ8DYH6sgy_St9K1R2kU3Q3rkWQqA/s400/pancheros.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311591778254453746" border="0" /></a>(Thanks, <a href="http://personalbrandingblog.com/using-twitter-for-personal-and-business-branding/"><span style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Personal Branding Blog</span></a>!)David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-51011404940848103652009-03-10T11:57:00.006-04:002009-03-10T12:04:24.690-04:00Inspiration Tuesdays: 512k.netInspiration Tuesdays are back! To start off easy, I want you to see these guys: <a href="http://512k.net/" target="_blank">512k.net</a><br /><br />I'm not sure what they do exactly, because my Japanese skills can be summed up in my ability to politely request an adequate lunch at the nearest sushi bar. My guess is they are a regroupment of flash motion graphics experts, able to create eye-catching presentations in a 512k file. Or maybe a public challenge, requiring flash artists and normal people to shell out their best flash animations in a 512k max file.<br /><br />At any rate, they held my full attention for the complete showing of this:<br /><a href="http://512kb.net/flash5.htm" target="_blank"><br />http://512kb.net/flash5.htm</a><br /><br />Enjoy.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-81110357347325113512009-03-09T14:12:00.004-04:002009-03-10T12:16:23.420-04:00Social Media: Lots of Talk, Not Enough WalkScouring the web these days you can find a plethora of blogs, tweets and web sites on which marketing consultants tell you how to "optimize your campaign using social media", or how "Twitter can be a great complement to your integrated advertising campaign". And AdKrispies is no exception. The search for the next great way to market to consumers has spilled much digital ink.<br /><br />But while this is great from a theoretical point of view, I still fail to see concrete applications of social media inside actual campaigns. Companies are still tip-toeing in social media and emergent communication, and on rare instances will you actually see an actual campaign that's entirely wrapped around social media.<br /><br />I'm not saying I find this disappointing, but I'm honestly getting a bit fed off with the fact that the <span style="font-style: italic;">hunt for social media information seems to be more important than its actual application.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>People seem to be on a Twitter craze, posting and reposting everything they find on the matter.<br />As I mentioned before, blogs are eloquent on the matter. There are five to ten 2.0 social media startups sprouting everyday on the web, "helping me better connect to people and places".<br /><br />Well, it seems the more I spend time getting connected to people, things and places these days, the less I actually <span style="font-style: italic;">see</span> them. My time hunting for social media is taking too much time, and not generating enough money. If social media is going to be an important part of the communications business, well it should start acting as such.<br /><br />Monetize, don't just theorize.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Edit: I personally congratulate the people at Skittles for coming up <a href="http://www.skittles.com" target="_blank">with their new website and its brilliant use of social media</a>.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Bold move, yet full of win.</span>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-59553790159757370822009-02-20T08:10:00.015-05:002009-03-03T11:04:03.250-05:00The challenges of monetizing your online service, part two<span style="font-style: italic;">In my last essay about this subject <a href="http://adkrispies.blogspot.com/2009/02/challenges-of-monetizing-your-online.html">I've introduced the possibility of the </a></span><a href="http://adkrispies.blogspot.com/2009/02/challenges-of-monetizing-your-online.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">User Prerogative Factor</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, or </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">UPF</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, as an important constraint to take in account when trying to monetize an existing online business or social media.</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">As a reminder, the UPF (high or low) is the notion that<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0); font-style: italic;">a user's</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);"> web usage habits always override the value of a website's contents</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 0);">.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Hence a previously free, high-UPF site before will be very hard to monetize, while a previously free, low-UPF site stands better chances.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Now, we're going to look at solutions towards keeping a </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">low UPF</span><span style="font-style: italic;">, or in other words, we'll try to discover what could possibly get users <span style="font-weight: bold;">to adopt your service without being able to own it</span> -- the key to any successful online venture.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>First, let's look at some of the motivations to use an online service:<br /><br />- Self-improvement (<span style="font-style: italic;">possibilities of</span>)<br />- Proximity (or <span style="font-style: italic;">convenience</span>)<br />-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>Anonymity<br />- Connection (to <span style="font-style: italic;">communities</span>)<br />- Entertainment<br />- Control (of <span style="font-style: italic;">actions</span>, of <span style="font-style: italic;">information</span>)<br /><br />Now, once users have benefitted from any of these advantages for <span style="font-style: italic;">free</span> on your website, the High UPF factor brought therein means it'll be quite hard to bring anything new on the site that would be offered in <span style="font-style: italic;">payable form</span>, because you're already fulfilling the basic usage motivations of users with your service.<br /><br />Now, two important steps towards a solution. First, you must:<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Examine current usage of your services by users, and extract some insights.</span> For example (something that's close to me, in this case): Employers currently examine a job candidate's Facebook profile before hiring. That's a usage insight. How could Facebook take this insight, and monetize it?<br /><br />- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Turn to your userbase, and ask them what they think, what they do.</span> Most online businesses spend tremendous amounts of money in research to come up with the next great idea to raise the value of their online service. Why do so, when they could just ask users what they want instead? If you have a community, use it. Chances are all your answers could be there.<br /><br />Once you have two or three <span style="font-style: italic;">basic usage insights</span> in hand, you have real precious info. You now have to find out how to convert these insights into products or services <span style="font-style: italic;">that raise web usage habits one notch up.</span> Sounds hard? Nope. The thing is, you don't necessarily have to twist your brains to find innovation on the web: <a href="http://www.fourio.com/web20map/" target="_blank">thousands of brilliant and revolutionary 2.0 startups abound</a>.<br /><br />The idea is to learn how you can integrate these ideas with your own, creating a whole new service. That's called a <span style="font-style: italic;">mashup</span>, and it's the future of the web as we know it.<br /><br />I strongly believe that, once we're passed the "scattering of innovations" that's standard currency on the web nowadays, we will witness the regrouping of these innovations inside broader integrated services. Facebook is free. Yellow-pages are free. Should an application that mashes Facebook and Yellow-Pages together be free? Would people pay for that? What's an acceptable value for such a service?<br /><br />What's for sure, your new mashed-up service could certainly bring user interaction on your site to a whole new level. But still the question remains: will people pay for it? Which form should my new offer take? Should it be a freemium? Should it be subscription-based? Paid by advertising?<br /><br />To be continued.<br /><br />In the next article, we'll look at options to integrate payment into your new service. In the meanwhile, please comment on my essay at will, add your ideas, and don't hesitate to criticize!<br /><br />_______________________________<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Summing things up, we've seen:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">- Gathering insights from site usage;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">- Gathering information from your community;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">- Convert these insights into tools, products of services by blending in other 2.0 services: Mashing Up.</span>David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787446.post-48658918789613685182009-02-20T07:47:00.005-05:002009-02-20T08:07:11.524-05:00Honda: The Power of Dreams<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3P5EcT6kBOWiALkk0tqhhR76Eb3NyO58EN23QV4DCFw0u7sbc0IHFQ-6bYiwpah9Vmvs3tXbgcBkMA2I3pWWCTUMmFVCZoVuYJGkyd81EhLE4zVRXNoMz6kO-urLw9lF7QHx2g/s1600-h/honda_pod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl3P5EcT6kBOWiALkk0tqhhR76Eb3NyO58EN23QV4DCFw0u7sbc0IHFQ-6bYiwpah9Vmvs3tXbgcBkMA2I3pWWCTUMmFVCZoVuYJGkyd81EhLE4zVRXNoMz6kO-urLw9lF7QHx2g/s400/honda_pod.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304865353869484050" border="0" /></a><br />Iwantmyflashtv.com is to my knowledge, the only place where you'll find animated shorts *entirely made in flash*, and of *very high quality* while you're at it. Boy will you see talent in there, trust me.<br /><br />Now, about the "entirely made in flash" and "you will see talent in there" parts of my sentence: Yesterday evening I was struck by flash genius, while at the same time, being struck by animation genius. And while getting maimed by all that striking, I was also struck by storytelling genius, and music genius. Now either that's real bad weather, or I have fantastic <span style="font-style: italic;">genius</span> conductivity.<br /><br />The source of all that thunderous striking? A short movie titled <a href="http://iwantmyflashtv.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Honda, The Power of Dreams</span></a>, by <a href="http://www.micheledauria.com/" target="_blank">Michele d'Auria Animation Studio</a>. Basically, the story of Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor Company. Told for the first time. And entirely made in Flash only.<br /><br />Watch it now. And wear some protection.David Claudehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11458319669710117029noreply@blogger.com4