On The Ground Looking Up

I Want To Be Pranav Mistry When I Grow Up

I love where Pranav Mistry, Sixth Sense and MIT are going when it comes to integrating computing and data into our living world as indicated by this video from TED India a few months ago. While some of the technologies are still in their raw forms, it shows where we can go when we are not limited by the form factors that the hardware companies keep trying to get us to use. Watch him make a more functional iPad out of a simple piece of paper. Additionally, they are working to make all of these technologies open source so that the community at large can build on them and grow as the needs grow. It is really exciting to see how far them have come from their earlier TED presentation. This is something I am going to be paying close attention to, how about you?

The Amazing Phone Book Carvings of Alex Querel

Philly's own Alex Queral is a sculptor who uses phone books as his carving medium, which pretty outstanding results. See some of them below, or click here for many more.

A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter

Rarely am I so perplexed and inspired by one thing. But today is one of those days. After reading a post by @meat99 (Tom Ajello) on A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter by Caleb Larsen.

What is ATTDAS? Good question. And after my brief explanation you still may not know.

Yes, it is a work of art. Yes it is a black box. Yes it posts itself to EBAY continuously for resale. Wait a second, what?!?

As the artist explains, ATTDAS is a work of art that has a physical and a perpetual online state. If either of these cease, then it no longer is noticed as a work of art by the artist that created it (whether this reduces the art value of it will be up to the collector to determine). So you buy the piece of art off of EBAY. You then get it in the mail, plug it in to Ethernet and it will re-post itself at the last paid bid (current bid: $4,250). You are agreeing under contract with the artist that when and if it sells, you will send it to the new highest bidder (and pay the artist 15% of your appreciation). The next person gets it and does the same. Whether you have it for 1 week or 10 years will be determined by the desire for the artwork. The artwork itself is predicated on it always being offered for auction. 

Talk about augmented reality! Is the physical piece a work of art in itself or simply a representation of a concept that is auctioned off virtually and in perpetuity? 

 

As noted from the agreement you make when buying the artwork:

"A. Artist has created a work of art titled “A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter (2009)” (“the Artwork”) which consists of a black box that places itself for sale on the auction website “eBay” (the “Auction Venue”) every seven (7) days. The Artwork consists of the combination of the black box or cube, the electronics contained therein, and the concept that such a physical object “sells itself” every week.

B. Collector understands and agrees to the underlying concept and function of the Artwork and that the sale of the Artwork by Artist is dependent and conditioned upon Purchaser’s agreement and adherence to the below terms. Such terms are fundamental and crucial to the on-going viability and artistic integrity of the Artwork."

and

"Any failure to follow these terms without prior consent of Artist will forfeit the status of the Artwork as a legitimate work of art. The item will no longer be considered a genuine work by the Artist and any value associated with it will be reduced to its value as a material object and not a work of art."

My brain is still hurting a bit while thinking of this, but it is a truly inspiring (and perhaps meaningless) approach to the collaboration between technology, desire and creativity and it encourages me to think differently than I had, which is what I strive to do as much as I can.

How much is the current bid? You can always track it at http://atooltodeceiveandslaughter.com.

Random Images From My Desktop 17

 

How To Get Ahead In (Experiential) Advertising.

I get a lot of email from students and recent grads about how to break into the business of experiential, guerrilla or non-traditional marketing. I have been thinking about how I got into the business and the winding road I took and I also have been thinking about how the dynamically changing face of media may be teaching those just getting into the business some pretty bad habits. And finally, I am worried about what they are NOT going to learn because of all the hype that surrounds the current media fad and how little attention right now is paid to the past.

So in light of all that, I present an open letter to marketing students.

Dear [Insert your name here],

So you are interested in getting involved in Experiential or Non-traditional marketing. Right there we have a problem you need to understand. Nobody really knows what to even call this industry. You will hear terms like those as well as Guerrilla (sometimes spelled Guerilla for some reason), Ambient, Viral, Intercept, Promotion, Grassroots, Astroturf, Outeractive, Landscape, Live Marketing and so many more. And guess what, they are all bullshit. What we do is not really any of those, when done correctly, you are creating an opportunity for a brand to connect with their desired consumers, get through all the cynicism and filters, and present your brand in an engaging memorable way that lasts with the consumer. And if you can get an action out of them, all the better. 

Another thing, pay attention to all that is in the world around you and use what you need, but do not buy into the hype that often captivates our industry. It ends up limiting our thinking. Take what you need for the specific assignment, and allow that what you think today's tactic is, may not be tomorrow's. To get you started here are some challenging thoughts to frame your thinking:

• Pay attention to Chuck Klosterman, not Malcom Gladwell - Gladwell reports on things and gives you what he thinks you should pay attention to. After the first 50 pages or so of a MG book you get the premise. Klosterman, while not specifically media/marketing related teaches us to think different about situations and find the angles that you did not necessarily know existed.
• If you want to learn how to affect and motivate crowds, study Edward Bernays and Jim Moran, not Improv Everywhere. 
• Being 'Social' is about having real conversations with real people, not using technology to connect with others who should be having real conversations too. Social Media are simply tools for connection, service, reputation management and message dissemination, but the real Social Engagement happens one-to-one and ideally in person.
• Don't worry about the numbers of 'followers' and 'friends' you have, worry about the authenticity of the messages you put out there and respect your own community. Become a voice with something to say and people will start to take notice.
• Don't be arrogant. There is so much more that you don't know than you could ever know. 
• What is hot right now, may not be in the near future. Second Life, Friendster, Myspace, the Palm VII, The Globe, WebVan, Netscape and so many more companies dot the landscape of those with huge buzz and potential riches, and then fell out of favor. Do not tie yourself too closely to a technology, destination or platform that potentially could be obsolete or passé in a few months/years time.
• Constantly be looking for new things to inspire you and others.
• Try and become an expert on something.
• Be honest with yourself and the brands you work for. In today's world, if you try and pull the wool over someone's eyes or do not deliver on your promise, not only are they geared up to expose it, but it will probably end up on YouTube and Twitter.
• Meg Kearny wrote "I believe good poets borrow, great poets steal" - I fully support this notion and welcome you to do so with my ideas as well as offer your ideas up for theft to others.

These are but a start. Obviously you will be charting your own way. Learning from many and teaching others. Allow yourself that you will not know everything. One of the most satisfying things about what we do is that often the best ideas are things that have never been done before. So often the innovation comes out seeing if something can happen and when it goes right, you will know it. When it does not, you learn for the future.

All my best, 

Sam Travis Ewen

CEO - Interference Inc.

Happy 2010!

Feeling very optimistic about this year and looking forward to more creativity, more interesting discussion and more connections with all of you out there.

Art by Patrick Thomas

Happy Twismas!

Interference's own Mad Genius-In-Residence, Alpay Kasal, created this little holiday gem. Based on the technology we utilized for GE's Twitter Windows, he created a set of Christmas tree ornaments that have LED lights in each of them.

Each ornament is tied to a specific holiday word, which when anyone mentions in it in a tweet, causes the light to flash. Twitter search terms include: Christmas, Xmas, Santa, mistletoe, peace, cheer, consumerism, joy, presents, jingle bells, happy new year, 2010, and many more. So get to tweeting those words and make this tree light up!

Video to come soon.

Now This Is Awesome. We Need More Thoughts Like This.

-Thanks Ro!

So 223 People Walk Into A Condom...

A flash condom mob in Italy to "Stop Aids In It's Tracks", which is focused on saving babies in Zimbabwe from contracting AIDS. This great event was coordinated by Cesvi, a NGO sponsored social network in Italy. The event ended up getting a lot of media attention and as well raised some much needed funds for the health of the kids in Zimbabwe. And it looks like a lot of fun to boot. Check out the video below.

<via Disruption in Italian>

Alternate Ways To View The World...

...always inspire me. Take this contest on Worth1000, a challenge to all Photoshop jocks to put graffiti into classic works of art. Some of the results are fantastic but I enjoy more how easily the old and new mesh together. Something we as creative marketers should always be paying attention to.

Originally seen on my partner-in-tech-crime Alpay Kasal's blog.