Quarterlife
+ 6 million streams to date
+ $0 in advertising
+ Viral phenomenon
The first internet show to be picked up by network TV (NBC, premiers Feb 26th, then airs Sunday nights at 8pmCST). This is really a fascinating creation...the way it started and its evolution. The site is part real, part not. A real social networking site about characters who use social networking. The line between watching entertainment and being smack-dab in the middle of entertainment is certainly blurred.
Adobe Launches Microsite
Adobe has launched "Adobe Cards" as a microsite to announce Creative Suite 3. There are no words - its simply to entertain designers. It's got some pretty crazy animation/Flash stuff going on.
Great Type Treatment
This is a pretty cool type treatment - in a video/animated format. Below is a quote from the blog entry.
(CONTENT NOTE: The voice-over content in the video may be considered offensive. It is from a movie that was rated R. Consider this your warning.)
"I find this interesting on more than just a visual level…as a typographic study it is outstanding. The words will change into graphics, jump from one side to the other, offering the viewer a “feel” for the story rather than just reading."
Interactive Buzz - Feb 22 '08
Nice Site
Product Name: Elephant Beer
Tagline: "Probably the best beer in the world" (I love that tagline, by the way)
The Website: http://www.carlsberg.com This is a fun little site...well designed and entertaining. Elephant Beer allows users to find out about an Elephant Man...and allows you to take your picture with "Elephant Man Ears"..then, of course, send it to your friends. I uploaded one of Glenn - mostly because his picture was the most accessible. Just a simple little feature that will help users 'engage' with the brand, versus just reading about it.
Beautiful Information Design
The Red Cross (9/11 Legacy) did a beautiful job of sharing a lot of information - from the strong, well done videos to the timeline...graphs...copy...navigation and overall beautiful white space.
Inspiration for Web Designers
Below are a few links where I go for web design, features, functionality and online marketing inspiration:
http://www.designlicks.com/flash/index.php
http://www.coolhomepages.com
http://www.thefwa.com/
http://www.commarts.com/interactive
Interactive Buzz - Feb 15 '08
Consumer Generated TV
Current.com. Heard of it? I hadn't until today (and my cable provider doesn't provide it (Direct TV, Comcast, Dish, AT&T, Time do, however).) It's consumer generated tv programs, news, ads, etc... completely created and uploaded (to Current.com) by users. I guess there are users who continuously upload weekly programs, news feeds, etc. It's fascinating, really. You can watch it on TV, or watch the broadcasts live on the web (of course!). You can comment and see related videos. You can send all the shows/videos to your friends and/or embed them in your site/blog (just like YouTube).
You can view by topics (Currently popular, Most popular, Recently on TV), by People, by Viewpoints (online only). On TV, you watch whats on at the time.
Snippets (Pods) are short...from 1-7 minutes. Perfect for the A.D.D. folks out there. And I'd have to assume the demographics are pretty young. I can't see my parents getting much out of a station like this.
You can also make commercials with elements supplied by the brands themselves. They'll supply you with things like logos, messaging and a music library. If they use your ad, you get paid. If they use your ad in other arenas, you have the chance to get a lot more. Participating advertisers... T-Mobile, Toyota, & XM Radio.
Here's the definition of a "Pod"... which is a bulk of the content on the site.
A pod is a short video that tells a story, profiles a character and/or shares an idea. Current TV pods are nonfiction videos that are anywhere from one minute to seven or eight minutes; it's a self-contained story, a profile of an interesting character or a dose of information. It's like the atom of the Current TV universe.
Great Design. Great Functionality. Great Idea.
Etsy.com. One of the most unique shopping experiences out there. They're an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Very human to human products. None of the mass-manufactured stuff. Polar opposite of Walmart.
First off, all content is consumer generated. To design a beautiful interface with that fact alone is impressive. But beyond that, Etsy has built in some fantastic search features. Not only fantastic in function, but in form as well. All designers and developers should take note. Check some of them out... like the Time Machine, Geolocator, Connections. They also offer online classes, a community forum (social network) to connect with other Etsy users and other useful little features.
Etsy defines: "A positive first impression & a positive user experience". Good job Etsy.
Permalink
Current.com. Heard of it? I hadn't until today (and my cable provider doesn't provide it (Direct TV, Comcast, Dish, AT&T, Time do, however).) It's consumer generated tv programs, news, ads, etc... completely created and uploaded (to Current.com) by users. I guess there are users who continuously upload weekly programs, news feeds, etc. It's fascinating, really. You can watch it on TV, or watch the broadcasts live on the web (of course!). You can comment and see related videos. You can send all the shows/videos to your friends and/or embed them in your site/blog (just like YouTube).
You can view by topics (Currently popular, Most popular, Recently on TV), by People, by Viewpoints (online only). On TV, you watch whats on at the time.
Snippets (Pods) are short...from 1-7 minutes. Perfect for the A.D.D. folks out there. And I'd have to assume the demographics are pretty young. I can't see my parents getting much out of a station like this.
You can also make commercials with elements supplied by the brands themselves. They'll supply you with things like logos, messaging and a music library. If they use your ad, you get paid. If they use your ad in other arenas, you have the chance to get a lot more. Participating advertisers... T-Mobile, Toyota, & XM Radio.
Here's the definition of a "Pod"... which is a bulk of the content on the site.
A pod is a short video that tells a story, profiles a character and/or shares an idea. Current TV pods are nonfiction videos that are anywhere from one minute to seven or eight minutes; it's a self-contained story, a profile of an interesting character or a dose of information. It's like the atom of the Current TV universe.
Great Design. Great Functionality. Great Idea.
Etsy.com. One of the most unique shopping experiences out there. They're an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade. Very human to human products. None of the mass-manufactured stuff. Polar opposite of Walmart.
First off, all content is consumer generated. To design a beautiful interface with that fact alone is impressive. But beyond that, Etsy has built in some fantastic search features. Not only fantastic in function, but in form as well. All designers and developers should take note. Check some of them out... like the Time Machine, Geolocator, Connections. They also offer online classes, a community forum (social network) to connect with other Etsy users and other useful little features.
Etsy defines: "A positive first impression & a positive user experience". Good job Etsy.
Permalink
Interactive Buzz - Feb 8 '08
Superbad Ads... ur, Superbowl Ads
I'm sure you all hunkered down with your bowl of steaming chile and plate of crackers n' cheese whiz in excited anticipation of what will surely be the very best, most creative ads of all the year. If anyone was like me, just like every year, I was disappointed. A couple interesting ones I'll point out though - utilized online components.
1. MySpace - they didn't advertise in a :30 spot - they just put up a URL during the game that said: See all the ads after the game - www.myspace.com/superbowlads Not sure what they paid to do that - but at least they didn't have to go through the humiliation of bad advertising.
2. GoDaddy - They capitalized on their 'shame shame' experience 2 years ago in which FOX banned their "too risqué" girly girl ad. This year - let's make a too risque ad, tell people on TV it's too risque and just have them watch it on their website. They get people to the site (goal 1) and people are likely more engaged with the ad than if they were to watch it on TV. One thing I found though - there is a REASON Danica Patrick is a race card driver and NOT an actress. Uf.
3. Microsites (Campaign sites)
a. Audi - http://www.truthinengineering.com/ (site better than ad)
I think this site is quite beautiful and I love the navigation. The site loads with a video you can skip - then a car zooms in on a beautiful black background. Rotating billboards of information fill the sky. This site is MUCH better then their "Godfather" spoof Superbowl Ad.
b. Tide http://mytalkingstain.com/ (ad better than site)
Tide had a pretty funny ad. The site, though, less powerful. My Talking Stain .com Create your own talking stain commercial. You can view and vote on some of the submissions on YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/mytalkingstain). Concept overdone. Plus, I found many of them more creepy than funny.
I'm sure you all hunkered down with your bowl of steaming chile and plate of crackers n' cheese whiz in excited anticipation of what will surely be the very best, most creative ads of all the year. If anyone was like me, just like every year, I was disappointed. A couple interesting ones I'll point out though - utilized online components.
1. MySpace - they didn't advertise in a :30 spot - they just put up a URL during the game that said: See all the ads after the game - www.myspace.com/superbowlads Not sure what they paid to do that - but at least they didn't have to go through the humiliation of bad advertising.
2. GoDaddy - They capitalized on their 'shame shame' experience 2 years ago in which FOX banned their "too risqué" girly girl ad. This year - let's make a too risque ad, tell people on TV it's too risque and just have them watch it on their website. They get people to the site (goal 1) and people are likely more engaged with the ad than if they were to watch it on TV. One thing I found though - there is a REASON Danica Patrick is a race card driver and NOT an actress. Uf.
3. Microsites (Campaign sites)
a. Audi - http://www.truthinengineering.com/ (site better than ad)
I think this site is quite beautiful and I love the navigation. The site loads with a video you can skip - then a car zooms in on a beautiful black background. Rotating billboards of information fill the sky. This site is MUCH better then their "Godfather" spoof Superbowl Ad.
b. Tide http://mytalkingstain.com/ (ad better than site)
Tide had a pretty funny ad. The site, though, less powerful. My Talking Stain .com Create your own talking stain commercial. You can view and vote on some of the submissions on YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/mytalkingstain). Concept overdone. Plus, I found many of them more creepy than funny.
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