I read this morning that 1/3 of Skype calls are video calls and soon we will enjoy Skype on large screen TVs. My family had the opportunity over the Christmas holidays to have a Skype video call with my brother who lives in another city. It was a multi-generational experience. I had asked my brother the night before if he had a webcam and he say he did not, but apparently he must have mentioned it to his daughters. I received two texts on Christmas morning to say that they would be taking a laptop to their father’s place and wanted to connect on MSN or Skype. I texted back my Skype name and after Christmas dinner, we began the video call.
Continue reading Skype on TV
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 Entering Apple Store, 5th Avenue, New York It seems that the Kindle has provided kindling for the fiery interest in e-readers, and the craze is in full blaze at CES this week. I have watched videos/photos and read descriptions of all the new styles, and it is mind-boggling, which I think feeds beautifully into Apple’s hands. Yes, we examine the variations of things we can do with these brands, but what they are missing is what Apple has become genius at….keeping it simple and training us in the possibilities of all things Apple. If you think Marketing is getting you to buy what you think you need, then Steve Jobs already has us converted to the path. As I await the new Apple Tablet announcement and the shininess of it all, I am anticipating the potential new uses for this device. My clues came from Steve Jobs’ apparent comment of wanting it to be more than something you read in the bathroom. This is what I have come up with so far, but you likely have more imaginative ideas.
Continue reading Possibilities for the new Apple Tablet – iSlate Here is a good discussion on how to build brands in the days of social media.
 Edith Piaf as a child I recently discovered Louis Boudreault in Iles de la Madeleine a la Cafe de la Grave. I recognized his work, as I had seen it once previously in a gallery in the Westmount area of Montreal. Boudreault uses a mixture of painting and drawing to recreate people like Andy Warhol, Edith Piaf, John F. Kennedy and Einstein as children. It is interesting to see the innocence and wonder in their eyes, knowing the impact they would later have on our lives. Here is a link that features some of his work. I read a report yesterday on virtual worlds and found an interesting point. They challenged the concept of “virtual” worlds. Clay Shirky from his book, Here Comes Everybody writes, “The experience of a 25 year old is one of substantial overlap between online and offline friends and colleagues. The overlap is so great that both the word and concept of cyberspace have fallen into disuse.” The report goes on to say that online interactions on “virtual worlds” are digital but are definitely real. “Digital natives”, meaning those who grew up with the internet, move easily between online and offline environments. On the other hand, “Digital immigrants” which are those who came to the internet later have more difficulty understanding the point of using an avatar and are trying to make a distinction from what is real and virtual. But acquaintances made on the internet are as real as those we connect with by telephone. Online does not replace offline interactions but rather complements them. Avatars are merely an online representation of ourselves, and we customize them as we would our own selves with wardrobes reflecting a desire to express who we are. Avatars allow us to curate our online personalities beyond static web presence and experience the net beyond point and click. Reference: From Virtual Worlds to the 3D Web, Online Communities in China, Asia and the World, a EU-China Information Society Project. This year’s PSFK Conference New York is on April 2nd at the Jewish Heritage Center in Battery Park. I went last year and although it was only one day, it was a connection hub of trends and ideas. Many of the trends I was not aware of, as I was new to PSFK, but over the year, I saw many of these ideas that we spoke about take hold. This year’s conference will be set within more challenging times, so the creative ideas should offer even more poignancy and immediacy with pressure for authenticity.
http://www.psfk.com/2009/02/announcing-psfk-conference-new-york-2009.html And to bring you up to speed, here are all the videos online from previous conferences. http://www.psfk.com/2009/01/every-single-psfk-conference-video-now-online.html I like this kind of thinking. We tend to focus on what is failing in our economy, but this article from Piers Fawkes makes us focus on how our economy is being re-ordered. Behaviors are changing rapidly and it is driven by our digital behavior and our rethinking of consumerism. Throw an economic crisis into the mix, and the whole thing speeds up. The companies that get it are thriving. To use a sports analogy, see where the ball is going, not where it is now. http://http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/recession-or-reorder.html |
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Here is a Luscious Lobster campaign that I directed to promote lobster a few years back. Since it is lobster season in Prince Edward Island now, I thought that I would feature it again and make you all hungry for lobster. Here are a few of the photos. Each photo took 5-6 hours to set up. The large shot became the cover shot for the brochure which was produced in 7 languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin and Japanese. We also developed recipe booklets and posters and the campaign was featured in seafood shows in Europe, US and Asia.
