This is a nice Flickr group where you post up your typography every Friday.  Simple.

This week I went pretty simple with an easy pixel font, but presented in pink post-it notes against a light-up wall we’ve got at the end of one of our benches.

I could post-rationalise it with talk about the medium that’s written on being used to write, but I think that might be a bit self indulgent.  Anyways, here it is:

The fact there is 10.5k videos tagged Rube Goldberg and the latest OK Go clip has recieved 500k views in 3 days isn’t a coincidence.

Which brings me to the current spate of Old Spice ads which will undoubtedly spawn thousands of remakes earning millions of views.

The original:

A very funny homage:

Jam are returning to the Social Media World Forum to look at the value that Social Media can offer if only it would grow up.

Come and chat to us on stand 16, or see what Alex and Oli have to say at the conference.

Monday 15th, 2.50: “Social Media is out of control”
Alex Miller & Oli Newton

Tuesday 16th, 10.30: “Benchmarking Advertising on Social Networks”
Alex Miller

I want to see which one is considered to be the bigger failure? Or am I wrong? Are they both products that will revolutionise respective industry? Please answer the poll, and if you consider me to be wrong, please tell me why in the comments field!

(This post and poll represents my own opinions and thoughts, and not those of Jam)

It’s patronising, obvious and bumbles along at a snails pace using that painfully-current cut-out-pieces-of-paper-analogue-aesthetic-made-popular-by-the-twitter-in-plain-English-video.

It does however, do exactly what it sets out to do: explain social media in plain English.
It also makes me think of ice cream which is never a bad thing.

cheers to Dave Edwards for the link

You are able to share thoughts, links, photos, videos, RSS feeds etc. What sets it apart from Facebook, aside from one obvious thing, is that you are able to pull in content from your social networks or utilities such as Picasa, flickr, Google Reader and Twitter. This is a great functionality that facebook is lacking, and will probably do so due to equal lack of collaboration partners. All this is done straight through your Gmail account and is shared to your Gmail contacts. You are able to follow peoples’ Buzz feeds, or bring in random content from all your contacts.

Of course this has taken Twitter by storm (around 3,189 tweets over the last 6 minutes on ‘Google Buzz”) , and is the second highest ranking topic at the moment. However, even though it holds high share of buzz, it is not really received well:

According to me the biggest difference between Buzz and Facebook is also why I don’t think it will revolutionise the Social Media world: Gmail is not the forum where you want to share thoughts, party pictures or funny videos to everyone. My contacts in Gmail differ quite a lot from my friends in Facebook. Even Twitter gets around this problem due to a level of anonymity within the micro blog. As I have used my Gmail account for professional correspondence, I run the risk of sharing my content to unintended recipients.
Even though it could be considered a nice effort by Google to try to break into even another space, I don’t think they will succeed. I use my Gmail account for sending emails, for which it is great, but that’s what I will continue to do, nothing more. I’m not saying that Google hasn’t succeeded before in branching out, but this time they are moving in the wrong direction.

But an even more important question, what happened to Google Wave? I haven’t heard anything about it over the last months. This email system that was going to revolutionise the email world, did it flop?

An aspect of analogue photography that has pretty much disappeared now is instant film.  Polaroid used to produce this, but stopped in 2008 because few people were buying it.

But there’s still a stalwart group of Polaroid users.  532,550 images on Flickr are tagged “Polaroid” (though I’d imagine quite a few of those are faux-polaroids) and the main Polaroid group has just under 14,000 members and over 150,000 images in its pool.

A group of Polaroid photographers have taken it upon themselves to resurrect the production of instant film; The Impossible Project are setting about restarting the manufacture of new types of instant film in a factory in the Netherlands.

However, production seems to have hit a snag, and “an unexpected surprise of impossibility within production occured on the weekend of February 6th”.  The Impossible Project haven’t really said much more than that, apart from moving their press conference announcing their product launch back to the tail-end of March.

So, will instant film be available again soon, or will we start to see analogue photography fade away?

I took this.  Down the Social with the Diana and a fisheye lense.

Here are some we’ve found… if you know any more please send us a link -
facebook.comGreen-Onions

facebook.com/SavoyTruffle.Supperclub

nunomendes.co.uk

Two particular things that seem to take a lot of people’s fancy is cats and style-blogs-featuring-photos-of-real-people-on-the-street-looking-like-they-should-be-in-a-magazine, namely The Sartorialist and it’s many homages.

Some crafty individual has taken the conch and decided that surely the best way to fame and fortune is to combine the two, the result is The Catorialist. Taking it’s design cues (as so many do) from the pared down standard ‘I don’t care much for CSS’ blogger template, the catorialst does for cats what the Sartorialist does for fashion – namely featuring beautiful images with minimal description, and encouraging debate and discussion.

File under: I wish I’d thought of that.

The Catorialist

Coca Cola invites college students in the U.S to experience the happiness factory via “the happiness machine”. When visiting their vending machine they get a little more than expected.

So far it has racked up 1,223,441 views on YouTube. The only distribution sources for the video were a tweet from the Coke Twitter account and their Facebook fan page. Interactive YouTube feature have been used to great effect as the video finishes with a call to action “Share the Happiness” alongside the question “Where will the happiness strike next?”.

Coke please bring this machine to us here at Jam

Our neighbours and friends Fallon have together with B-Reel produced a game for the Kerry Foods Cheestrings website, supporting their new range of TV advertisements. The protagonist is Mr Strings, who is on a quest around the world to re-establish cheese as a great source of calcium. The adverts are targeted to tweens aged 8-14, and are supposed to educate them in the importance of calcium.

A recent study made by The Walt Disney Company EMEA (via BrandRepublic) (via BrandRepublic)shows that 74% of all kids spend the majority of their time online playing games.

The website is filled with interactive bits and pieces (like designing your own vehicle and character), perfect to catch and hold the attention of any 8 year-old. As you play you can share your progress over your Social Networks.

As always when B-Reel is behind the production it looks great, and I have to admit that even though I am quite far outside the target demographic I got a little hooked.

Try it on the cheestrings website

Late last year I found myself in the hot seat attempting to conduct an interview with none other than Har Mar Superstar (that’s me on the right BTW).

Another Jammer Huw was manning the camera – trying admirably to keep us in frame whilst sipping on a complementary beer.

It’s surprisingly hard to concentrate on a conversation when the only image you have in your mind is a tubby balding man in his underwear. Even harder to concentrate when he touches your inner thigh.

For the uninitiated, this is what he usually looks like:

…before he takes his trousers off.

Convergence is best understood as different platforms and devices coming together as one, and a blurring of the distinction between them.

With more than 2,500 technology companies introducing more than 20,000 new products at the beginning of 2010 at the International CES including 3D TV, mobile DTV, connected TV, green technologies, tablets and apps, it seems that we are getting evermore closer to the fantastical ideals foresaw by the optimistic sci-fi writers of the ‘60s where one item can complete a thousand tasks.

This year, for the first time, 90 per cent or so of the HD TVs being displayed at CES have internet connections.  So what does that mean? We have seen scores of TVs that pull in content from social media services like Twitter while displaying linear, live television. So when you’re watching Question Time or the X Factor, you will be able to see live, in real-time, what others are making of the programme. You will no longer need to check your laptop or phone for the update.

Now convergence between various technological devices probably seems like nothing new, and just part of our ever increasing momentum in hi tech advancement.

However, technology within art is on the uptake and becoming more and more advanced.

Decode: Digital Design Sensations at the V&A is a joint collaboration between the  V & A & onedotzero which  showcases the latest developments in digital and interactive design, from small, screen-based, graphics to large-scale interactive installation and looks at how advanced technologies and the internet have enabled new types of social interaction and mediums of self-expression.

Kinetica Art Fair is produced by Kinetica Museum and is the first of its kind in the UK. It provides collectors, curators and the public with a unique opportunity to view and purchase artworks from leading contemporary arts organisations and artists specialising in kinetic, electronic, robotic, light, sound, time-based and interdisciplinary new media art.

Having studied Time based media a good 6 years ago and struggling ever since to explain my course subject, it is with great excitement that 2010 looks to be the year of amazing digital and artistic development and I for one am excited about where this will take us, blurring the lines between the digital business world and the art world and opening new doors for the people in both camps.

Google, I am guessing , didn’t want to have to do a deal with an operator for this. Just as we saw with the Sat nav market, get involved, get what they want then launch their own product to usurp the competition. The campaign for Google taking over the mobile world started a few years ago.

It was the quest to get free wifi across the US and other major cities. Free wifi means no need for operators. Google voice and the recently acquired Gizmo5 would allow Google to host the whole conversation without needing to rely on the network operator and really threaten the system.

We saw a brief example of what it could be like when Google was able to sponsor free wifi at the majority of US airports over the festive season. As it is, wifi coverage isn’t yet good enough and the affectionately termed ‘dumb pipes’ (the operators) will continue to be involved for the time being as a point of necessity rather than anything else.

Oli Newton is the head of emerging platforms at i-level

Lovingly crafted at Jam towers.

Adidas have cleverly crafted a 3-D virtual world that can be accessed and played using a new range of men’s sneakers. How does this work? I hear you say…Well all users have to do is go to the Adidas site and with their sneakers tongue. The tongue contains a code embedded in it. Holding this in front of their computer webcam will open up a virtual world in front of them. Using the trainer they can navigate around just like a computer controller.

Chris Barbour, head of digital marketing for Adidas Originals states “The foundation of augmented reality lies in adding a layer to the real world,” he goes onto say “That’s what we have done. We have taken a real world item and added a fantastic virtual world on top of that”

Adidas’ new augmented reality shoes won’t be out it purchase until February 2010. With this idea in mind I will be interested to see what Nike’s plans are for the coming year with their footwear range and ever changing technology. I will be sure to post it here when I see anything.

Via Wired.com

The push comes as the EU is to bring in new legislation which may mean that rather than having a default browser already on your PC you will have a choice over what browser you download and use, which means they will need to know more about what a browser has to offer. This is due to come into effect in the next couple of months  and after it does Internet Explorer, Mozilla and Chrome will begin vying aggressively for market share.

Traditionally Google have opted for an aggressive DR approach for Google Chrome capitalising on its unique offers such as personalised themes in order to get users to download and use it.  The new online campaign has taken a more branded approach utilising high impact placements across Europe’s biggest sites.  This is only the beginning as Google is likely to invest more budget in pushing its offering during the first half of 2010. Expect to see much more of Chrome and what it can offer over the forthcoming months.

This is what all the fuss is about:

Simon McCarthy is a senior planner buyer at i-level

I was surprised to discover that Mia has built up a huge following by posting videos of herself singing and playing the guitar since 2006. Her latest song ‘What would Christmas be like?’ uploaded just 3 weeks ago, has had 1,216,855 views, with 7,447 ratings and 5,697 comments. She had recently asked her online community of fans to design the CD cover to her latest single. This is a great example of an up and coming singer seeing the benefits of using social networks to build a fan base and then rewarding them. I look forward to seeing what social media delights 2010 will bring. Merry Christmas and a happy new year

Christmas is almost here!

To celebrate, i-level has gone and created a christmas cracker of a game: Rooftop snowball challenge

Despite a misspent youth playing duck hunt, I’ve only been able to muster a score of 23. See if you can top it, and let us know in the comments.

In Japan though, that educational piece is driven by the government and the operators, meaning more people know about it and crucially all handsets sold have QR code readers installed (Nokia currently pre-installs in the UK but even then not for all handsets)

A few brave advertisers in the UK have tried to crack it, most notably probably Pepsi by printing a code on 400,000,000 cans with fairly limited success. People simply didn’t know what to do and the explanations offered, whilst helpful weren’t enough to get over the education chasm.

Pepsi added QR codes to 400m cans in UK

There have been a host of other advertisers who have tried, but none to great success. Interestingly, a few companies are using them internally such as Outdoor poster companies to keep track of what ad should be where and when to change them. The reason it works in this case is that they are educating their workforce as to how to use them.

It is a great piece of technology and deserves to succeed, but it also shows the need to make it plug and play, it has to be easy enough that people don’t realise they are using it (think iPlayer).

So it is interesting to see that Google are incorporating it into their offering and encouraging shops and restaurants in the US to use and display them on their window fronts. Embedded in the codes are discounts and coupons, reviews and other information that Google can provide and a map presence under the headline “favourite places on Google”.

Google has currently sent out 100,000 of the branded bar codes across the whole of the US through some 9,000 towns and cities.

Google hasn’t said what its plans are for the uber promotion layout but could this be the shot in the arm to make it mainstream?

Oli Newton is the head of emerging platforms at i-level

Olly Murs has had the most buzz since 10 October and during the week leading up to this weekend’s final.

Source: Brandwatch

Stacey Solomon has the most fans on Facebook.

Source: Sum of Facebook pages with 100 or more fans

Joe is winning in the polls.

Forums on the Daily Mail, Digital Spy, Entertainment.stv.tv, PopSugar, StudentRoom and UnRealityTV forums all agree that Joe will win.

StudentRoom forums

Entertainment.stv.tv

DigitalSpy forums

So what’s the best predictor of who will win?

Buzz gave some indication of who would be voted off earlier on, but now that it’s down to the last three, buzz isn’t reliable enough. Stacey has a lot of Facebook fans, but it could just be her personality giving her fans. Polls are the closest to the actual vote, so I’m willing to bet that Joe will win this weekend.

Who do you think will win?

To promote their new store opening in Malmo, Ikea set-up a Facebook profile for Gordon Gustavsson, the store’s manager. Pictures of the stores showrooms were uploaded to Gustavsson photo album. Any friends of the Ikea Facebook page had the opportunity to tag themselves in photos in order to win free furniture. The first user to tag a specific product in a photo would receive that item for free. This use of Facebook photo tags generated a great deal of online publicity as the photos spread around the social networking site. The photo tags appeared not only on the specific users profiles but also in news feed. This in turn basically used Facebook for one big word of mouth promotion…. So simple and effective

Joe McElderry and Stacey Solomon’s buzz doesn’t compare, but which one will go home tonight?

Joe has had the least buzz overall despite his many fans. Stacey has generated more mentions overall, but yesterday she didn’t too well.

A score based on yesterday’s mentions and sentiment reveals that it’s the end of the line for Stacey:

It’s time for the boys to battle it out!

YouTube has recently asked their customers what they are missing from their favourite video host. The result was a large outcry for something that goes well in line with Twitter’s genius: Simplicity. Most YouTube users want to watch videos with minimum hustle. However, there is one smaller group of people, that is very important for YouTube’s revenue stream, that wants the complete opposite: the uploaders. The latter user group wishes to enhance communication with the audience and asks further ways to increase audience volume, and both would need further added features to the interface.

So, who did YouTube listen to? Today it was announced that the video site will be launching a new version of the site, quite similar to Facebook Lite. It is not officially made yet when YouTube Feather will go live but, we the Beta version is ready for testing now. It will provide viewers with the benefit of watching video with the minimum latency possible. The downside? It achieves minimum latency through limiting many of the features available to the user lowering the amount of bytes that needs downloading by the browser. This will definitely make it more difficult to feature sponsored content, but could however contribute to an enriched brand experience for the viewer.

French site PC INpact has unearthed some screen grabs of the new layout.  They’re not too different from those available over at the developer roadmap, but they do show how photo pages and drop downs will work.

What will it mean for Facebook?  Well, there’ll probably be the compulsory whinge period whilst people get used to it, before everyone forgets how it used to be (check out my comment in MediaWeek in 2008 – it’s at the bottom of the page).  Then there’ll be the changes that need to happen to apps and pages if they’ve been developed for a 760px wide tab.

Update: These updates will happen in February 2010.

In the mean time, here’s some pics (via PC INpact of course):

(Click to see a larger image).

Over time, Danyl Johnson has had consistent buzz, with a higher than average number of mentions. Of the remaining five, Joe McElderry has had the least amount of buzz.

I’ll make a bold prediction: I think we’ll see Joe McElderry or Lloyd Daniels go home tonight on X Factor. If I’m wrong, I’ll try again.

I think it shows quite well just how much Twitter has grown. The first jump in traffic is back in March 2009. If you look at the last few months you can see that their are some dips particularly in the Midlands and the North.

We’re thinking about doing some more of these for other sites so let us know if their are any sites you would like to see in the comments section.

Depending on whether you have a Profile, Page or App, there are some points worth bearing in mind in order to maintain or augment some of the functionality of your activity.

1. The user interface is getting a redesign. There’s going to be a left hand column through which users can navigate their feed, events, photos, games, apps etc.  This’ll take up about 25% of the screen on the left, and gives app owners the opportunity to get a shortcut permanently on a user’s homepage.

However, app and page owners will have to rethink some of their functionality.  This new column will replace where users currently have their “boxes” – so you’ll no longer be able to include app functionality or content here.  In addition, it means that application tabs on profiles will now be about a third narrower (instead of 760px wide, they’ll be 520px wide).  Of course, this means if your app or page makes full use of the 760px wide tab at the moment, it may well need a redesign.

Canvas pages (where users make use of a full application) are unaffected.

Timescale for implementation: Late ‘09 early ‘10

2. Facebook are going to implement Open Graph API (nice name…).  Any website will be able to install a Fan widget, which will let visitors “fan” the site.  This means you’ll be able to have a Facebook presence without having a Page on Facebook.  You’ll then be able to publish stories to fans through the widget.

Timescale for implementation: Early ‘10

3. Facebook app owners should be getting access to their users’ email addresses (previously you’ve had to message users through Facebook’s inbox).  It’s unclear how you’ll be able to email users (will it be through Facebook or through your own platforms?) but this has the potential to expand a brand’s eCRM activity.  As with eCRM though, you’ll need to plan a decent strategy with reasonable frequencies, timings and messaging etc.

Timescale for implementation: November ‘09 (!)

4. More analytics. The insight tool’s going to be expanded to include more activity (such as feed distribution, which shows how many people saw the social actions your page/app generated) and also be given an accesible API.  This should be great as you’ll be able to pull the data from your insight tool into other areas.  The potential’s big here, especially for agencies to integrate into reporting software.

Timescale for implementation: Late ‘09 early ‘10

5. This is already implemented, but Facebook pages can now publish updates to specific regions and languages. There’s now an “Everyone” button next to “Share”; click on it and you’ll be able to customise your audience.

Timescale for implementation: Now

They appear to be a TV show using Twitter to offer genuine fan engagement. The official I’m A Celebrity…Twitter feed encourages fans to @reply for the chance to be used on the spin off show I’m A Celebrity…NOW on ITV2. It’s nice to see that I’m a celeb know their audience’s behavior in that that they will be online at the same time as watching the show and are rewarding them for this.

For all those avid fans of seeing the current z list celebs eating kangaroo anus and having to be covered in cockroaches you can show support for them using Twibbon.

I have to say there is only so many times you can see someone eat a wiggity grub without feeling the need to vomit.

This week a new campaign was launched where Radiotjänst is personally thanking each and every responsible person out there. Through uploading your photo your face gets superimposed on a film, thanking the one person of the world, who is protecting freedom of speech through sponsoring open television broadcasting. You can now see your face being praised all over the world as people reach out and celebrate you as the Hero. You can then share this video with all your friends, showing that you are a giving and responsible person:

Link to my film

This campaign has faced a lot of criticism. It is not very likely that it will generate a lot of new TV registrations. I also think they could have expanded of the “virallability” of the campaign. It is however a very fun way to connect people to the cause and I can think of many ways of how this could be used for more suitable brands. I really enjoyed watching myself as the protector of freedom of speech… Now my next goal is to become the UN Secretary-General.

Make Your Own Film