Social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook are giving people the power to 'spread' content that they like and that they think their friends and followers will like. Because of the 140 character constraint, links to content invariably are fed into url shortening solutions. There are over 100 such solutions online right now.
URL shorteners are very simple, they take a url such as:
It enables you to take your brand into these areas (e.g. http://nike.com/ and not http://tinyurl.com/) – This is free advertising. It increases trust and click-through rates. e.g. You know that clicking on it will take you to something to do with nike. It enables you to track where and how people are finding your content by ensuring you're adding the necessary meta data and tracking info to the links you are shortening.
One way to try this out in a cost effective way is by using http://awe.sm. For $99 a year you get 10,000 unique urls a month, all tracked by Google Analytics and customisable by you.
Tourality is a new type of game for your mobile phone that combines sporty outdoor activity with virtual gaming experience.
In contrast to normal sport simulations, you will face the real challenge of reaching geographically defined spots in reality as fast as possible and before your opponents.
For the winter season 2008-9, Tinker.it! decided to put its office window to good use and build an interactive display. Based on an original concept by John Nussey, Jon Hewitt & Andras Szalai, we decided to build an RFID-enabled snowflake generator.
Placed in our London office, alongside a busy corridor, passer-bys are invited to use their Oystercard to discover what kind of snowflake they are. As they move past the windows, the snowfall in the background is gently swayed by their movement, and the last person’s snowflake is in the foreground.
One facet of social media is the gaming aspect. People are playing online social games, they’re incredibly popular (particularly on Facebook & the iPhone). One of the reasons for this is because they can’t offer the graphics of console games so have to work harder with what they have.
‘Play’ is an integral part of online digital engagement and for finding content online.
Tristan Ferne is a blogger I’ve followed for many years. He’s an exceptional Technologist and his latest work involves the work of Louis Von Ahn and Games With A Purpose (GWAP) I can’t wait to see what Tristan and his team have been playing around with.
We’re on the cusp of a sea change in the way we interact with the Internet. More and more often the problems I’m asked to solve aren’t concerned with an experience in which you’re in front of your computer screen. It involves a store front or a mobile or an outdoor space or a physical object…
Timo Arnall is a designer working with interactive products and media. He runs a design research project that looks at emerging technologies at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. Recently he gave the following presentation:
My name is Rick Williams and I'm Creative Development Director at AKQA, London. The thoughts on this blog are mine and not those of the company I work for.
RT @jonspruce: RT @testingqa @dailytestingtip: want to see how your app works on the iPhone? Cheap? Try http://bit.ly/5MWCC #qa #testing 10/14/09 10:36am
RT @db: Luxury Brands and Social Media by @juliaroy: http://bit.ly/14FdKc 10/14/09 10:35am
RT @Gennefer: Interesting interview w/Flickr Co-Founder Caterina Fake on the value of viral loops: http://sty.im/EnngAA 10/14/09 10:30am
HBO Imagine Raises Bar for Seven Echo & New Advertainment Models http://cli.gs/LHeng 10/14/09 10:22am
