SixthSense - The Future is Here

I love TED (not to be confused with Ted who I find funny and enjoyable). Quite simply the TED Talks have become the must see for everything that I find interesting and exciting in the world. I'm not going to go into what TED is and who has spoken etc. because you should go and explore it yourself.

What I will do, however, is share this latest piece of technology that has come to my attention through TED.

SixthSense is the very first piece of technology that I am truely excited about. Touchscreen blah. Solid-state memory blah. Quad-core Cell processors, you guessed it, blah. SixthSense is something so cool and so much more exciting then any of these things.

Imagine a technology that will make tactile interfaces obsolete. A technology that will make every piece of technology you use on a daily basis completely mobile. Imagine a technology that will give everyone access to supercomputing power. SixthSense is exciting.

At this year's CHI (Computer-Human Interaction) Conference in Boston, the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT's Media Lab unveiled SixthSense, the latest, most technologically advanced, wearable, gesture-controlled computing device. The device will allow users to access every computer based programme and interface through a reality augmented interface. Basically you use your hands in 3D space to control all actions. That could be drawing an @ sign in the air with your finger to access your email (with all information projected onto any flat surface infront of you), or checking the time by using that same finger to draw a circle (which produces an analog watch right on your wrist), or perhaps taking a digital photograph by putting your thumbs and forefinger together to make a rectangle (as you see photographers doing when setting up shots).

"We're trying to make it possible to have access to relevant information in a more seamless way," says Dr Pattie Maes, who heads the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT. "We have a vision of a computing system that understands, at least to some extent, where the user is, what the user is doing, and who the user is interacting with," says Dr. Maes. "SixthSense can then proactively make information available to that user based on the situation."

The HashTag

Just wanted to share this great article from Matt Dickman which gives a great insight into online brand reputation monitoring and the use of the HashTag. Definitely worth a read.

Bakery Tweeting

I've had a number of discussions with colleagues about the monetisation of Twitter, and it's inclusion in the digital marketing mix. There is still a very large question as to how effective it can be on a campaign by campaign basis (i.e. short term 4-6 week campaigns), how it can be properly tracked and how it can be used to actually enhance a campaign. In my own opinion there's no doubt the place that Twitter now has, and the growth that it's experiencing is undeniable, but how that can be used within a digital marketing campaign isn't yet clear.

An example of Twitter being used to great effect is the current Powerade Never Give Up Campaign, which has all three Apline Marathon runners on Twitter with constant updates and news. This is a perfect example of how to use Twitter but you have to remember that it's really just being used as a communication broadcast tool here - the actual amount of conversation is probably limited in the grand scale of things. This to me highlights the drawback and difficulties faced by Marketers trying to use Twitter as a conversation tool.

So if we consider Twitter as a broadcast tool, then perhaps it's got serious potential. Consider what I think is the best use of Twitter to date, full stop.

Poke London have created BakerTweet. BakerTweet is a wall-mounted box with a simple turndial and single button operation, with a small LCD display. The box allows users to choose from an inventory of items from cakes to croissants, and broadcast a message to their Followers as soon as these delicious treats are out of the oven. Seen here at the Albion cafe (which is located across the road from Poke's Shoreditch offices) the system can be seen in operation.

Jillz Cider Advertising - Only for the Dutch

Heineken have finally released their first ad for their new cider brand, but you'll never see it on UK or Irish TV for a very good reason. Dutch laws are a lot more relaxed then in the British Isles when it comes to advertising and this ad is definitely against guidelines. The ad features four apple-picking, shirtless heart-throbs who proceed to sing a very boy-band style tune.

Heineken describes the ad campaign as being targeted at women with an "evolutionary instinct to discuss, judge and select attractive men".

"The four singing hunks do not address women as the usual stereotypes of house wife, sex kitten, blonde bimbo or business bitch," Heinenken states in a press release. "Instead the ad aims at a more elementary level of their femininity, the evolutionary instinct to discuss, judge and select attractive men."

Pink and Poodle, the agency behind the ad, says it specialises in targeting hard-to-reach groups such as "women, youth groups and subcultures". Apparently the ad, which features plenty of sexual innuendo is designed to turn the current "alpha male"-dominated ad world on its head.

"Watching it [the ad] could be an ego-crunching experience for beer bellies everywhere," the release claims.

Channel Five ReBrand

Spotted this over on http://www.dixonbaxi.com/. Check out his other work too - seriously cool stuff.