Jameson's Interactive Wall

This is pretty cool work from Jameson. Very similar to something I saw a while back on Contagious but I can't seem to find a link to it. If anyone remembers what it was or what it was for, let me know.

CNN Buys Twitter Account

A great story here that my mate Gav passed on to me.

Yesterday (Wednesday) CNN boasted it's Twitter followers by nearly a million with the acquisition of the '@cnnbrk' Twitter account. The account, currently the largest on Twitter with over 947,000 followers, was previously maintained by James Cox.

Unfortunately there are no financial details available regarding the acquisition but rumours are flying around the net that it may have exceeded 6 figures. More interesting then what the amount is, however, is that there was an amount at all, and it hasn't been denied. Twitter currently prohibit the selling of Twitter accounts and CNN and James Cox have in effect broken those rules. Twitter would be completely within their rights to close the account immediately.

What has also come out of this move is perhaps even more interesting. Ashton Kutcher, who is currently the second most follwed person on Twitter with 917,000 followers, has made a public challenge to CNN, as to who can get to 1 million followers first. Kutcher has agreed to donate 10,000 mosquito bed nets to charity for World Malaria Day if he is first to the 1 million followers.

“I found it astonishing that one person can actually have as big of a voice online as what an entire media company can on Twitter,” Kutcher said. “And so I just thought that was just kind of an amazing comment on the state of our media, and I said that, if I beat CNN to 1 million viewers, then I would ding-dong ditch Ted Turner–because I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

CNN have since accepted Kutcher’s challenge.

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.