Facebook Username

I got an interesting email from Facebook this evening to inform me that from 13 June Facebook will allow users to choose a username for their Facebook account. In their own words, this will allow you "to easily direct friends, family, and coworkers to your profile."

To choose your username just go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ any time after 05:01 on 13 June.

Pix.ie Photo Upload Record

Pix.ie is one of those services that works in every way. With a clean, fast and easy to operate interface, combined with an excellent backend system, Pix.ie proves that not only are there alternatives to Flickr, ImageShack and Photobucket, but they're Irish! To cement their position as the best photo hosting service around, Pix.ie recently set itself the daunting task of achieving the fastest upload of any amount of photos to a single website. The event was developed in conjunction with the WDC-sponsored (Western Development Commission) competition being run on the site. The competition called for users to upload photos taken during the Galway Volvo Ocean Race Festival.

Although the competition doesn't close until this Thursday, 11th June, Pix.ie have already smashed the record for uploads with 10,140 photos from the Volvo Ocean Race Festival already uploaded to the site. The overall photo competition offers users the chance to win a host of prizes, including top-of-the-range digital camera equipment worth €1,500.

Pix.ie has run the record attempt in conjunction with the WDC to promote the West of Ireland internationally.

The Original Social Networking Site

A rather bizarre ad that I've seen in several different places over the weekend. Coleman's set themselves up as the 'Original Social Networking Site' in a rather poor play on the word 'site'?? This is perhaps the worst example I've seen of anyone jumping on the Social Media bandwagon that has started to emerge. In my opinion the only thing going for this ad is the fantastic Sam Elliot type voice-over, and even that's only because I'm a fan of The Dude.



Do let me clarify my 'Social Media bandwagon' comment. I believe strongly in Social Media and in the various other ways that Web2.0 has driven collaborative, convergent social interaction, but the fact that something can be successfully used in marketing does not mean that it MUST be used. This is a place it did not need to be used!

It's Better to Mix Things Up!

I love this ad, and I've been meaning to post it up for some time simply due to it's hilarity. Anyways I saw it three times this weekend so I took it as a sign!

Orange: Spot the Bull

Orange have launched their latest digital campaign, which offers visitors to the campaign microsite a chance to win tickets to Glastonbury. So what do you have to do win these much sought prizes?

Just spot the bull. Seriously.

Orange present a digital representation of a real field, a live webcam of said field, and a graphic representation of their bull, Desmond. There is also a slidable timeline at the bottom, of the screen that allows you to see where Desmond has been in the field throughout the day. Then all you have to do is pick one of the squares that the field has been divided up into.

Genius stuff - simple, easy to understand, easy to play, highly addictive and by its nature a huge draw on return traffic.


As you can see, the site is minimally branded and requires little concentration to see exactly what is happening, and what has to be done. The draw takes place every day at 3pm and visitors are free to make their guesses up to 2pm.

The site also has a cool loader (below), and I love when people go to the trouble of doing something a little different and rememberable with their loaders. The little details like that make a site for me.