The World Is Full Of Interesting Things...

I spotted this over on Neil Perkin's blog Only Dead Fish. It got a lot of Twitter love last Friday but just in case you missed it, and because I think it's pretty special, here it is for you.

This is the updated 119 slide version of the Google Creative Labs presentation all about recent creative ideas and web campaigns covering everything from advertising to art, and politics to literature. This was put together by Tom Uglow and while it is viewable right here, just as Neil suggested, you should have a look at it on Google Docs for the full effect. This is simply brilliant.

Where Good Ideas Come From

Watch first, then I'll do some rambling...

I absolutely love this video. Not only is the whole style compelling and engaging, but it's simple. There's no difficulty understanding the concept that Steven Johnson is discussing. And it's a concept that I firmly believe in. I've always considered myself an ideas person - I'm good at thinking on my feet and I don't have difficulty with creative solutions. The thing is, I'm also a firm believer in team work and the power of the group, and it's this part of Steven Johnson's video that grabbed me. I suddenly realised just how many times I've had an idea that has sat simmering in the back of my mind until I've shared it with someone and they've added to it to take it that next step. I also then realised that this has almost always been in private discussions with friends over a drink or some food.

What if there was a place such as the 'Age of Enlightenment's Coffee Houses' or the 'Parisian Salons of Modernism' that people could go to specifically to share ideas with a group and get some input and feedback and possible collaboration? Not just a physical place as such but an actual regular 'event'. As far as I am aware nothing like this exists in Dublin, certainly not within the fields I am interested. I'm not even sure how to describe what this would be similar to, perhaps a think tank of sorts?? All I know is that I think I've found myself a new project. Stay tuned :)

Smirnoff 'Be There' - Nightlife Exchange Project Next Steps

Almost a month ago I wrote about Smirnoff's latest project, the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project. Today saw the first taste of what the project with the public unveiling of the Nightlife Crate by artist Shane O’Driscoll. Shane was in charge of designing the crate that will carry an Irish night out to whoever our sister country turns out to be. Shane was on hand at Stephen's Green today with models Karen Fitzpatrick and Sarah Mc Govern.

As yet the contents of the box are still to be decided, and that's where the public comes in. Your ideas of what the vital ingredients of our nightlife can be submitted through the Smirnoff Ireland Facebook Page. Here you can also find out more information on what will be happening with the overall project. The ingredients will then be revealed on October 22nd. After that all that's left will be to enjoy the November 27th party from whichever country we're sistered with.

Overall the goal of the project is to show Smirnoff's belief in doing things differently. Smirnoff say, "that when you overturn convention or simply change one of the ingredients of a night out, you can create something special, something extraordinary – a night you look back on and are proud to say, I was there".

About Shane O’Driscoll
Shane O’Driscoll was born in Cork and studied Visual Communications at Cork Institute of Technology. Shane is a member of Cork Printmakers and is also a director of “For the Love Of”, a series of Art & Design exhibitions that bring both emerging and established Irish Creative talents together in an accessible and contemporary environment. He has recently featured his work at various music festivals in Ireland.

Shane has been with Gallery Number One for the last two years and his reputation as one of Ireland’s brightest young screen printers and creatives has gone from strength to strength. The Gibson Hotel, owned by Dublin entrepreneur Harry Crosby, recently purchased a number of his works for the hotel’s common areas.

Shane will undertake his first major solo show in Gallery Number One this coming November.

Diesel Kick Ass Sneakers Countryside

Diesel have released their new Fall / Winter 2010 Sneakers range. Their tag is simple - "Not made for running. Great for kicking asses." This is their ad.... brilliant!

Embedding Location Into Everything, Everywhere

I was asked today whether I thought geo-location social media activities will catch on - would everyone really be checking into everywhere they go during the day. I thought about for less then a second and said, without doubt, yes. To be clear though, I don't think this will mean that you'll walk around 'checking in' on your phone as you might do now.

Think back to when Flickr introduced the functionality to view photos on a map. This was done using EXIF data but it quickly grew in popularity and use and soon digital cameras and image devices began including positioning chips to embed geo-tags directly into photos. As people began moving from photo-hosting sites such as Flickr to Social Networks, for their photo storage, even the most basic of images started having location metadata included manually.

The next step in all of this was the explosion of Social Networks like Foursquare and Gowalla. These platforms have created a market for location check-ins and the uptake of many businesses use of location-based promotions. With the emergence of Facebook Places geo-location has now very much opened up to a mainstream audience. This doesn't even take into account that Twitter has been allowing location metadata for some time.

Beyond all of this, however, the holy grail of location=based functionality will very much be pre-emptive alerts for users about things or people nearby that may be of interest. This will be based on not having to check-in to a place to see if your friends are nearby or if there are any interesting offers. This will all happen via automatic location monitoring and users allowing their friends to see where they are whenever they choose.

Exciting times!