FWD Thinking

word. daily. (it should be noted that today’s date is 9-02-10 – see you at the Peach Pit)

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:07:00 -0400

Now Smell This: Replay, an Israeli perfume company, has a molecule in its perfume called cyclodextrin. Now, I don’t want to talk down to you because you probably already know cyclodextrin is – but essentially it releases the scent of the perfume when it comes in contact with water. To play up this technology, Replay tied thousands of water guns to trees, bikes and benches in order to encourage the best-smelling water fight ever.

Paperless Class: The University of Notre Dame is testing an iPad-based class model. The Fightin’ Irish who are taking Project Management 118 Section 7* are encouraged to use the pad for class – as well as everyday life.

*completely inaccurate

FashionStake: Founded by two Harvard grads last fall, FashionStake allows consumers to help fund and shape a designer’s collection before it’s been manufactured. Members can provide feedback to a designer, preorder from the to-be collection and/or throw some dollars the way of the designers so they can produce their pieces. (via @ARBetts)

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

Now that we’ve recently launched our M Booth Facebook page...

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:39:37 -0400

Now that we’ve recently launched our M Booth Facebook page (please “like” us, by the way!), we’ve been trying to add all sorts of fun features to it, to keep M Boothers and friends posted on what we’re up to. So far, this includes everything from information on open positions, to photos from our parties and softball games, to posts from our two blogs (this one and Better4You).

Unfortunately, it was tough to find an easy way to import both of our blogs’ RSS feeds to the page. Facebook recommends doing it through its Notes application, but you can only import one blog and it wasn’t updating regularly for us. There are other applications that allow you to add a “Blog” tab to your page but again, it only allows one blog feed to be imported. We really didn’t want to have to manually put up a link every time someone blogged, but we were having trouble finding another option.

Luckily, Rob happens to follow a 13-year-old technology wunderkind named Jack DeFuria, who mentioned a free tool called dlvr.it on Twitter the other day. Rob asked me to check it out and I promptly fell in love (with dlvr.it, not Rob…or Jack). Not only will dlvr.it import multiple blog feeds to your Facebook page (and Twitter, LinkedIn or Google Buzz too, if you so desire), it also provides analytics on how many people are clicking through on each post. Now each of our M Boother-penned blog posts seamlessly shows up on our Facebook page within minutes. Problem solved!

—Alyssa

word. daily. (september 1, 2010)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:56:00 -0400

Do-Re-Mi: Each label on a Tuned Pale Ale bottle depicts a musical scale – the more you drink, the higher note the bottle will produce when blown into. And the packaging turns into a drumming box – we’re predicting this will be a competitor to Rock Band.

Between the Covers: Word Bookstore in Greenpoint has introduced a dating service for book lovas – the store put up a billboard and visitors are encouraged to list their must-reads and contact information. (cc: @elisehelene)

Unhear it: Need to get J.Lo’s “My Love Don’t Cost a Thing” out of your head? I sure do. Using the latest advancements in “reverse-auditory-melodic-unstickification” technology, Unhear It claims to make you forget the catchy tune you have stuck it your head by replacing it with a new one.

TEAL: Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson traveled through 33 states – not to eat at the best places or visit the grand ole sites, but to see how many typos they could find. So the two friends started the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) and took a 2 1/2-month journey around the country to call attention to typos in signs and attempt to fix them.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

Beer and Football: A Partnership Made in a Video Game?

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:27:00 -0400

Earlier today, MillerCoors announced a partnership with EA Sports and the legendary Madden NFL video game franchise, two brands that millions of American consumers have come to love over the years.

The partnership includes a national promotion and sweepstakes that kicks off on September 1, which will feature a number of exclusive prizes, including the opportunity to be featured as a character in next year’s game, tickets to the Madden Bowl XVII party in Dallas during Super Bowl week, and other prizing from EA Sports. On a local level, Coors will engage local accounts (a.k.a. bars) to organize Madden tournaments for consumers to play each other and NFL alums. Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, there is no information on the Coors or Madden websites (the link in the press release doesn’t work) and there are no tie-ins on the Facebook pages of Coors or Madden. According to the release, there will be a texting component to the sweepstakes, but details are unclear.

The great John Madden once said, “The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.” Would Madden consider this partnership champion-worthy? It seems like it has the potential to be great, but the opportunity to engage their audience is being missed by not engaging via social media.

- Rob

Fur, Studs, and...Bar Codes: Fashion Week Ditches Clipboard Culture for 2010 Technology

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:19:00 -0400

Fashion Week has not only outgrown its famous tents for its Spring 2011 shows, but it has adopted a new GPS system for seating that is making some skeptical about its ability to handle the mob of 100,000 that attends shows from September 9th to the 16th. The new system aims to admit guests faster and in a more orderly fashion than PR assistants have done in the past with their infamous clipboard strategy!

According to New York Magazine’s The Cut, roughly 80% of the designers showing at Lincoln Center next week are participating in the new system. Guests will receive e-mailed invitations and respond electronically via e-mail or a website. Designers linked into the system will be notified of responses and will then send electronic confirmations with bar codes. IMG, the driving force in the global fashion business and bread and butter of Fashion Week, is hoping this new format will eliminate gatecrashers, among other things.

The new system was implemented by technology consulting firm Control Group and Fashion GPS, a digital marketing and event firm. It recently conducted test runs on the technology that it says went well. An IMG spokeswoman also stated:

We will, of course, make a number of adjustments after this first season of using the technology, and have erred on the side of caution when deciding the number of terminals to have on site.

The new kiosk pictured below will debut at New York Fashion Week Spring 2011:

Paper invitations have long held an iconic significance at fashion shows…how will this new technology fare? Get ready, fashion industry! Where will technology lead us next?

- Jen

word. daily. (august 31, 2010)

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:16:00 -0400

House of Dots: Some key words and images that come to mind when we think of Detroit: 8 Mile Road, past auto industry hot spot and Tim Taylor’s hoodless Lions sweatshirt. Well now, we can add “The Heidelberg Project” to that list. Tyree Guyton, an artistic director, has been breathing new life into the abandoned houses in the city. He paints large polka dots all over, affixes stuffed animals to the facade, etc. Take a look here.

Baby Carrots: Carrot growers have united to fund the first-ever marketing campaign for the tiny orange veggie. The industry is releasing baby carrots packaged in junk food-esque bags to rivals other orange snacks like Doritos, Fritos and Cheetos. Chris Kuechenmeister at Frito Lay says they “are happy to serve as an inspiration,” adding, “We know people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, we applaud any effort to provide consumers with a wider range of snacking options.”

Tape Art: We love this tape art outside the Opera House in Bordeaux, France. Paper tape artist Aakash Nihalani created a neon green tape 3-D rectangle on the steps of the building.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

"Watching" the Emmy Awards via Twitter

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:05:00 -0400

Last night, Jimmy Fallon hosted the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards. Despite consuming lots of online and traditional media each day, the only reason I remembered this was because of Twitter (UberTwitter, to be exact). Normally, I’m not one for award shows of any kind. But after seeing that my entire Twitter feed was Emmy-related, I thought I’d turn it on for a few minutes. And I literally mean a few minutes.

Despite not liking award shows, I still like to be in-the-know about the winners, who wore what and any awkward happenings like the special “moment” that Taylor Swift and Kanye West shared at the 2009 VMAs. So thanks to social media, I was able to check my Twitter feed throughout the night to see who won. Twitter was the only reason I felt ready to discuss the winners this morning, when in fact my television was on for less than five minutes.

En route to work today, someone commented on how glad they were that Modern Family won and I was quick to agree, since I enjoyed reading numerous tweets about their big win last night. (Important note: If you do not watch Modern Family, I’m not sure if we can be friends. It is by far the funniest show on TV and quickly knocked The Office out of my favorite TV show slot. Sorry Michael Scott!)

NBC wisely played up social media by encouraging people to check out the live-stream behind the scenes videos and tweet to the host, who announced some of the presenters via viewer’s tweets. Since I missed pre-event coverage (the one part of award shows that I sometimes watch), Yfrog also came in very handy. They had a page dedicated to photos from the Emmys, so I still got to see some dapper suits and designer dresses, though I never actually saw celebrities stroll down the red carpet.

Social media was a good fit for the show last night, since the host himself is no stranger to it – Jimmy Fallon sometimes uses Twitter during his show to engage audience members and viewers at home. The Hollywood Reporter has said that the early numbers are too close to call but regardless of the official ratings, I think NBC can call the Emmy Awards a success.

Did you watch last night or follow along through social media? And now that we’ve chatted about social media, can we please discuss the dress on January Jones?

- Lauren A

word. daily. (august 30, 2010)

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:32:00 -0400

Marty McFly: Nike seems to have filed patent papers for a shoe that will automatically lace itself - citizens of Maine will be relieved to hear this, since it’s illegal to walk down the street with your shoes untied there.

Ping Pong Wine: To try to create some buzz for their in-house package designers, Rethink created a series of table wines to show off their skills. (Sample text from one of the labels: “At Rethink, we believe great package design is like a ping-pong table: it should inspire intense competition and heated dialogue. Not to mention the occasional fist pump and victory dance”). We love the self-promo and wish wine was really labeled and packaged this way.

Boardwalk Empire: Take a look at this ad for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, a new series taking place during Prohibition in, of all places, Atlantic City. The MTA bus station ad features a glass bottle filled with moonshine — each day closer to the premiere, the liquid in the bottle goes down, smoothly. (via @mattrichardson)

Get Your Sweet On: Not for any other reason than besides showing their sweet side (and, ahem, to drive traffic to the store), Opening Ceremony is offering in-store Candygrams. You can leave a card and lollipop candygram for a special someone and the swoonee can only get it by picking it up from the store - someone can do this for me at their Ace Hotel location.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

Texting on the Rise Last week, Shane Snow of Mashable posted the...

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:00:00 -0400

Texting on the Rise

Last week, Shane Snow of Mashable posted the above infographic about the rise of text messaging. How do your texting habits compare?

According to the article “Where a Cell Phone Is Still Cutting Edge” in The New York Times:

Americans rank below 71 other nations in their level of cell phone penetration, even though they lead in other areas of connectivity. Some Americans are not connected at all. Millions of others are beyond the phone, so to speak: though they own one and use it, they also own other devices, and the phone is not be-all-end-all.

But in other countries, texting is the be-all-end-alll. In Africa, money is easily converted to “cell phone currency,” which can be wired from phone to phone and used in retail locations. In Bangalore, India, job seekers can find jobs tailor-made for them via text message.

While texting seems to be prolific in this country, especially among teens, we seem to be using it mostly for social means. When will the United States’ texting habits catch up? Or is it that the the United States’ proliferation of smart phones rocketed us past the savvy texting bandwagon?

-Rob

word. daily. (august 27, 2010)

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:57:00 -0400

Bueller, Bueller?: For the upcoming school year, the New Canaan Public School system is implementing the use of RFID tags to help track students, faculty and equipment (something M Booth could use for those Flip cams — right, Alfredo?). RFID chips will be placed in student ID cards and on valuable property, but this has become highly objected situation and there are talks of making it optional.

Snip Snip: Master scissor artist Karl Johnson comes to NYC this September to use his skillz and handcraft black paper silhouettes of anyone who wants them.

Adapt to Change: Created by PhilippeBecker, a design agency in San Fran, Winged Wisdom will stand in the Presidio National Park for a year to house the American robin. They created 3-D letters out of bird-friendly materials and arranged them in a way that forms sentences that showcase the robins’ behaviors – one being “resolve conflict with a song.” Ten other designers were showcased and this is the first-ever public art project for a National Park.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

Netflix in Your Pocket? Yup, There's an App for That!

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:29:00 -0400

Attention, all you movie and TV buffs! Netflix today released an app that puts its instant streaming service on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch…and it’s free! (Well, almost — you still need to be a Netflix subscriber to access the vast streaming library.)

While the app was already available on the iPad, many Netflix fans are rejoicing over the fact that they can now carry Netflix around in their pockets. Initial reaction to the app’s performance seems positive, although many are recommending you watch over Wi-Fi rather than 3G wireless connections to avoid that pesky buffering nonsense.

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m totally psyched about being able to watch old episodes of Boy Meets World during my commute (I heart Topanga).

- Danny

Guy with Kindle: Publishing Revisited

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:08:00 -0400

On the train this morning, in the midst of straphangers wearing Dr. Dre-issued helmets for warriors of the digital age, there was one standout: guy with Kindle. Since attending Wharton’s Future of Publishing Conference (an M Booth client) earlier this year, the state of publishing has been on my mind and specifically, the wonderfully portable devices that have arrived to save the trees.

Just this month, AT&T Inc.’s emerging devices president, Glenn Lurie, who oversees the carrier’s relationship with Apple Inc., said we’re “going to see those 10-inch pieces of glass become full-on computers.” As a Gen Y-er, I ask myself, what about now? Sure, five years down the road sounds like a hop and skip for anyone not on Twitter, but I’m concerned with what’s available now: iPad and other tablet/e-readers.

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported on a study that found 40% of e-reader owners said they read more now than they did with print books. Collectively, the American Federation of Teachers and parents everywhere sighed en masse. So now that they’ve been hailed as the salvation (sort of) of America’s educational quicksand, I think that above all, creative content will lead to greater adoption and ultimately a legion of device-carrying consumers.

It’s important to note that these devices have the potential to serve as a platform for all types of media, from newspapers to books to magazines. Having said that, it’s true that simply loading textbooks and existing content onto these devices is a good start, but why not re-conceptualize how we think about books and content? From the author to the publisher, the content should be thought of as interactive.

What might that look like? Perhaps the graphs in Marketing Metrics will be able to display data that the reader of the device inputs. Or when reading the definitive biography on Mark Zuckerberg, the reader will be able to access photos and other content that was intended to supplement the text, thereby enhancing the reader’s overall experience. Next, why not go social? Could there be a back-end chat function that connects readers across devices, allowing them to have a real-time chat with each other? Like a virtual book club for the digital age?

Similarly, the prospect of product integration and editorial content is exciting for PR and marketing professionals. Similar to the way television has turned to entertainment check-ins, the digital book represents a new platform for seamless social media and product integration. Imagine what J.K. Rowling and the creator of Carrie Bradshaw could have achieved given this technology? Extended to digital magazines, the digital pages of Vogue could very well turn into the leading referral source to e-commerce sites. Saks, rejoice!

From the educational to the entertaining, there are great minds thinking about what the digital book and other media content will look like. However, I’d like to see a little more real-time experimentation.

- Pedro

word. daily. (august 26, 2010)

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:57:00 -0400

Hello There, Wall: Non-profit organization Wasted Spaces takes vacant properties and spaces and turns them into “art experiences.” Most recently, they took over a building in London to create an interactive installation where the public can use Twitter to control the wall. A person tweets at @thehellowall a shape, color and command, and the wall obeys.

Luxurious Potties: Thought peeing in public only happened at college campuses and the Jersey Shore? Well, you’d be mistaken. Public urination has been a problem in New Delhi, so officials have installed luxury toilets in hopes of tackling it.

Google Phone Booths: Recently becoming open to all users, Google Voice has taken a more physical form – a phone booth. Google wants to show people how GV’s voice quality compares to other services and will be rolling out a British red phone booth (complete with rotary phone) to several universities and airports in the new few weeks. Oh, and calls within the U.S. and Canada are free. Take a sneak peek inside the booth here.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

New Photosharing Camera Cuts Out the Middleman

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:03:00 -0400

I’m not a big picture-taker anyway, but I usually feel like dealing with my digital camera is a hassle. While I can take a photo on my BlackBerry and e-mail it or upload it to the web instantly, the quality isn’t as great as it could be. But before I can share a photo from my point-and-shoot camera, I have to get home, hook it up to my laptop with the USB cord, upload the photos to my computer, and then upload them to Facebook, Tumblr or wherever else. I’ve often wondered why we can’t just cut out the middleman already and send our photos directly from the camera to the web.

Luckily, Kodak has released a new little camera that does just that. The EasyShare M590 is a whopping 14 megapixels (for the sake of comparison, my BlackBerry’s camera is 3.2 MP and my years-old digicam is about 6) and is the world’s thinnest 5X optical zoom digital camera, which means it will fit nicely in my purse. But the best part is that you can instantly e-mail your pics and video or upload them to YouTube, Facebook or Flickr instantly.

The fact that it comes in a lovely shade of purple (my favorite color) and retails for just $199.95 means I’ll probably be buying this little gadget as a Labor Day present to myself! I know Labor Day isn’t traditionally a gift-giving holiday, but the fact that the labels on my current camera’s buttons are entirely worn off means it’s probably time to upgrade.

—Alyssa

word. daily. (august 25, 2010)

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:36:00 -0400

Scenic Spots: To celebrate Britain’s best views, Chevrolet adorned the sites with large picture frames, turning nature into “scenic art.” People are encouraged to park in front of the frame so they can take in the beautiful scene as if it were a picture in their living room, only better.

Speedy Gonzalez: To capture speed in a visual form, UPS Express Delivery placed these art installations in public spaces.

Signing Off: To fight off his internet addiction, Mark Malkoff (the guy who tried to visit all 171 Starbucks stores in Manhattan, lived in an IKEA store for a week and lived on an AirTran plane for a month) decided to spend five days in his New York City bathroom. He doesn’t have his iPhone or laptop but has a to-do list that should keep him occupied: memorize the location of every country in the world, learn how to sew on a button and read Gravity’s Rainbow.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

Dinevore: Therapy for the Restauholic

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:15:00 -0400

Do you eat out so often that sometimes, you forget the names of restaurants you’ve tried? Are you the go-to person for friends and family members who want restaurant recommendations? Do you keep a running personal “wish list” of restaurants you want to try? Is said list becoming out of control?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, Dinevore might be right for you.

The new online community/web application is like Foursquare sans check-in, meets Yelp, meets NYMag.com’s restaurant directory-on-steroids, meets every food blog you love. Its purpose is to help you, oh epicurious one, keep track of where you’ve eaten and where you’re dying to eat. You’ll even discover new restaurants you may not have known you were dying to try until you saw it on Sam Sifton’s “Sifty Fifty.”

Have a hankering for a food crawl? Dinevore founder Jeremy Fisher’s “Doubles” list will take you through Queens for some of the yummiest Indo-Trinidadian street food you’ll find in New York. Or, perhaps the “25 Brooklyn Favorites” list from Bon Appétit Magazine’s Andrew Knowlton is more your taste. Either way, the user-friendliness of this tool is fantastic. Hopefully there’s a Dinevore mobile app in the works!

-Andréa S.

Google Earth Goes Down Under…the Sea The latest 1.1 version of...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:19:00 -0400

Google Earth Goes Down Under…the Sea

The latest 1.1 version of Google Earth for Android now allows consumers to experience the mystifying terrain of the world’s oceans, creating a “Street View of the seas.” With its Ocean Showcase feature, it allows people to find cool new surf spots, underwater shipwrecks, marine research and diving to the ocean’s deepest trenches. This edition also includes an “Explore the Ocean” feature that allows people the ability to view hundreds of images and videos from Google’s content partners.

Check out the underwater Google Earth view of the Monterey Canyon above, which is larger than the Grand Canyon. You can navigate around with the “Look Around” button to explore the multiple angles and views of this underwater phenomenon.

- Danielle

word. daily. (august 24, 2010)

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:18:00 -0400

Let’s Go Fly a Kite: The Athenaeum Hotel in London is a popular destination for families as it is – and by adding multiple spoons full of sugar it just got a whole lot sweeter. The hotel has announced that they have hired three Mary Poppins-esque nannies, the best in all of the UK, to look after children – complimentary for the month of September. The potential nannies were asked questions like, “What’s your favorite bug?” and “What would you put in a magic garden” and were picked via a panel consisting of children, a hotel staffer, and a celebrity.

Cute as a Cardboard: We love how Nikki (blogger/etsy-er, WhiMSy Love) decorated her living room for a friend to crash. She slapped down a blow up mattress and then added some cardboard cutout decorations to cheer it up.

Sleek Scale: Check out this scale which can accommodate anything from a beagle to a human to an elephant to my suitcase (yes, that is listed by weight, from lightest to heaviest). It can even recognize your footprints and will record your weight and BMI then send it to you computer using a wireless connection.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

word. daily. (august 23, 2010)

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:51:00 -0400

Reverse Branding: Jersey Shore’s Snooki was always seen toting around a Coach bag on season one - but on the second season and recently while out on the town, she’s been photographed carrying various designers. According to the New York Observer, many designers are sending her free swag - but not their own brands. The fashion houses think the reality TV star(?) disgusts fans and anything she touches won’t sell, so by sending her competitor’s products, their product will do better.

Picture Poll: When trying to take a group picture in front of a landmark, you always face two difficult options: 1) One person has to take the picture and therefore is left out or 2) Ask a stranger to take the picture with the possibility of him running away with your new Canon SLR. Enter fotopol - a camera mount in tourist spots, one freestanding, and one made for balconies, so everyone can be in the pic.

Cloudy With a Chance of Music Video: Upon entering singer/songwriter Lissie’s website, you’ll be prompted to enter your ZIP code. Then, the first thing you’ll see, will be her music video for her song “Cuckoo” and the weather in the video is determined by the weather at your current location. You can also zoom in on any part of the world and the video’s weather will change accordingly.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

Your Internet and You

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:23:00 -0400

PSFK touches on the longstanding debate on whether the internet makes us smarter or dumber. The ROFL (rolling on the floor) culture, as they call it, filled with time consumers such as LOLcats, YouTube sensations and rickrolling is filling our brains with empty space, right? But if the internet didn’t exist, what would we do with that time? Read the dictionary cover to cover or play Mario Brothers on the Wii?

While the answer to that question probably falls somewhere in the middle, the real question posed in the post is how our engagement on the internet reflects who we are. Can what you tweet, where you check in or what blogs are in your RSS feed define your character? If your answer to that questions is “absolutely,” then you would be in agreement with me.

-Tom