TED. How Algorithms Shape our World.

September 3rd, 2011 • Knowledge
Tags: Algorithms, Mathematics, People, Presentation, TED, Truth, World

Actually I am convinced TED talks are not ideal content for this blog. This time I want to make an exception. Kevin Slavin argues that we’re living in a world designed for — and increasingly controlled by — algorithms. And if you read this you get the impression he is right.

Brilliant presentation. Take the 15 minutes to watch it.

Thanks to Jeroen Matser for the link

Consumer Love. IBM shows how not to ask the right questions.

August 15th, 2011 • Reports, Social, Social Business, Strategy
Tags: Adaptation Marketing, Facebook, IBM, Media, Prediction, Presentation, Report, Research, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networks, Strategy, Trends

IBM has just published a study called ‘From Social Media to Social CRM‘ (PDF download). I first liked it because it was not boring. It did not repeat the same old shit that you read anywhere else. In fact…it seemed quite uncomfortable and innovative. At first.

So at first some of the study’s claims did not sound very surprising, nevertheless heretic for many people in the industry. IBM found out that most people are not so much into learning about your next campaign on social networks. They are actually almost exclusively interested to meet their friends. And pretty much the only reasons why they friend a brand – according to IBM – is VOUCHERS.

Yes. All of us hate these types of relations.

Who wants to date a girl that only spends time with you because you pay all the restaurant bills?

IBM has got an explanation for you why you spend time with this girl (the social consumer): Simply because you want to think the girl loves you.

Businesses are three times more likely to think consumers are interested in interacting with them to feel part of a community. Businesses also overestimate consumers’ desire to engage with them to feel connected to their brand. In fact, these two activities are among the least interesting from a consumer’s perspective.

Consumers are willing to interact with businesses if they believe it is to their benefit, feel they can trust the company and decide social media is the right channel to use to get the value they seek. That value could be in the form of a coupon or specific information. Engaging with a company via social media may result in a feeling of connectedness for consumers – an emotional, intangible gain – but the wish for intimacy is not what drives most of them.

I agree with the latter claim even though IBM streamlined the study to make sure everyone understands VOUCHERS as the key consumer desire. How? By benchmarkting the girl’s (social consumer’s) top reasons why she dates you compared to your top reasons why you date her. The result could not be much different. And yes: According to this study most of her top reasons to date you are connected to restaurant bills.

So does that mean all of us should forget about investing into next year’s social activation? Definitely not.

Read more »

Soulbot 3000. Looks great, safely contains human Souls.

Juli 20th, 2011 • Experimental
Tags: Cool, Creativity, Design, Experimental, Future, Ideas, Presentation, products, video

They say that we all lose 21 grams at the exact moment of death. They say that it’s the weight of the human soul. Soulbot 3000 is now able to contain this amorphous mass: The Soul. Thanks to Andreas Wannerstedt for making Soulbot 3000 possible.

(via Fubiz)

Media Planning. A pretty good presentation on what it is…or what it wants to become.

Juni 8th, 2011 • Media, People
Tags: Future, Media, Presentation, presentations, Strategy, Trends

John V Willshire is Innovation Officer at PHD Media in London. And he seems to be a good media guy. He created this great presentation on ‘What is Media Planning’. I am usually not a big fan of media planning (see post below). But thanks. That’s interesting John (and to Griffin).

Social Strategies. Altimeter’s great & ugly compendium.

Mai 25th, 2011 • Social, Social Business, Strategy
Tags: Altimeter, Diy, Presentation, Report, Social, Social Business Design, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networks

Charlene Li – one of the spiritual mothers of social media – has achieved two things with the following presentation: She simultaneously wins the award for one of the best and one the ugliest presentations I have seen on this topic in a while. Seriously Altimeter – I know you guys listen: I love your thoughts. But there are designers out there who can help you out with a Powerpoint template or a new logo or something… (via We are social)

Threadless. How they get their Photos.

April 21st, 2011 • Brands, Experimental, Interview, People
Tags: Cool, Creativity, E-Commerce, Experimental, Fashion, Funny, Presentation, Strategy, threadless, visual, We like, World

If there is one online e-retail brand that has redefined social commerce at a certain point in time then it is threadless. What the guys did was to socialize creation and distribution of t-shirts (one of the best presents I ever got was a 12 month t-shirt subscription). Oh…and simultaneously they fucked the hipster perception of the world, which is good. Simply because they turned hipster fashion into a fun mainstream retail experience. But beyond the t-shirts there is actually one thing stunning about threadless. It’s the way how they present the shirts created by thousands of people in an extremely unique way.

In the following video, we get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important aspects of the Threadless website: the pics and how they get it done. In the interview in-house photographer Sean Dorgan and creative director Sean Donohue explain how they do it. It’s impossible not to love them…

(via mashable)

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas. @Uberblond explains Strategy.

Februar 2nd, 2011 • Strategy
Tags: Agencies, BBH, bbh nyc, Cool, Ideas, Jobs, Presentation, Strategy, Truth, We like

To be honest, I neither like info visuals nor do I enjoy reading most of the smartass ‘Everything will change’ decks anymore. Over the last couple of years Slideshare has become a Powerpoint dump of well-designed and extremely superficial documents…but sometimes I still find a Gem. In the beginning I thought ‘Ideas, Ideas, Ideas’ is just one more deck that explains how cool the world would be if you only wouldn’t sit in your shitty agency…but it isn’t.

The following presentation by Heidi Hackemer (@Uberblond), Strategy Director at BBH NYC is a great example of a well explained agency process. Heidi describes the structure of a strategically-founded idea in an ideal world, the pitfalls, the team processes and the desired output. Something I would be able to give to my dad to make him understand what the hell I am actually doing.

Strategy in a nutshell. Nothing more, nothing less – just well explained. Great job, Heidi.

Morgan Stanley. State of the Web 2010.

November 18th, 2010 • Reports
Tags: Business, Lifestyle, Mobile, Prediction, Presentation, Reports, Social, Social Influence Marketing, Social Networks, Strategy, Tools, Trends, Truth, World

Every year anew Morgan Stanley’s state of the web presentations provide a lot of food for new thoughts in digital marketing. You can find the deck below. And I guess you’ll also be amazed by the dynamics that are reshaping our world. (via BBH)

Helge Tennø. Brands in the digital media environment.

Oktober 22nd, 2010 • Brands, Media, People
Tags: Brands, Business, Cool, Display, Helge Tennø, Media, Prediction, Presentation, Strategy, Trends, Truth, visual

I am a fan of Helge Tennø‘s presentations. Helge is a very insightful planner at Scandinavian Design Group and he blogs on 180360720.  Nevertheless there is a massive flaw in his decks. They are definitely too well designed. The pure beauty of his decks sometimes covers their insights. Please Helge, do me favor and integrate more cliparts (wizards and stuff) to avoid distraction.

His latest deck is about the future of media brands in a digital age. Helge’s claim: Media companies need to understand the value of their direct relationship with the reader. And how they, by collaborating with commercial companies, can grow and extend this value and monetize it. Simply because display advertising is not relevant anymore and there is no way they can survive the traditional way.

Light and Magic. Prague celebrates The Orloj’s 600th Anniversary.

Oktober 18th, 2010 • Display, Events, Tech, We like
Tags: Cool, Creativity, Out of Home, Outdoor, Prague, Presentation, Projection, Tech, Tourism, visual, World

The Orloj is a medieval astronomical tower clock mounted to the southern wall of Prague’s Old City Hall. It consists of three main elements – the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; “The Walk of the Apostles”, a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months (via Wikipedia).

To celebrate The Orloj’s 600th anniverary Czech motion design studio The Macula have mapped a stunning walk through the six centuries of history on the front of the old tower. I have rarely seen a more convincing light projection spectacle lately… (via Fubiz)