Coke + Intel: Beginning the Internet of Vending Things?

At this week’s Intel Developer Forum, a new Coke machine was unveiled: this time with Intel’s top-of-the-line i7 processor inside. Usually the domain of hardcore gamers and video editors, the i7 chip in a Coke machine powers a webcam and computer screen that will allow people to post their picture and their drink to social networks.

As we’ve seen overall, brands are not characters in the social stories of people’s lives and relationships, but rather the setting.

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Another App or Future Necessity?

Have you ever lost your car keys and had your friend be “that guy” who says, “Why don’t you call it to see if you can find it?”  Obviously they are poking fun at the fact had you lost your cell phone you could easily locate it by calling it to set the ringer off.

This got me thinking, why haven’t they created a chip in car keys that can be located by a smartphones GPS.   This could save many from ever losing their keys again.

Then I took too Google, wondering, “Is there an app for that?”:

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Lacan’s Mirror & Social Media

Lacan’s Mirror Stage of development is a concept in the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan describing the formation of one’s identity through perception of imagery. Long story short, ensuring who we think we are matches up to what we see in the mirror.

The concept in and of itself is interesting. But, when you apply a social lens to it, things become fascinating. Social media, a channel we typically use to curate our “best selves”, provides both the platform we use to build our identity as well as the mirror. Ugh… This feedback loop kinda makes my head hurt!

So, what gives? Who are we, really? What good is this to a brand trying to succeed the space?

Well, two of those questions could be debated for hours. But, the third, really has a pretty simple answer: Brands need to facilitate relationships between individual fans in a way that strengthens their own identity.

How do we do this?

- Tell them something that we know about them that they don’t. Think poll results, or showing a map of responses to a question.

- Summarize trends we’re seeing.

- Guide them with questions where groups can agree… or disagree.

- Highlight strong involvement within the community.

Just a few ways to get you thinking… Keep the ball rolling here, or @dfcbfirestarter.

Can we stop calling it multi-tasking?

If we are truly in-tune with behavior and technology, we’ve got to move past describing how people interact with technology as Multi-tasking. 

Multi-tasking these days feels like a hold-over from a time when interacting with two or three appliances felt like a lot for people to manage cognitively, physically. But these days, people don’t think about watching TV and using their smartphone to chat with friends as separate technologies being multi-tasked. It’s just watching TV. 

With that being said, how does the story we see on TV play out across other platforms? What are the natural behaviors/tendencies we want to accentuate or utilize at each stage of the story? It’s clear that, now more than ever, we need to ask ourselves questions like these in order to make the most of our interactions with an audience.

Why Every Friday Should Be A #FriskyFriday

The Next Web just released a case study from Playboy on the success of its weekly Twitter campaign, #FriskyFriday. Every Friday on Twitter, Playboy asks its female followers and former playmates to share photos of themselves using the #FriskyFriday hashtag and then chooses a winner at the end of the day. The Playboy account re-Tweets select images throughout the day, helping lead to more than 50k @mentions and 350k clicks on Tweeted links for the brand on Fridays. 


What does this mean for your brand?

Hosting a consistent activation on Twitter is a great way to create enthusiasm for your brand and bring your followers back to your page to engage. Brands should consider what topics are relevant to the industries they operate in that they could create campaigns around. Fun, kitschy hashtags that play on typical emotions or behaviors that people are already feeling/doing usually have the greatest viral power. Do a search to see what people are saying or doing to help you get started. Rewarding your followers is another great way to drive participation.

From Playboy.com

Image: Playboy.com

Source: thenextweb.com

UX Smackdown: Usability Testing Techniques in the Ring

Focus Groups or Field Research? Eye Tracking or Un-Moderated Usability Testing? High Fidelity Prototypes or Rapid Iterative Testing? These were the usability testing methods panelists defended and critiqued during a session of choice: UX Smackdown: Usability Testing Techniques in the Ring. Unfortunately for me, no one came flying down through the rafters with a luchador mask and a folding chair. Small consolation: they gave us noisemakers.

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The Complexity Curve: How to Design for Simplicity

This presentation was great for a few reasons:

1.     David M. Hogue, was a Ph.D. Yeah, there are a lot of intelligent people here. But, very few can claim Ph.D. discipline in their thought process.

2.     The core of the presentation revolved around one of my favorite subjects: critical thinking. A process that is sometimes forgotten as we try to meet deadlines, deal with difficult individuals, or any other obstacles associated with a project.

3.     Because of the critical thinking that went into the presentation. It made me think about complexity in a completely different way.

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