It was announced this week that Tesco, the world’s third largest retail chain, has paid $60 million to acquire BzzAgent, a Boston based startup. BzzAgent has amassed a database of nearly 1 million people to try new products and “buzz” about them to others in their on- and offline personal networks.
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Friskies finds a powerful and unexpected way to use the iPad by creating games not for their direct customer (people) but for their ultimate end user, cats.
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For me, one of the best parts of the web is also one of the most overwhelming aspects of it: how to manage and track all of the information I find. Although I haven’t found an application that extends a 24 hour day into 48 hours – which would go a long way in helping me keep up with everything I want and need to know – I can tell you about some tools that get me 50% of the way there.
What it is: A web based aggregator that pulls together content from all kinds of sites that you can subscribe to and collects them in one customized web page.
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I attended OMMA Global this week, one of the many conferences happening up in NY for Advertising Week. I was able to capture some nuggets of information that made the two days worthwhile. You can find out what other people thought through the twitter stream.
I’ve been in the interactive space for 16 years (wow that makes me feel old!). What really struck me over the course of the two days is how much more there is to know and how much more specialization there is at this juncture. It’s not just about content for the web – it’s about optimizing content across PC, Mac, Mobile, HD screens at conferences, etc. It’s not just about Social Media – it’s about social networks, blogs, micro-blogging, crowdsourcing, bookmarking, video, etc. It’s not just about mobile – it’s about iPhone, iPad (and iPad wanna-be’s), Android, Blackberry, Windows. You get the idea – digital has become a much more layered and complicated industry – and what’s amazing is the short amount of time that all of these new areas of expertise have developed.
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I saw the following data from research2guidance about the growth of smartphone applications posted on TechCrunch. I thought it was worth posting.
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Every designer should understand, and have the ability to create an effective logo design. In general, design is about coming up with a concept and then following a few simple guidelines in order to execute it in an attractive way. Fairly often, I hear designers say, “I’m not a logo designer” or “Logo’s aren’t my strength” but I disagree with these statements. Just like everything else we design, it’s always about the concept behind it.
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Most often in design, typography is considered a necessity, but is typically overlooked as a design element. It is sometimes made as small as possible just to try to get it out of the way to allow for “real design”. Most people overlook how interesting and creative typography can get across the message/concept even further, as well as create beautiful design patterns and visual interest. I personally find myself drawn to designs with a lot of type because it allows me to not only focus on the words and message, but also forces me to see the beauty and creativity that went into the design. Well thought out typography can speak volumes and have such an emotional impact on the viewer, which is why I wanted to focus on that this week. Here is a collection of typographic posters that are innovative and beautifully designed.
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Social media is getting a lot of press these days. In the healthcare marketing world, it has become fairly standard knowledge that patients and caregivers use a variety of social media resources for support, education and treatment decisions. A 2008 study released by the California Healthcare Foundation reported that 1 in 3 Americans used some form of social media online for health.
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