Branding as good as the product
October 31 | Comments (0)
Envy is a sin, but when interacting with brands like Innocent Drinks and Green and Blacks, I’m envious every time I read the packaging. To create a brand that people can relate to, that they enjoy buying, and branding that doesn’t seem forced or contrived is the Holy Grail. There aren't many brands that have the effortless flair of the two I've mentioned above, can you think of any?
Some more examples: Wagamama, Square Pie Company
Simplicity by Philips
October 29
Philips simplicity today and simplicity tommorow have a number of interesting products on show (the site is rubbish, but the products are amazing). They've been really pushing the innovative side of the business, I would imagine to better compete with GE and similar companies. I'd love to be able to work on an interface for one of these products. Inspiring.
10 Faces of innovation - Ideo strikes again
October 28
Which of The 10 Faces of Innovation are you?
Anthropologist, Experimenter, Cross-Pollinator, Hurdler, Collaborator, Director, Experience Architect, Set Designer ,Storyteller and Caregiver all form part of the mix of innovation...to combat the evil forces of the Devil's Advocate.
I have a deep level of respect for IDEO, they constantly produce high quality work and are willing to share their methodology with the world. I'll be buying this one.
Trip planner (beta)
October 27 | Comments (0)
As mentioned in my last post Yahoo has been on a bit of a roll and surprise surprise they've launched yet another interesting product.
Trip Planner is a new tool that helps you organize your travel research from Yahoo! Travel and all over the Web to a trip plan. Save hotels, attractions, and useful web sites into your trip plan, then add your own notes, tags, driving directions and more. When you’re done, you can share your trip with a few friends or with the entire Yahoo! Travel community.
There on to something here. However, at the moment it's only integrated with Yahoo travel guides to populate your "trip" with information. I hope they open this up so that you could import content from other services*....perhaps comments from 43places or importing information found on Yahoo! Blog search. Until then, i'll be sticking with del.icio.us to keep track of my travel related research.
*(You can add links to other websites, but it doesn't pull any information through to your trip.)
Content, sweet content
October 26
Yahoo has been on a roll lately with lots of new services (Video search, 360, etc.) but by far the most interesting development has been their foray into the creation of sponsored content. In the last few months they've launched Richard Bang's Aventures and Kevin Sites in the hot zone. It seems that Yahoo has caught on to the fact that people will be more open to advertising if they are giving something interesting in return. I'm sure we'll see more of this as brands try to become more integrated with our lives rather than just bombarding us with messages.
The Deck
October 25 | Comments (0)
Cutting out the middle man has long been the best way to optimise the money you make. The fine folks at A List Apart, 37signals and Coudal Partners have joined together to create their very own ad network between their sites. They say:
The Deck, the premier advertising network for reaching web and design professionals. The three sites serve up millions of page views each month and The Deck ad program is uniquely configured to connect marketers to a targeted, influential audience.
In a way the advertisers are effectively sponsoring the sites. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Hopefully they will keep the viewing public appraised of its success (although we might be able to tell if Adsense Ads start appearing). Each site is big enough to manage the relationships with advertisers, which will stop most bloggers from trying a similar model. However, I would imagine that it won't stop some of the bigger bloggers giving it a try.
Ab.ominations.com
October 24 | Comments (2)
Michael Arrington at TechCrunch posts:
I’m skeptical of companies that continue to launch with these domain name abominations (dropping vowels, using random ccTLDs and lots of extra dots), but if the service rocks, I will forgive all.
Isn't the resurgence of domain name creativity just a reaction to the lack of available "proper" domain names? I don't mind people showing some flair in the creation of something as mundane as a URL. Be honest, Flickr, Del.icio.us, ma.gnolia, etc. is at least more interesting than the last time people started adding bits to URLs. Remember, IVillage, Estamps.com, etoys.com etc.
I would imagine that there will be some backlash in terms of their respective memorability, we'll have to wait and see. It's just another trend, and next year there will be another one. Hell, I've even bought a couple of abominations myself!
Tongs?
October 21
What's a port drinker without a set of port tongs? Those who know me best know that the only alcoholic tipple I enjoy is a nice glass of port. As I'm becoming more comfortable with the whole subject of port, i'm starting to desire the accoutrements befitting a serious port connaisseur*. What are port tongs?
Heated tongs are thought to be the best means of opening old bottles of vintage port. They enable the neck of the bottle and the cork to be removed intact, thus eliminating the possibility of the cork crumbling and spoiling the wine. They also cause least disturbance to the bottle and also, therefore, to any sediment.
I'm sure i'm in for many accidents and broken bottles.
Christmas is coming, so why don't you throw in a funnel as well?
*I'm anything but a connaisseur, but i'm trying.
Flavour Shaker
October 21
Jamie Oliver has invented his own kitchen gadget the Flavour Shaker.
The Flavour Shaker™ is designed to crush, mix, puree, blend and release flavour from whole spices, herbs, garlic, nuts, citrus rind or even lime or bay leaves. In just a few seconds you can create and add flavour to all kinds of everyday dishes.
Great idea, i'm going to go see if I can find one.
Flock
October 21
Yesterday, I managed to get a hold of a developer preview of the new Flock browser. So far, i'm rather impressed. It integrates my blog, del.icio.us bookmarks and flickr into one package.
We'll have to wait and see what in roads it makes against the other browsers. If anything it will force Microsoft and Firefox to think differently about upcoming versions and perhaps take a page from the Flock book.
Will it change the web? Not sure, but i'ts the first bit of true innovation in browsers that we've seen in a long time. Good work Flock team!
Update: The flock browser is now live for developers. Read the warnings before installing!
Put some Zambuk on it
October 18
Zam-buk ointment for the treatment of minor wounds, burns, scalds, chapped hands, insect bites and muscular pains.
My family used to use this stuff to cure just about anything. Works great on sunburns and scratches aquired when picking blackberries.
With some help from Google I've been able to learn about the history of Zambuk and where to buy it.
A very long haitus
October 18
The Weeb was my home for nearly a year in 2000 and ran out of steam in the beginning of 2001. Symptomatic of many early adopters I think.
I'm back.