whizdumb

Let it snow

We had a nice dumping twice in ten days.  The first storm brought 20 inches, the second about 15.  I love the snow.  That's my roofdeck after only the first storm.   

I grew up in California so I never had to shovel a single bit of it.  And I still don't have to much.  No driveway.  But I did do some shoveling for a friend and it got me thinking. 

What would Dyson do with the awful show shovels out there?  Maybe something akin to his 1970's reinvention of the wheelbarrow into the Ballbarrow. 

Perhaps it would look something like this Wovel thing? I sure hope not.  It looks like the bastard lovechild of a dustpan and the flywheel from grandpa's tractor.

Time to get a second life

If you haven't already, you've got to check out Second Life. In case you're not familiar with it, here is a quick primer (thanks Leland).  Lately I've been perusing the bricks and mortar business that have developed presences in this online world.

BBH has joined the fray with a spacious virtual agency. They have their trademark black sheep image and their beliefs posted for all to see.  They've got several conference rooms with tables, and a swanky coffee bar in back.

I heard Leo Burnett had an office in SL but I couldn't find anything but this giant snow globe thingy.

At first glance it seems the agency environments are simply places for them to showcase work, and give them the right to boast, "Yeah, we have an agency in Second Life."  I think it's just as much of an internal boost as anything.  But it's not frivolous.  Agencies must be at the forefront of this stuff.  Tinkering with technology and environments and vibrant new ways to communicate with people is our game, even if nobody is paying much attention at first. 

If not agencies, new companies like Millions of Us will lead our client's into this space.  They've already helped Toyota launch the Scion simultaneously in the real world and on Second Life.  I saw the video.  Pretty dorky but a first nonetheless.  The concern is that once this becomes truly mainstream technology we'll all be catching up.  Now's the time to tinker.

I like to watch them play with their Wii

I took that picture a few days ago.  It's the dead end I got - simply suggesting I go online - when I followed a link on TiVo for Nintnedo's Wii.  After all the hype about Wii I was really disappointed to see that this was how they used the advertising content feature on TiVo. 

That was, however, until I saw a spot posted at Joystiq. A little long, a little cheesy, but I found it charming. 

Meanwhile, over at the Wii site they've posted some really interesting videos.  Around the world they set up rooms for people to play Wii.  The filmed them from multiple angles and by simply showing people play the game, they bring to life the breakthrough that is the motion-activated gaming controller.

It taps into a simple insight: nowadays people trust each other a hell of a lot more than they trust actors in a commercial.  Manufacturers have lost nearly all credibility.  And those godawful testimonials carted out for every Hidden Valley Ranch commercial aren't helping any (if you dislike the mind numbing stuff as much as I do check out this spoof and this grocery shelf short).

So it's a breath of fresh research-facility air to see some regular folks actually feeling something and having honest-to-goodness fun.  Even if it's in a facility.  Which kinda sucks, but it's better than actors.

My favorite of the videos is a cute and seasoned couple from Japan.  He's boxing, she's watching.  In fact, it appears to be a scene not seen since the couples-on-the-couch sequence in When Harry Met Sally.  You can almost hear them completing each other's sentences.  Ahhh, memories.

Doggy love

I love dog parks.  Never a dull moment.  Took this at the Berkeley dog park in Denver.

My McDowntown

Newsweek did a piece recently on the little fake downtown in which I live.  It's a development called Belmar; part of Lakewood, CO just outside Denver.  A development riding the 'new urbanism' tide or, as it seems lately, taking a beating from it. 

In the last few weeks I've been a little disheartened to see some retailers pull up stakes after only months in business.  Johnny Rockets, Tacone, Frisco's Deli, and Emogene all have left.

I'm an urbanite by nature so it took some adjustment to move here in the first place.  It's turned out to be a good investment, in terms of housing values.  But it still takes some getting used to, and seeing these businesses leave doesn't help.

But there are a couple new bright spots here.  One is Composition, a great independent shop with modern goods.  Jen moved it out here from LoDo and is crossing her fingers.

And Andenken owner Hyland opened A++ Boutique de Force, a sweet mix of urban eclectica.  Westword liked it so I hope it gets some traffic from his Andenken fans downtown.

Lastly, The Lab has opened a new space and is set for another great year bringing culture to anyone in suburban Denver who will listen.  Bless 'em.

Sharpie + index card + planner

Love the simplicity of this, a little project from indexed.

Rethinking the facility, part 1

That's the room where I moderated groups tonight. A place called TAI Denver. A perfectly functional facility. On the 31st floor, downtown, beautiful views. Comfortable back room, friendly and capable support, the works. But I couldn't help thinking how much these types of facilities have become the tender trap for qualitative research. Research which at its heart is conversations between people.

Part of what keeps nagging at me is I really dislike fluorescent lights. (Except the compact kind that will save the world. But that's for another time.) These lights make me think I'm in an accounting firm or on an operating table, not part of a comfortable discussion.

It made me think, "where do people go for good, comfortable conversations?"

Their homes. Specifically the living room, and even more so, the kitchen. Standing, leaning against a bar. In a large cozy booth at a restaurant. Even sitting on the carpet.

I couldn't be a bigger fan of research that brings us into the consumer's world. In context with where they interact with brands. Yet at the same time here in America there is a culture that highlights the limitations to in-homes, 1:1 interivews, and so on. Sometimes we must allow for a bigger audience, more respondents, etc. I get the role the facility serves.

But couldn't the tired old convention of the accounting-firm-facility give way just a bit to a contemporary approach to conversational comfort?

I think planners are among the few who really truly care about the aesthetics and context enough to want to change it, to ask 'why does it have to be this way' and to think up new contexts for productive, controlled conversations.

Coming next, ideas for rethinking the facility.

My first moblog

Happy HoliBLEH!!!

This is how our corporate cousins at TBWA\Chiat\Day NY rolled out their x-mas party invitation this year.  I can't wait for dessert.

Dust off your fanny pack

Meg Kinney has written a much needed piece about the Art of Shopping.  Her premise is that "If everything around Shopper Marketing is evolving, then so, too, must our approach to its creative."

I hope this is a catalyst for some great discussion in "the fanny pack of the marketing world" (as AdAge once termed the below-the-line space). It's about time this space got some more attention publicly from plannerly folks, as it is really a new frontier for planning.  I work in the space everyday.  We talk a lot about shoppers, not just consumers.  Of course they're the same people; but a lot of marketers don't tend to think of them that way.  As more opportunities open up for planners, I think in the coming months and couple years there will be a lot more heard from this space creatively.

Especially rich in potential is the opportunity not just to be noticed, but to be interesting in a shopping environment.  At the moment the retailers - not the brands - are the source of interest to people as they shop.  They're creating experiences and spaces that amount to something.  In some ways the brands are just part of the bigger picture.  When you acknowledge that the retail environment is now simply another medium - albeit one where people are in a certain mode (shopping) - then it sits on the same playing field as other means of contact.  It should be just as interesting.  Russell posted a video by Jeffre Jackson that explores interestingness quite well.