New Ads Worth Sharing

If I didn't know better, I'd have to think they made this texteditor for me. I'd like to try it, but at the moment, it is only available for Mac. (And yes, I use MS.) Herraiz Soto and Co create a blissful ad for Ommwriter.



The next ad is Pereira & O'Dell for Muscle Milk. The overwhelming amount of kitsch in this makes it worthy of a mention. A Thanksgiving themed commercial worth watching.



The final ad this week is by Tierney, Minneapolis for Garmin, makers of GPS for cars. Well executed Christmas theme!



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Fora Lecture of the Week: Dan Piraro and Bizarro Buccaneers

Bizarro is great. It's a a bit like the Far Side, but even weirder. If you don't know it, you can check it out here.

At any rate, I had never seen the artist, Dan Piraro, before. He appeared at a San Fran Haight Street bookstore to discuss his latest book, Bizarro Buccaneers. Very funny guy in person too!




Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

10 Most Innovative Consumer Electronics Companies

A victim of their own success...


Strategos just released a top ten list of the most innovative Consumer Electronics companies.
1. LG
2. Nintendo
3. Microsoft
4. Sony
5. Hitachi
6. Canon
7. Sharp
8. NetApp
9. Audiovox
10. Apple

...and the big surprise is Apple in tenth place. This is quite different from the Business Week Top 50 where they come in 1st. Why the difference? Apparently, the biggest fault with Apple is their lack of uniqueness in customer surveys.

Personally, I wasn't surprised. BusinessWeek themselves had an article called: The Mac in the Grey Flannel Suit where they detailed how common Apple was becoming in the business market among regular employees. You couple that with all the anecdotal stories I've heard about Apple's "fadish" popularity among teens. And you have a recipe for a brand in decline. It's hard to be different when everyone owns one.

What do you think of this list?

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Question of the Week: What if...different political revolutions had taken different turns?

I like to read the Op-Eds from the New York Times quite often. The various opinion columnists often provide some really interesting ideas or points of view. Earlier this month, Roger Cohen, ran an Op-Ed entitled "The Hinge of History" found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/opinion/03iht-edcohen.html

It is a very provocative piece asking what would have happened if the protests over the Iranian election last summer had succeeded in reforming the Iranian government. Cohen sets the situation in Iran against the revolutionary events of 1989 where we saw both the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Tiananmen Square protests. To which, he asks:

"What if they had wheeled and borne down on the fissured heart of power in the instant of its disarray? What if this had been Iran’s “lucky moment?” I have no answer to my “what if?” but 1989 suggests this: One day the dam must break when a repressive regime and the society it rules march in opposite directions."

I'm not taking a political stand here. Iran has a long and complicated history and I will confess to a limited knowledge of Middle Eastern history. That said, I've always been intrigued by the "What if...?" scenario in human history. Imagine: What if...different political revolutions had taken different turns?

United States, France, Poland, Russia (1917), Soviet Union (1989), China, Ukraine, Cuba, England (1641), etc.


Or even, societal revolutions... the Industrial Revolution, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Sexual Revolution, etc.

Alternative histories has been a compelling subgenre of fiction and popular culture from Philip Roth's "The Plot Against America" to Marvel Comics "What if?" series to the Sliders television series. I'm not sure if its because of the innate human instinct to regret lost opportunities, but we seem to so often revel in these compelling plot twists.

Consider how things might be different if we ask "What if...?"

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

STAR WARS Hoodies...Check it out!

In case my family actually reads my blog...I would like one of these for Christmas!

These are from Mark Ecko's Star Wars collection.

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Music of the Week: Mastadon

If you like heavy music, you'll like Mastadon. If you like edgy music, you'll like Mastadon. If you have a dark sense of humor, you'll like Mastadon. If not, you'll be a little offended.

And this video is really great. If you've been to a drive-in theatre in North America, you'll catch the humor in this. They used to run these film clips during intermission to get you to go inside and buy some food and drinks.

Warning: Not Suitable for Work (NSFW)


Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

TED lecture of the Week: Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight

This is a startling lecture on the biology of the brain. Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain researcher, witnessed firsthand what happens when someone has a stroke. She details what happened to her the day she had a massive stroke and parts of her brain begin to shut down - self-awareness, motion, speech. Insightful!



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Wavy Gravy and Camp Winnarainbow

A few of you might know that I spent much of the last year of my Bachelor's degree researching and studying 20th century American counterculture. My bachelor thesis dealt with 'The Rise and Fall of American Punk Rock: 1972-1986' so it was essential (fun) to learn about influential counterculture figures and movements in the years preceding punk rock.

Naturally, this included the Hippies. And one of the most influential voices of the Hippie movement were the Merry Pranksters. For those of you who haven't heard of them, I recommend reading Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" which details the illuminating trips(!) across America taken by the Merry Pranksters on the bus called 'Further'. The Pranksters included Ken Kesey (author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Neal Cassady (Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road'), Allen Ginsberg (poet extraordinaire) and Wavy Gravy among others.

I won't even try to sum up Wavy Gravy's influence on the period. You can read about him on Wikipedia  or on his own website. In all I've read and seen, this clown prince of the hippie generation is a truly likeable guy with sincere ambitions to help the world. Case in point, Wavy Gravy and his wife started Camp Winnarainbow in 1974 - a Circus and Performing Arts Summer Camp for Kids. Later, they extended the camp for adults. Way cool! If you were ever wondering about how to find your inner child and how to pump some creative free thought into your life, why not try a week learning circus skills with an enlightened cultural icon!

Here's a video from Camp Winnarainbow for Adults in 2007.


PS. I hear that Gus Van Sant is working on 2010 release of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. (Far out, Man!)

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Innovator of the Week: Stanford R. Ovshinsky

Just when you think you think you've heard it all--there comes along a person who truly astonishes. This happened yesterday. I was reading Bob Herbert's column this week in the New York Times. The column relates in part to the collective soul-searching that America seems to be undergoing because of the current economic recession and the progressive slow erosion of its economic dominance. Herbert wanted to say that as Americans, they should be hopeful since they have innovators like Stan Ovshinsky. To Herbert's credit, he does point out:

What’s weird is that this man, with such a stellar track record of innovation on products and processes crucial to the economic and environmental health of the U.S., gets such little attention and so little support from American policy makers.

HELLOOOO. This is one of the biggest understatements of the last 100 years. Ovshinsky is the environmental equivalent to Thomas Edison or Albert Einstein. I'd ask everyone to now visit Wikipedia for a minute and see what this man has accomplished. They extoll the virtues of Al Gore who just gives a powerpoint presentation while Ovshinsky has been doing the actual cutting-edge innovation for decades. If someone deserves a Nobel, it's this guy.

400 Patents including:

• nickel-metal hybrid batteries found in laptops, cellphones, electric and hybrid cars
• hydrogen fuel cells (!)
• flexible thin-film solar energy laminates and panels
• flat screen liquid crystal displays
• rewritable CDs and DVDs
• PRAM

If Hollywood ever wanted to make a compelling movie about a true hero, this guy is it!

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Creativity Technique: Opening Lines

So what does a 1972 Dodge Dart have to do with creativity? Well, besides the fact it takes a lot of creativity to keep the bloody thing on the road, I think it will demonstrate one of the basic aspects of creativity--essentially how to overcome blocks to creativity.

I bought my rust(!) red 1972 Dodge Dart from my hippie English professor in 1992. It was my first car so I thought it was great at the time. Among the legion of problems, the beast used to leak automatic transmission fluid requiring occasional top-ups. Now, if you've ever tried to drive a car low on transmission fluid, it tends to slip out of gear at low points. Soooo, creativity is much the same. You occasionally need something to lubricate the gears to get the wheels turning.

One little technique used by writers is the borrowed opening line. When you get writer's block (creative block), try using someone else's opening line. The American Book Review has compiled the 100 Best First lines. Here's a few examples:

8. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
9. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
10. I am an invisible man. —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)

Visit the website and give it a try:  http://americanbookreview.org/100BestLines.asp

Now, you might say, I'm not a writer. But, this technique is universal. If you are stuck in your business challenge, design project, marketing concept, how to get your kids to eat veggies, etc., go to a successful project and use it as your jumping off point. It will take you places you might not expect.
 
Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Creativity and Comedy: Jim Gaffigan

As I mentioned last week, I will be posting stand-up comedy every week. This week is one of my favorites -- Jim Gaffigan. Here he is doing his bit about Hot Pockets.

 

In case, you've never had one. They are a highly processed snack food. I think initially the idea was to create a small calzone-type snackfood for kids. The product caught on and comes in many different flavours.

Stay inspired!

Cheers,

Maurice Forget

www.voiceone.fi

*INSTANT* Starbuck's Coffee? What the..?

Innovation or insanity? My brain is hurting thinking about the strategic thinking behind this.



For those of you in Finland and the rest of the world who have never had a Starbuck's Coffee, it is probably one of the nicest half hour experiences you can have. Remember--I said 'experiences.'

Many of my Canadian friends are probably booing me already, but coming from Vancouver I'm a big fan of Starbuck's (or at least the Starbuck's from the 1990s). Some complain about the taste of Starbuck's coffee, some complain about their prices, some complain about it being a large corporation. All true. It tastes burnt. It's expensive. And it's a large corporation.

But I still like Starbuck's. Personally, I don't look at it like I am paying $3-4 for a coffee. What I am paying for is 30 - 60 minutes of sitting in a nice comfortable chair in nice surroundings, maybe with some friends chatting or reading one of their free newspapers, listening to relaxing (cool?) tunes, watching the world go by while I drink a fairly decent cup of coffee. To me, $3 - 4 for that experience is pretty cheap.

I have also purchased Starbuck's in a rush before work. Why did I choose Starbuck's over other brands? Memories. I was buying myself a little piece of those lazy Sunday afternoons. Pure and simple. It was the emotional attachment.

Now, I understand the instant coffee industry is huge and lucrative. But let's be honest, nobody buys instant coffee for taste. It tastes like freeze-dried crap. It's just convenient and fast. Hot water, stir, go. Will instant Starbuck's command the same emotional experience for me? No. It cuts me (and everyone else) off from the quintessential Starbuck's experience. At least, getting it to go, you are inside the store for a few minutes.

This is where it hurts my brain. Why should a company that created "the coffee experience" for North America want to fight over scraps from the food stuffs industry? Well, if they want to hit profit targets for shareholders, they have to. It's the same thinking that led them to overexpand and become the McDonald's of coffee. This decision just has pure desperation written all over it.

Would I ever buy instant Starbuck's? No. Will they conquer the instant coffee market? No. Will they carve out a niche? Yes. Is it a good decision strategically? Personally, I think it's insane from a marketing standpoint. They are watering down their brand all over again and for what? Then again, I'm looking at it from a marketing perspective. I don't have blood-thirsty investors breathing down my neck every three months either.

Let me know what you think.

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

FORA Lecture of the Week: Robert Crumb Illustrates the Book of Genesis

The more I think about it, the more I have to admit my Dad was pretty cool. Back in the day, he used to collect underground comics by Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton and others. Today, I think the content is pretty mainstream. Back then though, they were pretty edgy and innovative. Now, I'm sure many of you have heard or know a bit about Crumb. There's a really candid documentary called Crumb (1994) that digs deep into the man's psyche and creative essence. It's at times comical, disturbing, poignant and charming. Having some perspective on the guy, I was utterly floored to have heard that he had just illustrated the Book of Genesis. I would have to say this is definitely a case of mixing two very divergent things to create something completely new. Here he is discussing his latest creation.



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Music of the Week: BLK JKS

BLK JKS is a new avante garde rock group from South Africa. Some bands just drip cool like an ice cold beer in the summertime. This is one of them.



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Singularity University and Nanotech materials

I'm sure all of you have heard of nanotech -- molecular-size technology. I thought I knew a lot about it between all the articles I've read and the all the sci-fi movies I've seen featuring tissue rebuilds to the grey goo nightmare scenario. Well, I came across a Wired article about Singularity University's lecture series in the area.


http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/11/singularity-university-rearranging-atoms-with-ralph-merkle/

Check these out:

• Respirocytes which could "carry oxygen in the bloodstream so you can hold your breath for an hour"
• Microbivores which could "eliminate diseases more rapidly than the body’s own system"
• Chromallocytes which could "remove chromosomes in a cell and replace them with a new set" 
• Space Transport Vehicle which could "transport 4 passengers into space for a few thousand dollars"
  

 In case you haven't heard of Singularity University before, here's the About Us summary:

Singularity University (SU) is an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire a cadre of leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges. With the support of a broad range of leaders in academia, business and government, SU hopes to stimulate groundbreaking, disruptive thinking and solutions aimed at solving some of the planet’s most pressing challenges. SU is based at the NASA Ames campus in Silicon Valley.

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Creative protest...you decide

New Zealand artist Sam Mahon has taken his art into a fresh(!), new medium. Mahon has created a sculpture of New Zealand's Environment Minister Nick Smith from cow manure. The sculpture was concieved as a way of protesting Smith's laxit...er...lacksidaisical approach to protecting NZ's waterways from dairy farm pollutants. The head was created by mixing dry ground manure with polymer resin and pressing it into a mould. The artwork was sold through the NZ online bidding site, TradeMe, for $3080 (NZD).

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

What Sexuality Taught Us About Branding (And Why Being Average Sucks)

I came across a witty, poignant blog posting from Branding Impressario, David Brier of DBD International. He compares the awkward way teens learn to stand-out from the crowd to the way a brand should try to stand out from its competitors.

Well, it seems
that we had an innate sense
that “being average” likely
would not gain us the recognition
we were seeking, so we
decided we had to be “er” as
in smarter, funnier, cooler,
hipper, sincerer, sportier or
whatever-er. Whatever it was,
it was clear: We had to be
different, rising above the
average, to make our mark.

You can find the full blog posting here.

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Augmented Reality for iPhones

I came across this article today. Apparently, there is a new app for iPhone that allows for Augmented Reality (AR). By shaking the phone, you can activate the hidden app. When activated, the Monocle app allows you to use the camera to see new things. For instance, pan a downtown street and you will see information and reviews about a restaurant from Yelp.com. It's a bit like the view from the Terminator videoscreen. You get extra, augmented information about your surroundings.

The article link is here:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc2009112_434755.htm

PS. Hey, where's the AR app for my Nokia N95?  ;-)

Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Creativity and Comedy: Russell Peters

Comedy has always been a part of my life. Since I was a kid, my dad was always joking and clowning around. And I picked up the comedy bug at an early age. When I was at the University of Lethbridge, I used to host a radio show. I played about 50% Punk Rock and 50% Comedy albums. Today, I listen to comedy almost daily through internet radio. Now, beyond the fact that I love making people laugh, I am also interested in comedy from an academic perspective. As you probably know, at the core of brilliant(!) comedy is serious(!) creativity. The art of comedy relies on setting up a situation. You make people think you are going one direction. But at the last moment, you take them some place unexpected. An example from George Carlin:

I like Florida. Everything is in the 80’s. The temperatures, the ages and the IQ’s.

Now, I'll be adding stand-up comedy selections every week. This week I wanted to start with a Canadian called Russell Peters. His comedy often deals with growing up Indian in Canada. Very funny guy!
Warning: Not Suitable For Work (NSFW).



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

New ads worth sharing

I found a few ads worth sharing...

You have to love when theater breaks the fourth wall, but advertising? This was the concept behind Johannes Leonardo's ad for Daffy's, a discount designer shop in the US. Full props for a well conceived campaign. It would have been cool to see this firsthand.



Here's a tv commercial by Vanksen for the outdoor clothing company, Land's End. I really like these kinds of ads that make a real connection emotionally. And this one clearly does the job. It's also interactive so you can personalise it and send it to friends.



Ok, this last TV commercial by RKCR/Y&R is a complete rip-off of the Mighty Boosh. But since the Mighty Boosh is the Boosh, I still rather like the ads. The concept is well pulled off with some rather good one-liners.



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Ted Lecture of the Week: David Hanson and Robotics

Ok, I admit it...I'm a tech geek at heart--science and technology rocks. I think what I truly find inspiring is watching the interweaving narrative between science and science-fiction. Seeing what could be become what is. One of the fields moving fastest in this light is robotics. Now, I can remember begging my 7th grade science teacher to let me have a Popular Mechanics magazine that featured Robotics. Back then, the robots looked like clunky, oversized meccano sets. Cutting edge back then was mobility. Today, cutting edge is David Hanson and his robots designed to mimic human emotion.



Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

New muscle-sensing interface for technology

You might have wondered where the next motion interface for gaming or technology might come. Here is one cutting-edge technology that might see you flexing forearms to open car doors or playing "Guitar Hero" using real air guitar gestures. Who knows...maybe we'll see that cool Tom Cruise computer interface from Minority Report.




You can read more here:
http://www.livescience.com/technology/091029-ttr-muscle-sensing.html
Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi

Halloween tribute: Let's Paint on Public Access TV

Now I'm sure you're aware that one of the foundations of creativity is the ability to take something old and recombine it, rework it, reimagine it into something new. If you know any artists, you probably know that they excel at this. In honor of the best holiday of the year -- Halloween, I've found a clip of a professional artist John Kilduff on his Los Angeles Public Access TV program Let's Paint that illustrates that you can take something ordinary like carving a pumpkin and turn it into something extraordinary.




Stay inspired!

Cheers,
Maurice
www.voiceone.fi