The second biggest book after the Book of Revelations

What? The Zuckerberg's boy from number 19? He'll never amount to anything.

Simple, Selfless, Universal

2011 'tis upon us. I wonder what exciting titbits it will hold.

By now the majority of people will have seen this, but i thought it was worth a quick post. Schweppes have created an app that allows you to customise your Facebook profile by creating a sort of triptych that stretches across the page, segmenting the photo you choose into a stylish skin for all to see.

For its simplicity, the application has a potentially universal reach, drawing from the global culture of Facebook rather than any localised trend.

I can't imagine this cost a fortune to develop, or took an enormous amount of time, but it feels like a gift. It is not prohibitively branded, nor conspicuously targeted. This, in my opinion, is great digital work. It understands people's efforts to use social media as a megaphone for personality, and gives them the tools to express themselves in a different way.

Schweppes is a brand that I haven't (perhaps unreasonably) associated as being particularly modern, but this gesture brings me closer to them. They know that we like to share stuff, and that perhaps more importantly we want to show off.

Look what Jon Yang did? I like Jon Yang now. Do you? That's what he wants.

Constant Creation- Friday Memes

Two internet memes have spring up this week, and they are both great examples of how rapidly the internet will jump onto an idea and start changing it and remixing it. First there was this brilliant news clip, which has not only been given the obligatory autotune treatment but has also been played by an orchester, all within 2 weeks.

Second is the slew of Youtube, Twitter, Ebay movies parodying the forthcoming "The Social Network". Remixes happen for any movie, but the combination of it being both a movie and about an online site seems to have captured the online communities imagination. It is a timely reminder of the speed and creativity of the online community.
Enjoy the videos- good Friday afternoon viewing.

The Original


Youtube came next


Twitter


And my favourite- Ebay


And if I have piqued your interest in memes then have a look at Know Your Meme, and go to the excellent Kitten Camp.

The real life social network

This interesting presentation has been doing the rounds on Twitter, and is definitely worth a look. It is by Paul Adams, a "user-experience researcher" at Google, and it really gets to the heart of why Facebook "friends" are such an unnerving phenomenon.

Location comes of age

via pasta&Vinegar

In the latest issue of Wired UK, John Battelle illustrates the shift in online behaviour, now that "checking in" has been integrated. We can see what people are doing, what they are buying, what they want, who they know and now we also know where they are. Location has been central to all of the biggest tech developments of the year, from Twitter places to Stickybits and Facebook Location. With smart phones to outnumber desktop PCs by 2012, location-based services are not going anywhere.

Facebook go Rogue

There has been a lot written over the last couple of weeks about Facebook's privacy changes. I ignored it for a while, assuming it was the same short-lived fist-shaking which greets any change in the site, however there seems to be more to genuinely grumble about this time. This Wired article lays out how Facebook has completely changed its purpose since is formation, while this article has interesting thoughts on the meaning of "public" and "private". There have also been some interesting infographics; one from the fantastic New York Times, which points out the current FB privacy document is longer than the US constitution. Another shows the erosion of privacy over the years (above).

Though it would be hyperbole to suggest people are rejecting Facebook, it is telling how much interest this open alternative has been receiving (raising $82K from donors to startup), and how many people are killing off their online identities. It is worth thinking about as it is only going to get worse in the future.

And yes, I am aware of the irony of having a Facebook Like button for this post.

I "Like" the Internet

Over the last week there has been a lot of talk about the "Social Graph" project, recently unveiled by Facebook. It is a big step towards a more personalized and organized web (read more about the changes here, here and here). Though there are serious questions about the effect of Facebook harbouring so much information, and on whether it can be called "open" at all, what is clear is that it will bring massive changes. And already, there are things springing up which make use of it. Here are a couple we have seen- look out for an explosion of innovation in this area in the next couple of months.

- Levis Social Shop -Levis is the first major brand to integrate Facebook friends into the shopping experience, but it is hard to see how this won't become the norm.
-Likebutton.me -Now your friends can click "Like" on anything on the web, this site aggregates their choices in one place.
-IMDB- Just one of many sites to have added Facebook integration- recommend movies, comment and share.
- It's Trending - Real time feed of the most shared data on Facebook.

Immerse yourself

Anyone remember those sites which let you put your photo on a magazine cover? They got old pretty fast, and the current trend of immersive videos, such as the Fight Club trailer we mentioned a while ago, are perhaps also a temporary phenomenon. However we are impressed with the creativity in the following examples as they keep the format fresh.

Hero Trailer - Innovative in the quality of the immersive experience.

Adidas and Starwars - Interesting for its use of Facebook Connect and Google Streetview.

Beyond Fan Pages

I've recently come across two simple but brilliant ways of using facebook to engage your audience.

The first one comes from Ikea who utilised the popular tagging tool to generate awareness of a new store opening.



The second example advertises the 10th anniversary edition of Fight Club. Rather than try and explain it you should try it for yourselves HERE.
A little gimmicky but lots of fun.