PSFK Author:
Christine Huang

We’ve heard a lot of brands wishing to ‘own’ music recently, and we always get a bit, well, annoyed about it, because music belongs to people and persons, not brands. And the only thing brands should be trying to do in terms of music are those bandied-brand words, ‘facilitating’ and ‘enabling’. Ruby Pseudo’s team in the UK did a focus group recently where - in six minutes - the kids named 44 brands they saw as being part of the whole music “thing”, either in a good or an appropriate way.

Our results? The same brands kept coming up. As an overview:

• Network brand 02 was mentioned by over 65% of the respondents. That’ll probably go up too since they’ve brought all the Carling venues (isn’t it a bit like when Reebok brought Thierry Henry and everyone was like, um, he’s a Nike guy?)
• Virgin also occupied front of mind, and was cited by over 45% of the kids.
• Carling (for the time being) took bronze with 35% of respondents calling it out as being appropriately involved with music (Reading Festival and the like)… Diesel was also a runner-up with 25% calling out the denim brand as having a finger in the fat music pie (Diesel New Music Awards).

Overall, the notable brands mentioned in their respective categories:

• Broadcasters: C4, BBC, M&V
• Food & Drinks: Carling, Innocent, Coca Cola, Becks, Red Bull
• Fashion: Nike, Oxfam, Diesel, Adidas
• Network Providers: 02, Virgin, Orange, T Mobile
• Mobile Phone Brands: Sony (25%), Nokia (10%) Samsung (5%)

Some useful quotes from respondents:

‘They had a guitar hero tent at Reading, I thought it was amazing, the best thing they could’ve done. There were like loads of geeks playing and really getting into it and they were giving away free t-shirts and there were competitions.” Libby, 16

“They had a Duracell tent at Reading as well, something about lasting longer, some music tent, can’t really remember.” Jamie, 21

“They made a digital map at Glastonbury so you could navigate around and find the best places to get drunk and listen to music!” Tarik, 18

“As for Orange RockCorps- absolutely love that idea - it has the level of exclusivity that will interest and provoke youth into volunteering- genius.” Leonie, 21

‘Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel…’

“I did the orange RockCorps thing the other day which is so good for people our age who might not be able to afford tickets for gigs or they might be sold out by the time we get the money together. So many people turned up to the community service I went to that they didn’t have enough tools for us!” Jay-Ann, 17

[article originally appearing on Ruby Pseudo Wants a Word]

Last night, we attended Microsoft’s soft launch party for Softwear, the company’s new line of graphic tees designed by hip-hop artist Common and “inspired by the 1980s when both Microsoft and hip-hop really came of age.” The software giant’s foray into fashion is intended to conjure a sense of nostalgic hipness around the brand, while reacting to the “I’m a PC” stereotype made popular by Apple. The shirts, which will hit select stores in the US on Dec 15, incorporate old DOS iconography, geek vernacular, and a retro-futuristic aesthetic into some surprisingly stylish designs. Softwear’s two lines, Classic and Common’s designs, can be previewed at Microsoft’s Softwear site, where viewers can also learn about the impetus and story behind the concept, narrated by Common.

In contrast to IBM’s unimaginative predictions, Microsoft’s Future Visions videos are actually a bit inspiring, pointing to innovations in technology we’d be excited to see and use. Their “future vision on manufacturing” concept video brings to life many advances that seem rather intuitive: ubiquitous touchscreen interfaces, holographic video conferencing, virtual paper, 3-D guided assembly processes, and a host of other efficiency boosting technologies. Watch the video below:

[via 360design]

At our Good Ideas in 2009: Digital salon yesterday, much of the conversation surrounded how our online identities are created, both actively - through our own decisions of what we share about ourselves - and passively - through the actions and perceptions of others. Given that we only have control over half of that equation, how do we ensure that the best and brightest portrait of ourselves is seen by the wider community?

Piers posited his “Red Coat, Black Coat” theory back in 2006, which proved to be a harbinger of conversations to come about approaches to online privacy as the internet extends its reach further into our daily activities. At yesterday’s session, two methods became most evident: one centers around greater transparency. By choosing to let every detail out into the public sphere by our own hand, we’re able to send a clear message that says “this is who I am and I’m okay with that.” Of course, this is a bit of a risky proposition, but a more complex picture with all of its strengths and flaws, is certainly a truer one as well.

The other view that operates alongside the above idea of being “free and open,” is to take a more dynamic role participating in the feedback loop. Developing relationships with not only your friends, but your critics as well, promotes conversation and can lead to understanding.

These lessons don’t only apply to our individual profiles anymore either, but speak to the larger identities being developed at the level of corporations and brands too. Building on this platform, we’re witnessing a trend of businesses starting to raise the bar in terms of the amount and type information being provided to the public, while at the same engaging consumers on a more personal basis.

Online retailer Zappos was mentioned during yesterday’s session as one company that has been able to implement this model in a positive way through the context of their social media-styled employee blogs. Other examples that illustrate this new movement include user generated review sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp that enable businesses to directly respond to their costumers and GM Facts and Fiction, an attempt by General Motors to dispel rumors about the current state of their company.

As we begin to see successes from the early adopters of this paradigm shift, we expect more companies will jump aboard and participate. This trend can only lead to a richer consumer experience for all involved.

Watch the video of yesterday’s inspiring session here, and read Fast Company’s review of it here.

[image via Michael Martin]

We like Hello Health, Dr Jay Parkinson’s subscription-based healthcare system that gives patients access to doctor’s virtually anytime, anywhere - via IM, phone, videochat, or home consultation (for an extra fee). We’re excited to see the company is very much alive and well, as a new set of print ads for the service were recently released:

It has a broad reaching name and this year Advertising Age and Creativity brought together an equally wide range of speakers for a day of dialog about creativity and innovation. This year’s conference was held in New York City at Terminal 5, usually a concert and nightclub venue on October 30th. Once inside, attendees could congregate in the Inspiration Pavilion which was made up of booths and displays representing most of the days speakers. Notable was GM who had the Volt on display and Yahoo! who featured one of their Purple Pedals bikes. The following are some highlights of the day:

Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes spoke about his company’s efforts to make giving a core attribute of their business. For every pair of shoes purchased, Toms gives a pair to a child in need, for free. Blake announced within the next twelve months that the company will have given 300,000 pairs away. Blake gave some advice for businesses looking to integrate giving into their business practices. First is to make the commitment as authentic and transparent as possible. The goal is always to help people first, not the bottom line. Second, he noted that giving fosters a sense of empowerment from Toms employees. He said that there is a passion that radiates from the office. Giving creates a stronger bond between what employees are doing, and the people their business is connected to.
Blake offered a preview of the new Toms website launching soon. The site will offer new features that allow Toms customers to connect to each other and become more engaged in the company’s field activities. Toms issues an open call for volunteers every two months to assist with shoe drops in Argentina.

Grant Achatz, the owner and chef of Alinea in Chicago told his amazing story. The award winning chef was diagnosed with Stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, a difficult cancer to cure. The diagnosis and treatment potentially spelled the end of his career as a chef. Amazingly, Grant beat the cancer applying some of the same lessons he learned when developing his restaurant Alinea. He spoke about three steps he consistently used to attach and solve problems:

1. Understand your medium: Gain as much information and understanding about the challenges and opportunities that are available.
2. ‘Breaking it down’: Look for even the smallest opportunities to innovate. All of these small opportunities will add up to something much bigger.
3. Rebuilding in a meaningful way: Keep the overall goal in mind. Make sure it is compelling, unique, and personal.

Read the rest of this entry »

SharedEgg offers some neat data visualization maps that provide a glimpse of the interconnected web of products, brands, and activities that binds us. Based on data collected from constituents of various ’subcultures’, the maps reflect the different labels people have for themselves and others based on what they like, what they consume and how they spend their free time. SharedEgg explains their process:

What we ended up asking of our participants was just to list some of the products, and activities that they are involved with: what music artists they listen to, what movies they watch, what television shows they watch, what websites they might visit, brands they wear, accessories they wear, what electronics they own, and where they have lived.

After we had this information from the participant, we asked them to categorize those products and activities into preset subcultural categories (Bohemian, Casual, Cyber, Nerd, Emo, Gamer, Gangsta, Hardcore, Hippie, Trendy, Indie, F.O.B., Sporty, Preppy, Punk, Rocker, Reggae, Skater). After gathering the information we needed, we had to come up with a taxonomy that would allow this data to be best visualized within Many Eyes Data Visualization Software.

SharedEgg

Creative Cities Summit 2.0 concluded this week in Detroit, Michigan, a three-day conference bringing together creative practitioners from across industries (from city planners to educators) in a discussion about the integration of innovation, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, arts & culture and business and their roles in our urban ecologies. Brand Avenue points us to one of the conference’s most enlightening panels - a talk between Who’s Your City?’s Richard Florida, COMEDIA’S Charles Landry, and The Creative Economy author John Howkins (moderated by Carol Coletta of Smart City Radio). As Brand Avenue retells, Landry brings up the important distinction between how big and small cities make a name for themselves:

Memorable was Landry’s commentary about icons and signature buildings, particularly for smaller cities that seek to raise their profiles: “rather than one icon, do 100 things well that together, become an icon.” In other words, avoid the overarching narrative, and look for ways to draw attention to the small, incremental, positive developments (architectural, economic, social, educational, etc) that together, make the image of the city greater than the sum of its parts. An interesting point vis a vis the potential fallability of a place branding approach.

An associated and similarly good point: that everything is a resource in the creation of place–every indvidual move… Or, to quote a conference organizer on Sunday, “you are a media channel:” your story is also a part; you are also an agent. Your small move is a resource, one that plays a role in the creation of place; and places are made out of, for, and by people.

Brand Avenue: Doing 100 Things Well

LiveRail recently revealed their advertising platform for the iPhone, giving developers the option of adding short commercials to their applications, which would play whenever their app is launched. The positive spin: LiveRail gives developers the chance to monetize their apps without making them charge a premium price - meaning potentially more high-quality, free games and tools for iPhone users. The flipside: more ads, on our screens, all the time. LiveRail also implements a video streaming system that might not sit so well with Apple. As TechCrunch reports:

Apple takes a cut of all premium applications sold through its store, but it absorbs the bandwidth and hosting costs for free applications, charging the developers nothing. If these ads make the one-time payment model obsolete and more applications switch to “Free”, Apple may wind up changing this structure (or even ban ‘intrusive’ advertising entirely).

Developers can tag their apps with keywords to help pair them up with the most relevant ad content, and future versions of the platform will even offer location-based ad options. Watch the video below for more:

TechCrunch: LiveRail Lets iPhone Developers Put Commercials in Apps, Get Paid