tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34240990779448953302024-02-07T21:04:12.572-05:00SnamoA quest for interactive advertising.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger125125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-9694437375739275162012-01-09T21:22:00.003-05:002012-01-09T21:22:38.230-05:00Decks: AlienwareThe turning of the year, and all that comes with it, has caused my blogging to be a bit spotty. Not too mention I'm a bit rusty. Skyrim doesn't help either.<br />
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So, the next mini-series of exploration is in the laptop/pc arena. Alienware is still going strong and was bought out by Dell since my first post.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7M0s15RsOdsDQfZir0pEgNDzqtPOUziq0Nf3SQjn3Wc20SESGcaVioMYNKEOKmCQ3Vx2PgTYHyyz5ZU-BPcrVvyslXa0XCtVnWZwEoqbwaWkSZqxomtsjcOw80hEFnJznUA-rK9CovY/s1600/alienware12_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7M0s15RsOdsDQfZir0pEgNDzqtPOUziq0Nf3SQjn3Wc20SESGcaVioMYNKEOKmCQ3Vx2PgTYHyyz5ZU-BPcrVvyslXa0XCtVnWZwEoqbwaWkSZqxomtsjcOw80hEFnJznUA-rK9CovY/s320/alienware12_4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Not much has changed in the basic styling of the site, and not much new in the area of interactive. They have, however, been cultivating an avid community.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkITu5Yaktcq559xdRf95ZcZdB178tYrxjTyZRv7U-I_qZcqy0FTfijeR8qlFw6IkE_lSR8InVVDMzVZmVBWI69k1RDS0CqLAwJPG4A1D81P5KYaStk-butgh8qDfcpymU7D3_IQ0B5A/s1600/alienware12_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkITu5Yaktcq559xdRf95ZcZdB178tYrxjTyZRv7U-I_qZcqy0FTfijeR8qlFw6IkE_lSR8InVVDMzVZmVBWI69k1RDS0CqLAwJPG4A1D81P5KYaStk-butgh8qDfcpymU7D3_IQ0B5A/s320/alienware12_1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Their "Arena" section promotes PVP PC gaming, blog posts and general news in the PC gaming world. They still have an Alien Network digital channel platform with gaming videos, news and interviews.<br />
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An "Explore" section is really just a place to get fancy wallpapers and themes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74zE282dykYuUEmrNdOcGAhkC0T5aIs-j7D4W1s8fPvmz0OxXOXrI9NBE35DOT9RZSiYcsVQpGrVJvYaJyy4w3dv5G5NCZYpvuf1uussjKnE0oe2hwjbHvhDJEgp6jUg_18MHWl9k0kk/s1600/alienware12_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74zE282dykYuUEmrNdOcGAhkC0T5aIs-j7D4W1s8fPvmz0OxXOXrI9NBE35DOT9RZSiYcsVQpGrVJvYaJyy4w3dv5G5NCZYpvuf1uussjKnE0oe2hwjbHvhDJEgp6jUg_18MHWl9k0kk/s320/alienware12_3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I remember when Explore meant something completely different.<br />
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The product is still very pretty..precious even. preeciousss.<br />
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/.gollumwasanalien.\<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-77765927495780988142012-01-03T13:50:00.002-05:002012-01-03T13:50:43.974-05:00Candy: TofitaHappy New Year! I was fortunate enough to have a nice long break between christmas and new years. I'm back in business. I wanted to close out the Candy portion of my industry-dive with a candy I didn't look at last time, and I decided to troll The FWA to see what candy sites have been submitted there.<br />
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I found this, a Turkish candy called Tofita. This site actually feels like it's a candy site.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDyJ6K0-3dtQ_-h12WSAv5czCrHVyhVSDlOpU8RHDb8vGtRv_fnnHRAFxs53t6afK0T7eDf3vzBkBRZ40x-5hoDKjXCfesl1D6cKQyudsnO98scNnGSkqf9v7Jedznj6gZ51HOk_r8wA/s1600/tofita12_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaDyJ6K0-3dtQ_-h12WSAv5czCrHVyhVSDlOpU8RHDb8vGtRv_fnnHRAFxs53t6afK0T7eDf3vzBkBRZ40x-5hoDKjXCfesl1D6cKQyudsnO98scNnGSkqf9v7Jedznj6gZ51HOk_r8wA/s320/tofita12_1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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There was a ton of clay-mation work done to pull this off, from the menu's to even the pre-loader segments. Speaking of menus, this is a great example of how a simple UI design will transcend language. I didn't necessarily know what I was clicking on, but I at least knew I was going to get more info of some type.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyw_mE27-xnA2MKaMHO4rNylFTFmoqVjfbyPc3wyY9Z28jeYYHsnP2BgajkEAv6vVFn-D0kh4s2ahr_AZtGyVjHmfyCfA2-BtS5powI1nMJnl2raNdqFXPbbFOZ0bJ4sioSfALLL8eA60/s1600/tofita12_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyw_mE27-xnA2MKaMHO4rNylFTFmoqVjfbyPc3wyY9Z28jeYYHsnP2BgajkEAv6vVFn-D0kh4s2ahr_AZtGyVjHmfyCfA2-BtS5powI1nMJnl2raNdqFXPbbFOZ0bJ4sioSfALLL8eA60/s320/tofita12_2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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"Ürünler" apparently means TV spots. This lady is a Raver (or Candy-Kid) version of Progressive's Flo.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS2gF9cPUaXd5R6GQG2Ce0vX0g_d8DNU-2J2Py1GEhBhY-MJTMO5zqugcmyhE3ED8gJQiwlbU0XaOSC6QQqjjdo6nUJzHyzEzH-hek6R-m6-jODpqE7R-2XrP5hie9B-zl0xNp7j6RxY/s1600/tofita12_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS2gF9cPUaXd5R6GQG2Ce0vX0g_d8DNU-2J2Py1GEhBhY-MJTMO5zqugcmyhE3ED8gJQiwlbU0XaOSC6QQqjjdo6nUJzHyzEzH-hek6R-m6-jODpqE7R-2XrP5hie9B-zl0xNp7j6RxY/s320/tofita12_3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Out of the sites I've looked at in this set, this is the most simple, but most fun way to show off the product.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79wGLem8nL8xdpN6n0oqtFsywCeRxMUdVqlueMcL6NgnXVHlknv9KaCptTVjSInDqFL2dK8ei6gcHysPbA2aN_hWUMKFHX7t3kcyQFPGzJodK5hnu22TuMtNFjTwUG2_p7y_q8kiC_0o/s1600/tofita12_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79wGLem8nL8xdpN6n0oqtFsywCeRxMUdVqlueMcL6NgnXVHlknv9KaCptTVjSInDqFL2dK8ei6gcHysPbA2aN_hWUMKFHX7t3kcyQFPGzJodK5hnu22TuMtNFjTwUG2_p7y_q8kiC_0o/s320/tofita12_4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then there is a section for just weird clay-mation fun. If a Flash game was a required section, this site has the best conceptual set-up for one, but they didn't take the bite (or at least didn't have the budget).<br />
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Light, fun, sweet, playful..doesn't take itself seriously, and doesn't try too hard to be be anything than what it is. <br />
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/.sweetclick.\<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-35240244237806839592011-12-22T09:50:00.007-05:002011-12-22T10:29:54.978-05:00Candy: CadburyI think the spot with the different animals clucking like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oamnDsxFLyg&feature=related">chickens for Cadbury</a> is eternal. And just behind it is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzFRV1LwIo">Gorilla playing drums</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMn5YvWif0dkuSzXqWwCClfd_5siQYf3jP7Y29KAF7bL1k0dOLHJ02PgUpXKirX9VLPY2EM7piIclLGXigeAv-JYbXPF-VmRN8Jo56uI4b-lJ3svXUeLqyq9PXRa_8Z77q8A8hnaM4dw/s1600/cadbury1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMn5YvWif0dkuSzXqWwCClfd_5siQYf3jP7Y29KAF7bL1k0dOLHJ02PgUpXKirX9VLPY2EM7piIclLGXigeAv-JYbXPF-VmRN8Jo56uI4b-lJ3svXUeLqyq9PXRa_8Z77q8A8hnaM4dw/s400/cadbury1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688971226622952338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Cadbury's Glass and Half Full Productions has been very busy the last couple of years. They went from being a <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/03/candy-week-cadbury.html">full on Flash experience</a>, to being a super content buffet. Everything from past campaigns, videos, a blog and a few Flash games that are tied to specific campaigns (rather than up there to just shamelessly gather engagement time.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeq-lXG-JyR3mi9HhVpXFNw3oao8-5fXhuCOSZmo5SKnrztTBYQ0c8r3YUumMgt2hkb0CdWeLXn9zaiIho1bV0kkYraX56_-gG7el-h24Vdh_6Qa_yH1OzhmpmQjGL4lszb8uEbE1Uxg/s1600/cadbury2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeq-lXG-JyR3mi9HhVpXFNw3oao8-5fXhuCOSZmo5SKnrztTBYQ0c8r3YUumMgt2hkb0CdWeLXn9zaiIho1bV0kkYraX56_-gG7el-h24Vdh_6Qa_yH1OzhmpmQjGL4lszb8uEbE1Uxg/s400/cadbury2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688971333671043778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The menu is simple and doesn't try to categorize the content (but you can filter it yourself). And although I've seen it before, I like the Surprise! button. You can't ignore a surprise.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3_Uc5FECZnomBgBppXFQ2Q_Hpp35pTLV3WqOAuK4LNFg2N4tZKQvXh9KUFFWWiNwj1rOgHw5t75MhG1gH5VO80sBNisxir4HyrcO-J-SRsvT76BrM1QHsKxE-UNrd5aEEdVmt-Ht3To/s1600/cadbury3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 327px; height: 83px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3_Uc5FECZnomBgBppXFQ2Q_Hpp35pTLV3WqOAuK4LNFg2N4tZKQvXh9KUFFWWiNwj1rOgHw5t75MhG1gH5VO80sBNisxir4HyrcO-J-SRsvT76BrM1QHsKxE-UNrd5aEEdVmt-Ht3To/s400/cadbury3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688971435755179602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZ79wLYeBZFbxq2vB0ouffmk1-hGtxJG1GEmJpBca3wS4lDKKLbU0sE5BJOMcWpblB6o6tSJuGqEEIt9hBHJ_KagBQ70BXj9RC5G9hAGg6FJfq3X5OcO6K0WbkIdINZJKRFoO0GRwiFo/s1600/cadbury4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZ79wLYeBZFbxq2vB0ouffmk1-hGtxJG1GEmJpBca3wS4lDKKLbU0sE5BJOMcWpblB6o6tSJuGqEEIt9hBHJ_KagBQ70BXj9RC5G9hAGg6FJfq3X5OcO6K0WbkIdINZJKRFoO0GRwiFo/s400/cadbury4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688972512039790466" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;">Surprise! There's a party in my pants.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4kYuEkhrgjnO66AxPwNaWZjjvGtf5AlyaX_vbWV8-eOOOTxjAdDc2FaBFnSFmrj2Ov_GZRhnARsZe3ykF2u0MjKC1i14bJNDv7gk9AYqsGEMwXS104LiV1Kyhh14zRnxO9LmM6-gAvc/s1600/cadbury5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr4kYuEkhrgjnO66AxPwNaWZjjvGtf5AlyaX_vbWV8-eOOOTxjAdDc2FaBFnSFmrj2Ov_GZRhnARsZe3ykF2u0MjKC1i14bJNDv7gk9AYqsGEMwXS104LiV1Kyhh14zRnxO9LmM6-gAvc/s400/cadbury5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688972747740966162" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;">Hey you can fling shit too!<br /></div><br />Cadbury doesn't seem to have any qualms with letting their site consist of content past and present. It's a nice departure from the love it and leave it mentality the ad world has had for so long. Then again I shouldn't be surprised since Cadbury still runs that spot...<br /><br />/.cluck.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-31411076514599941642011-12-15T12:31:00.006-05:002011-12-15T14:04:37.829-05:00Candy: ButterfingerButterfinger, like most of its candy counterparts has focused its efforts across the social space. The Butterfinger site is a combination of the Snickers and M&M's. Like the former, it wants you to pass on quickly to its social partners, but if you insist on staying, its got some Flash games like the latter.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjED2y_GF2xf3iQk_64NAzbKLp5N-MzWp34KxJ80krL-4wYMzVT0HuXLMuta9ANAGR_G2viiqA5I3tyylPnqyh7qap3uVb9aPulUlUMmnOIL1mx_bZwOLZ6IALL4ZlVC8WcjbOx3oB30fI/s1600/butterfinger1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjED2y_GF2xf3iQk_64NAzbKLp5N-MzWp34KxJ80krL-4wYMzVT0HuXLMuta9ANAGR_G2viiqA5I3tyylPnqyh7qap3uVb9aPulUlUMmnOIL1mx_bZwOLZ6IALL4ZlVC8WcjbOx3oB30fI/s400/butterfinger1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686431125594684610" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;">The primary design aesthetic might be "afterthought".<br /></div><br />I've never had the pleasure of working on a site or brand that felt the need to have mini-games on their website so I don't know if they actually work. Seems like a good theory on paper - people come + everyone loves games = people stay longer = profit! But for the most part the games end up weaker than games on Kongregate. I thought a few years ago we would start to see the decline of this type of content, or even an evolution of it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmvp14pXp3z0IF2FjqhyphenhyphenLOLW4D-q4mK5pJJ5fUR5eAU7dNbkpSbiWtb0WcVFnLXwCCVatcGe7r27dqgIIcAGnvAibva0u6KMORRJ6sTCFF_74VJ4lbL77QzhwzwJXfNNWue_NaBY0bS0/s1600/butterfinger4.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmvp14pXp3z0IF2FjqhyphenhyphenLOLW4D-q4mK5pJJ5fUR5eAU7dNbkpSbiWtb0WcVFnLXwCCVatcGe7r27dqgIIcAGnvAibva0u6KMORRJ6sTCFF_74VJ4lbL77QzhwzwJXfNNWue_NaBY0bS0/s400/butterfinger4.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686431522139000610" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;">I will admit that <a href="http://www.butterfinger.com/BCN/games/ExposeTheThief.aspx">this particular game</a> has a cool concept though.<br />You zoom into the crowd to find and nab Butterfinger thieves.</div><br /><br />It's not until you peruse the Butterfinger social properties that you really see the digital investment. Home videos on YouTube, and a brand-produced short movie directed by Rob Lowe on Facebook.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMxD9e1A2MBQ6FPBQZ9i0hJZlzSXBg1jTDHXK3aK00U_cG70amnGwu-MBcP475GCXSH_2XE8t6esldtggILgc-WO8prxv9OCUWrp1D6WHH2WGj5TAHGAYG-Y1in2Wbh8wXBGILXMIVc8I/s1600/butterfinger2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMxD9e1A2MBQ6FPBQZ9i0hJZlzSXBg1jTDHXK3aK00U_cG70amnGwu-MBcP475GCXSH_2XE8t6esldtggILgc-WO8prxv9OCUWrp1D6WHH2WGj5TAHGAYG-Y1in2Wbh8wXBGILXMIVc8I/s400/butterfinger2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686432088451721090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;">From the modern master of psychological terror Rob Lowe. lol.<br /></div><br />I could only handle watching about 2 minutes, but that's more on the part of my ADD then anything else. Props to Butterfinger for the effort however, I wonder if they had any sort of media buy driving to it?<br /><br />/.modern master of stuff.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-43166953264754961632011-12-12T15:12:00.008-05:002011-12-12T16:02:32.089-05:00Candy: SkittlesThe <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/03/candy-week-skittles.html">last time I checked out Skittles.com</a> it didn't disappoint.<br /><br />And once again it delivers. I give a reverent salute to the rainbow. <a href="http://www.skittles.com/">Skittles.com</a>, like a talented basketball player, or a kung fu master, makes it look so easy to do. There is a deep understanding of the medium that goes into making a site like this, a site designed to be aware of it's own content, not to just be a shell packed with whatever is deemed content at the time. The site was designed to be a sexier way to view Skittle's social content.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgC_8TUVkVndwv5gvAV9xsQvCdBiLPfqKjM11Fux4P3UX8Ohe3MevK80G2_hpUB3FBatGl1Ifri53vo61eOVN_44jcHGBOXgZH1tdQmCi4DjvsWuSHCBQ3ghSo2gGX7KOwqUMAtZljfHw/s1600/skittles11_1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgC_8TUVkVndwv5gvAV9xsQvCdBiLPfqKjM11Fux4P3UX8Ohe3MevK80G2_hpUB3FBatGl1Ifri53vo61eOVN_44jcHGBOXgZH1tdQmCi4DjvsWuSHCBQ3ghSo2gGX7KOwqUMAtZljfHw/s400/skittles11_1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685348606225380994" border="0" /></a><br />It's a scroll-down, a popular execution that's been around for the last few years. An interesting note is that it doesn't seem to end. Whenever you get close to the bottom of the scroll bar, the page loads in previous posts seamlessly. It took a minute for me to realize that was happening at all. The layout was intelligently designed to make you think it goes forever.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiZjF39qujlQtDTk1jJafaS86xt8lV4maoNftAWuwUk9Uk3Ke21xqEO3_REfwjsZtKtCWcU6WtTJkN4l335cDdOb8ACGS2bIE1KgJgo12evNPDirSAhwPIwyiNUdcS7hpcD10zzaI7GI/s1600/skittles11_2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiZjF39qujlQtDTk1jJafaS86xt8lV4maoNftAWuwUk9Uk3Ke21xqEO3_REfwjsZtKtCWcU6WtTJkN4l335cDdOb8ACGS2bIE1KgJgo12evNPDirSAhwPIwyiNUdcS7hpcD10zzaI7GI/s400/skittles11_2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685348785617040050" border="0" /></a><br />The Skittle's site is the place where their social content converges and makes something new. It's the stepping out from the boundaries of 3rd party platforms to stretch and flex, and strut in rainbow pants. It feels nice, it feels natural.<br /><br />Oh, and btw - <a href="http://rainbowinventions.tumblr.com/">their Tumblr account</a> is interesting too -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uaPaEww6x-3soaP0YiJDVyuX-aRCz7Eb_BW8jQ1E2ALrohBqNo0ieUIXp7JLPhQCHS_Uqtxtha8KQVJkABNhX-cxX2WAu8jkhsN9gKW5JjYlcaPrRkYtuhSM6h8fXvJ7xVGVE1cMOUA/s1600/skittles11_3.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-uaPaEww6x-3soaP0YiJDVyuX-aRCz7Eb_BW8jQ1E2ALrohBqNo0ieUIXp7JLPhQCHS_Uqtxtha8KQVJkABNhX-cxX2WAu8jkhsN9gKW5JjYlcaPrRkYtuhSM6h8fXvJ7xVGVE1cMOUA/s400/skittles11_3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685349097718943266" border="0" /></a><br /><br />/.rainbro.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-24212176199931563532011-12-07T10:45:00.003-05:002011-12-07T12:56:12.442-05:00Candy: M&M'sWell I'm two posts in after an almost 3 year hiatus and I feel like time has stood still.<div><br /></div><div>Here is M&M's in March 2009:</div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cx9OhW34_3HsrYTOVtKcxMQ3fKKmyKccvgnpwRXYIzwrCOgmSo3e9YF2ZEGDta0tD2RMCSnfm6pihyphenhyphenr0YKGq596z5D6T-fcPAaZFjJstFjQWiwviQ5XR_ZXxWaVgU1s6wxT7fustcRY/s1600-h/Picture+5.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cx9OhW34_3HsrYTOVtKcxMQ3fKKmyKccvgnpwRXYIzwrCOgmSo3e9YF2ZEGDta0tD2RMCSnfm6pihyphenhyphenr0YKGq596z5D6T-fcPAaZFjJstFjQWiwviQ5XR_ZXxWaVgU1s6wxT7fustcRY/s400/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316964410422642994" border="0" /></a><br /></div>And here it is Dec. 2011:<div><br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAhs0n7hx-2w6pFSAgHanvrDMx4BNZoOAvFOmiRgzPubd4JYOgNrL67LK00jEEcHTy8dUmbdJC7MRbhgNJneTSuxaZW-mpur090AY1nm8fG8Wls5l44lxLJOSrWyItarg6ZdwvqDgXD4/s1600/mm_1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 330px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOAhs0n7hx-2w6pFSAgHanvrDMx4BNZoOAvFOmiRgzPubd4JYOgNrL67LK00jEEcHTy8dUmbdJC7MRbhgNJneTSuxaZW-mpur090AY1nm8fG8Wls5l44lxLJOSrWyItarg6ZdwvqDgXD4/s400/mm_1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683415821231301394" /></a>Unlike the Snickers.com site, which feels like a one-shot site that's overstayed it's welcome, the M&M site has a polished structure that lends itself to longevity. However Snickers has new content, whereas the M&M site just has new promotions (expected). </div><div><br /></div><div>This site is a great example of elegant interactivity, it's full of little bits of fun just like the candy itself. Not to sound too much like a geek who's done this for years, but little things like the way they handle the masthead navigation on the left is pretty sweet. And even the roll overs on the bottom promotional tile arrows have the extra bit of love that makes you want to click again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I enjoyed poking around the site the last time I looked at it, and I'm a little disappointed that there's no new content. They still have the same "create an M&M avatar" app, granted it's got a few more cosmetic options but it's still an isolated site app. It's cool that you can make an avatar and then go play their games with that avatar...but I'm surprised the app hasn't made it's way to Facebook, Itunes, Android etc. Creating an M&M avatar army in the social space would be interesting..especially since they too are rocking 2 million + likes. </div><div><br /></div><div>/.magic beans.\</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-4686300004358037522011-12-05T12:03:00.004-05:002011-12-06T10:13:43.776-05:00I'm back bearing candy<div>Hello again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well it's been almost three years since the end of my nine-month study of interactive advertising across the web. My intention was to take a break for at least a year and resurface to revisit all those industries again. One year turned to three, but I think the extra time will actually make this more interesting.</div><div><br /></div><div>My plan is to revisit a majority of the industries from the first study and hopefully a couple new ones. The very first industry was Candy, and the first site was Snickers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here was Snickers.com in 2009:</div><div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-H2jQAgi77Eavi5mOxoFOgihVM_cjmHhB1XJtCwb3rHwQJ3ygHDfQgYfzZxmp50-mJ4TFNWEaj-hecDZP-yjdaEervr-Tkrg4eJfyXtltwZD_VdYL3wFItrTAY61ESRvY8RW_7Nai0Q/s1600-h/Picture+5.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-H2jQAgi77Eavi5mOxoFOgihVM_cjmHhB1XJtCwb3rHwQJ3ygHDfQgYfzZxmp50-mJ4TFNWEaj-hecDZP-yjdaEervr-Tkrg4eJfyXtltwZD_VdYL3wFItrTAY61ESRvY8RW_7Nai0Q/s400/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316555850693003074" border="0" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br />And here is Snickers 2011:</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa0MRvEBtDKzZpqTdWXAtYjR8uhObYiLrgdMAYr5arBgq9YH8yJNgcUR0NL5qcEwMalfnH01fw-y50ZIbp31O7eZwL4e_JAVkJp3uo2n3uuUfk9T0D4L4jXPppYRdJcrHDqZTU5PZtb4/s1600/snickers11_1.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa0MRvEBtDKzZpqTdWXAtYjR8uhObYiLrgdMAYr5arBgq9YH8yJNgcUR0NL5qcEwMalfnH01fw-y50ZIbp31O7eZwL4e_JAVkJp3uo2n3uuUfk9T0D4L4jXPppYRdJcrHDqZTU5PZtb4/s400/snickers11_1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682746667054459202" /></a><div><br /></div>Wow. Almost three years later and we're still looking at the <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/03/get-funky-on-snacksaphone.html">same site</a>. It either performs extremely well, or a Snickers website is at the bottom of the priority list. </div><div><br /></div><div>So much has happened in these years, from the big corp rush to Facebook to mobile sites becoming a necessity. It's as if time has stood still here. Checking this site on my iPhone shows a "Download Flash to see the World" message. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't see a link to their Facebook page on here. Last I checked they had 40 fans. </div><div><br /></div><div>Holy crap. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/snickers">2,842,371 likes</a>. Apparently Social works pretty well for Snickers. Judging by the amount of wall posts and engagement they have going on, I'm starting to understand why the site (barring new content) is a low priority. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the more important questions I want to answer for myself through this new study is the affect of social on true interactive websites. Here we see the website sitting on the sidelines while social plays ball. </div><div><br /></div><div>Are interactive websites dying?</div><div><br /></div><div>Or is it, to use an analogy, like Solo play vs. Multiplayer in video games, a duality where each part can be the star depending on the game. Like a Skyrim (solo play) vs. Battlefield 3 (predominately multiplayer with so-so solo play) vs. MW3 (equal parts great solo and multiplayer).</div><div><br /></div><div>Looking forward to exploring the landscape again.</div><div><br /></div><div>/.brains are candy.\</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-47215177388136500272010-04-27T13:43:00.003-04:002010-04-27T14:02:25.518-04:00Interactive Advertising TodayHi, I'm a Digital Creative Director at a large mid-west agency. I've spent the last nine months visiting websites in 25 industries. I've avoided retail web, focusing mostly on industries that use interactivity to communicate. I've kept my sample size between 2 and 4 from each industry, and tried to keep my findings as objective as possible.<br /><br />So what have I learned? <span style="font-weight: bold;">98% of the commercial web suffers from at least 3 different ailments.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>I've compiled my thoughts and theories on these ailments in the posts below. However, all the exploration to the sites is also available starting <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/03/get-funky-on-snacksaphone.html">here</a>.<br /><br />#1. <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/12/grey-matters-2-atlas-syndrome.html">The Atlas Syndrome</a><br />#2. <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/12/grey-matters-3-sectionitis.html">Sectionitis</a><br />#3. <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/12/gray-matters-4-sick-brain-or-multiple.html">Jekyllism</a><br /><br />On to the first ailment <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/12/grey-matters-2-atlas-syndrome.html">The Atlas Syndrome</a>....<br /><br />If you want to take a look at all the sites I've visited, you can peruse the links below.<br /><br />/.cheers.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-66969552451551119772010-01-14T09:22:00.003-05:002010-01-14T09:28:19.050-05:00Put their face in itPutting your friends face into a web animation/video isn't new, but it's being refined in Europe. Every-time I find a site using it lately, it feels brand-new and exciting.<br /><br />These two sites are particularly cool -<br /><br /><a href="http://www.jetueunami.com/13emeRUE/">http://www.jetueunami.com/13emeRUE/</a><br />Choose a way to assassinate your friend....deliciously morbid<br /><br />or<br /><br /><a href="http://en.tackfilm.se/">http://en.tackfilm.se/</a><br />Honor your friend by putting them in the role of a hero<br /><br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-37648186897890385792010-01-11T11:58:00.003-05:002010-01-11T18:34:38.233-05:00Distributed vs. CentralizedA friend of mine runs a non-profit nature association that buys certain pieces of land to protect throughout Michigan. These sanctuaries usually contain rare plants, flowers or insects. <div><br /></div><div>A few years ago I built a website for them that basically contained photos of each sanctuary, an event calendar and other information about the company. The company functions purely on donations, and does not buy online media.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Recently he came to me and asked if I would refresh the site. <br /><br />I told him that we should create a Facebook Fan page for the company, to help keep track of members, post events and use the social space to help other people find out about the company.<br /><br />Then, use Flickr to create albums for each of the sanctuaries, or post them exclusively on Facebook. I think the Flickr idea is better, as it opens up yet another channel of exposure.<br /><br />The actual website for the company could be a semi-portal pulling content in from these other placements and directing people appropriately..as well as containing the actual "donation" forms etc.<br /><br />I wish I could say this was a success story, but as far as I know it hasn't happened yet. He said that he was worried that people would take the photos from Flickr or Facebook...and I had to tell him that people can take the photos from his own site as well. I haven't heard anything since on it..i'm hoping he'll come around.<br /><br />The point I'm getting to is that the standard approach to a website is from a "centralized" viewpoint. Everything is contained within the website, like a brick-and-mortar store. The store is your place of business, and the center of all your services.<br /><br />But the opportunities on the web now suggest a paradigm shift to a more "distributed" mind-set. Utilizing other, often larger, platforms can be efficient, cost-effective and open your business up to more traffic than your online media budget can offer.<br /><br />/.chow.\<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-20208758430908172992010-01-07T14:08:00.002-05:002010-01-07T14:13:02.844-05:00Update and TonguesI've decided to post general thoughts and observations until March, when I will start my exploration of sites over again. It will be interesting to see what sites have been updated, and find new ones to get clicky with.<br /><br />For a bit now the FWA has been posting more and more foreign sites. I'm loving it. I love the fact that a well put together site can be navigated, even if you don't know the language.<br /><br />A good test for your own web endeavor - look at it as if you don't speak english, could you still figure out what's going on?<br /><br />/.ciao.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-1842615898177537962010-01-04T21:10:00.004-05:002010-01-04T21:25:23.848-05:00Harnassing the Power of AchievementThere is a very powerful tool being used online today that advertisers haven't seemed to fully grasp yet. I believe it's the reason the indie game industry is literally booming, Facebook games are so popular, and why Blizzard, the creator of World of Warcraft, is a mega-billion dollar company.<br /><br />They understand the power of Achievement. This component to a game overshadows story, and sometimes even game-play. Instead of giving a person 1 goal (beat the game)..give them almost infinite goals. What is MobWars..but the never-ending achievement of gaining strength and power. If you play Xbox, you know the addictive pull of Achievement Points.<br /><br />Is there a way to harnass this power in Interactive Advertising? I've seen many sites that have the "0/10 Secrets found" mechanic. Is this the beginning or just an echo?<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-31057236713649293992009-12-15T15:56:00.002-05:002009-12-15T15:58:17.194-05:00Vacation for BrainsI'm going to take a break until the New Year, and then either start all over again, or maybe start a new format (still focused on interactive advertising/marketing). Happy Holidays!<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-35979930537366267922009-12-07T18:19:00.006-05:002010-04-27T14:01:17.896-04:00Gray Matters #3: Jekyllism<p>Bringing a close to the Web Ailments series is a multiple personality disorder that could possibly be the father of both the Atlas Syndrome and Sectionitis. Jekyllism is a war between the rational and the emotional, and it’s older than the web.</p> <p>Jekyllism affects all advertising creative, from TV to Web. It’s a war where one side wants every bit of information about the product in a commercial, and the other wants to infuse an emotional connection to make the spot memorable. The battlefield is the limitations of the medium, whether it’s 60 seconds, or the size of a piece of paper. More often than we’d like, the advertising produced is merely the outcome of the war. It takes intelligence, patience and sometimes a strong ego to hold Jekyllism in check.</p> <p>You would imagine that if you took away the 60 second limitation, or the dimensional restraint of a printed page, then we could reach a blissful dream land where anything is possible. The website,with it’s potential for a hundred million doorways, and cubby holes, and the ability to offer doorways within doorways…could very well be the promised land.</p> <p>But it’s not. Because the disorder that has affected traditional advertising for so long has it’s hands all over our websites. There is no better or more obvious place to see this then the homepage of most sites.</p> <p>Jekyllism is trained to fight in a finite space, so it’s dug trenches in the one crucial page to any website. It’s made a website finite by deciding that everything that is needed to be said, should be said on the homepage. and “Above The Fold”. For those who aren’t familiar with the Fold, it’s the area that a visitor views before they need to scroll down.</p> <p>We’ve taken a multi-dimensional space and built a box.</p> <p>On homepages you’ll see Mastheads with multiple messages, accompanied by Promo-Boxes with multiple messages, with Text boxes of multiple messages, you’ll see Navigations drop down with multiple ways to get to every page on the site, your head will spin with all the options, pictures and words. All crammed together, fighting for your attention.</p> <p>If you want to see a great example of this – visit godaddy. Or visit a site with products that have a lot of features.</p> <p>In mediums with finite space, Jekyllism will continue to be a problem. Online media with it’s little boxes will be subjected to the battle. But when it comes to your website, the figurative drive needs to be reformatted.</p> <p>Peace can be achieved for Jekyllism because there is space enough for both sides on your website. The website is not a store, it’s not physically limited, and it doesn’t have just one doorway. In fact, your visitors will enter from all sides at any time. The answer will not be to put as much content as possible on every page, but to take a step back and let both sides of Jekyllism decide the best possible way to achieve their goals..across the entire site.</p> <p>That ends the Website Ailments series. While Jekyllism, <a href="http://www.thenextengine.com/2010/01/18/website-ailments-sectionitis/">Sectionitis</a>, and the <a href="http://www.thenextengine.com/2010/01/04/the-atlas-syndrome-part1/">Atlas Syndrome</a> are all still found on the commercial web, I find that it gives me great hope. These are ailments either inherited from old think, or a result of just trying to figure this web thing out. Which means, to me, that the truly great stuff is still to come.</p> <!-- <rdf:rdf rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" trackback="http://madskills.com/public/xml/rss/module/trackback/"> <rdf:description about="http://www.thenextengine.com/2010/01/25/website-ailments-jekyllism/" identifier="http://www.thenextengine.com/2010/01/25/website-ailments-jekyllism/" title="Website Ailments: Jekyllism" ping="http://www.thenextengine.com/2010/01/25/website-ailments-jekyllism/trackback/"> </rdf:RDF> --><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-92179635402086965582009-12-04T13:07:00.007-05:002010-04-27T14:01:05.004-04:00Grey Matters #2 : Sectionitis<p>The second ailment in commercial web today is Sectionitis. From About Us, to Photo Gallery, the Section has been the de-facto way to organize a site. While the Section itself has been a solid solution for organizing content, the side-effect, Sectionitis, has led to the dilution of great ideas and a thought process that demands you create content for the sections, instead of ideas that makes sense for your goals.</p> <p>Sectionitis says, we have these 4 sections, how does your idea fit into one of these sections? If your idea doesn’t fit neatly into one of these sections, you must either mold it to fit, or create a new section. If your idea is bigger than a section, then the only answer is to make it a completely different site.</p> <p>What if you have four great ideas? Sectionitis would lead you to creating four sections for your site, one for each idea. Organized, yes. But now you’ve split your budget four ways, and the result is four ideas quarter-baked.</p> <p>I’m going to provide an example for this one. Mountain Dew has a “<a href="http://www.greenlabelart.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.greenlabelart.com');">Green Label Art</a>” initiative going on where they have independent artists create bottle labels. The website has 8 sections total, ranging from Artists to Events to Gear. And of course a landing page that binds them all.</p> <p>One section of the site is a Draw Your Own label. Very cool idea. Not ground-breaking, but perfect for what they are doing. It allows a visitor to “paint” their own label design. However, the interface and functionality is lacking. It feels rushed, and an after-thought. The signs of Sectionitis.</p> <p>Instead of creating a section-based site, why not make this idea <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">the</span> <em><strong>site</strong></em>. Spend your efforts in creating an environment that encourages the visitor to express themselves while learning about the other artists participating. Allow the visitor the ability to change the canvas to other Artists renderings, while giving them the ability to draw on it as well? Is “Events” a section that needed any part of the budget beyond a easy-to use and post RSS feed?</p> <p>Sectionitis makes every section equally important, so that no section is important.</p> <p>If you are in the business of conveying pure information, then neatly packed boxes is possibly the best solution for you. But if you’re in the experience/emotional business as well, then it might serve you better to keep in mind that it is more likely that a structure for site will be the by-product of great idea, rather than the other way around.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-12228692958716560722009-12-02T19:46:00.010-05:002010-04-27T14:00:47.087-04:00Grey Matters #1: The Atlas Syndrome<p>The backbone of business online, the Website, has fallen into the shadows with the rise of Social Media. While it doesn’t get the attention its more popular sister gets, Clients still invest millions of dollars a year for website oriented Interactive Advertising, whether it’s a 3D video experience, an online game, or User-generated send-a-longs.</p> <p>I’ve spent the last nine months exploring websites in key industries, looking at the inspiring (or sometimes dull) ways we are promoting our products online. One hundred websites in twenty-five industries later, I’ve found three common maladies affecting Interactive Advertising today. In this series of posts I’ll share the problems, and offer my thoughts on cures. A link to all my findings is down below.</p> <p><strong>Ailment #1: The Atlas Syndrome</strong></p> <p>The most common cause of Atlas Syndrome are attitudes like “If we build it, they will come” and “That’s a cool idea, throw it in there.”. The former believes that by the simple act of creating a forum, for example, then hundreds of people will flock to your site and a community will be born. The latter believes that the simple essence of an idea is suitable for web consumption – you need not add water, love, or budget. Both leave it up to the website to magically make itself profitable.</p> <p>The results are typically low traffic, and even lower ROI. The cure is simple, not all websites must carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.</p> <p>Let’s look closer at “If we build it, they will come.”. One example of this is the User-generated promotion. Site A wants you to upload a video of yourself doing Fun Thing B. Site C wants you to write a story about your experience with Product C.</p> <p>In theory, these always sound like a great way to involve your customers.</p> <p>In reality, there are two very real insights that, if having been realized, would have saved someone the embarrasing 2 video submission result down the road.</p> <p>Insight 1: Only a small percentage of the total traffic to your site will actually participate in your promotion. If your site gets 100,000-150,000 people a month, don’t expect 100,000-150,000 video submissions. Hope for 50. And really hope that 10 of those are somewhat decent.</p> <p>Insight 2: People love to share…to an audience. This is why User-generated became so popular. We’re igniting the inner narcissist. Call it social or sharing, the Internet is built on it . So we put up these User-generated promotions and sit back waiting for the floods. But wait…your website, out in the middle of nowhere, isn’t exactly Madison Square Gardens. Not many people like giving private dances.</p> <p>The answer is to step outside of the website box you’ve created. The web now flows in channels. Large pipelines of people that perfectly fit your content desires. Channels that can provide both the traffic and the audience. Do you want people to upload great pics? Use Facebook, or Flickr, or go rogue and find an up-and-comer social site. Do you want people to upload videos? Start a Youtube Channel, or partner with a large portal.</p> <p>Before you embark on a large initiative online, look around, there’s a really good chance there’s a better, smarter outlet to help you with your goals. Use your own website to help enhance the project. Look for ways to connect the incoming traffic to your site with your promotion within the channel. Design your website to be the best possible <em>pay-off</em> to the promotion, rather than the source. Don’t let it crumble beneath the weight of your great ideas.</p><p>Now let's take a look at “That’s a cool idea, throw it in there.” This attitude is based on the assumption that your website will be improved if it contains as many different ideas as possible. Your website will be a hit if it’s a one-stop shop for information, entertainment, and social connectivity.</p> <p>If you have the budget of say, Yahoo, and the focus of your site is to be everything to everyone, then this doesn’t pertain to you. Otherwise, your website need not carry the weight of the world on it’s shoulders.</p> <p>The primary cure to this attitude is focus. It’s easy to catch this attitude with the lack of boundaries the Internet provides, and the multitude of glittery ideas available.</p> <p>Let’s take Games, for example. Specifically Flash games. I was surprised to find all the sites that had a Flash game. As I was exploring the sites of different industries it became a subgoal of mine to find as many games as possible. In 25 industries, I found a game in at least one site each. This includes <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/04/no-stank-2-speed-stick.html" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.snamo.com');">deodorants</a> and <a href="http://www.snamo.com/2009/10/heavy-petting-2-alpo.html" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.snamo.com');">dog food</a>!</p> <p>Games are great interactivity, and in theory, will keep a person on your site longer. But in practice your game is competing with literally millions of other free entertainment sources online and the person shopping your brand is most likely <em>shopping</em>.</p> <p>The money you spent on the game, and the time, could have been used to strengthen the focus of your site.</p> <p>If you think a game, or game-like attributes, perfectly fit your brand and the goal of the website, I can suggest a couple of things. One, there are quite a few great <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/www.kongregate.com');">communities</a> for game creators out there. Why not commission an actual game-crafter, or even better, sponsor one of the thousands games already made on a site with steady traffic. Two, add game-like attributes to the core focus of the site. If you want people to learn about the benefits on your washing machine, build a game around the features. This will combine the two solutions you’re looking for: informing about your product, and keeping someone on your site to hear everything you have to say about the product.</p> <p>To wrap up The Atlas Syndrome, it’s best to keep in mind that a focused website with strong supporting ties to other content channels will be more robust, will last longer, and achieve a higher and more consistent ROI. A gas station next to an arcade on a major highway will be more profitable than one on a side road with a Pac-man machine.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-35170493283925230652009-11-23T15:49:00.005-05:002009-11-23T16:07:39.331-05:00Toy Co. #4: Fisher-PriceThe toy market doesn't seem all the big, dominated mostly by Mattel, Hasbro and Fisher-Price. It's amazing how small the world begins to feel as you take a look at different industries.<br /><br />Like the other toy sites I've looked at, <a href="http://www.fisher-price.com/us/default.aspx">Fisher-Price</a> is predominately a retail site. But I did find a couple interactive pieces (that weren't the obligatory games):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2jQ7LUuAXuaRMrLgqTcjSJ5lO2y7y5u5ewaHUlGiGHOMPMz1v-qSmJXs99Rd7VHKjlxNTXa9WgKDbQYrLTofHlqp_7la54yinRew-Bhu7RTRM_yV-w_tpW99zsDUdph6XVarsN-asF4/s1600/Picture-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2jQ7LUuAXuaRMrLgqTcjSJ5lO2y7y5u5ewaHUlGiGHOMPMz1v-qSmJXs99Rd7VHKjlxNTXa9WgKDbQYrLTofHlqp_7la54yinRew-Bhu7RTRM_yV-w_tpW99zsDUdph6XVarsN-asF4/s320/Picture-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407404984396092738" border="0" /></a>The Geotrax line of Train track building has a "Submit your Photo" section of the site. There's a respectable amount of photos here - and they don't seem to be all from the same kids ;)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fVGa9qOMxoMSUMZYUctNw_LDX6W7_ZqpAgKxods4zYniBt31gTX4S9iwX3GGq5IAixGdug_ogORGYG_mIhkkDZt_hukTHu2P1CTHIj5jxF_FtIavPXb29TCq97ISCZe6ngPmteECOq8/s1600/Picture-5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fVGa9qOMxoMSUMZYUctNw_LDX6W7_ZqpAgKxods4zYniBt31gTX4S9iwX3GGq5IAixGdug_ogORGYG_mIhkkDZt_hukTHu2P1CTHIj5jxF_FtIavPXb29TCq97ISCZe6ngPmteECOq8/s320/Picture-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407405340871289746" border="0" /></a>Here's a cool idea. The notion of Downloadable Content seems to be old-hat to the Video Game industry, but this is the first incarnation I've seen in the Toy world. This series of toys is your basic "build-a-something" set, but it has areas where you can physically attach an illustrated image to enhance the "scene". The cool part is that you can create the images online and print them out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujdaYAn5aoDUqmHmPKA_LEabMpSNwM0TII_BKyMeg0qDRTJ4AqY_TYmSjMch5vj9P2dIXK_X-RpI3QgyTaRtMZWn4CDs6UJXHqTz9_oFxyDX6LpWMs7Sm_mD4J2_SdfownZ3W5yPYI0Y/s1600/Picture-6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjujdaYAn5aoDUqmHmPKA_LEabMpSNwM0TII_BKyMeg0qDRTJ4AqY_TYmSjMch5vj9P2dIXK_X-RpI3QgyTaRtMZWn4CDs6UJXHqTz9_oFxyDX6LpWMs7Sm_mD4J2_SdfownZ3W5yPYI0Y/s320/Picture-6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407408098016784210" border="0" /></a>But, like so many great ideas on the web, they end up half-baked -- like the above.<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-51768828955558149172009-11-18T17:47:00.005-05:002009-11-18T18:00:16.523-05:00Toy Co. #3:PlaymobilI didn't know Playmobil was a german company until visiting their site.<br /><br />There are a couple interesting things on the <a href="http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site">Playmobil</a> site:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41UDUPoIsMtE2jb0jDCsybgTS8jfMqiWTxQksttDlR-o_uJUlCxs3LAGnNXD_9r5UftMHbZNFXN_uZ5d2c4FBj20xdCURZVL3sSyo36yLf0UIOQ_CALUOzSIqGb2twN9LLLSO01pRC1Y/s1600/Picture-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41UDUPoIsMtE2jb0jDCsybgTS8jfMqiWTxQksttDlR-o_uJUlCxs3LAGnNXD_9r5UftMHbZNFXN_uZ5d2c4FBj20xdCURZVL3sSyo36yLf0UIOQ_CALUOzSIqGb2twN9LLLSO01pRC1Y/s320/Picture-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405579710916661746" border="0" /></a>With an Ikea-type flare, this is a flash exploration of a suburban Playmobil house. There's a bit of a story on the right, which, oddly enough, I've not really seen before. It's like a snippet from a book, following a young girl answering the doorbell.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJ6SvJrKKmSG3B3djal4TuEz8W6IvkQvW5CkJI1YzahemgQYTkueCuC3tcsbnYu5wDndjGqPlgkRWjQvOgK5BdEHT3wDeuHs1qTUidS22vulkYMSZGJ6Xj0WqQGuBjfKYSzjAn0ADuNo/s1600/Picture-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJ6SvJrKKmSG3B3djal4TuEz8W6IvkQvW5CkJI1YzahemgQYTkueCuC3tcsbnYu5wDndjGqPlgkRWjQvOgK5BdEHT3wDeuHs1qTUidS22vulkYMSZGJ6Xj0WqQGuBjfKYSzjAn0ADuNo/s320/Picture-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405580329142616210" border="0" /></a>If you click on any of the rooms you get a slideshow of a variety of accessories/furniture for that room. The Ikea feeling is really strong here, like Ikea took over Barbie and put some thought into it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fsQh4rBc0Gaa6QNOOtKde5C0cweIhxk52PqMscz5ZTc0-_slQCLV2vJKGrYcN_AXlGxgRvdEF1VG4yI8zC4ByHZDLdwYrZXGLSkElKs30RYV9dV31JELAaNBCPdfKeVWJ_Vu4orrX6s/s1600/Picture-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fsQh4rBc0Gaa6QNOOtKde5C0cweIhxk52PqMscz5ZTc0-_slQCLV2vJKGrYcN_AXlGxgRvdEF1VG4yI8zC4ByHZDLdwYrZXGLSkElKs30RYV9dV31JELAaNBCPdfKeVWJ_Vu4orrX6s/s320/Picture-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405580895538679170" border="0" /></a>This is here is probably one of the smartest games I've seen on a site. You are in charge of barbequeing for the family. You put the meat on the grill and you've got to flip it at the right times so you dont burn it. You get points for the best grilled meats.<br /><br />those germans, always thinking and shit.<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-4013292010667236812009-11-16T17:30:00.007-05:002009-11-16T18:30:37.491-05:00Toy Co. #2: HasbroThe Hasbro site kinda looks and feels like someone dropped a grenade into a toy chest and then put the resultant chaos online. I say this with nothing but love.<br /><br />Sifting through the debris I found a couple things to share:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkz8AD-tOnbfDtTC8cjbjDCM0b_9tjLnL_wyDboIpvgA1MaAioe9iDk5guR4CpWMNgJyIozT3kndVjpO0rb8h210jQ6xGNNAzEASataWKBZssQxqHhXirEU8nfyWOpWdUz8j8BuNY0Gs/s1600/Picture-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkz8AD-tOnbfDtTC8cjbjDCM0b_9tjLnL_wyDboIpvgA1MaAioe9iDk5guR4CpWMNgJyIozT3kndVjpO0rb8h210jQ6xGNNAzEASataWKBZssQxqHhXirEU8nfyWOpWdUz8j8BuNY0Gs/s320/Picture-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404837278921424626" border="0" /></a>This is the G.I. Joe page within the <a href="http://www.hasbro.com">Hasbro site</a>. It might be hard to tell, but the majority of the page is taken up by a battle scene between action figures. You can mouse either direction to see all of the scene. There's also a variety of games that feature the figures as well. If you click on one of the figures, you're taken to the Shopping section....which then makes the whole experience feel really disjointed. Is this a site for kids or for adults to shop?<br /><br />You see this on a lot of commercial sites, this mashed duality. Do you want me to play or do you want me to shop? There's only so much room on the page. What ends up happening is the page above, full of shit for both and feels a bit overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. Confusing ain't it?<br /><br />Then there's this page:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTEzDh_CCmTXllA1epNQiGGeX-y-uqt8gDKs7YQIuZdideLkTR-792h06T_X7ParH7T3WXszZTGif_Kcgx8UGFjD5QcQRQmygkGIE6qlQnpN2D93vDgXf9KXsEt_RLvlitABvMFznHsw/s1600/Picture-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTEzDh_CCmTXllA1epNQiGGeX-y-uqt8gDKs7YQIuZdideLkTR-792h06T_X7ParH7T3WXszZTGif_Kcgx8UGFjD5QcQRQmygkGIE6qlQnpN2D93vDgXf9KXsEt_RLvlitABvMFznHsw/s320/Picture-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404845924513034866" border="0" /></a>Which i think is strictly for kids. Kinda raids the eyeballs. Somehow, by exploring more, I found another version of this page:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1W4bOhxdRVmAyRTayZolpanZ7sYtYFZNCH2ygfApL_-GaLd60A771nLfEANp2wWlTGFPNe4IMyRT0cDKYlpngokii4yMHLy5SKL7fBCEVfDQ3Flay1KOFVPlN8TlYjD2CEdpyCuGBls4/s1600/Picture-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1W4bOhxdRVmAyRTayZolpanZ7sYtYFZNCH2ygfApL_-GaLd60A771nLfEANp2wWlTGFPNe4IMyRT0cDKYlpngokii4yMHLy5SKL7fBCEVfDQ3Flay1KOFVPlN8TlYjD2CEdpyCuGBls4/s320/Picture-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404846555179285986" border="0" /></a>I'm confused too.<br /><br />But! Out of this I found the <a href="http://kids.hasbro.com/hasbrokids/">Star Wars Comic Creator</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQ7wbex7XVOfXkPodw-w-81tn-HQPTkSrDs6oabgBELNp-xzKEb9ET5NuEGw5KS6W4X95HXPbri6tnQjWoHgrp8OmVh0zgcnEn3Jw2gFKt-aNcHwXblkOsKOIWi0QU7fDWX9oE6cJtV4/s1600/Picture-5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQ7wbex7XVOfXkPodw-w-81tn-HQPTkSrDs6oabgBELNp-xzKEb9ET5NuEGw5KS6W4X95HXPbri6tnQjWoHgrp8OmVh0zgcnEn3Jw2gFKt-aNcHwXblkOsKOIWi0QU7fDWX9oE6cJtV4/s320/Picture-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404846753921816818" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfZluTDQTXG3KjTgSaueqUpSpqrxQ2Sp-7w077vdLiAPcxExq5PySD5rMZO4cZGLRTUsDuBBbYUepLub6XyrsZz7ITKtMIZGjFVrM_WVZMl5uTjqrZZ3v4DDY_zykicLyVVhkZatdPZw/s1600/Picture-6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfZluTDQTXG3KjTgSaueqUpSpqrxQ2Sp-7w077vdLiAPcxExq5PySD5rMZO4cZGLRTUsDuBBbYUepLub6XyrsZz7ITKtMIZGjFVrM_WVZMl5uTjqrZZ3v4DDY_zykicLyVVhkZatdPZw/s320/Picture-6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404846830233491218" border="0" /></a>Which is a sweet idea.<br /><br />I imagine children getting lost in sites like this for days, then shuffling out of nowhere with a blank distant look in their eyes, their greedy little hands begging for your credit card. There might be a science to this that I'm immune to (or to old to fall in to).<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-27057068316187250502009-11-13T14:57:00.005-05:002009-11-13T15:55:22.674-05:00Toy Co. #1: MattelIf your job is making fun interactive things for children, your website should probably reflect that. First up in exploring the Toy industry is <a href="http://www.mattel.com/">Mattel</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsFgK9wdyy-w2C7nummdIm_2AcQxCmUrSXzXXoAc9N_cl4qawdVbIECnbb5LOJj_qgkdKQXotpDApXa_EVwfcEFB8tAHi672S2CEgZNvOjSan4w6MN-gh9NveS75t92BNBybNayVC5y4/s1600-h/Picture-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsFgK9wdyy-w2C7nummdIm_2AcQxCmUrSXzXXoAc9N_cl4qawdVbIECnbb5LOJj_qgkdKQXotpDApXa_EVwfcEFB8tAHi672S2CEgZNvOjSan4w6MN-gh9NveS75t92BNBybNayVC5y4/s320/Picture-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403691043469773330" border="0" /></a>While not pushing any boundaries, the Mattel site does feel a bit like a kids toy. All the buttons and motion have sound effects that you usually find accompanied by furry animals or big plastic instruments. Interesting note on the masthead, you can click at the top or bottom to have all the info/images (ie. dino, and cloud images seen above) move in and out via a Z-index, revealing completely new toy environments.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHQya3jzLKvwY-vh75kyhyphenhyphenvY7Gfo64PUgTOE2OITWHrKPei7WQO2leQRD3x6nosfWscSeEJmeZgP3mYJn0dtiN7K_SgI7h_NI7NWrkVg36LMjXsgRVHKDYCtsapugXmBWI7BIZAe5bq4/s1600-h/Picture-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHQya3jzLKvwY-vh75kyhyphenhyphenvY7Gfo64PUgTOE2OITWHrKPei7WQO2leQRD3x6nosfWscSeEJmeZgP3mYJn0dtiN7K_SgI7h_NI7NWrkVg36LMjXsgRVHKDYCtsapugXmBWI7BIZAe5bq4/s320/Picture-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403692678528369474" border="0" /></a><br />Unsurprisingly, the site has a whole section dedicated to games. I didn't see anything that struck me as topic worthy, but I will say that all the games were centered around Mattel products, and, for the most part, well executed. I say this because you can find some real crap when it comes to advergaming.<br /><br />The section that took my notice was the <a href="http://www.mattel.com/toy-factory">Toy Factory section</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoviInj7w0F6m2TiWACqBqS-0_h6_Cq7c6iGKgVAMUb2DN6ExryIkFvAaGqItEv8TNtD91jFOyeGluAUPAS3WUCbMHRJMmdcKZ87D3zVTNOXU1QS_p_wU1He0DY_BfG4o549cTg5MWmxA/s1600-h/Picture-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoviInj7w0F6m2TiWACqBqS-0_h6_Cq7c6iGKgVAMUb2DN6ExryIkFvAaGqItEv8TNtD91jFOyeGluAUPAS3WUCbMHRJMmdcKZ87D3zVTNOXU1QS_p_wU1He0DY_BfG4o549cTg5MWmxA/s320/Picture-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403692954162190098" border="0" /></a>We've seen this before, many times. Basically a build-your-own-scene application. Choose backgrounds, toys, accessories etc. The interface is one of the better I've seen however and worth a look. The page features a wind-up randomizer device, which when used, just throws a bunch of objects into a scene. Strange results, but the device is fun to use.<br /><br />Best feature of this app is that it begins building a Wish List below with all the toys you pick for your scene.<br /><br />/chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-24914427459303729332009-11-11T19:42:00.005-05:002009-11-11T20:00:22.229-05:00Camera Nerds #4: Hiroshi SeoThe last photographer portfolio in my excursion is taking us over to the land of the rising sun.<br /><br />The site of <a href="http://www.seohiroshi.com/">Hiroshi Seo</a> is packaged up neatly in concept, unlike the others we've seen so far. His work is presented as a simple story told over his career.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2sSywG99eamFTWxzBA_ZJJ_o7rixBcvbvr7tIcEkztL4Q9veVacdG3fzlTY9ppmDLrMCEvKH0e5zgyNc06TWy2lhHasmNfiFXrhGOXIhhbC1KLJCZyXdQdPBLbqVuoc_FnoKhW1es8s/s1600-h/Picture-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2sSywG99eamFTWxzBA_ZJJ_o7rixBcvbvr7tIcEkztL4Q9veVacdG3fzlTY9ppmDLrMCEvKH0e5zgyNc06TWy2lhHasmNfiFXrhGOXIhhbC1KLJCZyXdQdPBLbqVuoc_FnoKhW1es8s/s320/Picture-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403012763316585682" border="0" /></a>The timeline on the right acts as your guide through the tower of images that represent his body of work. In between the image tower and the timeline is an interesting touch that validates the concept. Here you'll find the timestamp of each photo in the tower. It's this minor detail that gives the site a sense of history and atmosphere (along with a bit o' music).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Zfq0GdgINcEysrzfCUcVDXFtp91qUXVFvWtXgSvuZEjLM255BpK8BsyOB0VdL8IKHIg7t7iMDy1EZnLNYw28wzg6R0C6is7PwtnzBqABiPgS3qAkN9AgYeNOpGMElOJSE6_2E3dJhmY/s1600-h/Picture-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Zfq0GdgINcEysrzfCUcVDXFtp91qUXVFvWtXgSvuZEjLM255BpK8BsyOB0VdL8IKHIg7t7iMDy1EZnLNYw28wzg6R0C6is7PwtnzBqABiPgS3qAkN9AgYeNOpGMElOJSE6_2E3dJhmY/s320/Picture-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403013802139346066" border="0" /></a>Selecting a photo moves the timeline and tower over, always a better option than the a "close" button or the like.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZibAYTiXllJW54EYd0MCO3b8YHJvNfsI8_buDmCiGJwGGYpwQA8mUIH3EfrZPIShTTe6mtBpB2bnso0eF_7O2ZXkV0d3prEHcvy543nWzi2uHbidb8OmJOutMKhgZw4pA7H8zXgHlETo/s1600-h/Picture-5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZibAYTiXllJW54EYd0MCO3b8YHJvNfsI8_buDmCiGJwGGYpwQA8mUIH3EfrZPIShTTe6mtBpB2bnso0eF_7O2ZXkV0d3prEHcvy543nWzi2uHbidb8OmJOutMKhgZw4pA7H8zXgHlETo/s320/Picture-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403014076909677074" border="0" /></a>It's not often that meat-and-potatoes sections such as Profile or News would be included in a concept, but here the site carries through the timeline to support the content.<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-89360436536379605362009-11-09T16:17:00.005-05:002009-11-09T16:31:03.978-05:00Camera Nerds #3: Andreas SmetanaI could probably spend a few months looking at photographers sites, and like it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smetana.net/">Andreas Smetana's</a> site is a tasty elegant affair:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uRQfayawym86tE89n-IdwdIVH4QPVumtiIA_WSYeOWH7UvQCbxesZURyNwouOBrGOKDnfS2AZaYJ50KuYhAfskUiGOTdYDc9TIiBGjjgmr2LUFp7WB7aCY4zvAzEYeHypvm6cMGi1tQ/s1600-h/Picture-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uRQfayawym86tE89n-IdwdIVH4QPVumtiIA_WSYeOWH7UvQCbxesZURyNwouOBrGOKDnfS2AZaYJ50KuYhAfskUiGOTdYDc9TIiBGjjgmr2LUFp7WB7aCY4zvAzEYeHypvm6cMGi1tQ/s320/Picture-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402216995017309938" border="0" /></a><br />Your trip through the gallery of his work is controlled by the Up and Down arrows, each new row cascading in fluidly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIn5TZ7ij0Y7Sn8iNoAcKipG_84ZHMlQAjDB6khXINvn3l03IxMeIf7poimsmxZHMNmm3_Mf_SKX4O8ba7iW173aFA5kQHvGBTaEeNZda1KhLA57cdX3dZQCxfuoFgn-RBwrn1rPohyphenhyphenk/s1600-h/Picture-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIn5TZ7ij0Y7Sn8iNoAcKipG_84ZHMlQAjDB6khXINvn3l03IxMeIf7poimsmxZHMNmm3_Mf_SKX4O8ba7iW173aFA5kQHvGBTaEeNZda1KhLA57cdX3dZQCxfuoFgn-RBwrn1rPohyphenhyphenk/s320/Picture-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402218571444521218" border="0" /></a>And of course, as all photo sites should be, the photos themselves are viewed full-screen.<br /><br />It's so easy when building a website, or probably any piece of design or creative, to muck it up by trying to be too clever. The real trick is to make it look easy.<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-20239061465729135852009-11-04T14:15:00.005-05:002009-11-04T14:29:11.913-05:00Camera Nerds #2: Fabio LanaSailing our barges across the Mediterranean to Italy, we find Fabio Lana's site. This is actually the work of <a href="http://www.gabrielevinci.com/08/fabio_lana/">Gabriel Vinci</a>. I feel i need to state that, since this is no longer Fabio Lana's official site.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5voKnQCKrznf8TnCF7Lg5Yz3XKSm6QTzutSUOo7mJfumEBkIFsCZkOx6IEIJ_WQF0KZEwkxeBTHSqmIHoVbaZrkoYGVQKJw2INx6VPP3i_8uM-syuw7PVCypRus9T8mXTh8Sz6Ejhibg/s1600-h/Picture-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5voKnQCKrznf8TnCF7Lg5Yz3XKSm6QTzutSUOo7mJfumEBkIFsCZkOx6IEIJ_WQF0KZEwkxeBTHSqmIHoVbaZrkoYGVQKJw2INx6VPP3i_8uM-syuw7PVCypRus9T8mXTh8Sz6Ejhibg/s320/Picture-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400331328021010306" border="0" /></a>It's an interesting take on the slide carousel. Clicking the arrow turns the carousel of course.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_cEhXfn7LS85gpVigzVlASWdZeAaA2eXkQ5IvplrKLEi3EtMfDMMhNKA-gOHfQKaA5m9R0_e_bvLyz1tAEkZxJkqahIYEFUAnvxBbkrDT8ZLdqGadKRcbVLLjYYxgs_fHj9m2K9cE8w/s1600-h/Picture-4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_cEhXfn7LS85gpVigzVlASWdZeAaA2eXkQ5IvplrKLEi3EtMfDMMhNKA-gOHfQKaA5m9R0_e_bvLyz1tAEkZxJkqahIYEFUAnvxBbkrDT8ZLdqGadKRcbVLLjYYxgs_fHj9m2K9cE8w/s320/Picture-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400331646843119826" border="0" /></a>A nice touch is the connection between a "quick view" mouse-over menu at top, and the carousel below. While it's just a linear version of the same menu, the images visible below are darkened above.<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-15702311355358551002009-11-02T12:52:00.004-05:002009-11-02T16:10:47.877-05:00Camera Nerds #1: Emmanuel RouzicPhotographer portfolio sites are a source of inspiration for me. For one thing, they're very focused. The whole goal is to show off their photos. And secondly, they (the photo portfolio web designer) are continuously experimenting with the how someone experiences those photos.<br /><br />Today's site features a spanish photographer: Emmanuel Rouzic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a9wPqMhdM_-P-KkJhrwGd4a_6w-BNOZhuguMwzwVVw-waUKoCpjiakurCFFQnh7MIpPM8uaiMRB_saB4HQijUD_ede7bwMK2KuD_58UdKZUlykaL3WBHcKN5n5XioFUaRFsHINt8Wz8/s1600-h/Picture-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a9wPqMhdM_-P-KkJhrwGd4a_6w-BNOZhuguMwzwVVw-waUKoCpjiakurCFFQnh7MIpPM8uaiMRB_saB4HQijUD_ede7bwMK2KuD_58UdKZUlykaL3WBHcKN5n5XioFUaRFsHINt8Wz8/s320/Picture-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399615111376146722" border="0" /></a>The site opens with a full-screen montage of his photos, with random photos flashing and changing as energetic music pulses out of your speakers. Can your flickr do that? :) All the images are clickable, leading you on to that images and the rest of the album it's attached to.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3rhR3rf4223Ovc_loVE3J2ssBV9dulwts4fY4j6-IIQ4wLHbFvj19TC-58K5jwSXnSatcbB4irKxDcQf0cRs3bHoFDeoKaPBR8SBzM13zOcJ9xSzSE5gQeurOJVU2iQNAz8ctn73_hw/s1600-h/Picture-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3rhR3rf4223Ovc_loVE3J2ssBV9dulwts4fY4j6-IIQ4wLHbFvj19TC-58K5jwSXnSatcbB4irKxDcQf0cRs3bHoFDeoKaPBR8SBzM13zOcJ9xSzSE5gQeurOJVU2iQNAz8ctn73_hw/s320/Picture-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399615504196811266" border="0" /></a>You can click on the photo to zoom in and then mouse-around to see the details, or keep clicking the arrow (on right) to see the next bits.<br /><br />Very simple, yet it's got an atmosphere. You feel more like you're at a show, walking around looking at what you want to look at, taking your time. If this site showed you all his photos in a literal fashion or just as a page full of thumbnails, I think it would just be an over-done Flickr rip.<br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3424099077944895330.post-27422015687994758042009-10-27T09:22:00.002-04:002009-10-27T09:27:40.725-04:00Heavy Petting #3: Pets or Food?I'm having a bit of a holiday this week, so updates will be spotty until next monday.<br /><br />But, I am leaving this here with you...the comments are the best part :)<br /><br />http://petsorfood.com/<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmi9LKO64tLsJNRQ40c2UdaqSljlIf4gKeCCOamOjCzcwhr9oPa-kk5Ov5mY_3ZR0_2YLnntq7BCnfVPljJ5IwdTTS6FqqW3FutsFOu3hltleY9UkoXXLzmko692QFkG-NpKeArymipCE/s1600-h/Picture+8.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmi9LKO64tLsJNRQ40c2UdaqSljlIf4gKeCCOamOjCzcwhr9oPa-kk5Ov5mY_3ZR0_2YLnntq7BCnfVPljJ5IwdTTS6FqqW3FutsFOu3hltleY9UkoXXLzmko692QFkG-NpKeArymipCE/s320/Picture+8.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397270772386742082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />/.chow.\Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0