Sprint: Plug into Now

This widget based website for 'Sprint' is well worth a look, featured in this years D&AD, brilliantly designed.

In-B-Flat

This is a great idea and works really well.

Check it out here or by clicking on the image above.

What I really love about it is that it really enforces the capabilities of online expression; a community, bringing together an accumulation of different outputs which result in harmony. It's about being part of something collaborative, and you the user are able to control it.

The fantastic Kutiman Thru-You created something similar, different but along the same lines.

Social Media Perspective

Returning to familiar ground, previously seen in Munckin-Factory's initial post; Social Media For Social Good, here are a few interesting facts to dip in to your coffee this bright yet very cloudy Monday Morning.

Firstly the official definition of 'social media' is "an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio" - Wikipedia.

In other words, it's a way to describe the billions of conversation that people are having online every day.

The Facts*

• 13 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute
• 100,000,000 YouTube videos viewed every day
• 13,000,000 - the number of articles on Wikipedia
• 3,600,000,000 photos archives on Flickr.com as of June 2009. Roughly one photo per every two people on the planet!
• 3,000,000 Tweets per day on Twitter
• 1382% - the monthly growth rate of Twitter users from Jan-Feb 2009
• If Facebook were a country, it would be the 8th most populated in the world - just ahead of Japan.

*Facts acquired via a Design Week supplement.

BadHealth - The Game

Raw have designed this fantastic little game, with the aid of illustrations provided by The Boy Fitz Hammond. It's so addictive!

Sneak preview below; as it's an external embedded link you will have to follow the URL provided in order to play the game!

Click here

Swedish Army Recruitment

One of the most precise and well designed websites I have seen in a long time. The ambience is crystal clear - has a very 'Metal Gear Solid'/'Silent Hill' feel to it.

If you have a spare 10 minutes, flip the speakers on and see if you could make it in the Swedish Army!

Social Media For Social Good

Media channels for years have funnelled through selective articles, whether it has been editorial based (newspapers, magazines) radio or television broadcast. Headlines that sell saturate the media in immense quantities, the recent tragic death of Michael Jackson being a fine example; coverage still remains five days on. Forget landmine attacks and Iraq bombings, they take a back seat and slip silently through the media net.

The internet has increasingly become a platform renowned for its limitless capabilities

and with strengthening networks such as Twitter surfacing, the public are taking control of what they’re exposed to and repositioning the social sector as it stands.

People crave involvement. They wish to be engaged and experience growth. With online brand interaction people do so to fulfil their own needs, rather than the need of the brand. Whereas with non-profit organisation interaction, which is where my personal interest lies, whether it is the more renowned Oxfam or to a lesser degree Charity: water, users interact to support a cause aiding its success and enhancing the Viral Effect.

The case study which initiated this entry is in fact the non-profit Charity: water; bringing clean water to those without.

Click the article image below to view further information.

Having cottoned on to the vast potential of social networking, the organization held a ‘Twestival’, raising more than $250,000 whilst bringing worldwide public awareness to their charity. The event was managed via Twitter enabling local Twitter communities to funnel their passion for the cause offline, collaborating locally on an international scale.

Truly an astonishing outcome! An unknown organization gaining such rapid credit through the usage of an online tool.

It’s apparent that campaigns with the most impact are the ones utilizing the online social networks to supplement their offline strategies.

So social media is a positive movement?

Potentially a flat out yes for non-profit organizations, however as with all debates there is the opposing side to consider and by applying social networking to alternate outputs, the response differs.

As a device, it’s incredibly fascinating to witness public control over previously distance organizations.

By channeling the energy of mass crowds (people passionate about a cause, organization, topic or company) social networking has enabled people to project their voice resulting in positive sustainable difference.