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Ashton Kutcher Ends Hunger in the US by Tweeting

Reid — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:09:49 +0000

So as of late, the Squid has been working on a project for a pretty massive software company out in California. The project itself is pretty top secret, and I’m sure I’d be dead within the hour if I started talking about it specifically – but I can say that I’ve been doing a smidgen of research into viral marketing and celebrity endorsements.

During that research (aka. web browsing on my patio) I stumbled onto this video of Ashton Kutcher launching an awareness campaign, and I was taken aback at the low level of production and the freewheeling nature of his delivery. Basically, Ashton hops on this live broadcasting site – USTREAM – babbles, and twitters until he’s got a thousand people watching him. That’s it – he’s asking people to tweet the broadcast, building a LIVE audience out of nothing. That’s what makes this startling different for me. We’ve been barraged with clever ‘viral’ videos and marketing campaigns for years now, but here is someone building a live attentive audience on the fly without print ads, tv ads, or even unique website.

The video dawdles on until he gets to his point, which I think is probably fine for his audience. Upon building 1000 people watching his broadcast he goes into his pitch, which is obviously scripted but not painfully so. The campaign itself sounds interesting, utilizing user generated content to build a awarness campaign. That seems like the best approach – illicit user generated content, then use experts to craft that content into something coherent and polished. I have no doubt that it will make a great video piece, and the corporate sponsorship will certainly help hungry people. I’m not dogging the effort by the people involved here – even Ashton Kutcher is donating social capital – but we can create marketing campaigns and donate cash until there are piles of organic veggie dogs on every street corner. Until there’s a cohesive plan to battle the root causes of hunger people will still go hungry (Sorry about the soapbox rant).

What are the implications of this kind of effort for us normal folks? How do we translate these new communications venues into practical vehicles to aid and promote our own projects? More on this later, need to get some work done.

The illustrious ISO50

Reid — Thu, 24 May 2007 05:50:04 +0000

The one and only Scott Hansen. He’s a rockstar in the illustrating world, and a bit of a rockstar in the rockstar world (He’s the recording artist Tycho). I like Scott Hansen because his rock posters don’t use any clip art and they don’t use any non-sequitur imagery. Don’t get me wrong, I love today’s trend in rock posters, but ISO 50 is a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated poster design scene.

VIRB is social networking

Reid — Fri, 18 May 2007 02:10:29 +0000

VIRB is social networking for people who like nice looking things. Ever found your self bothered by how ugly your myspace page is. Social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook get all the press, Virb is on its way. The tools they have built to allow their users the freedom to customize their pages is unsurpassed. They are built in such a way that you can’t make an ugly Virb page. Their slogan “Virb makes your favorite things easy to publish and easy to find” is pretty much true. The polish feels genuine. There is no sense of corporate gloss. Does this bring in folks with better taste? Maybe. I might just give it a try.

Some Ecards

Reid — Fri, 18 May 2007 00:39:38 +0000

Some Ecards has been posted all over the place, BUT it’s too hilarious to pass up. Created by Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell, and designed by Jerry Tamburro, Some Ecards takes what has become a pretty banal idea and breathed a little life into it. Perfect for everyone you know, except for maybe your grandmother. The cards range from mildly lewd to totally inappropriate. Send em to your loved ones.

Found via Josh Spear + CoolHunting

Curbly – DIY Design Community

Reid — Tue, 15 May 2007 04:07:22 +0000

Curbly is a community based web site for ‘people who love where they live.’ The community seems uber friendly with users asking, and answering all types of home improvement questions. It’s got a slew of articles and interviews featuring interesting happenings in the design community, and how-tos ranging from grilling tips to wall hangings and image transfers.

Their get inspired section is particularly appealing, but be careful, you’ll have ripped apart your living room before you know what hit you. The best part about Curbly is it was founded right here in our little city that could: St. Paul.

Check it out, and support a couple of local st. pauli’s with fine taste.

Urban Dirty

Reid — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:18:42 +0000

Urban Dirty is my favorite kind of website.

1.) It has a specific purpose and focus.
2.) It’s well built, and it always works.
3.) It provides great content for FREE.

A must resource for visual designers and artists, Urban Dirty is a free grunge-texture stock photography site. Download all the great grunge textures you want and go to town.

Mother’s Day E-tastrophe!

Reid — Sat, 12 May 2007 03:52:47 +0000

Mother’s Day comes every year, and for those of you with mothers and perhaps an inability to remember to pick up the floral bouquet, an e-card can be an extremely lame way to tell your mother that you love her. This site provides the prettiest darn e-cards you’ve ever seen. Is it a good way to express your feelings? Absolutely not you jackass. http://sprintsweets.com/

Mother’s Day E-tastrophe!

Reid — Sat, 12 May 2007 03:52:47 +0000