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Saving the world – one stitch at a time
1November 30, 2006 by Colin
Knitta Please. Renegade knitters, touching up the inner city one stitch at a time. Pictures on their MySpace page and Flickr.
“…A tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings. With a mix of clandestine moves and gangsta rap — Knitta was born! Today, Knitta is a group of more than 10 ladies of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, sexual orientation… and gender.”
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This creativity tool is whickety whack!
2November 29, 2006 by Colin
That’s my rendition of a Death Star, built out of a Ball of Whacks – the new creativity toy/tool developed by Roger von Oech. Built from of 30 magnetic blocks, its’ geodesic shape reminds me of the Montreal Biosphere or the Hostel in the Forest (photos).
Roger sent me a complimentary Ball after I praised his books in a post on creativity. His level of engagement online, as Paul has discussed, is both startling and logical: the audience and market for truly though-provoking innovations really has moved online.
I can go on and on about Roger’s past work encouraging creativity and innovation, but I’ll let my recent experience with the Ball of Whacks say it all:
- when I have this ball on my desk, everyone – I mean everyone – who stops by plays with it.
- when I took it home, my three kids fought to play with it.
We went on a road trip this past weekend, and the kids demanded equal time playing with the ball. One of them even brought a plastic Ikea tray so she could smash the ball and reassemble it into different shapes. If you look closely, you can see white dots where the kids wore down each individual magnetic piece as they played with the ball.
I found it remarkable that all three kids wanted to play with the ball so much – they each have their own style of learning and expression. Nevertheless, the expressive kid, the intuitive kid and the crazy kid all found different uses for von Oech’s Ball of Whacks.
This observation seems to apply in the office as well. The control freak wants to reassemble the ball. The skeptic takes it apart and reassembles it. The procrastinator tries to build a Transformer robot out of it. The lazy bastard just takes it apart and leaves all thirty pieces on the desktop. And the truly creative person uses the pieces to spell words on the side of a metal filing cabinet.
As a visual thinker and attention-deprived worker, I appreciated the 96 page handbook that comes with the Ball, but I haven’t read it yet. I’m sure it’s very good, and will make good reading when I find time – in 2007. In the meanwhile, I’m going to continue playing with my ball.
[tags] Creative, Creativity, Imagination, Whacks [/tags]
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Compact cars, sex, and $9.50 an hour
0November 29, 2006 by Colin
Successful advertising always attracts your attention: a successful product solves a problem you may not have yet identified. Such is the magic of Zipcar‘s online advertising, which I have seen on several Toronto sites and blogs.
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Feed problems: from the horse’s mouth
1November 29, 2006 by Colin
Hey folks. I apologize if you’ve been having a hard time accessing the feed or Canuckflack.com: my server’s been suffering under a near constant comment spam attack, it seems.
Regular programming should recommence shortly.
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Some gift suggestions – a t-shirt
0November 27, 2006 by Colin
Two Threadless t-shirts for your consideration: a reprint of the prize charts you used to find on the back of 25c comic books, and a horrible, horrible joke at Colonel Sanders’ expense.
Oh – did I mention they’re having their $10 sale?
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How businesses and communities actually benefit from “conversations”
0November 27, 2006 by Colin
Hate to take a break from blowing smoke up our collective online asses, but the real “conversations” between businesses, consumers and communities are happening on the ground, in neighbourhoods where broadband, sparkling water and long-term financial planning are rarely considered.
Companies experimenting with social media online are really just testing the theories and developing extensive test data: the real work to develop links and relationships between businesses, consumers and their communities demands shoe leather, handshakes and company reps with operational responsibility.
In, “A grassroots approach to emerging-market consumers,” McKinsey’s Christoper Beshouri really digs into several practical and successful examples of how companies in the developing world are building sustainable businesses with the help of their customers.
“…People in local communities—not only the mayors and barangay (village) captains but also school principals, teachers, religious leaders, and residents themselves—are in the best position to help companies deal with the challenges of doing business in low-income areas. These community agents have the information and ability to monitor and influence what happens on the ground. If a company can show that its own interests are aligned with their interest in employment and commerce, it can then enlist community support for security, collection, and system monitoring. Community-based approaches help companies address principal-agent issues head on while creating a positive dynamic that reinforces key business model adaptations.
… [there are several business models that could be followed, but each involves] deep, long-term community relationships and investments, whose value is illustrated by the extraordinary support Manila Water received when it asked regulators for a rate increase in 2002. Ninety barangay captains and community leaders showed up at the hearing and expressed their appreciation for the powerful positive impact Manila Water had on their communities.
These people told stories about the way residents formerly began their trek at midnight to get water back to their households by dawn, about new jobs and entrepreneurial activity, and about Manila Water’s support for the community’s special needs and projects. To these local leaders, Manila Water had become an essential partner in their livelihood and quality of life; they were prepared to stand by the company.”
Yes – the emphasis is on building a business relationship with the community. In the end, money is being exchanged. But communities are being changed – and not because of a vague sense of debt or social obligation.
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A New PSA: When Pigeons Attack
0November 25, 2006 by Colin
Say you’re a city in Great Britain. Say you have a rather disturbing pigeon problem, and you want to clean up the streets before assuming the mantle of European City of Culture 2008.You want to educate kids and community groups about the dangers of feeding “feral” pigeons. Personally, I would think this picture would do the trick, but one City Council thinks an endearing educational film would communicate this key message more clearly:
“Please don’t feed the Pigeons. Its bad for the Pigeons Its Bad for the City.”
“Ideas the team have thought of:
A short animated film, along the lines of a Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, etc) style Pigeon hosting the film.
A Bill Oddie ‘Springwatch’ style educational nature style film. Preferably with Bill Oddie/Kate Humble or similar presenting.
The finished film would be circa 3 minutes.”
The picture is from a PowerPoint deck included with the quotation document. The deck also includes the print collateral and posters that will accompany the campaign, with a note that they are under embargo until next February.
Personally, I think the message “Pigeons could turn mean and crap on your head” works much better than “It’s bad for the city.” Children have a notoriously poor sense of allegiance to political constructs like City Councils and concepts of shared community responsibility. Maybe it’s because they’re politically disenfranchised, discriminated against because of things like age, literacy skills and capacity to reason.
As for community groups, the cumulative property damage caused by these “rats of the sky” would likely be a more resonant message.
It’s easy to swipe at government communications efforts, but just because your organization has to deal with a number of different constituencies doesn’t mean your messages should be dumbed down and rendered nearly meaningless.
In any case – a recent article in the NYT suggests that anti-pigeon feeding efforts may have to be highly targeted:
“…”In a city like New York or like Melbourne,” [Guy Merchant, director of the Pigeon Control Advisory Service in Britain] argues, ”the pigeon population is sustained solely by little old ladies and little old men that go out every single day and feed top-quality foods to the birds.” This isn’t the average office worker, flinging the last crumbs of lunch. … these feeders maintain a purposeful regimen. Lefebvre calls them ”marginal city dwellers whose interests in life do not much extend beyond feeding pigeons.” He describes, with disarming empathy, people who ”wait outside the backdoors of restaurants for day-old bread and patiently soften all the bread and break it into little pieces and then hand it out to the pigeons.”…”
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A Wikiwar over Xplane
1November 24, 2006 by Colin
Another Wikipedia tempest in a teapot. The entry for Xplane, the information design specialist, was identified for deletion. The wikidebate was quick – 8 days. As a final blow, the administrator deleting the entry made an Office Space joke and redirected the entry for Xplane to the entry for X-plane, the experimental plane from the early jet era.
It’s worth reading the wikidebate just to get a taste of the sort of arguments marshalled by both sides as they argue for and against a Wikipedia entry referencing a commercial company.
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More on the U.N’s envoy to Sudan and his blogging
1November 23, 2006 by Colin
Revisting the firing of Jan Pronk, the former U.N. special envoy to the Sudan, who was fired in part for what he wrote on his blog: Jeremy Wagstaff has posted the transcript of his interview with Pronk. They discuss why Pronk blogged in the first place, and whether the blog was truly responsible for his firing.
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Hooker and Tail: Something Good to Eat on the Rideau Canal
0November 23, 2006 by Colin
Mmmmm. The promise of winter and a sure-fire retail success. Right now, it’s only a hut dropped onto blocks in the recently drained Rideau Canal. All we need is twenty straight days of sub-zero weather, not too much rain, a little snowplowing, dozens of teenage cooks and servers – and this hut and others along the Canal will be serving fresh and sweet BeaverTails. (a concept first developed by Grant Hooker)
Matt Mackenzie has a flickr photo of a BeaverTails hut in full swing.
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Second Life: how does it compare with Celebration, Florida?
2November 22, 2006 by Colin
You know, I don’t consider myself a stuffy traditionalist. I like the new new thing. I like the sense of unease and excitement that accompanies new technology. But I can’t help being skeptical about the hype surrounding Second Life.
Yes, it’s an innovative community that draws inhabitants from around the world. After tasting the unique lifestyle and sometimes startling vistas, many visitors make a conscious decision to invest in property and visit more often. It may be a respite from everyday life, or a home base for a new life in a vibrant and developing community. Sure, some conflict has emerged as the original settlers have been confronted with accelerating plans for development and the raised expectations of new arrivals. There are some calls for a more representative government. They’re all the issues that normally face a growing community … in Central Florida.
That’s right. There are some striking similarities between Second Life and Celebration, Florida – the Disney-planned and built community based on the principles of New Urbanism.
Think about the hype surrounding Second Life. Remember that there are several online communities (gaming, role playing or otherwise) with similar or larger subscriber bases. The recent spate of “online firsts” are only somewhat noteworthy because they were staffed by avatars. How about these headlines instead:
- American Apparel opens first outlet in Celebration
- Starwood Hotels premieres new design in Celebration
- Original Settlers Disturbed by Rampant Commercialism
- Reuters Reports on Hedonist Lifestyle
- Local Chamber of Commerce welcomes new integrated marketing company
- Horny Husbands Willing to Exchange Custom-Designed Shoes and Blouses for Mildly Racy Chat
[tags] Second Life, SL, in-world [/tags]
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Let’s be careful out there, folks.
1November 21, 2006 by Colin
I agree with Kevin – there should be no correlation between Black Friday, your Christmas wish list, and your being labelled an ass clown.
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The formality of conferences
5November 20, 2006 by Colin
There’s a well-established format for conferences, well-tended by an industry of conference organizers, professional speakers, audio-visual suppliers, facility managers, catering companies and for-profit “think tanks” that make their money from organizing specialist conferences.
Signs you’re at a traditional conference:
- thick binders of material to greet you at check-in
- dozens of facilitators, stewards, assistants
- more than three person with a radio headset
- more than one projection screen in each meeting room
- accreditiation or maintenance points from your professional organization
- a plethora of directional signs
- Your breakfast muffin may or may not have been baked today
We find ourselves in a period of transformation, however. “Unconferences” like MESH, CaseCamp and others are demonstrating that a community or interest can meet, exchange information and extend their common knowledge without extensive handholding – and without a lot of flash.
Instead of audio-visual gimmickry, the authority and energy of the conference comes from the experience, obvious dedication and personal authority of the individuals up on stage – or in front of the “breakout” room.
There is still a place for “traditional” conferences – when you have a large audience looking for a common lump of information. Or where new advances in technology, pedagogy or professional skills require an element of instruction and reinforcement.
But there’s an awkward feeling when a large and traditionally-oriented conference tries to push a theme of innovation and ground-breaking thought.
In the end, any success will come from the energy and initiative of conference participants finding opportunity in the corners of the conference: the traditional structure, by ensuring comfort and familiarity for the majority of the conference attendees, does oppress initiative and non-comformity to some degree.
Think about it: how many times have you sat through a truly horrible presentation, then clapped heartily alongside every other attendee. Was that out of a sense of politeness, or the harsh reality that the people around you might think you were unlike them?
[tags] conference [/tags]
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Revisiting Mall Santas
0November 18, 2006 by Colin
Black Friday is barely a week away. Bill payments are being postponed, credit card limits are being extended, payday loans are being struck. Eternal optimists are saying “I just need to get to the airport an hour before the flight on Wednesday,” and families in Buffalo are actually making plans for Thanksgiving – despite the snow delays they see year after year.
Up here in Canada, the Christmas decorations started appearing up on November 1. Santa has already shown up in some malls – accompanied by a new young marketing helper – the Fairy Princess. Talk about a May/December romance! Mall managers have a hard time picking out their seasonal mirth and good cheer employees:
“…The magnates of commerce and industry do not hand out mall Santa sinecures to reward model citizens. I was not hired for that job in Alameda because I was a well-adjusted, upwardly mobile young professional. I was a fuck-up. I had made poor life choices. I was a loser.
I lived in squalor. I was fired from shitty jobs. I moved around a lot. I slept on couches. I once woke up with my head in a cat litter box. I hitchhiked. I grew partial to fortified wines. My high-school graduating class had voted me “Most Likely to Succeed.” …
…There were people, cruel people, who sometimes made comments about Santa’s scrawny legs. I had two stock responses to this taunt: 1) Santa practices Tae Bo (Santa would demonstrate), or 2) Santa takes Metabolife (Santa would point to the Metabolife cart in the mall). Neither of these stock responses squelched the occasional nasty remark that Santa was a crackhead.” (Travis Dunn, Baltimore City Paper)
Looking for a laugh and some insight on seasonal promotions? Try a sample of some of my previous posts on Santa and Christmas:
- Are You a Department Store Santa?
- Media Training for Santa
- FAQ: So You Want to Hire Santa
- Crisis Communications for Santa and Elves
- Piped-in Christmas Music
- Santa’s Got a Pop-Up … Display for the Trade Show (thanks to Peter Shankman)
- Conversations with Santa, pt. 1
- Christmas Retail Help Gone Bad
- Conversations with Santa, pt. 2
[tags] black Friday, Santa, Christmas, holidays, mall promotion [/tags]
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Farmer Ted, twenty years later
0November 17, 2006 by Colin
Place the quote. Late at night, after a Republican victory party in Minnesota, or late at night, after a party at Jake’s house?
2:37 a.m.: A young Republican counsels an elder comrade on protocol for hooking up on election night. “Give it up, dude,” he tells him, sipping from a can of Coors beer. “She’s a college Republican. I’m a college Republican. You’re like 50.” (City Paper)
The Geek: Girls will do that, Jake. You know? They know that guys are, like, in perpetual heat, right? They know this shit, and they enjoy pumping us up. It’s pure power politics. I’m telling you.
Jake: I thought she hated my guts.
The Geek: Games, Jake. Silly torturous games. You know how many times a week I go without lunch because some bitch borrows my lunch money? Any halfway decent girl can rob me blind. Because I’m too tourqued up to say no! It’s heinous, I’m telling you. (Sixteen Candles)
Canuckflack
… Colin McKay has some thoughts about design, data, management, government and oddities … written in Canada!
Tumblr Goodness
Blood Stains from the slaine Monks of Lindisfarne in the Viking attack of 793AD. Folios 191v and 192r of the Lindisfarne Gospels - written and illuminated by the Anglo-Saxon Bishop Eadfrith in 698AD.
Liber generationis Jesu Christi
“Lo, it is nearly 350 years that we and our fathers have inhabited this most lovely land, and never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race, nor was it thought that such an inroad from the sea could be made. Behold, the church of St. Cuthbert spattered with the blood of the priests of God, despoiled of all its ornaments; a place more venerable than all in Britain is given as a prey to pagan peoples.”
Alcuin, Letter to Ethelred, King of Northumbria
Images: British Library
I had a Brooks Brothers 15 1/2 - 35 shirt and we used its front pocket to determine when the Pilot design was “pocket sized” - Joel Jewitt, discussing the invention of the Palm Pilot
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130408043926-7298-early-employees-joel-jewitt-palm
Before I discovered the Internet
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