for my last 3 years in college, i’ve lived alone. when i did have a roommate, i shared a room in jester. probably sometime within the next few years i’m going to move into an apartment with a roommate, but with separate rooms.

when this happens i’m gonna get a set of walkie talkies (with docking stations so they can be on 24/7) to talk to my roommate in the other room. maybe even get a third for the living room.

this way whenever we want to hang out, we don’t have to knock on the other person’s door and possibly interrupt any bizness goin on inside.
also if we wanna play some diablo or LoL it’s a lot easier to ask over the walkie.
also also if i’m feelin lonely at night i can just push the button and whisper: “heyyy buddy, you awake?”

“YOU’RE IT”

Background: me and my homeboys always play rock-paper-scissors to decide whose turn it is to drive somewhere (downtown, dinner, happy hr, etc.) if someone drove the last time, they’re exempt from the game this time around.

The Problem: we have to meet up to play RPS, and that can be a real hassle since that requires driving. we need an application that will help us select a driver without having to be in the same location.

The Product: an app that will let you add members to a group and then select a set number of members from that group (usually it’s one person. “you’re it!”)

The “loser(s)” can be selected with several different methods:

• random selection
• guess the number
• black/white
• RPS (if people take too long to input their choice, they automatically lose)

i love nice things. and i hate when other people have the same nice things that i do.

so maybe from now on, whenever i shop online, i should give really crappy reviews to the products i like. that way other people will be deterred from buying it, and mine will maintain a little more of its uniqueness

in season 4 episode 1 of Mad Men (“Public Relations”), Peggy and Pete plan a publicity stunt for their client, Sugarberry Hams, where they pay two women to fight over the last Sugarberry ham at a store. it turns out to be a disaster, sort of

publicity stunts are still popular. and because they’re so easy to capture on camera nowadays, they often become viral videos, serving as advertisements for the company. 

here’s an example of a stunt by TNT, tagline “We Know Drama”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw

in my opinion, this is sooo tactless, from the coordination and planning of the stunt, to the editing of the video. first, the scene is chock-full of mindless action, and contains absolutely zero drama. drama is personal, and there is nothing personal about this. (mad men, winner of the 2011 emmy for Best Drama, bears no resemblance to anything TNT produces.) second, in terms of advertising, there’s no subtlety to their message. no room to let the consumer make any decision on his/her own. someone pushes a button and all of a sudden they’re in the middle of a ridiculous, high-school-drama-club type action scene. the consumer is basically being bombarded/assaulted by advertising (a pop-up ad in real life)

on the other hand, here’s an example of a stunt by Coca Cola, a company with a long history of great advertising:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A-7H4aOhq0

while the idea of hugs as currency certainly isn’t a novel idea, coke presented it in a way that was fresh and appealing. people smile at this because it’s charming and creative, not simply because it’s startles you and demands your attention.

p.s. - here’s a clip of aziz ansari talking about his cousin Harris. Harris loves TNT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyOPk4E0-ow)

social media has tremendous utility. it’s impossible to ignore how useful twitter and facebook can be for connecting people, sharing ideas, planning events, etc.

but more and more, these mediums are used for personal advertising. for selectively sharing pictures, links, and commentary that convey a certain image about the person sharing it.

for about half of the content that shows up on my feed, i have to ask 2 questions:

1. what’s the content of the post? (what is it? where is it? who is it?)
2. more importantly, why did the user make the post? (who do they want to see it? how do they want it to be interpreted?)

IMO, the reason behind the post can usually be a lot more intriguing/revealing than the content itself. original content in social media is pretty rare.

(i’m guilty of it too! i hope this post makes people think i’m smart and insightful… if not a little condescending)