The Blog Studio

I am still reeling from the physical reality of the iPad itself, along with the deluge of applications that come along with it. Recently launched ‘Flipboard’ is causing quite a stir.  Is it set to shake things up, or do we have another Google Wave on our hands?  The personal online magazine features intuitive content, while also allowing the user to interact with his/her social media profiles. The word on the street is that ‘Flipboard’ will revolutionize the entire publishing industry. Seems like revolutions are coming along with much more frequency these days.

What do I mean by intuitive content?  Why could ‘Flipboard’ be so revolutionary? ‘Flipboard’ is a multi-faceted application with impressive RSS reader functionality, and the ability to personalize content from your Facebook friends and Twitter tweeps. The application design is so intelligent because it makes an accurate assumption that one draws from and informs themselves via their online community of friends, tastemakers and colleagues. ‘Flipboard’ calibrates the information found in your social media pages and presents content in an attractive, user-friendly and totally individualized online magazine. This means that all retweets, ‘likes’, and links will be laid out in your personalized magazine just for you. Content updates in real time, so it stays timely and fresh.

‘Flipboard’ is considered to be such a breakaway app because it makes it simple to wade through mountains of content in a short period of time. Consider the length of time involved in downloading and reading each unique newspaper or magazine application on your iPad, in addition to engaging with social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.?  ‘Flipboard’ simplifies all of this and creates a platform for the user to peruse, interact and inform themselves through an ‘eye pleasing’ magazine interface.  Best of all? It’s free!

‘Flipboard’ CEO Mike McCue released a statement last week communicating that popularity and consumer demand have grown ‘clearly beyond our wildest expectations.” Upon launch, the company introduced a ‘first come first serve basis’, which has now become problematic as demand exceeds serviceability.  ‘Flipboard’ has dealt with this prudently: they have put an invitation system in place whereby people can download the new version of ‘Flipboard (1.0.1)’ and reserve an appointment for setup.  McCue’s goal is to expand accordingly and soon disable the invitation system so that transfer is immediate.

In the meantime, you can request your invitation and keep tabs on the ‘Flipboard’ public content via @flipboard and http://www.flipboard.com.  You can also enjoy their promotional video here:

The Guggenheim is hosting a worldwide bienniale in partnership with YouTube, and promises to be the biggest thing the art world has seen since Jeff Koons. To date, the renowned Modern and Contemporary Art Museum has received over 4000 videos from international artists, videographers and graphic designers in an open call for submissions. The Guggenheim has an insatiable appetite for fresh work, and they won’t be satisfied until they hear from YOU. So budding Picassos, Film Noir-ists and bravuras alike—it’s time to flex your creative muscles. The Guggenheim is accepting video submissions for the next ten days, and will short-list twenty entries to be exhibited at their museums in New York, Berlin, Bilbao and Venice in October 2010.

If you’re artistically inclined, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Few artists experience this level of elevation and only under the most exceptional of circumstances. This project also speaks to a growing trend in social media, which we discussed in our post referencing Ridley Scott’s ‘Life In A Day’ project: Crowdsourcing.  Crowdsourcing is at the forefront of countless public projects across many genres: the arts, politics—like David Cameron’s plan to crowd source the UK on fiscal policy, and your very own Facebook profile. The practice of crowd sourcing guarantees diversity of opinion, innumerable choice and ultimately, peak results. This presents groundbreaking opportunities for artists to forge deep, permeating connections in the international art world.  The divide between ‘art for art sake’ and preconceived notions of what is museum-worthy has effectively been broken down.  This is reminiscent of the Tate Modern’s graffiti exhibit a few years back.  For me, this is what social media is all about: increased connections and the spread of ideas. Prior to social media and online crowd sourcing how else could a local artist receive this kind of exposure?

The Guggenheim and YouTube jury will select 200 videos to stream on the youtube.com/play channel with the twenty most outstanding submissions exhibited in Guggenheims worldwide.  Take note, The NY Guggenheim blog ‘The Take’ instructs that the jury will seek out creative, innovative and experimental submissions. For further information visit http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york and to make a submission via http://www.youtube.com/play

Take a risk! Submit and let us know when you do.

Twitter has found a new, and potentially lucrative feature to expand their relevance.  This new official twitter account is a “dedicated deal” venue whereby @EarlyBird followers can take advantage of time and location specific discounts, local events. 

@EarlyBird’s first deal offered a two for one tickets to new film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. A deal that certainly appeals to a mass audience of families, moviegoers and Disney aficionados.  Twitter may have another hit on their hands, and the numbers seem to back this up. @Earlybird’s already has 72,941 followers as of this morning. 

Twitter isn’t the only service taking advantage of time sensitive online deals. Couture fashion site Ruelala.com offers high end and designer apparel at heavily reduced price points.  They also offer 5-star vacation packages, house wares and accessories, with each sale lasting 24 hours.  We think this is brilliant because it provides a win-win situation. The consumer is privy to outstanding sales unavailable in the retail market, while the site benefits from the time-sensitive nature of the sale. The “buy now or never” concept is quite effective for a quick sale on luxury items. Ruelala.com also offers a well-designed, streamlined app so to offer consumers a chance to connect and buy on their smartphones.

A few sites have taken the “dedicated deal” trend one step further. Sites like LivingSocial.com and Groupon.com have merged the 24 hour deal with geo-location capabilities. The user is invited to sign-up with emphasis placed on the city they live in. Living Social and Groupon offer daily deals in your home city for meals, sporting excursions, spas and other activities that get you out on the town.

I recently took advantage of an incredible deal offered on Living Social Toronto. I paid $25 for a $50 dollar voucher to the delectable Coco Lezzone in Toronto’s Little Italy. So in this regard, my money—and my enjoyment—were instantly doubled.

The user is certainly not limited to their home city. With offers all across the United States and many cities in Canada, it’s a great option for travelers as well. Many people really appreciate it when their travel dollars stretch further than their budgets. Everyone loves a deal which reinforces the fact these companies will grow exponentially by word of mouth alone.

There are incentives for consumers to spread the word… at the end of Living Social voucher each user is provided with a unique link to share with friends. If three people purchase a voucher through your unique link then BAM! your deal is free. How’s that for value?

Here at The Blog Studio, we really feel that social media through geo-location is about to explode. We’d love to hear your experiences with the above sights and thoughts on this trend.  So comment away!

I read the news today, oh boy/ About a lucky man who made the grade…

Ridley Scott and YouTube have been inspired by social media connectivity and The Beatles classic ‘A Day in the Life.” Through a global collaborative effort, Scott and YouTube plan to create a documentary of what life was like on July 24th 2010—much like John Lennon’s musing on the temporal in ‘A Day in the Life.’

This is definitely a new direction for filmmaking and for digital media.  Usually, a film begins and ends with industry topdogs.  Hollywood creative teams (execs, producers, writers and directors) will take a story and generate a film for a mass audience.  Filmmaking has been turned on its head by opening up the creative process to the everyman. Social media, crowd sourcing and collaborative creation are where it’s at in the post-future world we live in.

Come July 24th we can all collaborate with Ridley Scott, earn a ‘co-director’ credit and carve out a niche in filmmaking when the movie premiers at Sundance 2011. It’s an amazing opportunity indeed… but what’s even more exciting, is this new genre of filmmaking will have broader implications that effect the notion of “art”, and the media industry in general. Ridley Scott is recognizing the potential for greatness in the amateur.

What is ‘Life In A Day’ director Kevin McDonals looking for?  McDonals released a statement which read, “Life in a Day is a time capsule that will allow future generations to discover how we lived on the 24th of July 2010.” What content will peak his interest? And why is July 24th 2010 the big day?  Is it an arbitrary date selected to accommodate Ridley Scott’s production schedules, or is there some deeper meaning?

Will the ‘Life in a Day’ team include average, everyday citizens shaving, hitting Starbucks and heading to the office?  What about authenticity?  Will submissions be an honest account of July 24th or will people submit sensationalized material?

Are you submitting your life to YouTube and Ridley Scott?  What will you contribute to this “time capsule?” Leave us a comment and let us know!

To learn more about the ‘Life in a Day Project’ you can search the hashtags #RidleyScott and #lifeinaday visit http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday and watch Ridley Scott’s directions in the video above:

The Blog Studio was invited to Government of Ontario’s “Digital Dialogue” conference regarding the future of Canadian media. Hosted by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the OMDC called upon Ontario’s preeminent literary, commerce, media and academic minds to discuss and ultimately, develop Canada’s digital media strategy.

Keynote speaker and New York Times writer Virginia Heffernan, Minster of Tourism and Culture’s hon. Michael Chan, former editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail Edward Greenspon and Dr. David Ellis—chair of Communications at York University—all gave their time and expertise to this cause. Among the esteemed panelists were representatives from “Digital Britain” offering their findings after having formulated Britain’s policy on new media.

Ms. Heffernan’s outstanding keynote addressed common fears regarding the forward progression of digital media. She communicated that many are nostalgic for the pre-digital age. There is a body that feels literacy is at risk in the face of video games and that many are wary of the scope and possibilities of the web.  Heffernan did a fantastic job of unpacking and disarming these anxieties: She feels that this moment in media is analogous to the Industrial Revolution and that there now exists alternatives to computer and off line culture embodied in the iPad and the Android.  In response to the skeptics Heffernan challenged her audience to:

• Try an e-reader (preferably the kindle)
• Jump right into the web by commenting and engaging with sites
• Record your experience

Heffernan feels that this endeavour will result in the same conclusion that she has drawn: “Literacy is not at risk because of the Internet, rather literacy is augmented as a result.”

Next, The hon. Michael Chan discussed an official report detailing the vision and direction of Canada as a top tier media economy. Cultural media is Toronto’s big business and generates billions of dollars for the Canadian economy.  We must create new business models, policy frameworks, and a change management plan for Canadian society amidst our digital transformation. He shared that there are six key pillars for this project:

• The development of private investment and financing in new media.
• Creating an environment to support, stimulate and grow creative minds in the cultural media sector.
• Coordinate the force of all Ontario media companies.
• Support start-ups that inject new ideas and matters.
• Create an accessible environment for all Ontarians to learn Digital Media.
• Most importantly, Ontario must extend its global presence by having an official policy on ‘The National Digital Economy Strategy for Canada.’

Each panel highlighted their major recommendations and concerns for government policy and called upon conference peers and especially, the general public to contribute as well. The main concern recurrently voiced was Accessibility- this means the language and practices of digital media must not be esoteric or class based.  We must ensure there are opportunities afforded to small business, inner city schools and the working class so that our entire country moves forward together and is educated in this regard. Digital Britain found “unconferences” were the way to include those who felt disenfranchised.” Additional issues included extension of broadband as well as funding and expansion of tax incentives.

The conference was incredible as a result of the exchange of ideas and recommendations for digital policy. A note to our friends and industry professionals: The Government of Ontario wants to hear from YOU and will be accepting policy recommendations until July 9th.  Send your suggestions post haste to http://www.digitaleconomy.gc.ca and you can follow @OMDCtweets.