We’ve talked about how technology and human interaction are becoming more integrated all the time, but seeing this is pretty amazing. It’s hard to believe that technology like this is just a few short years away from becoming commonplace.
TED is system designed as a wearable computer, where the computer can be interacted with by using hand gestures in the air in front you, and the screen is projected onto any surface in front of you, including the palm of your hand or a wall. The technology is innovative, in that it allows its wearer to interact with the products and people around it by sensing the objects within sight of the camera and delivering what amounts to meta data, a descriptive language, about the objects, allowing its user to have the information available to make choices about how they interact with their environment. While this technology is still relatively new, it looks to be fairly simple, and easy to use even in it’s early stages.
Technology such as TED is really part of the next wave of future technology coming out of the tech sector and won’t be mainstream for time, but it definitely is something to watch, and demonstrates peoples desire to have technology that integrates well into their lives as opposed to technology in which we have to chain ourselves to some place or some time in order to maintain a lifestyle.
This ad for the Nike World Cup is a really good depiction of a global brand using a number of various cultural references to really emphasize the cross demographic tendencies of the World Cups fans. Nike, always a company that seeks to lead the market in brand exposure, has a knack for building their marketing and promotional activities around the idea of bringing people and communities together. The World Cup is a great place for that kind of sentiment, as no other sport commands as much global recognition and respect, or brings together so many different kinds of people from so many different walks of life. Check out the video, it’s pretty fun.
Matthew Kudej thinks we’ll see a lot more name brand European companies coming out this recession than we’ve seen in forever. I can’t see them continuing down this road without changing their work habits to become more competitive.
…not sure what I think about all of this yet, but rest assured, I am actually paying attention.
I’ve been following the American Express Members project for a few years now, and they’ve put the website up again this year. The project itself is a website in which American Express Card members can peruse a number of submitted social projects and select a number of them for inclusion in the final round of voting. The winners receive a dollar sum in support of their projects. Past winners have included projects such as KIVA, an organization that supports the creation and growth of businesses and enterprises in Africa, as well as Childrens Safe Drinking Water, an organization which provides PUR packets to underdeveloped nation to assist in drinking water cleanup. You’ll want to check out the video for that second one, it’s pretty cool.
The American Express Members Project, as I’ve mentioned in previous years, is part of a growing trend in which companies are making in roads to becoming socially and environmentally responsible within their community.
In fact, the Members Project is a unique initiative in that maintaining membership with American Express in the form of having a card is much like being part of a club in which anyone can join…assuming of course your credit scores check out.
The project allows its membership to have a say in how American Express does business in some respects, allowing a way for customers to pose feedback on how the company spends its money, and invites them to witness the results of their choices at least through the confines of the website.
The one thing I think would be really neat is if American Express took the program one step further and showed members the results of their choices first hand through a video or some other sort of follow up presentation. Still, it’s a good example of social marketing in a positive light, and you have to applaud the effort as well as the outcome.
