So it seems that Facebook are finally making the necessary improvements to the mobile experience for users. For a while now they have acknowledged the fact that mobile is their weakness. Recently the social giant acquired Instagram for $1 Billion that is a sure sign that they believe mobile storytelling is pivotal to future success.
So this morning’s announcement that the newsfeed on mobile will now look different was no surprise for many of us, but it just confirmed our thoughts that Facebook wanted to prove to possible investors that mobile is something they consider serious.
To see the changes first hand just grab your mobile (that supports iOS, Android) or visit m.facebook.com. Alternatively you can view the screenshots below. As you will see it’s much more visually appealing.
OK, that’s a big statement. But have a look at the well-produced case study of Nazi-SciFi-spoof ‘Iron Sky’ that is hitting cinemas worldwide at the moment.
The German-Finnish-Australian co-production had about 75% traditional funding and manged to rake in the rest via crowd-sourcing and crowd-investing. More interesting from a creative stand point is how listening to the audience and working with the supporters led to a a quicker, yet visually high-quality production that was going to please the followers. At the same time it minimised the need for traditional film marketing. Now I am already liking the film for actor Udo Kier’s character name: Wolfgang Kortzfleisch. Probably the worst name in the history of film making. Check out one of the teasers below:
In this week’s Klubi we focus on the power of sports in social media and explore some of the inspirational content that’s creating buzz online.
The London Olympics have already been dubbed the first ‘Social Media Olympics’ and yes – there is an app for that. Or rather, an entire social media platform, the ‘Olympic Athletes’ Hub’. Billed as a ‘paradigm shift’ and ‘social connector of conversations between athletes and fans’ by Alex Huot, Head of Social Media for the IOC, this is only the beginning of the Olympic fervor which will sweep across all platforms in the next few months.
The Olympic Athlete’s Hub – London 2012
One of the first Olympic videos to debut is P&G’s ‘BestJob’ Olympic TVC directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Babel, Nike ‘Write the Future’) which thanks mothers for their role in shaping today’s Olympians. An inspirational piece shot in London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing, the ad has screened globally as part of a larger integrated social media campaign.
P&G ‘Best Job’ London 2012
The ad recalls the critically acclaimed TVCs The Palace produced for Westpac for the Sydney Olympics.
Westpac Sydney 2000
It’s not easy being Michael Jordan. Especially when you’re not that Michael Jordan, you know – the one they call the greatest basketball player of all time. ESPN have created a funny ad about a poor guy who just can’t live up to the legend of his name.
ESPN – It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports
While ESPN’s ad is notable for the complete absence of Michael Jordan, he certainly featured in many classic marketing campaigns over the years, whether Nike’s memorable stop-motion ‘Frozen Moment’ commercial or this golden piece of 90’s nostalgia by Gatorade.
Gatorade – Be Like Mike
One of the most inspirational and just plain awesome pieces of content on the web right now is Tupac’s resurrection at Coachella where his holographic image performed before awe-inspired crowds. There’s even talk of a tour. In the not so distant future we will not only be singing along with legends, but athletes’ will literally be chasing the ghosts of champions past in their bid for glory.
Tupac at Coachella
To end with I’m going to throw in an example from one of my favourite sporting advertising campaigns of all-time, the NHL’s 2010 award-winning History Will be Made campaign. Both poignant and inspirational, it generated more than 2,400 fan-created copies and parodies online and made the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs the most watched in 36 years.
I am not sure I would call this a trend, as WIRED does. But it is true that for every mainstream movement there is an opposite idea catching on: like collecting vinyl instead of downloading music, customising bikes instead of cars, slow instead of fast food.
Printer with circuits on display. Image courtesy of James Adam
The smartphone evolution and its myriad of apps has given us instanteneous access to news and life organisers. Instead of flipping and swiping through those programs, there is now a niche developing tiny thermo-paper printers, steered via the web. Born out of hackerdom and good old tinkering, these tiny printers can leave notes, summarise news of the day or print out handy to-do lists. If you feel like waking up to the characteristic ’snap’ sound of the paper cutting off, then these tiny thermo-buddies are for you.
Read a nice (short) history of these cuties after the jump.
Last night saw the Inaugural Global Australian of the Year Award, hosted at Sydney Town Hall and initiated and organised by Advance. As per Advance’s own definition, it is “a community of global Australians who are able to make a difference for Australians, Australian companies and Australia around the globe. We believe Australian talent is one of our greatest exports and resources.”
See the nicely decorated venue below and spot the visual identity of two overlapping ripples, created by Pim Van Nunen at Publicis Mojo, proud supporters of Advance.
Advance at Town Hall
It was indeed a humbling experience to see so many highly successful and at the same time giving and community-minded Australians up on stage. Many of the prize winners had foreign-born parents, some of which proudly accepted the prizes on behalf of their children working overseas. No surprise for such a young and immigration-oriented country, their backgrounds ranged from Holland, Denmark and Germany to Vietnam and Malaysia. See their new website and winners here.
FBi Radio, your radio of choice if you live in Sydney, is screening the most excellent “Press.Pause.Play” to raise much needed funds. Check out the trailer featuring luminaries of modern digital creativity such as Moby, Lykki Li and Seth Gordon. A film about fear, hope and digital culture. Get tickets here.
As their site asks: “The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities. But does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world’s most influential creators of the digital era.”
“When humans make stuff, we tend to make interesting things.” says Moby. And Seth Gordon adds “”This changes everything. The industry is dead. There has never been a better time to be an artist”
Wouldn’t you agree and like to see this film at FBi in Alexandria this Thursday? See you on the creators’ side…
Well not literally, we don't actually have a club. But we are always on the lookout for talented individuals.
So if you think you qualify then give us a bell or an email or a txt.
