Monday, March 29, 2010

Pop Up Decline


I’ve written about pop up ads before but I’ve gotten better. Better at ignoring them.

As you know (and cannot help knowing) pop up ads are the new Ray Bans, everyone has to have them. Most news sites have them, youtube has the ads at the bottom of videos, some video streaming sites have pop ups, the dictionaries, and music sites all have pop up ads.

However I have developed awesome-window-closing-speed-clicking techniques!

If you watch close the pop up will appear in front of the open window before retreating behind the veil of safety provided by the other open windows.

This is where I strike. Using all my peripheral vision skills gained from countless hours playing first person shooter, I search and destroy the weak spot in the ad’s armor, the red X in the corner.

The point is I don’t even look at ads anymore. I couldn’t tell you what they were advertizing. So does the ad help anyone?

Companies are not getting their product advertized because I’m not looking at the ads and I’m mad because I have to deal with pop ups.

Video games have changed the advertizing game. Our generation is different from the one that came before us. Pop ups may work on past generations but advertizing companies need to adapt.

I don’t really know what will work. But it needs to be smart and not annoying.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Snape Kills, What?


Spoiler Alert? Have you not seen or read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince? Then avert your eyes!

When Dumbledore dies in the Half Blood Prince he doesn’t really die. I mean yeah they bury him but then they hang a picture of him in his old study.

As you know pictures in the Wizarding world move, talk, and interact with the people they see.

If you wanted to talk to Dumbledore you could just talk to his portrait. It wouldn’t be the same but judging from the other portraits he would have his same personality and would know the same things as when he died.

With the Internet we can record and know what we are thinking by what we post and how we interact. This has enabled information aggregators like Google and social media sites like Twitter to report on what the world is thinking at any given time.

Before you die you can pay companies to manage your accounts when you die. They will clean up any loose ends, pay debts, and tell your friends and followers you’ve died. (original story http://bit.ly/bmD3Mk)

What if instead of cleaning up your files making them ready for you to be forgotten, they continued posting for you?

Just as a magical portrait mimics the life of a wizard, computers could mimic the online life of a muggle.

The AI in Spore mimics the patterns of other player to give gamers new races to come in contact with. When a gamer encounters a new species, it is controlled by a computer in a similar pattern to that of the gamer who first made the species.

I think it would be cool to have a computer constantly analyzing what you do and create on the Internet & reproducing that on the internet.

Maybe even making vlogs & skype calls to interact with the online population just as a magical portrait would interact with people walking by.

The major problem is how would the friends and family react to a computer assuming the life of a loved one. I do not know how they would react.

Maybe they would become very attached to the computer assumed profile, or maybe they would become distant from it & get mad at the computer’s profile.

I don’t know if its good or bad but it would be interesting.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

No More Superstars?


Just thinking of old stars like Elvis, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson and I wondered who will be next? Then I thought maybe no one.

In the early twentieth century families wanted to be alike. A working dad, stay at home mom, perfect kids, a white picket fence.People lived like hobbits.

Now everyone has their own family situation, their own likes, their own personality and they want to show that to the world.

People today are living like rock stars. Not only in the way they spend money but also in the way they share their lives. Hundreds of pictures on personal profiles, a self centered society.

Everyone wants attention. And the only way to get attention?

To be different.

To like the newest undiscovered band. To eat at the small undiscovered restaurant downtown.To know, before anyone else, breaking news.

The fastest way to kill a cool band or product is to force it mainstream with advertizing. Once everyone likes it, no one does.

With the culture we have we cannot have stars be popular for extended periods of time. Once they get popular they peak.

On the other side to stay on top you have to:

Stay relevant.

Always change.

Make people like you for who you are, not who is following you.

Will we have another ElvisBeatleJackson? I don’t think so.