It’s been a while since my last Friday mail, so I used the hiatus as an opportunity to revisit some of the concepts that have been brought to the fore over the past two and a half years. Not for the purposes of nostalgic self-congratulation, but principally to see how much further things have come. And it is quite an interesting process. So we see in today’s mail AR, Twitter, and a couple of eMarketplaces.
Oh yes, and to congratulate the England Cricket team on their historic pummelling of Australia in today’s 20/20 World Cup final, I thought you’d like to see the trending in people talking about cricket on Twitter in the run up to victory…
Augmented reality – the next step
I’m not a sneaker man, but Adidas is one of my favourite brands: their ‘impossible is nothing’ campaign has been to sport what ‘priceless’ is to credit cards, capturing the essence of triumph over adversity that permeates sporting challenges from playground to grave. Now usually, Adidas tends to lag Nike in the innovation stakes but I recently came across this extension of Augmented Reality and thought it was a great concept. Of course, Hodes got there first with the ABB T-Shirts, but how long will it be before we see clothing that can be used as part of the controlling mechanisms in gaming?
Ashton goes off
Those of you who keep referring to Twitter as a ‘worthless fad’ might do well to read the article in the business section of the Sunday Telegraph… For those of you who are still trying to get to grips with the why’s and where’s of Twitter, it’s worthwhile knowing that in the Twitterati Golden Leagues, Ashton Kutcher features pretty highly. Mind you, his position is under threat from Britney, but who really cares? Anyway, some bright sparks are creating artwork from the profile photos of Twitter users. The whole ‘Don’t Tell Ashton’ thing is a bit of an inside joke (OK, it’s not brilliantly funny) but I like the idea of user-participated art.
Short-cutting the supply chain (part 1)
One of the brilliant things about the digitisation of information is how it can completely level the playing field. In this example, Alibaba is a site that connects consumers direct to manufacturers. Doesn’t sound like much until you consider the impact this could have on SMEs: stripping out the (often exorbitant) mark-up charges that are applied by middlemen whose sole reason for existence is simply to put one person in touch with another, could have a marked impact on the bottom line. Or in simple terms, when you’re looking for cost reducing measures, this option makes a lot more sense than making people redundant.
Fashion made easy
Continuing on the supply chain theme, Etsy is a marketplace for handmade goods. Interestingly enough, the site had record sales on Sept. 29th, the day the stock market plunged sharply, and it continued to break records as conditions deteriorated during last year’s holiday season. The post-crash consumer seems to want to feel a direct personal connection with the designer or craftsman, just as she does when she buys carrots or milk at a farmer’s market. It’s been talked about in countless fashion circles, as well as being featured in Fast Company and Marketing magazine. Ladies beware, it is (apparently) hideously addictive, but then some things never change…
One for the Barclays team
This infographic started out as a visualisation of the Forbes 2,000, which lists the 2,000 largest companies in the world: it’s pretty intriguing. It’s also worth noting just how large the banking sector is. Hmmm… might want to rethink my share portfolio. Or revisit our New Business target list?