Dont You Forget About Us...

Today's FWA winner is North Kingdom!

I love these guys, they did Get the Glass! They are legendary when it comes to web development and design. Probably one of my top 3 favorite shops. But today's execution kind of surprised me .

I didn't think the site execution was all that great. The video was kind of so so and I am sure that was done in the States. But the site lacked a certain love and appreciation for the American pop culture iconic movie that The Breakfast Club is, especially one that is so dear to so many people.

The Breakfast Club is an American movie that has, good or bad, literally shaped a generation.

What American teenage guy didn't secretly adore Claire?

What American kid wasn't saying EAT. MY. SHORTS for like two years after this came out?

This is a slice of Americana. I may be sounding like good ol' John Bender when I say this but - THIS BLOWS!

I really think an American shop should have won this gig.

Saatchi did everything right except for one small detail. They hired North kingdom to execute this thing.

If it were anything else like American Milk, oh wait forget that... yikes... ummm

... Horses Running through the English country side then I would say North Kingdom is the BOMB!

But something as American and as wholesome as Milk, yikes scratch that, I mean The Breakfast Club should be done on American soil.

Wow I never thought I would be ranting about this but it just feels weird to see that remake and an foreign name attached to its creation.

I felt the site lacked a certain pride, a certain nostalgic flair, a certain, "like totally!" Or as Claire (Molly Ringwald) would have said "You wouldn't know. You don't know any of us."

North Kingdom, you guys get tons of respect however I am sorry but you did not do justice with this site. Probably not your fault, all the way out in North Yorkshire tucked away in the Humber region of England its hard to have captured the subtle "Bender" nuance.

JCP should have also insisted that an American shop like Big Spaceship or a former JCP vendor Firstborn or OH WAIT!!! I KNOW! maybe a shop with a really patriotic name, something like Freedom!!

Ok I know i went too far with that.

Not saying anyone did anything right or wrong, just wanted to vent that this could have been done better by the nation it so greatly had an impact on.

iPhone Vs. iPhone

Remember when back in the day (1981 - 1988) the Voltron toy craze, those 5 awesome die cast metal lions that formed this super mega robot that would kill anything it went up against?

There were two kinds you could buy, the $300 dollar die cast metal, weighty, version or the $75 dollar hard shiny, light plastic version.

The metal felt great in your hands, its weight commanded respect, it was almost a weapon.

The plastic often didn't snap in right, was always so flimsy and you never felt like Voltron couldn't even trample your old Smurfs.

Leah got the new white, shiny, plastic white iPhone 3G.

I have the original, heavy, titanium iPhone.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil

Its rare that a site simply blows my mind, when an execution is so well formulated it just screams SMOOTH!

I yearn for inspiration and when tons of sites launch each day its difficult to find greatness within the haystack called the web. I found one today, a new site for Ikea developed by Forsman & Bodenfors.

This site uses video and sound perfectly synchronized, the design is playful and fresh and this site truly represents creativity and innovation and interactive at its best.

Simple, clean, fresh and inspiring, perfect! Awesome work Forsman & Bodenfors!!

Check this out here

The Writing On The Virtual Wall

The speed of the internet is blinding.

Our industry accelerates faster by the day.

As soon as 2.0 took off and the commitment to standards, layout, cleanliness and integration with web apps became all the rage, it burned itself out like a supernova.

Well, I always wondered what that day would look like when you wake up and things are suddenly different.

Today is that day.

Red Interactive had put out a site with multi user avatars and chat enabling live social interaction between people online, live, in real time, where you can talk, play, kick, punch, laugh, exchange goods, befriend, and lots of other cyber-things.

It was cute, won tons of awards, really put them on the map.

It was a precursor to what we are about to see everywhere.

Websites driven by people, live people, all assuming various personae, playing games, chatting, interacting, exchanging ideas, virtual products, and anything else creativity can conjure up. Oh did I mention they can all do this at the same time!

I wake up today and I read an article that Google is now entering this ring of live online interactive social sites a new service they call Lively.

Then i go over to the www.thefwa.com and low and behold, the site of the day is none other than a live, multi user interactive avatar chat and game site!!! For Slim Jim!

I was blown away, today is one of those days where you wake up and everything kind of shifted from gear 2.0 to gear 3.0 and will never be the same.

In a way I am happy.

Stay tuned for more in depth coverage of 3.0

Passing Notes in Class

New platforms for creativity are popping up everywhere, everything is coming alive.

I feel like its the end of a lush spring season where everything is blooming and filling our space with fragrant beauty, bleeding colors everywhere.

The onset of a summer full of growth and ingeniousness, ingenuity and originality.

Look around and you'll find new spaces all the time.

Co-Dependance Day

July 4th, the official kick off of the summer season, when things heat up and slow down.

The city empties out like a Jr High School fire drill and folks like me who choose to vacation in the desolate metropolis I love, get to have some peace and quiet with Miss NY for the weekend.

I am sitting on a bench on 84th street and central park west. Tons of free Wifi here, strong signals.

Before I made my way to the bench I was walking down the street tapping away at my iPhone emailing co-workers. A jogger, also distracted, and I collide, just a bump, but enough to startle the shit out of one another.

I almost drop my phone and as I'm juggling it from falling, I see a big smile framing a gap between two front teeth and I stand back and take another look and its Morphius from the Matrix, and for a split tiny second I was instantly prepared to swallow the blue pill. A very weird mental crossover occurred that for a single moment took hold of me.

But alas just another celebrity enjoying the peace and quiet of the city, we say our apologies and move on, no Matrix for me, bummer, but for a second, I was fully prepared to go engage in some combat training.

Anyways, its a beautiful day, there are like 50 live wifi signals here, the breeze is gentle, the coffee is iced and I am about to go meet some friends later for Karaoke.

Its a great way to start the summer, tons of awesome work ahead next week and a mini vacation in-between.

Happy 4th of July!

Independence is lonely, celebrate unity and love!

Peace!

There is a Time and Une Saison

"Television has officially thrown its hat into the virtual ring. It is "la saison de television Internet"."

Check out my latest observation over at The FWA.