observations of a wallflower

innovate through gaming

wallflower — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:39:46 +0000

Jane McGonigal says gaming can make a better world. Challenging people now with games that endorse problems of the future can save us from having them. Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? By spending all this time playing games we are actually changing what we are capable of as human beings, we are evolving to be more collaborative.

Games are a super powerful platform for change. I came to think that we actually have super hero powers. Genius! Jane McGonigal@TED explains how.

the ADseries

wallflower — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:40:53 +0000

Is it just me or are we all starting to like long commercials? Or, in other words, is the quality of the content that has risen? Or simply just because we are told a longer story? We’ve been fed up with huge amounts of short ads that we’ve learned to avoid not just by pushing the ‘next’ button on the remote control but by blocking them subconsciously. We need no physical instruments for that anymore. It is just like getting used to living near by railroads. Pretty soon, you simply don’t here anything anymore.

In the same time, we became better and better in absorbing whatever interests us more. So why would we need longer ads?!? Just because, it’s the story that we crave for! On the other side, we started watching more series and shorts than movies. But that is also because we want more stories in our time-lack daily life. Blink! Advertisers thought, if that is the lenght that we are happy with than why not transforming the ‘flashy 15 /22 seconds ad’ in a real story.

Some of them did and I believe there are still more to come. ADseries, that’s what we’re on to. I, for myself, am pleased with this. Fellows, keep it coming! Take a look at these 2 fresh ones from Dior and Absolut. Are we gonna have posters for ads now? Are we, are we, are we? Cool!

open air opera

wallflower — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:38:29 +0000

aaaaa

Landholder Larina is sitting in the garden together with her old nurse Filipjewna. While her daughters Tatjana and Olga are singing she remembers her youth and her first love. Homecoming singing peasants interrupt her reminiscence. Tatjana is saddened by the peasants’ singing and she immerses herself in a book. Olga is unable to relate to her shy and withdrawn sister who is forever hiding among books. Larina complains about Tajana’s conduct and assures her that the heroes of her books do not really exist.

This is how the beautiful story of Peter I. Tschaikowsky’s Eugen Onegin starts. All tickets in the Staatsoper in Berlin have been sold out long time ago. But it doesn’t matter because on the 5th of June one could enjoy free live opera in open air, projected on a huge screen, just side by side with the opera building. It was the last show of the season.

I can’t say I am an opera connaisseur but seeing one of the most famous opera pieces in the world while sitting with my friends on a blanket, drinking red wine and eating cheese and while tens of other people around you are doing exactly the same…let’s say it gives one a totally different perspective on what opera is all about.

A lot of young, some lost stubborn tourists and old couples who didn’t run away from placing their posteriors on the uncomfortable cement, where spending 3 hours being amazed by the great performance . Make up and props were very interesting, giving a ‘contemporary’ dimension to the ‘old’ piece.

Onegin remains behind, desperate and alone. The show ends and the square starts applauding. In just a few seconds the actors come out of the Staatopera building to bow to the audience outside.

I must say bravo Berlin, you enchanted me with this cultural event and thank you for bringing opera to my eyes and ears. I guess many of us who were there wouldn’t have had the intention to enter the opera for this event. I am glad I didn’t miss it!

By the way, BMW was sponsoring the whole event and this is why at a certain point we started seeing a few flying horses on the sky of Berlin. Sure, helium balloons shaped like horses. Funny guerilla though!

co.working

wallflower — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:14:20 +0000

For those unfamiliar with the concept, co-working is about bringing businesses together into a shared work environment. It’s like a collective of people coming from different fields who choose to share the same work space. It ranges from people working together in someone’s living room, to dedicated co-working spaces with dozens or even hundreds of businesses all under one roof.

Besides having the advantages of an office space without having to shoulder the cost themselves, this idea kind of brings crowd sourcing and social networks to the offline world. The interaction ranges between just physically sharing the space to common brainstorming sessions and replacing suppliers with the members of the community.

Living in Berlin now and having the honor to interview some of the best innovation managers in the world, it’s become even more clear to me that we are dealing with an important shift. From online to offline – yes, even if it doesn’ t look like, somehow the number of offline experiences is slowly increasing in terms of value. And more importantly a turn towards open innovation is taking place. This not only means giving power to the consumers and asking them what they think the product should be like but mostly approaching the ideation process from various, even extreme environments that at first glance have nothing to do with the researched topic. This is why I think co-working and being surrounded also by people who don’t belong to your field brings the best insights and is the best thing that could happen to your business.

And what if the next step will be the death of competition and sharing knowledge will make the world a better place? Till then you can read here the pragmatic view on co-working, via mashable: Ultimately, I feel the future of co-working lies in an organic, adaptable business ecosystem. Instead of an accounting department, you have fifteen accounting businesses with varying specialties. The same goes for marketing, legal, and any other specialty a business could need. When you begin combining the resources of large corporations with the flexibility and speed of start-ups, the possibilities are astounding.

the 1st interactive movie via voice recognition

wallflower — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:54:05 +0000

We may not realize but all technology innovations out there actually make us be more in control. Think about it. It’s scary but soon we will be exposed to even more information than now and the environment will have various functions as it’s going to become multi-touch enabled. We will do whatever we want with the things around us. Oh…you don’t like the view from your bedroom window? No problem! As the window will be a hyperlink and you will be always online you can just touch it and draw a shade on it or even apply your favorite wallpaper.

Until then, you can control the movies that you watch. 13th Street in Germany, the action and suspense channel, has been running movie trailers with a difference in cinemas and international film festivals, encouraging audiences to turn their phones on. In Last Call, the first interactive movie trailer in the world, members of the audience are able to interact with the protagonist. The experience is set up with a flyer inviting viewers to send their phone numbers to a speed dial code when they buy their ticket. The moment the female protagonist takes out her phone to call someone who might be able to help her, the film’s controlling software contacts one of the submitted mobile phone numbers. Once the viewer picks up, he or she hears the actress tell him/her she would be lost without him/her. Then, the person has to help her escape by choosing a path through the old, rundown sanatorium, helping her decide whether or not she should help other victims to flee the scene. Take a look!

Feedly, RSS in a sleek magazine layout

wallflower — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:30:56 +0000

Feedly describes itself as “magazine-like startpage.” When it launched in August 2008, it was labeled just “an alternative interface for Google Reader.” But it is definitely more than that for the design lovers. It instantly synchronizes with your Google Reader and in a minute you have a beautiful layout that feels like a virtual magazine with your selected articles. And if you give it another minute to prioritize your sources you will always have a sleek looking front page with your latest most important news.

With the launch of Feedly Mini, a mini bar that hovers at the bottom of the screen as you surf through blogs on the web, the service has become a much more inclusive blog reading companion. Feedly Mini integrates Twitter, FriendFeed, Google Search, Mozilla’s Ubiquity, and more. I love this mini bar as you can share the content of a web page through your social networks, send it by email or add it to your RSS feeds just by one click. It’s like a web assistant this time not annoying! Wow!

In reality, it’s probably the minority of internet users that use RSS readers. And if you’re not using one, you’re probably spending way more time reading a lot less than the rest. If you fall into this category, here is an article that could convince you to use one:5 Reasons Why RSS Readers Still Rock!

the fairy tales hut

wallflower — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:34:45 +0000

The bell rings. The red curtain lifts…once upon a time there was a hut somewhere in the land of Poland. Abandoned, with only a couple of crows living there, the hut was slowly loosing its initial glow. But suddenly some people came and saw its fading beauty, picked it up and brought it to the land of Germany, in Berlin. So it found its place in a beautiful little park, called Monbijou Park, along the river Spree. Slowly, the hut came back to life and started to tell fairy tales to people. Yes, fairy tales!

So if you visit Märchen Hütte, on its name (trad. Fairy Tale Hut), it will make you feel its story and its charm. In our days, the fairy tales are told for adults sitting around at wooden tables, drinking mulled wine and eating delicious soups or cakes at candlelight. The actors are there in the front but so close that you feel like you are part of the play. And when you look outside the window with the lace curtain you can see the snow easily falling down, covering the big trees, sucking you away from the city life.

Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, or Snow White are just a few of the tens of tales adapted for adults that one can see every single day of the week. Thursdays is gay’s special evening called Pink Grimm when all the tales’ characters are played by men. Sure, we shouldn‘t forget that we are still in Berlin!

Then it gets late and you go through the gate of fairy tales back to your land into the drizzly Berlin winter, taking something with you…a sigh, a memory, a smile … because they lived happily ever after.

bicycle designs

wallflower — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:51:27 +0000

2010 is definitely the year of the bicycle. It is not only a means of movement but a totally cool one (the Earth is thankful for this!) and an icon of fashion. People are no longer thought as poor when driving a bicycle but cool, conscious and responsible. Even Bucharest has official roads for bicycles though riding one here means risking your life a bit (because of crazy car drivers).

I attended Bread&Butter Berlin this January and besides chaotic fashion, which honestly I don’t find disturbing, knitted designs and the cool way of displaying fabrics in a deserted airport (Tempelhof), bicycles were in the spotlight! Many brands start adding a bicycle to their collections as an accessory. And as knitting is so in fashion now we will soon start to dress not only ourselves but also our bicycles. Tell me you didn’t already think of a nice hoodie for your bike, ha?

Monocle, my very favorite magazine, has an interesting video on designer bikes where bicycles are portrayed not only as objects but as story tellers: ‘bicycles need to be an expression of who we are, beauty and simplicity being required’.

III

Velorbis has everything a girl ever wished for in a bike. Take a look at this ‘red and cream dream ladies bicycle, Velorbis Dannebrog‘, how they call it. Gents, you are not out of this talk: the Scrap Deluxe Gents will drive you crazy. And for the additional wood basket fans there’s the wood carrier crate, ‘so practical and easy to fit with its convenient quick fastening system – it’s perfect for bicycle connoisseurs who appreciate luxurious design and want to ensure that their ‘precious cargo’ is transported safely from A to B in style‘.

So, people, bicycle is a must have this spring!

meet Alma

wallflower — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:24:00 +0000

When it comes to animated movies, Nemo is for me the one and only. Meaning, since then, I am waiting for something to outrun it. In the meantime I ran into a couple of great short animated amongst which Alma will immediately turn on your senses. Freaky but also sweet, the short tells the story of a young girl who becomes intrigued by the contents of a mysterious toy shop.

It is finally available online after being well kept by Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas. Blaas took time off to make his directorial debut with this animated short film titled Alma. Originally from Spain, he has worked in animation for more than ten years, and was able to collect some of the best artists in the field to be part of his independent project: French animator Bolhem Bouchiba, character designer Carlos Grangel and Sergio Pablos, ArtDirector Alfonso Blaas, music composer Mastretta and sound designer Tom Myers.

Alma has been nominated for the Goya Awards in the category of Best Animation Shortfilm, the highest award for filmmakers in Spain. Watch the film embeded!

who is Alexandrina?

wallflower — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:33:06 +0000

The Romanian musical scene took off. And hopefully there is now a chance to let go of O-Zone with Dragostea din tei that created an international madness and start being associated with what I like to call good music. Could it be soul, jazz, funk, chillout, electropop, alternative? Why not? It already has a name: Alexandrina Hristov. She is a musician, a painter and a poet. Coming from Moldavia, she graduated the Academy of Music and Plastic Arts in Chisinau and in 2005 she had one of the leading roles in the movie “Trois femmes de Moldavie”, directed by Paul Cuzuioc. Some of her songs are part of the soundtrack of the movie. After this, she moved to Romania where she started her first concerts and recently exhibited her paintings in Bucharest at Cărturesti, under the name of “La femme qui t’aime”.

Afina/Blueberry

Petale de cires sau aripioare secrete/Cherry wings or secret little wings

Dor sau aripioare negre/Missing you or black wings

Nor alb nor negru/White cloud black cloud

Pasarea Mihaelei/Michaela’s bird

I guess you agree with me when I say that you know special & talented people because they somehow pop in your eyes and instantly charm you. Seeing her paintings and hearing her voice made me think she is one of a kind. Be charmed and spread the word!