Project Methodology

I found this old picture in a folder on my desktop and it made me chuckle, its a classic and often used by digital professionals to talk to people, clients and colleagues to explain why project methodology is important and why documentation and boring things like technical and functional specification documents take time to produce and should be read.

Far too often in my career too much has been left open to interpretation and this often results in projects running a bit like this cartoon.

I hope I am not alone in struggling with process, we are always reviewing ours and evolving it but the irony being most agencies process is run on a basis the 3 stage process of KBS - Kick, Bollocks, Scramble - chuck as much resource at it as we need to get it done usually in the last two weeks of a project.

Too much process stiffle's creativity and leads to agencies thinking they can't do a website for less than £500k, not enough leads to a £20k website costing the agency £500k - its a conundrum that can only be solved by a good client:agency relationship run on trust not fear.

Wii to be used by the Pentagon for Battle Robots

I've put a couple of mad Wii hacks and inventions up here and now it looks like the next people to show interest in using the Wii for something it wasn't intended are the US Army

How to Make a Hover Board like in Back To The Future - well almost

Funny clip from the Gadget show. I want one.

What was the world doing online over Christmas

A nice post here showing some great graphs of activity online over Christmas from shopping to blogging etc.

Another Best of 2008 Viral/Guerilla/Stunt Video collection

Definitely come in use over the next year, as much as i hate lists sometimes they are useful.

Agency Christmas Cards

Another reference for next year here is a list and example of over 120+ Agency Christmas cards that were sent out this year.

List

Burger King - Whopper Virgins

This is pretty funny, the new BK film online Called Whopper Virgins but at the same time pretty awful.
BK scours the world in pursuit of "Whopper Virgins,"

Searching far and wide, villagers from Thailand, Romania that have never had a burger, that "don't even HAVE A WORD for 'burger'!" -- will they prefer the Whopper to the Big Mac? The ultimate taste test.

I absolutely loved Whopper Freakout, and BK has consistently been one of the most progressive thinking brands in terms of the use of online, interactive and digital formats, and using content as a currency to create experiences for people.

This however may be a step to far, I guess great work always divides an audience, so make up your own mind - it has a sort of Borat feel to it for me?

And now a List - Top 10 Viral Videos 2008

Just because I know I will need this later in the year when someone asks what were the most popular viral videos last year.

http://feedcompany.com/2008/12/feed-companys-top-10-viral-video-ads-of-2008/

Looking Forward at NY

This time of year its traditional to look back and see what has been the biggest selling single or most popular selling gadget etc. just turn on your tv or radio and it is all that appears to be on.

So why don't we spend more time looking forward? Well its more expensive to make tv programs that look forward, and there is a risk you might look stupid if what you say doesn't come to fruition, but on a personal note its also more effort, and we are all lazy.

Here is an amazing video on you tube looking at some stats for the near future, its quite good fun and very interesting and who cares if some are not exactly right but its enough to stop and make you think about tomorrow, or next year or the next 5 years.

Great Presentation

I love Seth as he talks total sense. More interestingly he has also developed the 'Brand of Seth Godin' and a way of presenting that is just right for him, a sort of 'geek chic' - but its a good presentation if you have 10 min to spare.




The talk itself is about influencing mass markets via a nucleus of empowered and connected consumers.

Good Business Practice

I saw the following on Seth Godin's Blog today it just makes total sense.

Two ways to deal with "no"

from *Seth's* Blog by Seth Godin

You could contact the organization that turned you down and explain that they had made a terrible mistake, the wrong choice and a grave error. You could criticize the vendor they actually selected, bring You could even question the judgment of the prospect and try to teach them to make better decisions in the future. And, while you're at it, challenge the fairness of the decision-making committee itself, and explain how a more fair process would have favored you at the same time it would have helped the organization that turned you down.

Or

You could be more gracious than if you'd won the work. You could send a thank you note for the time invested, you could sing the praises of the vendor chosen in your stead and you could congratulate the buyer, "based on the criteria you set out, it's clear that you made exactly the right choice for your organization right now." That doesn't mean the criteria were right, it just means that you're not attacking the person for being an impulsive lunatic. You could even outline what you learned from the process and what you'll be changing in the future. And you can make it clear that you're in it for more than just a sale, and you'll be around if they ever need you.

Couple questions:

1. Which one will make you more likely to be invited back, or to be the backup if the first choice fails?

and

2. Which one will increase your word of mouth at the same time it improves your organization's feeling about itself?

It's a no-brainer, I think. So how come the first is so common?

Charity 2.0 Innovation

It is always surprising why charities so not do more with interactive media and web 2.0 bandwagon - every day I run the gauntlet on Tottenham Court road of the Charity Muggers so its nice to see an intelligent approach by one charity - Save the Children UK.

They have created an new innovative, interactive web project, where you can explore the community of Kingsville in Liberia.

For the first time, people donating to The Sunday Times Christmas Appeal will be able to interact directly with the community of Kingsville. They’ll see films by television presenter Davina McCall’s, take a tour around the run-down clinic and school, and look inside a family home. There are also slideshows, 360 degree panoramic images, a discussion forum, and profile pages.

The website This is Kingsville will run alongside articles in The Sunday Times magazine from Sunday, 30 November.
Every week until Christmas, new films featuring Davina, photographs, slideshows and stories will be uploaded.

I Feel London

I really like this novel idea of a London destination guide, where you can select activities and locations, destinations etc by the mood you are looking for. I Feel London



The content is consumer generated with lots of other community bits on it but a nice intuitive idea. Have a play.