Whether or not you like the musical stylings of avant-garde Icelandic singer, Bjork, you can’t deny that her latest effort, Biophilia, released with a corresponding series of iPad apps meant to enrich the listening experience, isn’t a clever idea – much less something that could be considered an industry changer. The app claims to allow you to experience how nature, music and technology come together.
Biophilia, released Tuesday, has iPad apps that accompany each track to immerse listeners in an interactive experience – letting them play along on digital instruments, for example, or chart out visual representations of a song. With CD sales plummeting, could this experimental iPad album change the way people listen to music and save the industry – or is it just a silly gimmick?
I know that I, personally, over the years have moved from having to own the actual album to just buying the music I want online via iTunes. My husband, on the other hand, cannot fathom not owning the actual music – holding the jewel case in his hands, looking at the album art – he needs and wants something tangible to go along with his favorite tunes. His kind though is a dying breed, and artists who take their music in this new, interactive direction, may be tapping into converting their CD buyers into ones who will now appreciate the music with this new interactive, digital album art.
Say what you will about the music, but nothing has come close to the way Biophilia re-imagined the album as something functional. It makes the static cardboard album art, whose loss has been so bemoaned over the years, look like, well, cardboard.
What say you? Do you think this kind of interactive album will revolutionize the music industry and catch on as the new thing? Have you purchased the album and the apps and, if so, what do you think?
What’s that, you say? You haven’t caved just yet? You haven’t indulged in the latest change to be cast upon your beloved Facebook account?
Well, once you do — or at least once the almighty one, himself, enforces said profile change — it’s no doubt that we’ll all have to adjust a bit to the new Facebook Timeline feature that launched the other week at the #F8 conference. Among some of the features packaged into Facebook Timeline, are the following:
Wider user interface — Similar to that of WordPress or Tumblr
More visual components, including ability to view posts, photos, etc as they’ve happened in time — Think virtual scrapbook
Ability to revisit older posts & add to them to fill in blanks — Share more about the memories that make you most nostalgic
Ability to add social apps to your profile (i.e. Spotify, Foodily, etc.)— A bevy of apps from media, gaming, lifestyle, & more (and all easy to access/ update in one location!)
Summaries & categorized activity — Likes, Edits, Friendships, Music playlists, & more (At end of each month)
Cover photo + profile picture — Can you say deeper self-expression?
Sounds pretty cool, right? … No?
Well, some may disagree with you as they embrace the ability to tell their story. Just as the last profile change crept in though, Facebook has at least allowed for an opt-in period, giving users ample time to navigate & address any important questions/ concerns about the new interface. So, while you may not have been one of the tech/ social media junkies to jump on the bandwagon before it took off — setting up the early developer version & publishing their Timelines — you still have time to get your bearings, adjust, and all-in-all warm up to the idea of Facebook Timeline.
(Personal feelings aside) Check out the images below for how some users are getting creative with their profile presentation.
“Awesome. And I can’t believe I’m typing that about anything to do with Coca Cola!” – This was one of the responses we got when our client, Marvin’s Organic Gardens, posted the below news story on their Facebook wall. The internet is buzzing about what the cola giant has created, so what’s the excitement all about?
Coca-Cola and the World Wildlife Federation unveiled the first ever living billboard in the Philippines last week — a stunning display meant to represent the long-standing partnership between the two organizations.
The 60-foot x 60-foot billboard features thousands of Fukien tea plants, with each absorbing an average of 13 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. “This billboard helps alleviate air pollution within its proximate areas as it can absorb a total of 46,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, on estimate,” says botanist Anthony Gao.
In another creative nod, Coca-Cola created the pots for the plants using recycled bottles from various products in its portfolio. A potting mixture made up of a combination of industrial byproducts and organic fertilizers — a formulation that is stable and lightweight — was then added. A gravity-fed drip irrigation system helps deliver water and nutrients.”
In our office, there is a daily conversation about how we haven’t packed lunch because none of us have had time to go to the grocery lately. So when we heard about what Tesco has started doing in South Korea, boy were we jealous.
Tesco has installed wall-length billboards in subway stations featuring realistic images of essential supermarket supplies. Those who are waiting for the subway can use their smartphone to take pictures of each item’s QR code, place their order and have their Tesco items delivered to their door shortly after they get home. What an amazing way to use your time more efficiently, while also saving yourself a trip to the supermarket.
To us, this sounds like the perfect idea for NYC. Wonder when we will see it happen….
I recently came upon a great set of statistics about the media that mothers of different generations consume while preparing meals:
Millennial Mothers (ages 18-32) are most likely to consume print media and mobile media
Gen X Mothers (ages 33-46) are most likely to consume television, the Internet, e-mail and mobile
Boomer Mothers (ages 47 to 64) are most likely to consume television
Keeping that in mind, have you seen the new Samsung refrigerator that has a WiFi enabled LCD screen, that comes preloaded with app like Picasa, WeatherBug, Pandora and Twitter? The description for the fridge is as follows:
“Keep your kitchen and family organized with special apps made for your refrigerator. Leave notes for your loved ones. Display photos from your Picasa library, mobile phone or SD card. Stay up to date with all your family activities with Google Calendar. Access hundreds of recipes from Epicurious. Plus, get the latest weather and news via Weather Bug and Associated Press. All through Samsung’s brilliant, WiFi-enabled 8″ LCD screen.”
Smart appliances like this could soon be the norm and greatly affect the media that moms interact with while cooking. It could also open up a new ad medium for advertisers and app developers. Although, I am very certain that moms will NOT be open to blatant advertising being fed through to their refrigerator’s tablet. Opt-in content and privacy will be key to these women, as they have brought technology into the heart of their home: the kitchen.
How would this new technology affect the current media consumption that mom’s reported while cooking? Here are my best guesses as to the best and worst feature of the Samsung’s technology for each mom demographic:
Millennial Moms
Pro – The Epicurious app, or other recipe apps similar to it, would be a great addition for younger mothers who are continuously trying to add new recipes into their repertoire or have to find a recipe to please a picky eater.
Con – These younger mom’s young children might be a little too fascinated by the bells-and-whistles of the fridge. I can only imagine a mom trying to prepare a meal, handing pots of boiling water and retrieving ingredients from the fridge, all while their child is standing directly in front of the fridge, trying to watch a Sponge Bob video on the tablet’s screen.
Gen X Moms – This group currently consumes the most media types while preparing meals
Pro –These multi-tasking mommas are already using four types of media! If I had to choose one that they would benefit most from, it would have to be the Google Calendar. With their kids’ calendars full of extracurricular activities, this will help keep everybody on time and get them to the right place!
Con – These women might have so much going on that the majority of the features on the tablet might not be used. They could potentially transfer some of their internet and e-mail activity to the tablet but with an 8” screen, no mouse or keyboard, it’s doubtful.
Boomer Moms – The minimalist
Pro – I thinkthePicasa or SD card photos will be a big hit among this age group of moms, especially if the Picasa galleries receive additions from family members so mom (and maybe even Grandma at this point) can stay up-to-date with pictures of their family
Con – The tablet will never be able to replace watching a television programon a television for this group. With an 8” screen, moms will continue to watch their programing the way that they currently are.
So – what do you think? At over $2K, is this something you see yourself and your family investing in? How do you think you would use it best?
