Lost in Translation

Like every good American patriot, I am unnaturally intrigued by foreign toilets, so you can imagine my excitement and trepidation when I showed up to the Intercontinental Hotel in Tokyo where the toilet is akin to the Starship Enterprise. After 14 hours from Dulles with only the standard thrill of a toilet that sucks your waste out into the atmosphere to become a vile snow cone, I arrived to find a toilet that is as complicated as a Tivo. The thing has knobs and buttons and multiple seats. There are four solid paragraphs of instructions in Japanese printed under the toilet seat. I later learned that one of the seats is heated and I will spare you the exact details, but you can imagine my surprise when my seat became a sudden and unexpected hot plate. Once you know that’s the case it is quite fanciful, but the virgin journey was kind of scary.

I yelped.

But that was only the beginning of my ill-fated and poorly thought-out experiment. You see, there is this button that says “bidet.” Now I am no novice and have been around bidets before, but they have always been a unit separate from the toilet itself – a kind of bizzaro toilet, like the toilet’s evil and sad twin adjacent the vessel to which I was accustomed. But here, it appeared to be all one machine and I was naturally curious, so I couldn’t resist opening the lid and pushing the button. But nothing happened. So I pushed it again. Still nothing. And then I realized that the back of the toilet seat had a little dark eye, a motion sensor of some kind. Smart guy that I am, I held one hand in front of the sensor and pushed the bidet button again with the other. This time there was action. I watched with morbid fascination as a small tube extended from the back of the bowl underneath the seat. So slowly did it creep that it reminded me of the little mouth that comes out of the big mouth of the giant ferocious creature that taunts Sigourney Weaver in Alien. It crept out further and further towards the center of the bowl as if to fulfill some noble yet disgusting burden and at the very last second I realized the extreme folly of my ways. I dodged to the left as a surprisingly forceful jet of water shot out of the tube, arcing across the bathroom, out the open door, hosing the wall outside in the foyer of my room some eight feet away. My stunned but intact wits compelled me to lunge for the giant button labeled “stop” on the toilet’s master console and I ceased the torrent, but I was left to clean up the watery mess, exhilarated and ashamed.

What a rush.

I promise you that I will never ever EVER push the button that says “shower” on the toilet controls. God knows what that would do.

Kampai from Tokyo,

Ben

chose the stairs

can we get more people to chose the stairs by making it fun to do?

Working by candlelight

The office is working with tealights on their desk - because everyone looks better by candlelight....

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

"Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.

Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds)."

Sniff from karolina sobecka on Vimeo.

amazing:
SNIFF: public interactive projection
*project by Karolina Sobecka with software design by Jim George

As you walk down the street you are approached by a dog. He is on his guard trying to discern your intentions. He will follow you and interpret your gestures as friendly or aggressive. He will try to engage you in a relationship and get you to pay attention to him.
Sniff is an interactive projection in a storefront window. As the viewer walks by the projection, her movements and gestures are tracked by a computer vision system. A CG dog dynamically responds to these gestures and changes his behavior based on the state of engagement with the viewer.

Sniff, simulating the visceral satisfaction of reality’s responsiveness and dynamism, is also an exploration of engagement of two different planes of understanding, and of relationships created by body’s presence in an environment. The experience is very familiar yet strange, leading us to re-examine notions we take for granted. Dog’s behavior externalizes the process of assessment, evaluation and testing we perform every time anything new enters in the scope of our experience. Sniff has us unwittingly enter into an exchange simply by following the basic instinct of stopping and looking at something that is paying attention to us. A tension is produced by a mixture of fears and expectations, curiosity and interest.

link

Halo

halo is a handy light-writing tool, preserving the techniques and gestures that graffiti artists use with spray cans. It is possible to change the color and the brightness of the led to change the graffiti’s styles. If the light doesn’t have enough battery, users simply have to shake it to have energy again.

from an amazing up and coming conceptual designer: Aissalogerot

Throw some D’s on that R

The Obama administration has set aside $150 billion over the next ten years for energy innovation.  This is, supposedly, to cover R&D (research and development), but also the next two D's that complete the cycle: demonstration and deployment.

As it turns out, however, R&D&D&D gets a little crowded.  Basic research, development and demonstration on energy technologies will have to compete with the third D, deployment.

There are two schools of thought on the subject.  One insists that the pledge has always appropriately included deployment. The other warns that while deployment of today's technologies is vital, if money for deployment is included in the $150 billion pie, that dangerously  reduces the amount of money for laboratories pursuing vital advances on photovoltaics or energy storage and for big tests of technologies that must be demonstrated at large scale — like capturing carbon dioxide from power plants.

Obama wishes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of 1990's levels by 2050.  To do this, says Dr. Burton Richter, the Nobel Laureate in Physics, more money, or an entirely different budget, should be set aside for these three D's.

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Debbie Downer on R&D: Counterargument

The Wall Street Journal published an article (summarized on the previous page) that claims R&D spending has maintained a priority for companies like GE and Microsoft, due to the mindset that spending now may help to push them out of the downturn later.

But some academic "heretics" beg to differ.

"There is zero correlation between how much you spend on R&D and your company's success," said William Duggan, a senior lecturer at Columbia Business School. On the contrary, Duggan claims that marketing and operations budgets are those that parallel business success.  

Still, in terms of R&D, Duggan believes that the "D" is more important than the "R." Research, he says, is "not where value starts. It's not the core of your company. It's not the goose that lays the golden egg. That's the misconception that people have." Duggan insists that research is only worthwhile when a person finds something of value, which is not guaranteed.  

Duggan suggests that companies shouldn't rush into spending their own valuable dollars chasing "government-backed stimulus dollars." Instead they should view the government as an emerging potential customer and remain focused on their own core business. He believes that now is not the time to gamble with new technologies in hopes to drive profits. "The idea that success comes from people sitting in a lab coming up with terrific ideas isn't the reality," said Mr. Duggan.

What a deb.


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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Rings of Defense Around R&D Spending

"Companies by and large realize that large reductions in R&D are suicidal," says Jim Andrew, a senior partner at the Boston Consulting Group. "It is the last shoe to drop."

Between 1999 and 2002 Apple boosted its R&D spending 42%. The result? The iPod and iTunes. It takes two or three years for R&D investments to pay off.

Layoffs, capital spending cuts, falling revenue. Companies faced with today's recession know that if they want to get out not only alive but on top they need to protect their R&D budget.

More companies that can't afford to increase their R&D expenditure are focusing on spending wisely. They're doing more with less by outsourcing R&D overseas.

The Battelle Memorial Institute predicts a cumulative 3% increase in R&D investment by companies, government, and universities. However, he also expects a decline in 2010.

By skimping out on advanced research between 2001 and 2003 GE hurt its lighting business. However, their $1.7 billion investment in commercial and military aircraft engines has been reeling in $20 million per GE90 engine. They've sold over 1,500 and counting. GE is also partnering with Japan's Honda Motor Co. to develop engines for business aircrafts even though that market has fallen.

IBM is investing in software to improve health-care record keeping and manage government computer systems. Its R&D spending has remained the same.

2008 R&D spending geographically (estimates by Booz & Co.):

7% China
4% North America
2% Japan
1% Europe

This lag will hurt the competitiveness of U.S. firms in the coming years.


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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Image of the day

I think I remember a friend of ours from Behance telling me that if an item
has been on my to-do list for more than two weeks- it's time to take it off
and reassess what is considered achievable to-dos.

Do things now, do them today.

Creativity in a Downturn

MasterCard recently hosted a webcast discussing various directions the company could take once the economy turns around. The presentation featured findings from an internal, international "task force," which has been gathering ideas for months from MasterCard employees at all levels around the world.
In the recent past, such a production would have been reserved for senior management. But the Webcast was open to all 5,500 employees, from interns up to its chief executive. The aim: to invite anyone with an idea for new products, services, or internal processes to speak up, and encourage staff members to "bring their best selves to work" during the downturn.
The mission is critical today as companies struggle to keep employees creative and motivated when job and budget cuts, declining revenue, and losses dominate the headlines.
At Walt Disney, senior VP Luis Fernandez encourages his staff to participate in similar knowledge sharing opportunities. "I'd be lying if I told you we didn't have budget cuts," he says. "But it is really about making sure we cut things that are not really encouraging the teams. We do not question the value of innovation, even in a recession. It's important now more than ever."
The smartest companies will continue with such brainstorming projects after the recession runs its course. "Even when the economy recovers, these practices are a good strategy," says Prasad Kaipa, a former Apple research fellow and now an innovation coach for such companies as Cisco, Ford, and PepsiCo. "That's because the more hope, vision, imagination employees experience, the more they feel they have the power and freedom to innovate."

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

A 20 Page Guide to 140 Characters

It took a fastidious government document spanning 20 pages to inform British government officials how to use Twitter, the microblogging tool with a limit of 140 characters.

The Twitter strategy was created by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as a guide to Twitter's importance and why government departments should tweet more, despite the risk of criticism of jumping on the bandwagon and pointless content.

The document presents a series of ideas on how to communicate better with the public, recommending that tweets should be human and credible.

The new guide proposes that officials should consider releasing "exclusive content" – such as insights from ministers, answering questions from voters and tweeting on ministers' whereabouts, provided it does not infringe on security.

One of the biggest problems will be to get the right tone – the informality of the service means that Twitter users might not like "dry" departmental tweets. He added that those running the Twitter feeds will have to put up varied links to other interesting information, rather than just web links to press releases.

"Generally, departments Twittering is a good thing because it allows them to build their own communities of interest and get their message out," said Tom Watson, a former British labor minister. "You give interesting links, you give informative knowledge, you give a flavor of what the departments are doing at the time and what the issues are, and frankly if the they don't give that, people unsubscribe from their link and they're not being very good Twitterers."

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Risky, Complex Innovation

At the most recent Community Affairs Research Conference in Washington, D.C. Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve warned us about the risks of innovation. Don't fear, he's not ruling it out all together: "innovation, at it's best, has been and will continue to be a tool for making our financial system more efficient and more inclusive."
 The three main sources of financial innovation are financial deregulation, public policies toward credit markets, and broader technological change. The deregulations that happened in the 1970's helped create the national banking networks. These networks allowed the development and marketing of new financial products to be more profitable because the costs of their innovation were distributed.
 From experience, we have seen that financial innovation can help bring in more consumers into the economic mainstream. By innovating the products, services, processes, and technology more consumers can save money, invest, build wealth, and buy homes. This effect is significant today because it can boost our troubled economy if handled correctly.
 However, somewhere along the way innovation went awry.
 Bernanke discussed two forms of consumer credit where innovation took a bad turn: mortgages and credit cards. In the mortgage markets, an automated underwriting system seemed like a good idea in the early 1990's. However, it spread risk more broadly because borrowers in the subprime market were given loans. Credit cards suffered from complexity and lack of transparency to the point where consumers were led to making wrong decisions and were sometimes victims of unfair and deceptive practices.
 To combat the chance that innovation will misfire, Bernanke suggested that "regulation should not prevent innovation, rather it should ensure that innovations are sufficiently transparent and understandable to allow consumer choice to drive good market outcomes."

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Motel 180?

When was the last time you spent the night at a Motel 6? You might shiver at the thought, recalling cluttered and cramped spaces complete with floral print bedspreads and clapboard furniture. Hey, that's what you get at a budget hotel, right? Not anymore.
As part of the chain's "Phoenix Project," Motel 6 executives turned to British design firm Priestman Goode, whose previous projects have included airplane cabins for Virgin Atlantic and cruise ship rooms for Norweigan Cruise Lines. Harnessing their success with small spaces in the past, the firm was able to completely transform Motel 6 spaces from cheesy and cramped to sleek lined and modern, all without breaking the bank.
Motel 6 is hoping to appeal to newly cash-conscious travelers.  According to the feedback they've received from customers thus far, they're well on their way.


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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Invent the Future

The top ten executives at Google respond to the question: "Where will the Internet take us in ten years?" The real question should be "Where will we take the Internet in ten years?" The really cool thing about the seemingly fantastical answers we're presented with is that some of them will actually come true within ten years, while others wont happen until after we're gone.
 Google leaders predict that in ten years the Internet will permeate our daily lives to the point where it will enable us to indulge in things such as web-based activated washing machines, consumer controlled content and advertising, and cell phones that will help us find lost personal items.
 Google's top execs have high hopes for reinventing the one thing that changed every aspect of our daily lives. Don't think they wont do it. They live by Alan Kay's quote: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
 If we want to create the future we have to think big, long term, and borderline unrealistic disruptive ideas. Remember watching black and white television with your family? Now you're using Skype to have a video conversation with a colleague on another continent.
 What if we took our imagination and created new mediums for art, media, working, and learning? Something along the lines of mass collaboration to paint something, produce a piece of music, or just have learning augmented into our brain?
 With time we will understand the web, software, and technology that we use less and less, but the level at which we will be able to interact with each other and go about our daily lives will be beyond our wildest dreams.

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Neato, Zeebo!

A global recession isn't the best time to launch a new gaming console.  Unit sales are expected to rise a mere 1.4% globally this year and then decline in 2010.  And the industry is dominated by a trio of monster powerhouses ready to squash any newcomer.  

Enter Zeebo.  Together with mobile-phone chipmaker Qualcomm and with the direction of Boston Consulting Group, startup Zeebo has found an abundance of demand in emerging markets for an affordable gaming console.  While the releases from the powerhouses are simply too expensive for these markets, Zeebo has found room for their product - a moderately priced (and less powerful) console that downloads video games over fast 3G cell-phone networks.  It also offers internet where broadband lines don't exist.

Zeebo is targeting a group that marketers dub the "next billion." These consumers live in developing nations, have rising incomes and modest savings, and together spend $1 trillion annually. This translates to 34 million of Brazil's 53 million households and 90 million Indian households in this nascent middle class. 

With declining market share, Qualcomm has discovered a path toward continued growth by applying their technology to other products such as Zeebo.  This is yet another example of a company with a problem finding solace in the arms of global emerging markets.  The question remains:  Who else can we talk to?

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Why We Can't Innovate

Where do disruptive business models come from?  Zipcar and CityCarShare have utterly disrupted the traditional car rental industry in the past few years.  As David Weir of BNet puts it, "rental car companies could have innovated car-sharing.  But they didn't."  And that is the point.  Most people employed within well-established industries do not have the imagination, nor the incentive, necessary to invent disruptive business models.  Thus, these come from outsiders.
Think about how the media industry as a whole has reacted to it multiple threats.  Craigslist, which has improved the classified advertising model - blamed for killing newspapers.  Google, which has improved the user's ability to find news - blamed for killing newspapers.  The Internet generally, which has vastly expanded people's access to news and information about everything imaginable - blamed for killing print media.
And now we come to Twitter, and the social media revolution that is transforming everything we've come to understand about networked, interactive media - dismissed as a fad.
The pattern here is defensive. There has been an almost total collective failure by mainstream media companies to recognize the threat, and therefore the potential, of disruptive technologies.  Three media executives gave their impressions:

"I'd suggest there is a long history of industries that have been disrupted by new technology and could have responded to the challenge earlier but did not.  There is I believe a simple reason why it's nearly impossible to disrupt yourself. It's akin to eating your own young."
     - Richard Gingras, CEO, Salon.com

"It's one thing for a big company (or an entire industry) to die out for lack of vision and innovation. What's worse is when the company or industry works to actively impede change/progress.  [See Music Industry and Internet].
     - Nick DiGiacomo, Co-Founder, Vanno

"You can see how the ways of success of one business model are held onto sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously in organizations that have been market leaders. Unless their leaders are ready to accept the possible complete destruction of the status quo, real innovation isn't possible."
     - Thomas White, Host, Business Matters


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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com

Chrome: Bomb or Noise?

Last week Google announced they will compete with Apple and Microsoft by releasing their own OS, Chrome.  Many congratulated Google on their "disruptive innovation."  But is it?

Clayton Christensen of Innosight coined the term "disruptive innovation" to describe an entrant that transforms what exists or create what didn't through simplicity, convenience, affordability, and accessibility.

Google's planned foothold in the netbook market fits the three characteristics common to high-potential disruptors:

1.  Google plans to start away from the market's mainstream.
2.  Chrome will intentionally sacrifice raw performance to give customers something simpler, more accessible, and more affordable.
3.  Google's business model is built around getting people on the Web and increase exposure to Google-powered advertisements - not selling its OS.

However, despite the hype about Google's innovation prowess, the company hasn't proven that it can build sustainable new growth businesses. More than 95% of its revenues come from its core search advertising model. Google is trying to fix this problem with a more disciplined approach to innovation. Chrome will be a crucial test of this approach.  There is also every reason to expect that Microsoft will fight fiercely for the netbook market.  Ideally, they would pay no attention and focus on more attractive opportunities.

So - will Chrome be disruptive?

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Brian Swann
VCU Brandcenter / Creative Brand Management / 804-690-7048
www.brandcenter.vcu.edu / swannbr@gmail.com