Another genius Youtube video remix – this time for Wiley’s Wearing my Rolex.
Love it.
[ thanks to my mate Edd for pointing this out! ]
Archives - May 2008
Asimo conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Honda’s ASIMO is one of my bestest most favouritest things EVER (although thing seems too cold for something as humanoid as ASIMO)
The technology and the sheer human touches in the creation of ASIMO never cease to amaze me, I just think it / he is incredible, and utterly and completely delightful.
So it was even more utterly and completely delightful to see this video of ASIMO conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) – including world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma – in ‘Impossible Dream’
Now, I completely and utterly love ASIMO for being a phenomenal feat of technological engineering, with such amazing humanoid touches, but it’s also a fantastic example of Honda carving access into otherwise totally unexpected or unrelated spaces and areas, and building powerful brand associations in doing so.
This performance wasn’t just a one-off PR stunt though. Honda donated $1 million to the DSO to establish the ‘The Power of Dreams Music Education Fund’ as part of a 5-year partnership to promote and support music education for children – for whom musical education would otherwise be totally out of reach, due to lack of funding.
It’s great to see a brand idea actually being put fully into practice rather than just an ethereal strapline for an ad campaign…..and even better when it involves robots!
[via engadget]
People You May Know
Slightly alarming friend suggestion appeared as part of the ‘people you may know’ feature on Facebook…
Product 2.0…Olinda, the social radio
Schulze & Webb (declaration of interest – Matt Webb is a mate) have launched Olinda, a social radio
Olinda is a prototype digital radio that has your social network built in, showing you the stations your friends are listening to. It’s customisable with modular hardware, and aims to provoke discussion on the future and design of radios for the home.
Social Networks in Physical Products
Six lights on Olinda show when a close friend is listening to the radio, using wifi and Radio Pop, the BBC’s website for sharing ‘now playing’ information. Each light is a button: you can tune in to listen along with them, discovering new stations via your social network.Consumer Electronics learning from the web
On the Web, users are in charge of customising and adapting their experience … Olinda attempts to learn from this. Its hardware interface already joins the base unit with the friends module. By buying extra modules – or by making their own using the open interface – listeners can adapt their product over time, perhaps adding a remote control or recording
So bloody clever, yet so beautifully simple, and elegant. We’re increasingly seek greater integration of our offline lives with our online lives and social networks, and to be able to extend and customise our applications, services and products as we choose. So Jack & Matt have looked to embrace the online experience & marry this with a physical product.
It’s a cracking example of how everyday appliances could become fully networked, social appliances – with open APIs and modular design encouraging further modification and innovation. How long before this becomes the norm, and it’s an integral part of our standard repertoire of consumer electronics….perhaps where iPod becomes We-Pod?
