This week my theme in all my writing is “the next big thing”. I write tongue in cheek this week because everyone always asks me what is “the next big thing” and in my Mediapost column I responded that the next big thing is nothing big, it’s just a series of little things which continue to evolve. That being said, this edition of the Digital Influential’s Round Up is all about finding the next “cool” things.
It can be hard to identify the next cool thing because being cool is very much a subjective concept. Remember The Fonz (Happy Days for all you young folks)? He was cool, apparently. I think marketing is pretty cool, does that count? Cool is subjective, so for this week I spent some time trying to uncover what I thought was new and “cool”. Let’s see what you think!
Are you constantly searching for a cool way to do a presentation? If so, check out PREZI (http://prezi.com/). Prezi provides a tool for creating “zoom in” presentations. They’re a flash based version of a map-like model for creating presentations and you can drill down into specific areas for detail. Web-based and pretty easy to use, it’s another way of creating a new presentation interface. Oh, and don’t worry that most of the examples are in Italian.
I know that Twitter is apparently cool and is growing by leaps and bounds every day, but if you were wondering what you can do to better understand Twitter and the impact it has, check out TWITTERATR (http://twitrratr.com/). This simple interface gives you a quick snapshot of the positive and negative sentiment around your query through the Twitter-verse. Most brands pay thousands of dollars for this kind of real-world focus group info, but here it’s yours for free and delivered in seconds.
I did mention that I think marketing is cool, so I have to point your attention to Joe Jaffe’s newest incarnation, JAFFE JUICE TV (http://www.jaffejuice.com/jaffejuicetv/). Joe is a friend and is consistently a thought leader in marketing, so I like to see what he says. It’s also a great way to stay on top of what’s cool in fashion by seeing what shirt Joe has on that day, and he’s a snappy dresser!
Watching TV online can be a very solo experience, but CBS recently started using a tool called ClipSync to create engaging, interactive experiences in their CBS SOCIAL-ROOM (http://www.cbs.com/socialroom/). I do need to disclose that I have done some work with ClipSync, but I also need to disclose that they create some cool features for social engagement around video. I think it’s cool that I get to work with such cool companies. Now, that’s cool! What CBS is unique, too – I have been a fan of their interactive efforts for many years and they continue to push it forward.
On a personal note, I want to highlight what I think is one of the coolest Pearl Jam related sites online; THE SKY I SCRAPE (http://www.theskyiscrape.com/). If you’re a Pearl Jam fan, you already go there all the time for news, but if you’re just a casual fan, you may not know about it. Since I personally believe that Pearl Jam is cool, and its clear they are about to have a new album and tour, I thought I’d point out the site for your viewing pleasure!
And you know what else is cool? Any day now our little baby boy will be born! Now THAT’S cool!
As for iPhone apps: check out AWESOME BALL as a cool way to waste some time and check out YOWZA as another to save money and gather valuable coupons. In a time of economic recession, saving money is cool!
That’s it for this week!
Thanks!
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