Friday fun for June 8, 2007

Something a little different this week. Since I've been working pretty well non-stop for awhile, I haven't spent much time researching (or noodling, as some call it) around the web. But a few things in the past week caught my eye and I thought that pointing you to them would be worthwhile.

But they're not just fun stuff. They are also (for me) sort of work-related, since I'm in the business of helping companies tell their stories to the right audience. And these clips show some imaginative way of tapping into the multimedia capabilities of the Internet to let companies tell their stories in unique ways. And of course, in the process, they just might move a little product, too.

Welcome to Picturetown

First up is a campaign from Nikon for their new Nikon D40 camera.

I received an email the other day from Nikon, since I'm on their mailing list. I recently had to send my camera in for repair and I told them I'd be interested in getting on their mailing list. So I got one inviting me to visit PictureTown, USA.

When I clicked on the link, I was taken to a website that explained that Nikon had given 200 of these new cameras to the residents of Georgetown, South Carolina and told them to go ahead and use them. Then they gathered up the results and the stories and turned the whole thing into a really interesting website.

You'll find a lot of good pictures, displayed with a nice eye for design. The flash-based site works well and shows off the power of this medium. It's also a great way to show the capabilities of the new camera.

Here's the link.

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft has a reputation for always playing catch-up when it comes to new, cool technologies (e.g. the Zune). But last week, they announced their new Surface computer technology. It's basically a big touch screen that lets you manipulate things with your hands and fingers, instead of a keyboard and mouse.

To accompany the announcement, the company put together some interesting videos to show it off. They're very good. But what is really great about this stuff is to let your mind wander and imagine what it will be like to actually own and use one. It's so Minority Report'ish. I love it.

Here's the link

It's almost here...

Finally, the moment that a lot of people have been looking forward to is almost here. The Iphone will go on sale in the US on June 29. When it will appear in Canada is not clear, but there's a rumour that Rogers will be selling it on the same day here too! I hope so.

Of course, given the price that people are talking about (around $500-600 US with a 2-year contract), I doubt that I'll actually be buying one. But it will be fun to see how the whole thing turns out, given the hype of the last few months.

In the meantime, there's some great new ads up on the Apple website that demonstrate some of the features of this new critter. And while some of the features are also available on other phones, I don't think anyone else has brought the whole feature set together quite like Apple looks like it's done. They're worth a look, just to keep the drool-quotient right up there.

Here's the link

As always, enjoy.

Technorati Tags:
Friday fun, Apple, Nikon D40, Microsoft Surface