Nurturing the needs of geek advancement, 2 great projects have shown up recently in Portugal where technology and creativity meet, with huge doses of experimentation.

AltLab

Taking the work of AudienciaZero and bringing it to Lisbon, the collective explores alternative media and physical computing every Tuesday, from 19h to 24h, at Geraldine.

Diodo

A new organization promoting the learning, research and experimentation of digital technologies, bringing together a diverse community on a open environment, exploring connections between art, technology and society.

Both projects take a local approach of the community work by MakeMagazine or CreateDigitalMusic, by Peter Kirn. So don’t be shy and join the Portuguese hackers.

Yes, you got that right. An iPhone + screensaver + desktop app so you can have your “siesta” and wake with the sounds of a rooster.

Enjoying the warm countryside and a live stream of a rooster. Wait, what ? Just interact with the video above, and watch for yourself.

Branded applications are one of the more valid solutions for brands to be a part of consumer’s lives without resorting to commercial interruptions. This campaign for Cerveceria Del Pacifico by Perfect Fools isn’t goodies only, as they support the campaign with original content, blogging at “Claudio And I” the experience of a Mexican rooster farmer.

Source: Perfect Fools

In the past few days i’ve been browsing through most of the entries at the One Show and Webby Awards. Maybe one day this blog will have his own “Inspiration Awards” but until then, here’s an extensive selection of my favorite nominations:

Digital Content & New Media

• R/GA’s digital signage project for Club Nokia
  
  
• Yep, iPhone was really huge in 2008. Here’s one app for A4 Driving Challenge (appstore link), developed by Factory Labs.
  
• Another landmark in digital marketing for CP+B, with the Whooper Sacrifice Facebook app.
  
• I’m a sucker for Branded Applications. Here’s ‘Find It‘ developed by Dare Digital for Sony Ericsson, right on time for the next Summer festivals. So, where’s my tent?
  
• A website about design being nominated for a Webby Award on best copy/writing is no small achievement. Design Observer has my vote.
  
• I had to mention an ARG, with a subtle but effective sponsoring by McDonalds of ‘The Lost Ring‘, developed by AKQA.
  
• The Best Job In The World. This one’s a winner. By CumminsNitro Brisbane for Tourism Queensland.
  

INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING

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Having read Flow recently and watching Stuart Brown at TED, it’s no wonder my recent focus on interactive experiences that involve play, and how digital communication uses gaming metaphors. And even if my PC/videogame marathons are now long gone, i try to stay alert for new stuff that uses the web as gaming platform, stumbling upon great stuff like iProphesy.net.

The web based MMO playing game, created by The Secret Location and the playful folks at Phantom Compass, is based on Vision’s TV documentary “Iprophesy” , extending the show to the web, with players creating customizable 3D characters, that can talk with other players, and travel between 13 different environments, each reflecting an episode from the TV show on Vision TV.

It’s the next evolution of online forums, with posts available as external RSS feeds, with collaboration and chat amongst players. By exploring the multiple worlds and answering challenges, each player earns point with winners awarded on the TV show. With TV feeling the pressure from online media, it goes with the saying: “If you can’t beat them, join them”.

It’s nonetheless remarkable how long have we progressed these past few years, with the rise of broadband and better browsers allowing experiences that were once reserved to desktop or console games.

On the week that Champions League is back, some new work by W+K London and AKQA for Nike with Show Your 5, with Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole captured on CCTV along with local footballers.

Besides the TV ad (above), the website has a lot more footage,  where the young kids show their ball skills to the football stars. If you register on the website, you get a chance to take part in more than 200 tournaments over an 8 week period, on your way to the big final on the 10th May in London.

The celebration of processes and stories is one of the big steps towards recognition of the creative technologist in our society. Following the discovery of a blog about Interactive Producers the past weekend at iPro, it was nice to found out about the redesign of This Happened, on a twip (? a twitter tip) by Brendan Dawes.

The event website, focuses on the stories behind interaction design projects, their concepts and the production process behind many interaction design and digital companies.
Forthcoming events on the 23rd Feb 2009 at Utrecht and on the 12th Mar in London, but you can also watch past talks online and follow them on twitter.

Founded on 2007 by Chris O’Shea, Joel Gethin Lewis and Andreas Müller, it has now over 20 past talks, from United Visual Artists to the co-founder of the Arduino Project.

One of the greatest assets of rich media is the possibility of using input devices besides the mouse. Since Flash Player 6, the plugin has been supporting the Camera and Microphone classes, allowing users to have a new set of experiences.
Even if some computers aren’t bundled with webcams or some people just hate standing in front of one, microphones aren’t so intrusive, and it’s worth considering them as a great asset when creating interactive experiences for the browser.

So why don’t you put your mouth where the fun is:

Unleashing the roar with Lynx (aka Axe)

ZeFrank’s audio toys

Voice Draw

Meditation Flowers

Neave.com audio playground

Bouncing Balls

Dandelion

Teast Your Breath

Sound Sculpture by Pill & Pillow

Kettle the pot

Last year’s spooky work for Doritos by Goodby with Hotel 626

Detective Stripes is a hot-site announced this week by Grupo W for Rexona. The interactive plot revolves around a Shaft-like detective whose deodorant leaves no stripes on his impeccable black turtleneck.

Dani Granatta told me last year he was working on a super secret big project, and i was quite curious to find out about it (altough i suspected it would be for Rexona, based on the teasers).

The result is linear storytelling experience, with high quality production work. I always loved when digital agencies gives a behind the scenes look on their work, and Grupo W posted the whole making-of, turning the project a lot more interesting. If you don’t have the time to read the whole thing, let me shorten that for you:

• Real life, photographed storyboard plates
• 10 days of intense shooting on Mexico city, teaming with Distrito Films
• A “TakaTakaTan” beat along with an original song for the website soundtrack
• Lots of green screen shooting, superimposed later on 3D
• Huge doses of color correction and post production art-direction
• Amongst other goodies, a Detective Stripes papertoy !

More pictures on Flickr.

Congratulations, Dani & W team!

For some a nightmare, but for those who practice it with craftsmanship it’s one of the most exquisite forms of online creativity. Meet the preloaders. Not the annoying ones, but rather these ones: Pretty Loaded.

The archive was launched by BigSpaceship, as a tribute to a vanishing art form amid a constantly changing digital landscape..

If you haven’t still visited it after my retweet yesterday, feast your eyes with some of the most elaborate preloaders from Big Spaceship and friends.