1. A Digg for YouTube comments

   Something that just came after the inspired comment regarding Arcade Fire’s music:

   I never knew that I, as a woman, was capable of erections until I starting listening to Arcade Fire

2. Paper.li for Facebook

   A newspaper with the most important links shared by your Facebook friends. Oh, you can find me on Paper.li/armandoalves.

3. Cereals with QR codes/AR markers

   Not the box, but the diamonds. As in “augmented Golden Grahams”.
   At least you’d have an excuse to play with cereals in the morning, not just staring at the box.
   
   Besides, we have already chocolate QR codes.

Not only is “The Suburbs” their most mature album to date, but they keep pushing the limits on their relationship with new media. Their latest has a digital edition with lyrics embedded on album art, with links to extended info.

And now, this. An HTML5+Google Maps experiment for Google Chrome, playing “We Used to Wait” as a soundtrack to your hometown.

As Régine sings, “quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock”. Just go ahead and watch it.

Source: Google Blog

In a worrisome pattern for Facebook the usual backlash followed, again regarding privacy concerns. This time they got it half-right, by sharing location check-ins only to friends (and not everyone), but the big concern seems to be about the tagging. Facebook Places lets your tag you by default, but doesn’t offer any opt-in. Why is this troublesome? Let me give you an example:

- You go out with a few friends for a boys night out
- Your girlfriend stays at home, finishing some late report
- One of your friends checks-in at the restaurant. Your girlfriend likes the status on Facebook.
- After a few drinks at the bar/restaurant, one of your friends decides to check-in at the strip bar next door, even if you’re all heading home.

Well, good luck giving a reasonable explanation to your girlfriend. Even if you can remove the tag later, the harm is done.

Yes, i know they could do the same on Twitter, but there’s a big difference: On Facebook, your status becomes instantly visible, while on Twitter one has to perform a direct search, which requires a lot more effort (aka stalking). Furthermore, you might not be pleased at all to know there’s no full opt-out feature from Places.

As weird as it seems, Facebook could use some lessons from Orkut, who rightfully asks: ”You’re not always the same person. Why should it be any different on the Web”, something already explored by Paul Adams at Google.

We surely need to solve the filter failure problem.

The geyser at Paço de Arcos was transformed into an installation in the shape of a bottle of Schweppes. Black Milk Media was the media agency responsible for activating this project that not only will advertise the brand Schweppes but will allow for maintenance and cleanup of the geyser for 12 months, in partnership with Câmara Municipal de Oeiras and Parish of Paço de Arcos. This process took about 10 hours and envolved a transport truck and a helicopter to move the installation of 500 kilos.

Source: Invisible Red

BBC Dimensions “takes important places, events and things, and overlays them onto a map of where you are”. The prototype frames our view of the world and events according to our neighborhood perspective, an effective tool to inform audiences that are usually dettached from the scale of events taking place elsewhere.

From the Apollo 11 moon landing on your block to the ancient Colossus of Rhodes, there’s plenty new perspectives to explore.

Source: Berg London

From the writings of Umair Haque at HBR on Betterness and the value of Social Enterprise to shift on marketing budgets like the recent Pepsi Refresh Project (that is now commiting additional funds to the Gulf), it feels as if the financial crisis brought a renewed interest in corporate responsalibility and ethics in business.

One of the most remarkable examples of this trend is the joint project between Levi’s and the burrough of Braddock, Pennsylvania. You can get acquainted with the town’s hardship by watching Mayor John Fetterman on the talk below at PopTech, where he shares the story of a city with not much hope a few years ago.

Levi’s and ad agency Wieden Kennedy also became a part of this tale of city reinvention, when creating their campaign Levi’s Ready To Work, built around the spirit and hope of Braddock.

The TV, Outdoor and Print materials are much more than meets the eye; all the people you see in it are residents of Braddock.

You can discover the stories behind the communities inspiring the rebirth of the town on the YouTube channel, and almost feel the spirit of pioneers so dear to the brand. Even if i’m not sure how much Levi’$ is committed on helping Braddock, it’s a shame the channel doesn’t get more reach.

More about the reinvention of Braddock on David Streitfeld’s article on the NYTimes, last February. Hint: good journalism is usually a great source of inspiration for relevant marketing campaigns.

On a related note, fill in the blanks on Bogusky’s interview where he tries to get his genuine voice back.

1. Which product are you?
Facebook app, to be explored by retail brands of FMCG like Unilever, P&G or PepsiCo, with their huge portfolios. Yes it sounds silly and pointless, but that’s the nature of most Facebook apps. But something tells me that this would resonate well, if it’s properly produced.

2. #ManOfTheMatch
For TV channels, a chance to let Twitter followers to select their man of the match instead of the usual website poll. With a special sponsored landing page with live results.

3. Tag Me in a Concert
A good idea for summer festivals, a website application that allows you to tag yourself the day after a concert. With Facebook Connect to jazz things up and note tagging like Flickr. I just wonder if it would be relevant to do it in real time.

During several stages, Josh, a fan chosen by APB’s online community, will subject himself to a extreme makeover: hair style, piercings, tattoos, and clothing, just as it would happen with the in-game avatar personalization tool.

With 3 stages left, the piercing episode was pretty hardcore but i’m curious about the tattoo :) . Oh, and you can follow Josh’s hardships @human_avatar or check the pictures on Twitter.

I’m not much into games (time is precious) but as far as marketing is concerned, this does level up. Or are reality shows venturing into videogames?