Lire, c’est partir un peu

The way most sites go about sharing via social media is cheap. They treat visitors like blank billboards. Billboards just waiting to republish a title and link to their content. These billboards “drive traffic” to the content, and raise more billboards to repeat the process. At least that’s what the marketing plan says will ideally happen. Just one question. At what stage does the actual person come in?

You Rarely Just “Do”

The genius of people is that they often react to what they experience. It takes a boring person to simply “Go to the beach”. The average person “Goes to the beach, and has a great time” or something similar. Notice the difference?

When you make something no one hates, no one loves it. – Tibor Kalman

Complacency should scare you. Reactions are part of how we communicate. Embrace this when adding a share option for your site. Facebook dabbles a bit in this idea by the binary option of “Liking” Facebook content. The problem with this on most person sites is that it leaves out a whole range of middle ground. The act of liking (or abstaining from) is not definitive. Does someone chose not to like a post because they had issue with it? Or just because they didn’t understand it? The absence of feedback in this case is ambiguous.

One of the features that our team was particularly proud of integrating a ways back was the Twitter feedback bar. You can see an example in use at the bottom of this post. Since including it on our theme, we almost instantly noticed a significant boost in tweets for posts. In contrast, options like “ShareThis” have reached a point on par with banner ads. At this rate, will we develop blindness to plug-n-play social media links too?

In the time since launching the original tutorial, a number of other sites have started to integrate options for meaningful reaction. This means that instead of just reading an article, you can now vote for tone and reaction. You can also see what other people think. Buzzfeed does more of the same.

But is it any good?

Don’t force people to become your billboards. Give them a platform to construct their own way of sharing your content, complete with a full range of reactions. We include negative options in the Twitter feedback bar available on post pages. Saving face is stupid if the result is publishing crap. Negative feedback is just as useful as the positive. Better to have someone tell you via tweet than by wondering where all the traffic went.

Traffic is a Byproduct

Don’t let your site fall into the trap of limited billboard response. It betrays the type of interaction dedicated fans will use. I don’t stop reading a blog if one of the articles sucks. Readership is rarely that fragile. Use the reactions to your advantage. These are the types of share actions that benefit in more than one way. First, the link is shown to more audience. Second, you receive meaningful feedback as to the quality of what was shared. Winning all around.

For your next project, give it a thought. You’ll see realistic responses, and get one step closer to substantial engagement rather than just unfeeling evangelism.

13 juin 2011. Je ne dois sans doute pas vous rappeler que ça fait juste un an qu’on a voté. Pour des prunes. Les bateleurs de la rue de la Loi sont vraiment nuls, la Belgique est malade de ses institutions et de ses particules, la démocratie ne va pas bien non plus. A Flagey, un Beulemans socialiste – ce qui par les temps qui courent doit vouloir dire « archi-conformiste » – a fait sortir les tuniques bleues pour déloger cinquante malheureux qui croyaient pouvoir faire en tout petit, sans déranger personne, ce que les Espagnols font en plus grand. Non, mais! C’est un panneau d’interdiction de camper ça, muchachos, c’est pas un sucette géante, comme dit si bien l’agent Longtarin que Zapatero nous envie.

Je n’ai pas envie d’en parler. Je réponds aux questions quand on m’interroge mais, pour l’instant, je n’ai rien de rien à dire de neuf sur la « situation politique », j’ai déjà tout dit. Sinon que plus ça va, moins je les supporte. J’attrape maintenant même des boutons, le dimanche midi, quand je les vois paraître, bien tartinés de fond teint par Maryse, en rangs d’oignons sur un écran de télé que j’éteins aussitôt pour reprendre une activité décente.

Ah, si. Une toute petite lueur d’espoir, une braise qui grésille encore. Je vais signer la pétition du G1000. On n’est pas tous morts. Pas encore.

PS (pour « post-scriptum »): Fabrice Grosfilley recommande sur son blog ce qu’il appelle « les trois livres de la crise », ceux de Marcel Sel, de Buxant et Samyn (que j’ai lu et que je peux vous recommander) et le mien. Il a raison de dire que si ça vous intéresse, il faut les lire tous les trois, nous sommes très différents les uns des autres et je suis pour la culture du débat..

« Marine Le Pen face à Isabelle Durant : les moments forts d’un affrontement télé inédit »

Here’s a project that caught my eye, created by Hampus Jageland when at Maud.

“Edgeboard are handmade chopping boards from the Northern Beaches in NSW that possess a special feature; an edge which you use to slide off the chopped food against. They use a natural anti-bacterial wood sourced form the Byron Shire.

“The identity is based on the board’s special feature, the edge, and the brand comes to life using the edge in any any application. A simple, structured logo is used in combination with textured and environmentally friendly stocks.”

Lovely.

About Hampus Jageland.
Hampus on Twitter.

Published on Logo Design Love

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Logos that tell a slightly different brand story.

More “honest logos” by Viktor Hertz over on DesignersCouch.

Via @BlairThomson.

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Un excellent concept de maison à Tokyo pensé par le studio japonais Level Architects avec “House with Slide”. Une résidence de 3 étages accessibles soit par un escalier, soit par un tobbogan pour chaque étage de la maison. Explications en images dans la suite de l’article.

Previously on Fubiz

• Yoshimasa Tsuchiya
• Castillo Caribe Residence
• Crazy Apartments in Tokyo

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A quoi ressemblera l’an 2000 ? Jusqu’aux années 80 la question était sur toutes les lèvres. Voilà une vision de l’an 2000 imaginée en 1910, à travers 24 illustrations de Villemard. Eh bien en 2011, on a toujours pas de skateboard qui volent mais on a Internet et des iPhones (ce qui dépasse de loin la montre télévision que j’imaginais étant enfant vers 1988…)

Villemard, 1910 – Chromolithographie Paris, BNF, Estampes / via

Une excellente idée de campagne publicitaire “Make your own story” pour la célèbre marque Lego avec la licence Star Wars. Une réalisation de l’école de publicité Escola Cuca à Sao Paulo, et des étudiants Diego Mourão et Gustavo Dorietto. A découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

Previously on Fubiz

• Star Wars Chess
• Volkswagen : The Force
• Darty Campaign

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Have you ever wondered how people wind up homeless? If you have, then you’re probably one of many who doesn’t realise just how easy it is. All it takes is a month living on minimum wage with no savings and you’ll start to see how close you can get.

In an attempt to raise awareness for homelessness, get volunteers and donations, the Urban Ministries of Durham have created SPENT — an online game designed to test how well you’d fare if you were out of a job and low on money. Can you make it through the month?

What Is The Game?

The concept is simple: You’ve lost your job and have no savings. How will you get by?

It’s designed for anyone who isn’t aware of the difficulties of low-income life. I’d personally love to see high school students playing this before they leave home, go to college, get jobs and try to manage their own financial lives. It could prevent a few bad decisions along the way.

How Do I Play SPENT?

Start here and accept the challenge to make it through the month without becoming homeless. After explaining your situation to you, the game begins by giving you three options for work: Restaurant Server, Warehouse Worker and Temp.

To be a temp worker you need to pass a typing test. The other two options will let you start straight away, so at least you don’t have to worry about unemployment in this scenario.

Once you’ve got a job, you need to choose the most affordable housing — and it’s not just as simple as living outside the city. There are other costs too. SPENT helps you do the maths by calculating how much you’ll spend in fuel according to how far away you live from work.

As you play the game, costs are taken out of your account according to everyday expenses and things you choose to pay for. When payday comes around it tops up your funds a little. You never have a lot, so you’re always watching that dollar figure and wondering what else will come up.

You’re then given a barrage of decisions to make based on everyday realities: kids school trips, insurance, paying large bills, debt collectors, speeding fines, Internet access….

After each of these decisions you’re reminded of the reality of these choices: People with little income are often underinsured because the cost of insurance is too much for them. Many low-income earners go to public libraries to use the Internet because they can’t afford it at home; and people will choose to keep their kids home from parties because they can’t afford a present. It happens.

Another factor of this game is the reality of choosing to ask your friends for help. If you opt to ask a friend to help you out with any of these choices, you’ll be directed to a Facebook link post. You can choose to send a message instead, but the sentiment is clear. If you can’t bring yourself to ask a friend for help in a game, you would feel terrible if you had to do so in real life. As an added bonus for the game, this is a great way to get the game to spread virally.

SPENT – Reality Check & Money Management Training

Play this game to give yourself a reality check about homelessness or to help you gauge the consequences of the choices you would make if you were in the same situation. There’s not a lot of online money management games appropriate for adults. Maybe there should be more!

Send the link to SPENT along with this article about Pocket Lint to college students in the hope that it will help them make better choices. If you want to get your kids to learn about money early, try Zefty, MoneyTrail and reading about 10 Interactive Financial Websites That Teach Kids Money Management Skills. If you’re now thinking about managing your finances a little better, here’s 5 Android Finance Apps To Save & Manage Money With Your Android Phone.

How Did You Do?

Did you make it through the month? Do you think a game like this will help people to learn more about homelessness? Let us know in the comments!

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High-quality cutlery has a long-standing tradition in Germany, but cutlery made of plastic has always had a bad reputation. German designers Carsten Schelling, Sven Rudolph and Ralf Webermann of DING3000 aim to change all of that with Join. More than simply knife, fork or spoon, this cutlery becomes a decoration for your table. Of course, it’s not as simple as it looks. This playful cutlery was inspired by brainteasers and three-dimensional puzzles. Produced by Konstantin Slawinski and developed in co-operation with BASF’s designfabrik, Join was recently awarded with the Design Plus Award.

via http://www.doobybrain.com/2009/05/06/vintage-kelloggs-rice-krispies-cereal-box/

I heart Volkswagen. Even more so for vehicle commercials like The Force above. Sure beats some of the other commercials other auto manufacturers are pushing. Anyone else have any favorites?

While the iTunes App Store is packed with great games, most of them are paid. If you want to kick back and relax with some free games that won’t cost you a cent, we’ve put together a list of five awesome iPad games you won’t believe are free. From great graphics and sound effects, to challenging levels, there’s no shortage of addictive fun in the list below.

While some of them are ad supported, or require paid upgrades to unlock extra features and levels, the free versions are definitely worth downloading. And whether you have some time to kill by yourself, or want to play a game with your friends, there’s a free iPad game here for everyone.

NinJump HD

NinJump HD [iTunes link] is one of those addictive games where you’ll find yourself constantly trying to better your high score. The impressive graphics and sound effects would make you think it would be a paid app, but there is a paid version where for $1.99, you get two additional levels.

The aim of the game is to scale a building, jumping from one side to the other by tapping the screen, while avoiding obstacles that will send you falling into the emptiness below. The higher you jump, the higher your score. You can also get your score up by using your ninja sword to slash the obstacles out of your way. Slashing three obstacles of the same kind will also give you a short boost up the building, without having to jump to avoid obstacles.

Spades HD

Spades HD [iTunes link] is the ideal app for fans of the strategic four player card game.

Great graphics that take advantage of the iPad’s big screen, and adjustable settings from the maximum total score, total time, difficulty and toggling the nil bid on and off. If you’re not familiar with the game, check out the instructions on how to play.

If you’re more of a Hearts fan, we would also recommend their game, Hearts Multiplayer HD, with the choice to play against the computer or players from all over the world.

Cliffed: Norm’s World XL

While the free version of the game is limited to one character, one location and one speed, Cliffed: Norm’s World XL [iTunes link] is an addictive and fast-paced game which will appeal to Ninjump’s fans.

The aim of the game is to keep Norm racing down the cliff, looking for openings and avoiding big obstacles that make it impossible to get past. To keep Norm moving, use the two large arrows on either side of the screen. The free version of the game also features multiplayer mode where you can play against other iPad owners online, but if they have the paid version of the app, you’ll be hard-pressed to win since the other characters in the game are faster than Norm.

Escape – Norm’s World XL

If you want a more strategic game, Escape – Norm’s World XL will keep you busy for hours with 33 stages with two levels of difficulty – Intro and Easy. The Medium and Hard levels are available as a paid upgrade, as well as two player mode.

While the graphics are simple, the strategy behind the game is anything but. The aim of the game is to remove all of the circles from the screen. Move the character by swiping him from one circle to the next and it will disappear. If you find yourself stuck, you can easily reset the level and try again.

Air Hockey Gold

Air Hockey was probably one of the more popular genre of games when the iTunes app store launched, and with the iPad’s screen, the game is a hundred times better. Air Hockey Gold [iTunes link] is probably one of the best versions available, and it’s surprisingly free.

With 1 and 2 Player modes, either using one iPad or through Bluetooth, the latter of which works regardless of what kind of iOS device your friend has. There are 6 levels of play from Kiddie to Insane, and if you really want to make things complicated you can choose to play with two pucks rather than just one. If you want to pause or reset the game – just doubletap the screen.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out this list 10 Great Free Games for your iPad.

What are your favourite free iPad games? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Rego – d4u.hu

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Google Street View technology meets the world’s finest museums. Google Art Project

Exercice délicat que de tenter de rassembler la blogosphère bruxelloise… mais j’ai tenté le coup pour mon blog perso et voici le résultat:

- version naviguable -

Je vous laisse découvrir les subtilités des lignes, les liens entre chaques blogs, et le lien éventuel avec la station officielle qu’ils remplacent…

Si vous souhaitez lister votre blog pour une prochaine version/ville/thème c’est par ici!

Bon voyage sur nos lignes!

Dans quelques heures, j’irai manifester.

Depuis quelques jours, j’observe et j’écoute avec intérêt ce qui se dit et s’écrit à propos. Il y a, comme toujours, trois types d’attitudes citoyennes devant cette manif: il y a ceux qui sont pour et qui viendront s’ils le sont assez, ceux qui sont contre et ceux qui s’en foutent.

Laissons en paix cette dernière catégorie d’indifférents.

Parmi ceux qui sont contre, il y a deux sous-groupes.

Le premier rassemble les bellicistes de tout poil, Flamands et francophones fraternellement réunis pour une fois par la haine froide qu’ils se vouent les uns aux autres. Ils m’intéressent peu, sinon à titre de curiosité anthropologique. N’osant s’avouer à eux-mêmes qu’ils détestent celui-ci parce qu’il est flamand, ou celui-là parce qu’il parle français, ils déguisent leur envie d’en découdre sous un masque de vertu et dénoncent avec le mépris caractéristique des seigneurs de guerre une marche « a-politique » et donc aboulique et antipolitique. Ceux-là sont malhonnêtes. N’osant appeler aux armes, ils la gardent provisoirement au pied, prête à servir au premier prétexte. Fuck them.

Le deuxième sous-groupe des « nonistes » mérite par  contre le respect. Ce ne sont pas des ennemis, seulement des adversaires. Ils sont sincères, eux, dans la critique d’un mouvement sans programme, sans slogans, sans autre revendication que le désir d’un système politique qui fonctionne enfin. Ils ne le comprennent pas et s »inquiètent parfois de ce que leur faction aurait à perdre dans le libre  jeu de la démocratie. Un gouvernement? Oui, sans doute, mais pas n’importe lequel. Un accord, certes, mais pas à tout prix.

Parmi les marcheurs eux-mêmes, cohabiteront aussi deux tendances.

La bonne, à mes yeux, regroupera tous ceux qui considèrent qu’un système politique efficient est celui  qui parvient à organiser la confrontation des intérêts opposés et des idées divergentes pour aboutir à des décisions soutenues par une majorité issue d’élections libres. Ceux-là savent que la manif ne peut pas avoir de programme plus précis que celui-là. Osons une analogie: c’est un peu comme si le championnat de foot état devenu un vaste foutoir et que les supporters de Bruges, de Genk, d’Anderlecht et du Standard se réunissaient, coude à coude, pour qu’on y remette de la cohérence et de l’organisation.

Ce qui suppose que la manifestation comportera peut-être aussi des égarés qui auront mieux fait de rester chez eux: les récupérateurs, ceux qui viennent là pour cueillir à leur profit la jolie fleur citoyenne éclose sur le fumier d’un système qui  failli.

C’est aussi pour ça que j’irai manifester. Pour qu’on puise enfin décider de ce qu’il faut substituer à l’Etat unitaire à propos duquel Gaston Eyskens constatait, il y a plus de quarante ans, qu’il était dépassé par les faits. C’est long, quarante ans…

J’ai mon idée là-dessus, bien sûr, comme tout qui s’intéresse à la chose. Je marcherai avec ceux qui en ont d’autres. N’importe quelle autre. Tous unis sur ça au moins. Nous ne demandons rien de plus que de pouvoir en débattre et décider ensemble, selon des procédures démocratiques, du chemin à emprunter. Parce que c’est ça qui nous manque. Depuis quarante ans.

Merci d’avoir eu la patience de me lire jusqu’ici.