Today I Die – A game of poetry

'Today I Die' is an intriguing and beautiful little puzzle game from indie games designer Daniel Benmergui.

A nice change from traditional games, Today I Die is a game where you have to gradually change the words of a poem to transform it from being miserable, to being happy.

Exactly how you do that, of course, is where the puzzle lies, and it's been frustrating more than a few people. The ending (of which there are actually several) is worth the puzzlement though.

RFID magazine links online and offline

The first internet-connected magazine is using technology within its printed pages to create an innovative way of linking readers to its online content.

Using an RFID tag buried within its pages, the French entertainment magazine Amusement has collaborated with RFID specialists Violet to lead readers to exclusive online content that is otherwise inaccessible to web users.

Readers can touch the magazine on an RFID scanner, such as the Violet Mir:ror, obtained separately from the magazine, and this sends a signal to the server triggering access to certain online applications.

Although magazines have long offered a mixture of online and offline content, the traditional exclusive web-based content has typically been reserved for subscribers with password accounts. By offering something for the reader who prefers to pick up a magazine at the newsstand, Amusement’s new model is connecting with the often marginalised casual reader.

SixthSense blurs the digital world and the real world

Researchers from the Fluid Interfaces Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab have unveiled the latest prototype of SixthSense – a wearable, gesture-driven computing platform that continually augments the physical world with digital information.

Imagine being able to turn any surface around you into an interactive surface – checking your email on a blank wall simply by drawing an @ sign in the air with your finger, or being able to check the time by using the same finger to draw a circle on your wrist to produce the image of an analog watch. You can put your thumbs and forefingers together to make a picture frame allowing you to take a digital photograph, or just use your hand as a keypad or dial pad.

If you were in a bookstore and holding a book, SixthSense will recognize that and go to Amazon and display the online reviews and prices of that book right on its cover. The system is also customisable so that if you don't want Amazon reviews you could instead choose to find out what the Guardian thinks of it, or if the actual bookstore had decided to provide their own content you wouldn’t even need to go online to find more information.

MIT are trying to make it possible to have access to relevant information in a more seamless way, and while today's mobile computing devices can be useful, they are still ‘deaf and blind’, meaning that we have to stop what we're doing and tell those devices what information we need or want. MIT have a vision of a computing system that understands, at least to some extent, where the user is, what they are doing, and who they are interacting with. It can then proactively make information available to that user based on the situation.

The idea is that SixthSense tries to determine not only what someone is interacting with, but also how they are interacting with it. The software searches the internet for information that is potentially relevant to that situation, and then the projector takes over.

The prototype has been improved since it was first introduced to the public last year when it consisted of a web camera strapped to a bicycle helmet. The current prototype promises to be more ‘consumer friendly’ by consisting of a small camera and projector combination (about the size of a cigarette pack) worn around the neck. An accompanying smartphone runs the SixthSense software and handles the connection to the internet.

The camera acts as a digital eye, seeing what the user sees, and also tracks the movements of the thumbs and index fingers of both of the user's hands. The hardware included in the SixthSense system is not that expensive, with the current prototype costing about £300 to build, however this attempt to merge the digital world with the physical world requires some serious programming and engineering! The real work is in the software that is constantly trying to figure out what's around you and what you're trying to do. It has to recognise the images you see, track your gestures, and then relate it all to relevant information at the same time.

This initial research phase has only meant a few applications have been developed, but in the longer term it is envisioned that the SixthSense platform will be opened up to let anyone develop applications for it.

There are already some commercial applications planned, with the team looking at developing a sign language application that would "speak out" a translation while someone was signing. There is also potential for SixthSense in the field of gaming. Unlike the Nintendo Wii, which keeps you in front of the television, the SixthSense system might allow a player to go outside and be able to get a real tennis lesson on a real tennis court.

No one involved in the SixthSense project feels that their platform will replace laptops and smartphones, but in certain instances, it can do things that a desktop or laptop can't do, which is quickly put contextual information right where a user wants it wherever they are.

Watch Pattie Maes talk about SixthSense at TED.

Tag Galaxy

Tag Galaxy is a diploma thesis project by Steven Wood, built using Papervision3D and the Flickr API, it allows you to explore Flickr photos via planetary systems.

Sky brings Skellig to life with bespoke online content

Sky has launched an online campaign for the novel-turned-film, Skellig, and is bringing it to life by featuring bespoke web content.

The film, an adaptation of the fantasy novel by David Almond, features Tim Roth, Kelly MacDonald and John Simm, and will be shown on Sky 1 over Easter ahead of its international theatrical release.

Sky has created a campaign site featuring an interactive game, videos, images, story details and downloadable content, in addition to news and information. The film, which has such rich content itself, has enabled Sky to pull out the detail and create a rich experience which brings the curious and magical elements to life.

The site, which initially launched as a basic presence in February as part of a teaser campaign, will grow to become a central hub for all things Skellig, and continue to feature new content in the run up to the film's premiere to engage its target audience of children. It will also host information about the film as well as details about tickets to school productions, to serve as a resource for Skellig fans.

The bespoke content includes behind-the-scenes videos and images from the making of the film along with interviews with the film's cast and exclusive online promotional videos. It will also feature a competition for schools, which use the novel as a set text, to get pupils to upload creative content about Skellig for the chance to win a premiere screening in their area.

The campaign, promoted via an ad campaign, is part of the ongoing moves by many broadcasters to create multi-platform brands and bespoke online content to attract larger audiences to their web properties.

Cadbury Creme Egg launches more spoof movies

Cadbury Creme Egg is launching another series of online spoof mini-movies including; ''The Wizard of Goo', 'Goo-Busters' and 'Armagooden' with a new "Goo-vie" being launched every two weeks at www.goovies.co.uk to celebrate Easter.

The films are also being released on cult animation and gaming website Weebl's Stuff - which predominantly has a 16-24-year-old audience and 1.5m unique users per month.

Each spoof features the characters Weebl, Bob and The Monkey appearing alongside Creme Eggs "desperate to release their goo". The cult following of these characters has enabled Cadbury to reach a savvy, underground audience and showcase the fun and entertaining brand personality of Creme Egg.

Cadbury first tied up with Weebl's Stuff last year, when it launched spoofs of Hollywood films, including 'Raiders of the Lost Goo' and 'Goo Fiction'.

The goo-vies are an idea that perfectly targets the desired audience with high quality content that encourages viral popularity, and is also an effective traffic driver to the Creme Egg site.

Talk to Frank launches anti-cannabis activity on Habbo

Talk to Frank, the Government drug advice service, has launched a campaign on teen social media site Habbo as part of its anti-cannabis activity.

The Habbo campaign features a branded room designed to be a virtual manifestation of a cannabis user's brain, and aims to reflect the effects of cannabis on Simon, the main character from the TV campaign.

The COI chose Habbo to target the younger teens that are thinking of getting into what is perceived as a harmless drug.

The Habbo room also hosts Frank Advisors who can offer real time advice to users throughout the campaign - which runs until the end of March.

Other activity includes competitions and a branded social networking group where users can leave comments and interact with the forum.

Woolworths uses Twitter and blogs for online return

Woolworths' new owners, Shop Direct Group, are using Twitter and a company blog to communicate with consumers as part of the plan to relaunch Woolies as an online-only retailer.

The move comes in reaction to the accusations that the brand was out-of-touch when it went into administration last November, and is also in response to the younger demographic that shops online.

The well documented demise of Woolworths' stirred up huge amounts of affection for the brand, and by the end of last year the ‘Save Woolworths' group on Facebook had more than 23,000 members.

Woolworths have adopted a light-hearted tone to their communications and have decided that social networking and social media engagement are the most effective way to promote the brand, communicate with customers, and receive feedback.

Last week Woolworths used Twitter to test demand for its famously diverse product offering by asking Twitterers to list their top five Woolworths' products, no doubt with a little nostalgia stirring in mind.

The blog covers topics from what pick'n'mix sweets you'd take to a desert island, to making browsing online safer for kids, and has already received hundreds of comments from consumers.

Study shows that social network users are happy to interact with brands

Social media is constantly evolving so it’s useful to know how users feel about brands and how they interact with them, and according to new research from MySpace, one third of social network users are likely to click through to third-party websites and services.

The research involving 1,000 16-35-year-olds looked at how users interact with brands on the MySpace site and found that 40% said they remembered an advertiser on the high street after engaging with its social network profile. Almost a quarter of users surveyed spent up to 30 minutes a day on social networks, with one in seven staying for up to five hours!

Users were found to be receptive to freebies and entertainment from brands, although they were very aware of the motives behind such offers, and didn’t respond well to brands interrupting their online experience with pushy sales pitches

Blog driven publishing is born

Perhaps ‘new media’ isn't killing off 'old media' after all. The Printed Blog is the world’s first daily newspaper comprised entirely of blogs and other user generated content.

The Printed Blog seeks to change the way people share and interact with news from the world around them, and hopes to play a role in reversing the fortunes of the sinking newspaper industry by using digital media.

Since the emphasis is on user-generated content rather than top-down reporting, the website is designed to function as a “hub” to connect with blogs, articles, photography, music, events and other content that YOU deem worthy of sharing with your own community.

The result is a revolutionary newspaper that reads and functions like a web feed, yet can still be enjoyed on the train or spread across the breakfast table. The Printed Blog is currently being beta tested in select locations, but once fully launched expect to find a copy of this unique and pleasurably tactile newspaper at a news stand near you.

New web app aggregates your entire web presence

A new online service called Gist enables you to explore the far reaches of the internet and aggregate everything a person has published under their name, be it a social network profile, a Twitter feed, a blog, or a rant on a message board, into one place.

Gist has placed the increased importance on the need for ‘impression management’ in an era where any amount of personal information is available to anyone with Google at their fingertips, and essentially the web application follows a subject’s entire net personality trail and maps it out for you.

Although the programme may sound a little too Big Brother, and could attract the unsavoury types, the lesson to individuals and brands is clear: what goes online – a place once considered far removed from reality – is increasingly being used to make or break brands and their reputations. Ultimately, in today’s world, a professional online presence is just as important as a real-life one.

Social networks alter minds of young people

Neuroscientist Baroness Greenfield has stated that social networks are altering the minds of a generation of young people.

The comments were made during a House of Lords debate around social networking.

Greenfield said that while the government was looking into issues around online child safety and privacy, the issue of how sites such as MySpace and Bebo were changing young people's minds had not yet been addressed.

One of the concerns about a generation growing up on social networks is that their minds would be “infantilized”, meaning they would suffer with short attention spans, sensationalism and an inability to empathise.

Those growing up online would also end up questioning their sense of identity as sites encourage them to build personal profiles, and that the government would not be able to accurately regulate social media without first understanding if, and how, they were 'threatening' young minds.

Computer Tan website fools thousands into seeing the dangers of skin cancer

A fake company called ComputerTan is offering people the chance to get regular top-up tans from the comfort of their office desk using "a revolutionary new technology".

The ComputerTan.com website contains an infomercial film fronted by fictional ComputerTan spokeswoman Hannah Yasmin, who tells her audience how they can look "Tan-tastic" and offers a free trial of the service.

The site allows people to switch on what they expect to be a free tanning session but once the screen has converted to an array of UV bulbs users are confronted with shocking images and facts about skin cancer as well as a link to Skcin's website for more information.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness and engage those most at risk of developing skin cancer in a humorous way and is using a mix of online, print, outdoor ads, street leafleting, PR and digital seeding to reach those most difficult to talk to via conventional advertising.

The 20 second ad is also running on CBS Outdoor's digital network on the London Underground which reaches 1.7m commuters a day in London.

Skcin also managed to persuade influential bloggers to join in the hoax, and together with online seeding of the film on hundreds of sites, managed to generate in excess of 8,000 references to the campaign on Google in the first day of activity alone.

The charity hoped that the media would play along with the hoax, but last week The Sun carried a story explaining it was a hoax, and who was behind it.

Kia increase digital spend by 50%

Kia Motors is apparently planning to increase its digital spend by 50% in a bid to boost its brand awareness and position in the UK.

The Korean car manufacturer, and top-five international car brand, is looking to increase its digital marketing budget to account for around 25% of its overall spend in the hope of replicating its dominance within the UK.

Kia will also launch a new site in March to grow customer interaction post-purchase.

Kia's increased digital investment isn't however being replicated by rival car manufacturers.

Ford, which has recently launched portals for its Fiesta and Ka brands state its budgets were being cut and that there are no plans to increase digital's share, which is assigned on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

BMW, which hasn't yet cut marketing budgets, is however keen to maintain consistent cross-channel spend, confirming that goals define which is the right channel for the job.

Agent Provocateur embraces social media

Lingerie brand Agent Provocateur has launched an online social media campaign to promote its Hello Agent Provocateur blog using Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

HelloAgentProvocateur.com includes blog posts, updates and news revolving around relationships, romance, men and women, as well as Agent Provocateur promotional work.

Reviews of the latest romantic films, results of romance-themed surveys, and the history of the bra are all included in regular updates which also allow readers to comment.

Originating in the US, the website's launch coincides with the steamy new ad campaign with the slogan ‘Love me tender… or else!' designed to remind men to remember Valentine's Day. Agent Provocateur, in association with private equity house 3i, is also hosting a men-only party inviting London's bankers to a preview of the lingerie brand's latest lines over drinks and canapés.

Alfa Romeo focuses online for MiTo launch

Alfa Romeo has just launched an interesting multi-million-pound integrated campaign for its new MiTo model which uses digital as the lead channel to capture the audience in a prolonged and engaging way.

Positioned as a high-end yet affordable car, and targeting the 20-34-year-old audience, the campaign for the brand's first super-mini model puts an online game at the centre of its marketing drive.

Apparently Alfa Romeo allocated 40% of its budget to online in order to promote the car, creating a rally game which has separate racing levels split across ten sites, including MSN, Top Gear and GQ.

The game, which you can join at a central hub at mymitorally.co.uk, will last until June, and encourages players to visit all the sites on which the game is seeded to beat the scores of other players. Players can win prizes including Nintendo Wiis and iPods, with the overall champion winning an Alfa Romeo MiTo.

The MiTo campaign also includes a mobile site, with gamers able to receive mobile alerts about their progress.

The game is supported by its first ever affiliate marketing activity, a high-profile branding campaign including TV, print and radio spots, which all push consumers online.

Mobile phone scheme aims to eradicate tuberculosis

An incentive scheme for TB patients, which rewards people for taking their medicine, has been developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tuberculosis kills millions of people every year despite the fact that effective treatment exists, and the scheme was borne out of the challenge simply to get patients to take their medicine.

Called X Out TB, the scheme makes use of an indicator stick that can test for the presence of TB medicine in urine. If it tests positive, it reveals a code that the user can redeem for free mobile phone credit. Field tests have been carried out in Nicaragua, Pakistan and Indonesia.

X Out TB could be a breakthrough in monitoring patients in developing countries, who may not have easy access to medical centres. Importantly, the plan is a clear-cut incentive-based scheme that harnesses the power of popular technology – the mobile phone. With such simple encouragement, X Out TB puts forth a strong attempt to make sure sufferers take care into their own hands.

Art goes digital

The finest details, usually unnoticeable to the human eye, are being picked out of paintings in a new online museum in Google Earth, using the best of the web to enhance a typically offline experience.

The paintings being shown online are from the Prado museum in Madrid, and with the use of Google Earth technology, viewers can zoom in on the small, easily missed parts of some the most famous paintings from the gallery.

First interactive TV show for mobile phones

TV has just got more interactive with the launch of a new drama called Thmbnls created exclusively for mobile phones.

The shows, which will be broadcast on mobile networks, will allow viewers to use text messaging to send in their opinions and ultimately shape the course of the plot throughout the series, meaning viewers can personally interact with the characters and the issues they’re facing in a way that’s not been achieved before.

In our highly connected world, with an always-on work ethic, the New Millennial generation is starting to see these tools as providing a resource for their everyday entertainment.

Google Earth 5.0 – Oceans, Time-lapse, and Mars!

Google has launched a new version of Google Earth which allows users to explore the oceans, track historical changes over time, create their own earth-tours, and explore the planet Mars.

Google teamed up with scientists from National Geographic, the US Navy and several other oceanographic associations to create the new ocean function which allows users to explore an interactive 3D map of the ocean floor, complete with thousands of data points containing videos and images of ocean life.

Google Earth 5.0 also displays satellite images of locations over a specific expanse of time, from years to decades. For example, you can look back over the last decade and see the melting of the glaciers image by image.

Google Earth's new Touring application allows users to create a shareable, narrated, fly-through tour by using a record button.

Also announced was the 3D Mars application, which was created in conjunction with Nasa. Users can explore the red planet, read geo-located excerpts about different locations, or observe where various Mars Rovers and Landers have touched down.