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Sayonara Suckers

While drafting my auto-reply out of office response at work today, I thought of all the fun and somewhat cruel ways I could articulate that, well, I'm going away for two weeks to the Mediterranean.

Meh, no biggs. Just gonna be eating some delish food in some sunny city by the ocean, after a day of shopping and art-appreciating.

After I caught myself from drifting too far off into these Euro day dreams, I settled into realizing I'd like to be more than just disconnected from work emails, I want to be... totally unplugged. However there are so many excuses you can give yourself, so that you remain somewhat connected.

I'll of course need to download pictures somewhere in case my memory card gets full! Or perhaps a call to #gma would be appreciated, or a text to friends? Might as well just tweet, so that you can reach everyone at once! Shouldn't forget the opportunity to get badges or become mayor of something? Leanne is now mayor of the Sistine Chapel - it's got a ring to it, non?

In reality though, I think I can handle and do require, some time away to just enjoy what's around me, without twitpic-ing every meal and bbm-ing fashion failures. I love technology, and I live to be connected, but something is so magical about the idea that I can just be present in the moment and enjoy the experience.

Plus, I question the bill that will arrive after some legit data roaming outside of Canada. And, I have done this before, for both my spring break trips to Cancun and DR, I was, mostly unconnected. Sort of?

Regardless, my cheat is my iPod touch, not my iPhone or Blackberry - it can take photos, videos, it's small, plays music (surprise!) and it is wifi capable should I decide to drop a twitpic at a hotspot.

So I promise to take a bunch of pictures and ideally have enough video content to post a Year of Four-ish video, that will be inspired by...abstractly inspired by Beyonce's 20min feature.

Ciao!

PS. Back on the 30th-ish, I think...or never?

Dear Ms. Mark

*Insert legit Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry letterhead 

Dear Ms. Mark,

We are pleased to inform you that you are not a muggle after all, and have been accepted in Hogwarts School of ....etc.

#iwish. And I have since I was about 12/13...onwards. But I realize I'm not the biggest fan in the world ...(see below)

...I can't recite all the best phrases verbatem, and am easily phased by the cool 3D graphics at theatres which gloss over the details of the book - in my heart, I wish I was a wand-waving, broom-flying witch. Don't we all, well all of us who have read these imaginative escapist masterpieces.

What makes life harder as a potthead...potterfan....HP fan, is that this uber extended, 360 degree marketing/merchandising machine has got us hooked. And the dealers are smart - I mean beyond just the Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Bean and other fun merch they sell, they're getting creative.

Marketing to these fans should really be quite easy - all ages, genders, psycho/behav/cult demos, and they are actively seeking this brand's information. But I appreciate the timing, and style in which these marketers are supporting the release of HP7 part 2. I feel like they're somewhat challenging themselves to be more creative, with fun/engaging online integration like this Parseltongue translator. I doubt they're measuring the ROI for each of these mini tactics, so I feel like they understand that hooking this content-greedy audience with super interactive and on brand toys is the key to focused fandom.

Frock Yeah HP, you work.

Or shall I say...

Frock_Yeah_HP.mp3 Listen on Posterous

PS. Leaving for the Mediterranean in 2 days, nbd.

 

 

 

Google+

Ever feel like when something new comes out that the idea or concept was totally yours first???

False, it probably wasn't. I mean, it's easy to recognize the common needs/wants across many people that encourage those clever geniuses to find solutions to our problems. Enter, Google Plus...I hope.

Back in the summer of (69 - cue Bryan Adams) 2010, when the group of us keen DMAers were trying to change the world, we used (then new) Google Wave extensively. Some of us got the invites, shared it with the rest, and we used it for all our virtual meetings to overcome geography (30mins from a central location does count as geography...next up Google Telepathy?). We used it to host the meeting, chat and share ideas and documents, edit and revise concepts together - pure productivity magic.

PS. The idea for a McMaster welcome week recruitment campaign was developed over wave. 

Associate Invite from DMA on Vimeo.

But as Wave began lose it's beta buzz, the Googlites shifted focus back to their core competencies and abaondoning this new tool that we loved. 

Before wave and occasionally upto this day, I used Google Alerts - it was an easy listening tool that integrated with the world's best search engine and was of course free. However as twitter took over as a more social way to listen to what's going on in the world, I sort of lost interest.

After 4 or more years of buzz, we've finally been introduced to Google+. While it's sort of Google's answer to Facebook, to me it's sort of an answer to many things - contingent that Google get bored and abandon another google project.

• Huddle and Hangouts provides the most valueable bits of Wave in a smaller more integrated feature within an existing social networking frame. A natural extention to any social network, brilliant (Facebook Skype..what?)
• Sparks is a single stream of all the content your interested in, again hosted in the same social network you'll already be using to creep for updates from friends.One centralized place to download all the information you want.

I'm a huge creep who loves to just be in the know, whether it's marketing/ad, social media, fashion, food, the world - anything! So the opportunity to have it all in one clean, user friendly layout is a dream. Not to mention google is already so entrenched into my life, and the familiarity of that red, green, yellow and blue scheme is comforting.

Hope this isn't another google #fail. 

Appear Online

How does anyone live offline?

This is not a poetic rhetorical question to encourage philosophical, introverted reflection. I'm legitimately curious at how anyone survives without internet, after what feels like forever without it.

I melodramatize. But realtalk, I moved into Grandma Mark's house, now known as #gmaM, about 3 weeks ago. She lives in an old house in the Swansea area, which I love, but is super old and obviously without internet.

Sure, I went home on the weekends, and yesterday I got data on my phone, oh and yes, I have internet at work. But none of that is like the internet that you get on your laptop. The cool glow of the light on your face, the warmth that emits from the processor as you download music, watch a movie, and type your blog, thus overheating your little Toshitty – there’s nothing like it.

My efforts in purchasing an unlimited data stick with Wind and failing, and then learning that tethering a dataplan from my phone to my laptop would cost more than I am willing, made me long for some face-to-screen interaction even more. 

But today was a glorious day. Rogers came, installed me some highspeed and I was done. Started with Epic mealtime, caught up on A-keys' BET performance on Youtube,  caught up on #RHOE (everything) and Facebook crept all the way through my eye strain. Simply wonderful.

One thing I am super grateful for, above all this, is Twitter. Kept me in the loop without having to fully be online via computer.

So excited, relieved etc. etc. However I question Rogers, so we'll see, and did I mention I'm sorta, kinda living in Toronto?

Soon to update on other news, but for now I am going to veg with my beloved internet.