Cool International http://coolintl.com Ventures | Digital Media | Technology | Cool Blog Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:57:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Finding the source of creativity http://coolintl.com/finding-the-source-of-creativity/ http://coolintl.com/finding-the-source-of-creativity/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:16 +0000 Paper http://coolintl.com/?p=11401 Finding the source of creativity is an article from: Cool International

]]> Back in the 1970s, Edward de Bono, from Malta of all places, originated the term “lateral thinking,” and authored the book “Mechanism of the Mind,” where he emphasized the importance of disrupting conventional patterns of thinking in order to facilitate creativity. Lateral thinking is about creative problem solving, said he, whereas horizontal thinking is daydreaming without putting those ideas into action, and vertical thinking is about nitpicking and conforming to old ideas. De Bono suggests that creativity begins with perception. But that was then. More recently, (in the past twenty years), Roger Penrose wrote “The Emperor’s New Mind,” which covers a wide range of scientific concepts including artificial intelligence, but also makes the case that creativity can be explained in terms of quantum physics. Any given person has billions and billions of thoughts which are like subatomic particles that can result in any of numerous possibilities. Heady stuff.

41rgYq2PIGL. SL300 1 Finding the source of creativity

Cover via Amazon

Such abstractness is good food for thought, but for all who want something more practical there is “Thinkertoys,” by Michael Michalko, who is said to be one of the “most highly acclaimed creativity experts in the world.” The book has four parts, Linear Thinkertoys, Intuitive Thinkertoys, Group Thinkertoys and Endtoys. In one of his articles on creativity and the mind, Michalko tells the story of Swiss Inventor George de Mestral who wanted to improve on the humble zipper. While ruminating on the concept of fasteners, de Mestral took his dog for a walk. Upon returning, he realized that numerous burrs from plants had fastened themselves to him and to his dog. By analyzing the ideas behind Mother Nature’s fasteners, de Mestral invented Velcro – a combination of two words for velvet and crochet. Meanwhile, Frank Capra once said, “A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.”

Finding the source of creativity

Finding the source of creativity is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/finding-the-source-of-creativity/feed/ 0 Programs for gaming enthusiasts http://coolintl.com/programs-for-gaming-enthusiasts/ http://coolintl.com/programs-for-gaming-enthusiasts/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:05:39 +0000 Paper http://coolintl.com/?p=11373 Programs for gaming enthusiasts is an article from: Cool International

]]> Do gamers watch cat videos? Perhaps. But the people at IGN believe gamers want more than cats and cute babies from their YouTube experience. Gamers want “shows” they can relate to. And now they can have that, thanks to Start, a YouTube Channel launched by IGN – which by the way is also owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The new channel will feature content that mimics the fare on traditional broadcast media. In the vein of say, “Good Morning America,” Start will have “Up at Noon with Greg Miller” where the content will include news, views and more about games and the gaming industry. But that doesn’t mean anyone has to actually watch it at noon because it’s online. There will also be a show about gadgets, and game shows – about gaming, but so far, no promises of videos with gaming cats.

300px Fred youtube1 Programs for gaming enthusiasts

Image via Wikipedia

With this the Start Channel has positioned itself to attract advertising dollars away from traditional media outlets. It promises to deliver the coveted 18-34 year old male demographic. IGN claims a worldwide reach of over 40 million “unique visitors.” For millions of men, it claims to be the “authoritative voice,” on matters of gaming, entertainment and culture. The promise is that brands advertising on this channel will find a loyal, “purchase-ready” viewership. Additionally, the company believes that its channel guarantees “safe” content for advertisers as opposed to the unknown and variable fare uploaded by the common people – for whom YouTube was originally founded.

Programs for gaming enthusiasts

Programs for gaming enthusiasts is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/programs-for-gaming-enthusiasts/feed/ 0 Life is Like Poker http://coolintl.com/life-is-like-poker/ http://coolintl.com/life-is-like-poker/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:34:15 +0000 Visual Thinker http://coolintl.com/?p=11387 Life is Like Poker is an article from: Cool International

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What you can learn about non verbal communication from the poker table.

300px AnnieDukeWSOP073 Life is Like Poker

Image via Wikipedia

In the video above, Annie Duke gives us five tells to help you get a read on an opponent at the poker table. Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000. In 2010 she won the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, earning a cash prize of $500,000 in addition to the title.

Playing poker has grown extensively since 2003 with Chris Money maker won his way into the World Series of Poker while playing online.  He then went on to win the entire WSOP tournament, drawing worldwide attention to online poker.

The world of poker has not been the same since and the online poker game is where many people began to learn this game.  There is a distinct disadvantage to playing online in that you are unable to read your opponents and that skill must be picked up in live playing.  However there is a counter argument that if you are easily read, you have an advantage in playing online because your opponents cannot read you, because they cannot see your face, body, etc.  That’s not to say there aren’t tells in the online game, cause there certainly are. (A “tell” is a habitual action by another player that gives you a clue as to what he is holding.)  In the online game you can gain insight through speed of play, use of auto plays, opponent fold flop percentage, and the chat box.

In the following video, former FBI Agent Joe Navarro explains how our faces communicate more than we know and how you can take advantage of this in your next poker game.  This interview takes place after he taught a session at the recent WSOP Academy Main Event Primer.  Watch it to get his thoughts on how people’s faces can tell you everything you need to know about them, especially at the poker table.

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Life is Like Poker

Life is Like Poker is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/life-is-like-poker/feed/ 1 Age and advertising http://coolintl.com/age-and-advertising/ http://coolintl.com/age-and-advertising/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:00:35 +0000 Paper http://coolintl.com/?p=11340 Age and advertising is an article from: Cool International

]]> “Consumers who are 50 plus years-old spend $7 billion online annually,” and they are also the demographic that controls 80 percent of the wealth. So says Brent Bouchez, a founding partner of Five0, an agency that crafts marketing messages to the 45 to 65 age group. But Bouchez contends that this demographic is increasingly disrespected by advertisers, both in messaging and in agency staff hires. Upon watching the Super Bowl ads two years ago, Bouchez noted that, “Not one Super Bowl commercial featured a person over 50 that wasn’t the brunt of a joke about age.” Further, Bouchez argues, “While most advertisers believe consumers over 50 are stuck in their ways and don’t try new brands, aPEWCenterstudy showed that people in their 20s and 30s were actually more averse to trying new brands and products than were people in their 50s.” The world is getting older but advertising agencies are out of touch.

Another sore point for Bouchez and others is that advertising agencies discriminate against older, seasoned advertising professionals, preferring instead to hire younger, less knowledgeable upstarts who claim to have “digital” experience. Some contend that the very word “digital” in a job advertisement is code for “young.” Advertising Age chronicled the story of Dave Shea, 56, a former creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, who spent the better part of last year looking for a job. Even as he claimed to have digital experience, he felt that ageism played a major role in squeezing him out of the hiring pool. But others argued against the ageism complaints. Back in the day, people in their 50s could retire thanks to generous benefit plans. That’s no longer the case. Also, back in the day, the marketplace was less complex and more able to sustain mediocre work and workers. Today’s marketplace wants more. And one more thing, in today’s global work environment people in their 50s may not be nimble enough for the demands. And the discussion continues.

Age and advertising

Age and advertising is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/age-and-advertising/feed/ 0 Knock on Wood http://coolintl.com/knock-on-wood/ http://coolintl.com/knock-on-wood/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:24:41 +0000 Visual Thinker http://coolintl.com/?p=11365 Knock on Wood is an article from: Cool International

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Knock on Wood by Justin King

Check out http://Justinking.com, where you can buy the Le Bleu album (and many others), and see Justin’s other extraordinary talents.

 

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Knock on Wood

Knock on Wood is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/knock-on-wood/feed/ 0 People flying around New York City http://coolintl.com/people-flying-around-new-york-city/ http://coolintl.com/people-flying-around-new-york-city/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:41:51 +0000 Visual Thinker http://coolintl.com/?p=11324 People flying around New York City is an article from: Cool International

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Thinkmodo the viral marketing agency gets creative.

To promote the movie “Chronicle” Thinkmodo developed remote control airplanes in the shape of humans and flew them around New York City to create a viral campaign.

300px NYC wideangle south from Top of the Rock2 People flying around New York City

Image via Wikipedia

About Thinkmodo

Thinkmodo mashes-up viral fun with marketing function to create effective viral video campaigns for brands. Our unique strategy generates tremendous online engagement and valuable earned media coverage worldwide.

Thinkmodo, Inc. is based in New York City, and was founded in 2011 by writer-filmmakers / digital geeks, James Percelay and Michael Krivicka.

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People flying around New York City

People flying around New York City is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/people-flying-around-new-york-city/feed/ 1 Do you read me? http://coolintl.com/do-you-read-me/ http://coolintl.com/do-you-read-me/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:56:53 +0000 G.W.M. http://coolintl.com/?p=11314 Do you read me? is an article from: Cool International

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Can you read the following message?  It might take a little work but then you’ll see how adaptive your mind is.

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Read All About It2 Do you read me?

Image via Wikipedia

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Do you read me?

Do you read me? is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/do-you-read-me/feed/ 1 How will you use Timeline? http://coolintl.com/how-will-you-use-timeline/ http://coolintl.com/how-will-you-use-timeline/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:00:29 +0000 Paper http://coolintl.com/?p=11301 How will you use Timeline? is an article from: Cool International

]]> By now you know that Facebook Timeline is on the horizon. Some may be worried about what will show up while others may simply not care. In either case it might be a good idea to revisit your data and manually decide on what to feature and what to delete on your Facebook page. Among the people behind Facebook’s Timeline is Nicholas Felton who has been publishing his own creative “timeline” for several years. Back in 2005 Felton published an account of a year in the life of himself, labeling it as his “annual report.” The report included seemingly random data from a person’s life including miles flown, photographs taken, books read and the like. Felton assembled it all with maps, graphs and other tools that we associate with infographics, a form of data presentation that essentially reinvents dry data into a more engaging form. Its popularity would lead him to continue with subsequent annual reports.

300px Facebook engancha2 How will you use Timeline?

Image via Wikipedia

With Facebook’s Timeline, everybody can take a similar approach to the data of their lives. Felton encourages Facebook users to upload videos, photographs and messages from friends to enhance their timelines. At first it can seem like nothing but after a while it has the potential to be an autobiography of sorts. Others involved with Timeline say that the idea behind Timeline was just that – creating an autobiography. Users are encouraged to be authentic and candid. Not just smiley faces. And whether you want to do this or not, Facebook plans to switch you to Timeline regardless.

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How will you use Timeline?

How will you use Timeline? is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/how-will-you-use-timeline/feed/ 0 Kiss this Guy http://coolintl.com/kiss-this-guy/ http://coolintl.com/kiss-this-guy/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:20:16 +0000 Visual Thinker http://coolintl.com/?p=11292 Kiss this Guy is an article from: Cool International

]]> Have your ever sang your heart out in a song you thought you knew, only to later discover that you had been singing the words incorrectly?

KissThisGuy provides an archive of misheard lyrics.  Check it out, and discover the real lyrics for songs you thought you knew.

Kiss this Guy

In his popular song Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix’s lyrics read, “Purple haze all in my brain.  Lately things just don’t seem the same.  Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why. ’Scuse me while I kiss the sky.”

Yet many have misinterpreted the song to say, ” … ‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy.”

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Jimi Hendrix (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

 

Hence the inspiration for the website.

Here’s a few of the funniest of the week …

  • Gwen Stefani

    Real Lyric: Ain’t No Holla Back Girl

    Misheard lyric: Ain’t no Harley fat girl

    Click here to see the real lyric

  • The Beatles

    Ticket to Ride

    She’s got a chicken to fry

    Click here to see the real lyric

  • AC/DC

    You Shook Me All Night Long

    She was a fax machine, she kept her modem clean

    Click here to see the real lyric

  • Rolling Stones

    Jumpin Jack Flash, it’s a gas, gas, gas.

    Jump back fast, I just passed gas.

    Click here to see the real lyric

 

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Kiss this Guy

Kiss this Guy is an article from: Cool International

]]> http://coolintl.com/kiss-this-guy/feed/ 0 Advertising in South America http://coolintl.com/advertising-in-south-america/ http://coolintl.com/advertising-in-south-america/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:54 +0000 Paper http://coolintl.com/?p=11266 Advertising in South America is an article from: Cool International

]]> It doesn’t have the economic heft of China, but South America with its 400 million people with 370 million mobile phones and growing, and 163 million plus internet users, is a desirable advertising market. Of course, the biggest player in South Americais not at all like the others.  Brazil, with a land mass slightly larger than the lower 48 U.S.states, fifth largest country in the world, with around 200 million people, speaks Portuguese. Most of its neighbors speak Spanish. Brazil also has the distinction of being the world country where people spend the most time surfing the internet at home. This group is a major consumer of internet video, with a growing tendency to watch television without a TV set. Brazilians are not dissimilar from U.S.audiences with a preference for sports and entertainment.

3798636930 83aa7a7cef m2 Advertising in South America

Image by kevindean via Flickr

With this in mind, it would seem that such online advertising forms as pre-roll and mid-roll video would be ideal for this audience. To those with an online advertising degree, this would seem natural. Perhaps this thinking was behind the founding of IMPAKTU, which bills itself as Latin America’s first digital advertising network specializing in video. They estimate the video advertising revenue for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to be around $136 million this year. Last year ComScore crowned EZTarget Media as the leading online advertising network of the U.S. Hispanic market. But this company also operates in Brazil, Argentina and other South American Countries. Meanwhile News Corp’s, Fox One Stop Media is making inroads into this market as well, claiming 72 million unique users, or 88 percent of the internet audience in Latin America. For those targeting Brazil’s users, there’s Hi Midia, a “young but experienced” team that claims inside knowledge of the young and hip web trends.

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Advertising in South America

Advertising in South America is an article from: Cool International

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