Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able”

Setting up the party

Setting up the party, originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.

Sky line

Sky line, originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.

Apples, again

Apples, again, originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.

Nokia Booklet 3G video: Violent Femmes get Morr

Being a fan of Nokia innovation, I was eager to check out the promo video for the company’s first netbook (or, ‘Booklet 3G’, formally). As is often the case, I was struck foremost by the soudtrack, and a quick click led to distracted curiosity.

Four seconds in, my eyes defer top-tier focus duties to my ears and what I think I’m hearing is a softened, synth’d mix of the Violent Femme’s “Blister in the Sun.” Then the lovechild of Morr Music and the Cocteau Twins stops by the studio for a visit to add some gleam, tweak the glitch, and wipe clean some of the melancholy spilled over the master by a recently dumped Death Cab for Cutie.

The evolution of music and the patterns of its dissemination/popularization is such a neat thing. Commercial useage, as in Nokia’s score (below), seems to represent the final  ‘welcoming into the family’ of formerly-groundbreaking musical innovation, particularly when the score has been commissioned.

Would you put this (or its extended descendent) on your ‘player? I think I’m wishing I wanted to, but suspectng that I won’t. I think I already have most of the originals at home.

Edit (August 25, 2009)

Still curious about the track’s composer, looked into it a little more and found the lead in the comments at Nokia Conversations. Here’s Douglas Black Heaton’s website.

Julia’s bike pearls

Julia’s bike pearls, originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.

Microsoft Excel

Against my better judgement, I’m improving my spreadsheet skills. Ominous.

Social Media win starts with a walk in the park

In late August, one of my most innovative clients successfully turned to social media to execute a manhunt. The man they sought was Steven Neil Crawford.

After lunching in Toronto’s Brant St Park, I returned to work holding a wallet with Steven’s name all over it.  A call to notify Toronto Police that the wallet had been found proved frustrating. So, I fired up my personal social networks in the hopes that at least one of my friends would be able to connect me with Steven. After a round of Google searches and call outs on Facebook and Twitter, a mutual acquaintance had yet to be found.

Meanwhile, Steven, a young post-production assistant at a local animation studio, was busy cancelling cards and wondering if his identity would turn up on some no-fly list in a year. He knew he had lost his wallet sometime during an exciting night out with friends, but didn’t know where. It looked like Steven might just have to pass the long weekend without his identification and other cards. (No lost wallet report was filed with Police.)

Social savvy Client to the rescue

Realizing that my own social reach wasn’t broad enough, I eyed the brand’s social media channels with hope. What better way to help establish this self-proclaimed ‘edgy and bold’ brand in the social space and prove the value of its motto based on non-conformist thought than to find Steven through its community of friends and fans online and reunite him with his property before the long weekend.

With one Tweet, the real social media rescue mission began.

“Hey Toronto, one of you lost your wallet (and I found it).  Anybody know Steven Neil Crawford?”

The brand’s friends echoed the call. Even @PepsiCanada threw in its support.

Success by numbers

The same message was posted to the official Facebook Fan Page. Results came fast, once the brand took up the cause of finding Steven. Within a day, a fan named Maria saw the call for help on Facebook and dug up a profile. It was a winner. (The requested reward? Gift cards from the brand.)

After contacting Steven and adding him as a friend on Facebook in order to verify his identity, I sat down with the eloquent youth in the same park where the wallet had been found. We chatted over a Client-sponsored lunch, touching on the lost/found/social media connection coincidence before barrelling off into more expansive, timely topics – it had been a full two days, afterall. (Aside: Who says there’s no such thing as a ‘free lunch’ or that social media is merely ephemeral hype? I pity the foo.)

In a matter of only 2 days, my client’s commitment to connecting with Canadians at the personal level clearly demonstrated the value of social media for brands and the public at large.  With just 220 Fans on Facebook and a Twitter following of less than 500 at the time of the event, Client X managed to demonstrate the true, simple value of social media to brands and the public at large.  We were personable, we were adventurous, we were helpful, and above all, we were social. And it worked. (And when I say ‘worked,’ what I really mean is ‘eat my dust, yammering display media.’)

The preceding post was originally published on Isobar North America’s blog. You can find the original here.

It’s all ours to gentrify, dear

It’s all ours to gentrify, dear, originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.

Old dog, no kicks

Old dog, no kicks, originally uploaded by Kyra Savolainen.