Gap Logo – Thumbs Down

UPDATE: Gap went back to their old logo, which was probably their best way out of this mess.  I doubt this was an orchestrated stunt, but I don’t think it is impossible that it was.  Read more about the switch back at AdAge.com

There’s been a bunch of buzz around the Gap logo recently (and not the good kind).  Without any sort of announcement, on Monday, they changed their iconic, classic logo from this:To this generic, uninspired logo:

In my senior year at Boston College, I took a class in Photoshop and there was one student that lacked either the motivation or skill (possibly both) to put together any decent projects. The Gap logo looks like something he would produce.  I can even imagine our sarcastic teacher commenting on it during the assignment review period at the beginning of every class.

“Okay, lets check this one out now. Hmm… What did you do here?  You spelled out Gap in a basic font. Okay… Then what’s this over here? A gradient box, huh?…..Interesting stuff Jerry*”

After everyone started ripping on the new Gap logo online, Gap posted this message on their Facebook page:

Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project.

I have no idea how they could ‘love’ their version, but I’m really interested to see where they go from here.  Will they force the new ugly logo down everyone’s throats? I can’t imagine they will really take someone else’s idea from their ‘crowd sourcing project.’  Will they go back the old one?

What if Gap is pulling a Joaquin Phoenix on us all and is going to elaborate measures all for a publicity stunt?  I doubt that’s the case, but an interesting (sinister) possibility to consider.  They did get people to start talking about Gap when no one cared about it before.

More fun with the gap logo:

Follow @OldGapLogo and @GapLogo on Twitter.

Make your own crappy logo: Crap Logo Yourself

*Jerry is not his real name

Facebook Movie Parodies – Thumbs Up

Update: Added the eBay movie

So the Facebook movie (aka The Social Network) is coming out soon.   The official preview came about a month ago, and within the next few weeks, parodies for the other major social networks (YouTube, Twitter, and MySpace) were made.  Here they are all in one spot for your enjoyment:

Facebook – The Original

YouTube

Twitter

MySpace

And the MySpace movie trailer (WordPress wont let me embed it)

eBay

Which one is your favorite?

Future of Gaming…and Maybe Life – Thumbs Up

With the constant innovation of newer technology, many people continually ask, “What could possibly be next?”  Twenty years ago, who would have ever envisioned that technology like iPods, TIVOs, and the Internet would 1)exist and 2)be so integral, ubiquitous, and universal that they pretty much run our lives.  What will the next 20 years bring and what will it look like?  Nay, the next 10 years?

Last week at the DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, and Entertain) Summit, Jesse Schell, assistant professor of entertainment and technology at Carnegie Mellon, gave his ideas on the future of technology-and, in essence, life- specifically in terms of how ideas implemented in the gaming industry (points, achievements, friend domination, etc.) can and/or will affect our daily tasks.  The video is about 28 minutes long and I have inserted it in three parts, but if you are pressed for time/don’t feel like watching all of it, then watch part three for his conclusion.

With technology evolving at the rate it is, the topic that Professor Schell covers and the ideas that he presents are extremely interesting.  Brands have already started becoming more interactive, utilizing social media in order to connect with their audience.  Brand promotions keep track of “points” when certain items are purchased which make it possible to redeem rewards over time.

Ideas like “Foursquare” would be one example of what Professor Schell is proposing might happen over a grander scale.  In Foursquare, players earn points for “checking in” at various landmarks and locations, receiving virtual badges when they reach a certain tally.  Players are then ranked based on how many points they rack up during the week and month.  As far as I know, no actual prizes are given for accumulating the most points.  However, because of Foursquare’s platform, people are encouraged to explore numerous places in their city in exchange for points, and by accumulating the most points and being atop the weekly and monthly polls, people will then feel the triumph and pride of real competition.

The future that Professor Schell paints seems a bit ludicrous at first, with sensors following our every move and every breath, giving us points for certain tasks we complete or brands we consume.  However, it is still a very interesting discussion on the advancement of the gaming industry/gaming design and the potential influence that it can-and might-have on reality.

Thumbs Down – Lame Facebookers

Remember when Facebook used to be cool – when it was only for college kids?  Now everyone is on Facebook and that means there are more people on the site that are really bad at it.  For some examples: CNN compiled a list of 12 aanoying Facebookers including  The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore (“I’m waking up!”) and the The Obscurist (“Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not”).  Im sure that everyone has Facebook friends who fit into these categories.

If you want to see a collection of Facebook wall posts, status updates, and comments gone hilariously wrong, head to www.lamebook.com.  Here is an example of what you will find there (click on the images to see bigger versions):

Thumbs Down – TwitterPeek

Earlier this week, a rumor buzzed around that there would soon be a new hand-held mobile technology strictly meant for twittering.  Well, the rumors were true as the creators behind Peek, an email-only mobile device, have now created TwitterPeek, the mobile device meant for the sole reason of twittering.  Not for checking email, sending text messages, or making calls, but just twittering.

I know that Twitter has exponentially grown as a very valuable social media tool since its beginning; I realize that the popularity of Twitter itself gradually increased over time, as people didn’t realize its potential until later; however, I don’t believe that a device only meant to read, send, and receive tweets will gain much popularity.  With the growing capabilities of cell phones like that of the iPhone and BlackBerry, what’s the need and/or desire of carrying another gadget around that has limited use.  The TwitterPeek doesn’t have a web browser so one wouldn’t even be able to click on the numerous websites and other links that are shared via tweets.  With all of the various Twitter applications accessible through phones, there is no viable use of the TwitterPeek.  I don’t see this technology going very far or being very successful.  With all that cell phones can do today, people won’t mind paying the more expensive bills rather than paying less for a device that does so little.  I guess time will tell if the TwitterPeek device will succeed or not.

TweetDeck – Thumbs Up

TweetDeck, the popular Twitter desktop application, came out with an iPhone application this week.  The most valuable part of TweetDeck, is the ability to separate users into groups, which are displayed in side-by-side columns.  Using this tool, I am able to make a group of people that I know well, and want to read every update, as well as making a group of companies that I follow, where each update isn’t quite as important to me.  It’s a way to cut through the noise of Twitter to get exactly what you want.  TweetDeck also has additional functions of updating every minute to alert you of new tweets, allowing you to sign into multiple Twitter accounts at once, update your Facebook status, and more.

Having TweetDeck for the iPhone is a huge step for TweetDeck desktop users.  The ability to sync their accounts on the desktop application and the iPhone application allows Tweeters to unify their experience with Twitter.  Before I switched to TweetDeck, I was using TwitterFon, but TweetDeck blows it out of the water.  TweetDeck looks and performs better than its competitor and having the same groups that I have on my computer is great too.  While TweetDeck and TwitterFon are both offered for free, the most popular iPhone application on the market is Tweetie at $2.99.  While I don’t have any experience with Tweetie directly, Mashable’s comparison between the two services gives the slight edge to TweetDeck, but mentions that dedicated Tweetie users, and less experienced Twitter users will prefer the simpler functions and interface of Tweetie.

Bozeman, Montana – Thumbs Down

It pains me to give a city in Montana a thumbs down, because I love the great state. However, the city of Bozeman is going too far in terms of what they are asking of job applicants.  Explained in this article at montanasnewsstation.com, people that are applying for jobs with the city have to provide their usernames and passwords to their online social networking accounts.  

The form for application says: “Please list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.”  Next to that are places for the applicants to put the sites, usernames, and passwords.

While I’m sure this was done with the best intentions, to get the best quality employees, it’s too far.  Big Brother from 1984 was probably started with the good intentions as well.  Giving someone access to so much personal information is scary.  I’m sure people have conversations on Facebook, MySpace, and other sites that they never intended anyone else to see.  Looking at someone’s public profile doesn’t bother me as much, because that’s information that you volunteered on your own.  Going through someone’s account and private messages is excessive.

In the worst case scenario, what happens if this information falls into the wrong hands?  Or what about if someone reviewing your information wants to share funny stories with his buddies about what he found in your messages?

Surprisingly, no one has rescinded their application based on this request, the city claims.  Maybe the applicants’ perspectives are different than mine because they are actively seeking a job with the city.  However, I don’t think you’ll find me applying for a job with the city of Bozeman any time soon.

Facebook – Thumbs Up

Thumbs Up: On Friday, Facebook allowed people to register a Facebook username. This means that instead of having a profile ID of random dumbers, you can have a web address of your choosing. For example, my facebook page URL is now www.facebook.com/philjkowalski.

Facebook users were allowed to start choosing these “vanity URLs” at midnight eastern on Friday. Facebook gets a huge thumbs up for being able to handle so much web traffic at this time. In just three minutes, 200,000 usernames were registered, which was over 1000 usernames per second. This pace eventually slowed down and after one hour, there were a million usernames registered. Expecting this huge amount of traffic, the Facebook offices set up a late night war-room to handle the username launch and adjusted their site to accommodate the traffic. They even had plans in place in case the surge in users became too great. They could have adjusted the Facebook site to change the home page to the username registration page. Fortunately, they didn’t have to go that far as they were able to handle the traffic just fine.

Overall, I was very impressed that Facebook handled the extreme amount of traffic without any disasters.