March 2009 Archive

Volvo XC60 Test Drive

posted by DL Byron on March 31, 2009

We missed the test drive event in Seattle, so the dealer brought it over and said let’s go for a drive!

How could we refuse?

First impressions are striking. It’s visually impressive and the rear LED lights are a work of industrial art. You can see the Steve Mattin concepts working their way into production.

There’s so much going on with the XC60, it’s more like a technological achievement than a boring boxy wagon. I compared it to a work of architecture that you want to think about and ponder for a while to come up with various ways to explain it.

Last year we drove the XC70 and while certainly a nice car and we appreciated it, we were also underwhelmed. The XC60 has that zing. The whoa factor. Setting aside all the safety systems, the stance, motor, and lines all combined into a car that left us talking about it.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the dreeping set on Flickr.

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Serialized in 140 Characters

posted by DL Byron on March 31, 2009

On April 2, 2009, the Banjo Brothers will launch bike-centric micro-fiction by Minneapolis writer Ian Pratt on their Twitter Feed. The fictional story, which takes place in Minneapolis, will tweet in 16 installments of 140 characters each, starting at 8 a.m. and concluding at 4:00p.m.

Cool and what’s interesting about this campaign of Twitter Art is that the banjo-playing brohams are bringing a narrative to a medium that often consists of non-sequitors, randomness, meaningless, and marketing spam. As business try to figure out what to do on Twitter — if they should do anything, how to sell or make money — a company is trying its own approach. As we said, back when we wrote a book about blogging: “blog your own way.”

The campaign will include a special offer and coupon of some sort to measure sales and their success. How Ian will respond to mentions or interact during the narrative will play out and we’ll follow along.

For more on Twitter Art, check the interview with Banjo Brothers co-founder Mike Vanderscheuren on Bike Hugger.

Find more innovative ways to tap into Twitter at the 140 Conference on May 26th and 27th.

Note: this post introduces the interesting tag, where we’re noting interestingness online. This follows the Try Making Yourself More Interesting panel at SXSW 09 and my talks for this year at Webvisions, Web Design World, and Media that Matters.

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Wrote a book this one time

posted by DL Byron on March 28, 2009

Peachpit/New Riders reminded me “hey, there’s this blog book you wrote.”

Let’s take a photo.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the dreeping set on Flickr.

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Obey SXSW

posted by DL Byron on March 13, 2009

Everywhere where I travel, I see Obey Giant and this time on my iPhone flying to SXSW. Wondering how many people know that Shepard Fairey did Obey Giant and the Obama posters or that he’s on trial for graffiti and vandalism.

Before all this social media and networking there was social art and Andre the Giante has a Posse.

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How to Wawk SXSW

posted by Jason Swihart on March 10, 2009

For noobs, SXSW Interactive can feel like the first day at a new high school. The five-day event is thick with primordial webs of friendships, rivalries, and social strata which, to the new comer, are as simultaneously palpable and inscrutable as the lunch room hierarchies of yore.

Rest assured however, that by the time you—like me—reach your fifth year of attendance, SXSW will still seem like high school. In a good way.

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