WE ARE CHOICE

Great Eight of ‘08 - Online Gems

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:59:59 +0000

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Video Site: Hulu (www.hulu.com)
Hulu, our best-of-the-betas pick last year, is all grown up and has clearly become one of the top online video sites on the web. Between Tina Fey’s Saturday Night Live Palin bits during the 2008 presidential campaign and the Alec Baldwin Super Bowl ad, we see no signs of slowing for this soon-to-be monster.

Hulu.com and Saturday Night Live both got a jolt from Tina Fey in 2008

Most Absurd: Woot (www.woot.com)

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It’s half cheap consumer electronics store, half Star Wars-obsessed, techie nerd packing his secondhand crap into miscellaneous boxes… and then selling them to willing fools.

Youth Evangelist: Ypulse (www.ypulse.com)

Not many people have the ability or energy to dive into the depths of the complicated and often moody minds of teenagers. Not only does Ypulse do this well, it actually gives us hope that not all kids are overindulged smart-asses.

Techno-Geek Gone Do-Gooder: DIYCity (www.diycity.org)

Reinventing the world one widget at a time, DIYCity challenges your inner competitive geek to create social apps that help make life a little easier — from city projects to traffic tweets.

Eco Conscious: Breathing Earth (www.breathingearth.net)
Imagine having a real-time aerial view of the earth’s inherent demise, showcasing death, birth and carbon-induced destruction. It certainly adds a chilling perspective to our mass consumption.

Breathingearth.net — tracking global birth rates, real time

Most Musically Inclined: Hype Machine (www.hypem.com)

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Picture a site that aggregates every new track, mashup, band news feature, artist biography and music blog in the world. As hard as it is to fathom that something so glorious exists, believe it!

Innovative Trends: PSFK (www.psfk.com)

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PSFK will spark hours of fascinating procrastination. Touch screen turntables, futuristic recycling, web browsing through time and a baby Jesus protected by the powers of GPS are just a few of the things you’ll find. If you need some new ammunition to take out your friends in a round of one-upmanship, this is the go-to spot.

Japanese Culture: NY-Tokyo (www.newyork-tokyo.com)
If New York and Tokyo had a love child, it would be a slightly chaotic, pop-subculture hipster called ny-tokyo.com who knows everything and anything on the brink of cool in Japan.

Photo by New York-Tokyo

Ohh Snap! iPhone Apps!

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:58:32 +0000

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For many of you, the iPhone and its wondrous world of applications need no introduction. From the first time you laid hands on this sleek all-in-one device, you were in love. The iPhone has the power to draw a crowd, find you when you’re lost, be an endless warehouse of knowledge at your fingertips and be your trusty sidekick when you need a friend. Let’s face it, since Apple introduced the iPhone to the public in 2007, it has become one of the most buzzed-about technological gadgets of the modern world.

From an American technology standpoint, the iPhone is no doubt a slick gadget. It’s part computer, part phone, part GPS with an easy interface and a nice package. But, the real kicker is the amount and diversity of programs that have become available to iPhone users through the software mega-mall known as the App Store. This ever-expanding pool of programs, exclusively made for the iPhone, launched in July 2008 with 500 applications, and before the end of 2008 boasted over 10,000 titles.

From news junkies to crosswords fanatics and wine aficionados to athletes, the iPhone App Store has at least a dozen applications that will fit your style. This new platform of communication and interactivity has also caused a stir among brands looking to extend their presence in this new land of digital goodness. With new titles popping up every day, the buzz around the iPhone just won’t stop.

We asked a handful of users in our network to share their iPhone stories with us. This is what they had to say.

Ben Maitland-Lewis
Occupation: Owner of Sidehatch Entertainment
Favorite Apps: Maps, Mobile News, Monopoly, Pandora Radio
Personal Story: I love my iPhone. Once I was on a beach during a photo shoot and was looking for a shipwreck that was supposed to be there. I looked it up on Google Maps and saw that it was in fact in front of me but covered by the tidal water. Being a city dweller, I didn’t know when the tide was supposed to subside, so I checked to see if the iPhone had a tidal application. Bam, there it was! Global tidal schedules in the palm of my hand!

Nicholas Michael Zegel, M.D.
Occupation: Freelance Artist,Graphic Designer & Doctor
Favorite Apps: Google Mobile,Facebook, Remote!
Personal Story: I couldn’t live without Google maps on the go! Just last night my roommate got mugged and pistol-whipped and we had to drive down to the police station in a not-so-great area of Philadelphia. Thankfully, good old Google Maps on my phone got me straightened out and to
safe territory.

Ben Saren
Occupation: CEO, CitySquares.com
Favorite Apps: Cydia, Tweetie, Pandora, Sonos, Jott
Personal Story: When I wake in the morning, it’s with my iPhone in hand. When I go to sleep at night, it’s with my iPhone in hand. And my wife is the same way (we really do love each other). I thought the Blackberry was addictive but my iPhone is like smack! I jailbroke it a few months ago and I’ve never looked back. Sure, I’ve become more productive in business, but also in the rest of my life. It’s actually enabled me to be more creative and expressive.

Jeff Meltz
Occupation: Blogger for THE CULTURE OF ME
Favorite Apps: Twitterrfic, Facebook, Yelp
Personal Story: I think it’s best to just say that the iPhone has helped most in competing with in-car GPS systems. Those things suck by comparison. I’ve been in the field shooting and drivers have gotten lost; by using the Maps function, the iPhone has gotten us back on the right roads in a better timeframe.
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Public Thrills

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:57:25 +0000

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For publicity or pure thrills, public stunts can create memorable experiences for spectators and generate big buzz for brands. The marketing industry is full of all kinds of stunts. Some become an instant hit, some cross the line and others may just slide by with barely a peep or rustled feather.

The theme of our favorite publicity stunts this year is humor. We’ve selected three slightly off-the-cuff public displays of silliness that made us stop in our tracks, laugh out loud and tell our friends. These featured stunts exemplify how humor can make heads turn and people buzz. Each of these stunts succeeded in crossing the analog-digital continuum, establishing major presence not only in the street, but in the online world as well.

EDDIE MURPHY’S GIANT HEAD TOURS THE USA!
This was easily one of the most comedic publicity stunts in the last year. In promotion of the new Eddie Murphy flick Meet Dave, a gigantic foam head was created to resemble the featured comedic actor. The head toured from the West Coast all the way to Times Square, stopping along the way to allow people to enter Eddie Murphy’s giant head; the camera-happy, Internet-surfing public went absolutely bananas.

This concept of a giant traveling head directly relates to the movie, which features a human-shaped ship that is controlled by a miniature crew of aliens. Looking to increase the interaction between the movie and the target viewer, 20th Century Fox decided to feature photos of each person posing with the Eddie head on the Meet Dave website. A select number of these images were used to create a mosaic version of the movie poster, which was posted in theaters. The giant Eddie head ended its tour in L.A. in time for the July 11th premier.

video courtesy of Eric Seals - Detroit Free Press

RUDE BEAR!
So what exactly is Rude Bear? Well, he’s a human dressed as a giant teddy bear that shows up in the most unlikely places — dance parties in New York City! We first spotted Rude Bear at a small weekly party on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Next thing we know, he’s on stage with Chromeo at Webster Hall! He has created buzz online and offline without informing a single soul of his mysterious agenda.

Some say he’s a new DJ looking to get exposure before he drops some serious tracks, some say he’s going to become a massive promoter in NYC, and some just think he’s a friendly teddy bear that likes to party. While he doesn’t talk, he does email, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and even has his own dedicated website. So keep your eyes peeled. Rude Bear just might be coming to a party near you!

photo by THE CULTURE OF ME | For more info visit www.rudeny.com

PENNY PRANK!
Office Max sent comedian Matt McCarthy undercover in New York City to shed light on America’s apparent prejudice against pennies. With hidden cameras rolling, the stoic McCarthy attempted to pay for things such as a fine steak dinner and even a car completely in coppery Abe Lincolns.

The general reactions ranged from angry to completely pissed, with one enraged chef throwing a full-out tantrum in his restaurant. Yet all this captured negativity towards the penny was viral gold for Office Max. They launched a Penny Prank YouTube channel for all the footage, and then posted ads for penny deals on their site, selling anything from glue to magic markers for only one cent.

Check out the pranks at www.youtube.com/user/pennypranks.

Cult or Culture

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:56:32 +0000

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With a sinking economy and consumer purchasing lower than it has been in years, it might be hard to understand how an $800 pair of Nike sneakers could be at the top of a shopping list. But there are places where, even in the worst of financial times, you’ll see transactions like this on a daily basis. In fact, you might even see a line of people camping out overnight, 200 miles from their home, just to get a chance to purchase a pair of one-of-a-kind, limited-edition kicks. These individuals may come from all walks of life, but they are united by their insatiable desire for rare and coveted apparel and footwear. This desire forms a bond that transforms consumerism into culture, and culture into a cult-like community.

Consumer communities, as we’ll refer to them, transcend products and physical space. They are movements that are propelled organically by authentic passion and the word-of-mouth bonds that connect the individuals that form them. Some businesses and marketers respond to these cultural developments by becoming a catalyst, extending the lifestyle and further empowering the consumers.

photo by Jon Brown

One example is the elite urban apparel store Concepts, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Terek Hassan, founder and owner of Concepts, has kept a steady eye on the rise in demand of expensive and limited-edition apparel over the past decade. For nearly twelve years, Hassan ran Concepts as a small section in the back of his more mainstream store, The Tannery. But in 2008, he knew that the time had come to give the store and its followers their own home.

Now Concepts gives urban fashion lovers an authentic place to shop and convene. The store is a lifestyle oasis, providing plush lounge space for VIPs, exclusive events and some of the most sought-after apparel and footwear in Massachusetts. Authenticity has played an essential role in making Concepts the cultural fixture that it has become. For years, urban fashion fanatics relied on word-of-mouth and true street intelligence to find out about the new shoes and trends. And, for years, Concepts employees were the go-to guys for the latest and most exclusive buzz. This reliance on word-of-mouth and those in the know was a key ingredient in creating the broader culture and consumer community that urban fashion has become today.

CHOICE caught up with Deon Point, a current retail manager and buyer at Concepts, to talk about the evolution of urban fashion, and how he has personally seen the culture grow over the years.

CHOICE: How did you get sucked into the world of exclusive urban fashion?

Deon: When I was a kid, I used to go to a place, Dev and George’s [Bodega], which, funny as it sounds, was a real bodega store that sold actual convenience-store type products. They must have had a connection or something to get these [exclusive] shoes into the States. So you would go to this convenience store that looked real shady, and I remember going in there with my mother. She says, “You sure this is the place?” “This can’t be the place.” And I say, “Ma, this is where all the kids in school said to come.” The guy [store clerk] looking at me must have been familiar with that bewildered look and said, “What size, and what color?” I was like, “Oh… this is the place,” and got the turquoise ones or whatever. Paid 65 bucks, which was a decent amount of money back then. I was probably in junior high at the time.

CHOICE: What were people into back then?

Deon: Back then, the cool thing was that you could wear Adidas and Diadora, or Asics and Converse, or maybe just Puma, and it was very acceptable. It didn’t really bring you down a notch on the cool scale if you went outside of some of themore prominent brands that are around now. On one hand I see that these kids really stick to certain major brands whether it be Nike or New Balance or Adidas. But then you have these small groups that are nestled into creative recreation. I hear a lot about Supra and Greedy Genius and some of those types of brands too. These kids allow the independent footwear companies to maintain some sort of presence in the industry right now. As to what got me here? I can’t really say. After high school it just became really an addiction.

CHOICE: So, how did you even find out about this stuff?

Deon: Kids in the South Shore [Massachusetts] went to Downtown Crossing ‘cause you know, it was our SoHo, where you could go to shop around here. I remember one day I was at my friend’s birthday party and I saw this kid with these Air Forces on, and I was like, “Those are the illest Air Forces I’ve ever seen. Where did you get those?” And he said, “I got them in New York.” That was the cool thing to say back then. Everybody said that. They lied and said they got them in New York. As it turns out, my best friend who was at the party tells me three days later, “Yo, I found out where that kid got them shoes at.” And I said, “Yeah
right, what do you mean? Like around here in MA?” And he said, “Yeah. It’s this place Concepts in Cambridge.”

CHOICE: We call that word-of- mouth marketing right there.

Deon: Yeah. Yeah. Which is how Concepts expanded. How we really became popular back in the ‘90s and around 2000, I would say.

CHOICE: So there was no Internet, no magazines, it was strictly…

Deon: No, nothing like that. And even if there was, there wouldn’t be a mention of a sneaker store back then that could afford to be on the web. It was just crazy. So, I came in [to Concepts], saw the shoes and bought them right away. Bought about four or five more pairs. I met Spongy and John Roy, who now work for Nike. They were just, we were just wolves. We were just foaming at the mouth. We were hungry. I was like, “Wow, when are you guys getting more stuff? I never see anything like this.” I got on the list with them and they were calling me when anything would come out, and I would just be up there all of the time.

CHOICE: Not an email list? Not a mailing list? They just gave you a call.

Deon: There was nothing back then. The coolest thing about it was you were hearing it firsthand from the kids that worked at the store, like what went into this project, or what made this shoe. I remember when the first SB’s came out. Way back when this act was charging people 300, 400 dollars a pair, it’s like, “Why these shoes? Why would they be so much?” And they just knew it was going to make such a huge, huge impact. These shop owners were really at the forefront of fashion as far as footwear was concerned. It became such a huge, huge business and still to this day we still have kids lining up, no matter what the weather is — rain, sleet, snow or hail and I mean that literally. Any form of precipitation, these kids are waiting in line for it.

CHOICE: How has the Internet changed this?

Deon: One thing I notice now is that back then you could still be a trendsetter shopping at a store like that because it was hard to find, and nobody knew about it. And you could pick the shoes you like and make them cool. Then you go to your suburb, or city, or town and kind of introduce it to everybody else. Whether it was weird or different it didn’t matter because people started to trust you, and they learned to trust your judgment. You became a trendsetter, an opinion leader, and they followed you along. Nowadays, with the Internet, that’s more or less left in the hands of the blogs, which is a double-edged sword. They are great for promotional use, and it’s free, it’s great for the company and for the brands. But for the kids, I think the perception is that anything shown on these blogs is automatically popular, or it’s a must have, and that’s a sad thing because it’s not always the case. Now you have these kids that are playing the role of sheep and feeding into some styles that should never have legs to begin with.

CHOICE: So you are saying that bloggers are the most influential part in the culture?

Deon: Absolutely. Absolutely. A million trillion hundred thousand zillion percent! It’s what you see on the websites. A shoe that doesn’t come out for 6 months will have a photo in these blogs and then my phone starts ringing at the store like, “When’s the shoe coming? When’s the shoe coming? When’s the shoe coming?”

Concepts is a true testament to how a business can play such an integral role in the evolution of both consumer culture and community. Though it has come a long way since the early days, Concepts still carries its authentic roots.

New York - Tokyo

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:55:45 +0000

By way of the crow, there are almost 7,000 miles between New York and Tokyo. But by way of the human connection, this distance is shrinking at an exponential rate. From food to fashion and pop icons to everyday products, Japanese culture, hyperculture and lifestyle influence continue to gain momentum in America, and gradually move toward the mainstream. What was once distorted by language barriers and confused by pop culture discrepancies is now becoming a glowing example of how two cultures can collaborate and learn from each other. These two sleepless cities are the new cultural seaports for the 21st century. They are microcosms of cultural, technological and intellectual innovation. As the bridge between the two cities grows closer, they will continue to feed off each other, growing in a harmonious ensemble. The result is already making waves on both sides of the ocean.

Jero the Hero
Considering the nature of Enka, no one expected a 26-year old African American from Pittsburgh to reinvigorate the style and create an obsession among younger music listeners.

Japan-O-Rama
From robots to mobile food, CHOICE has downloaded some of the weird, wonderful and wacky products Japan has to offer.

Remo vs. Shantell
Remo Camerota and Shantell Martin are global trendsetters who call Japan home. Like their lives, their artwork crosses boundaries and cultures.