I never used to think or care much about taking a vacation. It was always the wrong time or I didn’t feel like spending the money. Or maybe I was still shaken by seeing a grown man in a Speedo thong on a cruise once. That’s tough to get past. Thankfully my wife enjoys a vacation as much as the next person–maybe more–and since we’ve had kids I am much better at saying, “Yes, yes I would like to take a break”. But it’s just not as simple as that anymore, is it?
At a time when the term “tele-commuting” is part of the every day vernacular, it is almost impossible to completely disconnect. I’m on the train right now and 75% of the people around me are on a notebook, phone, iPad or other device working. Two people are reading the newspaper (yeah, that industry is in a bit of trouble!) and everyone else is asleep. The truth is you can work anywhere. Just this week, someone who works for me left for a trip to the Grand Canyon. About four day before she left she asked if she could have a wireless card to take with her. “So, you are going to be at the bottom of one of the biggest holes in the Earth, most likely on a pack mule, and you are going to be checking email?” Her answer was, “Well, maybe not while I’m on the mule.” In her mind, it would be easier to check in every once in a while than to come back to a mountain of work.
I agree with that. It’s no fun to get back on Monday and have projects that you have to get to but before you get to it you have to go through 500 emails (this is especially true if you are OCD about your in-box, as I am). Earlier this year I took a vacation to Mexico. I brought my laptop and my phone with me but made a commitment to myself that I would not check email the entire time I was gone. While I did talk to the office a couple of times, I never checked email. I found that I was more relaxed than other trips when I would check first thing in the morning and try to empty the inbox.
An article in the WSJ this week talked about how many people find it hard to relax on a vacation because they are thinking about all the work they are neglecting or all the emails they will have when they get back. The article also states that 49% of employers expect employees to check in while they are away. So is it the individual or his/her boss who is setting the expectation? The article included a quiz to determine what level of workaholic you may be. Go ahead and take it and comment here as to where you place.
I’m no shrink, but my belief is that given the on-demand nature of careers today, it is up to us as individuals to balance work and life. There is a connectivity expectation but if you can commit to disconnecting a couple times per year I think you will be better for it in the long run.
Scott is the SVP of our Experience Distribution practice and a part of the Executive Team, working from our Chicago office.
Check out this collection of creative inspiration, online and off for the FIFA World Cup kicking off today.
Celia Jones | Critical Mass Chicago
The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. Pundits are dubbing the 2010 World Cup the “first digital World Cup,” with expectations that the global sporting event will smash overall viewing records, thanks in part to the development of online TV and of smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone that will allow fans to watch on the move or—discreetly—at work.
In honor of the World Cup festivities kicking off today, we’ve assembled a round-up of creative inspiration, both in the online and offline arenas. And, in keeping with our theme, we’ve organized them based on the essential ingredients of a global sporting extravaganza.
Adrenaline
Nike’s “Write the Future”: This viral hit is a 100% pure adrenaline rush, spanning 32 countries across the globe, packed with superstars, and setting the stage for the epic rivalries that will take center stage in the weeks to come.
Patriotism
ESPN’s “FIFA World Cup Murals”: The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is the 19th time the tournament will be played, and the first time on African soil. To celebrate this historic event, ESPN, Wieden+Kennedy and Cape Town-based AM I Collective created 33 original pieces of artwork: one for every participating country and one overarching World Cup piece. Each painting brings to life the story of that nation. The look of the artwork is inspired by hand-painted African art found in the streets and townships across South Africa, and the entire African continent.
Superstars
Adidas Originals, Star Wars Cantina: Adidas is using the England versus USA match to debut a Star Wars-themed World Cup ad. The German sportswear giant has hijacked the bar scene from the first Star Wars film, splicing stars including David Beckham, Franz Beckenbauer and a light-saber-wielding Snoop Dogg into original scenes featuring Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Fan-atics
mi F50 adiZero: No red-blooded sporting event is complete without rabid fans—and this year’s World Cup is sure to be chock full of them. To ensure they’re wearing blazing hot shoes to match the war paint on their faces, we helped create this shoe configurator for adidas, offering fans the ability to wave their country’s flag—on their feet!
Keeping score
Who knew sport stats could be so sexy? It seems information architects and developers have been salivating at the chance to create infographics that help football fans keep track of all the action. Here are links to some of the top visualizers we found:
At Critical Mass, we are all celebrating World Nutella Day today. Just this week we announced our interactive agency of record status for Nutella Canada, so all of our offices are making of most of this delicious day! Bistro specials, Breakfast Bake-a-Thons and an office dressed all in Brown. We are all aflurry discussing our favorite hazelnut breakfast recipes and sharing them in our online Nutella community along with photos and fun.
Want to get in on this?
Vote below on your favorite way to enjoy this deliciously healthy breakfast spread. Or visit the community to chat up Ella Nutella and find the recipe for your own World Nutella Day celebration!
Revisions 2/10: The orginal post went up on Monday, but had a dialogue with Christine Champagne, freelance journalist/media critic who has written for publications such as OMMA, Adweek, Variety and Time Out New York.
She shared some of her thought-leadership, by saying, “I’m all for trying new things, but HoneyShed got a lot of things wrong, and this project appeared doomed from the beta stage. What it all boils down to is that HoneyShed tried really hard to be cool, and it just wasn’t cool. For all I know, a bunch of 20-year-olds produced this site. But judging by the throwback look and style and the, uh, “sexy” videos, I got the sense that HoneyShed was created by a bunch of guys in their thirties and forties who think they are hip because they work in advertising and make a shitload of money but are way out of touch with what the kids are into these days.” Thanks for your time. We look forward to reading more of your work!
Original Post:
Despite my criticisms, I really wish they would have pulled it off. I was hoping for an online shopping experience that broke the mold. This post is no where near breaking the story about Honeyshed shutting down, but I wanted to post a few thoughts about how they could have made it work.
Hot on the heels of fellow Digital Agency Razorfish’s report on The Digital Mom (worth a read), we recently launched an initiative with Mercedes Benz which taps into the idea of Mom as influencer-in-chief in more ways than one. While “blogger outreach” programs are nothing new, (PR firms have been conducting them for some time), there is something to the idea of putting your product and brand in the hands of a real person who’s got an audience willing to listen and letting them say what they want.
Amy Allen fits the profile of the Gen X Mom who not only would consider purchasing a car like the Mercedes GLK, but influences all the purchases her family makes, not to mention the influence she has within her own community of peers. With several thousand followers on Twitter and blog that discusses the realities of all things mom related—Amy Allen is an uber “Digital Mom” who’s savvy about products, motherhood and wired to the teeth. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week I had the opportunity to get outside of the office, go out into the real world and interact with peers and industry colleagues in New York city (and Brooklyn too!). Sharing/exchanging ideas with smart people from diverse backgrounds is one of the best parts of my job and this last recent opportunity was no exception. On Monday, I moderated a panel at Widget Web Expo featuring (from left to right) Steph Agresta of Internet Geek Girl fame, Ian Schafer from media agency Deep Focus, Steve Rubel of Edelman, Matt Dickman of Fleishman-Hillard and David Malouf from Motorola. I was also able to present my evolving POV on Micro-Interactions to about 50+ Interaction Designers at IXDA’s NYC chapter. And lastly I got to share those same thoughts at Icon Nicholson. Here’s a few thoughts from my experience over these two days: Read the rest of this entry »
Wired.com was kind enough to invite me to the opening of the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry last week.In three words, I can sum up the entire experience: Green is Amazing. And the fact that technology is enabling the efficiencies, makes it all the more amazing.
To-date, I’ve been doing my part to go green, by reducing my consumption habits – in many cases, making sacrifices to save energy and resources. While my quality of life hasn’t been compromised, I can honestly say that the standard of living hasn’t increased because I recycle or use my own bags at the grocery store. The Smart Home, however, is employing technology to make life better.
Last week, Starbucks launched My Starbucks Idea. Many have likened the social site to Direct2Dell, or more recently, Dell IdeaStorm. I think any brand who creates a forum to sincerely listen and proactively and consistently respond to all types of ideas and/or complaints deserves some applause. The consumer side of me really commends that.
The marketer side of me, also supports the initiative, but notices a fundamental difference between the two corporate forums listed above. Dell’s IdeaStorm fosters communication on product development for items that have a lifecycle once purchased by a consumer, versus a Starbucks purchase and consumption which arguably starts and finishes over the course of thirty minutes. It will be interesting to see if MyStarbucksIdea can offer a sustainable idea-generating community given that very short purchase cycle. Along the same vein, it will also be a challenge for Starbucks to offer ‘acceptable’ solutions to consumer concerns with such a low-price product. I know what you are thinking – a $5 coffee is not ‘low price,’ but in comparison to how a consumer feels about purchasing a vacation, a vehicle or mobile phone service – there isn’t a lot of thought put into the research and consideration phase of the purchase.
So, you’ve probably noticed that we are playing around with some of the design elements here on Experience Matters. In fact, we’re going to be launching a new criticalmass.com site design within the next week that will align with the look and feel of the blog. But the blog design itself will probably continue getting tweaked. For starters, we’re thinking of bringing back some more white space, especially where there is a lot of copy. And we’d like to categorize the blogroll while adding new links.
The interesting thing about blogs is that they’re always in a state of flux—unlike the static Website predecessors. It’s not just blogs actually—when was the last time you noticed a change to your Linked In account, how about You Tube? Life in beta means constant trial and error, seeing what works and what doesn’t.
So please pardon our Beta as we continue to make some tweaks over the coming weeks. But it probably won’t stop there. As always, let us know what you think.—we’d love to hear it.
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