DigiThoughts

More Than One Way to “Win” A Hackathon

 May 14, 2012 by Nicholas Davison

There are two key phrases floating around JWT these days: Worldmade and dotJWT. Worldmade speaks to the storied agency’s international presence and what that can bring. dotJWT is about pulling these amazing experts from many different countries together to build the very best things possible.

But it’s hard. All too easily, earnest slogans degenerate to empty phrases. Getting people who’ve never worked together, don’t trust each other yet, have their own pressures the others might not see and need to protect their own budgets to protect their own teams--that’s potentially a recipe for wary detachment. Given that’s the antithesis of dotJWT, why don’t we call that scenario notJWT.

So I had my doubts when I boarded the plane to New York from San Diego to team up with three other guys for the Yahoo! Hackathon May 3–4 at Ogilvy’s office. I’d very briefly met Mike Nelson before – he flew in to San Diego, worked with one of my team for a day or so. I shook his hand and then, I admit, completely forgot about the guy. Matt Payne was a name I think I’d heard in passing and had no real idea who he was. And I had no idea at all who Peter Bailey from JWT Dallas was. Here was notJWT waiting to happen.

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Nicholas Davison Director of Web Development

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Digi@themovies: Dark Shadows, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

 May 11, 2012 by Digitaria Staff

Whether you are a fan of the original 1966-71 gothic soap opera or the short lived 1991 primetime serial rebirth, you will find little resemblance in Tim Burton’s comic cinematic revision of Dark Shadows. Long-time fans pining for a scary, big budget supernatural thriller have been sacrificed on a pyre of boozy caricatures and high-gloss Burton visual effects.

The story follows Barnabas Collins, a 200+ year old vampire, played by reliable Burton comrade Johnny Depp, as he awakens from a two-century imprisonment at the hands of his nemesis, an enamored witch played by Eva Green. Once freed, Barnabas returns to his family estate to join his living relatives and return the family business to it’s former glory.  Unfortunately for all concerned, the 200 years that have passed have given Angelique an opportunity to take over the local fishing business.

After sitting through Burton’s other adaptations, I’ve come to the conclusion that he is at his best when working with original material. So I went in with low expectations. However, the first hour of the film, despite showing very little respect for the source material, is clever and entertaining, with witty characters, a lavish visual direction and the typical Burton A-Team in Helena Bonham Carter and Depp. Unfortunately, much of what is so good about the first half of film evaporates in a mix of rote dialogue, predictable plot developments, melodramatic big budget fight scenes and unexplained character twists.  Barnabas may well be turning in his grave.  (**1/2) -- Michael Jackson

Based on the Deborah Moggach novel These Foolish Things, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is simply a wonderful film!  Director John Madden’s (Shakespeare in Love) film adaptation follows the lives of seven English retirees (played by a cast of brilliant award-winners: Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup, and Celia Imrie), each with reasons of their own for embarking on a journey to Jaipur, India, to take up residence at a hotel catering to the “Elderly and Beautiful.”

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Digitaria Staff Co-authored Post

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The Sad Future of Mobile Phones

 May 07, 2012 by Bryan Paijit
Samsung Galaxy 3S

[Editor’s Note: Digitaria’s blog is always the work of our employees, and we don’t always agree with what they write. But we always agree they’ve got a right to say it, especially when they say it so entertainingly.]

After the much anticipated debut (summary videos here) of the Samsung Galaxy S III, I have seen the future of mobile phones...and it saddens me.  Can we stop with the gimmicks already? Granted, one man’s gimmick is another man’s utility.  And yes, phone manufacturers need some way to differentiate themselves in the market.  But there has to be a better way.

Before we dive into its new “features,” let’s discuss the S3’s slogan: “Inspired by nature.” Really?  “Designed after pebbles and leaves.” Why on earth would I want a phone designed like a rock?!?  So they mean it’s back is smooth like a pebble -- which means I should be able to get at least five skips when the battery dies and I chuck it across the pond.  And why the inclusion of water sound effects as ring/notification tones?  So every time I get an email I have to pee?  I guess it’s supposed to be “soothing.”  I don’t want my phone to soothe me, I want it to do its job and show me animated gifs of cats jumping out windows!

Where was I?  Oh yeah, gimmicks.  Let me start off by saying that I think most gimmicks (Augmented Reality) are pretty cool.  However, I don’t think most gimmicks (Augmented Reality) are used in real world situations.  A couple of the new features of the S3 that I would like to discuss are its “Smart Stay” and “S Voice” functionality.

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Bryan Paijit Senior Software Engineer

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We (Maybe) Want You!

 May 04, 2012 by Jason Kleckner

We have a great opportunity to bring a User Experience (UX) intern into Digitaria’s new Minneapolis office this summer.  But instead of a traditional interview process, we’ll be selecting this lucky individual via MIMA’s the Intern Game, an unconventional dating game-style event, May 18.

Hey, this isn’t just a wonderful opportunity for Digitaria to evaluate and learn from new talent -- it’s also an amazing opportunity for a young, hungry digital wannabe to learn and grow in their career. Figuring we both want to get the most that we can out of this experience, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what would make an ideal UX intern.

Look at the big picture and the smallest details.
It is important in user experience to understand how everything fits together, understanding that a change in one area could lead to changes in other areas. In order to create consistent experiences, it is important to look at things holistically and not lose sight of the big picture. But it is equally important to get the tiny details right, too. It is vital to be detail-oriented, considering every possible scenario for error and making sure elements are aligned, consistent, and mistake-free.

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Jason Kleckner Director of UX

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Digi@themovies: The Avengers

 May 04, 2012 by Christine Wu

I’m an analyst by trade, not a movie reviewer – but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been eagerly awaiting The Avengers for months.  Still, I couldn’t help but think as an analyst as I sat down to watch the film’s preview screening this week.  I looked around and saw the usual suspects – members of the press, bloggers and reviewers – but also large groups of families, kids, and die-hard fans who had waited in line for hours or won tickets through local radio stations. The analyst in me thought – How providential! What a nice sampling of people to test this movie’s appeal!

So, in a nutshell: The Avengers has blockbuster appeal. Every demographic was laughing and cheering by the closing credits.

This movie has all the components to become the biggest superhero movie ever – a celebrity-filled cast, good acting with a several notable performances, sharp writing, and plenty of action. Robert Downey, Jr., is still the star among stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man, but extra kudos go to Mark Ruffalo, who was the only cast member with a little something to prove, having never been in any of the associated films. Ruffalo’s portrayal of Bruce Banner and the big, green “other guy” was a definite highlight, bringing more depth and humor than previous incarnations of the Hulk.

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Christine Wu Web Analyst

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Of Web and Art History - Part 2

 May 03, 2012 by Julie Morgan

Last week, “Of Web and Art History Part I” discussed paradigms of art history that are mirrored in web design and development. In addition to trends in design, trends in media constraints also affect design in web and traditional art. One example of a traditional painter pushing media constraints was Georgia O’Keeffe. Most are familiar with her work painting large flowers (above).

O’Keeffe pushed both media and gender boundaries with her paintings. While painting flowers was not unusual for women, most of the time they were in watercolor and on small canvases. O’Keeffe was revolutionary in her approach by greatly enlarging the images and painting in oil on canvas, a feat seldom copied until decades later.

Web media has also pressed physical media boundaries, most notable recently with adaptive design. Just as O’Keeffe pressed a commonly small image into a larger canvas, web designers and developers have been challenged to contextualize information into a range of browser and device canvases, including desktop, tablets and mobile devices. An example of this is the recent Qualcomm homepage redesign, which allows for browser resizing while presenting the content in adaptive consumable sizes.

Even as web designers and developers distill the responsive experience, restrictions in other web content continue to permeate Internet expression and culture. Regardless of opinions of the the pro- and anti- PIPA and SOPA movements, there is evidence that online content can be affected by political and financial agendas, notably with the removal of the Clint Eastwood Chrysler Super Bowl spot from YouTube. In the Detroit Free Press article on the subject, Republican strategist Karl Rove indicated he was “offended by it” and cited “Chicago-style politics” as a motivating factor for the spot, underlying political ramifications of content issues.

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Julie Morgan Senior UX Designer

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