mindblob

Ghost-Blog Blah Blah

  - Particularly beautiful picture uploaded by bealluc -

OMG! It's been such a long time since my last post. This blog feels dusty and I can hear the wind blowing between the posts. Those of you -the most faithful, obviously- who have been reading and following this blog for quite a while know it. It is not the first time. I... I... I am often kidnapped by offline aliens who forbid me to think, read, comment and write content... and even sometimes to tweet! Oh boy what a loop!

OK OK... Here... officially, publicly and again, I do apologize and welcome you back on this platform that I seriously plan to reactivate. Starting: NOW! - Blah... Blah... - [to be continued].

  

New Blob Design...

After a long break out of blogging, we're are back. This time with a new blog design to freshen up the last days of December and (...fingers crossed, here) boost a new start in 2009.

I wanted to have a more organic look and feel. A simpler and brighter banner also. My dream would be to have all this into motion around the central text zone. I imagine  lava lamp-like "blobs"  of different colors moving horizontally, touching, splitting, merging... like the metaphor of ideas of mixed origins, connecting, evolving, growing. But well, dream on... step-by-step, right!

I hope you like it.

PS : The paint art picture I used to illustrate this little announcement post was made by my daughter Ness when she was 2. Can't wait till she grows up to help me out.
  

Once upon a -social- time...

Being out of blogging for such a long time will not distract me from telling you a few words on "THE" extraordinary event I was lucky to attend to last April in NYC. Blogger Social was indeed such a unique, breathtaking event, that I was left literally speechless when I came back to Belgium. Believe me, I've been trying to find a way to relate how intense and authentic this moment was and just couldn't find the appropriate words. So I will simply share with you here how HAPPY I was to meet...

  

- Gavin Heaton (brother, buddy, mate, mindmelded... alien friend),
- Todd Andrlik (in Jurassic Park big Dinos vs Velociraptors phase),
- Matt Dickman (the gentle O-SO-techno marketer talented photographer),
- Anna Farmery (...with an even lovelier live voice than on her podcasts),
- Heather Gorringe (brought me a fascinating eco-Vision of social media),
- Sean Howard (dude... you rock smart, man! Man... you smart rock, dude!),
- Ann Handley (such a pleasure meeting the MarketingProfs Milady),
- Cam Beck (well, a real-real honor finally meeting you Cam!),
- Lori Magno (Wow! SO pleased to meet the O-so-fabulous YOU!),
- Steve Woodruff (a man of experience who should be Q-Listed, really!)
- Doug Meacham (wish we could have had more time to talk, Doug!),
- Darryl Ohrt (... or punk gentleman helping team finish the gift packs),
- Paul McEnany (now why was that Redbull around that shot again?)
- Arun Rajagopal (my dear friend, we simply owe you the Moon!),
- Toby Bloomberg (... the elegant Diva, with a World Wide Heart),
- Steve Roesler (conversation grows better with a sense of humor!),
- David Armano (The "Digital comrade" from the Wild Wild West),
- Thomas Clifford (Namaste Tom! Close-up on panoramic talent),
- Tim Brunelle (the effervescent-mind man with a hat - the other one!),
- Mack Collier (inspires respect and redefines the word "authentic"),
- Mark Goren (really enjoyed our chat... while spotting Duvel in NYC),
- Katie Chatfield (dear dear... it has been so flaaa flaaa flaaan-tas-tic!),
- Ryan Karpeles (discovering the brightness the of light bulbs, wow!),
- Nathan Snell (like a brief conversation being SO insightful),
- Mario Vellandi (...mon ami, Monsieur smart polyglot visionary),
- Greg Verdino (luckily didn't spill coffee on my iPhone keyboard),
- Scott Monty (the voice over of ooVoo with great news for the FPF),
- C.B. Whittemore (...mais quel plaisir de vous rencontrer, Madame!),
- Connie Reece (the amazing Lady Liberty leading us in conversation),
- Ryan Barrett (yesss...finally we met, and it was indeed a real pleasure!),
- Kristin Gorski (so brief, but just enough to trust that time does not matter!),
- David Berkowitz (David, so sorry I missed more time to share with you too),
- Jennifer Berk (great chance we could brunch and walk and chat together),
- Rohit Bhargava (too short to talk much, really... thank you for the book!),
- Susan Bird (really sorry we didn't have much time to talk Susan),
- Shashi Bellamkonda (missed time to share with you, sorry Sashi),
- Jason Falls (boy, I SO wanted to chat with ya Jason, sorry too!),
- Chris Kieff (Chris, your BS Cookies idea was excellent, thank you!),
- Matt J McDonald (short indeed... but very nice meeting you, Matt),
- Tim McHale (boy... I spotted your Ketchup bottle, but couldn't reach it!),
- Linda Sherman (Linda, it was a pleasure brunching with you!),
- Marshall Sponder (now... I just discovered your art... wow!),
- Seni Thomas (too short to really talk, but just enough to have fun, hé!),
- Alan Wolk (SO sorry we didn't get a real chance to talk live, Alan),
- Geoff Livingstone (couldn't talk with ya, but #Jaffe will tell me all, right!),

 

And of course, the friends I had already met before...

  

- Drew McLellan (brother, my friend, I really feel blessed to know you),
- Suzy McLellan (so nice meeting you again Suzy, such a pleasure!),
- Lewis Green (Lew my friend, so when do we meet again?),
- Kris Hoet (Duvel has its loyal King! Spent a fantastic time with you, buddy!),
- David Reich (such a pleasure, again, David. And what a cap you had!),
- Valeria Maltoni (O SO delighted, again... fantastica Principessa!),
- CK (the one and ONLY, magic-CK... merci for all you do and all you are).

  

And all of you BS08 attendees that I missed (shame shame shame!), but wished I could have had live conversations with. Of course this was just a first contact, a first step, a first ACTION, from "online conversation" to "reality". Time was flying as fast as ideas and discussions. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", version brainwaves to live frequency phases. But this time, voices became faces and eyes could read the smiles between the lines. And THAT was indeed unique and will never to be forgotten. Yes, CK... you, Drew, Lori and all the BS08 team really made the world be a smaller place... through a unique, human and rich experience. THANK YOU !

  

Back to Planet Blog

Originally uploaded by micky mb - check the story of this picture - spaceship for sale in Texas! ; )

  

Well, it has been a while. Quite a while actually. Longest time away from blogging since I launched this blog. So, I owe you all my apologies for staying out so long. Time has been flying again and offline issues growing, linking and trackbacking each other faster than any brilliant post-without-comments from Seth Godin.

Anyway, I'm back into the control room of starship-mindblob... we've got our (green, sustainable) batteries filled with super-tonicflex-power, our galactic GPS is "ON" (well, almost actually) and all systems are GO, in... errrr... yes, in... Videcolor and Supermarionation! 

  

Please jump in, fasten your seat-belts and make yourselves at home...
...cauz'  the Blob is back ! 

 

Quest for the Ultimate Break

Well... I must admit I've been "out of blogging" for quite a while (and I'm really sorry about that). After being extremely busy sorting loads of "offline issues", I finally reach a little "break" that leads me... well... -what a paradox- offline again. Not to mention, Blogger Social in NYC (Yeeehaaa! Woops, sorry... couldn't hide my enthusiasm!). So, yes... I'm afraid the number of posts on this blog will not come back to cruising speed right now, but I wanted to inform you that it will be soon (as soon as I'm back from Social).

In the meantime, and talking about having a break, you might want to check this special action on the French Kit Kat site.It is not really new, but worth checking out if you haven't yet. They call it "The Quest for the Ultimate Break" (this link will lead you to the teaser film only on YouTube, in case you can't reach it on the main site). Will some of us see this situation -I mean the beginning of the film, of course- as a familiar "under pressure work conditions" déjà vu? I don't know. Due to the last rush I've been through, I must admit I just had to smile when I discovered it (hint, hint!).

Anyway, I really like the end of the film and the "goal of the quest" itself. It is in french, so I'll translate the idea behind it. It is contest with lottery-like numbers you get in Kit Kat and other Nestle candy bars. And guess what... the great price you may win is... a TRIP INTO SPACE ! ! ! (yes, a real one!). There is also an input channel where people can post their video vision of an "Ultimate break".

I really like the concept, because the price is quite innovative and insightful. And for the records, the french agency is JWT Paris, the very same that launched the excellent Wilkinson "Fight for kisses" site that you may remember. Last but not least -the producer's point of view here- when I investigated about who did the 3D animation, I found out that it was AKAMA Studio, the same post-production company that worked on FFK. This time they produced this trailer in about 2 and a half months... and that my friends deserves a fantastic applause, because it is not much time to achieve such a qualitative result. Thumbs up guys!

Now if you would excuse me... I have a lift to catch.  ; )

Space-time continuum

Hiro Nakamura - "Heroes TV series".

Long time no posts and sorry about it, really. After being ill in bed for 2 weeks, catching up with day-to-day work and developing some other side projects in parallel, I'm back (yes, yes... again!).

   

100 reasons to blog

Originally uploaded by jackhynes

Let's face it... I'm a slow blogger, but a happy blogger. It's been a bit more than a year I started to blog and I just reach now my 100th post. Thinking back to the very first post... Now, there are indeed so many reasons to be convinced that this adventure was a good idea. You don't have a blog and hesitate to open one? Here is the secret : just do it, you won't regret it. Why?

Well, let's keep it simple :

 

1 - Listen to other people, read their blogs, learn...
0 - Share ideas, opinions, links, connect...
0 - Meet people, make friends and discover the "MAGIC".

 

If you still hesitate to open a blog... just do it and I promise you magic. Just be who(ever) you are and open yourself to share with others. Then, one day you'll be posting your 100th post, happy to be "there" and with the simple (nevertheless intense) will to say THANK YOU to all your readers, contributors and friends who are "there" with you.

   

Kidnapped by Aliens?

Originally uploaded by powerbooktrance

Was I kidnapped by Aliens? Not really... but I know you might have been wondering about it. I apologize for letting you, dear readers without news. How to say this... I've just been extremely busy with work and life issues to deal with. Positive, but definitely time consuming.  Life is a quest, right. But hey, I'm back and maybe... with a nice Alien story to come (hint! hint!).
; )

One year time machine

Fantastic image originally uploaded by jagus

 

Mark Goren from Transmission Content + Creative blog, tagged me quite a while ago now (sorry for being so late, Mark), to dive into mindblob archives and point 5 posts out that some of my new readers might have missed. Well Mark thank you for thinking about me... now listen to this : as a matter of fact today, it’s been a year since I landed here... A year since “Introducing mindblob”. A year of boldly exploring the bloggosphere. So, isn’t it the perfect occasion to use a time machine and travel backwards?

Once upon a time (yeah, I love that start), lead by insightful posts focusing on the essence and richness of connected brains... I jumped into documenting the meaning of “BLOGGING : Growing ideas”. Then, simply “wondering” like an Alien on planet earth. Trying to find answers about blogging itself and what makes people be attracted by that phenomenon. Naturally seeking the “Intentions of a Blogger”... and thanks to the precious help of attentive readers, adapting visions of “Blogging motivators”.

In the meantime, extending a few side stories that attracted my attention, like “The era of the electric cars” (my most Googled post actually. And I like that, because it is good to “feel” that people care about their planet and ways to use greener energies - Sigh!). Discovering creativity in unexpected, touching places thanks to “Don Quixote's Children”. Being impressed by the courage and incredible challenge of a woman sailing the oceans, alone and “Against the Winds”.

Moving towards CONSCIOUSNESS with a strange metaphor in mind : blogging is like the sum of small drops of water... it has the power of making huge waves. Beware of the pressure and “Open the tank”. This said, I couldn't help being lifted by a wave like a little Z-fish and so being the witness of mutations and transformations of that wave. Then back to earth and “wondering” again... what our future jobs will be, what we would like them to be, thinking... “Evolution, Revolution & YOU”.

Sometimes being silly too, like pointing to little “Minuscule” links that make us all smile or sing, considering we may sometimes need “Office mood boosters” or to escape from our daily routines, maybe.

Like the rabbit with a watch of a wonderful journey (see which one?), I was lucky to discover that taking a “walk on the whack side”, sometimes leads you to experiences never imagined before. There is something extra-ordinary (I mean out of the ordinary) behind all this. More than words, more than brains. It’s all about people, humans, YOU (my friends), us... and little bugger me... LINKED together, SHARING thoughts, LEARNING and hopefully GROWING together. That SPIRIT touched me... and I must say it did like never before. So as a good little Alien, I share with you my report to planet Zgork:

   

“After a year spent into the sphere, I must say what’s happening is huge. Humans are becoming more connected. They are linking their brains together and it gives them new powers that they are still exploring and trying to figure out. This will obviously make their world smaller and lead them to taking new kinds of actions into reality. They were not scared to share with me. I was not to share with them. Time does not matter. Space does not matter. They are my new friends and I THANK (them) YOU ALL for being “there”. YES... The Blob is still growing... and after jumping in... it feels good to be part of it!”

 

To be continued...

Wizzzzzzz.    : )

 

PS : Looking at this picture from Jagus... I flew through time to when I was a little kid. Making “inventions” and also “really” traveling through time. Jagus, congrats... this little boy is not lacking imagination. Please give him all my encouragements and tell him not to forget the "backwards button". I forgot to put one to my machine... now I must keep living in the world of adults (a bit silly I know!)  ; )

 

NYC walk on the Whack side

 

As you could read on my last post, my journey to New York was a “first”. The main idea was to “be there for CK’s Momma tree”. So this trip was planned short and compact... leaving me 2 days on location (just assuming that it would be just enough to cope with the jet lag – well, not really as you can imagine!).

Being in New York one day before the meeting, there was something I had in mind and didn’t want to miss: getting one of Roger von Oech’s Ball of Whacks. Believe me or not, I was curious about this object ever since I saw it on Roger’s blog. I had been trying to get one from Belgium and just couldn’t find the right site to order it from at the time (Sigh! I notice now that they are for sale, and apparently worldwide, on Roger's Creative Whacks Company site). And by the way, I strongly encourage you to read Roger's blog. It is full of creativity insights, ideas, brain food and also links to very nice people.

 

Anyway, here is my story... finding this exclusive item in New York city. To make sure I wouldn’t get lost between distances, taxi and timings, I prepared my day trip on Google Earth (perfect tool for NYC, plus viewing paths in 3D is both cool and useful for a visual mind like mine). All I needed was a store address where to find one for sure. At that stage, I made it simple... turned Skype “on” and called Roger himself (we know each other from blogging and exchanging mails every once in a while).

You see Roger was also involved in CK's Momma tree project, so he knew I was in New York for the event. This said, I understand I might have surprised him a bit calling to have a store address. Nevertheless, Roger was "there" on the phone and it was very nice talking to him for the first time (I’d love to do it to chat about another creative topic too, though!). Roger gently emailed me 2 addresses where I should be able to find the Holy Grail... woops... I mean, the Ball of Whacks (BoW) : FAO Schwarz and The MoMA Design Store.

 

At the end of a long shopping list day (family goodies list always comes first, right!)... there was one item left -guess what!- and a few minutes before stores close. See what I mean? Feet on fire, but I made it just on time to FAO Schwarz. I fly in...  (“Hi guards!... What? Guards? Ok, guards...”) and start scanning the store, speeding through the alleys. No BoW in sight. Suddenly something happened, don’t ask me why. My mind just... zapped (you see, like when reading a book and without notice, your mind flashes out of it to create another side story):

Back to normal speed. I just realized that I was not focusing on target and that I was running out of time. Let’s go ask the concierge :

 

- Him :     “Haaa! That thing? Yeah... we had plenty just a few days ago, then something happened... and... woosh!... ALL GONE!”

– Me :     “Errrr... may I ask you what happened?”

- Him :     “Sure... See, we ran out of Rubik’s cube and were looking for a good replacement in the central shelf and thought about that Ball of Whack –not to say the BoW should have never been displayed there- Then we thought it would be good to have a demonstrator there to show what could be done out of that thing.”

- Me :     “Excellent, and then...?”

- Him :     “That’s when people went crazy... When they saw a squirrel, a sun, a frog, and all the possible combinations... they started to buy them by packs of 3. They were like: ‘And take two more for your brothers’... kinda thing, see wat I mean? Within a few hours we were sold out. Geeee... I’m sorry Sir, there isn’t ONE left”.

 

I was happy to hear such a great “sale” story and to bring it back to Roger... but a bit disappointed not to find a least one left. Hopefully after checking with the concierge, I realized that I was not too far away from the MoMA and so continued my quest in that direction. Outside the store (“Bye Guards!”)... I saw a yellow tricycle parked in front of FAO. The guy sitting on it seemed to be very expressive and was laughing with a friend cyclist. So I thought I’d just double check the way  to the MoMA with him. My simple question seemed to be like an MIT clue to him. He started to talk in Turkish with his friend who obviously was giving him the directions (4-5 blocks away!). He was so nice trying to translate the information to me in English –I mean with a wonderful accent and smile- that I decided to ask him to give me a ride there.

He turned a ghetto blaster on (hidden under passenger seat) and started to paddle full throttle. As we were ridding our 150 decibels of Latino hip hop RnB around 5th, I realized we were not just playing music... there was also the video clip, right between my feet, on an LCD screen ! ! ! (...found that clip on YouTube : "Jagged Edge ft Voltio: she SO amazing") - Amazing New York city indeed! (check it out).

 

   

End of the ride... MoMA Design Store. Open doors... eyes scanner “on”. Left, right, left... “Meep!”... found it: “The Ball of Whacks”! Yeeehaaa! Music, please!

Okay, this story is indeed a little “off the road”. Off regular posts maybe. But I thought I would bring it back to Roger, because I never imagined that on my simple quest to get a red rhombic triacontahedron, I would go through : Google Earth, Skype, FAO guards, giant candies, giant pianos, super-heroes, magic eyes, concierge stories, Turkish tricycle ride, Latino hip hop RnB, MoMA design and innovative items. Since none of this would have happened without aiming to the Ball of Whacks, I want to say thank you Roger for this unexpected extra-ordinary journey! Of course, I’ll come back to the Ball of Whacks in another more dedicated post... In the meantime, my learnings through all this?

 

- Conversation leads to very nice discoveries,

- Product demonstration (still) helps sell products,

- One product might be bought for different reasons (hint, hint!),

- People buying make more people want to buy,

- Magic... may detour us from our most determined goals,

- Surprises may be found looking down (*).

 

Now, if you don’t have a Ball of Whacks, go get one right now...
And if you do, go get it, because this object is magic and if you can figure out how... it will reveal its hidden secret.

Any idea of what it is?   ; )

 

(*) PS : Maybe when we cross people in the streets who are looking down, it's because they are trying to find a surprise. Then maybe we can help them find it?