A couple weeks ago I tossed out a new web experience called Chatroulette. A couple friends got an "experience" they didn't want but a guy named Merton is using Chatroulette to create some pretty funny web content. His YouTube videos have gone viral with millions of views and you can't help smiling as you watch these spontaneous improvs.
(Click image for full-size viewing in a new window)
While the bulk of sales are still in-store, the gap is not terribly wide. Perhaps not surprisingly, e-commerce sales seem to outpace in-store sales across several specific categories, including books and magazines, clothing, and electronics. The glaring exception where offline sales far outnumber online is drugs & health aids.
A new friend from London introduced me to this guy's work. He's "mates" with Banksy. Skore is UK street artist who has worked with Adidas and Foot Locker. I especially love the lipstick cam on the spray can.
I wonder what this will be like. I wonder if it will be any good. I wonder if it will be authentic. I wonder if it will glamorize or expose the celebrity lifestyle. Guess we'll find out. If nothing else, it looks interesting.
Be forewarned... unsurpisingly, the F-Bomb show up once in this trailer.
Boing Boing points us to a very interesting Wall Street Journal Article that explores how homeless people are using the Internet. Corey Doctorow also predicts that within five years, network access will be declared a universal human right. Lots of great brain food all around.
The WSJ reports:
Like most San Franciscans, Charles Pitts is wired. Mr. Pitts, who is 37 years old, has accounts on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. He runs an Internet forum on Yahoo, reads news online and keeps in touch with friends via email. The tough part is managing this digital lifestyle from his residence under a highway bridge.
“You don’t need a TV. You don’t need a radio. You don’t even need a newspaper,” says Mr. Pitts, an aspiring poet in a purple cap and yellow fleece jacket, who says he has been homeless for two years. “But you need the Internet.”
Mr. Pitts’s experience shows how deeply computers and the Internet have permeated society. A few years ago, some people were worrying that a “digital divide” would separate technology haves and have-nots. The poorest lack the means to buy computers and Web access. Still, in America today, even people without street addresses feel compelled to have Internet addresses.
For some reason I love photography that features decaying structures and objects. Maybe it's because each photo tells a thousand untold stories and it's easy to imagine the structures in their original pristine state.
Julia Soris has a new portfolio called Stage of Decayand in each image, I see the room filled with people and the performer or artist offering their best to enlighten, illicit laughter, or entertain. Check out the ones below and then head here for the rest.
Early last month, I posted about some incredible 3D chalk art on the streets. Well, John Pugh is taking it vertical. Check it...
John on his work:
I am a trompe l’oeil artist focusing primarily on mural painting. I have found that the “language” of life-size illusions allow me to communicate with a very large audience. It seems almost universal that people take delight in being visually tricked. Once captivated by the illusion, the viewer is lured to cross an artistic threshold and thus seduced into exploring the concept of the piece. I have also found that by creating architectural illusion that integrates with the existing environment both optically and aesthetically, the art transcends the “separateness” that public art sometimes produces.
It is important for me, as an artist, to interact with the community, formulating concepts based upon a multitude of viewpoints. Artists must be continually aware that their work can serve as a bridge between diverse cultural backgrounds. Public art is of great interest to me; providing me with a sense of purpose as it is a very powerful form of communication. It can link people together, stimulate a sense of pride within the community, and introduce the viewer to new ideas and perspectives.
