When I first read about Beck’s do-it-yourself CD art for his latest effort, The Information, in an article on Wired (Link), there was something about it that seemed off to me; something a little too… slick. Now, after simply seeing the image at the top of an entry on Design Observer (Link – I’ve not even read the post below it yet) showing the guts of the DIY insert, I realize what bothers me – and it’s no small thing.

Just so you’re aware, I like Beck’s music. I was one of those in the early 90’s playing the stuff that other designers in the office thought was “weird”. Stuff like Radio Head’s first CD. Cuts from sampler CD’s I’d get through magazine’s like Industrial Nation. And Beck struck a lot of the right chords with me. But I don’t know if I feel that way anymore; not after seeing what feels to me more like a gimmick than anything else.
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Second Life users have been itching for the expected seamless integration of the 2D internet with their 3D virtual world, but I’d venture it’s taking much longer than many expected. So far there has been discussion by Linden Lab (see earlier post on the uBrowser – reLink) and some interesting hacks (the most recent example of which I’m aware is the one by Amazonian Jeff Barr – Link), but nothing of what people really want: full, seamless, built-in, easy integration.

That said, 3pointD is reporting (Link) that Linden Lab is preparing to integrate webpages into user profiles. I have to admit feeling a little let down by this. It’s not like I look at profiles very much to start with, so this feels more like peering into someone’s private life than anything else. I don’t want to feel like an HP Chairman of the Board, y’know?

I think Mark Wallace may be correct in commenting that its biggest advantage might be to bloggers (like myself). There might be other advantages and I’m sure those will surface. We’ll just have to see how people integrate this new feature.

The only question I had was if links would work, and according to a comment on the Linden blog entry announcing this feature (Link), the answer to that is provided. “Yes, they will.”. That’s good. But in the meantime, I’m still waiting for the elusive web-on-a-prim.

Well here’s something I intend to take a closer look at when some of my current work eases off (hopefully today). C|Net is reporting (Link) on a virtual “Burning Man Earth” project which intends to create a virtual version of the annual event using Google Earth as the platform. From the article:

“We’ll be creating a map of the constellation of (each) year’s (Burning Man),” said Larry Harvey, Burning Man’s founder and director. “It doesn’t simply provide you with a vicarious spectacle, but rather a blueprint of the community itself in its most active manifestation.”

Wish I had time to dig a bit deeper and give out some details, but for anyone who wants to take a look for themselves, head over to the project website (Link) and download the goods.

{Image Copyright © 1989-2004 black rock city, llc – yep, it’s both incorporated and copyrighted. Weird, huh? So much for the whole hippie, counter-culture sensibility. That appears to have mostly gone up in smoke as documented by this especially disillusioned participant – Link}

Interesting entry (Link) on Henry Jenkin’s blog today. It seems a little disjointed, as if it could have been a longer entry, but there’s some good stuff in it (and besides, it reads like I think). The first part of the post mentions Eric Von Hippel, author of Democratizing Innovation. I’ve heard about the book, but haven’t read it. Think I’ll find some time for it. Here’s some incentive from Jenkin’s post:

Basically, Von Hippel is arguing that companies need to identify what he is calling Lead Users — these are both early adopters (in the sense that they are quick to purchase new products) and early adapters (in the sense that they often hack the products to retrofit them for their specialized needs.) By dealing with these communities and understanding how they appropriate and remake products, these companies can accelerate the design process, anticipating uses and desired features before the product even hits the mass market.

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From an Ad Age article headlined “Leo Burnett Buys Space in Virtual World” (Link):

Burnett claims it’s the first ad agency to buy “real estate” within the construct.

Are they? I thought Rivers Run Red was an ad agency, and they’ve been in SL longer than I have. And I know that technically Text 100 is a “PR Consultancy”, but considering that Leo Burnett is so late to the party, why try to make that distinction when it just makes it even more obvious that the supposedly-creative advertising community has turned out not to be as in-touch with what’s happening in the world – real or virtual – as they like to believe and try to claim.
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