You know you want to.
contributed by , Content Specialist
It’s right there, right in the middle of the screen. Taunting you. Egging you on. So smug, sitting there all bossy and lever-like, like it’s the mayor of Lever Town or something. But you’re not going to do it. That lever ain’t the boss of you. You’ve got better things to do than pull a stupid lever just because it told you not to.
We’ll admit it, we’re not as strong as you are. We couldn’t resist; we pulled it, and it was awesome. But you don’t care. You’re above it all.
[Extra kudos for the use of "awesomeness" in their product URLs, and for the charming and silly copy, both on the site and (as we were thrilled to discover when our shiny new lenses arrived) the back of the packaging. We heart you, Photojojo.]
categorized as: Whimsy
Striking fear in the hearts of spambots. Fluffy, adorable fear.
contributed by , Director of User Experience
We spend a lot of time online. Like, a lot a lot. Signing up for cool sites, buying stuff, signing up for sites where we can buy cool stuff, you get it. So we’ve been around the block with captchas and until today, we thought we’d seen ‘em all.
WRONG. PowerMax has proven us wonderfully, adorably, delectably, deliriously, delightfully wrong.
categorized as: Humor
Please Satellite, Convert ‘Em
contributed by , Digital Marketing Strategist
We encourage our clients to think about digital marketing not just as a series of transactions but as a dialogue — a conversation between themselves and their online visitors. If you met these people at a party, what would you say when you shake their hands? Maybe you’ll ask about their interests, and share some of your own. You might tell a joke or a funny story to break the ice a bit. Either way, you’re getting to know each other and that means letting your personality shine through.
Search Discovery opted into this perspective with a sign-up form (for a demo of their Satellite tag management system) that’s not only tidy and approachable, but tells you what song’s on their virtual jukebox. Wanna dance?
categorized as: Humor
When books have legs
contributed by , Content Specialist
Digital experiences make up only a part of our complex, messy lives. We were tickled to learn that Portland’s much-loved local bookstore Powell’s Books takes extra-clever care with its customers on and off the web. Here’s the scenario as we envision it:
1. A customer excitedly orders a used book on the Powell’s website.
2. Moments later, an in-store patron swoops that self-same book off the shelf, buys it, and happily wanders off to Storytown.
3. A few more moments later, a Powell’s clerk arrives at the shelf to retrieve the book and, realizing it’s nowhere to be found, takes delightful measures to ensure that the online customer also makes it to Storytown as promised.
It’s sweet, and thoughtful. It reminds us to think about the whole experience, not just the bits we see on the web. And it makes us want to put down our keyboard and read a book.
categorized as: Ease, Humor
Feeding the poll troll
contributed by , Digital Marketing Specialist
Ask people what irritates them when they’re online, and it won’t take long for someone to say “those annoying surveys that pop up in my face when I’m trying to [insert far more interesting behavior].”
But for those who disagree (and they are legion), Grooveshark celebrates you. When completed, their frequent 3-question polls not only thank you but acknowledge the wisdom and omniscience of their own poll troll (lower right; we added the grey highlight & arrow for emphasis). We can’t wait to see what that troll comes up with next.
categorized as: Humor
A picture is worth a thousand unpronounceable chemical names.
contributed by , Director of User Experience
Healthy. All Natural. Raw. Lots of companies make these claims but a glance at the ingredient lists tell a different story. One popular “all-natural nutrition bar” lists corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and sorbitan monostearate (sometimes referred to as “synthetic wax”) in its first 10 ingredients. Another contains sugar and caramel, and despite a 10-minute online search we were unable to determine any of the ingredients in a third. We just lost our appetites.
Larabar has nothing to hide. Not only do they back up their health claims by clearly featuring ingredients on each product page (no clicks, no endless searching), the pictures illustrate the wholeness (and recognizableness… is that a word?) of every single ingredient. The extra bits of info accessible by hovering over each item is just icing on their healthy, all-natural cake.
categorized as: Smarts
Snow Manager seeks freelance gigs; inquire within
contributed by , Account Manager
The twinkly lights are hung. Secret Santas prowl the office with clandestine packages, all witnesses sworn to secrecy. And our inboxes are filled with holiday greetings from far and wide. Vendors, partners and customers are sending us cute animated packets of jingle bell joy. As if all that wasn’t enough to get us in the spirit, LinkedIn managed to make our holiday even brighter.
(Also? We always wondered who managed all that snow. You learn something new every day.)
categorized as: Surprise
Deck the halls with a bunch of free music
contributed by , Associate Creative Director
In the Decembers of our youth, mom & dad would pick up advent calendars from the local discount store and hang them in the kitchen. From December 1 through Christmas morning, there was nothing more exciting than the anticipation of the chocolate hiding within. What shape would it be? How big? Would it have a creamy filling? We looked at the picture printed on each day and took our best guesses, savoring every tear we made in the perforated paper door. We barely noticed the dusty grit of the cheap candy; we were too caught up in the afterglow from exposing the tiny surprise.
Amazon revealed its version of the advent calendar: 25 free MP3s, one per day until December 25th. We won’t deny we’re hooked: daily visits, quick peeks between meetings to see what new song showed up today, bets on which artist will be featured next. Don’t judge too harshly — we learned it from our parents.
Thank you, Amazon. Bing Crosby beats a crappy piece of chocolate any day of the year.
categorized as: Surprise
All of the gobble, none of the glue
contributed by , Account Manager
Google has turned seasonal banner design into an art form, and this year’s Thanksgiving tribute doesn’t fail to delight. Hand turkey with a propellor beanie? Check. Hand turkey in fuchsia pumps? You got it, no construction paper (or art degree) required. We’re not sure who’s having more fun: us or the folks at Google who got to dream up this turkey’s entire holiday wardrobe.
We do sort of miss the glitter, though.
(P.S. to you slot machine junkies: try pulling on the wing.)
categorized as: Whimsy
Getting our piece of the pi
contributed by , Digital Strategist
Dear turntable.fm,
Nowadays “Inbox zero” seems like an ephemeral dream from simpler times. Everybody wants an email address when you sign up for their service, and while the resulting deluge of email newsletters, special offers, tips and updates are most often served with a swift ‘Unsubscribe’, it’s hard to stay ahead of the storm.
But not you, turntable. You acknowledge and respect the fact that some of us don’t much care for newsletters, special offers, tips and updates. You give us 4 simple email options, including one that truly drives to the heart of what we look for in a digital relationship: random bits of math. And, really, who doesn’t love a piece of pi?