PERISCOPE UP!

It’s not often we have the chance to test drive a new app the moment it’s released. We missed the boat with so many of them–Instagram, Vine, Meerkat. So when we saw that Twitter had just released Periscope, its live video streaming app, we jumped on in an attempt to get ahead of the curve for once.

What we found was…well,  a lot of people doing what we were doing: testing it out by filming their dogs, or their office, or their kids, or talking into their front facing camera. It’s fascinating to see these early baby steps, before the platform has thrown up any “stars” or anything has gone viral.

Of course, Periscope seems ripe for misuse, and we assume that it’s only a matter of hours before the network is chock a-block with all kinds of kinky stuff we shouldn’t be watching. Stay tuned for a Buzzfeed story on the first live robbery to be “periscoped“ (see, we don’t even have an official word for it yet!) or the first couple do do the nasty while sharing it with every one of their Twitter followers. About five minutes ago, we saw some guy take a pee, so things seem to be off to a grand start.

Will Periscope take over the mantle that Meerkat assumed only last week? Who can say? This is social media, baby: things move fast. Who knows if either platform will even survive the two minutes it will take us to finish this post?

EDIT - Well, that was quick. Ten minutes after we posted the above, a building collapsed in NYC’s East Village and Periscope became a go-to place for people to share video of the scene. Not at all the kind of viral event we were hoping for.

HER

Sexbots have been the dream of lonely nerds since time immemorial, but who knew we were living in the age when they become a reality?

This weekend, users of dating/hook-up app Tinder who happened to be in Austin for the SXSW conference found a fresh new face to swipe right on. Her name was Ava, and she was gorgeous. She was also interested in what they had to say, and seemed full of questions. In every case, she gave the person with whom she was texting an Instagram handle and told them to check it out.

Those who did check it out experienced a mix of disappointment and admiration–for, of course, Ava was a bot, a bot specifically created to promote a film called Ex Machina about artificial intelligence. A surprising number of people responded with praise for the audacity of this viral marketing campaign—though how many of them were just trying to put on a brave face is impossible to say.

As we only heard about this after the fact, and never got our heart broken by this achingly beautiful bit of software, you can believe us when we say the whole thing is genius. Ava caught the user’s attention, engaged their emotions, and gave them an experience they will always associate with the product she was promoting. The perfect marketing machine.

via AdWeek

Finding Our Level

We will never climb Mount Everest, or any of the “6K club” (i.e., mountains 6,000 meters and above). We will never climb the Himalayas, the Swiss Alps or the Rockies. We might hike a bit in the Catskills, but that’s about it.

There are a lot of reasons we won’t be tackling Everest: the lack of oxygen, the altitude sickness, the sheer expense. But perhaps the most compelling reason of all has recently made the news. Mount Everest has gotten so crowded, it’s evidently cover in poop.

Fortunately, technology is stepping up to the plate. Not to clean up the mountain—God no—but to allow us to enjoy the view. Check out this astonishingly high-res film shot in the Himalaya by Teton Gravity Research. Using gyro-stabilized cameras, and filming from a helicopter that went up to 24,000 feet (5,000 shy of the Everest summit, admittedly), this film provides all the glorious vistas you can handle, while keeping you firmly at sea level (or thereabouts).

Only Missing Mugatu

Can this be for real? Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald showed up at the Valentino show in Paris! We feel like we're taking crazy pills!

Actually, this is a great example of non-traditional integrative marketing. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality (or as close to reality as fashion gets), this execution is all win. Valentino gets a little extra Hollywood buzz, and shows that they don't take themselves too seriously. Paramount can sit back and relax, confident in the knowledge that everyone on the Internet now knows about "Zoolander 2." And we all get to wig out at the joy of seeing these two iconic characters inject themselves into a real fashion show.

First those amazing stock photo shots of Vince Vaughn and the other stars of "Unfinished Business," now this. Integrated marketing stunts are soooo hot right now!