The Five Most Annoying Kinds of Internet Scolds

Let's face it, there are some annoying people out there who live by critiquing other people's mistakes. The online world of social media does not escape it. In fact, people could argue that it is easier to be a complete scumbag online than in person. Here are the Five Most Annoying Kinds of Internet Scolds according to Nick Douglas of URLesque.


This week, the Times covered the "Twitter Patrol," users who point out other people's misspellings and grammar mistakes on Twitter, "whose constant yipping at their victims gives a bit of an edge to the free-for-all dialogue on the site."

One of these guys has sent over 130,000 automatic replies to people who twitter in all caps. He says he does it to teach people about etiquette.

The Twitter Patrol is the worst type of online vigilante -- except for the four other types listed here.

The Facebook Politico
He saw your opinion of the health care reform bill and it is wrong. He has this other, opposing belief, supported by an article he read somewhere that you really need to read now or else he can't be bothered to argue with you about a thing that in fact he has just started arguing with you about without being asked to.

Granted, you sort of asked for this crap when you shared your opinion of a political matter on Facebook, but the Facebook Politico made sure to go beyond polite discussion of opinions and tried to humiliate you on your own profile page. Because the internet is just another place to hold his tea party or let his freak flag fly and your social circle is his new flock to be preached at, whether they care or not.


The Internet White Knight
Guys, stop ragging on that poor girl who posted photos of her half-naked body! Internet White Knight is here and he wants to tell that girl that she really is cool and beautiful no matter what everyone else says. Now, girl, won't you proclaim that White Knight is your hero and thank him for saving you from the internet mob? White Knight needs acknowledgment and gratitude or else he'll rescind his kind statements and call you a c*cktease. Because Internet White Knight is just another sad manipulator, just one that fancies himself a more sensitive dude.


The Seen-it-all
Oh, that animal doing that people thing? Seen it. The animated gif of things of every size from molecule to human to planet to galaxy? SO LAST YEAR. This kid belting out a Beyoncé hit is so ancient that Abraham Lincoln saw it and he was all "Old!"

The seen-it-all probably already read this on Boing Boing and she definitely already saw it on Digg. And because nobody should ever talk about anything that anyone else has ever ever possibly barely heard of, she is going to wipe your "news" in your face because you are so damn last season, you poor luddite slob. Did you ever see that episode of Ghostwriter where Julia Stiles was a hacker? The Seen-it-all is that. She's also seen that episode a million times so oh my god stop posting it on Reddit.


The Blogger Out of Nowhere
You're checking your Google alerts and heyyy, there's a mention of the blog post you wrote! Cool, someone had something to...say...about...your...oh. This is just some angry blogger who misunderstood your point and took one line out of context to make a totally different point. He also misspelled words you spelled correctly and someone in the comments mocked you for the typo.

You know how pointless it is to have any emotional reaction at all to this little mistake happening deep in the bowels of the web where no one outside of this guy's trailer park will ever see, but you rage. You rage so hard, you post about it back on your blog, taking him out of context and that is the circle of life. The cirrrrrrcle of liiiiiife, and it mooooves us allllll.

Another Pebble Design..

The majority of users keep a cellphone to contact people and nothing else, therefore multimedia functions of contemporary mobile phones become futile for them. Conceived by British designer Jamie Lawrence, the “Pebble” is a simple yet stylish mobile phone that removes all the multimedia capabilities to keep its use easy for common users. Sliding apart from the middle to reveal a touchscreen, the Pebble presents reduced functions for easier use, while its reduced size and weight coupled with a curvy shape enables the user to carry it comfortably for a long period. Though the Pebble removes most of the complex technical aspects, it maintains a sleek and contemporary design for the trendy users.

Literally stepping to your own beat.

You have to love Nike. They recently created a prototype for a "musical shoe" that makes musical sounds however you move your foot/shoe. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at how the Japanese DJ duo Hifana performed with their musical shoe.

posted by Design Boom and wieden + kennedy

Fruit of Life

Fruit of Life

Hieu Tranngoc and Hao Tran have designed a balanced kitchen that fits the lifestyle a geek, for sure. Ideally sized for one or two people, Fruit of Life is an open concept that gives the user the freedom to move the kitchen with ease. A fruitful apple tree has been the source of inspiration for the designers and they have literally shaped the whole setup like a tree with two fruits hanging from branches on either side. Read more

the Original "Tweet"

Now your favorite clock can really tweet for you.

Social networking on the internet is possibly the best way to remain in touch or updated with friends and happenings going on across the world. Making internet networking simple and swift, interface and interaction designer Haroon Baig has modified an old-fashioned cuckoo clock that connects to the internet wirelessly and looks for new updates or search results from the Twitter API regularly. Entitled the “TwitweeClock,” the clock displays the latest tweets in near-real time on the built-in display, while a mechanical cuckoo popping out of the clock gives it a conventional touch.

Another Concept for an E reader

Everyone is coming out with their own concept for an E reader, everyone - including your mom. this is "The Page" from Jae Kim, a prototype e-reader makes use of a semi-transparent e-ink screen to display images and text with more clarity. It looks like a newspaper, kind feels like a newspaper, but oh no - it's not a newspaper. This e reader allows those with some e - reservations to have their cake and eat it too. They still have the feeling of holding a paper in their hand, but now they can jump on the e reader bandwagon as well.

What's cool is that you can scroll through articles and surf through content just as you would surfing the web. Check out the video below.

On a separate note: The New York Times is always used as an example newspaper in concepts for e readers. Do they collect royalties?

via The Design Blog

infographic of the day "So you need a typeface"

Have you ever been in the middle of a project and you can't figure out which typeface to use? Yes, no, maybe so?

Even if you are not involved with design, this fun infographic "So you need a typeface" from Julian Hansen, a graphic design student from Copenhagen, Denmark. Hansen created this project as a more amusing manner in choosing fonts for a project besides flipping through the pages of a typical Font Book.

Hansen created this project as a result of utilizing the problem-solving nature of designers. One can assume that after many instances of frustration concerning the search for the perfect font, Hansen wanted to create an easier manner to do so.

You're So Vain

Just wondering why the badass Chinese manufacturers took so long to come up with a cheap iPhone edition? Possibly, this time around they wanna give it a sleek, sophisticated look that they could identify with themselves, rather than producing a cheap mockup. Here is the strange oval phone dubbed “Leady Apple” or “Lady Apple” from China that as indicated by its name is designed to attract stylish female users with its smooth, curvaceous design. Featuring the Apple logo, the feminine iPhone comes with all the standard features, including built-in games, media playback, digital camera and an FM radio. While the super shiny mirror-finish screen, allowing an instant makeup on the go, could well turn out to be the main attraction for the female folk.

A different kind of "tweet"

The “Wildermann” by designer Georgios Maridakis is a cuckoo clock created by a magical state of the art wood cutting technique, becoming a functional sculpture for modern apartments. The digital clock bringing the fairy tale forest to life looks more like a piece of art than a timepiece, enhancing the decor of contemporary spaces with its classic, but at the same time unique, design.

Another Reason to Wish You Were At Coachella

Inspired by the Japanese tradition of folding a thousand cranes in order to receive a wish, the LA-based Crimson Collective has come up with a massive origami crane named the “Ascension” that will be displayed at Coachella music festival this weekend. Finished in modular aluminum tubes covered with a white mesh fabric, Textilene, the structure measures 45 feet in height with a wingspan of 150 feet and weighs about 35,000 pounds. The origami bird integrates multi-colored LEDs powered by a solar system to illuminate at night, creating a mesmerizing view to attract visitors.

Really?

Would you want this in your house? Wouldn't it be a bit of a bad omen? Or playing with fate?

Evan Roth: Bad Ass Mother Fucker

Google "Bad Ass Mother Fucker" and you'll find Evan Roth

Today we Hofstra New Media students had the pleasure of having Evan Roth come speak to us about his work, his belief in open/free culture, and being a bad ass mother fucker. He spoke about his fascination with remix culture (a society that allows others to improve upon, change, integrate, or otherwise remix the work of copyright holders) and the importance of an open source community (most of Evan's projects offer a free source code for others).

Some takeaways:

think "Free as in freedom, not free as in free beer" - Richard Stallman ~ especially pertinent when thinking about the distribution of free content in today's media.

to hack: "small interventions that alter large systems" - be disruptive ~ this relates well to my Honors Project "Google How to Be Disruptive". I'm placing the slides up this weekend.

"good projects take a year, great projects take a weekend" - I talked to Roth about this afterward. He explained that he thought it better to "think smart" instead of "hard". When it comes to time management, I agree that one can't sit on an idea - you have to hold on to the momentum of a brilliant idea and see it through.

"publish every day" - when timeliness equals relevance, it's necessary to publish content as soon as possible. When you have an original idea, the sooner you publish it, the sooner you have "idea right"

In terms of becoming relevant online, there are three important traits you need: Sincerity, Style, and Timeliness

For more tips, check out 11 Rules for Getting Famous on the Internet. This is a blog for Evan Roth's Parsons Paris "Viral Media for Viral Artists" class.

Be sure to check out Evan Roth's unforgettable projects such as LED Throwies, Jay -Z's "Brooklyn Go Hard", and Graffiti Analysis 2.0.

Wait, so it's not REALLY a chair? Or it is?

Call it furniture or a belt, the “Chairless” by designer Alejandro Aravena is a minimal chair that allows seating for the modern nomad in between their stretched journeys. Developed for German furniture firm Vitra, the minimal chair (rather a fabric strap) draws inspiration from a strap used by Ayoreo Indians and wraps around the knees and back of the user to keep him/her in a stable position without any external support. Though, not too sure of the comfort, I presume this to be a really easy carry deal for all travelers. Claimed to be the world’s most minimal chair, the Chairless when not in use enfolds to fit in your pocket or backpack with ease.

is advertising on twitter right for your business?

wieden + kennedy's London office employee Neil Christie wrote on their "Welcome to Optimism" blog about how Twitter has incorporated advertising into its platform. Christie argues why it may or may not be a good idea for businesses to advertise on Twitter.

Twitter just announced that they will be launching a new ad platform and you may be wondering if it’s right for your business. Before we get to that, first let’s talk about how the new model works.

First and foremost, Twitter’s system isn’t all that different from Google AdWords, which is a system for placing ads alongside search results based on the keywords the searcher used. Twitter advertisers place CPL (cost-per-thousand views) bids on keywords and their tweets are displayed in the search results based on their bid and quality score, which will likely be calculated based on how people respond to the tweet, i.e. retweets, @replies generated by the tweet and new followers. The higher your quality score, the lower your CPM.

The benefit to advertisers according to Twitter is your tweets will be displayed “above the noise” of ever-changing search results, which gives brands the power to respond to discussions in real-time and not be buried by rapidly changing Twitter search results. Eventually, promoted tweets will find their way into Twitter streams and desktop/mobile Twitter clients like TweetDeck and Tweetie, but Twitter has not yet announced how this will be executed, but it will likely be related to the topics users tweet about. The ads will initially look like this:

Now, are sponsored tweets right for your business? If you have something to say that’s relevant in real-time, then yes. If you want to use it to promote a static message the same way you would with Google AdWords or banners, sponsored tweets are probably not right for you.

The Starbucks example above is a great illustration of an effective use of this technology. It’s related to a one-day promotion and would be shown to users expressing interest in the brand. It would also make sense for them to use more general keywords relating to coffee. However, keywords relating to free stuff and deals would attract less qualified users.

Initally, this system is being tested by Starbucks, Virgin America and Bravo, however, it will soon be opened up to other brands.

Passion for fashion - it's illuminating

Inspired by a tie and collar, designer Dzmitry Samal has come up with an innovative light that seems to make a style statement in contemporary apartments. Dubbed the “Karl,” after stylish German fashion designer and artist Karl Lagerfeld, the trendy lamp features a clean and elegant look. Made in metal and plastic, the new table lamp presents a minimal design, as it just includes an on/off button at its metal base, which keeps the lamp steady on the table.

I may pass.

Via: Samal Design

Now You Can Work Anywhere....

GREAT

A workstation is sure to enhance your performance at work, but what if you don’t have adequate space to place a regular workstation at your workplace or home or home office? Then you possibly would like have a look (rather buy) the new 2 in 1 chair & workstation from Baíta Design. Dubbed the “Versus,” the multifunctional furniture unit from the Brazilian design studio is essentially a flexible chair that flips into a workstation for compact spaces. Made in Policarbonate, the modular unit is not only durable but also lightweight for easy transportation.

You're Safe with Time by Your Side

never fret, walk down any dark alleyway without fear with this proposed bullet-proof wrist watch that, frankly, looks as bad @$$ as you.

Tread 1: Bulletproof wristwatch

Developed in collaboration with a Californian aerospace engineering company, the “Tread 1” from Devon Works is a bulletproof wristwatch that creates a splendid work of art as the numbers move with precision across a belt, giving an altogether new dimension to the mundane task of checking the time. Read more

Can Social Media Be Translated Into Art?

Alison Campbell Rogers wrote an entry on Talent Zoo's "Digital Pivot" blog about how artists are interpreting social media as art. Alison Campbell Rogers is a Media Director and agency owner (and former advice columnist) who is passionate about creating space for her clients to stand out, especially online. Follow her on Twitter.

Art and social media may not seem like a natural match. Let’s face it, no one expects to ever have a tweet hanging in the Museum of Modern Art. However, just as technology has changed the way we write -- from blogging to texting -- technology also has changed the face of art and how we interact with it. It is evolving from the typical canvas-hanging-in-a-museum kind to a new medium and changing how we interact with art on a larger scale.

Social media seems to be a great equalizer. Brands that may not be able to afford exorbitant media rates have the same basic tools at hand to talk to their markets as the big guys. It is making art accessible to the public in the same sense -- democratizing art so that we can all play a part. Art, especially over the last century, has come to be perceived as exclusive, rather than inclusive, with dominance of abstraction and even shock value for critical darlings such as Damien Hirst.

Even in the realm of public art, the public doesn’t often have much of a say or take as much of an interest as the name would imply. In fact, many times these pieces are more controversial than welcome in a community.

Social media has armed certain artists and groups with the needed means to change that. One example is The Hello Wall. It's the work of London’s Wasted Spaces, which creates art using old or abandoned structures, creating beauty and interest in spaces that might otherwise be considered eyesores, and Hellicar & Lewis, an installation-art duo. Using the @thehellowall Twitter account, tweets control geometric shapes that move on the large digital screen. It is meant to empower and put creative responsibility into the hands of the viewers by letting the public control what they see displayed as art.

Twitter-controlled public art shows that art loves social media. Can social media love art back? Certainly. Just as small business enjoys a level playing field and access to audience through savvy social campaigns, the art world is enjoying social’s ability to link the sometimes economically disparate groups that create, promote, display, and buy art.

Art Imitates Your Worklife

Can you look at some one and be able to guess their career choice? Flavorwire posted a few products that if toted around definitely say more than a fashion statement.

A plate made for surveying [Via Designage]

A new spin taking your work home with you [Via design boom]