Yes, yes, yes! Accessibility for all! Allow everyone to be able to use their environments and stay in their communities! Different generations living together in a community is better for everyone!
Category: Social
Lolcats and the Harlem Shake: Play on the Internet
An article from the head of Google’s Agency Strategic Planning team published in Fast Company talks about why we play on the Internet; it’s a really good dive into the need and importance for play in our lives and share that playful experience with others, and how as we move towards a more digital space we are taking that need to share play with us. It is marketing/branding focused, but the message is clear; we all need play and are making space for it, at least in our Internet lives:
We [netizens] uploaded over half a million variations of Harlem Shake to YouTube in the past few months. Google searches for Cat GIFs hit an all-time high last month. And we took 380 billion photos last year–that’s 10% of all the photos taken . . . ever. But let’s be honest–these memes are fun, but they don’t matter, right? They’re pretty much a waste of time.
As the head of Google’s Agency Strategic Planning team, it’s my job to work with brands and creative agencies to help develop their ideas in the digital space. So I had to ask: Why would we be doing so much of all this “visual play” if it really means so little to us?
To get to the bottom of these memes, we assembled a team of original thinkers–anthropologists, digital vanguards, and content creators–to dig a little deeper into this “visual web.” We also spoke to gen-Cers–the people who grew up on the web or behave as though they did–and who thrive on creation, curation, connection, and community.The research showed us that far from distracting us from more serious things, these viral pictures, videos, and memes reconnect us to an essential part of ourselves.
It may seem that all we’re doing is just capturing every mundane moment. But look closely. These everyday moments are shot, displayed, and juxtaposed in a way that offers us a new perspective. And then all of a sudden these everyday moments, places, and things look . . . fascinating.
As kids, that happens all the time because everything is new. Everything is unlike. And we aren’t constrained by the rules about what “goes together.” Why else was putting the Barbie in the toy car wash more fun than putting the car in the car wash?
Read the whole article here: Memes With Meaning: Why We Create And Share Cat Videos And Why It Matters To People And Brands
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Competition: Create Your City’s Next Great PLAYscape
Yes! Seattle had a similar competition a couple of years ago, more focused on art but in a similar vein. Unfortunately not much came of the competition, so I would LOVE to see the results of this competition. Hooray for Playscapes!
99 Tiny Games Project in London Brings Play to the Streeets
Sometimes we just need a little spark to get us to play.
In 2012, Hide&Seek installed 99 tiny games around London:
Tiny Games began life at the Southbank Centre in 2011 and are a collection of very small, very quick-to-understand games. They sit in the real world, inviting participation from any interested passer-by. Their rules can be summarised in just a couple of sentences.
In the spirit of the “big” games in London this summer, Hide & Seek created 99 wee-tiny games and stuck them all over the city, transforming buildings, sidewalks, tube stations and more into impromptu game sites. The rules are all quick and simple and each game takes almost no time to play – anyone can play, anytime they want. Players will be tested on everything from wits to creativity to cooperation to determination, all within immediate reach of their home, workplace, or favorite pub.
It’s great to watch the Olympians do what they do best and admire their near-superhuman abilities, but it’s also important to bring this spirit of competition and fun to non-superhumans like us. We bet that if everyone stopped to play even for just a few minutes everyday the world would undoubtedly be a better place. 99 Tiny Games serves as a reminder to everyone to always be playful, no matter where you are.
In the past year, the team has since created a Kickstarter to try and get an app built so you can find fun games wherever you go. Hooray for using technology to create playful spaces wherever you are! Unfortunately it only looks like it’s available in the UK market, but it’s great inspiration to look for play wherever you go.
Seattle City Hall is at least thinking about happiness, even if haphazardly
I read this article in Seattle’s The Stranger: Can City Government Make Us Happy?
The authror of the article was pretty snarky about the whole process, and I admit it’s not the best thought-out initiative, but my first thought was, “at least they’re interested and trying.”
I actually thought the task force (let’s call it that since the town hall meeting was fairly limited in public representation) had some pretty interesting insights:
“The last four days, we were out on the streets asking, ‘What makes people happy?'” explained Laura Musikanski of Seattle’s Happiness Initiative, which was tasked with surveying Seattle’s happiness levels in 2011 (spoiler: Poor people are less happy). Behind the panelists sat a wall of sticky notes with the answers to that question, including sex, fish, power, free parking, corn, and sun.
“A lot of people said water—they love the rain,” added Mario Chamorro of Make It Happy. “People in Seattle are waterproof!”
I don’t know if people meant rain when they said water – Seattle is also surrounded on multiple sides by lake or sound – but maybe they did mean rain. Who knows, we might just be that crazy. But rather than critique their methodology, I would like to applaud the city of Seattle, a city that is shrouded in damp, dark, and gray for most of the year, for at least starting to tackle this question.
I’m curious if anything will come of this, or if they’ve burned all their happy budget on the Make It Happy team from New York. If this is in fact ongoing, I might suggest having your next Happy Team meeting in the sun. It was one of the things on your list that makes people happy, after all. And maybe offer some fish and corn. 🙂
Related articles
- Seattle’s First Happiness Open House Was Super Depressing (slog.thestranger.com)
- Can City Government Make Us Happy? (thestranger.com)
- City Launches Campaign to “Make Seattle Happy” (slog.thestranger.com)
- How to “spread happiness” in Seattle: Conlin to host forum (seattlepi.com)
In Quebec City, the Rivers Return to the People
Another great example of creating enriching public spaces out of natural environments and features already in place.
Music for the Masses
Happy Friday everyone. Be sure to go out and play today. 🙂
The best examples of street art in 2012 48 pictures | memolition
As you head home tonight, keep an eye out for any rogue street art on your commute. You’ll be surprised what you may see… 🙂
more at The best examples of street art in 2012 48 pictures | memolition.
Related articles
- Street art map: pinning life to the city (stuff.co.nz)
- Street art in Cairo. Glenn Belverio reports from the Egyptian capital. (dianepernet.typepad.com)
- Heart-Bearing Metal Fences – This Valentine’s Day Street Art is Simply Sweet (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
- Street art map: Pinning life to Chch (stuff.co.nz)
- Top 10 Street Art Across The UK And Ireland (essentialtravel.co.uk)
- Spray it out loud: London’s street art (onefinestay.com)
PONS + HUOT Office by Christian Pottgiesser » CONTEMPORIST
It already feels like Thursday, and it’s only Monday, ooy!
Thankfully my office space is a great space to work in and take a breather every now and then, and even play a little. And that idea of creating playful work spaces is catching on more and more.
The project accommodates the headquarters of two companies in Paris – PONS and HUOT – with a total of fifteen executives. Consequently the unit has seven individual rooms for each director and one open-space-office for the remaining eight clerks.
more via PONS + HUOT Office by Christian Pottgiesser » CONTEMPORIST.
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Even the president of the U.S. makes time for play
Reposted from Hypable:
Though U.S. President Barack Obama is probably one of the busiest and most stressed people in the world, he still has time to show his fun side as seen in the latest photo released by the White House today in which he’s gets caught in a young Spider-Man’s web.
Check out the adorable photo of President Obama fighting Spider-Man below, which was released across the President’s Facebook and Twitter pages earlier today. If you look closely you can even see that the President seems to be making a battle-style sound effect of being caught in Spidey’s web – something all of us have to admit to doing when playing with kids in superhero uniforms!
We wonder which villain the President was taking on. With his hands in the air could he have been impersonating Doctor Octopus? We’re sure the youngster’s imagination was running wild as the President indulged the Spider-Man battle!
Nice to be reminded that there are always opportunities for play, and no matter how responsible or important or busy you are, play is important.
Mental Flowers 