Kickstarter – Claiming to be “the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world,” Kickstarter is all about joining hands for good causes. It’s the perfect place for autonomously run pledges “to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.”
Kickstarter seems like the perfect venue for project funding thanks to its zero exploitation policy. That is why each funding goal must be reached within the set deadline to avoid scams and abuses.
So what kind of project do people use Kickstarter for? Think of it as a small portion investment center for tiny yet promising startups. See the TikTok + LunaTik Multi-Touch project as an example, and the project’s video is embedded below.
Do you have a creative project you need genuine funding for? Start your own Kickstarter project page and see the money roll in!
Brain Pickings – One of the two winning Weekly Blogs, Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings is a sophisticated venue of intelligence and bite-size horizon enhancers, offering a regularly updated collection of “curated bits of culture that will, at the very least, introduce you to new ideas and perspectives and, at their very best, help you think more, laugh more, create more.”
Brain Pickings is all about enticing your neurons by providing you with well written posts covering out of the box cultural ideas and art projects, among others. Read the fascinating post about the Sounds of HIV as an example (the player below was included in the post, playing those mysterious Sounds of HIV).
Influencers – A most inspiring and thought-provoking project, Influencers is a short documentary film by David Johnson and Paul Rojanathara, focusing on the factors that create fads and trends. The film was shot in New York City, featuring different professionals from the creative field who share their opinion on what or who is an influencer or trendsetter. The creative agency R+I Creative came up with the concept of this amazing short.
The film is in HD quality and the post-production editing made it especially powerful and captivating. The film is less than 14 minutes long, but the inspiration you draw from it will be long lasting. And don’t forget: ideas spread just like viruses do!
Conan O’Brien Presents: Team Coco – When I first heard that Conan O’Brien had left NBC I was devastated. I always favored Conan over Jay Leno, and I was anxious to know what would happen next. Fortunately for me and many others, Conan only moved to another network (TBS, his show airs weeknights at 11/10c).
But the reason why the Team Coco website has made it to last week’s Weekly Faves is not due to Conan’s new show per se, but due to the amazing website that Conan and his team created to build up the hype for the show, to provide users with terrific content, and to show what the fans are saying on the Web.
Explore the high quality and humor-infused content on the Team Coco website in the form of hilarious interview videos between Conan and his show guests, photos, and the latest word from the fans. In addition, you can buy some merchandise branded with the cool Team Coco logo. Oh, and there’s also a blimp (yes!) and a new podcast. The Team Coco website is a powerful example of how well the social media and the Web can be used as a solid marketing tool. Plus, the show is great, which makes it all the more amazing.
See the video below of Conan’s show on TBS, interviewing Michael Cera on November 11, 2010.
ThinkGeek – We don’t normally feature an e-commerce site in the Weekly Faves lineup, but ThinkGeek is most certainly an exception. This website represents what every man secretly desires, but is too afraid to admit it. Aside from cool t-shirts like this one, ThinkGeek offers cool stuff for the home, the office, pets, kitchen, computer and electronics, and loads more. The two photos below are my absolute favorites.
Things Organized Neatly – I usually don’t enjoy going through tumblr galleries; it’s only on rare occasions that I am blown away by genuinely beautiful photos there. Well, we are fortunate enough to have found Things Organized Neatly, a wonderful collection of yes, organized objects in each posted photo. Although this tumblr user wishes to remain anonymous, he or she has exquisite taste and an eye for simple beauty.
See a couple of photos on Things Organized Neatly to get a feel of this regularly updated collection.
From Inventory Magazine (Issue 03 launch @ Partners & Spade) by Ryan Wilms, Oct 26, 2010
By Gregory Han, Sep 9, 2010 Unplggd.com
Paul Frank Planned Pines – What happens when a brand wants to reach out to the online community? It launches an interactive and fun campaign that includes a myriad of content and information for users to engage in. That is what Paul Frank Industry, the super cute fashion accessories company has created in order to reach out to larger audiences online.
The Paul Frank Planned Pines is a fun place for people of all ages, and you’re bound to find something here to keep you busy. Some of the attractions you will find on Planned Pines include the Galaxy Theater, featuring a number of “Julius and Friends” cartoons; the Fun Zone with its beautifully designed arcade games; the Museum’s Art Gallery (showing users’ versions of the brand’s trademark monkey character); and a Rec Center where users create their version of Paul Frank that is later added to the Art Gallery (see my creation below).
Planned Pines is a bundle of cartoon joy. By the way, this campaign is a finalist in the nomination for the 2010 Pixel Award in the Animation category, which totally makes sense. Congrats, Paul Frank Industry!
AMDM – This amazing Adobe Museum of Digital Media is a whimsical cyberspace presenting “the good the bad and the ugly” of how we explore digital media, and in turn, how it influences our society in this day and age. Describing the AMDM in words would be futile. Therefore, I invite you to dive in, see the museum’s curator Tom Eccles’ introduction to this space, and start exploring the museum’s first exhibition “Valley” (second screen shot below).
Young House Love – Sherry and John, a young married couple, have decided to take their first home experience and go public. Young and beautiful, Sherry and John document their renovation projects, their home, their baby daughter and everything in between.
This blog was a winner during its feature on the Weekly Blogs lineup, and reading a few posts on Young House Love will show you why. Excellent content, beautiful projects and that personal touch make this blog a must, even if you’re not house hunting anytime soon. We’re not the only ones who appreciate Young House Love; TV shows and magazines such as Real Simple, Do It Yourself and Better Homes have also taken interest in this young duo.
The picture below accompanies the lovely post The Benjamin Button-ization Of Our Style which I recommend reading. Enjoy it.
Design Mom – Motherhood, let’s face it, can be a messy ordeal, not to mention hectic and with very limited personal time. That didn’t prevent Gabrielle Blair -a mother of six- from keeping her design passion shining bright, and from finding those intersection points of motherhood and creativity.
Aside from sharing her personal family anecdotes, Gabrielle identifies those super stylish items any mother would crave and shares them in her blog. You will find posts on anything from fancy stationary to children’s party ideas, event seating plans, tips on motherhood and loads more. The blog was a winner Weekly Blog during its week, so it moved up to the Weekly Faves. It’s so pleasant to visit, read, and explore! Great job, Gabrielle.
Here’s a really cool idea I found on Design Mom, entitled “ABC Party.”
Motherboard.tv – Keeping track of technological advances is rather easy; quick headline-skimming on TechCrunch, Wired or any major newspaper these days will do that. But one aspect of technology that is often difficult to track and explore is tech’s cultural dimension. Dell’s Motherboard offers just that, in the most professional, engaging and alluring way possible.
According to their About page, Motherboard is “an online video network and community focused on the exploration of the nature and culture of technology, as viewed through the lenses of curated editorial content, community, and dialogue.” Tap into original content videos covering a plethora of topics including film + video, music, art + design, gaming, environment + the body, and ‘wonderful.’
Among seemingly infinite informative delights, you will find all the hottest topics buzzing around the Web right now, such as the Gap logo conundrum, or check this video showing the solution to the mysterious bee shortage in the US. Each video is accompanied by superb textual content, which makes any session on Motherboard a most enjoyable didactic experience.
Holycool – A must RSS, the holycool.net blog features nothing short of the absolute coolest products one can find and buy online today. Created by the lovely Dee, Holycool truly stands out from any other design blog I’ve seen recently. Its unpretentious attitude, simplistic design make way for beautiful content and product finds that are genuine, spot-on, and each review post tells you right up front how much that cool product costs and where you can buy it.
Below are a couple of awesome products I haven’t seen or read about anywhere else.
Fred & Friends’ Yumbots Robot Cupcake Molds:
Eco Reminders Wall Stickers (by Hu2 Design):
