Not Exactly Rocket Science – The vast and often complicated world of science is also enchanting and inspiring. But showing the wonders of science is not limited to BBC or National Geographic films and series. Discover Magazine’s Not Exactly Rocket Science blog is here on a mission: “Rocket Science is his attempt to talk about the awe-inspiring, beautiful and quirky world of science to as many people as possible.” Written by the young, award-winning Ed Young, Rocket Science is a fascinating blog worth checking into every week.
Here’s an interesting post I’ve found here in this insightful blog: a video of a mandrill monkey in the Chester Zoo in the UK, caught giving itself a pedicure with tools it made by itself. How amazing is that?
In today’s digital world, automation is for the most part a good thing, even great, since it means that less time and effort are required to achieve the desired result. But when it comes to Web navigation and content consumption (whether in text, video or other media form) at work, at home or anywhere else, automation in the name of productivity can be a deterrent.
Search fatigue is becoming a widespread downside to the world of online search, and SEO-savvy spammers and marketing freeloaders try to grab your attention on that very first results page, under the pretense of offering valid and useful content…
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justWink – This cool app for the iPhone and Android lets you send customized greeting cards using your mobile. Add your personal touch with your own words rather than a tacky, ready-made phrase. Throw in a photo from your phone, and an actual signature to show you care. Choose from a variety of e-card themes including birthday, thank you, baby, wedding, friendship, even just because. Once you’re done you can send the greeting card via Facebook or email.
justWink’s interface is super easy to use, and it only takes a few taps to send your customized greeting card. See for yourself with this iPhone screenshot:
Fiverr – Simply put, Fiverr is the place where people show what they’re willing to do, buy or sell for $5. Sound weird, doesn’t it? That’s what I thought at first, but when you really think about it, Fiverr is a genius concept, and the large number of active users attests to this.
It turns out a lot of people are willing to do quite a bit for just $5, from personal greeting card creation to sending you hi-res photo of any text you want, just to name a few. Here’s a cool, high-rated offer for just $5: SOS Elite Media will create an impressive kinetic typography moving text video for you for, yes, just five bucks. How does Fiverr work, exactly? Here’s how:
Evian’s Let’s Baby Dance – If you haven’t seen it yet, the French mineral water company Evian has been leading a huge global campaign these past couple of years with babies as the brand’s leading stars (remember the roller-skating babies video that instantly went viral?). These past few weeks billboards and roadside posters in major cities worldwide have been decorated with images of pretty people wearing a T-shirt with a baby’s body so it looks like the model has a baby figure from the neck down . To make this campaign a true cross-platform project, the “Baby Inside” advertising concept has become viral online as well with Evian’s Let’s Baby Dance website.
Evian’s interactive and totally fun Let’s Baby Dance site invites you to take part in the global movement of working it baby style by using your computer camera. Before you begin, hit play on the homepage to see what previous users have done, and then click the “Take Part” button under the main image. You will be asked to pick your baby of choice and turn on your webcam. The ad’s signature track, a cool new version of Tom Tom Club’s Wordy Rappinghood by Uffie (remixed by DJ Mehdi), can be downloaded via iTunes Store.
OpenStudy – I wish I had this community available to me back when I was a student. OpenStudy is a well-intentioned network of students seeking live online help from other students. Alternatively, OpenStudy is also a place where experienced students can offer their knowledge to novice peers struggling with a certain study topic.
As you can see from the screenshot above, you can find help in math, finance, physics, biology, writing & English, comp. sci and history. If you’re looking for help, simply select the topic in question and type in your question in the twitter feed-like list on the left. Someone from the OpenStudy community will reply soon. If you know the answer to someone else’s inquiry, go ahead and submit your explanation. See the example below for OpenStudy’s Math page.
OpenStudy is a terrific study tool that involves the online community in a positive and fruitful way. I relish in witnessing Education take a digital and innovative turn by such collaborations online.
Flvrd – This Photo-based social community is the spot where “flavors meet visuals.” As opposed to the photo sharing app Trover, the Weekly App we featured last week, Flvrd (pronounced “flavored”) is about sharing photos of online points of interest, not locations.
The basic idea behind Flvrd is to introduce users to interesting and entertaining videos, photos, posts and other online memes while inviting them to share their own online flavors with the rest of the Flvrd community. Here’s one Flvrd entry I wanted to share: Anti-Theft Lunch Bags by Andy91 via Tumblr. It’s genius!
Listgeeks – List sites online are anything but a novelty, and many sites have taken a shot at being THE best list site out there. Listgeeks is yet another list spot that has threw in the social factor into the mix, making it super easy to create, share and follow lists online.
As for the types of lists you will see on Listgeeks, that ranges from the trivial ‘best actors’ and such to favorite movie soundtracks, and many others in-between. To create your own lists and start following other users, sign up and create your profile. Here’s a particular list I found entertaining and felt like sharing: Trends that Freak Me Out (spoiler: clogs, little kids on Facebook/Twitter and other hilarious things you will agree with).
The Museum of Me – Intel invites you to create and marvel at a remarkable visualization of your Facebook account (including friends, photos, Likes, locations and more) in this amazing video made up of and about you. Sign in with Facebook and grant access to the Museum of Me. Once the data is uploaded you will see a two minute video encompassing your Facebook social life in a museum exhibition form.
The end result is commendable and compelling, and you can share it on Facebook of course, as well as upload it in album form to your account and wall. The Museum of Me is a nice visualization of your Facebook account that aims to make your social circles come to life, but it’s cute at best. Let’s not forget who’s seeking fame here, right?
Correlated – Statistics can be quite entertaining, especially when bizarre relations are made between odd facts. Correlated is all about finding those weird yet entertaining correlation between two unrelated phenomena. I suggest diving right in to fully understand what Correlation is about, and for that purpose I’ve included two examples:
I bet you never thought these were related, did you? To explore other funny correlations and to take part in future ones, visit Correlated and vote in the green colored poll on the right side of the site’s homepage. In case you were wondering, this is how Correlated works out the statistics.
Man Made DIY – This unusual yet intriguing blog (another Weekly Blog winner) by Chris Gardner is a cross between guerrilla-style craft making and modern day indie design inspirations. The range of topics you will find in Man Made’s posts varies tremendously, but one thing stays the same: interest and lots of it. I suggest starting out with Man Made’s Top 10. If you can’t wait, see the two posts below I decided to share:
How to Make a Back Yard Drink Caddy for $2.00
Animal Jam – National Geographic Kids has come up with a brilliant idea to bring in young followers and nature learners. Animal Jam is essentially the animal kingdom with all its glory and engagement, wrapped up in a kid-friendly interface that’s beautiful and engaging. The result is an interactive game that teaches little ones about the wonders of nature with lots of fun and color.
Once your child has signed up (parents also receive an email concerning content), he or she can choose their animal character and name it (mine was Countess Snowyflower). Animal Jam then takes your child to the vast animal world via several different locations, each filled with short games, animal videos and fun facts. I wish I had this when I was a kid…
