Puppy Pile...

... just let it roll of your tongue. Savour it: Puppy Pile. There is an undeniably blissful quality to the phrase alone. But when a pile of puppies is continuously made available for anyone who cares to bask in it, whenever they want to, then the world just became a happier - possibly better! - place.

The latest offering of the gift that keeps on giving, the phenomena that we've come to designate as 'virals', is a livestream of a litter of Shiba Inu (yeah, I hadn't ever heard of that breed before either). These adorable fluffy balls wobble around, attempt their youthful barks, play with their toy trout, and - yes! - they pile on top of each other for comfort.

There are some exceptionally lucky humans that get to interact with the puppy pile. They bring in the mother dog for the pups to feed. They do the necessary maintenance. And then, sometimes, they simply sit down and let the puppies pile up in their laps. We hear these people talk to the puppies ('Thank you, posing puppy!' whilst taking pictures), and to each other (about the puppies!). Though we never see their faces, we sense this is the kindest couple on earth, if only for being in the constant presence of the puppy pile of bliss.

The puppy cam has taken the internet by storm. The blogosphere is rife with admissions of 'being glued' to the puppy livestream. As always, the next big thing prompts the discussion what it all means... How is it that we, the people, are swept of of our feet en masse on a regular basis by videos that generally serve no real purpose, have no real impact on the state of affairs, do not solve the economic crisis, or save lives? Or is it exactly by virtue of that very fun-for-fun's-sake quality?

Some clever people have taken a crack at answering this question. I say, why ask when you can bask? What the heck, it's feel-good-Friday:

Video streaming by Ustream

(sometimes, the puppies sleep. Check back later!)

Keywords: puppycam,livestream,feelgoodfriday,viral,virals

 

Be a 'loan shark' with a cause

<Am posting in behalf of Joris ;-p. So instead of thinking chinky eyes, long hair, cute, wonderful and witty while reading this post, think big, grey eyes, long hair, cute, wonderful and witty -- timi>

For years I have been getting more and more cynical about donating money to large corporations that beg for your money with pictures that are supposed to trigger my guilt (or viewed from a less cynical point of view, compassion). Where does the money go, who benefits from it, does it end up in the hands of the oppressing military. Stuff like that.

Today however I came across a site during my lunchtime browsing, which actually got me all enthusiastic (something which might shock some people that know me ). Since I think this concept is so awesome, I wanted to let other people know of its existence. Just in case you would think it rocked, too.

The (U.S. based, and registered) non-profit organization kiva provides a web interface where you (the rich person who has the money) can provide micro credit to people who want to start a business. They provide a business plan and a timeline for repayment. This is a way to actually help someone, an actual person, in a very direct way. It is the best kind of aid I think you can give people. You support them to build up their businesses, therefore their local economy.

Lastly, for the Dutch, after you have helped, you get your money back. Of course there is a chance someone defaults on their loan and can't repay. Personally I'm considering my loan a donation. If the person can repay, I'll lend it to someone else. However if you wish, after someone pays you back, you can simply withdraw the money and have it back in your account.

From the how it works website:

Choose an Entrepreneur, Lend, Get Repaid
1) Lenders like you browse profiles of entrepreneurs in need, and choose someone to lend to. When they lend, using PayPal or their credit cards, Kiva collects the funds and then passes them along to one of our microfinance partners worldwide.

2) Kiva's microfinance partners distribute the loan funds to the selected entrepreneur. Often, our partners also provide training and other assistance to maximize the entrepreneur's chances of success.

3) Over time, the entrepreneur repays their loan. Repayment and other updates are posted on Kiva and emailed to lenders who wish to receive them.

4) When lenders get their money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need, donate their funds to Kiva (to cover operational expenses), or withdraw their funds

Anyway, check it out. If you wish to join, you'll need to have a paypal account (www.paypal.com) but I kind of assume most people have one.

Cheers and greetings from your local loanshark,

Joris

Keywords: micro-credit,Kiva,entrepreneur

 

Joe Lamantia's extra-curricular activities

Two articles penned by our Information Architect and Strategist, Joe Lamantia, have just been published. For your enjoyment, please see synopses below, and follow the links!

First Fictions and the Parable of the Palace
By Joe Lamantia
Published: November 3, 2008


'First Fictions and the Parable of the Palace' is the inaugural installment
of “Everyware: Designing the Ubiquitous Experience,” a quarterly column
exploring user experience and design in the era of ubiquitous computing.
'First Fictions' considers the profound design implications of foundational
visions of ubiquitous computing imagined by technologists such as Mark
Weiser and John Seely Brown, and sees precedent for techno-social futures in
the poetic parables of Jorge Louis Borges.

"Everyware" will be a journey through the expanding wavefront of the
ubiquitous experience as it impacts design, covering topics ranging from
ubiquitous computing to near-field communication, pervasive computing, The
Internet of Things, spimes, ubicomp, locative media, and ambient
informatics.


The Building Blocks of Effective Portals
By Joe Lamantia

(NB! Unfortunately, this site is subscribers only. You should be so lucky...)

Enterprise portals promise increased productivity, utility, and convenience
by gathering scattered content and functionality into a single destination
experience. Yet many portals become victims of their own success. Rapid
expansion and frequent changes in audience and content lead to problems of
poorly integrated or conflicting assets, impaired usability and findability,
and inflated management and IT support costs.

This case study demonstrates a simple design framework of standardized
information architecture building blocks that can help maintain findability,
usability and user experience quality in portal and other syndicated content
settings by effectively guiding growth and change.

Keywords: Joe,Lamantia,JoeLamantia,UXmatters,intranetstoday