When championing “the web outside,” we cite the need for people to get away from their desks and PCs and experience the web in a larger social context.

Well, there’s no better spokesperson for this argument than David Gunnells, IT guy at the University of Alabama and, more importantly, the winner of Wired’s Saddest Cubicle Contest. Gunnells’ dark, cramped, windowless cube abuts a parking garage, and unwillingly hosts the smells of the office microwave and bathroom. Wired reports: “Gunnells recalls a day when one co-worker reheated catfish in the microwave, while another used the bathroom and covered the smell with a stinky air freshener.”

Dave, dude, you could definitely use some Web Outside therapy.

[tags]The Web Outside, Wired, Saddest Cubicle Contest, David Gunnells[/tags]

Okay, so it’s an offline campaign, but it was far too good not to post.

Check out this ad located on a drawbridge in Amsterdam, which was brought to my attention by the good folks at Digitas. The ad is only visible when the bridge is raised, so they’ve managed to snaggle the rapt attention of their audience. Seriously smart messaging and use of location.

[Pic via the Wooster Collective]

[tags]The Web Outside, Digitas, Digital Hive, Wooster Collective, OOH advertising, location-based advertising, Amsterdam, out-of-home[/tags]

A post over on MediaBuyerPlanner caught my eye this morning, as it recapped a newly-released digital signage study conducted by OTX (Online Testing eXchange) for SeeSaw Networks. The Digital Out-of-Home Media Awareness and Attitude Study, the first of its kind, provides a rich, comprehensive data set tracking audience response patterns to digital signage.

The study proves extremely encouraging for the entire OOH industry. A few key takeaways:

• Digital signage advertising was found to be more unique, interesting, and entertaining than on most other media (old and new); it is also considered less annoying than nearly all other media types (internet advertising was noted as being the most annoying).
• Awareness levels of digital signage are extraordinarily high. (62% awareness rate for adults; 75% awareness rate for the 18-24 demo.)
• Average number of different types of locations where digital signage is seen in a week is high… and growing. (6 unique location types for adults; 8 unique location types for the 18-24 set.)
• 63% of adults consider digital signage “attention-grabbing,” thereby topping the list. (Billboards and magazines were second and third, respectively).
• Digital signage is considered the most “interesting” form of advertising, beating out both TV and the internet.
• 73% of college students report using text messaging.
• 53% of total adults are likely to text a response to a compelling offer seen on digital signage.

The full study is available for snail mail delivery, and the condensed version is downloadable.

[tags]The Web Outside, text messaging, digital signage, audience studies, SeeSaw Networks, OTX, out-of-home media, MediaBuyerPlanner, Digital Out-of-Home Media Awareness and Attitude Study[/tags]

A New Spin on The Web Outside

Thanks to the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon Corporate Challenge held this past Sunday, the world had the rare experience of watching Apple finish last in something. What’s more– the Google team also failed to burn rubber, finishing second to last.

The Corporate Challenge, sponsored by Comerica Bank, requires that five team members complete either the 5K, half-marathon, or marathon distance. The top three half-marathon times from each team are tallied, and the winning team is lauded as the “Fastest Company in Silicon Valley.”

This year, Ernst & Young nabbed the title, just barely edging out Sandisk. Other top contenders included the teams from Comerica, Cisco, Adobe, and Sun Microsystems. Yahoo! posted a decent showing, finishing ninth.

Is this proof that you can’t be on the fast track in the tech world and on the racing circuit? Maybe it’s all that Google cafeteria food…

[tags]The Web Outside, PRNewsWire, Google, Apple, Comerica Corporate Challenge, results, Metro Silicon Valley Marathon Corporate Challenge, Cisco, Adobe, Sun Microsystems, corporate races[/tags]

[Oh, PearlBarracuda, don't look so concerned... I like you! We're friends!]

I’ve only had about 20 minutes of play time with my Chumby so far (say hello to “PearlBarracuda”), but here are my initial observations:

The good…

1. It’s a cool novelty that could eventually be very useful, but that all depends on the types of widgets that are developed for it. Right now it’s just a neat toy.

2. It’s soft and leathery. And it comes with cute rubber charms so you can give your Chumby a little bling.

3. It’s a fairly quick and easy activation process… maybe 10 minutes start to finish.

4. It came in a sweet burlap sack with the Chumby logo on it… super packaging job! A pleasant surprise upon opening the box.

5. Most importantly… it’s completely open and hackable (I mean… that’s pretty much the entire point). How awesome/functional/popular this thing gets really depends on the community and how they respond to it… which will be very interesting to track. I’m also anxious to see if this ever hits the mass market.

The Bad:

1. The touch screen is awful, just awful. Maybe I’m spoiled by my iPhone (oh, you poor girl!), but the thing has absolutely no sensitivity. I tried my finger, my fingernail, a stylus, a chopstick, the end of a pen, a donkey… all to no avail. It took me 7 tries minimum to get the screen to respond… and it didn’t always respond in the way I was expecting.

2. Lack of battery ability

3. Current limited selection of widgets (although that’s simply a time-zero prob).

4. It’s a bit unstable and unpredictable… sometimes updating the channel online doesn’t immediately work on the Chumby itself (even after refreshing the channel).

5. The connection is super slow, although it’s hard to determine whether that has more to do with my wifi network or the Chumby itself. For the sake of fairness, let’s blame my network for now.

Overall, I’m amused, but left wanting more. I’ll be very anxious to see how the developer community responds, as the coolness quotient is majorly in their hands. We have two here in the office, so we’ll be doing our part!

*Update* [11/2/07]
Last night, I received an email from Sam, Chumby Support Manager, who had read my post and responded with some helpful tips for recalibrating the touchscreen so that it’s more responsive. Thanks Sam! After using the tip of a mechanical pencil (upon Sam’s suggestion) to recalibrate, it’s working MUCH better. Still doesn’t work with my finger, but the pencil is just fine as a tool. Maybe the Chumby should ship with a Stylus if this is a common problem? In any case, great customer service… I didn’t even need to reach out to Chumby– they reached out to me… very impressive.

*Update* [11/2/07]
Now that I’ve had a chance to add more widgets, I have to say, I’m totally digging my PearlBarracuda. It’s a pretty nifty always-on device… and set next to my laptop and iPhone, I can rest assured that I’ll ever *not* be suffering from Digital Info Overload. I set up Craigslist to show me open apartments in Cambridge, along with a slew of RSS feeds (Goog News, Slate, Slashdot, and so on). My iGoogle page will never play second fiddle to a Chumby Channel, but it’s got a little healthy competition. The question still stands: Do I only love this because I’m a nerd?

[tags]The Web Outside, Chumby, widgets, open source, third party developer community[/tags]