Placemaking - Just Add a Piano

Found via London Daily Photo blog, check out the wonderful "Street Piano" program:

Play Me I'm Yours

http://www.streetpianos.com

Starting in Birmingham, England in 2008, the idea has spread internationally as far as Sydney and Sao Paulo.

The notion is quite simple -- place pianos throughout the city, labeled with the phrase, "Play me, I'm yours", and let the rest just happen.

This YouTube video demonstrates the fun that can ensue:

Magnificent!

"Les Bonbons" - The Allure of a Candy Shop

Watercolor painting by Carol Gillott, Paris Breakfasts

Who doesn't love a candy store?

From the Paris Breakfasts blog comes this posting on candy and its presentation in Parisian stores and elsewhere:

http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/2009/06/les-bonbons.html

This blog by artist/connoisseur/observer of life, Carol Gillott, features watercolor paintings, photos, and commentary of the retail and street life of Paris.

Her watercolors (and photos) capture the beauty of everyday life in Paris. In that city, aesthetics are an important and natural element -- from window displays to the construction of a lemon tart.

Photo by Carol Gillott, Paris Breakfasts

This craftsmanship, passion, and attention to detail is missing from much of the retail here in the U.S.

Proven Technique for Repelling Customers

The other day, I blogged about a disappointing visit to a local Super Target.

Today, a follow-up with an even more disappointing disgusting experience at a Borders, just across the street from the Target.

Just yesterday, on a visit this Borders bookstore, I encountered an astounding sight -- filthy, worn carpet on the stairway between their first and second floors. It is hard to come up with just the right words... This was beyond just tired or well-used. It was battered, threadbare, with ground-in dirt and grime.

But it didn't end with the appearance... more impactful was how it feels. One expects the gentle cushiness of carpet. Instead, customers feel a hard gritty crunch on the soles of their shoes.

Most people would be embarrassed to invite guests into a home in similar condition. A major retailer should know better.

What makes this especially appalling -- these stairs are the path customers take to reach food and drink in Borders' second floor cafe.

I, personally, don't want to go back -- ever.

A Twitter Rant

Maybe it's because I'm an aging fuddy-duddy, but I don't get Twitter.

There, I said it.

This mockumentary from Slate, expresses what I feel is the absurdity of Twitter, by imagining an even more streamlined blogging tool, "Flutter", or the next next generation, "Shutter":

But perhaps an even more biting critique of Twitter comes via Current TV:

So, what's my beef?

Actually, there are two.

First, while I understand (and believe me, empathize with) the convenience of blog entries with 140 characters or less, who wants to follow dozens of entries like: "I'm eating lunch right now." Who's got time?!

[And don't even get me started on "celebrity Tweets"...]

Second, do companies and brands really need yet another digital channel with which to reach their groupies?

There are Web sites, enewsletters, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, and many, many more. Who's got time?!

I do realize that Twitter's the newest thing, dominating headlines, magazine covers, blog discussion, etc.

But my feeling is that it is definitely a trend. In fact, I predict that Twitter will be largely forgotten in 18 months.

Okay -- now my prediction's digitally etched onto the Web. Check back with me in a year or two. I'll either be gloating or eating crow.

Thoughts?

UPDATE: The FlowingData blog has a cool entry from March 2008:

17 Ways to Visualize the Twitter Universe | Link

The First Thing You See

The view as I arrived at my local Super Target on Saturday, early afternoon...

While they do an excellent job managing the experience inside their stores, missing these parking lot details lowers the level of the entire Target experience.

As I arrived, there was an employee nearby collecting shopping carts from the corrals. Leaving the store 1/2 hour later, this main path down the middle of the parking lot was still littered with carts.

Very disappointing.

Who Says You Can't Reinvent the Wheel (or Cup)?!

Thumbing through a magazine this morning, I came across an ad from Solo Cup. It was promoting their new Squared™ cups:

"Solo Squared fits squarely in your hand, and into your life."

An age-old design of a rounded cup -- improved upon.

Brilliant!

"Terms of Service"... Uh, Sure, I Read Them...

American Public Media's Future Tense program ran an interesting piece the other day on this topic and a tool from the Electronic Frontier Foundation called TOSBack:

New service tracks changes to sites' policies

June 5, 2009 | Link

Very clever. But my question is this: Do these terms of service really need to be this complex?

For an example of a more palatable TOS, visit Instructables' terrific "human readable terms of service."

Why can't more terms of service be like this?!

UPDATE (June 11, 2009): Since this post, I've been giving more thought to notion of Terms of Service...

They are obviously written for the benefit of the Web site owner (or software developer). I understand that. They have their intellectual property to protect, and possibly guard against liability. And I am sure lawyers salivate over the language used -- 100% pure legalese. All in the voice of the site or developer.

But what's missing in most of these?

They are completely one-sided with little or nothing from user/customer's perspective. No wonder no one reads them. Ever.

A parting idea. Here's an example I used a number of years ago with several books I authored:

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: You have permission to use this book in digital or printed format for instructional purposes only. Any commercial use is strictly prohibited without written consent from the author.

PLAIN LANGUAGE VERSION: Use it, enjoy it, even share it. (Just not for money)

I'd love to see more of that simplicity.