Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Hongkiat.com: Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: There’s more)

Hongkiat.com: Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: There’s more)


Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: There’s more)

Posted: 23 Nov 2010 05:03 AM PST

It is giveaway day again and today we’ve got you guys something really cool from Threadless.com.

threadless book Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: Theres more)

We pre-announced prizes for today’s giveaway contest over at our Facebook page last week. If you’ve been following us, you should know that the prizes are some cool Threadless books. However, the prizes aren’t just the books; there’s more ;-) Full details after jump.

Threadless.com probably don’t need much introduction, they are one of the largest t-shirts online store. In conjunction with their 10th anniversary, folks at Threadless launched a book, called the Threadless book.

The book contains 100s of killer graphics, histories of Threadless as a startup up to what it is now today, interviews with designers, revolution of Threadless graphics from day one to today and lots of other juicy stuff about Threadless.

Here are some images to give you an idea of the content.

threadless 2008 multi tees+quotes 1 Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: Theres more)

threadless gaming tees Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: Theres more)

threadless red Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: Theres more)

threadless shreddedA when pandas Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: Theres more)

threadless godin Giveaway: Threadless Books (Psst: Theres more)

(Visit threadless.com/blog for more details.)

Winners of today’s contest will get each a Threadless voucher worth $30. This voucher gives you the flexibility to get either:

  1. 1 Threadless book + 1 t-shirt of your choice, or
  2. 2 Threadless book, or
  3. 2 t-shirts of your choice

The book is really cool and we encourage that you go with the first option although it’s not compulsory.

How to win

We’ve got 4 Threadless vouchers to giveaway. If you are interested in winning yourself one, please drop a comment below. Contest starts today, ends 30th of November 2010.

Please include e-mail address. We notify winners via e-mail. Good luck!

Winners of: StockFresh Stock Photo Accounts Contest

Posted: 23 Nov 2010 01:28 AM PST

Today is the day we’ll end the Stockfresh stock photo account contest giveaway, it is also the day we announce the 5 winners who will each get access to a free Stockfresh account pre-loaded with 100 credits each.

stockfresh Winners of: StockFresh Stock Photo Accounts Contest

If you are one of the contest participants, hit continue reading to see if you’ve won! Winners’ name after jump.

Here are our winners, in no particular order:

  • xGrape
  • gille
  • Azfalt
  • Mali Studio
  • Alekin

(ref)

More giveaways coming up!

More giveaway contests are coming right up. Here are several ways to keep yourself updated with Hongkiat.com. Stay tuned!

  1. Facebook
  2. Subscribe Newsletter
  3. Twitter
  4. RSS Feed

Monday, November 22, 2010

Hongkiat.com: Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Hongkiat.com: Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media


Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Posted: 22 Nov 2010 06:23 AM PST

Social media is powering the world in ways many have never imagined. We can see new connections being formed out of seemingly thin air. With more profile integration than ever before, it’s important to understand how to manage your digital personality.

Branding isn’t just for corporations. It can also apply to an individual item or person. It feels great to build a collection of yourself online. Using tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Google it’s easy to develop an interpretation of yourself. This will come in handy when you’re out meeting new people and showcasing your talent to the world.

social media mashup Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

I’ll be going over some guidelines related to building the core of your social media presence. There are so many applications out there to choose from and it’s a very exciting process to watch your profile pages mature over time.

What are the Benefits of Social Media

The first notable fact is the large market share. Social networking websites contain the largest amount of connections and command the most attention from their userbase. Adding a node for yourself in this sea of database entries is a fantastic way to not only meet interesting new people, but have yourself openly viewed by many others.

You may also notice a large segment of users are hooked into the mobile market. The amount of people accessing Facebook and Twitter from mobile phones has risen drastically over the past 2 years. It’s no surprise this group is young, energetic, and mostly passionate users of these services.

foursquare checkin badge Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

In truth the benefits for using social media will change between each person. Our own reasons don’t matter so much. The real-life connections we can build by networking with others hold so much potential. The world is a lot smaller than it was 100 years ago and we’re seeing a tightening of this system with each passing month.

Working on Facebook

Having been coined “the social network” Facebook has seen an amazing year of progress. They recently surpassed 500 million users and continue to grow in ranks. Facebook is a great place to brand yourself if you’d like to keep in touch with close, immediate contacts.

facebook democracy Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Those who aren’t looking to join a global network should look elsewhere. In truth most young and middle-aged citizens living in industrialized portions of the world not only have a Facebook account, but also regularly check and update their friends on happenings.

If you can find value in keeping connected with friends from high school, college, or the work place then Facebook is a great network to start. It provides easy access to sharing photos and your personal interests. You can also share your e-mail and phone number with select contacts. Facebook also offers instant messaging chats in their UX – a nifty feature not found much elsewhere.

If all of this wasn’t enough consider the amazing possibilities granted through Facebook Connect. On websites which allow such integration you may register and create an account without filling out any forms. Merely click a link to re-direct to an approval page on Facebook. Accepting the connection will bind your two profiles together (and you don’t need to worry about 2 passwords).

Tweet tweet

I’ve found Twitter to be a huge network of prowess in socializing. Some very big names run Twitter accounts and actively tweet each day. Since Facebook is a one-to-one network most of the information and access to potential contacts is closed.

twitter dessert cake Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Twitter flips this ideology on its head by offering all information openly by default. Those who choose to set their profiles to private will hide tweets from only those who haven’t been cleared as a follower. There isn’t much benefit to this – why even create an account if you’re going to hide your updates?

Keeping with a brand here is much simpler than any other network I’ve found. All that’s required is a name/bio and a defining avatar. When you start following 100-200+ accounts you’ll notice the real benefits going around the Twitterverse. Conversations and news can happen in real-time and be shared like never before.

twitter popularity shirt Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Twitter is also the first large social network to allow for mini-celebrity status growth. Just by creating a Twitter account and allowing users to follow you creates potential for your name to grow out of control. You are able to @reply to some of your favorite people which can start a chain of conversations leading to anything. It’s an open connection to the largest community in the world!

Digging Social News

Websites like Digg and Reddit offer news like we’ve never seen before. The potential for stories to go popular is in the highest intensity we’ve ever seen. Couple this with a mass audience of Internet-addicted young adults and you’ve got a truly free entity of the media.

Since Digg’s release of v4 the community has suffered a great deal of losses. Functionality which was once available has been removed, and many die hard users have switched to Reddit. I’d recommend creating an account on both since they offer two completely unique opportunities.

Rivals of the Internet

Digg’s model is based around marketing and sharing articles. Their newest system for networking reflects a Twitter-based followers/following rule set. By adding larger power diggers into your network and voting on their stories you can build trust and a powerful brand among the community.

digg branding bag Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

With this new power you may be able to submit articles of your own. By amassing just under 100 diggs most articles with enough traction will hit popular and see a small increase in unique visitors. The marketing potential isn’t nearly as credible as classic Digg, but there’s still some prosperity in running an account.

Reddit on the other hand is a community built around all topics of news. Under a system called “sub-reddits” users can subscribe to unique categories including finance, cooking, and fitness. If a sub-reddit isn’t available any user has the ability to create such a topic and become moderator of all submitted articles.

reddit alien toy Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

This is a truly democratic system where only the most popular news will rise to the top. Branding potential isn’t as strong here since profile pages are semi-lackluster. But how much information and useful content flows through the site every day more than makes up for any slack. Try out the site for a few days to see how you like the experience and how it compares to Digg.

StumbleUpon Curiosity

Only recently seeing serious growth StumbleUpon offers a database of millions of tagged, unique URLs. These can include blog articles, images, videos, and anything in-between. With a Stumble account you first pick topics which interest you and the algorithm will show you pages which are targeted towards your interests.

stumbleupon graphic Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

The community is powered by a few heavy users and also a minor sub-power user base to submit new articles. As you stumble and review more posts new community members will find and subscribe to your profile without fail.

As you gain more subscribers you can share articles among all or a select few of them. Those with the largest amount of subscribers are seeing amazing increases in traffic and command loads of marketing power. This is where branding will fall into the playing field.

stumbleupon design 2008 Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

By completing common profile traits such as name, bio, and possibly contact details it gives a sense of connectivity to visitors who may subscribe. A custom avatar is always a good idea as well. If you match your avatars among other profiles such as Digg or Twitter you’ll tie in a closed branding scheme throughout all your digital profiles.

Writing and Blogging

Not all of us are writers and even fewer enjoy the art of writing. Bloggers choose to write because they find the process of transferring words from idea to physical manifest exhilarating. Today we have more open systems for blogging than ever before.

blogger home screen Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

WordPress and Blogger offer open platforms which you can sign up and blog for free. They host all of your content and offer a selection of free themes to choose from. This is a great option when you don’t wish to buy your own domain just to catalog your writing.

Though there isn’t much graphical branding in blogging it is an internally personal decision to share your writing openly with the world. It’s certainly not for everybody as it comes at a timely cost. Writing will take up a few hours every day/week and over time may become a drag.

Try building a practice blog before going full-time blogger. An interesting alternative lies in Tumblr which is a new dynamic form of blogging. Their system allows you to re-blog posts from the people you follow with the click of a button. Bloggers frequently share photos and animations instead of writing long drawn-out articles which gives the Tumblr community its charm.

desktop imagery Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Keep All Information Interesting

Consistent, reputable information will give your brands credibility on all current and future profiles. When you have fans throughout 5 or 6 different social networks it’s important for your image to hold true among any due diligence.

Ask yourself what people want to know about you. What type of information do you wish to find on others’ profiles? Along with all of this, in what way can you best express yourself to somebody with whom you’ve never met?

yahoo corporation Powerful Branding Techniques through Social Media

Branding and marketing is a long road. It takes some curves over time and requires daily attendance. Setting up accounts throughout the wide array of social networks is only one step. The real change comes from actively participating in these networks. If you find value in Twitter then just keep tweeting. If you enjoy chatting with your friends via Facebook then be sure to connect as often as you feel right.

Memorability is the name of the game. If you have complex usernames, generic profile photos, and no data about yourself what makes your profile stand out from the masses? Dare to be different and liven up your online identities. Keep tight connections with those you wish to and hold in mind that technology is only a tool. Social networks offer only a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.

(bellefoong)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Hongkiat.com: 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Hongkiat.com: 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real


30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 06:02 AM PST

Mobile phone business is one of the most rapid growing industries. Not so long ago, the popular check phone was Nokia 3310 with mere basic functions: call, text messaging and the only bearable game, snake. However, significant improvement has been made since then. We now have so many variety of phones that surpasses the basic function, smart phones for example allows you to connect to social media conveniently, GPS, video conferencing etc.

nokia888 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

What will be next? What we can expect from the next generation of handsets that will be available in the next 10 year? Some of the few features that will be built in new cell phones are OLED screen and enhancement in flexibility.

In this article we want to show you a list of creative and interesting futuristic phone concepts.

Kyocera’s Flexible, Folding Phone Concept
Kyocera’s EOS folding concept phone incorporates a flexible OLED screen, changing its form from a clamshell into something resembling a wallet or clutch-purse.

kyocera lexible 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Motorolla Piccolo Concept Phone
The Piccolo Concept 1 cell phone received its design inspiration by Motorola, bringing a sexy and sleek concept that will definitely appeal to females.

motorolla piccolo 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Multimedia Concept Phone
Designer Jakub Lekeš tries to push the limits of phone designing with his concept. This phone has many useful features. A sliding touch screen QWERTY keyboard is concealed under the display and there is a 4.3 megapixel autofocus camera with digital zoom support on the back. The most interesting feature is the side of the phone that shows the running track.

multimedia concept phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

LG Traveler Concept Phone
Created by Andrew Zheng, the handset is a thin slider with a touch screen on board and a physical button keypad. The unusual shape of the LG Traveler phone was created for better grip and this aspect gets enhanced. Thanks to rubbers grips on the side.

lg traveler 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Eclipse Intuit Phone
Eclipse Intuit phone by Eddie Goh. It has the entire basic feature we’ve come to expect from our mobiles: powerful 5 megapixel camera with built-in software for editing and uploading pictures to photo album, slide-out touch keyboard with tactile feedback and a nice big touch screen front and center. What makes this concept unique is parts of the phone are made from a chemically based thin solar skin to charge the battery when it’s exposed to any kind of light.

eclipseintuit 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

The Kambala Ear-Phone
The Kambala is a mobile phone that transforms to an earphone as well. Pop the center piece and the earpiece clip pings out; clip this to your ear and you got a phone-earphone! Multilayered Polymer which hosts all the electronic components is used in its construction. A continuous flexi-screen with plenty of sensors makeup the surface and it has the ability to transmit the image on the inside of the phone to the outside.

earphone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

LG Flutter Concept Phone
The LG Flutter will have an opportunity to be featured in a future blockbuster movie. The device opens up like a fan, as you can see in the image above and has a flexible OLED touch screen display that scrolls radically.

lg flutter 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Nanokia
The designer Mac Funamizu drew on the Nokia Aeon to design a phone he would like to have. Complete with Apple’s standard livery. Using a nondescript tactile feedback technology, its surface adapts to different purposes while the e-ink screen envelops the phone in graphics and information.

nanokia 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Mobile Script
This phone/laptop packs a small front touch display plus a larger screen on the inside of the handset. The latter can be pulled out and become an even larger display turning the device into a mini laptop. The “Mobile Script” mobile phone does not require a power charge. Its case is covered with a nano material, converting the Sun light into the energy for your phone feed.

mobile script 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

NEC’s “Tag” Phone Concept
An intriguing concept from NEC Design, this Tag Soft-Shell Mobile Phone shows how cumbersome carrying a phone in your pocket can be. Made of rubbery "shape-memorizing" material, the tag will bend and twist at your command.

nec tag concept phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

LG Helix Bracelet Phone
Designer Rob Luna created an LG concept phone called Helix, a device that can also be used as a slap bracelet worn on the owner’s wrist. LG Helix comes with flexible circuits, a touch screen display and the concept device is made out of rubber and black stainless steel. You can attach the handset to the belt, through a magnetic charger and use the kinetic energy generated by the user to power up the cell phone.

helix 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Motorola Sparrow
Motorola has come up with a new concept of Motorola Sparrow. A concept conceived to provide retail stores with a mobile point of sale device. The Motorola Sparrow is an all-in-one device that combines a scanner, RFID, point of sale (POS) system, communication and credit card reading capabilities. Equipped with touch sensitive areas, the front and back of the Motorola Sparrow makes it easy to navigate and use.

motorolla sparrow 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Yuxa From Eco-Friendly Materials
Mexican designer Veronica Eugenia Rodriguez Ortiz created the Yuxa wearable cell phone concept. This is an eco-friendly phone featuring an OLED display and rechargeable battery, plus an innovative means of communication.

yuxa wearable cellphone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Bracelet Phone Concept
Designer Tao Ma has designed an inimitably different concept phone that has got the looks of a bracelet. The shiny gizmo vibrates when you receive a message and you can read the text by taking the bracelet off the wrist and pressing its precious looking keys.

bracelet phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Nokia 888 Mobile Phone
New Nokia concept – Nokia 888. It uses liquid battery, speech recognition, flexible touch screen, touch sensitive body cover which lets it understand and adjust to the environment.

nokia888 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Blue Bee Phone
Another futuristic smart phone created by Kingyo. Blue Bee is a very interesting handset interface which is also appealing at the same time.

blue bee phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Relexer Cellphone
Designer Lu Yin has designed a mobile phone called “Relexer”. As its name suggest it also function as a medical gadget to review the health of the users. Integrating a thermometer that can be worn around the wrist like a bracelet, the cell phone measures the temperature and other drastic discrepancies in the body.

relexer 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

HTC 1
The concept designer Andrew Kim has designed the HTC 1 to be a premium Android device. It is designed to use machined brass to add strength to the phone. Some notable features of the concept include stereo speakers (located at the top and bottom of the phone), a kickstand which is actually the bottom portion of the casing, and the lofty concept of a built-in UV light which kills germs on the surface of the phone while you charge up.

htc1 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Nokia Morph Cell Phone Concept
The Morph is a concept that demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes. It demonstrates the ultimate functionality that nanotechnology capable of delivering: flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces.

nokia morph 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Connext Concept
Connext is an all-in-one, flexible smart device designed by James Zhang that can morph its form to fit the application that it assumes. Combining OLED touch-screen technology with E-paper flexibility, this device can switch to become a mobile phone, computer, multimedia player, watch, physical avatar etc.

connext 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

BenQ Siemens Concept Phone
Latest BenQSiemens's concept phone that wraps around your hand.

benq snake phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

LG's Folding Phone
This HiFi concept headset gives us a whole new way of using a cell phone. It’s a peculiar touch screen phone which the headset can be wrapped around the head to enjoy music and attend to call even when you are moving around.

lg folding 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Mooon Concept Phone
Mooon concept phone designed by Sunman Kwon has a sleek, big and beautiful touch screen, and of course a camera. What’s special about Mooon is that at the bottom of this phone, you’ll find a Bluetooth headset, detachable when you need it.

mooon concept 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Nokia Kinetic Concept Design
Creative designer Jeremy Innes-Hopkins has an interesting concept phone called the Nokia Kinetic. An electromagnet in the base of the phone allows weight to be shifted which causes the phone to stand up when receiving a call.

nokia kinetic 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

LG Exo Smartphone
LG Exo Smartphone designed by Benjamin Lotte is a good-looking phone with a high strength polymer exoskeleton for protecting the delicate internal components. The external skin is made of rubber that enhance ergonomics and increase strength. You can easily change the skin color to the color you desire.

lg exo 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Philips Fluid Flexible Concept
The Philips Fluid Smartphone designed by Brazilian designer Dinard da Mata looks like one of those "Slap Wrap" slap bracelets kids used to wear in the 90s. Flexibility is one thing that makes it differ from conventional smart phones. Made of OLED, it can keep all the features of a smart phone available while adding the extra advantage of turning into a bracelet.

fluid flexible concept 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Seabird Concept
Seabird is Mozilla Labs concept phone. The Seabird is a concept phone packed with cool features including integrated Pico Projector that can be used to project a virtual keyboard.

seabird concept 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Nagisa Phone Concept
Cool phone concept by Mac Funamizu. This smart phone has some incredible features. The dented keypad that gives the look of a wavy sea bed and the screen is designed in such way that it turns almost 180 degrees.

nagisa phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

Glass Phone Concept
Glass phone concept is also created by designer Mac Funamizu.

glass phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

DYA Phone: A New Concept
This new DYA phone brings a whole new meaning to the world slider. DYA phone has an unique design that uses diagonal cut and become compact when not in use. But it is large enough for any other basic function you need.

dya phone 30 Futuristic Phones We Wish Were Real

(bellefoong)