If you haven’t seen this before, it is worth a look. J.J. Abrams the creator of LOST among other things speaks at TED about “The Mystery Box”. This theme is quite applicable to the digital world and most specifically our roles in social media. With the so called “democritization of technology” everyone has access to tools to do fantastic things. But what will you do with those tools is what differentiates us.

I hope this inspires you as much as it did me.

If you visit the website for Modernista!, the advertising agency based in Boston most well-known for their ads for Hummer and Cadillac, you may be surprised. Instead of the typical flash-based website with luscious images and animation that occupies most major advertising agency websites, you are greeted with a Wikipedia entry and an announcement.

A red pop-up says, “Do not be alarmed. You are viewing Modernista! through the eyes of the Web. The menu on the left is our homepage. Everything behind it is beyond our control.”

That menu is “cute” at best. It is basic and simple. And it gives nods to various popular sites and web languages:

The “ab.ou.t” section, represented as a nod, no doubt to del.icio.us and other sites (mine included) that uses the full URL to an advantage, is the Wikipedia page and also a Facebook group. The “wrk” section links to a Flickr account displaying print advertising and a YouTube channel for TV spots. The “n3wz” section links to a Google News page displaying the latest announcements and news articles falling under the “Modernista!” keyword. Then there is a “cont@ct” page. Read more…

I am blown away. What do you think?

Here’s a pretty sweet idea executed by Erik Nordenankar and DHL: the biggest drawing in the world. Using precise instructions and a GPS, a package was shipped by DHL and flown around the world in 55 days. “When all was said and done, the GPS data formed a virtual self-portrait of the artist that spread over 6 continents and 62 countries covering nearly 70,000 miles.”

[Via Gizmodo]