How to cut your nose off to spite your face(book)

 As agencies we're all trying to find ways to get our client's brands on to the elusive 7 or 8 sites they habitually visit. Some commentators have insisted that the 'destination' web is over and we'll never produce another microsite. The standard response to most briefs is that we can do 'everything on facebook', create a branded page, add some sort of application and take advantage of the inherently viral nature of the platform.

 Couple of problems with that. First, you have very limited control over your new site - facebook can randomly update it's layout, users can start using the page as a customer service channel and disgruntled punters can use it as an opportunity to attack your client.

 Secondly and more importantly, no-one will ever find it anyway because facebook have barred Google's crawlers. Brands are increasingly using the call to action "Search for..." at the end of their ads and in their outdoor work and that means ensuring that they come up top. A facebook page would be lucky to make the top ten. 

So right now, that means we're back to creating ownable, searchable microsites and facebook is missing out.

The return of page turn?

We will all live forever...

I was playing baseball on the wii with my eldest son the other day and after about 50 pitches I finally hit a decent shot to the outfield - i started an elaborate celebration when out of nowhere my late father dove across the screen and caught the ball. Isaac thought nothing of the appearance of his grandfather but I think understandably it freaked me out a bit and created a whole new problem - should i delete this representation of my dad?

I decided against deleting him - it felt too weird - but, at some point in the future i'm going to have a whole outfield of dead relatives and every game will be like my own private Field of Dreams.
 
We don't all have wii mii's but increasingly we do all have digital selves made up of social networking profiles, blog posts, emails and forum messages and more than ever before we will live on in the things we write and create. Perhaps if more people thought of this before they posted "THATS SO GAY" on every youtube video we'd all be a bit better off...

"Lightweight" ideas

Following on from my rant about loading and the kind of overblown, overproduced microsites that form the hub of many a digital strategy I tried to think what we could call those ideas that do work. I like the term "lightweight" - an idea that you can understand easily, access quickly and share instantly. More often than not these ideas are executed anywhere other than a microsite, they have been developed on a budget and have to earn their audience through their intrinsic entertainment/functional value.

14% Loaded

Another day, another glossy advergame, this time it's a Coke Zero effort and the idea seems to be that coke zero is for real men who can keep three equally irritating women happy simultaneously. In recent weeks similarly excited emails from the design department have heralded the launch of equally expensive interactive 'experiences' for the new VW GTi and the Army.