This is Mona

Beirut Reconstruction

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:15:40 -0500

For all lovers of urban planning, urban development, architecture, heritage architecture and the like, this video report from Monocle highlights why Beirut development has become a threat to the city’s historic streets and neighbourhoods. A very interesting account of the rapid shift in Lebanon’s urban infrastructure.

From Monocle.

People Are Awesome: Watch This Remarkable Teenager Come Out to...

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:32:10 -0500

People Are Awesome: Watch This Remarkable Teenager Come Out to Her Whole School on MLK Day

via GOOD

Hustling until 3am

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 02:54:44 -0500

Yesterday I could never say I played around with code. Today I can proudly say i’m no longer a code virgin. I worked a bit of HTML magic tonight. I know this is basic stuff to all you web devs, but this adds some serious notches to my inner geek. All in an effort to move my personal project forward, I registered a domain, set up the template with a bit of customization, and updated it with some superb starter content. I plan on launching said website, along with a formal announcement of what I’m cooking up demain.

It’s currently 3am on a Saturday and i’ve been hustling all day. What seemed to be a dull start ended up out to be rather outstanding. Funny that.

Good night!

PS- I’m rocking a faux hawk.

My road as an Empath to a Maker

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:32:00 -0500

I’m putting something out in the universe. I’m doing it so that I force myself to move in a direction towards realizing a long standing goal. I’m sure many of you feel the same way when I say that since I was a kid I always felt I was capable to do more, be more. I love what I do at work, but I also know I have something in me to do something worth mentioning in the papers. Bit cocky? Perhaps.

I also know something else about myself. I’m a lazy mother effer. I sit on ideas for a long time. Actually, I don’t even get to the ideas part. I merely keep saying to myself, “I want to do something, something memorable and big”.

So, I think I may have found something I want to do. A personal project that has the potential to parlay into something worth mentioning in whatever form. Thing “idea” is still nascent, and needs further brainstorming. It needs action.

As my esteemed colleague, Jason Theodor puts it in his “Creative Method” presentation:

…

That’s me alright, the empath. Someone who has a grasp of culture and the human condition, but cannot translate this into concrete or original ideas.

The next step is to:

So i’m going to start this weekend. I’m not going to discuss what the project is until I have fully defined it myself and happy enough with it to share. Those that know snippets of this project, please do not share. What I am going to do is share my progress incognito, if that makes sense, meaning I’ll talk about what i’m doing without revealing too much. It’ll be my first and continuous attempt of breaking barriers to realizing this personal project of mine. This blog entry will be Progress #1

Note 1: For Jason’s full presentation of The Creative Method, please click here

Note 2: For all you supporters, feel free to show some love by leaving a comment!

A resource I will surely refer to frequently at work. How to...

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:15:51 -0400

A resource I will surely refer to frequently at work.

How to really make something = gold. (c/o @digitalinfant). Brought to you by Planningess Day 1.

via: thatssodigital

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction..."

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 21:09:46 -0400

““You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.””

- Dr. Seuss

Uniqlo "Lucky Counter"

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:52:05 -0400

I love any campaign run by Uniqlo. They’re such an energetic and fun brand to watch. They found a unique way of compelling shoppers to elevate the brand on Twitter by reducing the price of clothing pieces every time someone sends a tweet about an item. Clicking on one of the pieces of clothing brings up a pre-written tweet using the hashtag #luckycounter. Users can add their own message and then send it, and watch the price fall. The more tweets users send about a particular item, the lower the price goes. Clever!

The Future of Screen Technology. Very cool concept demonstrating...

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:38:09 -0400

The Future of Screen Technology. Very cool concept demonstrating user interface design for the year 2014.

/via: @ghensel

Tippexperience

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:34:00 -0400

Tippexperience:

Subservient Chicken meets Old Spice! This Tippex channel on YouTube is hilarious and very well done! Best use of interactive YouTube i’ve seen in a while.

via: @laurajaybee

What the fuck should I eat for dinner?

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:19:00 -0400

Brilliantly crass blog that spits out fantastic recipe ideas (linking to epicurious). If you’re “not a fucking vegetarian”? There’s a perfectly good recipe for you too.

Fotopool

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:25:17 -0400

Brilliant! Excellent tool for Tourism boards to use to enhance tourist experiences. A camera mount for tourist spots that lets visitors get everyone in the picture.

To take the concept another step further, I think it would be great to see some sort of tech integration whereby the photo can be tagged with location/attraction and sent to designated social streams, should the user want to do so. Might be a bit far fetched and i’m sure there will need to be privacy parameters in place, but what better way to capture a moment, share it instantly while on vacation (not having to wait until you get back home to upload the photos on Facebook or Flickr) and have increased visibility on the tourist location, which would be of great value for the Tourism board.

Full article on Fotopool via Springwise

How Starbucks Plans to Capitalize on Free Wi-Fi

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:18:00 -0400

How Starbucks Plans to Capitalize on Free Wi-Fi:

I love the concept of a Third Place, and Starbucks already does so well with providing a community setting. The idea of kicking its existing strength up a notch by offering SDN, a curated content experience for customers to enjoy online at no cost, is solid. A strategy is sound when all parties involved gain value. Starbucks wins yet again by reinforcing its position as a Third Place; and content providers gain business. This type of engagement is an example of good service design in my opinion.

How To Torture a User Experience Designer

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:08:14 -0400

How To Torture a User Experience Designer:

Sit them down in front of another awkwardly designed seat-back media player…on a plane….for 5 hours.

Call a “collaborative working session” on a hotly debated topic in a room with no sticky notes, sharpies or whiteboards.

Equate “user experience” with “user interface.”

Insist they follow Jakob…

Via: /thoughtparade; /Adaptive Path

LiveMocha

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:26:00 -0400

LiveMocha:

LiveMocha is a website that uses social networking to teach language. Language in itself is social, and what better way to accelerate learning than in a social context. Great idea.

Pilot Handwriting

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:09:23 -0400

Pilot Handwriting:

Personalize e-mails with your own handwriting! Such a great tool. I can’t wait to try it out.

Flipboard Declutters Your Social Web Life Into Magazine Form

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:39:00 -0400

Want!

People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it....

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:57:16 -0400

People don’t buy what you do, people buy why you do it. Simple yet smart concept behind inspiring, innovating and leading.

Urban planning in Lebanon: An interview with Lady Cochrane

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:51:59 -0400

Found this gem of an interview from Monocle on urban planning and politics in Lebanon. Monocle’s Tyler Brûlé interviews Lady Yvonne Cochrane of Sursock, Ashrafieh

“Beirut’s Christian quarter of Ashrafieh has weathered civil war, terrorist assassinations and the recent Hezbollah-Israeli conflict. But today the hill-top neighbourhood is once again under threat, this time from developers who are destroying the old palaces to build high-rises for the country’s internationally mobile elite. As Lebanon faces yet another uncertain summer, Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé pays a visit to Lady Yvonne Cochrane, doyenne of the Christian East and owner of one of the most alluring palaces in the eastern Mediterranean, to talk urban planning, architecture and the future of her country.”

John Cleese rants - Soccer vs Football

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 21:47:18 -0400

John Cleese rants - Soccer vs Football

Outdoor Advertising With Twitter-Based Murals. The Canadian...

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:05:00 -0400

Outdoor Advertising With Twitter-Based Murals.

The Canadian Tourism Commission teamed up with DDB Vancouver to develop an interactive campaign to engage the cities of Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles in a playfully innovative way. The agency rolled out “digital storescapes” (a.k.a. Twitter-based murals) with a comprehensive engagement strategy that utilizes Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and a street team as platforms, enticing Americans to ‘keep exploring’ by considering travel to Canada.

via PSFK