January 21, 2008 · 05:09 PM

Be Visual

The internet offers many opportunities to present nearly everything visually, with the help of icons, pictures, graphics or drawings. Because of that, the amount of text declines more and more. Is there a tendency towards more creativity or visual thinking? Or perhaps a depletion of speech?

Speakers are:
- Addy Feuerstein, founder of AllofMe.com , a new web application which helps keeping overview to personal digital files using a time bar
- Alex Willcock, who owns a software-company called Imagini.net which brings the market research on a higher level using pictures instead of questionnaires
- Brent Hoberman was co-founder of lastminute.com. He has started a new project: mydeco, an online service for interior design
- Yogev Triki, who has created digital maps for AtlasCT which assigns pictures and videos to a map
- Antonio Rodriguez is Director Research & Development of Hewlett Packard and develops web-based print solutions
- Host is Linda Stone, former Vice President of Microsoft and now working as an author and advisor

How exciting! The audience got mysterious envelopes whith the order to not open them yet. Wait for Alex Willcock's presentation...

Andy Feuerstein is now presenting his webpage "Allofme". It looks like a digital photo album, but it is much more: Users are able to create a timeline of their life, including their own photos, but also general news pieces such as the history of Apple or a gallery of Time magazine covers.

Big laugh when Linda Stone asks if it is easy to manage. "No", says Feuerstein. "I mean, from the user's perspective", Stone replies. "Oh sure, yes", Feuerstein corrects himself.

Next is Brent Hoberman who presents his website: Mydeco.com. He tells the audience that he gets his ideas by thinking about things that don't really work out in life and whether technology could be helpful there. So he started a website where you can virtually create and design your living space without having bought any of the objects yet (which you can of course do in the mydeco online shop). You can also get in contact with other people that have the same style as you and chat about your designed living space, get advices or tips from them.

Yogev Triki is the next one to present his software reLive!. Triki talks about how complicated it is to organize the piles of pictures one has taken on vacation. You want them printed, fix them in your album, show everybody your pictures and tell the stories you`ve experienced in the vacation. With the digital maps from "AtlasCT" you can upload your pics from your digicam in seconds, rebuild your vacation trip on a map (looks a bit like the google map) and add stories to the pictures that are connected to every single stage of your trip. So everybody can see what your vacation was like.

Triki shows his Munich trip as an example, where an animated bus follows the route he took on his trip. He then takes a picture of the audience just to show how quickly the recently taken pic appears on the map. Nokia is about to sell cell phones including this software this year.

To Antonio Rodriguez from Hewlett Packard stories matter. He talks presents a piece of software which connects pictures with text. The software is called "Tabblo". Here you can be your own art director.

Alex Wilcock from "Youniverse" is next.

Is this the time to finally open up our envelopes? No!!! First, he explains that one can remember information via pics better than just seeing it as a text. That's because pictures create special feelings. Youniverse gets to know one's personality and what you might like not via questionnaires but via pictures.

Linda Stone, host of the panel, is very excited about Youniverse. "This is very interesting for advertisors. They can persuade the customers to buy exactely the things that they are most likely going to enjoy."

Finally it's time to open our envelopes. Inside are stickers of different pictures. The title says "Deep in my heart lives...". Alex wants the audience to choose one sticker that matters to his/her personality and stick it onto the shirts. So you can show your counterpart one piece of your personality and communicate about feelings - hearts, babies, candles, fireworks...

 

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