Maarten Nefkens

"Consider no work perfect over which you have not sat once from evening to broad daylight."

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:43:55 +0200

“Consider no work perfect over which you have not sat once from evening to broad daylight.”

- Walter Benjamin (via Martin Weigel)

Marriage is gay anyway!

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:28:00 +0200

As the gay marriage issue is dominating headlines worldwide, social commentators are discussing the recent attitude shift among Americans. This decade, polls began to show a majority support of same-sex marriage. And now more and more politicians are voicing their changed opinion on the subject. Even conservatives.

Seven years ago, 70% of Americans were still opposing same-sex marriage. How can we explain this shift? Did Americans evolve? Become less conservative, all of a sudden?

It’s a reminder that people aren’t nearly as consistent and predictable as we’d like to think, says author David Berreby. Our minds aren’t wired to be either conservative or liberal. People can change their politics or hold seemingly conflicting views.

Berreby asked psychology professor Jonathan Haidt about the matter, who explains it as the result of personal experience. With more gays coming out of the closet over the past few decades, more and more straight Americans have come to see the issue in personal terms. Like Senator Rob Portman, who changed his opinion because his son is gay. It’s then no longer an abstract question about society, but a problem facing someone close.

Professor of sociology Lisa Wade says the same thing. She refers to a study in which people were asked why they changed their mind. The most common response was that knowing a gay person made them rethink their position on gay marriage. Which is consistent with a theory called the contact hypothesis; the idea that positive experiences with someone we fear or dislike will change our opinion.

To me it definitely seems a matter of social behavior, rather than a sudden evolution of moral and political thinking. Over the years, gay people have gradually become part of straight people’s social environment. Now, a tipping point may have been reached, at which gay people are no longer an alien group to most Americans, but part of their own social groups. Causing a shift from ‘them’ to ‘us’.

Hopefully, in the next few years, this shift will lead to way more acceptance of our gay friends, neighbors, family members, collegeas, teammates and lovers.

"Ideas, in a sense, are overrated. Of course, you need good ones, but at this point in our..."

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:47:08 +0100

“Ideas, in a sense, are overrated. Of course, you need good ones, but at this point in our supersaturated culture, precious few are so novel that nobody else has ever thought of them before. It’s really about where you take the idea, and how committed you are to solving the endless problems that come up in the execution.”

- Hugo Lindgren, editor of The New York Times Magazine. From this article.

How Obama's campaign used biggish data

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:03:00 +0100

While Obama’s 2008 campaign showed groundbreaking use of social media, the cleverness of his 2012 campaign was more hidden in the background. It was all about data - big data, to use the term du jour. Now the successful campaign is over, Obama’s team is offering us an inside look. Interesting for all us marketing villains out there, keen to get a grasp on big data’s potential.

So, what can we learn from these insights? Well, what’s most striking is the sheer dedication to data crunching. Every move was calculated and evaluated. Nothing was left to chance. Some of the key success factors:

All separate databases that were used in 2008 were merged into one ginormous datafile. With this rich datafile they could model all kinds of voter types. Models that could predict which people were most persuadable and which appeal would be most effective.

They set up an intricate email campaign for fundraising, that raised one billion dollars. What made it so effective? A large set of preliminary emails was sent out to test which combination of message, sender and subject line worked best for each specific voter group.

The team discovered that the campaign’s Quick Donate program, which allowed repeat giving online or via a text message, triggered people to donate about four times as much as other donors.

Thanks to the enormous source of polling data they could accurately monitor who their voters were and who not, at any give moment. For example, when the polls slipped after the first debate, they knew which voter group had changed sides.

Each night they ran computer simulations to find out what the chances were of winning each state. This way they always knew exactly how to allocate their resources.

Through an app, voters received pictures of their Facebook friends in swing states, who they could urge to vote for Obama, with one click of a button. The team found that 1 in 5 people that were urged by a friend acted upon the request.

Media buying was entirely based on data as well. They knew where to reach their most persuadable voters and didn’t need to rely on traditional media planning. This led to some unusual, yet clever choices. Like Obama’s appearance on Reddit, where many ‘turnout targets’ were hanging out.

Many of these ideas and techniques may seem nothing new or groundbreaking. Actually, Claude Hopkins, author of Scientific Advertising, popularized some of them a century ago. However, the scale and precision of this data-driven campaign seems unprecedented. It’s not difficult to imagine this trend evolving to even bigger and more sophisticated practices.

Designer Frederick van Schoor has created a nightmare-like...

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:03:00 +0200

Designer Frederick van Schoor has created a nightmare-like spectacle using video mapping. Projecting two giant spiders moving about quickly in a glass-walled room. Looking very realistic and very freaky.

Gotta love Teenage Engineering

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 12:40:00 +0200

Teenage Engineering is a Swedish synthesizer company that not only has an awesome name, but creates über-cool products as well. Last year they released their first synthesizer, the OP-1, which is a powerful tool with deceivingly toyish looks. I love the company’s knack for design and other companies have also taken notice; IKEA let Teenage Engineering design the world’s cheapest digital camera for them.

Recently Teenage Engineering released a new range of accessories for the OP-1, including an interface that allows Lego Technic gears to be used as controls. And it is now the first company to let customers 3D-print replacement parts for their product, for free.

All this really makes my want to buy an OP-1. Shame I’m no musician though.

"If you want things to stay the same, then things will have to change."

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:04:16 +0200

“If you want things to stay the same, then things will have to change.”

- Giuseppe di Lampedusa

The poodle moth

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:58:00 +0200

This picture of an absurdly cute looking moth was taken some years ago, by a zoologist in Venezuela. It was uploaded to his Flickr account and remained rather unnoticed until last week, when the mysterious critter turned into an internet sensation, getting the full meme treatment. Now it appears to be an unknown species, this image being the only sign of its existence. Coincidently, another bug species was discovered through Flickr earlier this month. Making the interwebs a new hotspot for wildlife discoverers. Quite a Baudrillardian thought: we don’t need to explore the real world anymore, just its virtual counterpart.

Anyways, the internet is loving the hell out of this poodle moth, comparing it to Furby, Mogwai and Pokemon creatures. I think it would be nice to crowdsource its official name, making it the first species adopted and named by the internet.

If you doubt the authenticity of the picture, take a look at the original Flickr set. It’s full of amazing and unreal looking moths photographed in South America, where each year thousands of new insects are still being discovered.

Old Spice does it again. Best one since the original ‘man...

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:09:00 +0200

Old Spice does it again. Best one since the original ‘man your man could smell like’. Watch Terry play muscle music. Then use the keyboard to play some yourself. Nice lightweight use of interaction in Vimeo.

WE ON THE INTERNET!!

"In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on."

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:41:59 +0200

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

- Robert Frost

This great piece of interactive art by Michal Kohút consists of...

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:49:00 +0200

This great piece of interactive art by Michal Kohút consists of a pair of glasses that turn off the lights in the room, whenever the person wearing it blinks. Doing this so fast the person doesn’t notice.

Kind of like the room is a fridge and your eyelids its door.

It's the inequality, stupid

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 23:40:00 +0200

Earlier on this blog, I shared a study showing how Americans underestimate nationwide inequality. I guess people would perform even worse at judging the state of global inequality, since it’s bad beyond our imagination. Here are some shocking estimations from a new repor t by the Tax Injustice Network:

The richest 10% of world population account for 84% of wealth.
The 3 billion poorest people together only have 1%.
The 91.000 richest people own one-third of all money(!).
The super-rich keep around 21.000 billion dollar on secret bank accounts.
They dodge around 150 billion dollar in taxes, each year.
The Third World elite alone owns 7.500 billion secret dollars.
This amount equals twice the debt of all Third World countries together.

Together these figures account for one hell of a WTF-erlebnis.

How to start a riot

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:38:00 +0200

Today marks the one year anniversary of the London riots and the British media are looking back at the events. In a column in the Financial Times, author and BBC radio presenter Tim Harford discusses why riots happen. Posing an interesting take.

Instead of going into socioeconomic or political causes, he points to herd behavior. Referring to a simple yet intriguing model. The model assumes that the single reason people embark on a riot, is to follow the crowd. With some people joining at an early stage, while others wait for a large crowd to trigger them.

The threshold at which a person joins can be quantified. The person who starts the riot has a threshold of zero. He doesn’t need any company to get going. The second guy has a treshold of one: he follows after one nutcase starts misbehaving. The next one has a treshold of two and so on. Until the last guy joins, who only does so when no other bystanders are left.

According to this theory riots occur by way of a domino effect. It depends on each human domino to tip the next one over. But if one is missing, the chain is broken. So if the crowd contains no person with a threshold of three, the riot will be limited to three people. The rest of the people, with higher thresholds, will never join.

This means that very small differences between groups of people can determine whether a riot breaks loose or not. It’s the random side of riots: seemingly identical conditions can produce totally different outcomes.

That’s the point Harford wants to make: in trying to understand what caused last year’s massive riots, we shouldn’t underestimate the randomness within the chain of events. That’s how social epidemics work and why things can explode or die a quiet death, for no conclusive reason.

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a..."

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:24:04 +0200

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation”

- Maarten Nefkens (Quoting Oscar Wilde)

Styles of music are evolving quickly on the internet. New...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:15:00 +0200

Styles of music are evolving quickly on the internet. New micro-genres pop up as frequently as hipsters at your local coffees shop. Aesthetic trends on social platforms like Tumblr find their way into music. Making things sound glitchy, lo-fi and 90’s nostalgic. Many of these trends can sound pretty shit, if you ask me. But when things have that new school vibe and are still listenable, musical even, I’m in.

Take the LOL Boys. Two guys, one from Montreal, the other from L.A., who represent a fresh breed of internet-born dance music. The two actually met online. On a NASA forum, in the ‘weird music’ section, sharing their love for Chicago house. They started collaborating over the internet and that’s how they still work, sending files back and forth. Their new Changes EP is filled with groovy percussion and quirky vocals. It’s released on the Friends of Friends label, which houses more new school goodness, like Shlohmo.

Today an official video was released for the title track. Which is now my gift to you.

The passion gap

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:49:00 +0200

In parts of Cape Town, South-Africa, getting your front teeth pulled out is quite the fashion statement. This charming phenomenon is known as the ‘passion gap’. It’s origins are somewhat vague. Some say fishermen started doing it, to whistle more loudly to each other. Others claim it originated in prisons, where gang members would knock the teeth out of their prison bitches, so they could give better blowjobs. Whatever it’s history, the passion gap has become a strong part of colored culture. Boys and girls do it. It’s considered sexy. Even when you’re not wearing your golden dentures.

The terrific Dutch TV show Metropolis interviewed Cape Towners about this phenomenon, watch the video over here.

A Japanese inventor gets creative with Kinect and builds a...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 11:54:28 +0200

A Japanese inventor gets creative with Kinect and builds a moving trashcan that catches your garbage. Seems to work pretty well.

Wow. Just wow. Love the moment of silence and then the...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:17:00 +0200

Wow. Just wow. Love the moment of silence and then the ‘just wanna play ball’. The Nike brand offers such a powerful story, which allows for inspirational creative work, year after year after year. Work that gives you goose bumps and, at the same time, always feels like it could only be Nike.

The wonderful world of Etsy

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:02:00 +0200

Some of the most creative product ideas surface on Etsy these days, the world’s largest artisan marketplace. Take this jewelry line designed as little body parts, of which the earrings are the best. And this awesome armored hoodie, which is so popular that the seller had to shut down his shop, since Etsy couldn’t handle all the requests.

"始めるは易し、続けるは難し"

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:54:00 +0200

“始めるは易し、続けるは難し”

- This old and very true Japanese adage says: ‘Beginning is easy, continuing hard’.

2012 has been treating me awfully well. Highlight thus far is my recent trip to Japan, Indonesia and Moscow. This blog, however, has been suffering from severe neglect.

The Japanese know a thing or two about perseverance. Most importantly that it doesn’t just happen. Time to learn from my new seaweed-eating friends and get my blogging on.