For those of you who haven’t heard about Ford’s “really really different” upcoming launch for its 2011 Ford Explorer, you might be surprised to hear that it won’t involve booth models and smoke machines at an auto show.  Instead, Ford’s decided to simultaneously launch its new Explorer on the model’s Facebook page and in NYC’s Harold Square, with “Dirty Jobs” host and Ford spokesperson Mike Rowe on July 26th.  On the release date, multiple videos will be posted on the Facebook page that will resemble the traditional auto show “walkaround” people are used to.

The Facebook page allows for users to “Like” different Ford Explorer features, like “Green” and “Quality” from the All Access tab, as well as enter to win the new model on the day its released.  There are also a variety of videos posted already that talk about the new safety features and ways the company was able to camouflage the new model before its launch.

You may be asking yourself, “so what?”  Well here’s why this is important.  The Detroit automakers have always been known to be behemoths when it comes to anything different; they’re slow moving, they grumble, and they whine.  The recession was the first time in a while that automakers had to drastically change their business practices in order to stay profitable (Ford was the only one of the Detroit automakers not to accept bailout money, fun fact).  This isn’t to say that they hadn’t been losing money for a while…  Still, though, by releasing their new model in a) a public place, and b) on Facebook, Ford is saying that they’re ready to do what’s necessary and that they understand where the key demographic of 18-30 year olds hang out- ONLINE.  As a company, Ford has always been a vehicle for change.  In many cases, the other car companies end up following in Ford’s footsteps, whether its creating a hybrid SUV or discounting the “ol’ faithful” auto show as the place to release new models.

Consider yourselves warned- if the auto industry is considering social media a key component of their marketing strategy, then everyone should be by now.

Ford Explorer Facebook Page

Mashable: “Ford to Unveil 2011 Explorer on Facebook“

In this episode we visit Somerville Local First, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping local businesses, artists and crafts thrive.  Check out the video and don’t forget to visit their website for more information and to stay up to date with all of their events.

How often have you heard someone say, “Oh, you would have an iPhone” or “way to conform” when you decide to purchase a BlackBerry.  Too often, right?  To be perfectly fair, it’s not easy expressing your individuality in tech, especially when most of the people you know have an iPhone, Blackberry, or some Android device (they all kind of seem like the same to me).  If I ever spend a night in a different place, I never even worry about how I’m going to charge my iPhone just because the odds of a friend having some kind of iDevice are in my favor.  Same goes to BlackBerrys (I confess, I even have a BB plug… why, I don’t know).  It’s time to BREAK FREE from the stereotype; don’t let yourself be put into one category or another so easily.   In an effort to inspire your individuality once again, here are our favorite ways to communicate who you really are through your smartphone.

1. Colorware

If you haven’t heard of Colorware before, no big deal.  Besides being one of the classiest ways to really personalize your device, it’s also one of the more expensive.  Colorware allows you to choose the color of almost every aspect of your device, from the keyboard to the logo.  With bright, solid, and wildly expressive colors, it’s easy to draw some attention to an ordinarily drab looking device.  One can even choose their own, custom, color- truly one-0f-a-kind.  Colorware allows you to either buy your new device through them and they will paint it per your specifications and send it to you, or send your own device in for them to paint it.  Paintable products include everything from BlackBerrys and iPhones to XBoxes and Macs.  Again, not recommended for the penny-pincher.

2. Citid Wallpapers

By far the cheapest and most instantly-gratifying way to mix it up a little, making your background a Citid wallpaper is both refreshingly creative and intensely loyal.  We actually did a post on the Citid project a few weeks ago (check it out here: http://streetattack.com/blog/index.php/2010/06/15/citid/), but for those of you who haven’t heard of the Citid project, take a seat.  You’re sitting?  Good.  Citid aims to collect a unique logo for as many cities of the world as it can, inspired by local artists and compiled through global collaboration.  Eventually there will be a book published (personally, I can’t wait), but for now, all of the accepted designs are on the Citid website.  Is it wrong to want the logo for Kuala Lumpur even though I’m a Boston native?  Below are some of my favorites, found after browsing for about five minutes.  I plan to spend hours on the site after I finish this post.

(For most smartphones, a photo e-mailed to yourself as an attachment can usually be made into a wallpaper by either saving it to your pictures or just clicking the BlackBerry button, etc.)

3. Gelaskins

Gelaskins are stickers (to put it simply) that attach to your device and can be easily removed, if or when you so desire.  The don’t leave any markings or any hint that they were there at all, allowing for any phases, mood shifts, changing styles, or fads you might indulge in.  What makes Gelaskins unique are the sheer number of professionally-designed styles and themes, not to mention the ability to upload your own design or photo and have it made into a Gelaskin.  Like Colorware, there are Gelaskins for almost every kind of gadget you may own, and come with a matching wallpaper for your device so that it can be completely decked out.  Reasonably priced, as well, Gelaskins are a happy medium between Colorware and an ugly case, while simultaneously curbing your appetite for something new and fresh.

Above are three ways that your phone can channel your personality and thirst for individuality, instead of the other way around.  Soon enough, I imagine, companies will begin marketing themselves on your device instead of though it (like those annoying banners in applications).  The outside of your device truly is one of the only untapped marketing mediums in the smartphone market, so take control of it before the Man does.  Although it is slightly ironic that I would illustrate this point through a commercial from the very company I’m referencing as personality purging, I think the message is clear:

Here at Street Attack we value our efficiency and productivity as diligent (and slightly neurotic) advertisers.  Everyone needs a break now and then- a brief respite from the daily grind- so here’s a list of our favorite time-wasting websites to ensure that even your off-time is productive, depending on how you look at it.

Don’t Even Reply

DontEvenReply.com is a website that features e-mails sent by the site’s creator to people who post classified ads with the fantastically simple goal of trying to mess with them and eventually piss them off.  The e-mail conversations are fairly entertaining and definitely merit a quick look-see, but the blog is only updated about once a week, so we’ll classify this site as more of a Monday pick-me-up than a consistent productivity killer.  If you’re a fan of the site, there’s of course a book that you can buy so that “e-mails from an asshole” are never out of reach.

Stuff White People Like

I’ve been a long time fan of Stuffwhitepeoplelike.com, mainly because of the striking accuracy of the posts.  Sometimes I’ll read a post and be able to instantly verify its accuracy of being something that I, as a white person, do enjoy, such as the World Cup, sweaters, Ray Ban Wayfarers, and hating people who wear Ed Hardy (I understand that it’s a lifestyle choice, but still…).  There is, of course, a book and posters available to buy on the site, but to some degree, Stuff White People Like has become a victim of its own success.  The author only posts about once a month (or even skips months) and half of the posts are about a new SWPL product or news about the book tour.  If you’re never heard of the site before, I strongly recommend you clear a few hours of your schedule, or better yet, pace yourself so that the inconsistent posting isn’t a concern.  Either way, Stuff White People Like is definitely a productivity killer and a great concept.

Marijuana

Texts From Last Night

Textsfromlastnight.com (or Tfln as it’s affectionally referred to by fans) is a website that posts funny text messages and the area code they’re from (very funny stuff).  Users can text message the site directly or post their funny text themselves from the computer.  Visitors then have the option of voting on whether or not they like the text (good night or bad night) and can even buy a t-shirt of the text message if they really relate.  Since the content is often updated, this is a great website to check as often as you’d like, and can serve as great Facebook wall-posting material.

People of Walmart

This website will make you laugh, cry, shriek, rofl, and call your friend over to see.  Peopleofwalmart.com is a lovely collection of photos of people who shop at the largest retailer in America (with that kind of title there are bound to be some bad apples).  The site has recently evolved to include stories and other salacious aspects of the Walmart clientele, but in my mind, a picture is still worth a thousand words.  Check out the site if you dare.  I also apologize for insulting anyone if they happen to find themselves on it… a personal shopper might be in order.  Surprise!- there’s a book available for purchase if you so feel the need.

Awkward Family Photos

We’ve all had the experience of matching sweaters, picturesque backdrops, and maybe even professional studios with all sorts of “nifty” props and costumes.  Awkwardfamilyphotos.com is a gallery of families who couldn’t make it look 100% natural.  Fortunately for us, doting family members or friends decided to share their misfortunes with the world wide web!  Personalized book available for your coffee table.  Try not to make it in.

Look At This Fucking Hipster

Latfh.com is a great example of people taking something too far; in this case, that “something” is how hipster once can be to the point of ridiculousness.  City folk, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  The blog’s updated about once a day which is perfect for the occasional procrastinator, and most of the photos live up to the blog’s reputation (the captions are pretty funny too).  Even hipster haters, however, are not above publishing.  My suggestion is to get the book and use its pages as rolling paper.  Or you could spend that money on Pabst, you choose.

All in all, there are a plethora of websites in cyberspace that can alleviate some symptoms of the Mondays, boredom, self-loathing, self-conciousness, and the daily grind.  The websites that feature user-generated content are the most dangerous for your productivity, but waiting sometimes makes the prize that much more satisfying.  Each of these sites is definitely worth a quick, even cursory, glance, and we at Street Attack can validate their potency as vicious murderers of our highly-valued productivity.  It seems like publishing a book of a blog has been a trend recently, as you can see. I can’t understand for the life of me why anyone would buy them if they have the same content as the blog, but if they make money then more power to you.  Coming soon: a stapled printout of every Street Attack tweet from the last five years, available on Amazon in time for the holidays.  Browse at your own risk!

The term “Augmented Reality” (AR) has been described as everything from the future of marketing to the demise of productivity to the most useful and innovative addition to smartphones since the web browser. AR is, in fact, a type of browsing, but one that involves browsing the world around you rather than the world wide web. Wikipedia defines it as, “enhancing one’s current perception of reality” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality) which is exactly what AR is and will become even more so, in time.  Marketers have wasted no time taking advantage of this technology, applying it to everything from billboards, iPhone apps, and even magazine covers- and this is only scratching the surface.  The military is no doubt pursuing a augmented reality heads-up display for soldiers on the ground (they already use one in the new F-35 Joint Strike fighter) and we all remember the scenes from Minority Report, Terminator, and most of all, Iron Man  (short video below of the special effects and AR used in Iron Man and how it was created and built).

Even though the time when Iron Man-like interfaces occupy our garages and kitchens is a long way off, developers are already integrating augmented reality interfaces with products we use every day, and more importantly, everywhere.  Take Yelp, for example; the ubiquitous restaurant, bar, and general establishment rating service.  Yelp developed a feature in August of 2009 called the “Monocle” for their iPhone application.  The Monocle allows the user to see the locations of establishments overlayed with what the user is actually seeing through their phone’s camera (using the iPhone’s built-in GPS, compass, and accelerometer).

(Photo courtesy of Gizmodo, view their full post at: http://gizmodo.com/5347194/augmented-reality-yelp-will-murder-all-other-iphone-restaurant-apps-my-health).  As the self-proclaimed first AR app for the iPhone, Yelp integrated an already established and renowned network of businesses with a simple, user-friendly technology (and best of all, for free!).  Since the release of this feature, other applications like Layar, BionicEye, Nearest Tube, and Fire Power, which allows to you pretend to blow up cars, have been released into the App Store and have started expanding the number of ways AR can be integrated into every day use (for more on these and other AR iPhone apps, check out Technically Personal’s post: http://techpp.com/2009/10/21/15-stunning-augmented-reality-iphone-apps/).

Augmented reality marketing has also taken form in other, more indirect ways.  If anyone has the chance to walk through Times Square, check out Forever 21′s billboard, which features a giant model taking Polaroids of the actual crowd in front of the store and actually picks up specific crowd members, before dropping them into her trendy Forever 21 bag.

In my mind, this billboard certifiably establishes AR as a mass-market technology that can generate serious income for any client that utilizes it; just take a look at the crowd standing in front of this store!  Augmented reality is no longer confined to the third page of apps on an iPhone or to tech conferences.  The technology allows marketers to actively engage and incorporate the consumer into an advertisement, something a magazine or television ad will never be able to accomplish.  Pretty soon, a woman walking down the street will see herself wearing the latest styles in a window display that changes the article of clothing every five seconds, even if what she was originally wearing was sweatpants and a tank.  Victoria Secret, take note (just kidding).

Going back to the Wikipedia definition, AR is also defined as, “a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery.”  This indirect view is exactly what marketers have been waiting for.  Finally, the consumer will see and experience what WE want them to.  An client can skip the step of trying to get a consumer to go into the store and try on their clothing through advertisements.  The street is our dressing room and every consumer is our canvas.  An Architecture graduate student named Keiichi Matsuda made the below video for his final project and it gives us a haunting glimpse into what our world could become at the hands of AR.

The online self publishing service Blurb has been around and well known in the do it yourself communities, but we thought with the summer heat wave killing us here on the East Coast, you might find yourself stuck indoors more than you’d like, with more time on your hands to unleash that inner creative being. The Do It Yourself series focuses on sharing tools and technology that make the traditional crafting realm spread its reach far beyond your corner sidewalk sale or flea market and take it to the masses and endless channels of the web.

Granted this may be a strike against the nature of DIY culture’s founding pillars, more and more artists have been embracing up and coming technologies and the web as a way to spread the reach of their once isolated zines and self published projects and publications. Like it or not, the argument is there, and technologies like Blurb are helping artists, and non-artists alike, do it themselves, tell their stories in refined and professional ways and change the landscape of what it means to share and creative exchange information. Check out their site and this little demo below which explains the book editing software they have created which you can use to publish your books (or for the more design savvy they recently started accepting adobe templates).

Getting Started with Blurb Booksmart from Blurb Books on Vimeo.

The hottest season of the year is classically associated with broken air conditioners, crowded pools, mad ice cream dashes, and other desperate measures to stay cool. Summer is also a time, however, when many cities celebrate certain films by showcasing them, typically for free, at prominent locations. Going to an outdoor movie is a great activity to do with friends, family, and even as a date. Here’s our rundown of the best places to see an outdoor movie in a major city near you!

Boston

WBZ Radio graciously sponsors “Free Friday Flicks” at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade every friday night, a hit with local Bostonians. Moviegoers usually bring blankets and picnics to these dusk showings (the schedule for which can be found here: http://www.celebrateboston.com/free-friday-flicks.htm) and getting there a little early to pick out a good spot is definitely a must.

The Boston Harbor Hotel’s “Movies by Moonlight” series is a fantastic opportunity to see some great classics down by the waterfront. Films are shown every Friday night (also starting at dusk) and include some great flicks, like Field of Dreams on the 16th and The Raiders of the Lost Ark on September 3rd. For the full schedule, check out, http://www.bhh.com/pdf/SummerSeriesBrochure_10.pdf

New York City

Rooftop Films is definitely a great place to start if you’re interested in the outdoor movie scene in the big city. With over 11 outdoor venues and constant showings, not to mention music performances, a great website, and even the opportunity to rent equipment for your own outdoor showing, RF is a fantastic activity for anyone without something to do on a nice summer night. Showings are typically on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, and a full schedule is available at http://www.rooftopfilms.com

HBO and Bryant Park have teamed up again to offer the “HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival,” which consists of movie showings every Monday night at around 8 or 9pm. The lawn opens up a little earlier for picnicking and the movie choices are fantastic (Monty Python and the Holy Grail on the 26th). The full schedule is available at http://www.bryantpark.org/plan-your-visit/filmfestival.html

Chicago

One of the more extensive city-run outdoor movie programs is Chicago’s “Movies in the Parks,” which prominently features family-friendly and generally excellent blockbusters in parks all over the city, and on almost every night of the week! Unfortunately, the website doesn’t allow one to search for movies based on a specific park, but the list is so long (over 160 screenings) that you’re bound to find something you like, at a convenient location. As is the trend, all movies are free and begin at either 8pm or 8:30pm each night. Check out http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/events.results/object_id/b85d63cb-6aec-45f0-8cdb-9c38d0a57e19.cfm for the full listings!

San Francisco

The website isn’t too strong, but the movie offerings definitely are. The San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation and Pop Secret have teamed up to offer six summer movies at three different parks around the city, all starting at dusk. The small number of shows means that there isn’t much flexibility (more of a planned activity than a spontaneous one), but the schedule is definitely worth checking out at the SFNTF website: http://www.sfntf.org/

Washington D.C.

D.C. has over TEN, that’s right, TEN different organizations playing movies outdoors this summer, in locations like the National Mall, the NoMA, and at the National Harbor. A full listing of all the locations and films is available here (courtesy of Suite101.com): . “Screen on the Green” seems to be the most popular D.C. tradition, offering four movies throughout the month of July and in the beginning of August. Take a look at the Washington Post’s review of the screenings for the schedule and details: http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/misc-events/screen-on-the-green,1044011/critic-review.html

Hey guys. Today I will finally venture away from the third person to write about my departure from Street Attack. I’m Preston Landers, and I’ve been an intern at Street Attack since February. On Monday, I leave for a semester abroad in Australia’s University of New South Wales. I’ll be a stones throw away from the Great Barrier Reef.

As a member of the Street Attack creative team, I contributed dozens of experiential and digital promotion proposals. In my time at the head of Street Attack’s social media, I increased our Twitter followers by nearly 100 and created the Facebook account that I have since helped to gain over 330 fans. Yet, beneath it all, it’s not the proposals I have written or the virtual friends I have amassed that I am most proud of – it is the actual experiences I participated in and the great friends I have made.

I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity Street Attack has given me and this internship has most definitely influenced where my marketing career will head in the years to come. Street Attack has proved the perfect forum for me to “flex my creative muscles.” I’ll surely be attacking streets long after I’m outta here.

Preston

(Also, I managed to sneak a pretty great recipe for smoked salmon on this blog a few months ago. I recommend you find it and try it out. )

In this episode, we sit down with the guys behind Emulsion Apparel and find out what makes them tick and how their quality goods are really made.

Street Attack: Vision Episode 3 Emulsion Apparel from Mykim Dang on Vimeo.