Kenazart, experience designers

With this website that allows you to navigate through your microphone and your webcam, you will, if you are anything like me, a sense of zen.

Changing the music ambiance with a slow wave of the hand, reminds me of a tai-chi session.

Try it for yourself : www.andreaslutz.com

Rory Sutherland, in this video, describes my dilemna when it comes to creating a new job title. And asks how we could call it.

Through a series of examples like those Virgin Atlantic Salt and Pepper Sets that everyone want to snitch at some point. They hold an inscription underneath that says "Stolen from Virgin Atlantic".

Or this other example of the elevator at the Lydmar Hotel in Stockholm that by choosing your floor, you also set the music ambiance.

He also gives an example of an NGO offering a kilo of lentils to every mother that brought her family to get an inoculation.

To him, should it be in marketing or NGO's, it's about putting small things together that can make a big difference, almost a butterfly effect.

He asked in his speech, how this job should be called. He comes up with Small detail officers, in the 190 comments, you can read 

- art,

- ingenuity,

- design,

- practicality, 

- common sense,

- CED (Chief Executive of Detail) ,

- anti-institution,

- elegance,

- butterflies.

Well, my new job description could be Emotional Leverage Officer

To him, small things are much more potent when it comes to marking your users memory.  And I agree. :-)

Here a preview of my upcoming novel.

To me a novelist is the ultimate experience designer, out of the most commun technology, you can find out there these days, the author can get you to cry, laugh, feel heart broken, have you hope and fear... for a fictional character.

The other thing, I find amazing, is how one person can sometimes make such a big difference. It's not like a film, it doesn't take hundred of people and millions in budget to get the product to exist.

My research in how emotion emerge, has taken me into studying the anatomy of best-selling novels and blockbusters. One thing, leading to another, I thought, why not me, could I also create a whole new world, characters that you love, others that you hate, could I make people laugh, wonder, hope and fear for my characters... could I get people to trade a few nights sleeps for a fabulous adventure in another universe? Could I create a fiction that make you glad that you have a 5 hour train ride? Could I write a book that there is "no way" you are going to forget home?

Anyhow, I don't know if readers will feel all those emotions, but I do know that I really enjoy the proccess of writing it. It fascinates me how I'm starting to really love some of my characters.

The other day, I was re-reading the lastest chapter, conscious that I still hadn't written the rest. If I had turned the page, there was nothing to be read. Yet, I felt the urge, the compulsion to read what was coming next. Cool, hein? :-)

I sit down twice a day on my computer, with now the same desire... to find out what's coming next. I spend bus ride and any available minute of my time, creating metaphores and situations I could be using in my book.

I have challenged myself to write it in English. After Google define and translate for synonymes and spell checks, let me introduce you to my new friends:

Both of them, help me find the appropriate words, cultivate diversity amoung my vocabulary.

Having this project, makes me more aware of how others write. I feel like, just by having this project, I improve my writing skills. I have a nephew who is going to spend a few days with me on vacations, I'm going to try to have him write his own story. I bet his spelling is going to improve way faster than with normal class.

My other, best friend in this project is the website 750words.com but I'll write a whole post describing how wonderful it's been to me. And for that website, I have to thank a tangible friend, Nathalie Magniez, the nut grinder of information.

My goal is to have it finished and edited by Sept 1st, 2010. Here is the official countdown:

As of today, there is 1 day and 17 hours before The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, a Twilight novella is out.

26 days to go before the 3rd episode of the Twilight saga is out in theaters.

7 days to go before the kick-off of the soccer world cup.

15 days to go before the release of Toy Story 3 in theaters.

15 days to go to the grand opening of Harry Potter Theme Park in Orlando.

4 days to go, before the new Apple keynotes, would there be an iPhone 4G? A white one? What a suspens!

Countdowns are usually fan made. If you google "countdown twilight", you will see how many websites, mention them.

Setting an official release date is always a good idea, to keep your team focus as well as stiring up the crowds with buzzing speculations. Smilies appearing in blog posts, witnesses of the excitment.

Creating an official countdown is probably a good idea as you keep the control over what to show once the countdown is over. The main feature to consider is a sharing button allowing it to be shared on social platforms and blogs. The Bree Tannen count down is actually a pretty good one. Narrowed width countdowns are also great, as you want them to be place in the right column in blogs, therefore they will usually show on every single page of that blog.

The countdown and the actual announcement of official release dates allow to create some "new" out of pretty much nothing. And that is always a good idea for production teams.

If you are a fan of any of the things above, I bet your heart started to pump harder at some point. Excitment, expectation, questions...all firing in you. A part of your brain, probably organizing how you're going to go about it. Organize a trip, tell a friend,...

Isn't that great? :-) And what about you, where is your countdown?