The written word is going through a renaissance. OK,I admit, I have been using a keyboard  for so long now that I struggle to read my own spidery scribbles, but we are writing more than ever.

The panicky predictions of the web turning us all into anti-social, procrastinating cyber slobs are quickly fading away as we spend more time reading, writing, interacting with, producing and sharing content than ever. The web is rapidly encroaching on TV’s territory, (arguably the most passive of all media), and is not far away from absorbing it entirley.

Production and consumption theory initially wrestled with the problem of how man can produce enough to meet our insatiable demands. Cue the industrial revolution. With that problem solved, somewhere along the line the problem mutated. How can we fuel enough demand to sustain a level of production that keeps workers in jobs and capitalists capitalizing?

So for better or worse, God created marketers:

[Our economy] demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumptive patterns [...]

We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing pace. We need to have people eat, drink, dress, ride, live, with ever more complicated and, therefore, constantly more expensive consumption.

~American retail analyst Victor Lebow (and cheers to Raptitude reader  Anna for this)

The question I’m toying with is are we in the middle of a third shift? Is the line between consuming and producing blurring?

Or even, could production be the new consumption?

I’ve been reflecting on Lebow’s words against today’s context when our rituals are increasingly moving into the digital space and so many seek their spiritual and ego satisfactions via online interactions.

“Social status”, “acceptance”, “prestige” – Mark Zuckerburg tapped into some deep primal needs which partly explains the phenomenal growth of 500 miliion Facebook users in two years.

When we use Google or Facebook, we are consuming a digital product, but we are also producing content at the same time. Innocently updating your profile, rating a product, writing a review, sharing a Tweet – all feed the ever growing content snowball as it  roars down the fast lane of the super information highway.

The production and consumption of the social web are inextricably linked, there is no one with out the other.

The dizzying number of options to self-publish seems to increase daily, and shows no signs of letting up. Stick any daft sounding nonsensical word into Google and the chances are you’ll find a new obscure social network.

Mobile phones are mutating out of control into the portable multimedia production devices with even a basic model to day will feature digital camera, video recording and dictaphone as standard.

One thing is for sure, the digital ape loves to produce and the means of digital media production are well and truly in his hands.

Looking beyond the sometimes narcissistic characteristics of social media use, the web has empowered us with the mechanic to collaborate, share ideas, solve problems, protest and immerse ourselves in creativity and culture.

As you can clearly see – we are not wasting the opportunity.

“When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got… A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker”

A cracking piece of digital media from Patrick Boivin has allowed his childhood dreams to come true. It’s hard to believe this amazing short film isn’t produced solely using CGI.

Watch out for the hilarious guest appearance from “Jabba the Poo”.  The stop animation and use of green screen is first class, if you are wondering how this piece of video wizardry was created, Boivin also created the making of this video.

Digital Graffiti – Lazer tagging

An aerospace engineer and designer of some of NASA’s latest projects has jacked in his day job to explore the space between new media art and “super genius” technology. Based from Eyebeam, a US based creative technology center, James Powderly and partner in pixel crime, Evan Roth are creating some very clever experiments in modern digital technology and urban creativity.

The video below shows their impressive lazer tagging technique, which allows these digital vandals to  slap their tags on the world’s famous landmarks and cities, and all with out any risk of being arrested.

But the most impressive part of this story is what the duo managed to achieve with leading LA graffiti artist, Tony Quan, AKA Tempt. A pioneer of the 80′s LA graffiti scene, Quan has suffered from a rare disease which has left him largely paralyzed since 2003, but he retains full mental capability and eye movement. The frustration he must feel at not being able to express his highly creative mind is unimaginable.

But within just a few day, Powderly and Roth adapted the lazer tagging system to create the Eye Writer system specifically for Quan, so he can once again make his mark on the urban landscape.   Truly inspiring stuff !

Check out more digital vandalism and even a robo-tagger over at Temptone.

On a recent trip to London, in a quiet pub, a fellow punter unboxed their shiny new IPad to the coos, aahs and oohs of a growing love-struck crowd surrounding the lucky bugger. Anyone would have thought a new born giraffe was taking its’ first cute stumbles judging the reaction from the awestruck lunch time drinkers.

Practically every digital billboard in the London underground featured provocative shots of the iPad’s lusty particulars, male and female eyes just couldn’t avert their gaze. One thing is for sure, the iPad is an object of exquisite technological beauty, and we are rapidly falling in love. Even die-hard PC fans may not be able to resist the temptress for long and could soon be bowing down in submission to Apples’ evangelists.

You only have to check out their HTML 5 showcase (you will need to browse in Safari, as the showcase uses non-finalized web standards) to see how Apple are going to take the driving seat in pushing the web and mobile technologies of the future. But Steve Jobs has confirmed that Adobe Flash will definitely not be coming along for the ride.

Jobs’ statement may seem a little harsh, and the ending to this ‘will they, won’t they’ storyline between Apple and Adobe isn’t a happy one,  but it’s difficult not to appreciate the logic behind the decision to not support Flash on the Apple mobile OS. Pixel perfect transitions, slick animations and  video are all achievable through the open standards of HTML 5, CSS3 Javascript. Free, openness and sharing are all concepts synonymous with the web and Apple at least seems to be embracing these with their development strategy.

If developing in open standards is the only way you are going to get an application on the iPhone and iPad – where does this leave Adobe’s licensed development platform?

If I were a Flash developer for web, I might be starting to rethink my long term career path. One reason is most Flash sites depend on hover-overs – an alien concept to the growing number of devices using touch screen navigation. So there will be plenty of companies looking to redevelop their Flash sites…………. just not in Flash when there are more accessible options available.

Power consumption is an issue every mobile device manufacturer faces, and how to get the most out of a single charge. So even the rise of the non-Apple smart phones that will support Flash, does not look likely to be throwing a lifeline when it comes to mobile, as the technology is more demanding on power. Large, battery heavy devices will not survive in the market and besides, manufacturers have to keep making devices smaller – so we keep losing them and buying more!

But where do the users loyalties lie? YouTube and all the major content providers support H.264 codec, so non Flash users aren’t missing out on much when it comes to video. Most of us couldn’t care less if we are viewing content using Flash or Javascript and the majority of us don’t know what this geeky nonsense even means!

So the allure of the Apple style mobile OS will swoon us in the end, and non Apple developers will be following the leader when attempting to emulate the Apple experience. They already are. Flash looks likely to retreat away from the web content arena but that doesn’t mean it’s multimedia applications are dead and buried, Flash still has it’s niches.

Before the pro-Adobe rent a mob (and the Flash team at my agency) get their backs up – there is no doubting Flash’s capability to create gorgeous animated web content, but recently the Adobe developer community seem to feeling the heat in advertising  the fact more than ever. Perhaps this will drive Flash developers to create even more innovative content. But open web standards are catching up - fast.

Sorry Flash, I think  it might be over. It’s not you, OR me. It’s Apple.

I came across a cracking article by  Johan Ronnestam on Douglas Atkin’s – ‘The Culting of Brands. But  real world examples are neglected, and I could see every one of Johan’s points at work in  Gorillaz cult marketing experience:

Difference – Distance your cult from the establishment

The idea for Gorillaz was formed by Jamie Hewlett and Daman Albarn in protest to the cartoony images of the Pop Idol establishment coming into prominence at the time.   Gorillaz are the twisted reflections of Simon Cowell’s creations,  the antidote to the current epidemic of meaningless empty drivel in in popular music. Pop, yes, but they are about as far out on the fringe as they can get. They hammer home their exclusivity with claims of “the world’s first virtual hip hop band”

Connectors – Recruit successful, attractive and respectable souls

Gorillaz have nailed this requirement hands down.  Not many cartoon bands can count the likes Madonna, Bruce Willis, Snoop Dog, Sean Ryder and Lou Reed among their entourage.

Exclusivity – Not anyone can join

We always want what we can’t have.  The power of fear of loss and exclusion wasn’t ignored  with Google’s  Gmail invites. In the literal sense, if you do not have membership to the Gorillaz club (£26 fee), or an 02 mobile contract or a Glastonbury ticket – then the chances are you won’t be even be getting a look in at tickets to any live performances.

In the not so literal sense, you either “get” Gorillaz, their eclectic collaborations and musical style or you do not.

Solidarity, a clear sense of belonging to a group & the paradox of making joiners feel that they become more individual

The Gorillaz’ edgy, dark  image and sub plot is far too challenging and edgy for mainstream to buy  into. This is also reenforced with Gorillaz club and whether your in the “we get it” gang.

Ideology – A clear belief system

When Gorillaz were nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize award, it was politely turned down. Taking part in a hyped industry publicity event would have gone against  Gorillaz ideology. They create an intense buzz just fine on their own,  and don’t need any noise from the “finger on the pulse” gang.

An Enemy – To define what you are not

Every cult brand needs an enemy. Challenger brand Apple’s (technology  of the liberal arts….apparently) enemy is Microsoft (big, bad monopolistic capitalism). Gorillaz’ enemy are the plastic, manufactured pop characters of the mainstream media, they’re not fans of the Mercury Music award panel either.

Contact – Splash your ideas onto the right people

Gorillaz hijacked the homepage  Guardian music for the album launch, ensuring exposure to their fringe culture loving core audience.

With the likelihood of Gorillaz replacing U2  heading lining this year’s Glastonbury, Murdoch and his animated band  can expect yet another jet boost into super stardom.

Donkey Kong taking out skyscrapers, Arkanoid smashes down bridges and Pacman runs riot on the subway, Pixels is an ambitious short film from parisean outfit One More Production.

Hewlett and Albarn cooked up the idea for the band in protest at the cartoon images of the popular commercial acts at the time, and the result was an ironic backfire as their popularity exploded. In 2006, a rumours of a rare live performance in Harlem led to tickets being sold in less than an hour from release. Their last release, Demon Days was the 5th biggest selling album of 2005, so this has a lot to live up to.

And they’ve returned with guns blazing. As ever, the collaborations are as eclectic as the musical style it’s self. Mark E Smith of post punkers The Fall, Snoop, Lou Reed and Bobby Womack all lend vocals to chunky hip hop beats, and bass lines so solid you could build a skyscraper on them. You can listen to the entire album at the Guardian.

Mixed Appeal

The art and characters of Jamie Hewlett account for a massive part of the appeal of the Gorillaz experience, and this hasn’t been ignored with the supporting release media. The new website allows you  explore the  Gorlliaz’ new home  for yourself and fully immerse yourself in the lives of band members 2D, Russell, Murdoch and Noodle.

This time round, visual media is playing a more predominant role. Idents focusing on characters stories have been released, along with an orchestral introduction to the Plastic Beach environment. They’ve even recruited a demented Bruce Willis hit man for the video  for the debut single Stylo.

Doing what most bands so after momentousness success, for the past few years they’ve been living somewhere on the south Pacific on their own island. Unfortunately for the Gorillaz, the island is made up of the washed up debris of humanity -  visit the Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach

You may well be a wondering what an art toy is doing in a digital marketing site. Brian Donnelly, the guy behind Kaws and the OriginalFake brand has made it into Fast’s 100 Most Creative people in business.

I have been  a massive fan if urban vinyl art since my time in Asia, and lucky enough to own a few gems from Michael Lau and Eric So. Urban vinyl artists have big brands queuing up to be considered for a collaboration pieces. Both Nike and Adidas were quick to recognize the potential to gain institutional art and street credibility in one swoop.  Donnely’s roots lie in graffiti and street art but now enjoys courtships with the likes of Levi and Nike mega-brands.

Check out the Kaws site, but you won’t find much…we always want want we can’t have.