Challis Hodge’s UXblog

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Board of Trustees of announced today that John Maeda, Associate Director of Research at the MIT Media Lab, has accepted their offer to become the 16th president of RISD.

RISD Board Chair Merrill Sherman said, “We are delighted to name John Maeda as successor to Roger Mandle. RISD has a special obligation to play a leadership role in the world of art and design, nationally and internationally. Creativity and innovation are more important than ever. We believe John will be a bold, innovative and exciting president and will enhance RISD’s role in helping to shape and inform art and design in this century.”

The Board’s unanimous approval of Maeda is well placed. He’ll make a fine President.

Working with razorfish and agency Kirt Gunn & Associates, L’Oreal has launched a fictional comedy, “The Harry Situation,” built around the romantic adventures of a guy who uses Bold It hair gel. Hmmmmm. The campaign targets men aged 18-34, an audience that L’Oreal is counting on to appreciate this type of content.

Originally, my wife and I wrote a very funny and smart show about a complicated character in the midst of a realistic and overwhelming sexual awakening.

So who the hell would ever want to change it into a show about a one-dimensional ‘loser’ who finally gets laid because he starts using hair gel?

Certainly not our sponsor. Especially since they agreed not to interfere with any creative decisions. They swore they would never insert their product into the show (or me).

So how did it come to this:

In a recent study, ‘A Glimpse of the Next Episode‘, Nokia predicts that 25% of all ‘entertainment’ will be created, edited, and disseminated within peer groups rather than traditional media outlets.

“From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call ‘Circular’. The trends we are seeing show us that people will have a genuine desire not only to create and share their own content, but also to remix it, mash it up and pass it on within their peer groups - a form of collaborative social
media,” said Mark Selby, Vice President, Multimedia, Nokia.

What I find questionable about this prediction is not whether the technology will support the activities but rather will the output be entertainment at all?  I can’t help but wonder if we’ll be applying new technologies to a stagnant pool of inbred creative assets?

It’s always fascinating to watch the evolution of technology and the ways in which people adapt and apply it in ways never imagined. I’m ready to be entertained in 2012 one way or another.