In April 2011 we featured a video made by Corning demonstrating the future of glass technologies. Well they’ve produced another. This is the expanded version and a very good example of how augmented reality will soon become an integral part of our lives. Exciting stuff.

I shared this amazing animated short a few days ago but I feel I sold it short. Nominated for the 84th Academy Awards, this masterpiece has already won numerous awards. It’s an extraordinary work. Fifteen minutes of pure joy and a perfect way to enter the weekend.

Some practical advice from Graham Clark on how to become and remain customer focused in your business. I am particular heartened by his point that customer unfocused businesses are placing too much emphasis on outputs rather than outcomes, something I touched upon with relation to the public relations industry.

I very much like the concept that excellent customer service needs to be system wide, not just point of contact, and that customer focused businesses are relationships based, not looking to slash costs in the name of efficiency. In all, some excellent food for thought.

What do you think? Is your organisation customer focused? How do you do it?

Despite being two-and-a-half years old this video by Professor Coombs provides a very good primer on how to deal with a crisis using social media. All of the Professor’s points are still very valid now, the only difference from 2009, when this video was created, is that there are more people than ever that are using social media and are using it to complain, spread rumours and for activism.

Brands need to be prepared in having a detailed crisis management plan of action. They can no longer afford to thrust their heads in the sand and hope that social media is just a fad.

After busy Lunar New Year, Republic Day (India) and Australia Day celebrations here’s a chance to unwind and relax. The video above is from the Imaginary Worlds Festival. It features a collection of animated film shorts telling stories set in weird and wonderful universes. Some of the films are a little weird and some are downright crazy, but they are all wonderful. Enjoy.

An awesome TED video that provides a very succinct explanation of why SOPA and PIPA are so horridly bad. These pieces of legislation will be back. They’re only in hiatus until the powers behind them believe the issue has become a unimportant for the public. Eternal vigilance.

Air, a French electronica band, have created a soundtrack for the newly restored 1902 French film, Le Voyage dans la Lune (Trip to the Moon). This in itself is great, but it is also an awesome demonstration of how musical artists can gain some additional cred.

By scoring a movie in the public domain or a piece of captured game machinima you can show your skills and versatility. This is true not just for those that wish to choose score composing as a career, but for any artist.

By uploading the scored film to the various video sites you can tap into the benefits of social media to market yourself as a popular commodity. Having a great demo tape is fine, but having a great demo tape, 10,000 Facebook fans and a video with a hundred thousand views is even better.

If you’re wondering why you were redirected during your visit to this site today, then the video above covers some of the important facts about the SOPA and PIPA legislation. These bills are clear and present dangers to not just to social media and the internet, but to all enterprise. There are very few businesses that do not have some sort of net presence, whether that be a web page, a social network account or an email address. These have become intricate business tools, but they are now under threat. A simple mistake, a malicious competitor or organised crime could all hijack these tools from your business’ control with a simple accusation and with little or no recourse. It has already happened.

Educate yourself about this threat and please fight against it.

Demonstrated at CES, here’s some awesome technology from Samsung. We’re already living in the future.

Another example of a company that is out of step with many of their customer’s views regarding corporate responsibility. However the failure here is not just their CC&R misstep, but that they have fallen into the traditional crisis management methods: ignoring the problem and hoping that it will go away.

The Ostrich approach only results in in worsening the crisis, as Nestle found out in 2010. It’s disappointing to see a company that has received so many benefits from social media exposure, in the form of the most watched online video of 2011, now choosing to ignore it.

A conversation is two-way. Consumers want to be active participants in your brand. Ignore them at your own peril.