‘Future- Proofing’ companies in today’s ever-evolving world has become a corporate necessity, and staying ahead of the innovation curve is part of my job. On Thursday May 16, I attended the NEC Solutions Showcase at the Tobacco Docks. It’s an event in its 5^th year dedicated to presenting the latest advances in display technology. 

As the recently appointed manager of the FLUX IMPACT events, I spend a lot of time researching and investigating the latest technology innovations, so I was hoping to see some products I’d never seen or experienced in person before. Several companies and exhibitors were successful in surprising and exciting me.

Recently, I have been looking into innovations within the retail sector and, for me, it was the Retail area that was the star of the NEC Solutions Showcase.

The first thing to catch my eye was a large, touch screen display by Intel that allows customers to virtually view real-sized household appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. Using a touchscreen menu, one can scroll the menu of products on offer, and when they select one, it comes up in full size. One can then see to scale products in the variations available, open the doors, and touch areas to highlight features. Shopping made easy.

Engage has used face recognition and data analysis software in various projects before including our Executive Brand Suite, but I was especially taken with NEC’s Field Analyst Display unit. (I’ll admit, I may be rather partial because it guessed my age at 22!) It estimates the number of visitors and exits, as well as gender and age, but where this product stands out to me is the registration of dwell time. Potentially this could provide the ability to recognize when someone’s attention is wavering and then alter the advertisement or message to hold attention, maximizing dwell time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty3ER0Jn4m8 

It was great to see one of our partners, U-Touch. It was hard to miss them with their 144” multi-touch screen. These screens run as large as 250”. They supply one of my favourite items in the Innovation Store, the Multitouch Overlays, making simple screens interactive.

I’ve saved my favourite’s to last…

Holiton let me virtually try on coats and model them, as seen below. They’ve invited me to their offices to virtually try on lipstick too, which I think is a brilliant solution and imagine all my girlfriends will be lining up to give that a go.

Finally, it was nice to meet a fellow American, Ryan Clayton of Mirrus. One can hold up an item of clothing in front of this mirror, and it will suggest items that go with it, while also capturing data analytics.

Other notable exhibitors who I enjoyed meeting include Visionpoint, Midwich and True Colors, AMX, and WSP AV’s Projection Tunnel. 

The latest interview I did with the lovely Vanessa Whiteside:

Meet the Team: Vanessa

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Sales and Marketing Assistant, Vanessa Whiteside, has found her dream job with Engage Production. Here she speaks to us about creating experiences, Sky Skills Studio, and the greatly anticipated future of FLUX. Let’s talk…

Can you tell us a little about your role with Engage?

As Sales and Marketing Assistant I help generate leads, look after and nurture relationships with clients, create and execute campaigns, and contribute to PR and press. Every day is something new. I’ve been here about 8 months and before that I’d almost given up on finding my ideal job. Then the stars aligned, I met Engage, and now I couldn’t be happier.

How do you explain what Engage does?

I explain it as ‘creating experiences’, and if people don’t get that then I usually say we do experiential marketing, creating permanent and temporary installations to communicate a company’s message to their target markets. The best way to explain it is show people pictures and videos, and when they realize what we do they are blown away.

What makes Engage different is the fact that we work so collaboratively with other companies. It’s an end-to-end service that we provide. The best part about working for Engage is the creative environment. Working with Steve (Blyth) is great. He’s a really good boss. I respect the way he works and the way he’s built Engage up over the years, and he has crazy amounts of energy. It’s great to work in a place where you’re allowed to be creative and allowed to give your time to things that you think matter, and are supported along the way.

Do you have a favourite project that you’ve worked on?

I loved the Sky Skills Studio! That’s my number one. If they had that when I was a kid it would have been my perfect school trip, rather than walking around in muddy fields. Going to create a documentary and be a star for a day would have been amazing. I think more companies need to provide a service like that: It’s great in terms of PR, social and corporate responsibility, and investing in the future. I’m surprised more people haven’t already jumped on the bandwagon.

What I love about the work that we do is the fact that what we create hasn’t been done before. There was nothing like the Sky Skills Studio or the Executive Brand Suite in the market previously. What we do isn’t a carbon copy of what any other company does. The point of innovation is making something better and sleeker than how it already exists, and that’s what we get to do with every new project we execute.

Do you have a favourite item in the Innovation Store?

At the moment it’s the Transparent Screen. I like it for the fact that it’s so simple, but it creates such a Wow factor. I can’t wait to see one used in a retail environment. They create quite an impact.

Do you have a favourite place to look for insight into the latest innovations?

My favourite blog is called ‘Mother London’. It’s a creative agency that brings out a new blog every week. It’s not necessarily about innovation or experiential marketing, but it covers a broad range of subjects like politics, media, art, and it’s really thought provoking.

In the office do you have any guilty pleasures?

My Graze Box on a Tuesday morning, Radio 6, and colour highlighters!

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?

When I’m not at work I become a bit of a Luddite. During the week I’m completely immersed in new technology and products, so on the weekends I try to cut technology out of my life and focus on me, my friends, and my family.

What are you looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to realising the next step of FLUX and how it’s going to evolve in the future. The first Flux was such a success, the possibilities of where to go with it are endless and exciting. There was a lot of hard work leading up to FLUX in January but it was worth all the effort seeing how people really enjoyed the day and the speakers, and we got some great feedback.

Tell me a joke:

Q: Where do you find a dog with no legs?
A: Where you left it.

Written by Amelia Kallman

If you want to stay out of the ireful, omnipresent eye of the US and other governments, Prism, and the extensive wiretaps that undoubtedly exist throughout the world’s internet and telephony networks, here are a few tips.

• Stop using social networks. If it turns out that the US government has direct access to Facebook, Microsoft, and Google’s servers, you really should stop using their services. You can try using another social network that’s outside Prism’s catchment area, but really you’re just delaying the inevitable.
• Surf using HTTPS. If you use Chrome or Firefox, you should install the EFF’s HTTP Everywhere add-on.  HTTPS is an encrypted form of HTTP, the protocol that your browser uses to fetch web pages from remote servers. HTTPS should prevent the NSA from intercepting your communications — but, obviously, if the NSA/FBI already has access to the remote server you’re communicating with, HTTPS won’t do you much good.
• Create an alternate identity, then surf using a proxy/VPN. One of the best ways to prevent the government from tracking you is to assume an alternate identity for all your communications  — or at least all of your digital communications — and then use a proxy or VPN to obscure your physical location.
• Encrypt your phone calls, or use a burner phone. If you want to make phone calls that can’t be tracked back to you, our sister site PC Magazine has compiled a big list of encrypted and burner phone services. Bear in mind that some of these services might be nullified by a NSA backdoor, and voice analysis could be used to link your calls back to your identity.

Ultimately, as you’ve probably surmised, it’s almost impossible to keep your identity and actions hidden from your government. The only real solution is to get your government to stop snooping on you in the first place, but the chances of that happening are close to nil. Really, we just have to pray that the government doesn’t use its powers for evil — and that it doesn’t mess up and allow hackers into its massive databases.

Now read: Making sense of the NSA Prism leak as the real details emerge

More Here: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/157777-how-nsas-prism-affects-you-and-how-to-protect-yourself-from-being-spied-on

Summer Rain. Photo by Rodney Evans

On Monday night I had the privilege of seeing my current favourite group, Watch the Duck, perform a one-night-only gig at Birthday in Dalston. Five months ago I discovered their single ‘Poppin’ Off’ via youtube and was instantly hooked, as I’ve never heard anything like them before – and that is exciting!  Out of Atlanta, Georgia via Alabama, these guys bring the party where ever they go.

Their sound is so unique and indescribable that they even have a song about it: “It gets inside of me and I start traveling and I start seeing things and doing things and it feels like -  Black Music on Molly.” And let me tell you, I wasn’t under the influence of any substances that evening, but – Wow! - did they get me high and bring the house down! I asked my date, Norman, how he would describe the music: “An explosive, celebratory cacophony of not only American black music from diverse eras (including Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Parliament, Hendrix, Stax, & Rap), but also a wide swathe of edgy white boy influences (including Beefheart, Cale, Punk, and Metal), all wrapped up in a sweaty Dubstep meets Soul package. To be opened with caution (and delight).”

What I love about them is that while their music has grit, balls, and a grungy primal energy, it’s polished in jazz, soul and friendly funk. And while it breathes emotion, I don’t perceive it as aggressive or nasty. It’s the much needed antithesis to the current state of rap/hip-hop music, which - in my humble opinion - has been at a dead end, churning out the same monotonous, misogynistic bullshit for the last ten years (and that’s coming from a big fan of the genre). I’ve been waiting for a new sound to emerge, and got excited last year about Spoek Mathambo who continues to intrigue me, but after seeing Watch the Duck  - these guys are the real deal, and I really hope they are here to stay. 

Playing together since 2000, Jonathan Wells and Eddie Smith III make the music and Jesse Rankins is the compelling Master of Ceremonies, carrying a microphone like a sceptre. The name ‘Watch the Duck’ started as an inside joke between them. In April on 106 & Park, Eddie said, “Everybody sees the duck sailing smooth on top of the water and he looks super cool, but under the water he’s kicking like hell to stay afloat, and that’s how we all are. So watch the duck.”

Watch the Duck indeed. These are guys at the top of their game and it is obvious that individually they are the best at what they do. And the combination? It’s a knockout.

Frontman Jesse is something else. Everything you could want in a frontman. Salacious, cool and with a smile that puts you at ease. He’s something between a witch-doctor, sex-fiend, minstrel and the legendary James Brown. In fact, I think he should play James Brown in the bio-pic if one ever gets made (Jesse- call your agent). That being said, he was gracious and generous with the stage, giving both Eddie and Jonathan the spotlight to shine, and more impressively making the audience feel like they were the most important element of the show. As a performer and show producer, I understand that’s a talent in itself. The show was a party, celebrating the last gig of their European tour and as a collective we got down and dirty, duck-style.

I’m going to continue to Watch the Duck, and I think you should too. These guys are changing the game. Just hope they come back to London again soon.

http://watchtheduck.com/home/

https://twitter.com/WatchTheDuck

https://www.facebook.com/watchtheduck

Watch the video for ‘Poppin’ Off’ here:

http://diaryofalondonshowgirl.tumblr.com/search/watch+the+duck

Diary of a London Showgirl turned 1 today!

Added Widgets 2my blog. Feeling very tech-savvy& smug! (Only took 3hrs-lol!) Share away! Diary of a London Showgirl

Bill Gates speaking yesterday in Hyde Park

Yesterday in Hyde Park I was part of a rally, 45,000 strong, urging David Cameron to lead the G8 to put an end to hunger. They stayed on message advocating an end to tax havens that take money away from causes, an end to land grabbing, and the fact that OVER 2.6 MILLION CHILDREN DIE EACH YEAR from starvation - which is PREVENTABLE. 

Hunger is something I’ve been passionate about since I was 14. I used to spend a week of my summer vacation with about 40 other teenagers gleaning food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Basically farmers in the US are subsidized to only harvest food once, meaning that 2/3s OF CROPS PRODUCED GO TO WASTE, which is ENOUGH TO FEED EVERYONE IN THE WORLD 3 TIMES A DAY.

40 teenagers doing 40 hours of work harvested 74,490 pounds of corn and potatoes, and that fed 250,000 people in every state in America and  in West Africa. IT IS POSSIBLE TO END HUNGER IN OUR LIFETIME. But it’s vital that leaders get behind this issue and STOP PUTTING MONEY AND OIL CONSUMPTION BEFORE THE LIVES OF MILLIONS. 

IT’S UNACCEPTABLE. 

After 2 summers of gleaning with the Christian organization Harvest of Hope, I went on to the next step, ‘Phase 2’ they called it. I got to lobby for hunger issues in D.C., meeting with representatives and senators, who acted as if I was wasting my time, spending just enough time with me to get the good PR, and dismissing me as fast as they could. Representative Frank Wolf was an exceptional douche-bag. 

Why I stopped working in this area is a sad story in itself. I obviously believe in the cause and was even considering work in fundraising or distribution for awhile. What finally got to me was the ‘JESUS’ issue. It pissed me off then and it pisses me off now - people who do things because ‘The Bible says it’s right’ or because ‘Jesus is dead’….

I’m sorry - that is such an EXCLUSIVE attitude. STOP TRYING TO MAKE THIS A RELIGIOUS ISSUE - IT’S A HUMAN ISSUE!! 

DO IT BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AS A HUMAN BEING! (not to gain post-mortem brownie points.)

It’s frustrating for me now as an atheist and an adult because the opportunities to be active in this issue become limited if you aren’t willing to align yourself with a god. 

This issue is not over for me though. I’m thankful for yesterday’s rally for reminding me of that. 

http://enoughfoodif.org/

Best thing I’ve seen all day! Fire Island Gay Flashymob (by Ryan Craven)

fabforgottennobility:

L’Intreccio

Imagine.

You’re in a room. Red wood-paneled walls, an oriental rug, fireplace, and a  Banksy graffitied on the wall. You walk towards a door and open it, only to find that you’re hundreds of meters in the air, looking down at a drop that could surely kill you. If you can make it across the skinny plank to the boulders, you’ll be safe, but one wrong step and you’ll fall.

Can you imagine?

Well now you don’t have to.

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the event ‘AR versus VR’, put on by our friends at INITION. (AR= Augmented Reality, VR= Virtual Reality.)

And the winner? For me it was VR, hands down.

Since first reading about the Oculus Rift, the latest buzz-device in gaming, VR technology, I had been dying to get my hands on one and give it a go. It’s a headset of goggles and earphones that transports you into another world. So when I opened the virtual door and saw the virtual death drop – even though I was entirely conscious that I was standing in a white box, on the floor of a demo suite in Shoreditch with my friends only feet away - my body was freaking out. Frozen with vertigo, my physical self clung to the wall, even though my conscious self understood that it was only a game.

Then I fell off the cliff. While it was disorienting, I managed to make it out alive. Returning from virtual reality took a few minutes to readjust back to RR (RR= Real Reality), but it’s an experience that will stick with me for a long time.

Next my attention was drawn to what looked like the floor of a bouncy castle: A thick, blow-up, king-sized square, but with a circle cut out of the middle. There sat low on the ground was a round, concave disk called a WIZDISH. This allowed me to glide, skate-walking in place while wearing special shoes. The bouncy castle thing was just there for liability reasons in case anyone toppled over. The glide-walking was kind of fun in its own right, but then I put on the VR goggles, and again – I wasn’t in Shoreditch anymore.

I was in the countryside on a bright sunny day, walking through a beautiful garden into a house. Up the stairs, then down the stairs. I had the funny feeling that I could get used to this new world. People who are into things like SIMS or World of Warcraft are never going to want to leave VR for RR again, I thought.

So what is the future of this technology? Where is it all heading?

 We were lucky to have Co-Founder and Technical Director, Stuart Cupit, as our personal tour guide. I wanted to know his opinion. “AR and VR are on the same sliding scale. AR has applications to this world, while VR puts us into a different world.” In the near future we can expect to have AR in our everyday lives. We suspect that by wearing special contacts and glasses we will be able to receive information in the blink of an eye. The idea that people will want to look good and have the latest accessories in a virtual world, is no doubt a concept that will be capitalized on in RR. “I think we are still in the embryonic beginnings of this technology,” Cupit says. “These examples show the way to the future, but the future has yet to be fully realized.”

 http://www.engageproduction.com

Check this out - This is what’s been keeping me busy! #ExcitingTimes!