Geekend, the annual interactive conference proudly presented by BFG (and yours truly), is back. Following in the tradition of past Geekends, there's also a new ensemble of robot characters (or geekbots).

This year, we did things a little differently with our friendly geekbot mascots. They've come to life in the form of papercraft projects for anyone to download, print and assemble. The BFG team took some out this week to get crafty, taking our Geekbot on a stop motion journey to space. Enjoy and hope to see you at Geekend November 8-10 in Savannah!

Geekend Geekbot in Space from Geekend on Vimeo.

Starting tomorrow, October 8, Ellie Goulding will be hosting the "world's first" digital album signing on Google Hangouts to promote her upcoming album Halcyon. The English singer-songwriter is promoting the online event on her Google+ fan page, where fans can access everything they need to participate.

By clicking through to the official website, elliegoulding.com, fans can pre-order the album and purchase merchandise like posters, 7" vinyl records and exclusive photos. Various digital content like tweets, photos and video can also be accessed, giving visitors a range of ways to participate with the musician's brand.

To be eligible to attend the digital album signing event, participants must complete a form powered by Google Docs. The questionnaire asks for contact information, screens the questions you would pose to Ellie if selected, and ensures that participants meet technological requirements and have pre-ordered the album.

During the event, the selected fans will be able to ask Ellie their questions and receive a signature on their digital album. This experience will likely leave a larger impact than in-person album signing events, where fans must wait in long lines to exchange a few words with their idols. In this scenario, the opportunity to chat in real time is where fans will see the most value.

via  

Heineken recently created an interactive advertisement to coincide with the release of 'Skyfall,' the latest James Bond film. After connecting their Facebook accounts, participants are submerged into this personalized version of the secret agent's story. It begins with a man in search of a beer at a train station, who soon meets James Bond and Bond Girl Bérénice Marlohe. Marlohe then guides participants through a series of tasks with the goal of cracking a code to open a locked case. 

The entertaining, interactive video has hints of humor and nods to past James Bond films, making it an interesting execution for fans of various degrees. The experience is also easily shareable to Facebook and Twitter. Most importantly, the user challenge is intuitive and easy to fulfill. This is key, as many fans who engage with the ad don't necessarily want to read lengthy instructions on how to do so. 

As fans of James Bond movies continue to struggle with this particular product placement, it will be interesting to find out how immersive stories like this will impact their perceptions moving forward. 

via EntertainmentWise

Today on WSAV Tech Tuesday, we talk about how the 8mm iPhone app can help you unleash your inner Scorsese by applying a number of vintage filters which mimic the look and feel of old 8mm video cameras.

We're taught early in life that it's not nice to play tricks on people, but what about when that trick turns into something great? When some nefarious pranksters duped the small town of Bethel, AK into thinking that a Taco Bell was opening for the 6,500 residents, the actual company saw a brilliant opportunity. Executives caught wind of the excitement, and later dismay, of the faux announcement and organized an effort dubbed "Operation Alaska" to airlift 10,000 of their (now famous) Doritos Locos Tacos to the hungry denizens of Bethel. The event was a major success, and proved to be a great way to build brand advocates in a town where their crunchy tacos aren't available for over 350 miles.

Taco Bell is making 2012 their year with a revamped Twitter campaign, real-time listening and action (they started selling Doritos Locos at a store from a customer's tweeted request), and a new image based around their slogan "Live Más." If things keep up with the buzz they've garnered from their partnership with Doritos, only good things are ahead for the nation's favorite taco haven.