The Web has simplified the hunt for employment, much to the relief of job seekers everywhere. But the relative ease of applying for work has arguably made things more complex for employers, who can be inundated by irrelevant or flat-out bizarre submissions. Now, though, some companies are using digital platforms in their favor, expressing their culture and needs in creative ways and tasking applicants with proving their worth prior to an interview.
Drawsome Intern: Ad agency Muse Amsterdam harnessed the popular power of the app Draw Something in a recent hunt for intern candidates. Rather than submit a straightforward CV, young creatives were directed to download the app and log in as a “Drawsome Intern.” Player-applicants could then sketch a word of their choice, knowing Muse recruiters would be browsing for the most “beautiful, stupid, and genius drawings” in the bunch. The artists behind the most compelling sketches were invited to apply to the internship. This ingenious recruitment method helped Muse cut back on inbox clutter while giving its recruiters a glimpse into each applicant’s creative prowess.
It’s become all too easy to capture an elegant photograph. That’s not to say that professional photographers are in danger of being supplanted entirely by Instagrammers. However, the bar for what defines an impressive photo is continually elevating—which might be why illustration, an art form that’s harder to fake, is emerging as the visual mode du jour among consumers and marketers alike. It’s time to get scribblin’.
Draw Something: No one has gotten kicked off of a plane for refusing to take a break from it (yet) but, just six weeks after launching, Draw Something has already earned a massive league of addicts—30 million of them. The new social mobile game, which is currently the top downloaded game in the iTunes store, is a digital version of Pictionary that leverages a smartphone’s touchscreen. As game creator/OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter noted during a CNET interview, the title stands out in the cluttered game space not only because it forces players to stretch their right brain muscles but also because its strategy hinges on “the mechanics of relationships between people.”
After Cyber Monday’s success (and the subsequent Cyber Week), it’s evident that the web is the hot channel for shopping this holiday season. However, knowing which option is best when sorting through countless sources can be overwhelming to indecisive consumers. To streamline the process, shoppers are beginning to look to curated retail newsfeeds for recommendations.
Lyst: Fashion startup Lyst is a website that aggregates products from multiple retailers into a Twitter-like feed. Users can ‘follow’ friends, stylists, designers, stores and trendsetters to gain real-time insight into the most desired items of the moment. Once compiled, the “lyst” can function as a shopping cart, eliminating the hassle of purchasing from various websites. Also, the stream can be used as a notification system for when an item goes on sale or popular runway attire becomes available for in-store purchase. Shunning algorithmic recommendations, the Twitter-inspired format provides a personalized platform for shoppers to create their own customized content while discovering new brands and products.
As the digital revolution charges on, the worlds of television and the web continue to converge. Online buzz now often drives program ratings, as young viewers’ attention tends to waver in the absence of an ever-present second screen. What does this mean for the future of TV? As with most everything else, it’s getting a lot more social.
Zeebox: Combining social networking and real-time viewing of live programming seems like a no-brainer, but Zeebox may be the first to do it seamlessly. With the knowledge that more than half of their target audience consumes multiple media channels simultaneously, the creators of Zeebox built an integrated service that delivers a real-time feed of related social media and digital content to viewers. When logged on to the Zeebox site or app, users can see what everyone else is watching and are provided a live-stream of tweets, chat and commentary. Additionally, Zeebox provides users with “zeetags” (aka links) that lets them search, download, and even buy relevant products.
The Web was once a playground for those seeking escapism, but now it’s the cornerstone of self-constructed identity. For people with active digital lives that run deeper than the quest for farm coins, performing digital tasks, whether sorting through social media chatter or archiving one’s favorite online finds, require assistance that not even Siri can provide. Enter a new arsenal of personal content management tools.
ifttt: Anyone who’s ever taken the LSAT likely feels a tightening of the chest at the mere thought of logic games. ifttt, a new web app that’s based on the premise of “if this, then that,” may soon have the opposite effect (albeit, on a smaller scale) on stress levels. The service allows users to program tasks to perform automatically based on another action across 23 channels—ranging from Facebook and Twitter to RSS and SMS—in the digital sphere. Tasks can be as simple as posting Delicious bookmarks on Twitter or as strategic as programming a rescue phone call to interrupt an uncomfortable blind date.
