October 01, 2009

2010 Luxury Preview: Just for Men

 

Come February, the French fashion house Hermès will open its first shop devoted entirely to men. The Hermès Men’s Boutique will occupy 6,000 square feet of Madison Avenue retail space across the street from the company’s Manhattan flagship store and not far from its Broad Street shop in the Wall Street area, which serves a largely—but not exclusively—male clientele. At the new establishment, the lack of women’s oversize handbags and silk shawls will make room for Hermès designer Véronique Nichanian’s ever-expanding ready-to-wear collection, as well as for the company’s accessories and lifestyle items. Bespoke and made-to-measure tailored clothing will be the focus of an entire floor. Wine tastings, lectures, and other special events will be held at the time of the store’s opening to welcome clients to the club.

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"Agencies will soon be “judged on their ability to create experiences rather than messages.”  -- Join Me in the Virtual World by Kevin Jackson

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This comes straight from a press release I received from the Editors' PR touchpoint:

Editors Hack Google Maps

To celebrate this week's release of their third studio album, In This Light And On This Evening, Editors have created a unique listening experience for their new album by appearing to 'hack' Google Street View.

The experience allows fans to use a version of Google Maps on the Editors website to travel to certain areas of London where the band have hacked in their own custom locations. The new additions consist of some gloriously moody 360 degree images, shot at night. Within each location the user will hear a track from the new album, which was inspired by the mood and magic of London at night. The images feature the band and a group of their fans performing surreal activities, which reportedly have hidden meanings relating to the songs.

The locations are normally unavailable on the regular Street View. Editors modified version of Google Maps allows users to enter into these locations and make the transition from light to dark so fans can explore the band's atmospheric vision of London at night. To access the Map go to:

http://www.editorsofficial.com/streetview

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CASES FOR FACEBOOK'S FUTURE

1. The future of social networking seems to be all about mobile.  Facebook's updated mobile app is quite effective, proving that perhaps Facebook has the resources and wherewithal to adapt as this trend becomes more ubiquitous.

2. Of course some Facebook apps are meaningless, but there's no doubt that they add to Facebook's power as a platform for just about anything we want.  If Facebook can continue to serve the community's needs and continue its status as a platform then people will keep coming even if the Facebook of the future looks nothing like today's site.

3. Aparently Facebook users could afford to pay if it came to that, and even if Facebook starts charging and loses some of it's market, there are still enough people to sustain it.

4. Although some would agrue that social media is a trend, it seems that it's changing business and communication enough to create a continuing need for people years from now.  People talk, they talk online, and I don't see that changing.

5. Facebook did finally turn a profit. 

AND WHY SOME PREDICT IT'S DEMISE

1. Fred Stutzman of the University of North Carolina says in a Newsweek article that the site can't stay cool enough and as a result there will be a "content collapse," meaning people will stop adding content (either because of trust issues or loss of interest) and slowly the site will die.

2. Bobbie Johnson writes in The Guardian about how he's done with social media.

3. The existence of the attention economy brings up the issue of spreading ourselves too thin.  If an early adopter breaks out and helps users make meaning more effectively then there will be a shift.  Unless the two places integrate themselves effectively (maybe the new idea would use facebook as an initial platform for reach but something like Twitter didn't need Facebook to take off and if the new breakout site is the future then it's doubtful they would need it either).

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

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