In another step towards omniscience, Google has added facial recognition technology to their online photo service Picasa. The new “name tagging” feature automatically groups similar faces, allowing you to tag every photo of any given person at once. Watch the video to see it in action:

This has been brewing since 2006, when Google bought facial and object-recognition technology company Neven Vision. The same technology behind name tagging has even deeper implications for Google’s ability to contextualize advertising. From a 2006 CNET article:

Neven’s technology is already being used more broadly. The company sells the technology for mobile marketing purposes in an application called iScout. For example, people can use a regular camera cell phone to take a picture of a movie billboard, and then send the image to a special database that returns a film trailer, locates a theater showing the advertised movie, or let the person buy tickets to the film.

It’s possible with object and facial recognition software that can match images with those scanned into an Internet-connected database. A match can trigger a range of possible results, including promotions, ring tones, pricing, maps and search results.

Do I mind that Google becomes more like a Big Brother that I know and love every day? Nope.

Something I’ve come to realize, but have a hard time wrapping my actions around, is the hardest part about doing a thing of significance is the mental pendulum leading up to that decision. The back and forth, second guessing, and “what-ifs.”

Making the decision - doing it - is easy. You make the call and you operate.

I wouldn’t mind carrying a midget around that constantly reminded: “It’s simpler than you think.”

I’m lucky. I have hilarious friends. Sometimes they don’t mean to be. “Quotes Taken Out of Context” is a collection of times when my friends accidentally say hilarious things. With more to follow, here’s the kickoff:

“I saw a fat man on a motorcycle yesterday… and not like a cruiser … more of a crotch rocket…so you could really see his massive butt hanging over each side.”

- Cheryl Doerksen

…Have a happy Labor Day, please.

If you’re in Dallas bring yourself to one of these shindigs, all happening in the next several days:

When? August 15th (tomorrow), 8:30am - 10:30am
Where? Buzzbrews, 4154 N Central Expy, Dallas, TX 75204
Why? Because a morning of good coffee, good conversation, creativity, inspiration, and ideas makes the rest of your Friday taste better.
Elsewhere? If you’re not in Dallas, check the Likemind site to see if there’s a meetup near you.

When? August 15th (tomorrow too), 9:00am - 3:00pm
Where? Mokah Coffee Bar, 2803 Taylor St. Dallas, TX 75226
Why? Come for a laid-back coworking environment where you can work and hobnob with other local creatives. It’ll give you work-from-home-types a reason to put on pants and use your larynx.
Elsewhere? Like Likemind, Jelly happens all over the U.S. And if there’s not one near you, why not start one?

+  
When? Monday, August 18th, 6:00pm to 8:30pm
Where? IMC², 12404 Park Central, Suite 400, Dallas, TX 75251
Why? HFI’s Andrew Schall will show you how to improve the usability of your designs with eye-tracking. Also, there’s a free meal, which doesn’t hurt. This is a reservation-only event, so grab a spot here.

Come hang. It’ll be a good one.

I’ve felt a little like a hamster on a wheel the past couple of weeks. My email, in particular, has been out of control. And because of the overflow of writing writing talking talking writing, I haven’t had the longevity of thought to give this blog some love.

But, here are a few questions, yanked from my sketchbook, that have been on my mind lately:

• Does social media make us less social?
• How can we - businesses, designers, marketers, new media kids - be better story-tellers (1, 2, 3)?
• The best new creative goes beyond making a point, it draws creativity out of people. It causes them to wake up, to create, to explore. Who’s doing this well now? How can we (designers, etc.) get better at this?
• As Jake McKee brought up in a recent SMC meeting, unscheduled play time is critical to healthy child development. Is it just as important for ongoing development in crotchety grown ups? (I submit: yes.)
• How can we pop holes in echo chambers (for example: the slice of the blogosphere and twittosphere whose favorite things to talk about are blogging and tweeting) and make room for inspiration and new perspectives?
• And, just to be a hypocrite - On blog comments: Is Twitter a conversation-stealer?

A VideoSong is a new Medium with two rules:

1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice).
2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds).

Here are two from Pomplamoose, a musical collaboration between Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. I love them.

I had a friend tell me once that recording in the studio changes the way you listen to music. It’s true, witnessing the layers interweave gives listening a new shade. You begin to notice things in music you never would have before.

This kind of talent and creativity wakes me up.

(Big dap to Paul McEnany for pointing this out.)

Tomorrow morning, earlier than anyone in the world should have to be up, I’m hitting the road for a couple of weeks to speak at a few events and spend some time with family. I realized today during a cold-pizza lunch that I still hadn’t designed business cards for myself…and that I probably should for this trip.

So after spending some time tossing around ideas, I went to Kinko’s (yup, I took the ghetto printing route), and came back with these:

What do you think?

If we meet and I hand you a card, I hope you’ll use it to goof off (if only for a little bit). I only had one hundred printed. When these run out I’ll redesign and print some “real” cards. But for what they are, I’m pretty happy with the result.

And now I need to go pack.

Tomorrow is America’s birthday, and America wants you to celebrate hard. But tomorrow is also Independent’s Day, a worldwide event to raise money for the indie music community and associated charities:

Starting in New Zealand and ending in the US, activities include the largest ever auction of independent music memorabilia (via eBay) and limited edition albums featuring the cream of independent talent from all over the globe, all supported by a comprehensive retail campaign and a series of one-off music shows and retrospectives across TV and radio.

The U.S. album includes music from Ani DiFranco, Devandra Banhart, Dave Barnes, & Tokyo Police Club, among others.

Also good news on the indie music front - Dallas Does Indie’s Jasien Swords has launched an indie HD radio station, The Indie-Verse, with CBS Radio:

The station can be heard right now by anyone with an HD Radio on 105.3 HD - 2, not to be confused with LIVE 105.3 which is still remaining an FM Station. The hope is that at some point in the near future you will be able to hear the station in FM, but just like most things worth waiting for, the process will be slow and calculated.

…In the next few weeks, we will be launching a website where anyone, anywhere, can stream the station 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

If you don’t already subscribe to the Dallas Does Indie podcast, you’d be wise to do it now.

I didn’t even know there was a such a thing as HD radio. But this was a good way to find out.

Happy July 4th, everyone.

I don’t know whether it’s my love for the Old 97s, hand-made toys, music, sappy stuff, or all of the above - but this spot for Fuse made me happy:

(via Ad Age’s Creativity Weekly)

Some do it for business, some for therapy, some for relationships, some for clout…

Why do you blog?