EDIT – I’ve removed the video as it auto-loaded and was getting on my you-know-whats.

A 1/10th-scale model of a NASA Saturn V rocket launched successfully on Saturday, becoming what is thought to be the largest amateur rocket ever to take off and be safely recovered. The feat could herald the arrival of the first amateur rockets to reach orbit.

The 11-metre-tall, 750-kilogram rocket took off on Saturday from a field outside of Price, Maryland, near the eastern shore. It flew for roughly 20 seconds to an altitude of more than 1300 metres before segmenting and falling back to Earth beneath multiple parachutes (see video).

The rocket, built by rocket hobbyist Steve Eves, replicates the look of the Saturn V rocket used to loft Apollo crew capsules into space. But its interior boasts newer electronics and significantly less fuel.

(via New Scientist)

Brands just want to sell people stuff online – using any means necessary to get people talking about their stuff and selling more of it.

People and brands do a merry jig with each other working out how they can use each other to get what they want.

People exchange a little bit of their soul in exchange for the opportunity to get a little bit more of whatever they are looking for to make them feel all nice inside.

So brands just need to work out the best exchange rate.

I think I should go to bed now . . .

PS – I’m not saying this applies to everything, is fact and should be taken as any kind of I believe this to be 100% true statement. It’s just a thought.

So, on a similar vein to my previous post which seemed to go down pretty well, I’d like to share some examples of ‘human’ from over the past few weeks/months that have caught my attention. It’s all those things, big or small, mostly online, that brands (and people!) do that makes the web a more human place. Little reminders of who we are that help us to engage with each other. And make stuff better. More human. And just nicer to interact with. Oh and just plain funny too.

Elliot Kember > Lovely little disclaimer (and awesome twitter-app-disguised-as-a-spreadsheet idea too)

Hype Machine > Disclaimer and general site copy, including the thank-you section

Twitter > Sign telling people where the new office is (Obligatory Twitter mention in a blog post? Complete)

Field Notes > general web site copy, especially the contact us page

“Peace, Love, Unity, Respect” receipt > from somewhere in New York

Starbucks > Sara (no h)

Digg community > Bohemian Rhapsody, in Digg comments!

Forum banter > Forum members have fun with photoshop (not sure this really fits in with the theme but I reckon it’s very funny – click through for the whole thread)

Any more examples? Let me know in the comments or @me. And in the meantime, remember that behind those screens isn’t just a pair of eyeballs . . . we’re all human beings.

Google Earth meets a 60ft Phallus.

Blogging meets a blackboard and goes fully analogue.

FAIL gets turned into stickers and gets stuck everywhere.

Two years of someone’s tweets get turned into a book.

Hacking hits the car park.

Hashtags enter the real world.

Second Life inspired flying helicopter penis used by griefers to attack Gary Kasparov.

iPhone icons get turned into a coaster set.

DOS directories get turned into cushions.

Tweets get turned into bubbles.

After watching the news report of a journalist throwing his shoes at George Bush this morning, I waited for the inevitable response from the web. Usually it’s from individuals able to move quicker and smarter than your average brand which most likely wouldn’t be up for doing anything Bush related and therefore politcal/risky in the first place or would just take days if not weeks to sign something off. However, today I’ve seen three Bush/Shoe related things pop up in my Twitter stream from PopJam, Lewis PR and Zappos.

First up we have my favourite and by far the best – Sock and Awe from PopJam founder Alew Tew (he of milliondollarhomepage fame).

This feels completely right, has an awesome name/domain and does a nice job of subtly bringing in a link back to Popjam and a fairly discreet email entry box.

Nicely done. I certainly had a few goes and signed up for more info on PopJam. Job done.

Secondly, we have the Bash a Bush ‘viral’ from Lewis PR.

To be honest, the fact it was referred to as a viral in the URL string automatically put me off it. It’s digital content that is hoped to go viral, blah blah blah . . . Anyway, having got over the ‘viral’ thing the gameplay is itself pretty straightforward and pretty slickly done, as much as can be for a tried and tested (and therefore more tired ) basic ‘bash the rat’ type of format. But, again – at least they did it and moved petty quickly.

Finally, we have a video from the guys at Zappos. Very quickly turned around, but all in all not that funny or posted on their blog. Still, top marks for trying and having the balls to just put it out. Oh and for tagging it with Bush, Irag etc !

So, yet again another reminder that brands (and agencies) need to move at lightning speed these days in order to ride on the waves of excitement that follow an event like a journalist throwing a shoe at George Bush, a BNP list going astray or something else that’s just around the corner. And – that competition really is fierce for people’s attention. You’re quite literally up against the world.

More here and here.

UPDATE – I’ve removed the video as it autostarts and I’m sick of it. Visit the site to check it out.

Jokes aside, I think Loic’s response was great today. A perfect demonstration of confronting a problem and saying it as it is, quickly, honestly and from the heart.

There’s some really good thinking here that I reckon could be repurposed into a more use friendly format and used for lots of things. A bit of a cop-out maybe, but how about a wiki? That feels more suited to the task at hand which is essentially creating a big list of useful stuff. And then by taking part you’ve already ticked off ‘editing a wiki’ too.

On our travels walking around the streets of Amsterdam, we saw this sign and loved its brutal honesty. Being 2008, I was able to find a great pic of it super quick when we got back. Oh and the tenuous link back to something? Well I think that brands are going to start being a little bit more honest with people and a little less nice. There’s too much ‘innocence’ going on these days and brands are becoming more ‘human’ all the time.

Oh and for the record, no I didn’t indulge in anything other than chips and mayonnaise from the wonderfully named Chipsy Kings and a few cheeky beers while I was over there!