zeitgeist on ice

Berlin’s startup and app development landscape extends far beyond Soundcloud — it’s best known app. Clips from this really great piece from RWW, both explain how and why the startup scene in Berlin seems to be growing with a particular strength in visual equity and also providing some specific fruits of this cultural and tech explosion:

“The new-generation startups and their founders no longer shoot for successful companies in their country (or in Europe), their mission is pure world domination,” says Reber. Reber says that Berlin startups who emphasise design “live perfection,” something he sees as a key to success:

“Users can see the passion of the team behind their products. That’s my number one advice for everyone; take the time you need to create the best result you’re able to create, forget ‘release early, release often’ and move to ‘It’s done, when it’s done’.”

While for a long time it was regarded as the home of ‘clone’ startups that copied successful American ideas, Berlin’s reputation is changing, and a unique flair for design is helping to drive that message forward. Indeed, 6Wunderkinder posted a ‘call to arms’on its blog earlier this month when it called on fellow startups in the city to ‘Stand up’ and declared that “The anti-copycat revolution starts now”:

“We’re now in an era of immense innovation and, in the words of Dylan, the times they are a-changin’. Germany, and in particular Berlin Mitte, is growing organically once again – in a crazy, outside the box kinda way. Fresh ideas are now finally bringing fresh money.”

Some particular examples of killer design in startups coming from Berlin right now:

• EyeEm is a photo sharing app that takes a little bit of Instagram, a pinch of Color and a sprinkling of Photovine and creates a new way of sharing photos that automatically adds context based on who you’re with, where you are and what you’re photographing. A beautifully simple interface makes some powerful behind-the-scenes technology easy to understand for anyone. While its location-centric approach to photo sharing might not be for everyone, there’s no denying that it’s a beautiful app to look at and use.
• WahWah.fm (pictured above) is an app that allows you to share the music you’re listening to on your iPhone with other people, so that they listen to exactly the same thing as you. It’s something of a Turntable.fm for people on the go, creating a radio station right from your phone. The design flair in the interface is stunning.
• Wunderlist from 6Wunderkinder is a cross-platform to-do list service that shuns the usual functional look of the genre for something a lot more stylish. (pictured above)
• SoundCloud is perhaps the best known Berlin startup right now, and the UI for its social audio platform is a thing of beauty. Just look at these example shots from its iPhone app, for example.
• There are many more examples out there, Readmill, which we praised for its looks just this week, for example. There are others which we can’t mention yet, as they want to keep below the radar. However, Amen and Gidsy (both yet to officially launch) are getting tongues wagging in the cafes of Berlin amongst those who have used them.

You need to watch this video interviewing Forecast Founder / CEO & Designer Rene Pinell. Firstly, because it’s fascinating and concerns a new awesome app on the location based scene. Secondly, because there’s a hilarious and unexpected twist at the end that reveals how reporters likely feel about tech / social innovation.

Forecast is a really awesome app that tells friends where you’re going. I am very intrigued by Rene’s previous app Hurricane Party as well, which let’s you discover parties and tell friends about parties you’re throwing. Hurricane Party has the potential to fit right into (and arguably already has) social life in an organic way, allowing friends to notify one another and locate cool stuff that’s happening.

Forecast— still in beta testing — takes it one step further and predicts where you’re likely to go based on your location check in habits. It leverages the sort of “what’s the point” Foursquare check in data and provides insight into what’s likely so it can be used for social planning. By the time you check in somewhere with Foursquare it’s often too late for friends to coordinate and we all know the social media induced angst that can create. If you’ve been spared it goes something like this:

Friend A: I’m at X location fsq/linkydinkdink with Friend B, C, D, and E! yay for us and this band / these drinks / generic awesomeness!

Friend F: sadness. I wanted to go to that but didn’t know that anyone else did.

Friend G: you douches, I work a block away from there and am now home. WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME? lol #resentful

Friend H: I was there last week, love it! Have a mojito for me. #jealous!

Friend A: [with delay probably] Oh come here now you guys wooo #awesomeness #notawareofinconveniencingothers!

Friends G/ F-Z: no we are already home / traveling / working / chilling somewhere equally awesome slash awesomer #wishyouplannedaheadmore

So as you can see, Forecast is filling a crack in the social zeitgeist that you may not have realized existed. I love how it’s more about the behavioral insight than it is about the location-based check in data, and that’s why I’ll be jumping in as soon as it hits android.

*Also in this video the interviewer from the Weather Channel in the red dress TOTALLY rolls her eyes at him. She’s going to regret that! So unprofesh, so hilarious!

ever wonder what to do with your old computers?

Polish sculptor and designer Marek Tomasik finally figured out what the rest of us couldn’t: What to do with old, discarded computers. Rather than stuffing them at the bottom of the closet in our home office or giving them to our grandparents as upgrades to their even-older computers, Tomasik has decided to make them into a creepy room, or art, as he might claim.

The discarded computer room is 5m x 4m x 4.5m and has been created out of three years worth of discarded computers, which funnily enough, is the exact lifecycle of modern day computers, according to Apple store employees. The room has kind of an Otherworld from Silent Hill feel, made from old metal and wood with visible gaps between each piece. Pretty neat if you dig creepy, or recyclables turned into art. Head on past the jump to check out some more pictures of what could easily be the set for a horror movie.

via Geekosystem

this is spooky and i love it wayyy too much. it’s rather green too if you think about it. i wonder what data lines the walls?

i’ve def had dreams set here!

bashford:

If this is fake it’s excellent. If it’s real it’s even better.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WANT.