Promotional items are notorious for generating useless waste. So if you’re going to buy 20,000 of something to give away, why not do it right? This is a great resource that we’re definitely going to use: http://ecoimprints.logomall.com/default.aspx

Thanks, Brandflakes.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Have you heard that a group of former Google employees just launched a new ‘revolutionary’ search engine that they claim is better, deeper and more effective than Google? Gutsy, for sure. It’s true, and you can read about it HERE. It’s called Cuil.com (Pronounced “cool”) and the Internet is abuzz with chatter about the product.

I was excited to check it out this morning and have to say I am not sure if I dig it. The initial aesthetics of the site are pleasing - similar to Google, except a full-black background. The design itself probably much more sophisticated than Google (not that Google strives for sophisticated design) but the results of the search were a little difficult for me to digest. It could be that I’m so accustomed to seeing the results in the format that Google spits back at me, but I just wasn’t feeling the multi-column results.

That said the article discusses the benefits of this system over Google - mainly that it searches a database of as many as three times the amount of Web pages that Google does! If that’s factual, it’s pretty impressive. Could it be that this product is actually better than the Google search engine?

I’m not sure, but as I mentioned, the design ruins it a bit for me. The way it reports results is a bit overwhelming and I’m not sure I know what to make of them. It also seemed, initially, that it brought up many more irrelevant results for a couple of searches I did.

What do you think?

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

If you’re like me and you’re always striving to stay up on the latest trends, there’s a new Web site that just might be your savior. It’s called edopter.com and it bills itself as a social trendcaster. It essentially allows users to upload things they see as trends - but it doesn’t take your word for it. It combs the Web for evidence of buzz and even takes user feedback to rate the popularity of the trend.

They even have the site set up so that you can go in and input your information and find out what trends are popular for your demographic. Pretty cool. So what did I find out? I found out that apparently for males 25-30 in the DC market, Five Guys and Slugging are pretty darn popular.

Found via Scherer Cybrarian, our favorite research information firm.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

I just had to share these:

3M came out with a pretty handy tool for those folks that don’t have the graphics programs required to view .eps files. Just plug in the file and it’ll show you what the image looks like! Check it out here: http://promote.3m.com/eps_viewer/ (Thanks Joey Reedy)

There’s a new service called Cellblock where you can upload images from email or your cell and they appear nearly instantly online. It’s great for sharing and collaboration! Check it out HERE. Here’s what I made in a few seconds using just some random images I had on my desktop:

(Thanks Ryan @ MGHWOM)

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Yesterday, in true EJ fashion, she sent an email to the entire Orange Element staff that asked simply “Who left the elephant poo on my desk? Cool!” For a while I was really confused. Why would elephant poo be on her desk, much less in our office? And why would she think that was cool?

After a while my curiosity got the best of me and I had to go ask her what it was all about. It turns out, Andy Bonner had left a paper sample on her desk that was literally made from elephant dung. I’m not kidding and it’s not what you think. It actually looks like real paper - it’s light in color and it DOESN’T SMELL. I swear, I brought it up to my nose and…nothing.

I did a little more research and came up with this site: www.elephantdungpaper.com

We love sustainable products like this and we hope it becomes mainstream. What a great way to use a waste product for something good–after all, that’s what recycling is all about. And the best part is that every time you use this paper, it helps to save the elephants. Good stuff. I can’t wait to see the look on our clients’ faces when we recommend printing their next marketing piece on elephant poo.

Garret Ohm
http://www.orange-element.com

Sarah is awesome. She sent me a link yesterday that I thought was pretty cool, so I wanted to pass it along to you so that you brand lovers can check it out:

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/

Brand New is a great blog that I am sure to add to my Google Reader. It’s mainly about something that I’ve written about in the past–refreshing a company’s visual brand. The best part is that it’s a great collection of old vs. new identity examples, many from major corporate brands but also some from local and regional brands as well.

Here’s one of my favorite examples - pretty shocking departure, and I actually like it. I think Ford needs a brand refresh to change my perception of the brand! If you read the post at Brand New about it, you quickly learn that it was an April Fool’s joke. Too bad….

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com