PSFK Author:
Erin Middleton

Rarely any of us can focus on one task at a time; we are constantly in a flux of workplace motion, stealing seconds here to save time somewhere else. The Bureau of Workplace Interruption is a time-stealing agency that sees these seconds as an opportunity. Artist Chris Barr promises to create interruptions that challenge the needs of employees and stimulate creative flow.

 ”The ruptures we create are temporary spaces for open dialogue, invisible resistance, and general amusement. In short, we hope to invigorate some of the time you spend at work in order to create new experiences and possibilities outside the flow of capital.”

 Colin Dabkowski was curious when he saw Barr’s exhibit at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

The room was laid out like many modern offices with plasma screens on the walls, computers, and sleek black and white decor. On the walls, there were slogans that ranged from the vaguely encouraging to the ominously threatening.

Barr encouraged Dabkowski to “sign-up” for an interruption. Curious readers can go to the website and apply as well. The  Bureau will then decide on the right interruption for you based on your occupation, work hours, and the means by which to contact you. Then wait…Interruptions can come by mail, email, phone call or a random workplace visit.

The Bureau strives to keep actions invisible to your employer.

via Guerrilla Innovation 

Enter this into Snooth and get yourself a good wine to go with dinner. Launched in June of this year, Snooth features 1.8 million reviews for over 300,000 wines complete with wine recommendations, ratings and reviews. Users are encouraged to post information about wines they try; and once a user rates five wines, they will start to get personalized recommendations from the social database. The more information a user gives on wines they enjoy, the more personalized and detailed the recommendations become. The “My Wines” feature allows users to build and manage their personal wine collection, maintain wish lists, track reviews and keep detailed notes about their personal impressions.

“Snooth is a powerful tool that helps average wine drinkers and connoisseurs alike find better wine experiences,” said site founder Philip James. “The site’s detailed search options and social recommendations allow users to quickly cut through the clutter to find the perfect wine for their individual preferences.”

Still in beta mode.

[Snooth]

Ever wonder when commenting on somebody’s blog will pay off? Wonder no more! Gawker Media, publisher of such popular blogs as Gizmodo, Lifehacker, and Kotaku is taking the next step. Nick Denton, owner of Gawker Media, let Wired News know all about it on Friday.

Gawker blog readers can now specify which commentators are their favorites and will be notified when these favs contribute to the site OR when they add someone to their list of favorites. It’s one big, happy-I like you, you like them, now I like them-feedback system.

It’s also one of the next moves in buzzfeed-like news aggregation. User-reviews combined with technology have made it a lot easier to pick up on what’s popular these days. Gone are the days where we have to sift through it all; The hottest topics are available now when we log on and see what’s read the most and reviewed.

Gawker also lets you customize a homepage (think Yahoo or iGoogle) so you can arrange the features you like in your own way. When your “favorites” post a comment, a note will appear on your personal homepage. How more convenient could it be, really.

[via WiredBlogs]

For all you convenience fans and text messaging enthusiasts, get ready for text messaging to take convenience to the next level! GoMobo now lets you order food-to-go via text message. That’s right! Skip the line and even pick up your food or drink at a pre-scheduled time with the service. Users get to build their favorite orders from online restaurant menus. Save each order with a “GoCode” and simply text the code to your chosen restaurant, then schedule a time for pickup at your convenience. PSFK got the scoop:

Following the success of the New York City beta launch that allowed thousands of savvy residents to order ahead to avoid coffee and lunch lines, the company is now aggressively pursuing relationships with established restaurant chains across America. Affiliates of such national brands as Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, Quiznos, Papa John’s, Popeyes as well as other local restaurant chains have become GoMobo-enabled vendors, with many more to come.

“Restaurants are always trying to speed up service and give their customers first-class treatment,” said Noah N. Glass, GoMobo’s CEO. “Our remote ordering and mobile payment system lets the restaurant process orders more efficiently to better serve their best customers.”

And don’t be worried about sending your visa number via text; GoMobo’s billing system is PCI-compliant, ensuring users risk-free online credit card processing with added security for mobile payments.

Challenged by brands such as Belvedere and Grey Goose, and perhaps losing ground with the “bling” market, an upgrade is in order.

“Taste is the new bling,” says Ewen Cameron, CEO and ecd at Berlin Cameron United in New York, the agency responsible for the new Hennessy campaign.

Hennessy has long been adopted by rappers as a favorite with shout-outs and even entire songs dedicated to the expensive after-dinner cognac. In “Lost Weekend,” a 90-second spot that is set to debut on flauntyourtaste.com, a matriarch invites a group of young musicians to spend the weekend at her luxury mansion. What follows is a montage of parties, sailing and more parties.

“The urban metro market was evolving and the insight we had was the new ultimate consumption was taste,” said Cameron NY. “Instead of showing off your rims or clothes, it was about showing off the symbols that articulate your taste.”

The website has a manifesto in case you’re not quite sure what “taste” is, but enjoy the rest of the campaign which includes seven Internet spots, three conventional TV commercials and print ads in magazines such as GQ, Vanity Fair and Vibe.

[via AgencyInc]

It’s a phenomenon that Ikea took to the retail world, and now it’s coming full-circle. A growing collective of global “hackers” as they’re called are dismantling products and re-aligning the parts as they see fit. Take Winnie Lam, who created a Sundae Toppings footstool, fashioned from a few bags of cotton pompoms hot-glued to an Ikea stool. Or Christine Domanic who built a new bench from an Ikea sidetable.

An article from the NYTimes explores this growing subset a bit further:

Do-it-yourselfers and technogeeks, tinkerers, artists, crafters and product and furniture designers, the hackers are united only by their perspective, which looks upon an Ikea Billy bookcase or Lack table and sees not a finished object but raw material: a clean palette yearning to be embellished or repurposed. They make a subset of an expanding global D.I.Y. movement, itself a huge tent of philosophies and manifestoes including but not confined to anticonsumerism, antiglobalism, environmentalism and all-purpose iconoclasm.

One particular hacker has taken this global collective to the web in a blog titled ikeahacker.  Most of the work she captures is created by people more focused on the pleasures of reinvention, and on modifying Ikea’s wares to suit their homes and personalities. It’s all about thinking outside the box (literally.)

Have you ever seen a unicorn? How about a dragon or the LochNess Monster? An eBook has, for the longest time, they’ve been as elusive as the former three, but now, Amazon.com would like to make your dreams come true, almost.

In an evolutionary move from the first-sight of one last year with Sony’s Reader (image at right), a $300 gadget with enough memory to hold 80 books, the Kindle enters the market in October of this year.

Amazon.com has created an electronic book reader that has been the subject of industry speculation for a year. The Kindle will be priced at $400 to $500 and will wirelessly connect to an e-book store on Amazon’s site. It will also have a keyboard, so its users can take notes when reading or to navigate the Web and look something up. A scroll wheel and a progress indicator will helps users navigate Web pages and texts on the device. Users can surf the web and read newspapers, magazines, etc. in addition to the full text of books.

The NYTimes reports:

“Many publishing executives see Amazon’s entrance into the e-book world as a major test for the long-held notion that books and newspapers may one day be consumed on a digital device.

“This is not your grandfather’s e-book,” said one publishing executive. “If these guys can’t make it work, I see no hope.”

[via TechCrunch]

Starbucks now has a reminder to wifi users that they are in fact in the capital of customer-service. Want a mocha or Cappuccino while you surf the web? Don’t want to leave your laptop on the table while you wait in line to order? Don’t worry, a friendly barista will be out with your order.

Baristas have always been a behind-the-bar service, but in order to keep customers happy, Starbucks realizes sometimes the coffee needs to come to them. We’re not quite sure if the customer raises a hand or shouts the order across to the barista, but we now know the option exists.

[via Crackunit]

If you’ve seen the movie Minority Report, you were probably as jealous as we were about the touchscreen technology they used to graphically display their plan. Be jealous no more! You can get your own touchable technology with Northrop Grumman’s TouchTable.

The device, something that has been used in the defense sector for several years now is what they call an “integrated collaboration environment.” The display lets you move your hand across the table, shift images sideways, zoom out and zoom in.

[via rbTrends]