The Curator’s News Feed: January 4, 2013

Reflecting back on 2012 there are so many experiences, opportunities and relationships we are thankful for. We feel very blessed as an agency to have had such a wonderful year full of fun and inspiring projects, and having the privilege of working with all of our fabulous clients.

As we now enter into our fourth year of business we are nothing but excited for all that is in store. And to properly kick off 2013, we’d like to share some of our own resolutions, as well as our first round of hot news picks from the week. Happy New Year!

Curator Resolutions

I resolve to remind myself to enjoy the blessing that is my family and the joy of spending my workday with incredibly talented people everyday.  – Scott

Write down 1 thing I’m grateful for each and every day of the year. – Ann Marie

Next year will basically be the last I spend in my 20s — I turn 29 on February 7 — and in preparation for the impending decade, 2013 is going to be all about forming good health habits. I started running back in July, so I'll be looking to keep that up, and I've also heard that eating things that aren't meat-, cheese- or bread-based is good for you. I'm eating a grapefruit as I write this, so I feel pretty good already. If you guys have any health tips, tweet me: @paulbalcerak – Paul

I resolve to shop less, try more foods outside my comfort zone, travel more and really settle into being a Seattleite – Chelsey

This year my resolution is to run a full marathon. – Annie

I will finish the rest of my home remodel and my wife and I will get back on the morning P90X horse (yes, I’m using horse as a figure of speech. We don’t plan on riding a ripped horse) – Matthew

I resolve to have a stronger relationship and do more with my brother and his family – Dan

I resolve to find my way back to the gym and to read more books. – Jennifer

My New Year’s resolution is to stay in better contact with my friends on the east coast. With the 3 hour time difference, its often left to sporadic texts and voicemails, but I want to do a better job of actually speaking to them on the phone and staying caught up on their lives. I also want to join a barre class – and actually go to it. – Julia

Ah, the ever-frustrating New Year’s Resolution. Oh how I despise this tradition that sets 93% of the population up for failure and makes gyms and personal trainers a boatload of money. Instead of the quintessential resolution, I like to take a moment to reflect on the previous year and think of the moments that I’m most proud of, and what areas of my life, both personal and professional, that I’d like to focus on in the new year. I can easily say that 2012 was one of the best years of my life, and I am incredibly thankful for everyone that helped make it so great. Looking towards the future I’d like to continue to challenge myself every day, both personally and professionally, and consistently step outside my comfort zone, as that’s what made last year so rewarding. And I guess cleaning my condo more might be a good thing to work on, too. – Megan

Curator News Feed

Memoto Photographs Your Entire Life Then Sorts it Too, Fast Company Design. I'm kind of digging this, which is unusual for me in that I'm not often an early adopter of technology. You clip the Memoto "lifecam," on yourself and the little camera snaps and categorizes a photo every 30 seconds you're wearing the devise.  It's not something I could see myself wearing necessarily, but I'm loving the possibilities of using this devise in a campaign — perhaps for one of our travel clients.  Check it out. – Scott

Delfonics Ballpoint Pen, J.Crew. I love office supplies, and one of my favorite office supplies came from my mom over Christmas; it's this phenomenal ballpoint pen by Delfonics. I'll admit $10 (plus shipping, if you can't coupon your way out of that situation) seems a little steep for a pen, but it glides across paper like a skate on freshly swept ice and I already can't imagine going back to Staples' generic plastic offerings. This pen comes in five different colors — I recommend Curator orange. – Paul

Facebook tests VoIP, adds voicemail-like service, CNET. Facebook has rolled out a couple cool features for its Messenger app in the U.S. and Canada. If you're north of the border, the latest update actually allows you to make free calls to your Facebook friends through the app (that's "VoIP" -- Voice over Internet Protocol, the same thing Skype does). Those of us in the U.S. have a slightly watered-down version that allows users to leave voicemails through the app. I'm not really sure Facebook users will get much use out of leaving each other voicemails, but if the Canadian version goes worldwide, that could be a game-changer. – Paul

50 Most Memorable Tweets of 2012, Mashable. It’s hard to believe that 2013 is already here! Twitters popularity continued to grow throughout the past year, with an increase of 100 million new users. Here’s a look at some of the most memorable tweets of 2012. Happy New Year! – Johanna

California Law Addresses Social Media Privacy, NPR. Apparently, in some states, employers have been requiring job applicants to provide their social media profile passwords so that employers can check up on their prospective hires. Cra. Zy. No thanks; I don’t want your job that badly. That said, it’s interesting to follow this discussion as social media becomes more and more ingrained in our lives. – Dan

Using online video to its fullest potential, PSFK. Contrary to popular belief, Youtube is more than just a video sharing tool for all of your cat videos, it has increasingly become an interactive media experience. In the most recent Holiday Message from Maurice Lévy, the CEO of Publicis Groupe, you can get a feel for just what is possible. Plus, it’s just plain clever. – Matthew

PSFK Advertising Stories, PSFK. This article contains PSFK’s top advertising stories of 2012, which includes an elevator that’s wallpapered in cake; the now infamous Microsoft Windows 8 surprise dance party campaign in Norway; and my personal favorite, ad agency Casa’s Drink Time Sheet employee incentive program. It’s great to see the incredible work that other agencies are putting out, and also see so many brands embrace new, exciting ways to communicate with consumers! – Megan

Your New Year’s Resolutions, as Demonstrated by Cats, Los Angeles Times. This video seemed appropriate to go along with our team’s 2013 New Year’s Resolutions. On top of that, if you’ve ever been around our office for more than a day, you’ll find that we seem to have an odd fascination with the Internet phenomena of cats that has occurred over the past year or so. Now, I can’t claim that we’re all cat lovers here, but you can’t deny that cats acting out common resolutions is pretty amazing. The fifth one is my absolute favorite! Enjoy, and happy New Year! – Annie

Polaroid Angling For More Retail Exposure With 10+ Fotobar Stores In 2013, TechCrunch. Here's to Polariod for staying true to their mission of self-expression, creativity, and fun, even if it means continually reinventing themselves amidst bankruptcy and changing technology and consumption of photography. What if we all had that much determination and courage? Now, there's a 2013 resolution! I'm rooting for Polaroid this year. – Maria