This time our search brought us to California to introduce jovoto especially to the surf and skateboarding industry. One of our first stops has been at the Vans HQ in L.A. where all their product and design development is happening. As this was one of the fanciest working places we’ve ever seen, it includes a big mini ramp, a hall of fame for skate-shoe design, blow-up posters of dog town photography and the most chilled working atmosphere we’ve experienced so far.

Arturo hooked onto the Vans tour-bus

It’s crazy how Vans an originally small skate-shoe company developed into this multi-million dollar company. But I guess when the time is right and you’re part of a powerful trend/movement the chances that you get a fast uplift are quite good. And apart from that not to mentioned that they’ve been doing a great job in brand and product development as well.

Now it’s time for us to leave for San Francisco and all we can mention so far is that our contest queue for January is already packed, so stay tuned and look out for at least one mind-blowing contest. And who knows maybe these Vans guys are up to sign up for a contest as well – sooner or later they will ;)

I’ll be out now to get some lozenges and a hot-water bottle for our new penguin pal.

For the current Greenpeace contest on jovoto’s platform, jovoto is teaming up with LowCarbonEconomy.com, the right partner for this very exciting contest that aims for the reduction of carbon dioxide.

LowCarbonEconomy.com and jovoto share the values of crowd-sourcing, mass collaboration and web2.0 to solve real-world problems.

This is what LowCarbonEconomy.com say about themselves:
“Here are LowCarbonEconomy.com, we’re connecting people and businesses with low carbon information and solutions. When we say ‘low carbon economy’, we mean one in which sustainability, energy, resources, environment, technology and lifestyle are all tackled in a responsible and positive way.

We believe that the many of the solutions necessary for a transition to a low carbon economy already exist, but that they are not being adopted quickly enough for a multitude of reasons. One reason is, as always, effective communication, and that’s where LowCarbonEconomy.com comes in.

We work on and offline with organisations that can provide low carbon solutions, from environmentally-friendly office stationery through to chimney balloons, biomass boilers and even electric scooters and a wind-up torch. Organisations showcase their products, services, business opportunities, case studies and jobs alongside discussions, tips and links from our active and passionate community.

We are supporting this project with jovoto both because we believe that Greenpeace are an important organisation in the low carbon sector and because we want to help jovoto to succeed.

We believe that mass collaboration is immensely important for the transition to a low carbon economy. Only by synergy of structure, participation and solutions can we all work out what matters to us, what we can do about it and then actually do something about it. Come and visit the site to find out more: www.lowcarboneconomy.com.”

jovoto thanks LowCarbonEconomy.com for supporting the Greenpeace contest financially – open for submissions until January 16th!

]]> http://blog.jovoto.com/2008/12/greenpeace-contest-supported-by-lowcarboneconomycom/feed/ http://blog.jovoto.com/2008/12/next-mission-greenpeace/ http://blog.jovoto.com/2008/12/next-mission-greenpeace/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:12:47 +0000 dmusiol http://blog.jovoto.com/?p=417 Yesterday, another challenging contest started on jovoto’s platform: The early birds’ next mission is to find a sharp and yet smart and positive way to communicate a new taxation system for company cars developed by none other than GREENPEACE!!

Next Mission: Greenpeace

Germany’s taxation system benefits company cars for economic reasons…fair enough! The problem is that the current system doesn’t take the environment into account at all: no matter how harmful to the environment the company cars are, no matter how high their levels of CO2 emissions are – companies may set off those gas-gazzling vehicles against tax liabilities. There is no financial appeal whatsoever for companies, the car buyers nor the drivers to switch to more environmental friendly automobiles.

Greenpeace has been working on this problem and developed a system of taxation that benefits companies if they decide to equip their fleet with environmental friendlier cars that consume less gas and emit less CO2.

It is the communities task now until January 16th to come up with ideas on how to communicate the new taxation concept to the politically interested public, car buyers and drivers. A great task for a good cause!
This was the very first submission in the contest:

"raise your karma" by thirdbase

To give you an overview, these are the new features we have implemented to improve your online experience in jovoto:

New idea overview through which you can scroll large images and easily rate and comment them. Also you can scroll to the next or previous ones by using the “k” and the “j” keys in your keyboard.

New idea overview

The private messaging feature through which you can FINALLY send private messages to other users of the community.

Private messages

Dashboard improvements such as clustering and deleting where you can now get rid of read messages and view your messages grouped by days. Also you have your network where you need it, next to your dashboard messages.

Dashboard improvements

The new Help boxes will guide you around the site. When ever you see an “i” in a square there is plenty of information to tell you which actions you can preform. You will find them in the follow action buttons (ideas, users or contests), the dashboard and in the ratings.

Information boxes

The new rating interface which we have put a lot of effort into, benchmarking lots of websites and and analyzing rating behaviors we have come up with a pretty simple and yet clear design, that will hopefully make the “rating experience” much easier for all of you.

New rating interface

This week, I would like to present two of those many outstanding works (since we have to start somewhere)…
“Pulp Fiction” by werkstatt314 didn’t only get loads of positive comments but is currently also topping the ranking list with a schema displaying the movie’s storyboard.
(Pulp Fiction © werkstatt314)

The second work I’d like to present is SteffenAmsel’s “The Selfish Giant”, an animated movie narrating Oscar Wilde’s fairy tale of the same title.
(The Selfish Giant © SteffenAmsel)

Click the following link to watch the movie: The Selfish Giant

HighlandBagpiper

Tell us about yourself!
Well…I work on graphics but I do like a worker who builds a house or like a dustman who takes all garbage cans toput into the truck. To me my work is out of fashion or trendy, I do it mechanically. Always searching time to spend the life and enjoy all little things of that wonderful world. In my last life I was a good boy and God lets me choose the place to been born again, this place was Barcelona. The Iberian peninsula is funny from outside space to choose, isn’t it?

Why did you become an illustrator?
I began studying as a motor mechanical drawer, to make planes of all that, then one summer I discover the graphic design working in a my father’s friend studio. My boss was a teacher on a well known school of arts in my home town. The last course I began to study graphic design, meanwile I discover the stencil technique and start to do graffitis at my hometown walls all nights, this was around 1985. Encouraged to my success making grafittis, I study more seriously graphic design. Few years later I went to make the oblied militar service. When I finish it I began to work on a small design studio, then my new boss always make me draw many things to provide the designs with a illustration touch. Was then when I discovered the advertising illustration and wents for it. Some day a well knowed creative gaved me the first opportunity to do a important jobs and untill now I’m working on that giving the thanks to all creatives who trust in me to do its designs. Arturo and Yissus were ones of that guys who give me the opportunity to work on advertising illustration.

Whose work do you admire? Do you have an idol?
Well right now to me its imposible to give my admiration to a only one person, everywhere is full of a young talents and many illustrators likes me the things they do. I like the work of Tim Biskup but there are many young illustrators making coolest graphics than that guy. Some times to watch the most awesomes illustrators I use to see the graphics bellow the skateboards decks. Often there are the most radical ways to work on illustration. One name Ignas Vytautas for example or many illustrators from The AlienWarehouse scateboards Labble.

Where do you get inspiration?
The inspiration only came burning neuronas thinking on a theme, when you stop to do it…then came a nice idea. For example; I lie on the ground of my studio with my cat upon my belly and my hands crossed under my head like a pillow…few minutes later I say _”I get it ” and my cat scare of me running to the computer to draw it.This is my secret formula.

What do you do when you don’t illustrate?
I use to Play the Highland bagpipe beside the sea near my wiffe’s house to scary all the seagulls and say hello the the boatman’s who arives at the Port.

Why did you join jovoto?
Arturo’s invites me to joint you, and now I’m happy to do it.

Why are you called the HighlandBagpiper?
Well becouse my favorite Hobby is to play the Highland Bagpipes on week end. I know is a quite freaky but I’m happy then.

“Skyline” by empuls will from now on adorn Creative City Berlin!! Congratulations to empuls and a huge THANK YOU to all of you who made this contest a great success!

The jury

It looks like hard work, but I have to say that he was a tad happier afterwards as well ;)