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Gesture based user interfaces were once considered nothing more than science fiction fantasy. I remember everyone talking about the computer interface used by Tom Cruise in Minority Report, and asking when will it finally come to fruition. Well, thanks to the smart folks at MIT. It looks like the future is almost here.

Watch Patti Maes demo some of very interesting advances in interface technology from the MIT media lab.

In our five years, we've worked with quite a few startups. We love to watch their progression and to see them grow. Over the past two years we've been working with CardPricer.com, a sports card valuation site. We overhauled the brand, gave consultation on the business model, redesigned the website & the application interface, and are about to launch a new pricing engine for them.

So we were extremely pleased to see them featured on TechCrunch's homepage. Congrats to the CardPricer.com team! We look forward to your continued success!

CardPricer Covered by TechCrunch

Quick side note: we've always been curious about what the value of a TechCrunch mention means in terms of traffic. Since this gives us the perfect opportunity to test, we'll be following up with a blog post next week outlining the "TechCrunch Effect", so stay tuned...

After each presidential campaign analysts always create "how they won" articles and case studies that outline key points that led to a candidate's success. And after a big win such as the one that took place in November, multiple versions of the "how obama won" narrative are being crafted. He won by understanding the primary process better than his competitors, he won by going back to basics and emphasizing traditional offline organizing tactics supplemented with online technology (peer to peer communications & canvassing), and of course he won by using social media.

Exploring the social media narrative and pointing out some rather impressive statistics on the scope & reach of the online campaign is a very detailed presentation by Igor Beuker to 150 marketers at the SRM Guru meeting 2009 in Amsterdam.

The presentation is embedded below.

A successful project starts with a great brief, but all too often the brief is looked at as merely a step in the process. A checkbox to be filled before design starts.

What is a good project brief?

Simple, it's one that provides much needed context (including goals) and guides the team towards a solution. If you want great work to come out at the end of the process; you have to have great work at the beginning of the process.

The classic example to illustrate the importance of briefs is the Sistine Chapel (yes, there was a brief for that).

Below are a variety of different approaches that Michelangelo could've received. One of these is the real one.

1.) Please paint the ceiling

2.) Please paint the ceiling using red, green and yellow paint

3.) We've got terrible problems with our ceiling. Can you cover it up for us?

4.) Please paint biblical scenes on the ceiling incorporating the following: God, Adam, Angels, Devils & Saints.

5.) Please paint our ceiling for the greater glory of God, and as an inspiration and lesson to his people.

It's probably pretty obvious which is the real one. The last option (#5) is the brief he actually received. "Please paint our ceiling for the greater glory of God, and as an inspiration and lesson to his people." It states the task at hand, elucidates the goals and is inspirational. It includes the core elements of what makes a great project brief.

So remember, great work starts with a great brief.

One of our 2009 goals was to create a team work environment that fostered peer learning. So, we decided to start a company book club. The first book we decided to tackle was the marketing classic, "Positioning."

Here at neboweb, we do our book clubs a little bit different. We don't just sit around and talk about the books -- we work to apply the concepts. I was given the honor and responsibility of leading our inaugural session.

We started out reviewing the key concepts laid out in the book, and then we started a real world positioning exercise on how to brand the city of Atlanta to attract more tourists. If anyone is interested in the final concept we developed, I'll create a follow up blog post with the team's positioning work.

The presentation is above for those of you that might be interested.