As part of a class assignment, I recently used oDesk for the first time.  I didn’t know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised by the great experience that I had.  It was easy to set up a profile and detail my project requirements for my website’s landing page.  Within forty minutes of posting the job, three people had bid on the project and by the time I had hired my contractor, I had received 19 bids.

A few weeks ago while surfing the internet, I came across a blog that had approximately 50 or so ideas for how to re-use everyday items.  Around idea #47, I came across the suggestion to recycle my toilet paper roll by turning it into a speaker for my iPhone.  

Since it would be relatively simple to test out the idea, I filed it away in the back of my mind until I had a roll available.  To my delight, it actually worked quite well at amplifying the sound.  It won't be giving Bose speakers a run for their money any time soon, but it's a wonderfully simple, yet effective solution for me. It does the job while also helping me in my quest to not acquire more things that will take up precious space in my NYC apartment.  It's also a great reminder not to overlook what's right in front of me.  A little creativity can do a lot.

All you need to make your own toilet paper roll speaker is a roll and an X-Acto knife* (a regular knife could also work - just be careful!).  And, if for some reason, you're all out of toilet paper, you can buy some at Amazon.*

Be in two places at once Witness a miracle Get a tattoo

If these sound familiar, it’s because they were a few of the items on Jaime Sullivan’s (character played by Mandy Moore) bucket list in the movie A Walk to Remember.   If you’re not familiar with what bucket lists are, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying.”   The spirit behind creating such a list is to make the most of the time that you have, especially because each day is a gift.

This is why I have decided to make a bucket list for the summer.  The list is in the early stages and I’m open to ideas.  What should I do?  I’m looking for experiences that are energizing, or inspiring, memorable, refreshing, novel, spark child-like wonder…you get the picture!

Add your suggestions here.  And, if you can help me make any of these happen, please let me know!

If you want to create your own bucket list, you can make it on hackpad or on one of these bucket list sites.

For more inspiration, here are some items that were on the bucket lists of Edward Cole and Carter Chambers from the movie The Bucket List as well as Jonnie Penn, Dave Lingwood, Duncan Penn, and Ben Nemtin from MTV’s The Buried Life.

Go skydiving Fly over the North Pole Drive a Shelby Mustang

Beautiful blending of form and function!  Easily, subtly check the time whenever you would like.  Does it come in a size 4? 

What if people were able to create multiple identities online?  Not to be subversive, but to create identities online that better reflected the different facets of their personality or gave them the freedom (privacy) to explore a new avenue of interest they weren't yet ready to disclose to their networks.  What if this was the new norm?  These are some of the questions that my Urban Fictions project team has been pondering as we speculate about the future.  

While the exact evolution of our digital identities is not known, we do know that at the dawning of the internet, users were known by their handles.  And, as the internet became more ubiquitous, there came a push for people to use their real names online, driven largely by Facebook and Google.  As my group develops scenarios for a multiple identities future, I had an interesting experience this past Sunday that was only made possible because our digital identities today are largely centralized and utilize our real names.  

This is what happened:

I went to a gathering and struck up a conversation with one of the girls in attendance.  When it was time to part, we decided to exchange our information.  Facebook seemed to be an easy way to stay in touch.  She told me her last name so that I could find and add her as a friend.  As soon as I heard it, I put two and two together and asked her if she knew someone who I had gone to college with - and she said yes.  It was a delightful, serendipitous moment.  

How did I recognize her name as I had not met her before and the friend in question had never mentioned her name to me?  I had seen her name when she commented on our mutual friend's occasional status updates.  Granted, if Facebook were set up with handles, it would have still been possible to discover the connection, but it would have been buried under that layer.  This small moment, which normally would have been a fun discovery that was quickly forgotten, stands out to me as I mull over the future of digital identities.

For my Urban Fictions class, we had to create something that would capture the attention of city folk - taking them away from their daily routines by getting them to pause and reflect on an aspect of technology, if only for a moment.  We had to construct the item from a random set of materials that were provided to us, including such things as paper, foam core, orange tape, and a sharpie.

My team decided to explore the relationship people have with their smartphones by asking urbanites which platform they identified with - Apple (iOS) or Android.  After creating a sign for each platform with arrows that pointed in opposite directions, we stood in the middle of a sidewalk near the 86th street subway station to intercept people as they exited.

Passersby could indicate their preference by walking past us on the corresponding side.

As it was a particularly cold night with temperatures between 16-17 degrees, winds blowing at 17-19 mph, and a "feels like" reading of 0-1 degrees, we weren't sure what kind of reaction, if any, we would get  from New Yorkers given that they are generally inundated with more visual stimuli than the average person and therefore have become a bit impervious to most antics. In addition, it was extremely cold out and they likely wanted to get to their destinations as quickly as possible.

While some did pass by without a hint of acknowledgement, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who did respond to our experiment.  Not only that, there was a consistent pattern among those who did react.  They were often young women who quickly grasped what we were doing and smiled in response as they walked by.  One woman so clearly identified with Apple that she switched to the other side of the sidewalk so that she could indicate it as evidenced in the video below.

Another young woman was so adamant about not choosing either option presented, she insisted on being allowed to walk in-between us .

On the other side of the spectrum, the choices we displayed energized two older gentleman (on separate occasions) to engage in conversation with us.  They proudly showed us their phones which did not use Apple or Android technology.  

I recently upgraded from a basic phone to a smartphone.  Although I am one of the last of my friends and classmates to make the switch, about 50% of adults in the US are still using basic phones.  If my experience shopping for a smartphone is anything to go by, there is a big opportunity for retailers to improve their in-store experience and ultimately, their bottom-line.

The advantage that brick and mortar stores have over their online competitors is their physical presence.  With the ability to shop online and often get better prices, consumers who go to the store are going for one of two reasons - either they need something immediately or they want to interact with the product before they make the decision of whether or not to purchase it.  My trip to the store was for the latter.  

I had narrowed down my choices to the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S3. Knowing that I would be spending a significant amount of money as well as committing to the phone for two years, it was important for me to try out both phones before making the decision.  I thought it would be a simple trip to the store where I would play with both phones and shortly thereafter, be the proud owner of a smartphone.  Little did I know that finding a store that had working demos of both or even just one of the phones would be like searching for the holy grail.  

In my quest, I came across phones that featured a static image of the home screen.

These phones did not give me any insight into whether or not I would enjoy owning one of them.  One store had an employee generous enough to allow me to play around with his phone, but since he had already customized the phone to his preferences, it was not clear what the experience would be like on a standard phone. Another store did have some working demos, but had put security measures in place that severely hindered the experience.

The security sensor placed on the front of the phone covered a significant portion of the screen and prevented me from navigating the interface while the cord attached to the back created a constant pull on the device, not only making it hard to hold the phone in my hand, but also masked the design improvements that had been made to streamline the phone.   While I understood stores implemented these measures to thwart thieves, they were also deterring me from making a purchase.  It seemed like these stores wanted me to make a $200 purchase, sight [almost] unseen.

It wasn't until much later that I remembered that my hometown had an Apple store. Although I was already aware of Apple's strength in the delivery of their store experience, it made an even bigger impression on me after the experiences I had at the four other stores I visited while looking for a live phone.

At the store, I was able to hold the phone in my hand, experience the lightness of it, download an app, and snap pictures with it.  

In essence, I was able to experience the phone in action to my heart's content.  This experience did not happen by accident.  Apple designed it with the consumer in mind.  The store had multiple iPhones set up so that there would be no line to try out the phone. They secured the phones with small sensors that protected their investment without interfering with the consumer's experience.  

And, they had staff ready to assist customers, but only if the customer requested their help.  Apple created an environment that let their product speak for itself. They made their stores a competitive advantage because they considered not only what the consumer wanted from their product, but also how the consumer shopped.  

In my case, I was ready to make a purchase at the first store I visited, but because their phones were locked down, they lost my sale.  If brick and mortar stores don’t want that situation to recur, they need to improve the shopping experience in their stores.  Not only will consumers have a better experience in their stores, they will be in a strong position to capture their fair share or more of smartphone sales as more adults switch over from basic phones to smartphones.