Now before you roll your eyes at this as another oversharing moment on Twitter, hear me out.  I really see this a great example of our Wave Yin Yang Blend™.

It’s a belt that monitors a babies kicking in the womb and sends a tweet every time the little tyke gets all “Karate Kid”.  Ok, I agree that if you let these tweets go out to your entire online community of friends, family, and tweeps you can totally expect to be blocked and defriended.

However, to me the point is sharing the experience of pregnancy with the Daddy (or the other Mommy: coz we roll inclusive here at CultureWaves).

In fact, that is why Kickbee™ founder Corey Menscher was inspired to create it for his then pregnant wife.  He say’s he wanted to “help dads get in on some of the action that moms feel 24/7 during pregnancy. In a perfect world, when your baby kicks, you might grab your husband’s hand to place it on your belly so he can experience one of your baby’s first movements, too. Well, at least some of the time. But what if he’s at work, or if you’re at work, or if he’s serving in Iraq, or if you’re traveling cross country? Dad misses out on the one-of-a-kind experience. So Mensher wanted to come up with a way to connect parents during pregnancy even when they can’t be in kicking distance of each other.”

I think this is a great way of utilizing existing communication tools to not only “Blur the line between the sexes” but share experiences that create deeper connections.  Now perhaps some sadist out there will come up with a device that emulates the pain of child birth!  Coz I’m sure you’d be into sharing that feeling…. right guys??

Well, the people at Raynor Contract seem to think so; which is why their new chair created in partner with Karim Rashid is designed to focus on your body’s pressure points. Yep, a Chakra Chair. The Chakra Chair is broken down into seven sections, which aligns with the bodies major pressure points, and although it is only in prototype mode people expect it to eventually see a production line. After all, we bought into a blanket with sleeves, so why not a Chakra Chair?

The thing that’s interesting about this is it takes the rare leap we seldom see in Inner Balance™, into design. Inner Balance is one of those Waves where everything is very person-centric, and it almost always involves the human element. But when we see a pure design piece meant to balance out the body, it’s an interesting treat.

As we’ve evolved our cultural opinions on Yoga and holistic health, we’ve seen the adoption of holistic habits, eastern rituals and beliefs make their way into the office. Yoga during lunch, meditation in the morning, it’s all slowly being adapted to keep the frustration down, and now there’s a chair to help align your being as well. Take that idea and sit on it.

Even if though the average Joe won’t make a fashion statement about it, most of us are feeling over-stimulated and “time poor.” So I’m betting this concept will strike a cord with many.

Rogan wants to help people reclaim time with their newest bit of design re-invention called the Timeless Watch.

“…Its “timeless” empty face, not only neatly dismisses the modern anxieties of analogue-vs.-digital, the conceptual accessory introduces freedom from deadlines, time changes, alarm clocks (and the constant inching towards death) with its sleekly sustainable design.”

Sustainable? Yes, they are made from repurposed old watch pieces so they get to put the word “upcycling” in the press release.  Score!

All cynicism aside though, so many things beep, buzz, and “alarm” us in daily life.  Little suggestions that ask us to stop keeping time, even if for just a moment, would fit many design concepts and really resonate.

From the site: “After six months of dreaming, thinking, planning, painting, colouring, filming, editing and finessing I am so very proud to post the spectacular global film for the Let’s Colour Project: ‘Dulux Walls’. It is the result of 650 people from all over the world who came together in the name of colour. Grey is out. Gloom is gone. This is the beginning of a colour crusade that is spreading around the world. The more of us who join in, the bigger the splash will be. Come colour the world with us.”

This is what I hope is the future of advertising, marketing and branding: Doing something cool and/or altruistic with your product and reaping the kudos.  I know that I posted it on my Facebook and got many positive comments.

People talking passionately about your stuff is always a fantastic thing.

“Stress is real. It’s caused by all of the things you juggle in life — money, relationships, schedules, family, work, your health.  In your busy day, what if you could pause briefly, and give yourself a moment to get a better handle on things? What if you could put a ‘number’ on stress and watch it get lower over time? What if you could even keep yourself from becoming stressed in the first place so you can be there for the ones you love?”

It’s called UPLIV™, and they claim that it’s the “first comprehensive stress management program that’s personalized to you and your lifestyle.”

You take an online test to gauge what kinds of stress you have and they give you a “prescription” of products, techniques, and resources to help you achieve more balance in your life.

The subscription based program starts with a monthly fee ($99.95 for the first month, $39.95 monthly thereafter).  Which includes the test, the personal program, and “exclusive face and body products made with proprietary Active Essences that elicit relaxing and refreshing moods and make your UPLIV™ program more effective”

The site claims the program has been clinically shown to help relieve stress in as soon as 4 weeks and nearly 8 out of 10 women report reduced stress in their lives.

I have noticed Moment Momentum™  has become such a pervasive Wave in the last few quarters as people start to get serious about coping with the many challenges modern life is presenting us with.  UPLIV™ is aimed specifically at women, which draws my attention to the fact that, while not wanting to generalize, so many women have taken so much on.  Every working mother I know is scheduled within an inch of her life and this is program that helps women get as organized about their mental health as they are about everything else.

Making the time to “take your time” is what Moment Momentum is all about.

Simple and lovely.  Maybe having that fresh in my mind is why I reacted with such disgust at this piece about H & M.  The New York Times told this story of senseless waste:

“At the back entrance on 35th Street, awaiting trash haulers, were bags of garments that appear to have never been worn. And to make sure that they never would be worn or sold, someone had slashed most of them with box cutters or razors, a familiar sight outside H & M’s back door. The man and woman were there to salvage what had not been destroyed. It is winter. A third of the city is poor. And unworn clothing is being destroyed nightly.”

I know how cold NYC gets and to make it more ridiculous “Directly around the corner from H & M is a big collection point for New York Cares, which conducts an annual coat drive.”

Despite numerous attempts for comment, H & M did not respond.  It’s the New York Times folks- you should probably not ignore. The reporter sticks the knife in even deeper by pointing out that their websites claims “that to save paper, it has shrunk its shipping labels.” Ahhhh, can you say PR FAIL?

I realize it is probably some convoluted “company policy” crap but surely sometimes Giving Back™ can just be a simple matter.

Look how simple and wildly effective the recent Breast Cancer Awareness Facebook “Bra Color” viral stunt has been.  Women all over the world are posting single word updates with the color of their bra, hence the barrage of “black,” “red,” and “nothing” in status feeds.   Mashable says a “Detroit blog suggests that the color update craze was started by women in Detroit who are trying to raise awareness around Breast Cancer (though October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month).” It’s got people literally talking about it… “What’s with all the color updates??”

I know the link between these three things is fairly tenuous, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is: don’t over think Giving Back.  The very nature of the wave is simple: DO GOOD.  As the saying goes “when you give, you receive” so don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

You’ve probably heard the term “Spiritual but not Religious”.  Yep- that’s pretty much it… and it’s seems many Americans are identifying with what this WSJ article has termed Religious Independents:

“According to the most recent American Religious Identification Survey, only 76% of Americans identify as Christians, down from 86% in 1990. But interestingly, while non-Christians are not choosing Islam or Judaism, neither are they choosing atheism. A poll done by Gallup in 2008 found that 15% of Americans – up from 8% in 1999– say they don’t believe in God, but they do believe in a “Higher Power” or “Universal Spirit.” More and more, Americans believe that the world was created by a spiritual being, but they reject the Torah, the Koran and the New Testament as the explanation for it.

These universal-spirit worshipers, or what we call Religious Independents, are defining a secular Third Way in religion. They are like political independents who vote but refuse to affiliate with a party. Consequently, attendance at Christmas mass may be declining, but celebration of Christmas and the holidays remains as high as ever. Paradoxically, overall belief in a God is rising, while participation in organized religion is declining.”

The article goes on to discuss the “substantial implications for American culture.” I have blogged about and captured many Thoughts about the rise of yoga and meditation in western culture and this year saw many “new age-y” principles continue to grow from the hippy fringe into the mainstream.

So as our soccer moms talk about “The Universe providing” over their Starbucks and jocks make jokes about a team’s “bad karma”… I will bid you a very heartfelt blessing for this Holiday Season and you can receive it in the spirit of whatever it is you believe (or don’t believe).

The Inner Balance^™ Wave says: “Without meaning what’s the point” so whether it’s Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kwanza, Namaste or <insert anything here>… I wish: All the best to you and your family!!

Nevermind the fact that this is a game and not something that actually has any kind of basis in reality. Nevermind the fact that these are digital avatars meant to represent who we want to project into a digital world, not who we really are. Most importantly, forget the very idea that you have the freedom to choose. They do not want boys playing as girls, and have taken a very hard line against it. Are you a boy and wish to play as a girl? The Banhammer awaits. This amazing and overzealous act of sexism displays not only ignorance but also a blatant disregard for your player base and their wishes. I’m not sure this has anything to do with respecting the fairer sex so much as maybe a CEO in the company found out the hard way that some dainty little sprite within the game named “Luvlee” was actually a 400 pound man from Brooklyn named Bob.

Respecting you customer base within their worlds, meeting them exactly where they want to be, if possible, and actually find out what respect means to them, not what you assume; those are the things that will foster customer loyalty. Not this.

/facepalm

In that vein, may I present an interesting film that we are looking forward to seeing.  LEMONADE:  “More than 70,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this “Great Recession.” Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.”

Yes, it’s close to home for us here at Culturewaves^® because we often work with creatives who want to be “First Faster”.  However, we think this film would serve as inspiration to anyone who has been laid off or negatively impacted by this financial crisis.

Moment Momentum generally had a lot of evidence that was about “My cruising time” ie: how to find ways to recharge from a hectic lifestyle.  However, this film is a perfect example of how the evidence is swinging more to “Slowing down to enjoy the pace of life” on a permanent basis.  More and more ex-professionals are choosing to “EXTEND THE NOW” as a lifestyle choice.

“Many of us keep our most precious memories on a shelf, in a shoebox or in the pages of a diary. We cannot be sure that these items will stand the test of time or that our memories will live on after we are gone. Creating a Heartwill removes this uncertainty. A Heartwill is a secure, online safe box, where you can store letters, photographs, recordings and copies of memorabilia. MyHeartwill is a place where you can create dedicated messages for friends and family which can be scheduled for delivery well into the future, enabling you to speak to the people you love even when your voice is still. It is a way to pass on elements of your emotional life – the beliefs, values and experiences that shaped you as a person – in a place where they can always be found.”

If you think you don’t already have an “online footprint”… ahem… you’re probably wrong.  Anyone who has googled their name knows that there is all sorts of random, potentially, embarrassing info floating out there on our beloved yet fickle web.  For instance, my ex had a fairly unique name and was quite bothered that there was a convicted murderer with the same name all over his results page.

So HeartWill is a way to control exactly what message, pics, video etc. that you want your loved ones to see when they want to know more about you…whether you are far away or ahhhh… dead.

We are all leaving such haphazard splatterings of our personalities through our social media habits.  I know that, I for one, would like to be remembered for a lot more than my last tweet:

“So glad the Hipster Hammer Pants thing didn’t go “Walmart Mainstream”