POKE is 1!

Yes, it's true! Believe it or not, POKE NY stepped into the world just over a year ago now! We've come a long way in a year — learning to walk, mumbling our first words... Go ahead, you can say it, "Awww, they grow up so fast."

As you can see from the shot above, we've filled out a little bit since our first days. Though, to be fair, we've welcomed some friends to share a corner of our space. Ya know, just to keep things interesting.

You can have a look at what we've accomplished over the last year by clicking through to our portfolio. We've poured our hearts, along with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, into our first year of work. We've redefined the way that people shop online with Teroforma. We've been told how people like to Keep Life Sexy. We've even won an award for innovative design with our work for BBC's Love Earth. And, of course, our POKE Cam has received plenty of love. Overall, not a bad start for a bunch of passionate geeks doing what we love. And fear not, we've got plenty more lined up to make the upcoming year even more exciting than our first!

So, what did we do to celebrate our first year? Well, we thought about cupcakes, but those just didn't seem to do it. We debated grabbing a beer or two, but we do that every Thursday (and we've been joined by some amazing people along the way!). We considered doing something fun like driving go-carts, but they told us no-way after looking at our driving histories. So instead, we closed the office, threw everyone in a bus, and went away for a weekend. The POKE NY 1-year anniversary party was held on Block Island. That sleepy oceanside retreat never knew what hit them, especially when we spent an afternoon racing around the island on mopeds during our very own POKE scavenger hunt. Some Pokers even wore lipstick for the event — they had to keep life sexy!

And, of course, we're never without a camera handy. We've documented our adventures over the last year in the POKE NY Flickr Group. Feel free to take a spin through it if you'd like to see how we've grown up. And don't be shy! Swing by the POKE Cam and say "Oh Hai!" sometime.

SynchStep for your iPhone

SynchStep, meet world.  World, meet SynchStep!

SynchStep is a fun and easy experimental way to plays songs from your music library that match your pace.  That means when you're out struttin your stuff down "My Favorite Street", every step you take lands in-time with a drum hit, a bass slap, a piano chord.  It's kind of like being in your own music video, where your your music becomes the soundtrack to your life.  Ya, it's just like a your own music video, except you don't have to pay 3 hundo to some smug director and let his smarmy crew use your bathroom.

The idea behind SynchStep was to create an interface-less device.  See, each person has a unique gait, and SynchStep is built to adapt to your individual walking style.  It doesn't require people to wrap themselves around bizarre, non-ergonomic devices (keyboards?  are you listening?).

Originally SychStep was really a hand-made, custom built MP3-player. The experimental interface didn't even have a display - only an on-off switch.  It was given to people from age 10 to 65 to play with. Without explaining the device to any of them, each tester was told to go for a walk.  Surprisingly, everyone got it, probably because the "user interface" is really the user's body. Unfortunately, it was tough to hand out hundreds of hand-made, fragile gadgets that cost $250 each and countless hours of sanding and cursing.   

Then along came the iPhone and iPod Touch, both packed with all the hardware needed to run SynchStep.  This meant that if SynchStep was re-written, it could be given to everyone who had one of these little gadgets.  So, SynchStep was rebuilt from the ground-up to run on this new, shiny platform.  

While eventually SynchStep will be available to everyone for free, it's currently available only as a private beta.  It's being tested pretty intensely to make sure it's a great experience.  

The final version will be a one-stop shop, with minimal setup required.  Installing SynchStep will make you happier, wealthier, and more satisfied*

*SynchStep in no way promises to make you happier, wealthier or more satisfied.

Where's the Poke 'cam?

Well...hopefully you're looking right at it! If not, click below: live.pokenewyork.com

Yo gabba insperache´

Thanks POKE aaron (twitter, blog) for the link.

Bing Bong We Gatch Yer Bannerz

Psst!

Hey you.

Yeah, You. That brand that is beholden to terrible interactive media buying and pointless bannerdom.

Right...YOU.

The one who gets giddy with excitement at your last .064 CTR.

It is time to go. Now. Read this.

Better yet. Skip that. Read THIS.

Still not getting the picture? Howzabout this:

A study released Tuesday found that about half of all clicks on display ads were by a tiny, non-representative, and economically unattractive group of Web users. These "natural-born clickers," according to the study by ad agency Starcom USA, Web analytics firm Tacoda, and digital audience measurement firm comScore, comprise a 6% slice of the population that is between 25 and 44 years old and in households with income of less than $40,000 a year.

Don't get us wrong, we measure 2x and cut once and all that.  We'll even do a banner or two every now and again. Especially if it brings a valuable experience with it. But banners are definitly moving into more of a supporting role. And if they are - how's that going to help you if a less than generally less than desireable target is the only person you're attracting?