I had the very cool opportunity to speak at this year’s SXSW Interactive as part of the Future15: Diversity series, which was organized by Glenda Bautista. The presentation, titled “The Online Latino: A New Digital Native,” was all about Latin Americans and the web.

While it is a myth that Latin Americans are not online, only 30% of them are. The presentation went into the challenges (poverty, inequality, censorship, and the social/economic/digital divide), as well as what is changing (tech hubs, encouraging governments, businesses rolling out infrastructure, and a rapidly growing online community).

If you’re interested in learning more about what is happening online and offline in Latin America, including Streisand effects, citizen journalism, social networking, innovative start-ups, and stories about the people that are converting ideas into movements, check out the slides and videos below. Feedback (through email or comments) is appreciated :)

Thanks to Diego Contreras (aka Diegoliath) for helping me with the design, Jon Gipson for recording the video, and Kara Andrade for writing the original proposal with me and helping out with ideas, insights, and stats.

These are Diegoliath’s Top 5 Movies of 2009. The “Creative In5piration” series is a showcase some of the things that can brighten your day and re-ignite your creative thinking. In this case, it’s all movies. Leave us a comment. Share your top 5 if you feel like it. 

1. District 9
If you haven’t seen this please shut your computer down right now and head to the theaters because this is probably one of the best movies coming out this year, and probably one of the best movies you’ll see in a long time.  It’s been up in the Twitter trending topics since its release a week and a half ago, if that means anything.  What makes it even better is that it’s the first full-length film by new-comer director Neil Blomkamp (who was supposed to direct the Halo movie). 

2. Where the Wild Things Are
Narnia and Domo Kun come together in what looks to be, like, the cutest film ever by Spike Jonze.

3. Inglorious Basterds
A war film by Quentin Tarantino. Enough said.

4. Zombie Land
Looks amazing and funny. I can’t wait to see Woody Harrelson come back from the dead, to fight the undead…

5. Paper Heart
Michael Cera plays the same character in every single movie he’s ever made. Paper Heart is no different.

It’s been a while since my last Top 5 post and to compensate for that, I’m bringing you two posts of creative nutrition this week. One today. One in a few days. Or else you’ll get a bit too excited. As always, I’ll be using this space on the web to showcase some of the things that brighten my day and re-ignite my creative thinking.

Enjoy!

1. Target – Every Color You Can Dream

This beautiful stop-motion campaign for Target takes you through a colorful, dreamlike journey made of fabric.  The song is “Everything & Everyone” by Boys & Girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4EaiSVQGWw

Oddly enough, the commercial looks very similar to Coldplay’s latest video for song Strawberry Swing.  Check it out here: http://www.coldplay.com/videostrawberry.php

2. Olympics – The Best of Us

Nothing has the power to unite the world more than sports. This cool animated commercial for the Olympics proves it by showing Godzilla-sized athletes carrying their countries and bringing the world together.  The art style reminds me of videogame Team Fortress 2 and The Incredibles movie.

http://bit.ly/tebXc

3. Sour, Hibi no Neiro

Really cool music video using webcams for a not so cool song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBlUQguvyw

4. Quilmes Argentinean Beer

A couple of guys in a club having the time of their life realize they’re in a commercial.  The fun gets spoiled when one of them can’t seem to resist drinking Quilmes beer and ends the commercial. I love South American ads.

http://creativity-online.com/work/quilmes-spot/17045

5.  Kuroshio Sea Aquarium, Japan

This one’s more soothing than entertaining.  Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, this impressive HD video shows the 2nd largest aquarium in the world, the Kuroshio Sea in Japan, graced by the sound of “Please don’t go” by Barcelona.  Those massive Sharks and Manta rays would make the 10-foot tall Goliath from the Bible look wimpy.

http://vimeo.com/5606758

From great advertising and branding to incredible art, design, music, films, and anything worth a second look or  second thought, this is Diegoliath’s weekly source of creative inspiration. I’ll use this space on the web to showcase some of the things that brighten my day and re-ignite my creative thinking. So here we go!

1. Morinaga Chocolate Spot from Japan – non blinking record
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia-XqY0aIT0

I love everything about this spot for Morinaga Chocolate by DENTSU, Tokyo.  This funny, beautifully shot commercial just won a bronze award at the Cannes Lions awards.

2. Fiat Panda
http://bit.ly/YGukK

Fiat confirmed that no pandas were harmed during the production of this hilarious spot by agency Marcel Paris. Great concept and art direction.

See the print ads http://bit.ly/15ieux and here http://bit.ly/4Dmm5p.

3. Tone Matrix
http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix

Check out this highly entertaining flash audio synthesizer created by Andre Michelle. This little synth begs to be an iPhone app.  I really wish it had an option to save my creations and share them with the world.  In Michelle words, “audio is the future of flash”.

4. Two Smart Uses of Augmented Reality

a. Zugara Clothing App – http://bit.ly/l2VzI

This app for Zugara’s clothing website shows one of the smartest applications of augmented reality that I’ve seen so far.  By combining motion capture with augmented reality, the app allows you to turn any room into a virtual fitting room.  Imagine the controversy if a brand like Victoria’s Secret was to tap into this technology.

b. BMW UK: Expression of Joy 3D – http://bit.ly/vzA8y

This augmented reality app for BWM UK allows users to create and share their own art using the Z4 convertible.  The app is an extension of the Expression of Joy TV campaign for BMW.

5. Dream Job Brazil Spot

http://bit.ly/eNrG2

I’m a big fan of Brazilian commercials.  This funny “Massage Therapist for Models” spot shows a guy who’s miserable and has the “worst” job ever.  The tagline reads: “More than 140,000 job positions. One of them will make you happy.”   I was kind of sad to find out that Massage Therapist for Models wasn’t one those 140,000+ job positions.

ps: Last week I talked about photographer Dave Hill.  He just updated his portfolio with some impressive new shots. Check them out here: http://bit.ly/cRqQ1

From great advertising and branding to incredible art, design, music, films, and anything worth a second look or  second thought, this is Diegoliath’s weekly source of creative inspiration. I’ll use this space on the web to showcase some of the things that brighten my day and re-ignite my creative thinking.

If you have some inspirational sources of your own, please leave a comment and a link.

1. Rock Band: Beatles Cinematic Intro
http://www.thebeatlesrockband.com/cinematic.php

Please take a moment to soak in this beautiful dreamy animation by Passion Pictures for the upcoming Rock Band: Beatles game.  Each colorful scene is directly inspired by song lyrics from the Beatles. From an art direction standpoint, this game is a great example of how a unique visual style can really spark interest in people and even bring out emotions. It really made me happy when I saw it.  My love for music games has been slowly growing cold with the extensive amount of releases this year, but this animation definitely got me back in the game.  It seems like I won’t have to wait for DJ Hero to experience something new.  Enjoy.

2. EA Takes Grand Slam Tennis to Facebook
http://apps.facebook.com/ea_grandslam/

I really enjoyed this fun interactive Facebook app by Weiden + Kennedy, Amsterdam for EA’s Grand Slam Tennis for the Wii. I’m not a great fan of Facebook Apps and I usually try to avoid them, but this glorified version of ‘Rock, paper, scissors’ got my attention. You can challenge your FB friends to a match and then trash talk them you win. What an awesome way to get your target to spend some quality time with your brand.  With more than 86,100 active Facebook users having already played the game, I can tell this effort was successful.

3. David Hill Photography
www.davehillphoto.com

This guy has one of the most awesome photography styles I’ve ever seen.  His style, sometimes referred to “hypereal”, makes his work look more like illustrations than photos.  Like him or not, one thing I know for sure is that once you’ve seen one of his portraits you’ll never forget his style.  Checking out his portfolio makes me want to take a year off and do photography.

4. Xbox 360 Project Natal
http://www.youtube.com/xboxprojectnatal

It’s about time someone slaps the Wii in the face for being lame.  This motion sensor camera that recognizes your face, body movements, and voice has the potential to revolutionize the video game world. Could this finally legitimize the Air Guitar? There’s a lot of speculation about whether the trailer is real and whether today’s technology is capable of  something like this. Looks like Microsoft has a big challenge ahead.  I hope they can pull it off and that they implement this technology not just on boring trivia games but in hardcore games like COD and sports games like FIFA Soccer as well.  Can’t wait to see how this technology transfers to the marketing/advertising world.

5. Keith Loutit Bathtub IV Short Film
http://www.vimeo.com/3156959

And now to end the first episode of my Top 5, check out this cool little time-lapse video by Keith Loutit. Bathtub IV is one of a bigger series of short films Keith shot during 12 months to document life in “Little Sydney”.  The style resembles the “tilt-shift” effect used in photography.  I’m not ashamed to say that I found this video to be “cute” and highly entertaining.

And that’s it for today! Come back next Saturday to find more weekly creative inspiration from the world out there.