Spark: Pee-controlled video games, holographic Mariah Carey and Schrodinger's Cat explained in 60 seconds

FACEBOOK MOST SHARED STORIES OF 2011

Facebook has released a list of the 40 most shared stories of 2011. The topics range from sweet (twin baby boys talking in gibberish) to serious (Japanese earthquake damage).

There were some clear trends. Twelve of the stories relate to parenting or families, while three of the picks are viral videos. Another three are about Steve Jobs.

More surprisingly, all 40 of the stories come from just six online outlets: Yahoo has 13 stories, CNN has 11, the New York Times has 7, The Huffington Post has 7, The Wall Street Journal has one and the Washington Post has one.

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, SHOPPING HAS GONE MOBILE IN A BIG WAY

The 2011 holiday season that was kicked off earlier today (Black Friday) is proving to be a big boost for m-commerce as shoppers are using their smartphones, mobile apps and other devices to go bargain hunting according to various sources. Call it the season on couch commerce.

T MOBILE CHRISTMAS SURPRISE: HOLOGRAPHIC MULTI-CITY MARIAH CAREY CONCERT!

T Mobile are well known for their viral videos and experiential stunts but this is pretty big, even for them! As a Christmas surprise they had Mariah Carey singing Christmas songs in five different European cities simultaneously to a large excited crowd via holographic technology... but the crowd thinks she’s really there. It’s only when she disappears in a puff of smoke that they realise she was a 3D projection the whole time!

OPEN UNIVERSITY: 60 SECOND ADVENTURES IN THOUGHT

The Open University has created some fantastic pieces of video content over the last few months, one of which is their '60-second adventures in thought’ series which aims explain dry subjects with humour and clarity. Narrated by David Mitchell, they focus on six famous thought experiments in rapid succession, including, "Can a cat be both alive and dead?", "Can a computer think?" and "How does a tortoise beat Achilles in a race?" Each 60-second clip is animated, amusing, informative, and super short, perfect to entice the YouTube generation!

DO EVERYTHING THE BILLBOARD TELLS YOU

My friend Will has taken on a somewhat strange but completely brilliant project to actively be influenced by advertising. Here’s the overview:

Every morning I look out my kitchen window to see a billboard.  A beautiful billboard that every two weeks becomes a beacon in which society’s latest must haves are projected right into my receptive face.

It isn’t simply showing me the latest products that record labels, TV companies and fashion houses are offering... It’s mocking me. Every time I see it, that billboard greets me with a slap in the face and yet another a demonstration of what I don’t have.

But no longer. From 21st March until the end of 2011, I will experience every item that is plastered on that billboard. No matter the cost, effort or legality, every second Monday will be a celebration.  A celebration to feast on the latest that consumerism has to offer. A celebration of: New Billboard Day.

So far, Will has watched a TV show, visited a Breast Cancer awareness website, bought a grill, seen the live stage version of Dirty Dancing and, most recently, bought some lipstick. Hilarious.

PLAYBOY WEBSITE SLOWLY REVEALS RACY PHOTOS WHEN VISITORS SING AT THEIR COMPUTER

Weird but funny. The August issue of Playboy in Argentina was dedicated to Mariana Diarco, who is notorious for having a torrid affair with a rock star, so to market the magazine, Playboy created a website featuring photos of the country’s most famous groupie. Visitors could pretend they were a rock star and Diarco was their groupie by activating their computer’s microphone and singing out loud. A graphic equaliser on the screen would slowly show photos of Diarco from an exclusive shoot and the more effort the singer put in, the more of the photo was revealed. Check out the video.

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE: BUBBLE & SNOWFLAKE LIGHT PROJECTION SHOW

Saks Fifth Avenue is shooting for the longest outdoor video-mapping experience in the world. For the holidays, its “Snowflake & the Bubble” light projection show will appear every night for five hours, from November21st to January 6th

THE 10 BEST COMMERCIALS OF 2011

As we begin to head towards the end of the year, the annual recaps and wrap-ups commence. Adweek have compiled their list of the top commercials released over the last 12 months for our viewing pleasure. The list celebrates work across a wide variety of products, themes, styles, and geographies. You've got candy bars and zombies, cats with thumbs, and film-directing bears. You've also got two spots focused on the environment, and two explicitly about the humanising power of technology - fundamental concerns in an age when our lives, and the world, can feel like they're spinning out of control. Congratulations to all the agencies and clients on the list, and the creative-services companies that helped bring their visions to life. Now, go make something even better.

MONT BLANC: THE BEAUTY OF A SECOND

Mont Blanc and Leo Burnett Milan recently launched a short film contest to pay homage to the chronograph, which recorded time to the accuracy of a fifth of a second. The Beauty of a Second asks participants to demonstrate beauty in a second of film, entries will be judged by Wim Wenders. The first round has been and gone but they’ve created a fantastic montage of the entries to date which is well worth watching.

GETUP: IT’S TIME

A beautiful video created by GetUp Australia to promote further scrutiny about the current prejudice against gay marriage. GetUp are also asking for donations in order to raise enough money to get the video on TV prior to the ALP National Conference next week where voting will be taking place on whether to make it a policy to end marriage discrimination.

WORLD'S FIRST PEE-CONTROLLED VIDEO GAME OPENS IN LONDON BAR

The Exhibit bar has taken it upon itself to install in its men’s bathroom a number of pee-controlled video games; games with carefully thought up names such as Clever Dick and On The Piste. The system is thought to be the first of its kind in the world, and besides making a trip to the bathroom more entertaining. It will also be an opportunity for advertisers to promote their products. Developed by UK-based Captive Media, the high-tech urinals come with 12-inch LCD screens fitted just above them. Ads play on the screens until a punter approaches the urinal. Detecting that the punter is in position and ready to pee, the system then switches into gaming mode. Sophisticated algorithms then allow the user to do something simple, but VERY engaging – controlling the system just by aiming their stream left or right