Free WiFi for Dog Poo in Mexico

Need to send an email but have no WiFi? Take your pooch for a walk in the park and you’re on your way to free global Interweb,  at least in Mexico.

Well of course this is no daily challenge for most of us as we work in the park, but the Mexican internet portal Terra still managed to delight passers-by with this funny intervention and created a short clip to further explain the (not so serious) thinking behind it.

For every gram of dog poo that owners dispose in the allocated containers, a certain amount of free WiFi minutes are being offered generously for anybody in the park who is looking for internet access. Seems to me that everybody is happy because it works on three levels: we all enjoy a poo free park (which should be the case anyways with responsible dog owners, like myself), dog owners can contribute by “paying it forward” (lol) and those looking for free internet access benefit from the responsible dog owners. What a great idea, bounded to attract a lot of media attention!

With this intervention, Terra delights, entertains and solves two problems at the same time, while communicating their core service (internet access) in a hilarious way, making everybody smile. I wonder if there was a social media component to transport the event to others.

(via DesignTaxi)

Discover how interactive art can alleviate suffering for children in a hospital waiting room

Imagine you’re 6 years old, you don’t feel well and your mom takes you to a hospital for the first time.

On top of really not feeling well, you’re in this unfamiliar and big scary place, not knowing what will happen to you. As you sit down in the waiting room you notice some colorful lines that move over the wall and you want to find out what this is all about. You discover you can actually play with the lines, move them around, and as you do that you hear sounds. Before you know it you make music and another kid you did not know before joins you and together you discover a new and exciting way to play and have fun with music. Suddenly the hospital doesn’t seem to scary anymore and you also think you feel much better.

Something along those lines must have been the thinking behind a new interactive wall at the Saint-Justine, a mother-children’s Hospital here in Montreal. In an attempt to make the waiting room area more inviting and less boring or scary, Montreal-based Moment Factory (who were also responsible for the spectacular visuals and stage design of Madonna’s  half time show at the Super Bowl) conceived this interactive wall, inviting children to discover their creative side, playing with sight, sounds, colors and movement. All this can be done by several children at the same time, enabling them to explore, discover and create  together.

What a great way to engage children around art in an environment that most of us associate with discomfort and suffering, creating new associations, potentially turning a hospital visit into a more positive and playful expereince, at least partly. Another inspiring example where art can improve the quality of life, and in return help the Saint-Justine Hospital to offer better services.

(via Grafika)