Inspirational websites: Coke Zero Game

Something that I always find strange is when large corporates spend an unbelievable amount of money on something that surely won't have any effect at all.

Now, I've never tried Coke Zero, but while having a little stumble the other day I came across the site http://www.cokezerogame.com/ Which didn't just impress me, but literally blew my Primark 33p a pair socks off!

You play the part of an unlucky bloke who's not managed to get tickets to the footy and therefore been abandoned by his mates.

He's only unlucky though until he comes across a coke zero machine in the street and treats himself to a guzzle of the low fat black stuff for men.

That's when 3 birdos pull up in a couple of mean looking sports cars and start the challenges.
You have 4 challenges to complete which are all impressive full motion video games.
The Jump of death - a car game where you have to make it over the bridge; The power challenge which sees you booting a football through a wall; Fire Juggling that tests your keep-e-upy skills and finally Extreme megaball which is a pinball simulator.

All the games are pretty good and all have video of the gorgeous coke girls to encourage you further... especially when you get the chance to enter the cheerleaders dressing room (yep... no getting totally away from the amercianisms! At least the main strap-line is Football as it should be, not soccer as it should be!).



Check out the coke zero game by going to http://www.cokezerogame.com/
It takes a while to load even on a good connection, but it's well worth it.

As for my first point. I played this game about 3 weeks ago... and still haven't tried a coke zero!

Website: Neil Smith Designs blog... i.e. This one!

Ok, "I've been away from blogging for a while"... I wonder how many times that sentence has been written... (313 results for that exact phrase in google - at time of going to blog!).

So what's my excuse?

Let's have a look at the possibilities... Was I...



a) Spending my well deserved lottery win?

b) Enjoying an around the world trip?

c) Entertaining 15 girlfriends at once?

...nope, unfortunately none of the above!

To be honest, although I don't consider myself a dull person (those who know me... shut up!), I've not had that much to say in a blog that was to cover views, news and booze...

I made a few fundamental errors when starting out blogging. I didn't think hard enough about what I wanted to blog about. What others would find interesting. And finally what I knew enough about to make it more than a one-blog-wonder!

Ok, so my first blog outing lasted about as long as Paris Hiltons pop career... but this second bite of the cherry is gonna be sweet!

I intend to apply my knowledge to this blog. I work in web development every day.
So all the best web tools, concepts and inspirational sites I come across in my work... I'm going to blog about. Hopefully you'll like it!

Views: Using StumbleUpon to keep up with the latest on the web

For such a long time I used the web in pretty much the same way each day. I would log on to my favourite sites, normally in the same order, carry out my everyday tasks, usually in the same way, then close the browser, usually with the same red cross in the top right hand corner. Ok, so the red cross bit of it's not going to change, but the way in which I now browse the web has... and that's thanks to StumbleUpon.

I've been a web developer for several years now and have often looked at ways in which I can keep up-to-date with the latest new websites out there. Not easy, due to the fact a new website wouldn't fit into my pattern of web usage! The only new websites I used to come across were factual ones when searching for information or code and they were hardly the most inspiring.

Since starting this website, I've tried to look into every avenue of online marketing (for no budget) to try and encourage visits to the site. My primary focus was obviously SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and generating content through this blog. But as any web developer knows, it takes time to make an impact.

That's when I looked into user-generated sites such as Digg, reddit, delicious and finally StumbleUpon. So, initially I looked to these online resources to promote my site, but after installing the StumbleUpon toolbar, I started to view a handful of new sites a day just to see what else is out there.

The good news is, I've come across some really useful sites and some that have inspired me. I've finally found that way of keeping up-to-date with some of the most impressive content on the web. I've quite literally stumbled upon a gem of a site. If you haven't already, I suggest you also give it a go...

Views: Alan Partridge and Gene Hunt Quotes TV Soundbox

After the success of my fonejacker TV Soundbox on Facebook, I decided to try out the same with
two of my favourite characters.

Alan Partridge is a legend... pure and simple. Also, running through his tv shows - The Day Today, Knowing me Knowing you and I'm Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan has blessed our screens with a character that delivers some of the best comedy quotes ever!
Perfect for an Alan Partridge TV Soundbox...

The next character is Gene Hunt from the shows Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. Both show's have proved to be the best thing to come out of the BBC drama vault in years and Philip Glenister as Gene Hunt doesn't only deliver a cracking performance in each episode, he also delivers a plethora of quality quotes.
So again... Gene Hunt lends himself perfectly to a TV Soundbox application.

As I have used Widgetbox to make these applications, you can install them on any social networking profile or add them too your own website.

Check them out here...

Gene Hunt
http://www.neilsmithdesigns.co.uk/genehunt.html
Alan Partridge
http://www.neilsmithdesigns.co.uk/alanpartridge.html

Fonejacker
http://www.neilsmithdesigns.co.uk/fonejacker.html