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Over at ReadWriteWeb today, Richard McManus has a post out on Social Networks for Things. It is a writeup of the DLD panel Ulla-Maaria was on last week. Richard outlines the ideas behind Thinglink and two adjacent services, ThingD and a new startup called rezz.it. He ends with a prediction:

If web 2.0 was largely about social networks for people (which you can certainly argue it was), then the new generation of the web will add things to those networks and create new networks.

It’s good to see people are starting to recognize the emergence of new startups in this space, and advances in image recognition, mobile handsets, product identification, and social networking technologies all combine to make this an exciting time to be working on the “social graph of things.” Read the full post here.

Update: Live notes from the panel have now been posted by the DLD10 team here. Here’s the full video.

Charles Eames, the iconic American furniture designer, once observed:

“Eventually everything connects – people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality.”

It has taken a good while for the world to catch up with Eames. Things are changing though. Ulla-Maaria will be discussing the shift on a panel on the Internet of Things, hosted by angel investor Esther Dyson at the DLD Conference in Munich tomorrow. Tune in to more videos of the sessions here.

See also Ulla’s account of the loss (and return to) connectedness and quality in her recent TEDx talk.

Now, the verses are a little bit off topic, but The Fixx appear to have been visionary with their chorus refrain:

I think we have a front-runner for the official Thinglink jingle.

The results are in! Design in the Wild photo contest winners were announced this evening by Professor Eero Aarnio and our very own Ulla-Maaria. See the Facebook event for pictures from the awards ceremony and party.

1. The grand prize was awarded to Henri Aho of Vaasa, Finland, for his photo of the Harry Bertoia Side Chair.
A snippet from the Jury’s comment: “There is a clandestine and mysterious air about this picture: a hooded person hurrying up the stairs of a concrete church designed by Aarno Ruusuvuori with a Harry Bertoia Side Chair. Is she on her way to a randez-vous? Or committing something subversive?”

2. City Boy Picnic Barbeque by young Finnish design group Selki-Asema. Photo by Elina Aalto, Finland.
“A young man enjoying his hot barbeque, sausage, beer, and cigarette after a sauna. An urban warrior determined to hold on to the traditional Nordic lifestyle.”

3. Assorted design objects on a table. By Jonas Forth from Vaasa, Finland.
“A beautiful collection of rare classic vintage design objects. This set belongs in the home of a true design connoisseur”

4. Random Lights by Dutch designer Bertjan Pot. Photo by Timo Arnall from Oslo, Norway.
The Jury couldn’t put it better than a commenter on the site: “It is as if someone is trying to sell happiness”

5. Honorary mention from Design Eero Aarnio: Sari Hermiö’s photo of her cat exploring the EverGreen Watering Can designed by Eero Aarnio.
“A cozy photo that shows a glimpse of a real home with its many inhabitants”

Last but not least, the winner of the popular vote was Helena Hagberg’s photo of three Iittala lanters designed by Alvar Aalto. It received an honorary mention from Iittala.
“A dramatic composition that presents a classic Iittala product in literally a new light”

Congratulations to all the winners!

Hey there Thinglinkers! Our Design in the Wild photo contest award ceremony will take place at the new Eero Aarnio showroom at Erottajankatu 19 in Helsinki, Finland this evening (Wednesday, 5 August). You can RSVP on Facebook now.

If you are local, be there at 7 pm to see the winning photos, meet design legend Eero Aarnio, mingle with friends, photographers, other designers and design enthusiasts, and of course find out which one of the top 10 voted photos the jury awards with the grand prize, a 1960s design Pastil Chair.

Thanks to Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas for sponsoring the beverages, including samples of their new ‘design drink’ Laitilan Brandy Long Drink.

For those who can’t attend, we’ll post the results of the contest on our Thinglink profile and here on the blog soon after they’ve been announced.

Thinglink has an amazingly diverse user base of design experts: collectors, entrepreneurs, consultants, marketing specialists, web designers, curators, researchers… the list goes on. What they all share is that they – we – are excited by the idea of communities around design.

So we decided we should pay more attention to enabling communities to happen on Thinglink.

The first thing we want to do is to simply give more visibility to people who are knowledgeable in a specific area. For example, our users include experts in new Chinese architecture, Scandinavian modernism, vintage audiogear, bikes, graffiti art, Russian lighting design, American contemporary artists, Africa, Japan… the list goes on. Other Thinglink users should be able to find these experts and start following their updates.

So we’ll start gathering a group of Thinglink users who are interested in introducing new things and gardening discussion in their own area of expertise. Are you interested in becoming a featured expert? Here are three things we ask for:

- You have a good knowledge base in your area of expertise that you have acquired through your profession, collecting or blogging
- You are interested in conversing with people in your field and sharing posts weekly
- You are willing to contribute to improving the Thinglink catalog in your interest area

Bloggers, collectors, and curators: this is your chance to easily share and increase your expertise in the design community! Sign up or ask more, info (at) thinglink.com

The people demanded a way to add easily add products while browsing your favorite design/antique/architecture/collector/technology sites. And you know what the people are getting? Exactly that. We are proud to introduce v0.5 of the Thinglink Bookmarklet.  Special shouts out to Thinglinkers Jonas Forth and Sacha Chua for urging us into action.

What can it do?
The Thinglink Bookmarklet allows you to add new products from any site that you regularly visit on the web. Here’s an example of how I used it earlier today:

Bookmarklet v0.5 Introduction from Thinglink on Vimeo.
Music: I still don’t hate you by Junior Major.

Will it work flawlessly?
Not quite yet. But it will work decently, and it will work hard. And it will just keep getting better and better, automatically updating every time we enhance it. Plus, if you do your part and report feedback we’ll get to v1.0 in no time.

How do I install it?
Simple. You can go straight to http://thinglink.com/bookmarklet and follow the instructions. At the moment, we are supporting FF3+, Safari, Chrome, and IE8, so you’ve got some options. You’ll also see a promo on the right column of your home page the next time you log in, with a link to the install page.

I wish you all happy hunting!

We have some good news for all the new-comers and late-bloomers: we have extended the deadline of Design in the Wild Photo Contest 2009 until July 1st!

“Design in the Wild, eh? What’s in it for me?”

PRIZES! The Grand Prize is an original Eero Aarnio Pastil Chair (retail value $1500).  And, each Sponsor can grant one honorary mention to any photo submitted to the contest within the limits of the rules, and reward the photographer with a surprise prize! FYI, those gracious sponsors are: Arabia, Eero Aarnio, Iittala, Martela, Tapiovaara Design, and Woodnotes.

“Okay okay. That’s a pretty serious bounty. What do I have to do?”

The Jury is looking for inspiring images of design in real life settings. The photos should illustrate design at home, in the office, in public, or in nature. They can include people although that is not required. We’ve attached some of examples of what’s been submitted so far.  The picture may be taken by the contestant at any point in time anywhere in the world – or even the International Space Station. The jury will select the grand prize winner from among the ten most voted photos.

“Easy peasy – nobody stands a chance against my genius photography. How do I enter?”

Click this invitation link to create your Thinglink account, if you don’t already have one. Once you’ve logged in, click “Upload photos” and upload your favorite shots. When they are finished, you will be able to find a “Submit this photo” link on each photo’s detail page. Last, but not least, invite your friends to vote for your photo! I mean, that’s what friends are for, right?

For more details, don’t hesitate to contact us Thinglink at info@thinglink.com.

Here’s a short video preview of the Thinglink beta. It gives an idea of what it’s like to browse conversations, products, designer profiles, and photos on the site.

We’re updating the site almost daily, so expect the features and look & feel to keep evolving.

Thanks to everyone who’s sent back feedback on the beta so far. If you’d like to participate, request an invitation here.

(Thanks to The Good News for permission to use their track ‘Backstage Underage’!)