Chaotic Neutrality

A few weeks ago, the Spore creature creation software and sharing platform (by Electronic Arts) became all the rage. It allowed anyone to download the application, customize their monster, and upload and share the creation with the world.

Creative users came up with lots of funky little Pixar-esque creatures. Some were cute. Some were scary. And then… some were obscene.

The following two blog / article posts details some of the humorous side of the dirty Spore creatures:

1. NSFW: A Beginners Guide To Sporn at Rock, Paper, Shotgun
2. NSFW: Horny Gamers Upload ‘Sporn’ To YouTube at Wired

While incredibly amusing, things like this are definitely a concern when you release a campaign or program of this nature into the wild. User generated content can create some spectacular discussions and collections of knowledge, but it can also go places that were never anticipated.

As user generated content initiatives continue to grow, it will be interesting to see how much moderation and policing needs to continue to happen in order to foster the creator’s intended atmosphere… and what this type of UGC censorship leaves in its wake (whether it makes these UGC worlds better or stifles them).

Whatever happens… Spore porn is pretty funny.

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Mentos launched a viral campaign last month that is pretty cute.

It uses flash as the delivery system and combines some nice video sequences, 3D animations, and an interactive Mortal Kombat-esque kiss battle game to get the job done.

I thought the video was well done even if the game was a bit silly (pleasure bars instead of health bars, for instance).

Definitely worth a look since good viral attempts are few and far between.

See if you have what it takes to master the Mentos Kiss Fight.

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Google, always one to have a great sense of humor, unveiled their plans to take over another planet (Mars) in our solar system via the Google Virgle project.

It’s a pretty good read with a few “laugh out loud” lines included. I’d suggest taking the Virgle Pioneer Test to see if you’re cut out to handle the rigors of a Martian lifestyle.

If you are a worthy candidate, you can submit a 30 second YouTube video with your application so you can “Explain why you want to live on Mars and you could win a coveted slot on the earliest, most uncomfortable and dangerously untested manned space flights to the new New World - or a fabulous prize!”

I’m sure the viral / humor side of this project will be worth a few minutes of everyone’s viewing time!

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