The Curiosity Stop is a monthly snackable report of all things innovative, aimed to interest, inform, and above all, inspire.

1. Curiosity Stop:
The Social Innovation Roundup
February 2016

2. CURIOSITY STOP
After the sell-out success of Innovate or Die at last
year’s Social Media Week, we're bringing Curiosity
Stop: Innovate or Die back to London with a bang on
Tuesday 9th February.
In the fast-paced world of marketing, standing still is
the same as going backwards - innovation is a
necessity, not a choice. This session will give you
practical advice on how to innovate, or die (let’s shoot
for the former).
Want to see the Curiosity Stop come to life, while
tucking into free beer and pizza? Get your ticket here.
We’ll see you at 5.30pm!

3. Curiosity Stop >
February
"Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated
simple." - Charles Mingus
This month's Curiosity Stop highlights several social trends, from doing social
good and crowdsourcing anonymous advice, to the bolting on of additional
functionality to existing platforms and combating cyberbullying.
It struck me that at the core of this month's innovations is the attempt to tackle a
complicated task, or a few, with one simple application. And, if there is never
another mass platform like Facebook, how we need to then have a holistic vision
for how suites of apps will be used together by people and how that can deliver
us insights into their behavior.
Think of it this way: your mobile device is your social platform, and the apps that
you download to it, is the network that you create specifically for you and
reflects your personal social identity. Understanding the relationships between
people and what apps they use (like what causes they support, or what lifestyle
trends they follow), will help us better understand people's behaviors and how
to better convey our messages in the future.
Greg Eckelman
Head of Strategy, New York, We Are Social

4. Trend 1: Conscious
Community
Western society is becoming more conscious
of the effects of our actions on the world
around us. We’re now well informed about
sweatshops and human rights abuses in the
supply chain, which creates a collective feeling
of guilt. Online groups are forming around
interests that actually do something good. This
isn’t hot air, but action.

5. Give your heart away on @Tinder, as
part of its organ donor campaign with
the NHS.
Conscious Community >
Tinder x NHS
What’s it all about?
Folks come to Tinder find love and… well, I’ll leave the
rest up to your imagination. What you might not
expect, while indulging in a swiping session, is to be
asked if you’d like to donate your organs.
Tinder partnered with the NHS to encourage users to
sign up to the organ donor list. If you were to swipe
right on a celebrity Tinderer like Jade Jones, you’d
receive the following message: “If only it was that
easy for those in need of a life-saving organ to find a
match." Gulp.
The bigger picture
Platform ‘hacks’ are as old as social media itself. This
clever interpretation of finding a ‘match’ shows that
hijacking a platform requires more thought than
simply using it for a different purpose than it was
intended.
CLICK TO TWEET:

6. Trend 2: Social Status
Seekers
Seeking Social status isn’t new, but the technology
enabling this behaviour is.

7. Would you trust a stranger (or twelve)
to take care of your love life? Time to
download @nattr_app.
Social Status Seekers >
Nattr
What’s it all about?
Ever painstakingly crafted a text to a prospective
partner, only to run it past your BFF in case you
sound a bit... keen/horny/mad? We’ve all been there.
Nattr is the cyber equivalent of having all your mates
sat round you in the pub, telling you exactly what to
say to the hot guy/girl you met last week. Except
instead of friends, it’s complete strangers. And there’s
no pub. Who’s in?
The bigger picture
Crowdsourcing opinions from the web is nothing new
- forums and noticeboards were one of the web’s
original platforms. Now Nattr has gamified the same
process. CLICK TO TWEET:

8. 3: On The Horizon
These final innovations don’t fit neatly into
our trends (dammit), but we reckon they
are worth a mention. Successful
innovations create expectation, so we’ll be
keeping a keen eye on them. Watch this
space - if they turn into a wider trend, you’ll
be the first to know.

9. On The Horizon >
Uber on Messenger
What’s it all about?
Uber has partnered with Facebook Messenger to
allow users to hail taxis directly from the messaging
app. There’s no need to download the Uber app
separately.
It also means that you can order and pay for your cab
in the same place you organise a night out with your
mates. What a breeze! Unless someone gets drunk
and pukes in the Uber, that is.
The bigger picture
Facebook is pivoting its messenger platform any way
it can to try and drive revenue. Its early attempts to
let Messenger make sweet love with the other apps
on your phone had a mixed response. Now it’s
betting on chat bots and chatty taxi drivers to drive
enterprise revenue.
CLICK TO TWEET:
You can now book your @Uber on
Messenger. Soon you won’t have to
leave Facebook. EVER!!!

10. Netflix and chill* from opposite sides of
the world, thanks to Netflix Party. *The
chill bit might take practice.
On The Horizon >
Netflix Party
What’s it all about?
Binge-watching is an experience best shared. No-
one feels good about a solo Netflix and chill, do
they?
Netflix Party is a Chrome extension which allows
you to watch shows remotely with your squad. It
synchronizes the playback (so no spoilers) and
includes a group chat, for all those OMG moments.
The bigger picture
Experiences are more visceral when they are
shared. Observing reactions similar to your own
reaffirms your feeling of security and connection to
the tribe.
CLICK TO TWEET:

11. On The Horizon >
Crowdmix
What’s it all about?
Crowdmix is a yet-to-be-launched social app,
dedicated entirely to music.
Upon downloading the app, you’ll be greeted with a
feed of posts by brands and other users, including
major artists and celebrities. You can even join
specific ‘crowds’ of like-minded people… exciting
news for all you death metal slash dubstep fans out
there.
The bigger picture
Crowdmix is one of the most eagerly awaited
launches in UK startup history. But will it actually
work? Incorporating brands into the big social
networks was an afterthought. Could the inclusion
of advertisers clip Crowdmix’s wings in those all-
important early days?
CLICK TO TWEET:
Meet @crowdmix, the Instagram of the
music world. That's what they're telling
brands, anyway...

12. On The Horizon >
SafeBeyond
What’s it all about?
SafeBeyond is an app which lets you communicate
with your loved ones from beyond the grave. Here’s
how it works (stay with me here).
First, you line up texts, photos and videos - these
can be general messages or special recordings for
birthdays or wedding days. Then, you appoint
trustees and heirs. Trustees are in charge of
scheduling your messages once you’ve shuffled off
this mortal coil. Heirs are the lucky recipients. Now
all you have to do is hope the app outlasts you.
The bigger picture
Throughout history we’ve been fixated with
cheating death via reincarnation. SafeBeyond dines
out on the grim reality that (spoiler alert) we’re not
going to be here forever.
CLICK TO TWEET:
Use @Safe_Beyond to let your family
know you love them… even after you’ve
popped your clogs.

13. On The Horizon >
Tweeting Drones
What’s it all about?
Want the inside bird scoop? Twitter has applied for
a patent for a tweeting drone, which posts photos
and videos taken itself.
The patent’s got the innovation rumour mill
churning, as it mentions that the drone could be
controlled by likes and RTs. Watch those skies (and
your Twitter feed), folks.
The bigger picture
It’s not buildings and overhead wires that drones
need to watch out for - but legislation. With every
drone that plummets out of the sky and into a large
crowd a new line of red tape will clip the wings of
the burgeoning drone industry.
CLICK TO TWEET:
A little bird told us that there might be
a tweeting drone on the way… Mind.
Blown.

14. Watch what you say online. It might be
coming soon to a billboard near you.
On The Horizon >
Virtual racism, real consequences
What’s it all about?
An unfortunate consequence of the virtual world we
live in is that bullying has gone cyber. Now a
nonprofit group in Brazil is shaming keyboard
warriors into giving up their trolling habit. The Criola
group uses Facebook’s location tag to find where
those guilty of racist online comments live. It then put
up billboards next to the offenders’ houses, to really
drive home the message.
As my mother loves to tell me, “if you can’t think of
anything nice to tweet, don’t tweet at all!” Except
without the tweet bit. She’s yet to work a mobile
phone.
The bigger picture
Social shouldn’t be a standalone marketing discipline,
and this campaign shows how outdoor and social can
be a powerful combo.
CLICK TO TWEET:

15. CONSCIOUS COMMUNITY
Tinder x NHS
SOCIAL STATUS SEEKERS
Nattr
ON THE HORIZON
Uber on Messenger
Netflix Party
Crowdmix
SafeBeyond
Tweeting Drones
Virtual racism, real consequences

16. WE ARE SOCIAL
We Are Social is a global agency with offices in five continents
(Antarctica is a little too chilly for our liking).
We deliver world-class creative ideas with forward-thinking brands, and have fun doing it. Our
clients include adidas, Google and Netflix.
As an international team of 550+, our passion is people. Our mission is to put social thinking at
the centre of marketing.
Trendspotting might get us unnaturally excited, but what really counts is action. If you'd like to
speak to We Are Social about how to make innovation work for your brand, email us at
talktous@wearesocial.net

17. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Take our survey here.