confessions of a hypercubist

In the spirit of honesty and transparency, I'm going to dig a little deeper and just show myself a bit more as a participant in these crazy hoopla that is the hypercube. As an experienced confidante and leader, the best way to get people to open up and share a bit of themselves is to be the first to open up. So here's a bit of myself on this entry.

This may seem very esoteric and geared for only those participating in this hypercube foofara, so I apologize for that. And for the hypercubists, I guess as you read along, if you can relate, send me a tweet or leave a comment.

• upon seeing awesome flash canvases, like SeanSiddals, Luv3, and ekysmon (and many more) made me feel a lot inadequate. definitely having some flash envy.
• does anyone else find Greg Szcebel's commercial jingle super catchy? (although we have different views on squares and cubes)
• Cool! I'm not the only person in this contest who loves their kid(s)! Families Rock!
• voting for fellow hypercubists has been a great way to support each other. but because this is a competition there were times when I was hesitant in voting for those in the top 50 with full knowledge that votes are only 20% of the final decision. mmmmhmmm... add the word contest and my competitive instincts come out.
• faced with mini moral dilemmas like that above were resolved when I took comfort in the Golden Rule. Whatever you call it... "Good Karma," "Do Unto Others..." it feels good to do the right thing.
• 'Enthusiasm? What does that mean exactly?'
• brush teeth for bed? or work on canvas? CANVAS!
• Damn... this man is crazy! He would definitely be that dude standing on the table at Grandma's Tea Party.
• @tswizz's outgoing craziness is the female equivalent of Cube Man.
• hypercubists really are that supportive and friendly.
• is this cubist... Amy Winehouse's Cousin? or Andy Samberg from SNL? (i'm not teasing! it's just a small observation)

With only 4 days left to vote and this contest coming to a close, It will be a bittersweet conclusion. The intensity of being creative throughout these 30 days has been an awesome challenge for me personally. But on the flipside, it's been very exhausting, especially with limited sleep due to our 4 month old baby, and traveling to 3 different cities over the past 3 weeks for work.

Whatever happens after this, I'll be glad that it'll be a much more relaxed atmosphere for the hypercubists, where time spent on tweaking our canvases could then be invested into getting to know one another more. And on a very personal and selfish note, I can spend more time with my wife and daughter, who have really been my support and motivation throughout this.

To the hypercubists... we're in the homestretch ladies and gentlemen. Let's go out with a huge bang and show Canada (and the world) what we're made of! Hooraaa!

cubing the future

Like I mentioned in my previous cube blog, the hypercubists have turned this competition upside down... and have made this into a real network of creative people. For me it's become almost an art gallery of personalities. People from all walks of life, with different perspectives, experiences, hopes, dreams and passions (among other things) have openly shared themselves to be put on display. As well, we've all become gallery patrons, taking all this in.

As a community builder, I know a vibrant community life can only happen with everyone's willingness to give and share for a common purpose. So with the hypercube challenge more than halfway done, I'm starting to think what will happen to the hypercube community after it's initial purpose of giving away cool cars is accomplished. Will people still have the same enthusiasm and drive to show themselves once the voting comes to a close on May 15th?

The hypercube twittered a few questions about what will happen to the hypercube community? So if it's not too late I'd like to take a stab at the possibilities of what's next. (in point form... let's keep it quick and fast paced!)

Creative Network

• it already is, but being able to connect with creative people for whatever creative needs you may be seeking. Need a singer for your band? how about a graphic artist to finish your t-shirt? the hypercube will hook you up!
• like minded individuals can definitely get together for some great entrepreneurial fun. or the very least, a community of businesses with similar visions, helping each other succeed.

Community Fun

• hopefully Nissan can sacrifice a cube (or more a year) to give away. I think it'll keep the hypercube community focused and challenged to keep up the creativity. A cube would be great! or even small giveaways would help as well.
• the creative challenges could be themed (maybe not particularly cube related) and those themes could be suggested by the community or by a special celebrity guest who would judge it.
• totally random, but even a cube photo scavenger hunt. teams of 5 hypercube community members go around their closest big city for some random photos with the cube for a chance to win.... something cool.
• for those who purchase a cube (and for the hypercube winners) they receive exclusive content or something... it's sort of elitist, but come on... they own the car that started off this whole thing!

Community Tweaks

• i agree with the other twitter friends, that @thehypercube should be the same person
• if this evolves to a creative network, maybe a more in depth bio with their canvas. so they can state their areas of expertise.
• the canvas is a medium of expression. so people can really just use their canvases to communicate ideas, share their ideas etc. Almost like a blog entry without being confined to just words.

Other Things

• for the media launch event in June when the winners are being announced and the car is making its official appearance, I really hope that Nissan utilizes the talents of the hypercube community. How you ask? Well...
  • Hopefully the musicians can be asked to play at the event
  • That some of our great talented graphic artists can help provide and design something for the event: posters, hand outs, flyers, brochures, t-shirts.... whatever!
  • Performances by the dancers, steppers, breakers. and so on...
  • Videos created by our animators, film makers and acting talent to be shown during the days festivities
  • if possible, even set up booths where people can show off some of their stuff.... their apparel, their trinkets, wood cuts, paintings... etc.
  • have hot dogs.... really good ones. I'm sure one of the hypercubists can make great hot dogs.

These are just a few ideas, that have come over the past few days. I'm sure with more time to think we can all come up with even greater ideas and possibilities. That's what's great about community life. It continues to change and transform as the people in it become more empowered, informed and more involved. It's only been 16 Days officially, and the people have already transformed this hypercube. Just imagine what can happen over a span of a few years.

And with that I would like to address Nissan directly:

ahem, Mr (or Mrs.) Nissan,

You've gone this far in engaging the "creative class", and by creating this community through your social media experiment. This may not have turned out like you expected, but here we are. And we are gosh darnit glad to be here.

I know you're a multinational business with a katrillion dollars or so in your wallet. So now that you've got the hypercubists attention (and the attention of thousands of others), I ask you one thing... and that is to keep investing. Keep investing into these people and those who will join us from now on. Invest in these people so that they can keep expressing themselves through art, through word, through photography, through video, through their families, through their experiences. There's a lot to say about everything in this world... so please let these people speak.

Please don't leave us hanging once you've accomplished your big business scheme. We are people, and people is what will make your business more than just a consumer brand. You have the chance to be bigger than yourself.

So it's on you. We're here because you called. So let's start thinking on where WE can go from here.

Love,
Efren (1 of 500 hypercubists)

the power of cube

You would think a competition giving away free cars would be ruthless and gory. But thankfully the people (participating) have risen to the occasion.

It's been officially DAY 6 of the Nissan hypercube challenge, and I'm happy to report that the people taking part in this challenge have already turned this into a giant network of creative and friendly people. Most of the canvas' have really shown a "comfortable-in-my-own-skin" type of vibe to them which is great! as a person who works with and for a community of people, I know first-hand that those who may not give that vibe of self-assurance can add a different dynamic to everyone's interactions. People get territorial, they try to dominate and all sorts of fun stuff, which cause even more types of not so friendly reactions. And then you add the online attitude of anonymity="i can say whatever the heck i want", then it gets really ugly. Of course, the moderators running this site will keep it clean, but the hypercubists thankfully have kept it more than classy.

I mentioned to my LinkedIn Hypercube group that this competition is being almost "tweaked" by the hypercubists into a place where we can celebrate our creativity and personalities. Greater still, is that fellow hypercubists have been supporting each other by voting for each other! Who knew that this funky little car (and an innovative approach by Nissan) would turn a competition into an online community.

I'm a big believer in the goodness of people, and the hypercubists are a prime example why. We've turned something already great into something awesome. We've been able to give some depth and dimension to a regular square competition. Now that's what it means to be a hypercubist.

cheers!

mutual cube love

wow. this whole cube quest has been awesome so far. and technically it's only the 2nd day!

after putting my own canvas up i was finally able to check out some of the other hypercubists. there are some creative and very funny people in this 500, and i'm trying to enjoy everyone of them. i have to tip my hat to the Nissan Marketing team, not only for a fresh approach to a product launch, but more so for an avenue to challenge people to put themselves out there in a creative way. for myself personally, it's been fun just trying to be... well... CREATIVE.

i wanted to share a few of my favourite canvases that are up so far. as a desktop publisher/graphic designer/tshirt creator I'd like to think I have a keen eye for design. so some of my favs our just straight visually appealing while some i find either super honest, clever or just straight funny. so here they are:

• ekymson - nice use of flash and great concept!
• brandonjmckay - once again, nice use of flash, simple, clean yet and honest. saaaweet.
• birdalert - this lady's work is AMAZING! and it's all on wood? wow!
• big_owen - as a budding tshirt guy, i love this guy's one-of-a-kind designs! cubetastic!
• Ben(3PO) - you should click on his other work... funny as heck, dark... but still funny as heck
• syntheticono - i'm all about keepin' it real. this man is real.
• tayfife - great artist, and his company "Provadenic Clothing.Design.Art.Music" has a great vision! it's similar to what i'm hoping to start up, so let's connect!
• tystyle - by far, one of the most aesthetically appealing canvases. eyegasm definitely.

these are only a few... there were a bunch more i ran into, but i'm too lazy to search for them right now. but great work hypercubists! it tip my cube to you!

now back to work...

respect the cube.

everyone likes free stuff. especially when that stuff is... let's say a free car.

the nissan cube