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The Modernista! approach for a good cause Perhaps there's an emerging Web aesthetic: the Modernista! school. Many have debated the (de)merits of the Boston shop’s Web 2.0 “un-Web-site” that directs users to content around the Web. (Some say Modernista! didn’t pioneer the approach, giving credit to Minneapolis agency Zeus Jones for doing it first.) Now, StrawberryFrog is using the Modernista! tack with GirlSmiles.org, a charity site set up for Nanhi Kali, a fund to educate poor children in India. Navigate to the site and you’ll get a familiar unsettled experience, with the Nanhi Kali (“Save the girls”) logo appearing in the corner of the screen. Clicking on the links takes visitors to sites across the Internet. The “About” page is the Nanhi Kali Wikipedia entry, the “community” link goes to the Facebook page, and so on. Despite the striking similarities, Frog CEO and prolific blogger Scott Goodson says work on the site began in February (with help from AlbertKen in Sweden), two months before Modernista! launched its agency site. Besides, he adds, the effort isn’t about self-promotion but could “reinvent the way non-profits build social relationships with people [at] a time when social media is a totally new and hugely powerful medium.” Check it out. Goodson urges you to follow Supertramp’s words of wisdom: “Give a little bit of yourself.” —Posted by Brian Morrissey

April 23, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

Started in February, huh? The Wikipedia page wasn't created until April (and Modernista!'s site launched in early March)

Posted by: | Apr 23, 2008 6:10:02 PM

It's all good people. Having worked in this biz for close to 20 years, I have seen many similar idea's form from many agencies with no connection or ripping off at all. One of the Bee Gee's said that the songs are out there in the collective consciousness and they just tuned into them. Jung, I think, was right. M! had never seen or heard about the ZUES JONES site, and yet the idea is similar. I think Scott is onto something regarding how causes mobilize and it's a nice site.

Oh,

we used that Super Tramp song in a GAP TV ad a few years ago.

Coincidence? :)

Posted by: lance J | Apr 23, 2008 6:31:33 PM

I think when I was in college, one of my art professors referred to this as "parallel invention." The first jumps from abstraction to "non-objective" art, as an example, was pretty much happening with Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg at the same time. For each, it was the next logical step...

Posted by: John | Apr 23, 2008 8:30:59 PM

Albert Camus said, "It is normal to give away a little of one's life in order not to lose it all."

Posted by: Daniel Piersa | Apr 24, 2008 12:24:49 PM

TTG finds this type of website to be very annoying. TTG is a simple man and likes to keep his websites simple and easy to navigate.

Posted by: TunaTacoGrande | Apr 24, 2008 3:05:28 PM

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