You know the drill: follow Upshot on Twitter to keep up on the latest SXSW Interactive news. It’s only three days away!
We’ve already mentioned that location is the watchword at this year’s SXSWi, but we’d advise you to keep your eyes out for news on QR codes as well. Longtime readers know that we’ve been [...]

Since it was posted just as we were heading out to vacation, we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss the annual NYC Holiday Window Survey from the fine folks at PSFK.
The hundred or so images certainly indulge in the fantastical and whimsical, with our personal favorites coming from the imaginative “Compendium of Curiosities” series [...]

Click here. Just do it. I promise it will be one of the most soothing, indulgent experiences you’ve ever had on a website.
We’ll see you back here in fifteen minutes.
[Waiting... waiting...]
Ahh, don’t you feel better now? I don’t know if it’s that cutesy droplet-y sound, or the fluid, angular motion of the menu, but scrolling [...]

We keep saying it – augmented reality is rapidly moving from goofy toy to practical application.
Next up, Zagat’s free NRU smartphone app (which is supposed to sound like “near you,” but sounds more like “niroo”), which will plot Zagat-rated restaurants in your vicinity on a virtual compass. Now if only they could integrate these famous [...]

What an excellent use of The OOC. (And, dare I say, a Simple Idea, Brilliantly Activated?)
Benjamin Moore’s new “Color Capture Ben” iPhone app lets you snap a photo of any color you come across, and then identifies the corresponding paint color from their catalog. If their pre-made colors don’t match, you can save the image [...]

Continuing our discussion of Chris Anderson’s study of free stuff…
“Free” might mean “zero dollars,” but let’s not forget that their are other labor and service costs associated with free stuff. Really savvy marketers resolve this dilemma by using the free services to create something of value by harnessing collective efforts; in other words, we’ll provide [...]

Y’know all the talking we’ve been doing about delightful, hidden surprises? You didn’t think those we’re limited just to web design, photo tagging, and packaging, right?
The brand new District Bar has thrown down the gauntlet on all the other local bars that are jumping on the Speakeasy train by including a secret room that’s only [...]

PSFK has some nice coverage (and images) of VitaminWater10’s recent pop-up store in Soho. Of note, the pop-up wasn’t just about flavored waters and their lack of calories, since there’s not a whole lot of fun in that particular conversation. Instead, VitaminWater decked the place out like the greatest coffee shop of all time, replete [...]

Whoa, someone seriously one-upped the cardboard artist guy we mentioned last month.
The above image shows an Amsterdam-based agency whose interior was completely redesigned using only interlocking pieces of reinforced cardboard. No glue. No screws. No nails. No Nothing. Oh wait, some Nothing – that’s the name of the agency. Ba-dum-dink!
More info available from PSFK.

Oh Jet Blue. While your peers are charging me checked bag fees, ‘breathing on-board oxygen’ fees, and ‘just because we hate you’ fees, you’re offering me pimped-out tapas bars and sushi in the airport terminal. You’re not… ‘taken’… are you?  I just think we’d be really good together.
If you’re smitten like me, indulge yourself in [...]