It turns out there’s an advantage to old-school search directly from Google.com. Not just content to sit around fine-tuning their algorithm and counting their money, the web wizards of Mountain View, CA have also taken to working some clever tricks and treats into their programming to the delight of users that happen to stumble across or successfully uncover them. These fun little surprises have come to be affectionately known as “Easter eggs,” hence the shade of  hide-and-go-seek involved.

Here’s a few of our faves for your viewing pleasure (Fair Warning: this list is a time drain!):

• Find Chuck Norris…if you can.  Type “Find Chuck Norris” into Google, hit I’m Feeling Lucky, and Google will tell you what’s up with Chuck
• We can only assume that this one is meant as an ode to lost productivity: www.Google.com/Pacman
• Type “Do a Barrel Roll” into the search bar.  We dare you not to turn your head
• Type in “Askew” or “Tilt.” Same dare
• A holiday classic:  type in “let it snow” and watch the magic happen.  You can even defrost your screen and write in the snow with your mouse!
• See if you can find the subtle humor in this one: type in “Recursion.” Get it?
• Type “gravity,” click I’m Feeling Lucky and watch the Google logo defy Isaac Newton
• Ask Google Maps for directions from Japan to China.  You might want to pay close attention to step 42…
• BONUS: Google has a bit of Pirate in ‘em with this next Easter Egg.  Simply click here and have a good time, matey (or whatever pirates call friends)

Picture this: I’m walking through the park with my dog last week and my phone rings.  I take my phone out of my pocket to answer it and I can’t.  Why not?  Because I have gloves on.  I made it work by using the tip of my nose but you can just imagine how silly I looked!

For the rest of my very cold walk through the park I took my gloves off so I could text, take a picture of my dog and answer my phone…I might have been able to do all this with my nose but I choose not to look like an idiot and just let my hand freeze.

Fast forward to last night when I’m Christmas shopping at Target and I happen to come across the perfect present for everyone who has a smartphone:  TOUCH SCREEN GLOVES!  How did I not know about these before?  I ended up buying a pair for all my friends and family with smartphones – which is everyone.  So after my semi-expensive trip to Target, I Googled these gloves and it turns out they are everywhere!

While I realize you (or my boss, hi James!) are probably thinking this has absolutely nothing to do with what we do here at Thoughtprocess Interactive, consider this:  Morgan Stanley’s analysts believe that based on the current rate of change and adoption, the mobile web will be bigger than desktop Internet use by 2015.  That means if you want to get on the internet anytime during the winter in the future (without your hands freezing off) you may want to invest in these touchscreen-friendly gloves.

Or you can just use your nose.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we took an internal survey to recap all that we’re thankful for.

Here are some of the clear winners:

• Family
• Friends
• Kids
• Spouses
• Health
• Employment

And here are a few of the more random replies:

• Soy peppermint mocha latte’s from Starbuck’s
• Alexander Skarsgard
• Habanero peppers
• DVRs
• Alcohol
• Opposable thumbs

And of course, we’re thankful all year round for great clients that trust us to do good work!

Got anything else you’d add to the mix?

I came across this the other day on a blog somewhere and thought it was a great example of clever interactive marketing: It seems Charmin has become the “sponsor” of a little site called sitorsquat.com. Essentially, this site (which has existed in some form since ’07) uses Google maps to locate the closest public restroom to an address entered by a user.

Now, thanks to Charmin, users can download free mobile applications for iPhones and BlackBerrys that use GPS to show you the way to the nearest public pit stop. Not only will you get location, Sit or Squat also lets users rate each restroom based on ick-factor (an average rating above 2.5 is “sit,” below “squat”) so you can avoid less than stellar accommodations (if you have the luxury of being picky).

Being a toilet paper company, this is obviously a great fit for Charmin, and it’s getting them a lot of buzz on blogs and other traditional media outlets-which is the point, of course. What’s so interesting about it though, is that Sit or Squat was a pre-existing site – the lesson being that you don’t necessarily need to be a corporate giant for a good, common-sense interactive site or application to pay off. Certainly, Charmin’s saving some cash by avoiding the cost of custom application development and Sit or Squat now has a corporate sponsor to finance their brainchild and tell the world about it. It’s a win-win.

Something amazing happened to me today. I was just contacted by my future self, via Trillian communication.  Though this experience has been quite magical, I am immensely disturbed to discover that my sense of humor and memory of great movies will be erased by evildoers. I guess all those political comments I made on Twitter caught up with me.

But the good news is that we will still be using Trillian in the future. Here’s your proof:

Burger King has captured the flame broiled essence of a Whopper and put it into a cologne for men. And of course they have a hilarious website to go with it. Genius. I can’t wait to see how Hardee’s answers. And PETA for that matter.

 More at their “Fire Meets Desire” website and a Yahoo Shopping article here. Too bad they are already sold out for the holidays, that would have been a great “white elephant” gift.

Check out this guy

This is pretty darn funny – especially given that it was put out by a company who I can’t say I’ve seen anything fresh and creative from in quite awhile. I hope we see more of this light-hearted, youthful flair in their brand during the next year. In times like these, you’ve got to find a way to reinvent yourself and get noticed.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/

And can I put a plug in for their spend $25 get $10 off coupon they’ve been sending out lately. Another great way to pick up some much needed foot traffic.

San Diego Calc teacher sells ads on his tests to recoup money lost in budget cuts. Brilliant. I’m just glad I’m finished with school because my mother would have bought a large banner at the top of the test threatening me to fail another Calc test…

As we learned from Pulp Fiction, bacon is good. And apparently it’s good for more than eating. Just thought I’d notify you Cyber Monday shoppers of some interesting bacon gifts I discovered thanks to a friend who identifies himself as a bacon (um, we’ll just use the world “fan” instead of what he actually said).  Perpetual Kid has bacon wallets, bacon floss, and my favorite: bacon and egg breakfast bandages.