What do AI, Ancient Olympia and Silent Movies have in common?

Each month the members of the council pick a selection of recent social campaigns that have made the news, are funny, intriguing, interesting or unusual, and are great examples of social.

Ancient Olympia

This month we bring Ancient Olympia into the 21st century as we witness the Olympic Torch being lit and follow its progress to #Rio16 on Twitter, Periscope and Vine. The Olympic Flame has its own personality @OlympicFlame (chatty and friendly) and of course, its own emoji.

With a Portuguese and English version Brazil showcases itself to the world and engages with potential tourists, sports fans and its own diverse population. In a country responsible for 10% of all time spent on social media, 2nd only to the US, choosing a social route to follow 106 day relay is a clever way to meet 12,000 torch bearers as it travels from Greece to Rio.

Silent Movies

Our second selection is a powerful demonstration of why Instagram is overtaking other social platforms as the engagement platform of choice. Its ability to use film and photographic content to create and tell stories is taken to the next level by the Toronto Silent Film Festival.

Over 70% of silent films have been lost, so the Festival launched a campaign to help bring forgotten movies back to life.

They turned the festival's Instagram channel into an 'Escape Room' interactive game, getting users to gather clues from a panoramic photo made of 30 different Instagram videos. Each video was shot in first-person view, allowing the user to hunt for clues to work out seven movie titles, and the 7 letters required to let them escape the room.

Artificial Intelligence

Finally, we turn to the future with an example of how AI is being used to build intensely personal relationships.

Your MD is personal health assistant. Accessed via an app, and linked to the NHS, an AI powered chatbot brings diagnosis to Facebook. It is also integrated with multiple other services, including the dispensing and delivery of prescriptions.

This is a great example of how integrated technology is with our everyday lives and how prepared we are to share and engage if we value the reciprocation (see my previous blog on Creative Data).

As AI becomes cleverer, more intimate and increasingly prevalent I can’t help hoping that the I’m talking with Sonny from iRobot rather than HAL9000 from 2001.