A co-worker sent out a link to The Eco Zoo, created by McCann Erickson Japan. Not exactly sure what it is, but it’s seriously cool.

A 3D environment where you interact with characters on different sections of what looks like the giant beanstalk (minus Jack). You can move around in the environment and click on the characters, which launch Pop-Up books that you can also move around (pretty cool when you spin them around to see the backs with their multi-faceted and layered views. I like that you can see the supports for the characters or the “backdrops” for the “stages.” Kids will eat this alive. Good stuff!

What time is that, you say? SXSW time. The grandfather (probably not a term they’d choose) of all modern conferences. And generally, when people think SXSW, the popular consciousness thinks “music,” but alas, even though I’m a musician (with a semi-professional past), I have never been. No, I’m talking about the red-headed stepchild here (no offense to any red-headed stepchildren out there). And that child, of course, is the Interactive portion of the show.

Looks like this year will have a Twitter hangover, as there seems to be no leading contender to fill it’s shoes, though some might say it’s Meebo. Alas, some trend or app will dominate by show’s end.

Nice this year is the panel picker (or did that start last year), which is a user-generated and submitted process that allows the masses to choose from a long list of panel “ideas,” ranging from the sensible to the outlandish. Seems as though outlandish is in this year (and well, that’s no surprise, eh?).

Just noticed Microsoft is pushing Silverlight on us unsuspecting non-PC and PC types uniformly, though I’m not sure I want to install anything by Gates & Co. on my precious (or is that precocious) Mac. Ah, but maybe since Frog has something to do with, I’ll give it a second thought. And they’ve got a swell-looking opening bash to attend, so maybe I can just view their version instead.

More coverage once I’ve landed. Cheers!