Vancouver International Digital Festival

User generated content over lunch

This weekend, I made a quick trip to the Big Apple. While waiting for my dive of a hotel to get my room ready, I wandered about Chelsea looking for a bite to eat. This is quite a pleasant experience as there’s almost too much to choose from. One place caught my eye though. A well-designed, clean-lined joint called Swich. Inside the white and lime green interior, a long white table for communal eating with well spaced out chairs occupied the center. A menu full of delicious sandwich concoctions greeted me at the counter. I ordered and sat down.

Then I noticed that a big screen was above the counter and playing some very unconventional looking tv. A girl, probably an art school student, was playing charades on the screen. People at the counter were guessing what she was doing. “Movie…two words…first syllable.” I was fascinated. She was good and my companion even guessed the right answer. After her segment ended, a number of people doing very amateurish and hilarious but strangely beautiful dancing came on. I looked down at the paper menu beside me and saw written at the top: “Got something for SwichTV? Let us know!” It was followed by an email address. They had their own user generated tv. More reliable than Youtube, it was also low-budget, creative, and somehow more human and connective than TV. It was very simple, but engaged the lunch crowd in a fun and low-key way.

This kind of creative use of entertainment media in social space was evident everywhere in New York, even if, at times, it was overwhelming. Still, I thought a lot about its potential for Vancouver too. This is just the kind of creative application needed to get digital media more thoroughly ingrained in daily life, and even enriching it. With all of our coffee shops, we could be at the forefront. Plus, it seemed good for business and offered a great example of how design can integrate a complete experience. Swich has made quite a splash in New York and they’ve even catered for Martha Stewart and the Food Network. The food is good, but I think it’s SwichTV that puts them over the top.

To find out more about Swich, here’s an interview with the owner.