Every snack bag, baby diaper, candy bar wrapper that goes into the trash, is a story waiting to be told. The question is, will the story be a negative one documented by a critic or a positive one created by you?

If the product you market is made from non-recyclable material, it’s getting easier to convert that negative into a positive story. A company called Terracycle is helping CPG brands like Frito Lay and Mars turn their waste into upcycled products like speakers. These re-birth stories are not only good for the planet, but a golden opportunity for business (as evidenced by Terracycle’s success).

Founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University freshman named Tom Szaky, TerraCycle makes affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of non-recyclable waste material. With over 50 products available at major retailers like Walmart and Target, TerraCycle is one of the fastest growing eco-friendly manufacturers in the world. Every month it gives $100,000.00 in $0.02 donations and has are over 8.5 million people in the U.S. actively collecting waste to create its upcycled products.

Whether you Terracycle or not, the real strategic imperative for your brand is “Why do you need a garbage story now?” For a long time consumers felt good about throwing your products into the ‘recycling bin’; every week the garbage man came and the trash just went away (presumably to be recycled). But documentaries like “Bag It” are driving awareness of what ‘away’ really means, not only for the planet’s well-being, but also for ours. As awareness piles up and upcycles into activism, why not tell a garbage story with an eco-happy ending? Now is good…

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P.S. If you’re interested in Terracyle, here’s a look at the media buzz surrounding the concept…

(via: brandchannel)

“Life In A Day” is an historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film: a documentary, shot in a single day, by you.

Every day, 6.7 billion people view the world through their own unique lens. Imagine if there was a way to collect all of these perspectives, to aggregate and mold them into the cohesive story of a single day on earth. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of “Life in a Day,” a historic cinematic experiment that will attempt to do just that: document one day, as seen through the eyes of people around the world. – Official Google Blog

Renowned director Ridley Scott signed on to executive produce the experiment and Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald will edit the most compelling footage. The final documentary is slated to premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Check out the video introduction for “Life in a Day” after the jump:

Life in a Day Introduction

If you’re inspired to join the experiment and determined to make the final cut, here’s some insight into what executive producer Ridley Scott is looking for:

Ridly Scott on “Life in a Day”

If you partake in the experiment, let us know. We’d love to see what a day in your life looks like.

There’s no excuse. You have a digital camera, go out and shoot your film. Seriously, there is no excuse. – Ridley Scott

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Inspired by sites like Craigslist and Freecycle, NeighborGoods is a network to help people save money by sharing things with friends. Started in sunny So-Cal, NeighborGoods has a bright future, hitting the sweet spot of the location-based sharing trend.

Here’s how NeighborGoods works (video):

According to NeighborGoods, the most common bit of feedback they get is, “I wish there were more people near me to share with.” To recruit new people, NeighborGoods integrated Facebook and Twitter into the user experience. Now the stuff people borrow, rent or sell will automatically be broadcast to their friends. With saving money and sharing stuff being über-spreadable, NeighborGoods numbers will swell the more current users share.

While Neighborgoods measures its tangible impact in terms of dollars saved, its intangible benefits as a result of community building could be priceless. On a lighter note, NeighborGoods is simply fun. As username ‘fever’ in Hollywood discovered, “Rockband for Wii. Check. Bike helmet. Check. This party just got a whole lot rowdier thanks to NeighborGoods.” If you’re ever in Hollywood and need a good neighbor, apparently fever is for rent. According to his bio, the going rate is $2 per hour. Now that’s a good neighbor.

Happy sharing.

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Starved for inspiration? Searching for the best viral campaigns? Or just looking for some cool videos to watch?

Here are 3 YouTube channels to keep an eye on:

1) Create or Else
To celebrate what inspires creative ideas, Ogilvy launched Create or Else. Featuring content from all fields, from arts to science to industry and beyond, Create or Else is a blend of UGC and Expert Curation. Guests from creative industries around the world will be invited to curate the channel, bringing content that provokes discussion and the flow of ideas.

(via: prnewswire )

2) YouTube Play
A collaboration between YouTube and Guggenheim, YouTube Play seeks to unearth and showcase the very best creative video from around the world. In contrast to Create or Else, YouTube Play is a contest with some serious perks. Videos submitted to the channel will be judged by Guggenheim’s jury of experts and the most loved work will get displayed at the Guggenheim in NY starting October 21, 2010.

(via: google blog)

3) Show & Tell
Before there was Create or Else and YouTube Play, there was Show & Tell, a collaboration between YouTube and the Art Director’s Club. Show & Tell is a new gallery-style brand channel showcasing the best marketing and advertising campaigns on YouTube. While the channel doesn’t have an intro video à la the previous channels, YouTube Car serves as a nifty proxy.

(via: Social Times)

As each channels grows, we’ll be interested to see which curation-style people gravitate towards. For the most part, YouTube is an endless source of videos. It’s the curation that’s needed to help us find the most inspiring.

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Just when you think the world’s run out of space for ad placements, along comes the digital license plate.

With technology developed by a small San Francisco based company called Smart Plate, ads or images bought by companies or consumers would replace the plate number whenever the car idles for at least four seconds. What’s interesting about the idea, is that drivers will reportedly select which messages are displayed on their license plate (kind of like the ad selector on Hulu or YouTube). With users selecting ads, the new status could be the messages you chose to display versus the kind of car you’re driving.

While some drivers support digital license plates as a new funding source for the cash-strapped state, others are concerned that the ads will distract drivers. We imagine the latter argument won’t hold water though, given that drivers could already be distracted by traditional billboards. In either case, the bill was approved by California’s State Senate without a dissenting vote last month, 25-0, and is currently awaiting final approval in the Assembly.

With more than 32 million registered vehicles in California, digital license plates could be a serious money maker. If California cashes in, look for other states to follow the Golden State.