December 9th marked 10 whole years of existence for The Barbarian Group, and we had this big ol’ party to celebrate.

For this auspicious occasion, we built an iPad gallery displaying great moments in Barbarian history, chronicling everything from our pneumatic beer cannon to that one time a few of us got arrested.

If you couldn’t make the party in NYC (or if you partied a little too hard and missed the gallery the first time), you can still revel in that great historical volume. Ladies and Gentlemen, Great Moments in Barbarian History.

Yesterday at BB King’s, smack in the middle of Times Square, a few “thinkers and makers” got together to discuss ‘Making Things vs. Saying Things.’ We say a lot of things in advertising—in fact, saying things is often half the battle. Let’s not discount the magic of saying things, it’s those initial things that we say that get us to the point of being able to make something. Well, at least, that’s how it works in advertising.

The social media table is equal opportunity, not just for the meme-lusting instapapering digitista I am and those social savvy multitasking experts with whom I have the privilege of working. Yes, there’s a learning curve, but there have been other, harder learning curves that the Boomers have mastered. And this piece is not meant to generalize, as most certainly not all Boomers are dormant in social channels. But there’s a need to level the playing field of social media in an entirely refreshing way.

Oh hello world.
Almost didn’t see you there, all wine-less and cheese-less. Pity. Those two things look terrific on you. Would you like some tips and learned opinions? I’ve been deeply ensconced in the research of both since last we touched noses, and have much to report from the field.

The Festival of Ideas for the New City represents a major undertaking for the New Museum, one of TBG’s longtime collaborators. An extremely ambitious project for The New Museum, the festival will include panels, conferences, projects, presentations, and exhibitions culminating in a two day street festival in downtown New York City.

TBG worked with The New Museum to create a simple but content-rich site where users can plan their festival visit – organizing events by date, time, location, event type and event content via the interactive map or the schedule on the Plan Your Visit page – while following the latest festival news. Whether you’re interested in attending a panel with David Byrne of Talking Heads fame or taking a bike tour of the city led by an iPhone, there is truly something for everyone.

If you’re in town this weekend, we hope you’ll stop by what is sure to be an exciting first in New York City history!

The holidays are upon us! And you know what that means—helping futuristic jetpack-riding elves make some kick-butt toys enhanced with the latest tech from GE. No? Well, it is now!

You might remember when we redesigned Santa’s Sleigh last year incorporating all of GE’s sweet new innovations. Well, this year we’re taking it to the workshop! Earn points by pairing up each GE technology with its matching toy. Once they’re GE-enhanced, they get sent off to Santa to deliver. We’re featuring 6 of GE’s coolest new technologies in the game—and while they may seem futuristic, these things really exist! You’ve gotta see the stuff they’ve been working on, it really is mind-blowing.

And of course, you can flaunt your score all over the place—challenge your Facebook friends, print a certificate of completion and hang it above your desk, send an email to your mum—but we’ll leave that part up to you.

So grab your carbon fiber hoverboards and fly on over to play the game! It’s catchy. And once you’ve finished, post your score up on the Edison’s Desk Facebook page. GE is donating $5 to Toys for Tots for every post. If that doesn’t make you feel all warm and Christmasy inside, we don’t know what will. Plus, we love seeing who’s the first to beat our high scores.

Over the last 30 days, 9 Barbarian dudes (plus Benjamin, who had to bow out last week) made it their mission to barbarianize Movember.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Movember is an initiative that aims to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG. Dollars are raised by guys selflessly growing (mostly inappropriate) mustaches over the month of November, while leveraging the support of their friends and families to donate to the cause. Because, after all, if they can be gallant enough to grow potentially offensive facial hair for a month, we can hopefully give up a buck or 2?

So check out the before and after pics, and if you’re impressed by their fierce efforts and would like to contribute to the cause, please show us your love by donating here (even $5 goes a long way) before Friday 12/3.

Click through here for the before and after shots. You know you want to.