Keynote Speaker

Hjortur

Marketing
Articles
88
Views
421,000
Location
Reykjavik, Iceland
Member Since
Mar 2007
Hjortur Smarason is a marketing consultant in Reykjavik Iceland, working on branding, concept development and internet marketing at Scope communications.

With background in anthropology and political science Hjortur's main focus is now marketing and the latest trends in the field. Hjortur writes a weekly column on marketing in the national business newspaper, Vidskiptabladid (only in Icelandic) and has a blog about untraditional marketing and social media, Marketing Safari. So if you want to go on a safari through the less traveled roads of marketing, jump on board.

Hjortur is a frequent speaker about marketing and social media and was the editor of the book CoolBrands - An insight into some of Iceland's coolest brands.

Space-Invading Cellphones
Space-Invading Cellphones
The 41 Megapixel Nokia 808 Pureview was Sent up in the Air as a Test
Nokia put its new revolutionary 41 megapixel camera phone, the 808 PureView, to the ultimate test. And what better place to test the robustness of your gadget than Iceland in the winter time? Nokia... MORE
Brainwave Tablet Apps
Brainwave Tablet Apps
The W.I.L.D. iPad Game is Controlled With Your Thoughts
MindGames, an Icelandic start-up company, has released W.I.L.D., the world’s first mind-controlled iPad game. W.I.L.D. stands for "Wake-Initiated Lucid Dreaming," and in the game, players navigate a waking… MORE
Liquid-Like Art Centers
Liquid-Like Art Centers
The Izmir Opera House Proposal from Nuvist Architecture & Design
The competition for the design of the Izmir Opera House in Turkey has brought out some creative architectural designs. This design in particular Istanbul comes from Nuvist Architecture and Design. This… MORE
Covert Concept Cars
Covert Concept Cars
First Spy Photos of the Peugeot H1 Concept Car Caught in Iceland
The first spy photos of the Peugeot H1 concept car were published this morning on an Icelandic auto blog. They were shot yesterday as a team from Peugeot was photographing the car in Reykjavik, Iceland.… MORE
Erupted Volcano Driving
Erupted Volcano Driving
Top Gear's James May Conquers the Hottest Place on Earth in a Truck
Top Gear's James May challenged a volcano--and the volcano sent its clouds of ash all over the UK. Top Gear recently aired the first episode of its 15th season, playing an amazing clip from their second… MORE
Conference-Catering Countries
Conference-Catering Countries
Iceland is Becoming the Hottest Conference Destination
Conference destination managers know location is everything when it comes to attracting guests to conferences. Iceland has become a hot spot for conferences, product launches and promotional videos in… MORE
Pedestrian Helmets
Pedestrian Helmets
Danish Insurance Company Encourages Walking Safety Gear
Scandinavians are known for their emphasis on safety. They invented the seat belt, the safety match, the paper clip, and the Nobel Peace Prize. Actually, though all of those are Scandinavian inventions,… MORE
Accidental Amputations
Accidental Amputations
Man's Penis Amputated by Mistake
Oops, what a mistake to make. Ib Jorgensen, a 42-year-old Dane and a father of two, had a sore penis a couple of years back and went to see a doctor at his local hospital in Odense. The doctors diagnosed… MORE
Volcanic Crater Tours
Volcanic Crater Tours
Real-Life Journeys to the Center of the Earth
In the movie ‘The Journey to the Center of the Earth,’ we follow Brendan Fraser and his guide, the Icelandic Anita Briem, on a journey down the crater of Snaefellsjokull, a legendary glacier-covered volcano… MORE
Eco Cable Winding Gadgets
Eco Cable Winding Gadgets
The Magneat
Have you noticed how some of the best ideas are the simplest ones? Ideas where you find it amazing that no one has come up with them before, because they are – simply brilliant? Magneat is one of those… MORE
Reverse Psychology Election PSAs
Reverse Psychology Election PSAs
A-Listers Say "Don't Vote"
Leonardo DiCaprio made a new video with a few of his fellow celebrity friends, people like Dustin Hoffman, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Aniston, Aston Kutcher, Eva Longoria, Ellen Degeneres, Forrest Whitaker… MORE
Enlightened Fish
Enlightened Fish
Dried Cod Lamps as Art
Uggi Lights, also known as dried cod lamps, are an interesting example of age old tradition re-made. In Iceland people used to hang fish whole to dry and then eat (and actually, they still do). Two Icelandic… MORE
Free Movies to Entice Young Voters
Free Movies to Entice Young Voters
"Slacker Uprising" by Michael Moore
Michael Moore is getting the slackers to vote in November. He’s filling stadiums in 60 cities, in 20 battle field states, to encourage young people to get off the couch and try to vote for once. There’s… MORE
Public Toilet Search Engine
Public Toilet Search Engine
Diaroogle.com for Your Urgent Needs
Do you hate public toilets? I don’t like them, but I hate it even more when I can’t find any, but still need to go. That’s why we now have diaroogle. “Diaroogle helps you find quality public toilets from… MORE
Meta Social Travel Reviews
Meta Social Travel Reviews
UpTake.com
User-generated rating, reviews and testimonials have become essential for the modern traveler. Social travel networks let you check out hotel reviews before booking. After looking at the review, you either… MORE
Animated Graffiti
Animated Graffiti
MUTO in Buenos Aires
Is graffiti art or vandalism? There are different opinions about that, but this is a type of graffiti I haven't seen before. It's animated. An artist that calls him self Blu created this video with of… MORE
Jail Bail Via Twitter
Jail Bail Via Twitter
Student Rescued After Tweet in Egypt
James Buck, an American student studying the new leftists and the blogosphere in Egypt for his Master thesis was arrested when watching riots in Mahalla, Egypt on April 10th. Just after his arrest, he… MORE
3G iPhone Within 60 Days?
3G iPhone Within 60 Days?
According to Cnet News, the legendary tech columnist Walt Mossberg, or Uncle Walt, from The Wall Street Journal has predicted that we will see the next generation of iPhones within 60 days. An iPhone with… MORE
Controversial TV Spot Is 2007's Best TV Ad
Controversial TV Spot Is 2007's Best TV Ad
The Last Supper
Sex and violence are popular methods to catch attention in advertising. But you can make other sorts of controversial ads, like this ad for Siminn, an Icelandic phone company. They are changing history.… MORE
Aquaduct
Aquaduct
Bike Your Way to Clean Water
This innovative bike was the winning submission in the Innovate or Die competition. This unique invention is a tricycle with a built in water filtration system. At the back it has a large water container… MORE
Mutated Mice Play With Cats
Mutated Mice Play With Cats
Who's afraid of the big bad cat? Not this mouse, that's for sure. With the help of Japanese scientist this mouse got her genes "improved" so that she can't smell cats. Her instinct tells her to play dead… MORE
Land Rover LRX Concept
Land Rover LRX Concept
First Photos Reveal Most Eco-Friendly Car to Date
Land Rover revealed pictures of their new LRX concept vehicle that will be officially launched on the NAISA in Detroit in January 2008. Being the first car designed from scratch under the control of the… MORE
Rent a Hydrogen Car
Rent a Hydrogen Car
Iceland Hydrogen Society Now Closer
Hydrogen cars have, so far, mainly been experimental vehicles and not available for the general public. This has now changed in Iceland. Four years ago, a Shell station in Iceland became the world's first… MORE
Alcohol-Filled Art
Alcohol-Filled Art
"Drink Away the Art" Exhibition
Are you one of those people who goes to art gallery openings more for the free cocktails than the strange pictures on the wall that no one can make sense of anyway (at least not sober)? If so, then you… MORE
Google's RE < C Initiative
Google's RE < C Initiative
Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal
Google announced today a new initiative they call "RE < C" which stands for Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal. There aim is to develop methods to produce electricity from renewable sources cheaper than… MORE
Dancing Axonometric Figures
Dancing Axonometric Figures
Halfby Music Video by Groovisions
Do you know those little figures and drawings architects use to bring their drawings to life? Well, now those figures have got a life of their own. Japanese motion graphics firm Groovisions has created… MORE
Smoking Hot Pot Design
Smoking Hot Pot Design
The Sorapot Kettle
You didn't read smoking pot there did you? Just a little Freudian slip? The Sorapot teapot is a great example of out of the box thinking. I love it when an ordinary thing like a teapot is taken and redesigned… MORE
Crack Your Genetic Code
Crack Your Genetic Code
deCODEme DNA Reader
Where did your ancestors come from? Do you have increased risk for a heart disease or Alzheimer? What can your DNA tell? Wouldn't it be nice to know? deCODEme.com is a new website where you can send in… MORE
Famous Aging Cheddar To Be Auctioned
Famous Aging Cheddar To Be Auctioned
Bid on 11 Month Old Wedginald Cheese
Do you remember Wedginald, the West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers' cheddar cheese you could watch mature live on web-TV? We featured it way back in April. Well, it's been almost eleven months since the… MORE
Fake Animal Eats Losing Stubs
Fake Animal Eats Losing Stubs
Japanese Robo-Goat Reduces Litter
If you've visited a petting zoo you've probably experienced how the goats love to chew on anything they can get their teeth on, whether it is a jacket, scarf, trousers or a German farmer's tractor fund.… MORE
Distraction Blinder
Distraction Blinder
The Office Collar by Simon Brewster
Do you or your employees constantly get distracted by the world around you while working in an open plan office environment? Well, don't worry. Simon Brewster has found the solution... the Office Collar!… MORE
Imagine Peace Tower Unveiled on John Lennons Birthday
Imagine Peace Tower Unveiled on John Lennons Birthday
Eight minutes before 8 p.m. tonight, on what would have been John Lennon’s 67th birthday, Yoko Ono unveiled the Imagine Peace Tower in Videy, a small island just outside Reykjavik, Iceland. John Lennon… MORE
Pink Taxis (FOLLOW-UP)
Pink Taxis (FOLLOW-UP)
Breast Cancer Awareness Month In Iceland
Hreyfill, a taxi station in Reykjavik, Iceland has decided to drive under pink taxi signs this month. The aim is to raise awareness of breast cancer as October has been declared "Breast Cancer Awareness… MORE
Hydrogen Car Made of Ice
Hydrogen Car Made of Ice
BMW Art Car
The Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson has now become one of very few artists commissioned to redesign a BMW as a part of the BMW Art Car project. Unlike predecessors like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein,… MORE
All-in-One Home Brewery
All-in-One Home Brewery
The Device
Are you one of those that needs to have everything in your garage? Then this is one gadget you don't want to miss! The all-in-one home beer brewery was designed and built by Popular Science photographer… MORE
Scientists Make Salt Water Burn
Scientists Make Salt Water Burn
Fuel of the Future?
While searching for a way to cure cancer with radio waves, John Kanzius from Erie, Pennsylvania made an amazing discovery. He found a way to make salt water burn. We're not talking about a little fire… MORE

Featured Ideas

Aquaduct
Aquaduct
Bike Your Way to Clean Water
This innovative bike was the winning submission in the Innovate or Die competition. This unique invention is a tricycle with a built in water filtration system. At the back it has a large water container… MORE
Scientists Make Salt Water Burn
Scientists Make Salt Water Burn
Fuel of the Future?
While searching for a way to cure cancer with radio waves, John Kanzius from Erie, Pennsylvania made an amazing discovery. He found a way to make salt water burn. We're not talking about a little fire… MORE
Pedestrian Helmets
Pedestrian Helmets
Danish Insurance Company Encourages Walking Safety Gear
Scandinavians are known for their emphasis on safety. They invented the seat belt, the safety match, the paper clip, and the Nobel Peace Prize. Actually, though all of those are Scandinavian inventions,… MORE
Travel-Friendly Musical Instruments
Travel-Friendly Musical Instruments
The Foldable Electric Guitar
Frederik Johansson is both a guitarist and airline pilot and has had some trouble combining those two things together. You see, his guitar has not been particularly popular on board the airplanes as it… MORE
Lada Brings Cool New Design to the Geneva Motor Show
Lada Brings Cool New Design to the Geneva Motor Show
The Russian car manufacturer, AvtoVAZ, the producer of the Lada brand, has not been known for the coolest of cars. However, their new Lada C is a hip and realistic concept car which is expected to make… MORE
Alcohol-Filled Art
Alcohol-Filled Art
"Drink Away the Art" Exhibition
Are you one of those people who goes to art gallery openings more for the free cocktails than the strange pictures on the wall that no one can make sense of anyway (at least not sober)? If so, then you… MORE
The Dancing Towers
The Dancing Towers
Dubai Business Bay Development
One exceptional masterpiece after another is coming off the drawing board in Dubai. We have previously told you about Dubai Sports City and the Cube. This time, it is the Dancing Towers. The Dancing… MORE
Digital Photo Locket + Camera = The Kodak 1881
Digital Photo Locket + Camera = The Kodak 1881
Photo lockets were once precious, often passed on through generations. Now Kodak has taken the photo locket one step further. No, two steps further. The new Kodak 1881 is high tech digital camera that… MORE
Child Porn Scandal in Second Life
Child Porn Scandal in Second Life
How Will the Real World Deal with Virtual Crime?
A prosecutor in Halle in Germany is investigating a group of pedophiles that have been hunting for prey in playgrounds, buying child pornography, and participating in group rapes of young teenagers. This… MORE
Japan's Wacky Gadgets
Japan's Wacky Gadgets
The Mosaic Show Voice Changing Microphone
It is amazing how innovative many of the things developed in Japan are. It's a gadget that hides your eyes and changes your voice so that you can express yourself more freely. It's perfect for the shy… MORE
Serpentine Gallery Pavilions
Serpentine Gallery Pavilions
2007 Addition is a Snail Shaped Timber Structure
Each year, London's Serpentine Gallery releases a temporary pavilion designed by a cutting edge architect. The 2007 pavilion, designed by Oafur Eliasson, has just been unveiled. The Icelandic artist… MORE
Imagine Peace Tower Unveiled on John Lennons Birthday
Imagine Peace Tower Unveiled on John Lennons Birthday
Eight minutes before 8 p.m. tonight, on what would have been John Lennon’s 67th birthday, Yoko Ono unveiled the Imagine Peace Tower in Videy, a small island just outside Reykjavik, Iceland. John Lennon… MORE
Rent a Hydrogen Car
Rent a Hydrogen Car
Iceland Hydrogen Society Now Closer
Hydrogen cars have, so far, mainly been experimental vehicles and not available for the general public. This has now changed in Iceland. Four years ago, a Shell station in Iceland became the world's first… MORE
Meta Social Travel Reviews
Meta Social Travel Reviews
UpTake.com
User-generated rating, reviews and testimonials have become essential for the modern traveler. Social travel networks let you check out hotel reviews before booking. After looking at the review, you either… MORE