Hi there 👋
I’m Hannes, a Computer Scientist with a passion for growth marketing. This powerful combination gives me a unique perspective of the ever-changing realm of the Internet, how people use the Internet and how best to deliver results for businesses.
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I like creating stuff: photos, music, websites, videos…
Here are a few things I’ve created
Bulby
- In 2022, I co-founded Bulby with my wife, Birna Dröfn Birgisdóttir.
- Bulby is an AI-powered web app and the first version is focused on helping remote teams problem-solve and brainstorm better – getting more ideas and more innovative solutions to challenges, big and small.
Málið.is bookmarklet
- Launched November 16, 2017 (Icelandic Language Day)
- I created the Málið.is bookmarklet so people can easily look up Icelandic words to check spelling and grammar.
- The tool has gotten a very nice reception – especially among copywriters.
- Somebody wanted to award me the Icelandic Order of the Falcon 😉
- Another delighted user said I was one of her favorite Hannes’s (if not the favorite).
Presentation about social media and policies
- A presentation (in Icelandic) I gave on May 16, 2013 about social media marketing and social media policies at a conference called Social Business – Vinnuumhverfi framtíðarinnar (which translates to Work environment of the future), organized by Nýherji and TM Software in co-operation with IBM.
- The title of my presentation was Stefnan sett á samfélagsmiðla (which is a play on words, but translates to The policy/direction put on social media).
When Tumblr Is Down
- Went live in 2008, went viral in 2010
- The microblogging platform and social networking website Tumblr is sometimes down. Well, it used to be down a lot more in 2008 when I created the website WhenTumblrIsDown.com, inspired by WhenTwitterIsDown.com (RIP) and other great single-serving websites like Barack Obama is your new bicycle and When Obama wins.
- This site copies the (old) look of the error page on Tumblr and displays a random message (from a batch of over 50) related to Tumblr and its culture about why Tumblr is down, what you should do or what you are missing.
- This website has gotten a lot of press – especially around the “December 2010 Tumblr blackout”: Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, Techland @ TIME.com, The Atlantic, The Next Web, msnbc and hundreds of other people linking to it and sharing the website on social media.
- There were even a few “Tumblr celebs” that saw the website and posted about it: Yimmy Yayo, Hype Machine crew, topherchris, Coke Talk…
- Oh, and I also created When Instagram Is Down and When Facebook Is Down ;)
Loro
- In 2013, I co-founded Loro with my (now) wife, Birna Birgisdóttir. We combined our expertise of creativity and digital marketing to help entrepreneurs grow their business.
- We created articles, creativity chatbots & video courses like Entrepreneur Starter Kit to help startups create and market their ideas.
- We’ve since pivoted that into Bulby.
Presentation about email marketing and responsive email design
- A presentation (in Icelandic) I gave on October 10, 2013 about email marketing and responsive email design at a conference about web solutions and online marketing for the travel industry, organized by TM Software. The title of the presentation was Markpóstar sem hitta í mark.
New York City Hyperlapse
- The app Hyperlapse (from Instagram) was released shortly before we went on vacation to NYC in 2014. It was a great opportunity to try out Hyperlapse and record a few short clips. I put them together, added a fitting song and out came this video.
- This video is part of a permanent exhibition at a museum in Luleå, Sweden – the exhibition is created in collaboration with Facebook, around their data center there.
Presentation about Search Engine Optimization
- A presentation (in Icelandic) I gave on October 18, 2012 about search engine optimization at a conference about web solutions, organized by TM Software: Töff Stöff! Veflausnadagur TM Software. The title of the presentation was Vefsíðan sem vildi athygli – dæmisaga um leitarvélabestun.
The Only Kid It’s Okay to Bully
- Published on March 18, 2015
- 5-Second Films make absurd, funny and very short videos. Because of their Kickstarter campaign I got to submit an idea for a 5-second film they then made, which they called The Only Kid It’s Okay To Bully.
- Their fans seem to like my idea/script – here are a few select YouTube comments: “Not bad, 5SF. Not bad. I’m glad you have some good prompts in the mix.”, “The description was funnier than the video” and “Best Prompt/Sketch to date gg”.
- Views: 160,000+
Presentation about social media
- A presentation (in Icelandic) I gave on October 18, 2012 about social media marketing at a conference about web solutions, organized by TM Software: Töff Stöff! Veflausnadagur TM Software. The presentation was called Í hvernig sambandi ertu á samfélagsmiðlunum?
Don Comodo
- In 2016 I launched Don Comodo, an online store selling e.g. t-shirts and sweaters.
- It was a creative outlet and a sandbox to do various experiments.
Presentation: Growth Hacking and Other Smart Digital Marketing Tactics
- Icelandic Startups asked me to talk to the teams at the Startup Tourism incubator about growth hacking and other digital marketing tactics – help them succeed in making their idea a reality.
- Presented February 11, 2019.
The Loo (photo series)
- In 2021 I did my first private photo exhibit that I called ‘The Loo’. The series had been in the works for over 10 years and included photos of more than 400 toilets. The exhibit was held at Núllið Gallerý, Bankastræti 0 (Reykjavík, Iceland) – where there used to be public toilets for a long time, last century.
- 2 years later I noticed a trend around the content format of lots of photos, fast cuts, and a Kendrick & Radiohead mashup. I thought this photo series was fitting for the trend – and it seems like a lot of people agreed, because the video went viral on TikTok (~600,000 views).
Presentation about the growth funnel
- Fjártækniklasinn (The Fintech Cluster) asked me to speak at their event called ‘Secrets of Digital Marketing’. The presentation was called Vaxtartrektin (Growth Funnel) – 5 skref til að hjálpa fyrirtækjum að vaxa where I went briefly over the Growth Funnel: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, and Referral.
- Presented December 3, 2020.
Silly dot Tumblr dot Com
- I regularly come across silly and funny things on my travels around the Interwebs. I’ve posted a few select LOL-worthy pieces on silly.tumblr.com since February 2008.
Noise Orchestra (one-man band)
- I’ve been playing around making electronic music for a while under different monikers. My first song published on Spotify (and other streaming platforms) is called ‘Army of Ants‘ under the moniker ‘Noise Orchestra‘ (that I use for “harder” electro).
Collaborative art exhibition (Reykjavik Culture Night)
- I participated in a collaborative art exhibition organized by Arion Bank in connection with Reykjavik Culture Night. The art work was on display on bus stops and other billboards August 20-27, 2013 and the exhibition was called Götusýningin 2013. My piece was a photo I took at the Coney Island train station while I was in New York in 2010.
Article with 8 SEO tips
- Written with Soffía Kristín Þórðardóttir while working at TM Software. It’s in Icelandic and the title is Leitarvélabestun – 8 hollráð til að hjálpa vefsíðunni þinni að klífa hærra á Google which translates to Search Engine Optimization – 8 Tips to Help Your Website Rank Higher on Google.
Presentation about Google AdWords
- A presentation (in Icelandic) I gave on March 2, 2011 about Google AdWords (pay-per-click advertising) at a conference about search engines mainly for people in the public sector, organized by Ský: Leitið og þér munið finna.
- The title of the presentation was “Milljarðar vefsíðna, finnst síðan þín? Ávinningur kostaðra tengla með réttri notkun”.
The Big List of Icelandic Developers
- In 2010 I was working with a small team on a startup/side project and we needed more developers. My friend, Ragnar Freyr, had already made a website he called The Big List of Icelandic Designers and Creatives and I was inspired to create a similar list of my own, focused on Icelandic developers. There is also an accompanying Twitter list to let you get a sense of the current mood of the Icelandic development community.
- It’s a pleasure hearing about companies and individuals using this list as a reference to find potential employees and contractors, because that was pretty much the goal of this project :)
Hress: Annual playlist of upbeat songs
- Since 2005 I’ve been creating annual playlists full of upbeat and energetic songs that I discover (or really like) that year.
- I started collecting them in iTunes, but after setting up my Spotify account I’ve been creating the playlists there.
- Some recent playlists can be found here: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Bacon Friday
- Twitter account created with Brian Suda where we posted a bacon-related link every Friday from 2008-2018. Which means we posted over 500 bacon-flavored links.
- We also created the single-serving website IsItBaconFriday.com.
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