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Posts in August 2011


Investment Advice from the Crowd

Investment Advice from the Crowd

Aug-31-11 By Aminda
If stock market experts were so expert, they would be buying stock, not selling advice.
How Africa is Aiding Africa

How Africa is Aiding Africa

Aug-30-11 By Aminda
Africa is quickly gaining a reputation as the land of opportunity, with the thriving technology hub of east Africa being compared to Silicon Valley. What is it that is fueling this transformation?
According to Jon Gosier, director of Ushahidi, the answer is Hunger. “It’s natural progression,” said Gosier. “In parts of the world that have essentially been discounted by everyone as sources for innovation, there will always be people who actively work against that mischaracterization. They’ve always been there, they’re just now getting recognized for the work they are doing, or the work they’ve enabled their children to do.” New technologies are aiding nations in overcoming the large hurdles they face in economic development.
The Rise of Robotics

The Rise of Robotics

Aug-29-11 By Aminda
A recent edition of Forbes Magazine (U.S.) has a feature article dedicated to the future of robots. From help around the house help, laboratory assistance, to help for the military, robotics is poised to be the next big technology.
Ryan Calo, director of the American Bar Association Committee on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence estimates that by 2015, robotics will be a 6 billion dollar industry. He believes that rapid growth of the industry will be incentivized by open robotics and has published a white paper explaining why. A look back at the PC industry provides motivation. When the first microcomputer was introduced in 1975, it had no clear purpose. However, thousands of electronics enthusiasts ordered the computer kit, simply to tinker and figure out what they could do with it.
Two New Startups Aid Scientists

Two New Startups Aid Scientists

Aug-25-11 By Aminda
Research organizations have two potential new services to enlist for research or lab management. The two companies have been launched by Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley-based funding and mentorship program that has funded more than 300 startups since 2005, including Reddit and Posterous.
Science Exchange, is an online marketplace for science experiments, letting researchers outsource their experiments to other labs for a fee. From DNA sequencing to chemical analysis, research can be outsourced to scientists at core facilities of major research universities who have the capacity to conduct the experiments. Once an experiment is listed, scientists bid for it, allowing the poster to choose the best price or level of service. Once a bid is accepted, the site provides tools to help track project from start to finish, including payment transaction.
Preserving the Past

Preserving the Past

Aug-24-11 By Aminda
With today’s pace of change it feels like the future comes at us at warp speed. The mind boggling speed of life is enough to makes us want to slow down and appreciate where we’ve come from. Perhaps that explains the popularity of online history projects. Today, anyone can contribute to preserving memories— here are a few examples.
“Seeing” Old San Francisco
A 1906 fire in San Francisco led to mass destruction of the city’s structures. Now, a project is underway to revive a detailed set of maps drawn the year before the fire to recreate historic San Francisco. The maps have been scanned in high resolution, making them accessible from mobile phones so the public can help "geo-rectify" the maps. “It gives you context for the neighborhood you live in,” says one of the project’s founders. You can figure out where people worked and lived, where they had their beer, a hundred years ago.
What can Social Media do for You?

What can Social Media do for You?

Aug-23-11 By Aminda
Yesterday’s post discussed the importance of customer engagement throughout the product development process, using Microsoft as an example. Social media is a valuable tool for engaging consumers in this type of project. Innovation consultant Stefan Lindegaard is a proponent of social media and features a great blog post outlining the various types of social media and how each can be used to further innovation efforts. He also posts links to a large number of additional resources on effective use of social media.
Microsoft Seeks Input on Windows 8

Microsoft Seeks Input on Windows 8

Aug-22-11 By Aminda
Customer input and feedback are powerful resources to companies willing to listen. But there is an art to generating effective customer input, according to a Boston area business blogger. The key is active participation coming from the “right” people – that is, from the customers who represent the targeted swath of the market that you most urgently need to understand. Once those people are identified and recruited, it’s important to keep them engaged by showing that the company is listening and providing encouragement for participating.
A new blog from Microsoft demonstrates how companies can do this. The site will chronicle the development of new operating software, Windows 8, generating customer feedback along the way. According to Microsoft, the company aims for the site to be a “point of dialogue between its developers and the general public about design choices, real-world data and usage, and new opportunities that are part of Windows 8.″
The Future of Publishing?

The Future of Publishing?

Aug-18-11 By Aminda
A recent post discussed the dilemma book publishers and authors are facing as they transition from print to digital publishing. The ease of digital book publishing is creating a high volume of books and driving down prices. Publishers and authors are forced to be more creative in how they produce and market books.
While it may not signify the solution for the industry, several publishers are experimenting with innovative projects to engage users and revitalize the industry. The world's first Twitter-sourced novel, for example, which was created in Finland last summer, has now recently been published as an ebook in several other languages. The novel, titled "From Reality to Another", was authored by 500 individuals over a period of 16 weeks using Twitter messages. A lead author set the scene for each chapter by writing the first paragraph, then anyone could contribute to the story.
An Ecomagination Success Story

An Ecomagination Success Story

Aug-17-11 By Aminda
With the influx of innovation contests and popularity of crowdsourcing for the cheapest labor, it can be easy for creative minds to feel taken advantage of. On the other hand, innovators and start-ups struggle to get attention for their ideas and generate funding. Fortunately, there are success stories out there, such as the GE Ecomagination challenge.
This summer, GE and four partners announced plans to invest a total of $63 million USD in 10 cleantech companies developing energy-related concepts in solar, communications and software, and building efficiency. The funding goes to winners of the second phase of the Ecomagination challenge, which was focused on “Powering Your Home.”
The Forward-thinking Food Industry

The Forward-thinking Food Industry

Aug-16-11 By Aminda
An interesting new study from Antennae says the global food market boasts trends on the cusp of transformational global growth. This market is “evolving with imaginative product developments and new brands hitting retailers' shelves. These innovations, such as functional foods providing extra health benefits and edible coatings result in a greater variety of foods reaching consumers' shopping baskets.”  
Innovation in the food industry should not be any surprise with companies like General Mills and Campbell’s leading the way. Among General Mills’ initiatives is the posting of detailed technical briefs on the company’s G_WIN website. While the site has received a lot of attention, the company also runs an internal social networking-type site which allows staff to collaborate with each other, culminating in annual conferences where various business units come together in person to share ideas. They also create opportunities to generate ideas from and engage with suppliers, start-ups and entrepreneurs.