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Film Project CrowdFunds $2 Million in Less Than 24 Hours

Mar-15-13 By IdeaConnection
Kristen Bell plays Veronica Mars

Crowdfunding could be ushering in a new era of movie development, delivering films that producers know the audience wants to see.

Veronica Mars was a cult hit TV show about a teenage private eye that ran for three seasons between 2004 and 2007.

The show’s creator had an idea for a movie but his pitch didn't convince studio bosses.  So he turned to the crowd, hoping to raise $2 million in 30 days. Within hours a number of Kickstarter records were shattered.

Open Innovation Challenge for Atrocity Prevention

Mar-14-13 By IdeaConnection
Rwandan refugee camp. 1994

In October 2012 USAID (United States Agency for International Development ) and Humanity United launched the Tech Challenge for Atrocity Prevention.

This is an open innovation contest for the development of innovative concepts and new technologies to help prevent such mass atrocities as genocide and ethnic cleansing.

There are five challenges in total. Two of those are now closed and the winners have been announced, but three new challenges have just been opened. They offer up to $10,000 for winning problem solvers.

Open Innovation and Crowd-Designed Rockets

Mar-11-13 By IdeaConnection
A new open innovation project is allowing anyone no matter their background to contribute to future space missions.

3D modeling platform Sunglass has teamed up with space company DIYRockets to launch a crowd-designed rocket contest.  As well as helping to open up new frontiers in space research participants have the chance of winning thousands of dollars.

Open Innovation Contest for Green Growth

Mar-08-13 By IdeaConnection
There is still time to enter Veolia‘s open innovation challenge to develop and implement novel green technologies.

The water services and water treatment company is inviting proposals for a number of areas of interest. The first of these is in dewatering in wastewater treatment.

DJ Crowdsources New Music with the Whole World

Mar-06-13 By IdeaConnection
Earlier this year we put up a post about DJ and producer Avicii’s attempt to create a crowdsourced hit song.

He sent out a call to action to his fans and fellow musicians to submit audio samples, effects and melodies. The track has now been finished and is on general release.

Let the Crowd Help You Design Your Living Spaces

Mar-04-13 By IdeaConnection
So you've finally got round to decorating your home and are thinking about buying some new furniture pieces.  But you’re just not sure what will look good or where you want to position things.

Well, worry not, as the crowd can come up with some useful suggestions and help you decide with a free iPad app called Decolabs.

Pioneering Open Innovation Contest in Russia

Feb-28-13 By IdeaConnection
This weekend sees the Grand Final of the Aeroflot Open International Innovation contest, the first open innovation competition of its kind to be held in Russia.

Aeroflot is a leading Russian air carrier and the contest is looking for novel in-flight entertainment concepts.

Crowdsourcing Helping to Stop a Killer Bacterium in its Tracks

Feb-27-13 By IdeaConnection
E. coli (Escherichia coli) is a common bacterium that lives in the human gut. Most of the time, it’s a useful fellow, helping us to digest our food among other things. Most strains are harmless. But in some situations they can turn nasty and cause disease. On occasion they can be fatal.

One of the biggest outbreaks of E. coli in decades occurred in 2011. An unusual strain claimed 50 lives and hospitalized more than 4,000 others across Europe. Its source was unknown. To get some answers quickly, scientists turned to crowdsourcing.

Rise of Open Innovation Among Asia Pacific Companies

Feb-26-13 By IdeaConnection
Awareness and adoption of open innovation are on the rise, driven by success stories and the economic climate. This has been known anecdotally for some time, but it’s also being backed up by powerful research.

One of the most significant studies was the Frost & Sullivan report titled 'Open Innovation 2012' that revealed that Asia-Pacific companies are way out in front when it comes to dedicating staff to open innovation.

Efficiency versus Value – The New Innovation Equation

Feb-25-13 By Rowan Gibson
When the economic barometer is pointing upward, all the talk in company boardrooms is about growth, innovation and value creation. When the global economy lingers in the doldrums, corporate strategy shifts inexorably back to the safe haven of operational efficiency. Now you might argue that this reaction is both inevitable and understandable, and I would accept that at some level. But remember this: something far deeper and more significant than these periodic upswings and downswings is the fact that we are now in a new kind of economic era. An era in which fanatical cost-cutting, downsizing, lean Six-Sigma, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain management, off shoring or outsourcing are no longer the basis for competitive advantage.