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Sometimes it’s the simplest ideas

Aug-16-12 By Paul Wagorn
Sometime the best ideas are the one that seem so obvious once they are described. Like this one: If you fill your air mattress with helium you can keep it on the ceiling.

The same idea could be applied to any type of furniture that is inflatable, like a chair or a sofa.

Crowdsourcing to Tackle Neglected Tropical Diseases

Aug-16-12 By IdeaConnection
The UK’s The Guardian newspaper has shone the spotlight on a number of open innovation initiatives that are bringing academic researchers, biotech and pharma companies and the general public together to tackle neglected tropical diseases.

For so long the only way of doing drug research and development was to do it yourself, but lack of funds is forcing companies to be creative and innovate their R&D processes.

Public Scroll: Providing Digital Ideas for Brands

Aug-15-12 By IdeaConnection
Coming up with the next big thing that’s going to earn you top dollar can be an exhilarating experience. It can also be highly frustrating if you discover someone has beaten you to it or if your brain is on a go-slow.

But all is not lost as waiting in the wings to help you is the crowd.  A new UK-based online space called Public Scroll is a platform that's helping companies acquire digital  ideas that have been posted by individuals.

A patent for a stick

Aug-12-12 By Paul Wagorn
In 2002, Ross Long was granted a patent for what was, essentially, a stick:
"An apparatus for use as a toy by an animal, for example a dog, to either fetch carry or chew includes a main section with at least one protrusion extending therefrom that resembles a branch in appearance. The toy is formed of any of a number of materials including rubber, plastic, or wood including wood composites and is solid. It is either rigid or flexible.


...  and wherein said animal toy is adapted to float on the water."

Learning Lessons from Open Innovation Trailblazers

Aug-12-12 By IdeaConnection
Is open innovation for me? That’s a question that’s been chewed over time and again by CEOs and CIOs all across the planet.

If your organisation is still in two minds take a look at 40 Examples of Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing on Stefan Lindegaard’s 15inno blog and get a closer view of how world beating organisations are using external sources of brainpower in their innovation portfolio.

It’s a great snapshot of what is happening in OI and crowdsourcing today.

Pick Up Some Perks by Pledging Cash

Aug-08-12 By IdeaConnection
It’s not often that you get the opportunity to cram Vietnamese dipping sauces, a beer bicycle and a fish restaurant called Bon Chovie into the same sentence.

But all three were projects successfully funded on Smallknot, a new crowdfundng platform that lets you invest small amounts of money in local businesses.

Launching the Crowds into Space

Aug-06-12 By IdeaConnection
NASA’s Curiosity is currently beaming back superb images of Mars, another landmark achievement in the history of space exploration.

But it’s not just government agencies that get to explore the cosmos; you can too with a crowdfunded satellite project.

One Innovation Era Ends; Another Begins

Aug-05-12 By IdeaConnection
The Fast Company website has posted a fascinating article in which it is argued that we are coming to the end of an era where innovation is about products and services and embarking on a new age that focuses on what the author calls “behavioral business models”.

These models go beyond seeking to build better, faster, cheaper, stronger and longer-lasting and instead ask why consumers do what they do.

 

Embracing Open Innovation to Increase Giving

Aug-02-12 By IdeaConnection
In times of global economic downturn charitable organisations are among the first to feel the pinch as people reign in their spending.

To encourage new and better ways for the public to give money and/or time, the UK government has created The Innovation in Giving Fund. It’s a unique platform that supports innovative ideas in giving.

Crowd Promotion of Social Causes

Jul-30-12 By IdeaConnection
It’s being referred to as the world’s first “crowdspeaking platform”, a social media innovation that lets the crowd speak out with one voice on social causes.

Thunderclap is a new initiative from product development studio De-De that allows people to come together to speak on a particular issue through a mass-shared single message.