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Olympic-sized Innovation

Apr-22-11 By Aminda
The 2012 London summer Olympics are more than a year away but preparations have been underway for some time. Organizers are working with partners, principally Cisco, to develop an IT, telecommunications, audio-visual, timing and scoring network so huge that it's 35 times more capable than that used in Beijing.

Customer Engagement Case Study

Apr-21-11 By Aminda
Makers of Snagit brand screen capture software, TechSmith, have published an interesting case study on how they saved approximately $500,000 on research by crowdsourcing the testing of the beta version of a new product. A Mac version of the software, which had been available to PC users for more than 20 years, was in high demand. In response, TechSmith handed the creation over to those who wanted it.

Community Management and Crowdsourcing

Apr-20-11 By Aminda
PR Newswire recently posted a brief but insightful guide to successfully engaging customers and creating a sense of community through crowdsourcing. Whether utilizing crowdsourcing to get a job done, to gather insight into consumer opinion or raise funds, these tips can be useful. The insight come from the organizers of the 3six5 project, nominated for a 2011 Webby Award, which recorded the year 2010 with 365 stories told by 365 different writers. In summary, the recommendations include:

Smarter Sourcing Techniques

Apr-18-11 By Aminda
The goal of crowdsourcing usually is to obtain creative ideas or have tasks completed quickly while keeping costs minimal. As the technique gets more attention so do its success stories. And the challenges. Crowdsourcing does not eliminate costs, as illustrated by a project undertaken by the University College London and shared by The Society for Scholarly Publishing.

Sleuths Sought

Apr-15-11 By Aminda
Calling all amateur sleuths – your help is needed. A couple of recent crowdsourced requests for assistance appeal to the mystery lover in all of us.

Crack the Code on a Murder Case

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has put out a public call for help solving a nearly 12 year old murder case. According to the FBI website:

On June 30, 1999, sheriff’s officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick. The only clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes found in the victim’s pants pockets.

A Look at the History of Crowdsourcing

Apr-14-11 By Aminda
 
While today’s tech savvy Millenials may know the history of crowdsourcing as pioneered by websites like Wikipedia, advanced by those like oDesk and Kiva at least one of them is finding out the truth that history does in fact, repeat itself.
An intern with the U.S.-based Smithsonian Institute, Elena Bruno, recently posted a blog about finding evidence of occurrences of crowdsourcing back as far as 1847. Bruno’s research project was inspired by the Institute’s current use of crowdsourcing to bolster the research side of an organization known primarily for its museums.

Facebook’s Open Compute Project

Apr-13-11 By Aminda
Facebook announced last week the formation of their Open Compute Project, an industry-wide initiative to share specifications and best practices for creating the most energy efficient and economical data centers.




As a first step, they published the specifications and mechanical designs for the hardware used in their new data center, which uses 38 percent less energy to do the same work as Facebook’s existing facilities, while costing 24 percent less. The 147,000 square foot facility is built in Prineville, Oregon, where the naturally cool climate eliminates the need for air-conditioning, instead using filters and fans to pull cool air from outside.

U.S. Considers Changes to Crowdfunded Capital

Apr-12-11 By Aminda
As reported last week by the Wall Street Journal, “Federal securities regulators are moving toward easing decades-old constraints on shares issue by private companies, in a sweeping review that could remake the way American startups raise capital.” Among the proposed changes are relaxed limits on rules related requiring a private company with 500 investors or more to disclose its finances.
The SEC is also considering calls to relax its rules to make it easier for companies to use crowd-funding without having to undergo the full array of disclosure and other legal requirements for share issues. These changes would impact the availability of equity-producing crowdfunded capital, as opposed to crowdfunding efforts currently coordinated by companies such as Kiva.

Inspiration from TED Talks

Apr-11-11 By Aminda
The TED 2011 conference was held last month in Long Beach, California and a selection of featured talks has recently been posted on-line. As usual, the presentations do not disappoint, with plenty of inspiration to invent and connect. Here are a couple of highlights.

Accelerating Unique Designs

Mar-26-11 By Aminda
From architecture to fashion, most anyone can appreciate great design. Whether sleek or ornate, functional or artistic, great design is a thing of beauty. The growth of open innovation has been valuable in accelerating the adoption of unique consumer products and technologies and also some creative designs as seen in these stories.
Defense Vehicles
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a U.S. agency dedicated to strengthening U.S. national security and supporting the U.S. military. The Agency is the primary innovation engine for the department of defense, with research that ranges from laboratory efforts to the creation of full-scale technology demonstrations in the fields of biology, medicine, computer science, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, material sciences, social sciences, neurosciences, and more.