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We’ve written many times at GigaOM about how the media industry is being disrupted, and how that is being caused in part by the “democratization of distribution” that social-media tools such as Twitter and Facebook allow . Now a young journalist who works for Sky News in Britain has put the reality of that into words in a blog post at the BBC’s College of Journalism website. In the post, Neal Mann describes how much his job has changed in just the past few years — and how a key part of it involves interacting with “a personalized wire service” of more than 2,000 sources he has curated via Twitter. Mann says when he trained as a journalist five years ago, his use of social media was limited to posting the occasional picture of himself to Facebook, and Twitter “wasn’t even on my radar.” Now, he says, as a desk editor for the international TV network Sky News, the real-time information network has become a crucial part of the way he does his job.

What Journalism Is Like Now - Working With 2,000 Sources - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/external/gigaom/2011/05/17/17gigaom-what-journalism-is-like-now-working-with-2000-sou-86281.html
http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/new-ideas-for-the-economist-s-new-conference-on-ideas.html In the summer of 2010 we began a discussion with a team at the Economist about how to enhance the experience of their new conference series, “The Ideas Economy: Ideas That Press Forward,” and we agreed to conduct a day of design research at their New York event, Human Potential 2010. As part of our preparation for this research, we first looked at what it means to go to a conference these days and then we pushed that through the filter of “human potential.” Conferences are growing cultural phenomena. Events like TED, Pop!

New Ideas for the Economist’s New Conference on Ideas | Blog | design mind

Bruce Nussbaum was right to close the book on Design Thinking . It is time to move on. Business never really got the message. What businesses continue to care about is innovation. While designers may think that innovation requires Design Thinking, that was an idea that never really stuck in the executive suite. Is “creativity” any different? http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663604/frog-design-3-things-wile-e-coyote-teaches-us-about-creative-intelligence

Frog Design: 3 Things Wile E. Coyote Teaches Us About Creative Intelligence | Co.Design

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/da-vila-bookstore I want to call the Da Vila Bookstore home. That’s it, it’s done, this is my new home. I have never seen such a book haven as this ever. Modern, quirky and filled to the brim with books, books, books, it was made to reel in the likes of me and every other book-lover in the world. Designed by Isay Weinfeld, the coolest thing about the Da Vila Bookstore has got to be its entryway, which is essentially a pair of giant bookshelves that swivel open to allow you in.

Swiveling Bookshelf Entrances - The Da Vila Bookstore by Isay Weinfeld Looks Like a Secret Entrance (GALLERY)

Crowd funding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crowd funding (alternately crowdfunding , crowd financing , equity crowdfunding , crowd sourced capital or street performer protocol ) describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet , to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Crowd funding occurs for any variety of purposes, [ 1 ] from disaster relief to citizen journalism to artists seeking support from fans, to political campaigns, to funding a startup company , movie [ 2 ] or small business [ 3 ] or creating free software . [ edit ] History The crowd funding approach has long precedents in the sphere of charity . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_funding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickstarter Kickstarter is a crowd funding website for creative projects. [ 1 ] Kickstarter has funded a diverse array of endeavors, [ 2 ] ranging from indie films , music and comics to journalism , video games , and food -related projects. [ 3 ] One of a new set of fundraising platforms dubbed " crowd funding ," [ 4 ] Kickstarter facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public, a model which circumvents many traditional avenues of investment. [ 5 ] People must apply to Kickstarter in order to have a project posted on the site, and Kickstarter provides guidelines [ 6 ] on what types of projects will be accepted. Project owners choose a deadline and a target minimum of funds to raise.

Kickstarter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.kickstarter.com/

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music , film , art , technology , design , food , publishing and other creative fields. A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work.
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/schwarmintelligenz-gemeinsam-sind-wir-duemmer-a-762837.html Der Modebegriff Schwarmintelligenz verheißt Positives - aus vielen guten Entscheidungen Einzelner wird die Weisheit der Masse. Wie kam es dann trotzdem zur Finanzkrise? Eine Studie zeigt, woran es liegen könnte: Das Individuum sollte besser nicht wissen, was der andere denkt. Die Welt wird immer komplizierter, wie soll man da als Einzelner noch den Überblick behalten? Auf sich allein gestellt erscheint das unmöglich - aber wenn Hunderte oder Tausende Menschen sich zusammentun, sieht die Sache schon anders aus. Der Mensch profitiert von der sogenannten Schwarmintelligenz, der Weisheit der Vielen.

Schwarmintelligenz: Gemeinsam sind wir dümmer - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Wissenschaft

http://ht.ly/4WwVu HarvardHSPH ~ 1 year ago from Tweet Share Top Tweets Rating: ( +1 )

tp://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/features/poster-day-2011.html

Future/In-construction site of OptiOpia, Inc.: Affordable vision testing and prescription eyeglasses. Questions? Contact David Grosof, President, at david at squid-labs.com OptiOpia’s mission is to improve detection, correction and prevention of visual loss due to uncorrected refractive error. “Uncorrected refractive error” refers to near-sightedness (myopia), far-sightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism, including the far-sightedness associated with age (presbyopia).

Home - OptiOpia, Inc

http://www.optiopia.com/

SQUID Labs :: Companies

Howtoons Howtoons are cartoons showing kids of all ages "How To" build things. Each illustrated episode is a stand-alone fun adventure accessible to all.
A wind based energy generation device with at least one airborne element. The Makani AWT consists of a rigid wing with mounted turbines that flies in circles across the wind at 300 meters (1,000 feet) above ground level. The electronic backbone of the AWT.

Gallery – Makani Power

Low Cost Eyeglasses is a social enterprise for the one billion people in the developing world who need eyeglasses yet currently do not have them. Unlike existing eyeglasses that are difficult to purchase and very expensive, we are designing eyeglass systems that make eyeglasses inexpensive and easy to purchase. We believe low cost and availability can be achieved through product designs that eliminate complexity and channel designs that rely on local outlets such as micro-entrepreneurs. Low Cost Eyeglasses is the first winner in the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Business Plan Contest . After extensive research and planning, Low Cost Eyeglasses won the contest in March, 2001. The team is currently working to make a low cost product available.

Low Cost Eyeglasses

The Solution We are currently developing several solutions designed specifically for those who need glasses yet don't currently have them. By focusing on the group of customers that have been excluded from the eyecare industry, four requirements emerge. Any solution must be: available, low cost, scalable, and wearable. To be available, glasses should be easily purchased from a convenient local location.

Our Solution - Low Cost Eyeglasses

Eben Bayer | Profile on TED.com

Eben Bayer is co-inventor of MycoBond, an organic (really -- it's based on mycelium, a living, growing organism) adhesive that turns agriwaste into a foam-like material for packaging and insulation. Why you should listen to him: Eben Bayer co-invented MycoBond, a technology that uses a filamentous fungi to transform agricultural waste products into strong composite materials . Or, as CNN put it: "In non-scientific terms, they grind up seed husks and glue the small pieces together with mushroom root."