DriveNow: BMW / Sixt Joint Venture - car sharing The BMW Group and Sixt AG are planning a unique and innovative car sharing venture. With effect from April 2011 onwards – initially in Munich and later in Berlin – the two companies intend to join forces in offering a modern mobility concept under the brand-name DriveNow; this new product will combine vehicles and service of the highest quality with simple, flexible usage. DriveNow is the first car sharing concept to place an emphasis on efficient premium vehicles and comprehensive service. Vehicles may be hired and dropped off wherever the customer needs them, thus clearly differentiating DriveNow from products offered by other competitors. Sixt AG and the BMW Group intend to bundle their car sharing activities in the DriveNow joint venture, in which each company will hold a 50 percent stake.
How to Design a Man's Closet" A man's wardrobe consists, for the most part, of suits, shirts, ties, jackets, sweaters, and casual wear. You won't find the wide variety of items or lengths that are common in a woman's wardrobe. Although many feminine equivalents to a man's clothes do exist, the issue of importance is a matter of space rather than classification. A man's garments are usually longer than a woman's (except for dresses). Gift Currency A new project called datti is offering a way to build gift economies on a community level by witnessing and memorializing gift transactions using beautiful, pewter coins. Inspired in part by the work of Charles Eisenstein, the creators of the datti have designed a special pewter coin that functions like money in reverse, or as a pay-it-forward token, inspiring future gifts to flow in all directions. The organizers explain it like this: If a person gathers a bag of food from her vegetable garden and gives it to you as a gift, along with this gift she may give you a datti. You now have this coin, and it is your turn to give a gift. You may choose what to give based on another person's need, or you may choose something based on your own art, craft, or inspiration.
Sales & Marketing Advice I’m going to increase my writing about sales & marketing in the near future. I put a few posts up front that I have already covered in the Startup Series. But I will soon begin a discussion about sales methodologies. Stay tuned. The FarmBot is a Fully-Automated Open-Source Farming Machine Since time immemorial, farmers have benefited from sharing knowledge with one another, and The FarmBot makes that easier than ever to do. Designed by California engineer Rory Landon Aronson, this open-source farming machine allows hackers and agriculturalists to brainstorm. Similar to CNC milling machines and 3D printers, the FarmBot works on a scalable frame that employs X, Y and Z directions, and can be outfitted with anything from sensors and spray nozzles to plows and seed injectors. Since the Green Revolution, the world has relied heavily on farming practices that include massive machinery, fossil fuels, and chemical pesticides. Sensing that a paradigm shift was needed, Aronson created the FarmBot to harness economies of scale and modern technologies. The machine comes equipped with a web-based software package that be easily modified.
Meta-currency - Rheonomy - Eric Harris-Braun In her beautifully insightful book, The Nature of Economies, Jane Jacobs suggests that we must broaden our understanding of economics in the context of the flow processes of the natural world. Near the end of the book one of her characters asks the question, “What are economies for?” One of the other characters answers: Household Cleaning Tips from WomansDay.com - How to Clean House A few years ago, I found out that I’ve been cleaning all wrong. I was in a hotel room, when a maid came in and sprayed a solution on every surface…and then left. Right when I thought she’d forgotten, she returned. She wiped for less than two minutes with a thin dry cloth, and the whole place sparkled. It had, frankly, never occurred to me to let one solution do all the work, so I asked her what she’d used. It was something called Butcher’s Bath Mate—an industry standby.
37 ways to join the Gift Economy You don't have to participate in a local currency or service exchange to be part of the cooperative gift economy. Any time you do a favor for a family member, neighbor, colleague, or stranger you're part of it. Here are some ways you can spend time in the gift economy, where you'll find fun, freedom, and connection. Brainfluence: 5 Brain Tricks to Make Customers Buy Roger Dooley wants your business to succeed. So he's laying down the facts and dissecting recent brain and behavior research to enable you to tap into consumers' brains. Fact No. 1: People aren't always rational thinkers. In truth, research shows that a huge amount of decision-making is actually based on subconscious factors. In both his new book, Brainfluence, and in a recent interview, Dooley offered several ways to use "neuromarketing" to do a better job persuading consumers. 1.
P2P mobility, a "Physical Internet" and distributing goods sustainably It seems every attempt to save us time and energy winds up costing more to the environment. Recent campaigning by Benoit Montreuil has shown there is another way to distriubute goods sustainably by using a physical internet. Think Globally, Buy Locally? The connected company Many thanks to Thomas Vander Wal for the many conversations that inspired this post. The average life expectancy of a human being in the 21st century is about 67 years. Do you know what the average life expectancy for a company is? Surprisingly short, it turns out.