Tampilkan postingan dengan label Tech. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Tech. Tampilkan semua postingan
Kamis, 25 April 2013
Rabu, 24 April 2013
A Penis On MARS !
Nasa Mars Rover Accidentally Draws Penis On Red Planet
Nasa's $800m Mars Exploration Rovers have accidentally drawn a penis.
The twin exploration vehicles Spirit and Opportunity were launched nine years ago, in an effort to search the surface of Mars for signs of water erosion and possibly even life.
According to Nasa, since then the rovers have driven over more than 10km of Martian land, directed by teams back on Earth combined with autonomous cameras designed to avoid potential problems with the terrain.
It appears that part of the robots' programming involves spinning in tight circles to test nearby terrain and find new routes.
Humorously, depending on your age perhaps, that has the unfortunate consequence of drawing a certain shape on the surface, which when discovered by Reddit essentially crashed Nasa's website.
The image was posted on Nasa's site and appears to be a genuine picture from the Martian surface - albeit one taken at an unfortunate angle.
It's not clear which of the rovers drew the shape, or even when it was made.
Nasa lost communication with the Spirit rover in 2009 after it became stuck in some sand. Meanwhile the Opportunity is still traversing the surface on its way to the Endeavour crater.
Nasa's $800m Mars Exploration Rovers have accidentally drawn a penis.
The twin exploration vehicles Spirit and Opportunity were launched nine years ago, in an effort to search the surface of Mars for signs of water erosion and possibly even life.
According to Nasa, since then the rovers have driven over more than 10km of Martian land, directed by teams back on Earth combined with autonomous cameras designed to avoid potential problems with the terrain.
It appears that part of the robots' programming involves spinning in tight circles to test nearby terrain and find new routes.
Humorously, depending on your age perhaps, that has the unfortunate consequence of drawing a certain shape on the surface, which when discovered by Reddit essentially crashed Nasa's website.
The image was posted on Nasa's site and appears to be a genuine picture from the Martian surface - albeit one taken at an unfortunate angle.
It's not clear which of the rovers drew the shape, or even when it was made.
Nasa lost communication with the Spirit rover in 2009 after it became stuck in some sand. Meanwhile the Opportunity is still traversing the surface on its way to the Endeavour crater.
Selasa, 23 April 2013
The Federal Top Secrets How To Control Things Through Mind
Cool! Samsung Discover How to Control Gadgets Through the Mind
Samsung researchers collaborate with the University of Texas to create a gadget that can be controlled by the mind. As an experiment, they use a tablet Galaxy Note 10.1.
Innovation is key to the success of technology producers, and that the attempt made Samsung through their new findings. These findings are also expected to change the user experience when using a smartphone or tablet PC.
As a first step, Samsung wants to make an application that allows users to connect with gadgetnya through mind waves. Through this aplilkasi users can play songs, change tracks, open the app, turn off and turn on the tablet, as well as several other functions.
This experiment was successfully carried out by using the wave mind reader. Shaped like a hat, but there EGG electrodes are used to translate the commands of the mind to be executed on the tablet.
"Finding new ways to interact with the gadget is the main objective of this project. Few years ago only a small button that is the only way to control the phone, but now users can use voice, touch, movement, and eye movements to interact with mobile devices, "said Insoo Kim, Samsung engineers who mengagas the project.
Until now the application is still being perfected, and not known about when these innovations can be used by the wider community.
Samsung researchers collaborate with the University of Texas to create a gadget that can be controlled by the mind. As an experiment, they use a tablet Galaxy Note 10.1.
Innovation is key to the success of technology producers, and that the attempt made Samsung through their new findings. These findings are also expected to change the user experience when using a smartphone or tablet PC.
As a first step, Samsung wants to make an application that allows users to connect with gadgetnya through mind waves. Through this aplilkasi users can play songs, change tracks, open the app, turn off and turn on the tablet, as well as several other functions.
This experiment was successfully carried out by using the wave mind reader. Shaped like a hat, but there EGG electrodes are used to translate the commands of the mind to be executed on the tablet.
"Finding new ways to interact with the gadget is the main objective of this project. Few years ago only a small button that is the only way to control the phone, but now users can use voice, touch, movement, and eye movements to interact with mobile devices, "said Insoo Kim, Samsung engineers who mengagas the project.
Until now the application is still being perfected, and not known about when these innovations can be used by the wider community.
How To Suicide in MARS ! Wanted Volunteers!
I'm Sending Four People to Mars for the Rest of Their Lives
Space travel has always been tainted with a few big, unavoidable problems for me. The first is that I spent all three years of my university career occasionally learning what Foucault thinks about reality television, rather than anything vaguely scientific that would teach me how to launch myself through earth's atmosphere without dying immediately. The second is that everything is just so staggeringly, unfathomably far away. The half hour commute to work is bad enough; three days to get to a pretty nondescript floating hunk of rock just seems pointless and like a massive waste of time that could be spent not crowded up in a little shuttle hurtling through the sky.
Although, I suppose if there was an exciting prospect at the end of the journey I wouldn't mind so much. Like a new, ready-made home for me to spend the rest of my years, for example. Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp is going to be furnishing those exact dreams with his Mars One project, which aims to build a liveable settlement on Mars, before sending four humans to live there for the rest of their lives in 2023, followed by more batches of people as the years go on, living there for the REST of their lives.
Besides that minor detail, his project is remarkable in that it aims to raise the majority of its funding through creating the biggest media spectacle the world has ever known – covering every stage of the project and allowing viewers to vote on who gets to take the trip – rather than relying on governments and having to deal with any kind of political interference. I met Bas for a drink to talk about his plans.
VICE: So tell me what sparked this whole idea of sending people to live the rest of their lives on Mars.
Bas Lansdorp: I was originally inspired around 15 years ago when the first rover landed on Mars. I basically thought it'd be much cooler if humans were walking up on Mars, rather than the machine. I always wanted to go myself and knew I didn't stand a chance if I went through the normal NASA or European Space Agency (ESA) procedures, but I kind of forgot about the idea when I started studying mechanical engineering. Then, a few years later, someone told me that the Americans were planning a one-way trip to Mars – which is so much more feasible than a return mission – so I decided to drop everything and go for it.
What were you doing at the time?
I was working at a company, but I sold half my shares to get things going. Then John de Mol, the inventor of Big Brother, told me I could finance the project through the media, so I thought 'I really have to take this chance now.' I mean, it's extremely complex, but I have to take the risk and do it.
Yeah, it's interesting that you're planning on funding the whole project with media money.
Well, we have other revenue ideas, of course, but yeah – we need to finance a lot of things before we can send any humans out to Mars and creating a media spectacle is a good way to do that. I'll just add that it's not my main goal to create a media spectacle, though. There are much easier ways of doing that than sending humans on a one-way mission to Mars.
Ha, yeah I assume there probably are. How much is it going to cost?
It's going to be £3.8 billion to set it up, then another £630 million for each one of the four astronauts. I initially thought that number was unrealistically high, but the International Olympic Committee had a revenue of one or two billion pounds for one three-week-long event, so that's half a billion a week, which makes our numbers not look too bad.
Literally everybody who has access to internet or TV will watch it and, by that time, nearly four billion people will have the internet, so imagine being the brand that sponsors an event like that. You'll immediately have the biggest name on the planet. It's a lot of money, but I'm very entrepreneurial and also very down to earth, so I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe it was possible.
Cool. So what's the process? What's being sent up first?
We've got a demonstration mission in 2016 to show the technology that we've purchased, which is where we'll send a communications satellite to Mars, then, in 2018, we'll send a rover up to find the best location for the settlement.
What factors determine a good place for a settlement?
It's got to be north enough to have a good amount of water crystals in the soil and south enough for the solar panels to be effective. It's gonna be on the northern hemisphere because the seasons are less extreme there. But it's also got to be as low as possible in altitude, because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and the lower down you go, the more time you'll have to slow down and land safely.
And everything is going to be ready built for the humans' arrival, right?
Yeah, everything will land in big pre-built components that will be assembled by the rovers. There'll be two capsules for the life support system, two capsules for the living units and two capsules with supplies.
Nice. Is it right that the astronauts are being picked with a lottery system?
No, that was just something some news show said. The way we're doing it is to have our experts determine who's suitable from those who apply, then we'll ask the audience who they want to send to Mars. The people picked will be the world's first ambassadors to Mars, so it's important that the general public have their say.
What would be your perfect candidate?
Well, when I started, I thought we'd need doctors and engineers, but the most important thing is actually the person's personality. You need someone who's capable of sitting in a very small vehicle for the seven month journey, then able to cope mentally with leaving earth behind. The medical and engineering aspects are obviously very important, too, but we'll train them in those for the eight years before they leave, so it's the personality that's the most crucial thing.
What happens if two of the astronauts have a baby, or something?
Well, that's not the goal. We're putting people up there, but they'll be largely responsible for their own actions. Because of the time difference between Earth and Mars, it's not like we'll be able to say, "Pick up that rock" or guide them through stuff in realtime, so they'll have to be responsible.
And any responsible person knows that Mars – with only three other people for company – probably isn't the ideal place to have a baby. The means to get a baby into the world will be there, though, and the long-term goal is create an outpost where that could happen – maybe when there's 20 or 30 people there.
So you eventually want to start a whole new Martian society?
Yeah, that should be the goal. We want to establish a small self-supporting society on Mars that doesn’t need the Earth anymore. Although, it's such long-term planning that it's not really something you can keep under control, so we'll have to see.
Do you want to go and live on Mars eventually?
I wanted to. I talked to our medical director, Norbert Craft, though, and he said I don't have the patience or the calmness to cope. I'm the architect and the entrepreneur, not the right person to actually go on the mission, but I will be extremely, extremely jealous when the first four people leave.
One of my friends put his name down for it. He's always wanted to live in the remote Scottish wilderness, so I suppose Mars would be an even better alternative.
Oh, cool. We just got a bid from an investor, so we're getting really close to signing contracts with our suppliers. When that happens, we think we'll be far enough along to start selecting astronauts.
Nice, I'll let him know. Lastly, what's your personal mission with this? Scientific discovery? Moving the human race forward? Or just leaving your mark on the universe?
Somewhere in the middle, I suppose. I’m interested in the science – I mean, imagine if we found life on Mars. We don't know how much life there is in the universe, let alone on our neighbouring planet. And who knows – it could even bring us closer to understanding the history of the solar system and where we all come from. Of course, the prospect of putting humanity on a different planet is also just breathtaking. It seemed incomprehensible to me before, so my biggest motivation at the moment is to achieve sending the first ever people to Mars.
Space travel has always been tainted with a few big, unavoidable problems for me. The first is that I spent all three years of my university career occasionally learning what Foucault thinks about reality television, rather than anything vaguely scientific that would teach me how to launch myself through earth's atmosphere without dying immediately. The second is that everything is just so staggeringly, unfathomably far away. The half hour commute to work is bad enough; three days to get to a pretty nondescript floating hunk of rock just seems pointless and like a massive waste of time that could be spent not crowded up in a little shuttle hurtling through the sky.
Although, I suppose if there was an exciting prospect at the end of the journey I wouldn't mind so much. Like a new, ready-made home for me to spend the rest of my years, for example. Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp is going to be furnishing those exact dreams with his Mars One project, which aims to build a liveable settlement on Mars, before sending four humans to live there for the rest of their lives in 2023, followed by more batches of people as the years go on, living there for the REST of their lives.
Besides that minor detail, his project is remarkable in that it aims to raise the majority of its funding through creating the biggest media spectacle the world has ever known – covering every stage of the project and allowing viewers to vote on who gets to take the trip – rather than relying on governments and having to deal with any kind of political interference. I met Bas for a drink to talk about his plans.
VICE: So tell me what sparked this whole idea of sending people to live the rest of their lives on Mars.
Bas Lansdorp: I was originally inspired around 15 years ago when the first rover landed on Mars. I basically thought it'd be much cooler if humans were walking up on Mars, rather than the machine. I always wanted to go myself and knew I didn't stand a chance if I went through the normal NASA or European Space Agency (ESA) procedures, but I kind of forgot about the idea when I started studying mechanical engineering. Then, a few years later, someone told me that the Americans were planning a one-way trip to Mars – which is so much more feasible than a return mission – so I decided to drop everything and go for it.
What were you doing at the time?
I was working at a company, but I sold half my shares to get things going. Then John de Mol, the inventor of Big Brother, told me I could finance the project through the media, so I thought 'I really have to take this chance now.' I mean, it's extremely complex, but I have to take the risk and do it.
Yeah, it's interesting that you're planning on funding the whole project with media money.
Well, we have other revenue ideas, of course, but yeah – we need to finance a lot of things before we can send any humans out to Mars and creating a media spectacle is a good way to do that. I'll just add that it's not my main goal to create a media spectacle, though. There are much easier ways of doing that than sending humans on a one-way mission to Mars.
Ha, yeah I assume there probably are. How much is it going to cost?
It's going to be £3.8 billion to set it up, then another £630 million for each one of the four astronauts. I initially thought that number was unrealistically high, but the International Olympic Committee had a revenue of one or two billion pounds for one three-week-long event, so that's half a billion a week, which makes our numbers not look too bad.
Literally everybody who has access to internet or TV will watch it and, by that time, nearly four billion people will have the internet, so imagine being the brand that sponsors an event like that. You'll immediately have the biggest name on the planet. It's a lot of money, but I'm very entrepreneurial and also very down to earth, so I wouldn't do it if I didn't believe it was possible.
Cool. So what's the process? What's being sent up first?
We've got a demonstration mission in 2016 to show the technology that we've purchased, which is where we'll send a communications satellite to Mars, then, in 2018, we'll send a rover up to find the best location for the settlement.
What factors determine a good place for a settlement?
It's got to be north enough to have a good amount of water crystals in the soil and south enough for the solar panels to be effective. It's gonna be on the northern hemisphere because the seasons are less extreme there. But it's also got to be as low as possible in altitude, because Mars has a very thin atmosphere and the lower down you go, the more time you'll have to slow down and land safely.
And everything is going to be ready built for the humans' arrival, right?
Yeah, everything will land in big pre-built components that will be assembled by the rovers. There'll be two capsules for the life support system, two capsules for the living units and two capsules with supplies.
Nice. Is it right that the astronauts are being picked with a lottery system?
No, that was just something some news show said. The way we're doing it is to have our experts determine who's suitable from those who apply, then we'll ask the audience who they want to send to Mars. The people picked will be the world's first ambassadors to Mars, so it's important that the general public have their say.
What would be your perfect candidate?
Well, when I started, I thought we'd need doctors and engineers, but the most important thing is actually the person's personality. You need someone who's capable of sitting in a very small vehicle for the seven month journey, then able to cope mentally with leaving earth behind. The medical and engineering aspects are obviously very important, too, but we'll train them in those for the eight years before they leave, so it's the personality that's the most crucial thing.
What happens if two of the astronauts have a baby, or something?
Well, that's not the goal. We're putting people up there, but they'll be largely responsible for their own actions. Because of the time difference between Earth and Mars, it's not like we'll be able to say, "Pick up that rock" or guide them through stuff in realtime, so they'll have to be responsible.
And any responsible person knows that Mars – with only three other people for company – probably isn't the ideal place to have a baby. The means to get a baby into the world will be there, though, and the long-term goal is create an outpost where that could happen – maybe when there's 20 or 30 people there.
So you eventually want to start a whole new Martian society?
Yeah, that should be the goal. We want to establish a small self-supporting society on Mars that doesn’t need the Earth anymore. Although, it's such long-term planning that it's not really something you can keep under control, so we'll have to see.
Do you want to go and live on Mars eventually?
I wanted to. I talked to our medical director, Norbert Craft, though, and he said I don't have the patience or the calmness to cope. I'm the architect and the entrepreneur, not the right person to actually go on the mission, but I will be extremely, extremely jealous when the first four people leave.
One of my friends put his name down for it. He's always wanted to live in the remote Scottish wilderness, so I suppose Mars would be an even better alternative.
Oh, cool. We just got a bid from an investor, so we're getting really close to signing contracts with our suppliers. When that happens, we think we'll be far enough along to start selecting astronauts.
Nice, I'll let him know. Lastly, what's your personal mission with this? Scientific discovery? Moving the human race forward? Or just leaving your mark on the universe?
Somewhere in the middle, I suppose. I’m interested in the science – I mean, imagine if we found life on Mars. We don't know how much life there is in the universe, let alone on our neighbouring planet. And who knows – it could even bring us closer to understanding the history of the solar system and where we all come from. Of course, the prospect of putting humanity on a different planet is also just breathtaking. It seemed incomprehensible to me before, so my biggest motivation at the moment is to achieve sending the first ever people to Mars.
Rabu, 17 April 2013
Dinosaurs in Tech World
Don't Be the Office Tech Dinosaur
As Younger Colleagues Speak Fluent Twitter, How Old Pros Find Ways to Upgrade Their Skills, Fight Insecurity
For many people, being on the far side of 40 in the workplace brings the confidence of experience, of having hit a certain professional stride.
It can also bring a nagging insecure feeling that younger colleagues—the ones with 5,000 Twitter followers, who designed their first website in middle school—are fast becoming the new office stars.
Doug Gould, a 50-year-old advertising veteran, says some of that anxiety arose when co-workers called him by nicknames like "Uncle Doug" and "Coach."
"I think those were terms of endearment," says Mr. Gould, a creative director for the Boston ad agency Allen & Gerritsen, who started his career back in 1984 using tracing paper and markers to design newspaper ads. "But if you read between the lines, it also meant 'old guy.' I get nervous about what that means."
For many people in the back half of their careers, the meaning is becoming all too clear: To keep from drifting, or being nudged, into an early retirement, it's time to add more high-tech arrows to their professional quiver—to refresh their skills with, say, some social-media or mobile-app expertise. As Mr. Gould has learned, competing with younger colleagues who grew up texting, tweeting, using Facebook (FB) and playing videogames requires constant work to stay up-to-date.
Even with an impressive résumé filled with more than a dozen industry awards—and two memorable Super Bowl ads—Mr. Gould knows he can't rest on his laurels. "Fifteen years ago, I thought I knew everything," says the husband and father of two teenagers who says he intends to work another 15 years or so. Now, "there is new technology out there I don't know the first thing about, that could easily turn me into a dinosaur if I don't continue to adapt."
In the past few years, he has taken more than 10 new-technology courses, both online and at a professional training center—from a seminar in the location-based social network Foursquare to a recent class in Adobe (ADBE) Muse, which lets him design and publish HTML websites without writing code. He now also tweets and blogs.
Rather than leaving hands-on work to underlings, as many executives do at his stage, he continues to use new design and animation programs to generate creative products like print, digital and broadcast ads and websites. "If I become a manager and nobody wants a manager, how am I going to thrive in my later years?" he says. "The lifeboat for me is to be able to still do the work."
He also looks for new challenges. He worked for a decade at a big agency, Hill Holliday, and was comfortable there. But he left two years ago to take a similar title at Allen & Gerritsen because he wanted a chance to help a midsize agency grow. "That was something I hadn't done before. I saw this as a challenge," he says.
Older workers have accumulated knowledge that is hard to replace, research shows. But lagging tech skills are one reason job-loss rates for experienced older workers 55 and over have exceeded those for younger workers by a growing margin for the past decade, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.
Mr. Gould worries about surviving in a field where most of his counterparts are in their 30s or 40s. While he was quick in his late 20s to embrace new computer graphics programs that made hand drawings obsolete, he saw many older colleagues fall by the wayside. "Some of them didn't want to learn, or were afraid to learn," he says. "I thought, 'I hope this will never happen to me.'"
When social media and digital technology turned advertising upside down again many years later, Mr. Gould says, "I looked in the mirror and said, 'Oh my god, it's possible that I could become that person who fails to keep up.' "
Mr. Gould resisted using Twitter at first. "I said, 'You're kidding me—140 characters? That's it? The whole world is moving to phrases?' "
But after coming to see it as an efficient way to share information—instead of a truncated form of personal communication—he made Twitter the basis last fall of a campaign for the nonprofit City Year, #makebetterhappen, which has drawn more than 20,000 tweets from volunteers telling upbeat stories from the classroom.
Gillian Smith, City Year's chief marketing officer, says Mr. Gould's "great creative work" sparked a 37% year-over-year increase in City Year's website traffic.
Mr. Gould also tries to learn from younger colleagues. Ben Daly, 33, an associate creative director at Allen & Gerritsen who specializes in digital art and design, says Mr. Gould sat with him about two years ago and asked him to explain changes he was making in the agency's website so it would function well on tablets and phones as well as on computers. Mr. Daly says Mr. Gould quickly saw the technology's potential for their clients' sites as well. Allen & Gerritsen has a reverse-mentoring policy to encourage such exchanges.
Of course, the help can go both ways. According to Mr. Gould, "somebody like me can teach people who are so ridiculously tech savvy how to handle themselves in a meeting when things go wrong." Mr. Daly says Mr. Gould sometimes coaches younger co-workers during client presentations, stepping in to help them over rough patches, without stealing the show.
While he has successfully leveraged social media in specific projects, he isn't as immersed in it as many younger professionals. Mr. Gould follows 158 feeds on Twitter, from the Harvard Business Review to the Onion, but only tweets occasionally to his 180 followers. "I tweet when I feel like I have something to say," he says. He blogs occasionally on Tumblr about politics, sports or personal topics. Twice a day he checks Facebook, where he has 517 friends.
He is selective in his social-media use, bypassing Foursquare and the social-network Google (GOOG) Plus, for example. "There's pressure these days to get into everything, but you have to stop yourself," he says.
In the evening, he turns everything off when he goes home. "I don't believe you can listen to your kids when you're staring at a screen," he says. He always tries to have dinner with his family, and he has breakfast with 17-year-old daughter Abby, a high-school senior. His wife of 22 years, Julie, 49, runs a custom window-treatment business from home. He talks by phone weekly with their 19-year-old son, Davis, a sophomore at West Virginia University.
Those boundaries come with a cost. Mr. Gould worries when he sees new hires walk in the door knowing technology he hasn't learned. "You're working 50 hours a week, through lunch, and when you go home you're trying to raise a family. And you see the company hiring these new people who just spent four years in college learning to do what you can't do, that you have no time for," he says.
"The speed of change makes you uncomfortable on a regular basis," he says. "That's so difficult for people who are paying mortgages, buying cars, trying to give their kids the things they had, to get them through school. You want to feel confident in the last 15 years of your career that after 25 or 30 years of effort, it's just going to work," he says. "But it isn't so. And I don't think you ever get over the fear of not knowing."
As Younger Colleagues Speak Fluent Twitter, How Old Pros Find Ways to Upgrade Their Skills, Fight Insecurity
It can also bring a nagging insecure feeling that younger colleagues—the ones with 5,000 Twitter followers, who designed their first website in middle school—are fast becoming the new office stars.
Doug Gould, a 50-year-old advertising veteran, says some of that anxiety arose when co-workers called him by nicknames like "Uncle Doug" and "Coach."
"I think those were terms of endearment," says Mr. Gould, a creative director for the Boston ad agency Allen & Gerritsen, who started his career back in 1984 using tracing paper and markers to design newspaper ads. "But if you read between the lines, it also meant 'old guy.' I get nervous about what that means."
For many people in the back half of their careers, the meaning is becoming all too clear: To keep from drifting, or being nudged, into an early retirement, it's time to add more high-tech arrows to their professional quiver—to refresh their skills with, say, some social-media or mobile-app expertise. As Mr. Gould has learned, competing with younger colleagues who grew up texting, tweeting, using Facebook (FB) and playing videogames requires constant work to stay up-to-date.
Even with an impressive résumé filled with more than a dozen industry awards—and two memorable Super Bowl ads—Mr. Gould knows he can't rest on his laurels. "Fifteen years ago, I thought I knew everything," says the husband and father of two teenagers who says he intends to work another 15 years or so. Now, "there is new technology out there I don't know the first thing about, that could easily turn me into a dinosaur if I don't continue to adapt."
In the past few years, he has taken more than 10 new-technology courses, both online and at a professional training center—from a seminar in the location-based social network Foursquare to a recent class in Adobe (ADBE) Muse, which lets him design and publish HTML websites without writing code. He now also tweets and blogs.
Rather than leaving hands-on work to underlings, as many executives do at his stage, he continues to use new design and animation programs to generate creative products like print, digital and broadcast ads and websites. "If I become a manager and nobody wants a manager, how am I going to thrive in my later years?" he says. "The lifeboat for me is to be able to still do the work."
He also looks for new challenges. He worked for a decade at a big agency, Hill Holliday, and was comfortable there. But he left two years ago to take a similar title at Allen & Gerritsen because he wanted a chance to help a midsize agency grow. "That was something I hadn't done before. I saw this as a challenge," he says.
Older workers have accumulated knowledge that is hard to replace, research shows. But lagging tech skills are one reason job-loss rates for experienced older workers 55 and over have exceeded those for younger workers by a growing margin for the past decade, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show.
Mr. Gould worries about surviving in a field where most of his counterparts are in their 30s or 40s. While he was quick in his late 20s to embrace new computer graphics programs that made hand drawings obsolete, he saw many older colleagues fall by the wayside. "Some of them didn't want to learn, or were afraid to learn," he says. "I thought, 'I hope this will never happen to me.'"
When social media and digital technology turned advertising upside down again many years later, Mr. Gould says, "I looked in the mirror and said, 'Oh my god, it's possible that I could become that person who fails to keep up.' "
Mr. Gould resisted using Twitter at first. "I said, 'You're kidding me—140 characters? That's it? The whole world is moving to phrases?' "
But after coming to see it as an efficient way to share information—instead of a truncated form of personal communication—he made Twitter the basis last fall of a campaign for the nonprofit City Year, #makebetterhappen, which has drawn more than 20,000 tweets from volunteers telling upbeat stories from the classroom.
Gillian Smith, City Year's chief marketing officer, says Mr. Gould's "great creative work" sparked a 37% year-over-year increase in City Year's website traffic.
Mr. Gould also tries to learn from younger colleagues. Ben Daly, 33, an associate creative director at Allen & Gerritsen who specializes in digital art and design, says Mr. Gould sat with him about two years ago and asked him to explain changes he was making in the agency's website so it would function well on tablets and phones as well as on computers. Mr. Daly says Mr. Gould quickly saw the technology's potential for their clients' sites as well. Allen & Gerritsen has a reverse-mentoring policy to encourage such exchanges.
Of course, the help can go both ways. According to Mr. Gould, "somebody like me can teach people who are so ridiculously tech savvy how to handle themselves in a meeting when things go wrong." Mr. Daly says Mr. Gould sometimes coaches younger co-workers during client presentations, stepping in to help them over rough patches, without stealing the show.
While he has successfully leveraged social media in specific projects, he isn't as immersed in it as many younger professionals. Mr. Gould follows 158 feeds on Twitter, from the Harvard Business Review to the Onion, but only tweets occasionally to his 180 followers. "I tweet when I feel like I have something to say," he says. He blogs occasionally on Tumblr about politics, sports or personal topics. Twice a day he checks Facebook, where he has 517 friends.
He is selective in his social-media use, bypassing Foursquare and the social-network Google (GOOG) Plus, for example. "There's pressure these days to get into everything, but you have to stop yourself," he says.
In the evening, he turns everything off when he goes home. "I don't believe you can listen to your kids when you're staring at a screen," he says. He always tries to have dinner with his family, and he has breakfast with 17-year-old daughter Abby, a high-school senior. His wife of 22 years, Julie, 49, runs a custom window-treatment business from home. He talks by phone weekly with their 19-year-old son, Davis, a sophomore at West Virginia University.
Those boundaries come with a cost. Mr. Gould worries when he sees new hires walk in the door knowing technology he hasn't learned. "You're working 50 hours a week, through lunch, and when you go home you're trying to raise a family. And you see the company hiring these new people who just spent four years in college learning to do what you can't do, that you have no time for," he says.
"The speed of change makes you uncomfortable on a regular basis," he says. "That's so difficult for people who are paying mortgages, buying cars, trying to give their kids the things they had, to get them through school. You want to feel confident in the last 15 years of your career that after 25 or 30 years of effort, it's just going to work," he says. "But it isn't so. And I don't think you ever get over the fear of not knowing."
Advanced Placement Test Apps
Need Some AP Test Prep? These $40 Apps May Help
High school students at more than 18,000 schools are preparing for May's Advanced Placement exams, which bestow college credit upon high scorers.
Now Macmillan's adaptive learning startup is preparing to market its study tools directly to those students for the first time.
The company Prep-U is launching AP test-prep apps for US History, AP Chemistry and AP Psychology on Thursday.
Based on technology previously sold as an online study companion to textbooks, the apps first determine a student's current mastery level through a series of quizzes. Thereafter, they serve up quiz questions at that level.
The idea is to never ask a question the student already knows for sure or one that will completely stump them, thereby focusing attention where it's needed.
As students progress, they'll get harder questions. They can track their progress in each category of expertise on a dashboard. If teachers assign the app, they can check in on students' progress as well.
Prep-U's technology is based on a theory most commonly referred to as adaptive learning. It's a system around which — as Barbara Rifkind, an independent consultant who advises education enterprises and a former vice president at Pearson Education, put it in a November interview — “There’s relatively little controversy in theory."
The idea of adjusting questions for individual students' levels is something most textbook publishers, as well as several startups, are dabbling in. In November, Pearson announced it would be integrating startup Knewton's adaptive learning technology in more than 750 textbook titles.
McGraw-Hill has an adaptive learning product called LearnSmart complete with mobile apps, and a startup called Grockit surrounds an individualized test-prep learning path with social features.
Prep-U previously powered textbook companions for third-party textbook companies. It says 98,700 students purchased its technology for $20 as part of their required college course materials.
Each AP test prep app will cost $40, and Prep-U will develop the content — between 1600 and 3600 questions — without the help of a third-party publisher. The new apps' success depends on whether students are willing to pay for the apps without necessarily being required to do so.
"We believe there’s a market direct-to-student," Troy Williams, a vice president at global publisher Macmillan, says. "We’re willing to invest to build this ourselves."
High school students at more than 18,000 schools are preparing for May's Advanced Placement exams, which bestow college credit upon high scorers.
Now Macmillan's adaptive learning startup is preparing to market its study tools directly to those students for the first time.
The company Prep-U is launching AP test-prep apps for US History, AP Chemistry and AP Psychology on Thursday.
Based on technology previously sold as an online study companion to textbooks, the apps first determine a student's current mastery level through a series of quizzes. Thereafter, they serve up quiz questions at that level.
The idea is to never ask a question the student already knows for sure or one that will completely stump them, thereby focusing attention where it's needed.
As students progress, they'll get harder questions. They can track their progress in each category of expertise on a dashboard. If teachers assign the app, they can check in on students' progress as well.
Prep-U's technology is based on a theory most commonly referred to as adaptive learning. It's a system around which — as Barbara Rifkind, an independent consultant who advises education enterprises and a former vice president at Pearson Education, put it in a November interview — “There’s relatively little controversy in theory."
The idea of adjusting questions for individual students' levels is something most textbook publishers, as well as several startups, are dabbling in. In November, Pearson announced it would be integrating startup Knewton's adaptive learning technology in more than 750 textbook titles.
McGraw-Hill has an adaptive learning product called LearnSmart complete with mobile apps, and a startup called Grockit surrounds an individualized test-prep learning path with social features.
Prep-U previously powered textbook companions for third-party textbook companies. It says 98,700 students purchased its technology for $20 as part of their required college course materials.
Each AP test prep app will cost $40, and Prep-U will develop the content — between 1600 and 3600 questions — without the help of a third-party publisher. The new apps' success depends on whether students are willing to pay for the apps without necessarily being required to do so.
"We believe there’s a market direct-to-student," Troy Williams, a vice president at global publisher Macmillan, says. "We’re willing to invest to build this ourselves."
Senin, 15 April 2013
The Best Safety Apps for WOMEN!
6 Best Women Safety Apps
Download these best Women safety apps for your smartphone and it could help you send emergency SOS SMS alerts, emails, Facebook notifications and even call friends with a single tap of the app should you need help while travelling alone at night, or being confronted with a threatening dangerous situation.
OnWatch
Positioned as personal safety app for college students, OnWatch allows you to easily alert friends and emergency responders like 911 and campus police when you need to. It also allows you to send time based alerts, for example if you do not reach home safely in an hour. You can easily inform your friends when you are safe with your GPS location. Winner of the U.S. Government’s Apps Against Abuse Challenge. Download for iPhone and Android. Offers free 90 day trial subscription to students with .edu email address, 30 day free trial for others.
CircleOf6
This app lets you add 6 friends who will be informed when you need it.CircleOf6 app when used will send a predecided SMS to your friends with your GPS location and a ‘Come and Get Me’ message. You can also send a call me message, should you need a call back phone call to get out. You can also program it to call select national hotlines or local emergency numbers. This app was also the winner of the White House Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge. For iPhone and Android. Free to use.
Life360
This is a family locator app which connects all your family members, allowing them to communicate instantly and track GPS location of your family in real time. Of course all family members need to download and install Life360. It allows you to send panic alerts via text, email and phone call if needed urgently. It allows parents to keep track of where their children are right now and will alert them when they return home from school. Its usage can be beyond safety issues and helps to keep your family connected on a daily basis. Winner of the Webby award for Best Use of GPS or Location Technology. Download now for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Free to use.
bSafe
Simply download the app, add as many friends you want to notify in case of emergency or threatening situations. When you press the SOS button, the bSafe app will send a SMS text message to all your bsafe friends and even call a friend to pick you up, while indicating your current map location. For iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Basic plan is free, though you can upgrade to bSafe premium plan for $1.99/mo ($14.99/yr).
FightBack
This is an India specific app which requires you to login via Facebook to download the app. Fightback utilizes your smartphone’s GPRS, SMS, GPS, maps, email and linked Facebook account to send SOS messages when needed. With a single tap, women can send SOS emergency SMS messages and emails to select friends in the list. The app also updates the Facebook status page with emergency messages and current location, to inform their Facebook network (if needed). Available for Android, Blackberry and Nokia smartphones. Free to use.
StreetSafe
This is a more premium paid service for women desiring extra security. Once you subscribe to StreetSafe for $20/mo ($150/yr) plan, tap the StreetSafe app and their personal safety adviser will provide instant help and can provide ‘Walk with me’ support to help you reach safely, and can notify 911 and the police (with your photos, age, height etc.) if the situation seems potentially violent or unsafe for you. Available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone.
Note: We are not affiliated with any of these services. Be sure to check the fine print, pricing and privacy terms before you choose it as your personal safety app. Always remember to test you settings so that they work when you need it.
OnWatch
Positioned as personal safety app for college students, OnWatch allows you to easily alert friends and emergency responders like 911 and campus police when you need to. It also allows you to send time based alerts, for example if you do not reach home safely in an hour. You can easily inform your friends when you are safe with your GPS location. Winner of the U.S. Government’s Apps Against Abuse Challenge. Download for iPhone and Android. Offers free 90 day trial subscription to students with .edu email address, 30 day free trial for others.
CircleOf6
This app lets you add 6 friends who will be informed when you need it.CircleOf6 app when used will send a predecided SMS to your friends with your GPS location and a ‘Come and Get Me’ message. You can also send a call me message, should you need a call back phone call to get out. You can also program it to call select national hotlines or local emergency numbers. This app was also the winner of the White House Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge. For iPhone and Android. Free to use.
Life360
This is a family locator app which connects all your family members, allowing them to communicate instantly and track GPS location of your family in real time. Of course all family members need to download and install Life360. It allows you to send panic alerts via text, email and phone call if needed urgently. It allows parents to keep track of where their children are right now and will alert them when they return home from school. Its usage can be beyond safety issues and helps to keep your family connected on a daily basis. Winner of the Webby award for Best Use of GPS or Location Technology. Download now for iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Free to use.
bSafe
Simply download the app, add as many friends you want to notify in case of emergency or threatening situations. When you press the SOS button, the bSafe app will send a SMS text message to all your bsafe friends and even call a friend to pick you up, while indicating your current map location. For iPhone, Android and Blackberry. Basic plan is free, though you can upgrade to bSafe premium plan for $1.99/mo ($14.99/yr).
FightBack
This is an India specific app which requires you to login via Facebook to download the app. Fightback utilizes your smartphone’s GPRS, SMS, GPS, maps, email and linked Facebook account to send SOS messages when needed. With a single tap, women can send SOS emergency SMS messages and emails to select friends in the list. The app also updates the Facebook status page with emergency messages and current location, to inform their Facebook network (if needed). Available for Android, Blackberry and Nokia smartphones. Free to use.
StreetSafe
This is a more premium paid service for women desiring extra security. Once you subscribe to StreetSafe for $20/mo ($150/yr) plan, tap the StreetSafe app and their personal safety adviser will provide instant help and can provide ‘Walk with me’ support to help you reach safely, and can notify 911 and the police (with your photos, age, height etc.) if the situation seems potentially violent or unsafe for you. Available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone.
Note: We are not affiliated with any of these services. Be sure to check the fine print, pricing and privacy terms before you choose it as your personal safety app. Always remember to test you settings so that they work when you need it.
The Secrets How To Have Sex With Celebrity
Want to sleep with a movie star? App lets users pretend to have sex with different people in the name of safe sex awareness
The app allows users to "test sex" with a range of fantasy characters, ranging from a personal trainer, to an unfaithful woman, to a handyman, all portrayed by more or less famous Swedish actors.
The app allows users to "test sex" with a range of fantasy characters.
Ever wonder what it would be like to sleep with a mean film director, a socialite or the guy who does voice-over in movie trailers, or perhaps with one of your Facebook friends?
As part of a new safe-sex initiative, the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (SMI) on Tuesday launched an app called Provligget, or Test Nooky, allowing you to do just that.
"The focus is on condom use... We're trying to get this issue on the agenda," explained Karin Raagsjoe, who came up for the idea for the app for SMI.
The app allows users to "test sex" with a range of fantasy characters, ranging from a personal trainer, to an unfaithful woman, to a handyman, all portrayed by more or less famous Swedish actors.
Once users make their choice, they are asked if they want to use a condom, and then to record their own moaning and groaning, which is then mixed with the sexually elated voice of their character of choice.
The whole time, messages pop up to ask things like: "Did you know that people who suggest using a condom are seen as confident and considerate?" and "Did you know Swedes are among the worst in the world at using a condom?"
If none of the 11 characters tickle your fancy, you can also choose to send a request to one of your Facebook friends asking if they are up for a test fling.
"The two of you can then mix your voices together," Raagsjoe told AFP, insisting the app was a fun way to raise awareness and get people to visit the www.knulldeluxe.se website, which for instance provides condom-use tips and information on where to get tested for sexually transmittable diseases.
"Swedes are bad at using condoms," she said, pointing out that studies showed that as few as 40 percent of Swedes used protection.
According to SMI, gonorrhoea infections in Sweden increased 13 percent last year compared to 2010, while chlamydia infections were also on the rise and the number of new HIV infections remains stubbornly high, with 465 cases last year.
Raagsjoe said the new app was aimed to get young people thinking and talking about their sex habits.
SAFE SEX CAN BE HEALTHY
"It is really hard to reach this group with the message of condom use," she said, pointing out that young people often don't grasp the dire consequences of risking sex without a condom.
"And people are also a bit shy. In the north we are known for being open about sex, but it is still hard to bring up the issue of using a condom," she said, stressing that "it is very intimate, and it can be hard if you don't make it a habit ... sort of like wearing a bike helmet".
The app allows users to "test sex" with a range of fantasy characters, ranging from a personal trainer, to an unfaithful woman, to a handyman, all portrayed by more or less famous Swedish actors.
Ever wonder what it would be like to sleep with a mean film director, a socialite or the guy who does voice-over in movie trailers, or perhaps with one of your Facebook friends?
As part of a new safe-sex initiative, the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (SMI) on Tuesday launched an app called Provligget, or Test Nooky, allowing you to do just that.
"The focus is on condom use... We're trying to get this issue on the agenda," explained Karin Raagsjoe, who came up for the idea for the app for SMI.
The app allows users to "test sex" with a range of fantasy characters, ranging from a personal trainer, to an unfaithful woman, to a handyman, all portrayed by more or less famous Swedish actors.
Once users make their choice, they are asked if they want to use a condom, and then to record their own moaning and groaning, which is then mixed with the sexually elated voice of their character of choice.
The whole time, messages pop up to ask things like: "Did you know that people who suggest using a condom are seen as confident and considerate?" and "Did you know Swedes are among the worst in the world at using a condom?"
If none of the 11 characters tickle your fancy, you can also choose to send a request to one of your Facebook friends asking if they are up for a test fling.
"The two of you can then mix your voices together," Raagsjoe told AFP, insisting the app was a fun way to raise awareness and get people to visit the www.knulldeluxe.se website, which for instance provides condom-use tips and information on where to get tested for sexually transmittable diseases.
"Swedes are bad at using condoms," she said, pointing out that studies showed that as few as 40 percent of Swedes used protection.
According to SMI, gonorrhoea infections in Sweden increased 13 percent last year compared to 2010, while chlamydia infections were also on the rise and the number of new HIV infections remains stubbornly high, with 465 cases last year.
Raagsjoe said the new app was aimed to get young people thinking and talking about their sex habits.
SAFE SEX CAN BE HEALTHY
"It is really hard to reach this group with the message of condom use," she said, pointing out that young people often don't grasp the dire consequences of risking sex without a condom.
"And people are also a bit shy. In the north we are known for being open about sex, but it is still hard to bring up the issue of using a condom," she said, stressing that "it is very intimate, and it can be hard if you don't make it a habit ... sort of like wearing a bike helmet".
Top 10 Tech Billionaires
Zuckerberg, Gates, Bezos, Page, and Brin (but no women) among world’s top 10 tech billionaires
Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple are not just engines of technological innovation in America — they’re also the path to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, which was just updated. But there is a little catch.
You gotta be a man.
Eleven of the world’s richest billionaires are wealthy primarily because they founded a technology company or own a significant stake in a technology company. That includes people like Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft and is worth $67 billion (and would probably still be the world’s richest man if he had not given away so much of his wealth). And CEOs like Larry Ellison, who founded Oracle and is currently the owner of not just a small Hawaiian island but also a fortune valued at $43 billion.
One problem?
Not a single woman is on the top 10 billionaires list, and just one woman is in the top 11. And that is due to inheritance more than founding a company:
Bill Gates: $67 billion
Larry Ellison: $43 billion
Jeff Bezos: $25 billion
Larry Page: $23 billion
Sergey Brin: $22.8 billion
Michael Dell: $15.3 billion
Steve Ballmer: $15.2 billion
Paul Allen: $15 billion
Mark Zuckerberg: $13.3 billion
Azim Premji: $11.2 billion
Laurene Powell Jobs and family: $10.7 billion
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest top tech billionaire, at just 28, followed not all that closely by Google’s Page and Brin, both of whom are still thirtysomething but will only be able to say that for one more year.
An interesting question: Who will be the first woman to make it on the list due to her standing as a tech founder or CEO?
Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer might be a top candidate, but her potentially $60 million compensation first-year package at Yahoo is only a drop in the billionaire’s bucket. She’s only like to make it if she gets a lot more stock-based compensation and Yahoo’s value goes through the roof.
That’s something that women like Change.org president and COO (and former Google exec) Jennifer Dulski is trying to change, as we reported a month ago. But given the 10-15 years it takes a company to attain the kind of scale that supports multibillion-dollar valuations, it may take us some time to see who successful they will be.
Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple are not just engines of technological innovation in America — they’re also the path to Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list, which was just updated. But there is a little catch.
You gotta be a man.
Eleven of the world’s richest billionaires are wealthy primarily because they founded a technology company or own a significant stake in a technology company. That includes people like Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft and is worth $67 billion (and would probably still be the world’s richest man if he had not given away so much of his wealth). And CEOs like Larry Ellison, who founded Oracle and is currently the owner of not just a small Hawaiian island but also a fortune valued at $43 billion.
One problem?
Not a single woman is on the top 10 billionaires list, and just one woman is in the top 11. And that is due to inheritance more than founding a company:
Bill Gates: $67 billion
Larry Ellison: $43 billion
Jeff Bezos: $25 billion
Larry Page: $23 billion
Sergey Brin: $22.8 billion
Michael Dell: $15.3 billion
Steve Ballmer: $15.2 billion
Paul Allen: $15 billion
Mark Zuckerberg: $13.3 billion
Azim Premji: $11.2 billion
Laurene Powell Jobs and family: $10.7 billion
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest top tech billionaire, at just 28, followed not all that closely by Google’s Page and Brin, both of whom are still thirtysomething but will only be able to say that for one more year.
An interesting question: Who will be the first woman to make it on the list due to her standing as a tech founder or CEO?
Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer might be a top candidate, but her potentially $60 million compensation first-year package at Yahoo is only a drop in the billionaire’s bucket. She’s only like to make it if she gets a lot more stock-based compensation and Yahoo’s value goes through the roof.
That’s something that women like Change.org president and COO (and former Google exec) Jennifer Dulski is trying to change, as we reported a month ago. But given the 10-15 years it takes a company to attain the kind of scale that supports multibillion-dollar valuations, it may take us some time to see who successful they will be.
Digital Kama Sutra Apps
Kama Xcitra app allows users to 'study' sexual positions with 3D hologram technology
Xcite Books takes the Kama Sutra to the next level, giving customers a three-dimensional look at 69 different ways to make love.
Kama Xcitra is a new mobile app that takes the Kama Sutra into the digital age.
Yes, there's an app for that.
The new Kama Xcitra application for smartphones and tablets takes the ancient Kama Sutra into the digital age, using 3D hologram technology to allow customers to "study" various sexual positions.
The app comes with the purchase of the Kama Xcitra book, which features "69 illustrated positions" of lovemaking. Accoding to the Xcite website, "images can be rotated 360 degrees to explore each position for maximum enjoyment" and "skin color can be changed to reflect the reader's preferences."
“For more than two thousand years couples have turned to the Kama Sutra for advice and guidance on how to have a fulfilling love life,” Xcite Books managing director Hazel Cushion said. “But some of the more challenging positions like the Prone Tiger, the Catherine Wheel or the Peg have left readers a little baffled. That is until now.”
The app features all of the 69 positions detailed in the book.
“Each image appears to pop out of the page as a 3D hologram right in front of the reader’s phone," Cushion said. "The viewer then moves their mobile device around to appreciate the position from all angles. As a result, each position becomes clearer, finally solving the problem of where to put that awkward elbow.”
The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Xcite Books takes the Kama Sutra to the next level, giving customers a three-dimensional look at 69 different ways to make love.
Yes, there's an app for that.
The new Kama Xcitra application for smartphones and tablets takes the ancient Kama Sutra into the digital age, using 3D hologram technology to allow customers to "study" various sexual positions.
The app comes with the purchase of the Kama Xcitra book, which features "69 illustrated positions" of lovemaking. Accoding to the Xcite website, "images can be rotated 360 degrees to explore each position for maximum enjoyment" and "skin color can be changed to reflect the reader's preferences."
“For more than two thousand years couples have turned to the Kama Sutra for advice and guidance on how to have a fulfilling love life,” Xcite Books managing director Hazel Cushion said. “But some of the more challenging positions like the Prone Tiger, the Catherine Wheel or the Peg have left readers a little baffled. That is until now.”
The app features all of the 69 positions detailed in the book.
“Each image appears to pop out of the page as a 3D hologram right in front of the reader’s phone," Cushion said. "The viewer then moves their mobile device around to appreciate the position from all angles. As a result, each position becomes clearer, finally solving the problem of where to put that awkward elbow.”
The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Jumat, 12 April 2013
How To Drink A Beer While Doing Sex in The Street
Google Street View: Couple 'caught having sex' by side of the road
The randy pair have shot to internet fame after being snapped red-handed by the search engine's cameras
Here's a rude view... on Google Street View.
The randy couple have shot to internet fame after being 'caught having sex' by the search engine's cameras.
The pair were filmed after parking up on Dukes Highway near Keith in South Australia as the Street View car passed by.
The image, which was now been censored by Google, shows the couple bent over the bonnet on a silver Sedan.
The man has his blue shorts down and appears to be drinking a beer. His partner appears to be waving at the camera.
The picture has since been shared widely on social media, with many users speculating that it's nothing moer than a stunt.
A message posted on Reddit by 'benxology' claimed the couple was "me and my missus".
He wrote: "We saw the Google car on the way to Adelaide a couple of years ago.
"I sped up, overtook the car then posed with a Corona (beer) in hand.
"I pinned the location in Maps to remember where it was to later check but never found it ... Hilarious!!"
The randy pair have shot to internet fame after being snapped red-handed by the search engine's cameras
Here's a rude view... on Google Street View.
The randy couple have shot to internet fame after being 'caught having sex' by the search engine's cameras.
The pair were filmed after parking up on Dukes Highway near Keith in South Australia as the Street View car passed by.
The image, which was now been censored by Google, shows the couple bent over the bonnet on a silver Sedan.
The man has his blue shorts down and appears to be drinking a beer. His partner appears to be waving at the camera.
The picture has since been shared widely on social media, with many users speculating that it's nothing moer than a stunt.
A message posted on Reddit by 'benxology' claimed the couple was "me and my missus".
He wrote: "We saw the Google car on the way to Adelaide a couple of years ago.
"I sped up, overtook the car then posed with a Corona (beer) in hand.
"I pinned the location in Maps to remember where it was to later check but never found it ... Hilarious!!"
Pink Batmobile
Google staff plays April Fool's car prank on co-founder Sergey Brin, turns his Tesla Model S into a pink Batmobile
Google staff surprised company co-founder Sergey Brin on April Fool's by turning his Tesla Model S into a bright pink Batmobile. The pranksters from the Google X project division, currently working on Google Glass, wrapped the car in pink vinyl to make sure the changes weren't permanent.
The pranksters used pink vinyl to wrap the car so the damage would not be permanent.
Holy April Fools, Batman!
Google staff surprised co-founder Sergey Brin by turning his electric Tesla Model S sedan into a bright pink Batmobile as part of a newly revealed April Fool's Day joke.
The staff at Google's 'X' project division, famous within the company for producing its most visionary products and ideas and currently responsible for the Google Glass project, decided to play a joke on their boss, and the company's co-founder Sergey Brin.
However, what made it special is that despite living in a virtual age, where software can be used to alter an image or a misleading story can easily be posted online, the prank, which involved seriously modifying a car, was very much old school and real world.
While Brin's back was turned, his co workers turned his Model S Tesla car into what can only be described as a pink Batmobile, complete with Bat symbol on the hood, massive rims (complete with Google Chrome logos in their centers), protruding rear bat wings and long, luscious eyelashes adorning the car's headlights.
Google X projects member Corey Tabaka posted a photo to his Google+ account not only of the car, but of Brin taking the joke in good humor and actually taking it out for a spin. The reason the pranksters chose the Batman motif is because the X projects department is thought of as the "bat cave," and the jokers were also quick to highlight that they used pink vinyl to wrap the car, so that none of the modifications would be permanent or difficult to reverse.
Google staff surprised company co-founder Sergey Brin on April Fool's by turning his Tesla Model S into a bright pink Batmobile. The pranksters from the Google X project division, currently working on Google Glass, wrapped the car in pink vinyl to make sure the changes weren't permanent.
Holy April Fools, Batman!
Google staff surprised co-founder Sergey Brin by turning his electric Tesla Model S sedan into a bright pink Batmobile as part of a newly revealed April Fool's Day joke.
The staff at Google's 'X' project division, famous within the company for producing its most visionary products and ideas and currently responsible for the Google Glass project, decided to play a joke on their boss, and the company's co-founder Sergey Brin.
However, what made it special is that despite living in a virtual age, where software can be used to alter an image or a misleading story can easily be posted online, the prank, which involved seriously modifying a car, was very much old school and real world.
While Brin's back was turned, his co workers turned his Model S Tesla car into what can only be described as a pink Batmobile, complete with Bat symbol on the hood, massive rims (complete with Google Chrome logos in their centers), protruding rear bat wings and long, luscious eyelashes adorning the car's headlights.
Google X projects member Corey Tabaka posted a photo to his Google+ account not only of the car, but of Brin taking the joke in good humor and actually taking it out for a spin. The reason the pranksters chose the Batman motif is because the X projects department is thought of as the "bat cave," and the jokers were also quick to highlight that they used pink vinyl to wrap the car, so that none of the modifications would be permanent or difficult to reverse.
Senin, 08 April 2013
Minggu, 07 April 2013
How To Create A Kick Ass Crowdfunding
How To Create A Kick Ass Crowdfunding Campaign And Make Your Dreams Come True
I want you to court bolder dreams and make them a reality.
We all have a dream. Some grand vision we’d love to see come to fruition one day. Something that scares us, compels us and energizes us at the same time. So why is it that so many people seem to put those dreams in a box and shelve them away for a day that never comes?
It’s tragic to think of all those boxed up dreams, slowly dying away, deprived of oxygen and never likely to see the light of day. I don’t want to see that happen anymore.
The biggest excuse I hear aside from people’s natural, inherent fears of failure (or success) is lack of funds to make it happen. Well I don’t really think we can use that as an excuse anymore because of this phenomenon called crowdfunding.
What is crowdfunding?
It’s when people come together to invest directly in a project or person’s idea. Always wanted to design an automatic `dog pooper picker-upper’? Use crowdfunding. Fancy yourself as an artist? Use crowdfunding. Want to bring your artwork to the world at large? Yep, say it with me, use crowdfunding.
Kickstarter is one of a number of crowdfunding sites that’s sprung up in the past few years and is seeing incredible results, as is Indiegogo.
I swear that contributing and backing people’s projects on platforms like these is becoming a little addictive. In the last 4 weeks alone I’ve invested just under $700 across 5 worthwhile projects because I just love helping people see their dreams become a reality.
This has got to stop I say to myself …or has it? It’s totally inspiring to watch these people put their dreams out there on the line and then ask you to step up and make them a reality by pledging your dollars to ensure their project gets funded.
How To Succeed At Crowdfunding
Earlier this year I also contributed to {r}evolution apparel’s Versalette campaign (the perfect Suitcase Entrepreneur accessory by the way), which became the most funded fashion project in Kickstarter history!
What was it that made it so successful and how can you replicate this for yourself? That’s what I want to discuss right here and so I’ve aimed to make this post is your mini guide to creating a kick ass crowdfunding campaign so you can turn that dream into a reality.
Below I’ve dissected the projects I’ve backed and why they were a success and how you can apply this to yours as well as providing some key reading resources to take your plans one step further.
I’d like to kick off with (for want of a better pun) with this excellent two part Kickstarter Whitepaper series Lee Moyer wrote, to share his lessons on creating his own successful Kickstarter campaign of over $122,000 pledged. An important point to keep in mind that he makes is:
“Kickstarter is a value proposition. You are offering people, your “backers,” a product or service in exchange for their support. In the majority of cases on Kickstarter, you are essentially offering people the opportunity to “pre-order” your product before you actually produce it. Backers of Kickstarter projects are not loaning or “donating” money to you, they are buying a product from you and therefore they expect to receive value for their money.”
If you take a look at the Versalette example I talked about above you see that {r}evolution apparel is aiming to change the fashion industry (read their story here). That’s a pretty great start to making your campaign successful – be game changing, have a grand vision, tug at peoples heart strings.
These crowdfunding platforms allow you to do this through telling a compelling story helped greatly by the power of video. In the case of the above this was the clincher for me, having stumbled across their Kickstarter campaign. After watching it I was hooked.
Kudos to Abe Cajudo who directed this video, and is now a Kickstarter Impressario (aka consultant) – I mean this crowdfunding is truly a revolution creating new jobs and businesses too!
Five Case Studies Of Successful Crowdfunding
To make it dead easy I’ve posted the name of the campaign, the summary of the project, the outcome and the reason why these kicked ass. Get ready to learn a lot.
Seth Godin – The Icarus Deception
The Project
“Please help me show my publisher, the bookstores and anyone with a book worth writing that it’s possible to start a project with a show of support on Kickstarter. The Icarus Deception is an experiment in publishing, an opportunity for real growth, an invitation to challenge your friends and something you can touch.”
The Outcome
Seth was asking for $100,000 to make this project happen and he raised this within 3 hours of posting it! Normally you’re given a month to reach your goal and only when you raise that amount does it get completed and funded and all the pledge payments are authorized. He’s now on over $286,000 with 7 days to go!
The Reason for Success:
In large part, the reason for this amazing result is due to the fact that Seth rocks and has a huge global community of fans who were only too happy to help him out. He’s the authority on the world of traditional and self publishing and writes passionately about it day in day out, both on his blog and the Domino Project. The video is also just too brilliant to ignore. Seth gets straight to the heart of why the world needs this to succeed in a pragmatic, no BS way that you just can’t help but adore.
He wrote a great article here actually on Why (some) Kickstarter Campaigns Fail and why you do need a community to make your Kickstarter project a success. He talked about his reflections on the amazing outcome of his campaign in Reflections on Today’s Kickstarter.
Adam Baker – I’m fine thanks
The Project
“I’m Fine, Thanks is a new, feature-length documentary about complacency. It’s a collection of stories about life, the choices we all make, and the paths we ultimately decide to follow. We examine the factors that motivate and drive our major life choices. And, most importantly, whether or not the path we follow through life – and the habits we form based on that path – are truly connected with who we really are as individuals. This is a movie about the moment people realize the life they’re living is not the life that’s true to their heart… and, as a result, what they decide to do about it!”
The Outcome
Adam and Crank Studios met their funding goal with around a week to go and overshot their $100,000 goal by around $15,000 with 4,447 backers. As a result they’re thrilled to be able to piece this documentary together and bring it to the world in a series of premieres, starting with the first in Portland during the World Domination Summit that I went to and rocked. And the NYC one where my pledged amount has got me VIP tickets as well as a feature in the credits!
The Reason for Success
Adam Baker is a hugely successful blogger over at Man vs Debt with a large readership and an excellent network of other influential online bloggers and marketers who were all to happy to step up and help out by spreading the word on their blogs. When I talked to him about it he believed his audience and community were a huge part of it.
They sent regular updates to their lists and through the Kickstarter platform asking for everyone to continue to spread the word and keep the momentum going so you were naturally excited by the project. In addition the excellent video showcasing the project on Kickstarter, the fact is this is a documentary that needs to be seen and a message that must be heard. That’s reason enough to back it – and just so you know it became the most well backed documentary ever on Kickstarter!
Danny Iny – Naked Marketing
The Project:
“I want YOU to help me write this book! Instead of going away for six months and writing in seclusion, I want to write this book in collaboration with the people who need it the most. I want to share my ideas with you as I write them, develop them in collaboration with you, and get your feedback and input before I waste time writing stuff that you aren’t interested in reading. Then I’ll write up my ideas, and share them with you – every section and chapter – the moment that I’m done writing them.
The Outcome:
When I went to visit this project through a link through Danny’s blog I saw his small goal of $2,500 was already blown out and today I received an update saying they raised $5240 in pledges and exceeded their expectations. This could easily have been a $10,000 plus project but Danny is not greedy and had clear reasons for selecting this amount and managing his book project in a `novel way’ (excuse the pun). He breaks down the previous costs of publishing and his reason for doing it this way this time around.
The Reason for Success
Danny Iny is not called the Freddy Kruger of blogging for no reason. He’s a prolific writer on Firepole Marketing as well as tonnes of other sites he regularly guest posts for. He’s the author of Engagement from Scratch and has built a huge list since publishing this book, as well as his latest free manifesto Naked Marketing. In fact that manifesto is the basis and motivation behind turning it into a fully fledged contributor-led book. Everyone likes being part of a collaborative project they can share in the journey of. Danny is a smart marketer and has a big community rooting for his eternal new creations and implementations who want him to succeed – and he has.
Below is a break down of Danny’s `Special Perks’ for his writing team and a big reason why his project got funded so quickly in my mind:
I want to give you every reason to get behind this project, so I’ve put together a huge list of exciting perks that you can get when you join my Writing Team, like:
Privileged access to the book materials before anybody else
A direct line to me, and the ability to influence the development of the entire project
A behind-the-scenes look at how it all comes together
An autographed paperback copy mailed to your door as soon as it’s ready
Free access to the live Naked Marketing Bootcamp training series I’m developing
1-on-1 marketing and business strategy advice and coaching from me (I usually charge $250 for 45-minutes)
Acknowledgement, mention, and exposure in the book when it’s released
The full list of perks is listed on the side of the page, and just to be clear, the perks are CUMULATIVE – so if your investment gets you the signed hardcover, for example, it’ll also get you participation in the project.
Antrese Wood – A Portrait Of Argentina Landscapes And Portraits
The Project
“Inspired by love, this project intends to seek out and share the stories of people and places that inspire hope in the human spirit. People who inspire us to reach higher, to be better than we are. My goal is to paint Argentina from an individual, national and world perspective. As I paint portraits of the people I meet, I’ll listen to their stories and then paint enplein-aire, the scenes from their daily life; the places the nation is most proud of, and locations familiar to the world.
The Outcome
Antrese was able to fund this project of $25,000 with 159 backers with just hours to go as her friends, family and some influential people who cared about this art project stepped up to join her in spreading the word. I originally found out about it from Pam Slim who thought it was a beautiful project and reached out to several of us who had lived in Argentina to support it or spread the word. When Pam speaks, people listen! But I was also so taken by Antrese’s video and idea that it was a no brainer to back it and share with my community and other friends around the world – especially from my time living in Argentina.
Seeing how happy she was to have this project funded in this charming video she sent out in the final hours when she knew she’d reached her funding goal, was worth it for me.
The Reason for Success
As I state above, enlisting the help of a few key influential people who care about your art is the best way to get started when you don’t have a large community, or an award winning blog or website to give you the platform from which to leap. I liken it to a snowball that gains momentum, speed and size as it rolls down the slopes. A few people give that ball a push and others (e.g bits of sticky snow) jump on to make it pick up pace and spread further and further! It helps that Antrese is a clearly talented artist with a cool idea that people want to see come to fruition.
Liz Dickinson: Alpha – The Holy Grail Of Heartrate
The Project
“And they said it couldn’t be done! Alpha is the world’s first strapless, continuous heart rate monitor watch you can wear on your wrist tested EKG accurate even while you are running at performance speeds of up to 20km/h (12mph).”
The Outcome
At the time I backed it around a week ago, after Liz had personally emailed me to spread the word, she was at around $85,000 of her $100,000 goal but with plenty of time still to go. She then surpassed her goal in a very short space of time when Mashable got hold of it (read on below for that story!).
Liz is the founder of MIO Global and the amazingly generous supporter of my bike ride across Africa. Not only did she send me several watches to try out (the Triumph I wear everyday with pride), she also gave me a rewards flight on my current trip to the US! So I was hands down going to back this cool project as it’s never been done before.
The Reason for Success
Having witnessed other people’s inventions on crowdfunding platforms, most notable this stellar example of over exceeding your expectations, these kinds of projects attract people passionate about seeing these innovations making it into the shops for all of us to buy and own. In addition Liz’s company MIO Global, has built up great goodwill with their superior sports watches and by supporting athletes in their endeavours – in short a real passion for healthy living and improving sports performance. People react to that and want to return the favour in droves.
It also helps when this happens, as Liz put out in one of her updates just days ago:
Hi Everyone
Here I am in Hong Kong and was just getting ready to turn off the computer and try to fool myself into thinking I really wanted to sleep despite being desperate for breakfast when I noticed a string of new pledges coming in. Usually that means there has been some sort of favorable mention somewhere online. I did a quick search and saw that the reporter who put up with my puffing breathlessly in her ear while running around last minute getting ready for my trip was from Mashable! You think I would have known that, right?
Mashable Business
Well, within a few minutes we were catapulted right over our goal and I am thrilled to announce we are FUNDED!
Could we be another PEBBLE? Well we are starting to ROCK!
Happy Birthday ALPHA! July 4th will now be known as Chest Strap Independence Day!
Liz
Want to know more about how this worked so well, read PR Lessons From A Kickstarter Launch by my friend Elena Verlee. It’s a great resource.
Using Crowdfunding For Your Dream Project
The variety of case studies I’ve highlighted above and the reasons for their success should give you some excellent reasons for using a crowdfunding platform to make your dreams come true. Aside from Kickstarter and Indigogo here are the Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites for Entrepreneurs. All are free to use and have different terms and conditions for what types of projects you can start on there.
Five keys to succeeding in your crowdfunding mission:
1. Translate your dream into a story people can buy into and fully support – create a movement
2. Enlist the help of those nearest and dearest to you and a few key influential people to get you started
3. Continue to update people on your progress through the platform your using and any other means possible (YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, your blog, your newsletter, other people’s blogs, PR outlets – the sky is your limit).
4. Create meaningful rewards that people want to get hold of – scarcity, exlusiveness and uniqueness all help in making them more attractive to potential pledgers
5. Go big or go home. Most crowdfunding projects are asking for larger monetary amounts these days, which means the risk is higher to ensure it succeeds so your project gets backed. At the same time that seems to be the reason most people get behind it – the sheer scale and vision of making these dreams a reality.
Want to fund a worthy Kickstarter right now?
Check out Niftyfare Handcakes Kickstarter project and support my friend Nif. She’s designed these delicious handcakes that are a cross between a veggie burger and a pancake. Frozen for your convenience, they are vegetarian, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free and garlic-free. (whew!). And she’s got just 14 days left to raise just over $3K so go support her and see how this crowdfunding works in real-time.
Tell me about your experiences using crowdfunding and what worked and didn’t
We all have a dream. Some grand vision we’d love to see come to fruition one day. Something that scares us, compels us and energizes us at the same time. So why is it that so many people seem to put those dreams in a box and shelve them away for a day that never comes?
It’s tragic to think of all those boxed up dreams, slowly dying away, deprived of oxygen and never likely to see the light of day. I don’t want to see that happen anymore.
The biggest excuse I hear aside from people’s natural, inherent fears of failure (or success) is lack of funds to make it happen. Well I don’t really think we can use that as an excuse anymore because of this phenomenon called crowdfunding.
What is crowdfunding?
It’s when people come together to invest directly in a project or person’s idea. Always wanted to design an automatic `dog pooper picker-upper’? Use crowdfunding. Fancy yourself as an artist? Use crowdfunding. Want to bring your artwork to the world at large? Yep, say it with me, use crowdfunding.
Kickstarter is one of a number of crowdfunding sites that’s sprung up in the past few years and is seeing incredible results, as is Indiegogo.
I swear that contributing and backing people’s projects on platforms like these is becoming a little addictive. In the last 4 weeks alone I’ve invested just under $700 across 5 worthwhile projects because I just love helping people see their dreams become a reality.
This has got to stop I say to myself …or has it? It’s totally inspiring to watch these people put their dreams out there on the line and then ask you to step up and make them a reality by pledging your dollars to ensure their project gets funded.
How To Succeed At Crowdfunding
Earlier this year I also contributed to {r}evolution apparel’s Versalette campaign (the perfect Suitcase Entrepreneur accessory by the way), which became the most funded fashion project in Kickstarter history!
What was it that made it so successful and how can you replicate this for yourself? That’s what I want to discuss right here and so I’ve aimed to make this post is your mini guide to creating a kick ass crowdfunding campaign so you can turn that dream into a reality.
Below I’ve dissected the projects I’ve backed and why they were a success and how you can apply this to yours as well as providing some key reading resources to take your plans one step further.
I’d like to kick off with (for want of a better pun) with this excellent two part Kickstarter Whitepaper series Lee Moyer wrote, to share his lessons on creating his own successful Kickstarter campaign of over $122,000 pledged. An important point to keep in mind that he makes is:
“Kickstarter is a value proposition. You are offering people, your “backers,” a product or service in exchange for their support. In the majority of cases on Kickstarter, you are essentially offering people the opportunity to “pre-order” your product before you actually produce it. Backers of Kickstarter projects are not loaning or “donating” money to you, they are buying a product from you and therefore they expect to receive value for their money.”
If you take a look at the Versalette example I talked about above you see that {r}evolution apparel is aiming to change the fashion industry (read their story here). That’s a pretty great start to making your campaign successful – be game changing, have a grand vision, tug at peoples heart strings.
These crowdfunding platforms allow you to do this through telling a compelling story helped greatly by the power of video. In the case of the above this was the clincher for me, having stumbled across their Kickstarter campaign. After watching it I was hooked.
Kudos to Abe Cajudo who directed this video, and is now a Kickstarter Impressario (aka consultant) – I mean this crowdfunding is truly a revolution creating new jobs and businesses too!
Five Case Studies Of Successful Crowdfunding
To make it dead easy I’ve posted the name of the campaign, the summary of the project, the outcome and the reason why these kicked ass. Get ready to learn a lot.
Seth Godin – The Icarus Deception
The Project
“Please help me show my publisher, the bookstores and anyone with a book worth writing that it’s possible to start a project with a show of support on Kickstarter. The Icarus Deception is an experiment in publishing, an opportunity for real growth, an invitation to challenge your friends and something you can touch.”
The Outcome
Seth was asking for $100,000 to make this project happen and he raised this within 3 hours of posting it! Normally you’re given a month to reach your goal and only when you raise that amount does it get completed and funded and all the pledge payments are authorized. He’s now on over $286,000 with 7 days to go!
The Reason for Success:
In large part, the reason for this amazing result is due to the fact that Seth rocks and has a huge global community of fans who were only too happy to help him out. He’s the authority on the world of traditional and self publishing and writes passionately about it day in day out, both on his blog and the Domino Project. The video is also just too brilliant to ignore. Seth gets straight to the heart of why the world needs this to succeed in a pragmatic, no BS way that you just can’t help but adore.
He wrote a great article here actually on Why (some) Kickstarter Campaigns Fail and why you do need a community to make your Kickstarter project a success. He talked about his reflections on the amazing outcome of his campaign in Reflections on Today’s Kickstarter.
Adam Baker – I’m fine thanks
The Project
“I’m Fine, Thanks is a new, feature-length documentary about complacency. It’s a collection of stories about life, the choices we all make, and the paths we ultimately decide to follow. We examine the factors that motivate and drive our major life choices. And, most importantly, whether or not the path we follow through life – and the habits we form based on that path – are truly connected with who we really are as individuals. This is a movie about the moment people realize the life they’re living is not the life that’s true to their heart… and, as a result, what they decide to do about it!”
The Outcome
Adam and Crank Studios met their funding goal with around a week to go and overshot their $100,000 goal by around $15,000 with 4,447 backers. As a result they’re thrilled to be able to piece this documentary together and bring it to the world in a series of premieres, starting with the first in Portland during the World Domination Summit that I went to and rocked. And the NYC one where my pledged amount has got me VIP tickets as well as a feature in the credits!
The Reason for Success
Adam Baker is a hugely successful blogger over at Man vs Debt with a large readership and an excellent network of other influential online bloggers and marketers who were all to happy to step up and help out by spreading the word on their blogs. When I talked to him about it he believed his audience and community were a huge part of it.
They sent regular updates to their lists and through the Kickstarter platform asking for everyone to continue to spread the word and keep the momentum going so you were naturally excited by the project. In addition the excellent video showcasing the project on Kickstarter, the fact is this is a documentary that needs to be seen and a message that must be heard. That’s reason enough to back it – and just so you know it became the most well backed documentary ever on Kickstarter!
Danny Iny – Naked Marketing
The Project:
“I want YOU to help me write this book! Instead of going away for six months and writing in seclusion, I want to write this book in collaboration with the people who need it the most. I want to share my ideas with you as I write them, develop them in collaboration with you, and get your feedback and input before I waste time writing stuff that you aren’t interested in reading. Then I’ll write up my ideas, and share them with you – every section and chapter – the moment that I’m done writing them.
The Outcome:
When I went to visit this project through a link through Danny’s blog I saw his small goal of $2,500 was already blown out and today I received an update saying they raised $5240 in pledges and exceeded their expectations. This could easily have been a $10,000 plus project but Danny is not greedy and had clear reasons for selecting this amount and managing his book project in a `novel way’ (excuse the pun). He breaks down the previous costs of publishing and his reason for doing it this way this time around.
The Reason for Success
Danny Iny is not called the Freddy Kruger of blogging for no reason. He’s a prolific writer on Firepole Marketing as well as tonnes of other sites he regularly guest posts for. He’s the author of Engagement from Scratch and has built a huge list since publishing this book, as well as his latest free manifesto Naked Marketing. In fact that manifesto is the basis and motivation behind turning it into a fully fledged contributor-led book. Everyone likes being part of a collaborative project they can share in the journey of. Danny is a smart marketer and has a big community rooting for his eternal new creations and implementations who want him to succeed – and he has.
Below is a break down of Danny’s `Special Perks’ for his writing team and a big reason why his project got funded so quickly in my mind:
I want to give you every reason to get behind this project, so I’ve put together a huge list of exciting perks that you can get when you join my Writing Team, like:
Privileged access to the book materials before anybody else
A direct line to me, and the ability to influence the development of the entire project
A behind-the-scenes look at how it all comes together
An autographed paperback copy mailed to your door as soon as it’s ready
Free access to the live Naked Marketing Bootcamp training series I’m developing
1-on-1 marketing and business strategy advice and coaching from me (I usually charge $250 for 45-minutes)
Acknowledgement, mention, and exposure in the book when it’s released
The full list of perks is listed on the side of the page, and just to be clear, the perks are CUMULATIVE – so if your investment gets you the signed hardcover, for example, it’ll also get you participation in the project.
Antrese Wood – A Portrait Of Argentina Landscapes And Portraits
The Project
“Inspired by love, this project intends to seek out and share the stories of people and places that inspire hope in the human spirit. People who inspire us to reach higher, to be better than we are. My goal is to paint Argentina from an individual, national and world perspective. As I paint portraits of the people I meet, I’ll listen to their stories and then paint enplein-aire, the scenes from their daily life; the places the nation is most proud of, and locations familiar to the world.
The Outcome
Antrese was able to fund this project of $25,000 with 159 backers with just hours to go as her friends, family and some influential people who cared about this art project stepped up to join her in spreading the word. I originally found out about it from Pam Slim who thought it was a beautiful project and reached out to several of us who had lived in Argentina to support it or spread the word. When Pam speaks, people listen! But I was also so taken by Antrese’s video and idea that it was a no brainer to back it and share with my community and other friends around the world – especially from my time living in Argentina.
Seeing how happy she was to have this project funded in this charming video she sent out in the final hours when she knew she’d reached her funding goal, was worth it for me.
The Reason for Success
As I state above, enlisting the help of a few key influential people who care about your art is the best way to get started when you don’t have a large community, or an award winning blog or website to give you the platform from which to leap. I liken it to a snowball that gains momentum, speed and size as it rolls down the slopes. A few people give that ball a push and others (e.g bits of sticky snow) jump on to make it pick up pace and spread further and further! It helps that Antrese is a clearly talented artist with a cool idea that people want to see come to fruition.
Liz Dickinson: Alpha – The Holy Grail Of Heartrate
The Project
“And they said it couldn’t be done! Alpha is the world’s first strapless, continuous heart rate monitor watch you can wear on your wrist tested EKG accurate even while you are running at performance speeds of up to 20km/h (12mph).”
The Outcome
At the time I backed it around a week ago, after Liz had personally emailed me to spread the word, she was at around $85,000 of her $100,000 goal but with plenty of time still to go. She then surpassed her goal in a very short space of time when Mashable got hold of it (read on below for that story!).
Liz is the founder of MIO Global and the amazingly generous supporter of my bike ride across Africa. Not only did she send me several watches to try out (the Triumph I wear everyday with pride), she also gave me a rewards flight on my current trip to the US! So I was hands down going to back this cool project as it’s never been done before.
The Reason for Success
Having witnessed other people’s inventions on crowdfunding platforms, most notable this stellar example of over exceeding your expectations, these kinds of projects attract people passionate about seeing these innovations making it into the shops for all of us to buy and own. In addition Liz’s company MIO Global, has built up great goodwill with their superior sports watches and by supporting athletes in their endeavours – in short a real passion for healthy living and improving sports performance. People react to that and want to return the favour in droves.
It also helps when this happens, as Liz put out in one of her updates just days ago:
Hi Everyone
Here I am in Hong Kong and was just getting ready to turn off the computer and try to fool myself into thinking I really wanted to sleep despite being desperate for breakfast when I noticed a string of new pledges coming in. Usually that means there has been some sort of favorable mention somewhere online. I did a quick search and saw that the reporter who put up with my puffing breathlessly in her ear while running around last minute getting ready for my trip was from Mashable! You think I would have known that, right?
Mashable Business
Well, within a few minutes we were catapulted right over our goal and I am thrilled to announce we are FUNDED!
Could we be another PEBBLE? Well we are starting to ROCK!
Happy Birthday ALPHA! July 4th will now be known as Chest Strap Independence Day!
Liz
Want to know more about how this worked so well, read PR Lessons From A Kickstarter Launch by my friend Elena Verlee. It’s a great resource.
Using Crowdfunding For Your Dream Project
The variety of case studies I’ve highlighted above and the reasons for their success should give you some excellent reasons for using a crowdfunding platform to make your dreams come true. Aside from Kickstarter and Indigogo here are the Top 10 Crowdfunding Sites for Entrepreneurs. All are free to use and have different terms and conditions for what types of projects you can start on there.
Five keys to succeeding in your crowdfunding mission:
1. Translate your dream into a story people can buy into and fully support – create a movement
2. Enlist the help of those nearest and dearest to you and a few key influential people to get you started
3. Continue to update people on your progress through the platform your using and any other means possible (YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, your blog, your newsletter, other people’s blogs, PR outlets – the sky is your limit).
4. Create meaningful rewards that people want to get hold of – scarcity, exlusiveness and uniqueness all help in making them more attractive to potential pledgers
5. Go big or go home. Most crowdfunding projects are asking for larger monetary amounts these days, which means the risk is higher to ensure it succeeds so your project gets backed. At the same time that seems to be the reason most people get behind it – the sheer scale and vision of making these dreams a reality.
Want to fund a worthy Kickstarter right now?
Check out Niftyfare Handcakes Kickstarter project and support my friend Nif. She’s designed these delicious handcakes that are a cross between a veggie burger and a pancake. Frozen for your convenience, they are vegetarian, gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free and garlic-free. (whew!). And she’s got just 14 days left to raise just over $3K so go support her and see how this crowdfunding works in real-time.
Tell me about your experiences using crowdfunding and what worked and didn’t
Kamis, 04 April 2013
Nude and Naked on EBAY! Sex Sells!
It’s an awk-tion!
eBay pictures show sellers caught nude in reflections
SEX sells - but despite stripping off, these scantily-clad eBay users aren't likely to get shot of their old goods any time soon.
Today we told how Brit Aimi Jones was left horrified when she tried to sell a dress on the auction site, only to later realise she could be seen knickerless in the listing pic.
And while she quickly took the image down, her accidental mirror-shot had already gone viral, spreading around the globe.
But Aimi isn't the only online seller to fall victim to an unwanted reflection or surprising background - here are some of the best from a range of websites.
eBay pictures show sellers caught nude in reflections
Today we told how Brit Aimi Jones was left horrified when she tried to sell a dress on the auction site, only to later realise she could be seen knickerless in the listing pic.
And while she quickly took the image down, her accidental mirror-shot had already gone viral, spreading around the globe.
But Aimi isn't the only online seller to fall victim to an unwanted reflection or surprising background - here are some of the best from a range of websites.
Senin, 01 April 2013
Discarded Food Cafe
Maximus Thaler, Tufts University Student, Wants To Open Cafe That Serves Discarded Food For Free
Turkey meatballs, organic Greek yogurt, fair trade coffee. It sounds like the makings of a persnickety shopper’s grocery list. But it’s just one batch of fresh food that Maximus Thaler retrieved from a dumpster outside of a Massachusetts supermarket.
According to the National Resources Defense Council, supermarkets throw away on average, $2,300 worth of out-of-date, but still consumable, food every night. It’s a wasteful practice Thaler hopes to put an end to by raising $1,500 to open a café that gives away discarded grub.
“We believe food is a fundamental right, and should be shared freely with all,” the Tufts University student wrote on his Kickstarter page.
The cafe, the Gleaners Kitchen, will offer concerts, poetry readings, lectures and one meal a day for the hungry, according to his Kickstarter page.
"The Gleaners' Kitchen is not a business," Thaler told The Huffington Post in an email. "It is not the place of commerce you might think it to be, where you pay something to get something. Our aim is not to produce commodities but to foster community. "
The group already has their food collection and distribution down pat. After digging through dumpsters, they sift through the bounty at home and determine which foods are usable. The items that are too damaged or rotten to eat are thrown out, and the salvageable stuff is washed and organized, Thaler says in his campaign’s video.
For example, they make juices from fruits and use hummus containers as Tupperware.
Thaler’s project may open up some eyes at Tufts to senseless food waste, but this isn’t the first college campus to see a dumpster diver take a major stance on recycling discarded goods.
Jeff Ferrell, a professor of sociology at Texas Christian University, is committed to scrounging for reusable items in the garbage and giving them out to those in need, Reuters reported in December 2011.
He’s given wool blankets to homeless shelters and doles out untouched prepackaged foods.
"I think it's appalling on the level of just sheer waste and full landfills," Ferrell told Reuters. "I think it's also profoundly disturbing given the level of need in our society."
CLARIFICATION: Language has been amended to reflect that Thaler is the founder of the Gleaners Kitchen, not the cooperative living house where he resides. His Kickstarter project is in fact to relocate the Gleaners Kitchen.
Turkey meatballs, organic Greek yogurt, fair trade coffee. It sounds like the makings of a persnickety shopper’s grocery list. But it’s just one batch of fresh food that Maximus Thaler retrieved from a dumpster outside of a Massachusetts supermarket.
According to the National Resources Defense Council, supermarkets throw away on average, $2,300 worth of out-of-date, but still consumable, food every night. It’s a wasteful practice Thaler hopes to put an end to by raising $1,500 to open a café that gives away discarded grub.
“We believe food is a fundamental right, and should be shared freely with all,” the Tufts University student wrote on his Kickstarter page.
The cafe, the Gleaners Kitchen, will offer concerts, poetry readings, lectures and one meal a day for the hungry, according to his Kickstarter page.
"The Gleaners' Kitchen is not a business," Thaler told The Huffington Post in an email. "It is not the place of commerce you might think it to be, where you pay something to get something. Our aim is not to produce commodities but to foster community. "
The group already has their food collection and distribution down pat. After digging through dumpsters, they sift through the bounty at home and determine which foods are usable. The items that are too damaged or rotten to eat are thrown out, and the salvageable stuff is washed and organized, Thaler says in his campaign’s video.
For example, they make juices from fruits and use hummus containers as Tupperware.
Thaler’s project may open up some eyes at Tufts to senseless food waste, but this isn’t the first college campus to see a dumpster diver take a major stance on recycling discarded goods.
Jeff Ferrell, a professor of sociology at Texas Christian University, is committed to scrounging for reusable items in the garbage and giving them out to those in need, Reuters reported in December 2011.
He’s given wool blankets to homeless shelters and doles out untouched prepackaged foods.
"I think it's appalling on the level of just sheer waste and full landfills," Ferrell told Reuters. "I think it's also profoundly disturbing given the level of need in our society."
CLARIFICATION: Language has been amended to reflect that Thaler is the founder of the Gleaners Kitchen, not the cooperative living house where he resides. His Kickstarter project is in fact to relocate the Gleaners Kitchen.
Volcanic Rock House in The Mineral Residence
Planning korea: the mineral residence on jeju island
The newest addition to planning korea's airest city-berjaya jeju resort on the rapidly developing jeju island is 'the mineral', a residence/event venue
that echoes the natural shape of the crystal clusters that form on the local volcanic rock. the structure is located on the southern coast of the island
in the gotjawal forest, and has broken ground on march 7th, to be completed by september of 2014. a central courtyard with a 10-meter wide rectangular
pool that extends out towards the sea is the anchor around which a crescent-shape structure houses the patinated metal mineral pods. four separate
entrances and the modular-like construction allows the complex to be joined into a single volume or subdivided into smaller residential units. a rooftop
garden vertically extends the ground-scape creating an ideal environment from which to view the night sky or the forest canopy.
The newest addition to planning korea's airest city-berjaya jeju resort on the rapidly developing jeju island is 'the mineral', a residence/event venue
that echoes the natural shape of the crystal clusters that form on the local volcanic rock. the structure is located on the southern coast of the island
in the gotjawal forest, and has broken ground on march 7th, to be completed by september of 2014. a central courtyard with a 10-meter wide rectangular
pool that extends out towards the sea is the anchor around which a crescent-shape structure houses the patinated metal mineral pods. four separate
entrances and the modular-like construction allows the complex to be joined into a single volume or subdivided into smaller residential units. a rooftop
garden vertically extends the ground-scape creating an ideal environment from which to view the night sky or the forest canopy.
Minggu, 31 Maret 2013
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