"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled engineers yearning to code.” -Naval Ravikant Om Malik looks at HitForge, a new San Francisco-based outfit with a unique twist on the incubator model. HitForge is an entrepreneur cooperative composed of independent small teams, where people can apply with their ideas, join the team, and see their idea go from idea to product in a few weeks, largely with help of an offshore …
Desperately Seeking Risk Tolerance, Rigor and Speed
Advertising Age's Emily Tan asked some of digital's top movers to identify the biggest trends and challenges that lie ahead for brands and those who would serve them. Shane Steele, director-emerging media and online advertising at Coca-Cola Co. offers a client's perspective: "The ideal is to identify and test new platforms that offer a first-mover advantage, that are measurable and that can be scaled effectively to …
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The Human Processor
Seth Godin was recently afforded the privilege of seeing the uber geek in action. He noted it in his journal, like an ethologist in the field. I sat next to Cory at a conference today. It was like playing basketball next to Michael Jordan. Cory was looking at more than 30 screens a minute. He was bouncing from his mail to his calendar to a travel site and then back. His fingers were a blur as he processed inbound …
Talk About Change Agents…
MIT Advertising Lab introduces us to IDEO, and reinforces the idea that a product design company can positively impact a brand's advertising. IDEO describes the work that led to Bank of America's popular "Keep the Change" promotion/incentive program. Facing the challenge of enticing people into opening new accounts, Bank of America came to IDEO in search of ethnography-based innovation opportunities. To better …
Feed Them On Your Dreams
I'm partial to brands with an intriguing story--even more so, when the CEO embodies that story and shares it successfully. Nancy Traversy of Barefoot Books is one such CEO. She says imagination is more important that information. I like that kind of thinking. …
The Red, White and Blue Is Turning Green
Wal-Mart is going green. The company, which is often criticized for its labor practices, is getting serious about sustainability. The truly interesting thing here is how this initiative perfectly fits their corporate culture, for sustainability pactices, when properly implemented, will lead to reduced costs and increased profits. Speaking in London on Feb. 1, Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott said: "Sustainability …
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Speaking About The Series Of Tubes, Jarvis Says, “It’s Anarachy!”
Jeff Jarvis interviewed scholar and author David Weinberger on camera at Always On in Manhattan last week. Beet.tv has the full transcript of the interview. Here's one bit from the Cluetrain conductor that I enjoyed: Entering a conversation in order to influence it is almost always a corrupting influence on a conversation, although there are exceptions. I spoke with David briefly at SXSW in 2003. He seemed like a …
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Coffee Just Wants To Be Free
Ervin Peretz, a 37-year-old Google programmer, just might be a genius. He opened Terra Bite Lounge, a coffee shop in Kirkland, WA that has no prices for any of the food or drinks it "sells." Instead people volunteer money if and when they choose. Those who do pay simply put whatever they want into a drop box. According to Seattle Times: The idea emerged during a booze-fueled debate in a Saigon bar, where Peretz and …
