My friend Ulrike Reinhard sent me an e-mail asking for some help for her Benin projects. She is going to Benin together with a highly connected team of Web 2.0 activists. They paid for the flight, visa, etc. themselves but now need help with the payment of the driver and with the actual help in Benin.
This is how you can donate: Just send money via PayPal, you will find the button in the sidebar of WE Magazine.
I totally fell in love with the idea I gladly support the project in every way I can.
Morten Lund has a great quote about building a company spirit:
You can buy all the book in the world and read all the thesis in the world about building a spirit in a company - but 4 days with Richard (and crew) will give you the easy answer: It’s about being real - nice - honest - empathic and really mean it.
He said this after he had met with Richard Branson, who I consider a personal hero too.
Robert Scoble gives away $4,500 to three lucky persons. Just comment on his Friendfeed entry. It’s simple as that. Here is what I wrote:
I’d spend the money for future trips: I have ever wanted to see the milky way from the earth or see the Northern lights. But maybe, I could put the money aside and spend it for a parabolic flight when I have enough money (that’s another lifelong dream). I would also love to go on safari in Africa and see all the amazing animals in the savanna. But maybe I should rent a car and feel the American dream at Route 66? Ah Robert, your money lottery helped my thinking about all my dreams again. Thanks!
The economists Michele Boldrin und David K. Levine say, that the current copyright laws are killing innovations. And just in a recession, innovations are an important part of reviving economy. For them, intellectual property is an “unnecessary evil”. Their book is called “Against Intellectual Monopoly” and is published by Cambridge University Press. Read more about it.
(Edge.org’s annual question 2009 is “What will change everything” and countless top-class thinkers answered. When I was on my way back home from the office and had nothing to do in the train, I wrote this text with my mobile phone)
‘What will change everything?’ is a tough question. In the past just a few things changed everything. Like the invention of the fire or of the wheel. But in most cases those worldchanging inventions and ideas were simple and just a handful literally changed ‘everything’.
In order to change everything, an idea must be simple enough to be understood by the large majority of people (you can start with a niche and a small group of people, but the ideas that changed everything in the past were ideas that everybody could use and understand*). If you want to make change, you need to have simple products and ideas. Simplified: it must be something we all need, we all want and we all will love (*really* love) — and something we will be able to handle without problems.
What makes a good idea:
1. Quality. Good ideas solve problems, bad ideas create new.
2. Passion. Be passionate about your idea but in an appropriate way. Talk about your idea, but not like a PR person.
3. Evangelism. Your idea is great, but nobody knows about it. So get people to do a little evangelism.
4. Usability. The best idea is useless if nobody understands how to use it.
5. Access. Grant access to your idea. Ideas are worthless until there is someone who uses them. So let the people take part in your idea. Sharing it with the people gives you feedback and leads to new ways of thinking about your idea
(If I miss anything here, feel free to add them in the comments!)
You can’t plan changing the world. It just happens. But you can make change — even small change in your niche. Often the simplest idea makes the change. So ‘Think Different’ and create something big.
* Better: They could understand how to use it at least. A lot of people know how to use cars and transportation, but less know how a car is built and how it works inside (me neither).
Very interesting piece by the New York Times about younger children using YouTube to search the Web instead of “classic” search engines like Google. His only reason to use Google is, if YouTube gives bad results. The article continues:
The explosion of all types of video content on YouTube and other sites is quickly transforming online video from a medium strictly for entertainment and news into one that is also a reference tool.
Lew Moorman wrote a nice piece about the power of the Twitter Search. He discovered that more and more of his search quieries go to Twitter instead of Google, for example those about a product review or breaking news. He asks, if Twitter will add the Search to their business model, too. Summize was the only Twitter mashup they acquired.
I will be speaking at the Webciety Conference in March. Topic is “Generation Internet” which is something I really enjoy talking and writing about. We’ll see.
Ulrike interviewed the Best Buy CEO about Enterprise 2.0 together with Sören Stamer. Quote: “I imagined if I had the same tools, what I could have done”
TED released the first video of this year’s conference. It’s Bill Gates speaking about Malaria. Just jump to 5:10 and watch him releasing mosquitos to the TED audience.
I am a journalist and work for the print magazine T3N. Besides I attend a college of further education where I study economics and business studies. As well I am a net culture and Digital Native activist. I usually write about media, future or tech stuff. If you want to learn more about me, here is further reading.
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