Illegal Downloading; Right or Wrong???

Anybody who is interested in another view on downloading (both legally as illegally) read 'The Long Tail' by Chris Anderson. Brilliant new view on advantages of this changing market.

My thoughts about innovation

I've been looking into some things about innovation and change managements, and 1 thing I have learnt this evening: Americans are either complete idiots or terribly smart that they can sell this Bull Sjit!
Watching mainly Youtube the thing that most compelled to me was told by a
Mr. Patrick Dixon; Change management is not about models and showing people how to change, it's about passion!

What we are learning now is all very interesting, all these theories about innovation and different models to research and/or implement innovation. But innovation lately is coming from those guys sitting in their student dorms creating youtube or last.fm, these are the real interesting innovators! Not from comapnies that hire a twat like Tom Peters (excuse my french).

So with all the new things that come to us during this minor, always keep in check that real innovation comes from within. Like I mentioned in a prior blog Daydreaming is fundamental for a creative mind.
As long as we follow our own passions the creativity and innovations will come!

Like the legend Marvin Gaye once sang; 'A Change is gonna come'

Just to conclude, a link to how IBM thinks about innovating:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MudaxA80eI4

Giant kites could power 100,000 homes

Wednesday, 06 August 2008

While pondering how to capture wind energy, scientists from the Netherlands went out and flew a giant kite. The 10-sq-meter kite was tethered to a generator and managed to produce 10 kW. With the success of this kite, they’re planning to test a 50 kW version of the kite, dubbed Laddermill, and if that succeeds, they’re proposing a multi-kite version that could get as much as 100 MW - enough for 100,000 homes.

The kite generates energy by pulling on its string on the way up. When it gets to the end of the string, it’s pulled back down and then sent back up for another flight. The amount of energy captured is maximized by flying the kite in figure eights, and bringing it down in a fall like a glider plane.

If you’re thinking, “Now, this I gotta see,” then you can watch this video. It really is pretty cool. And considering how easily the kite takes off in the strong wind – no running, jumping, or Peter-Pan-wishful-thinking involved – I can imagine that a whole lot of power could be generated. Google thinks so too, having invested $10 million in a US kite project last year. Actually, we know of a lot of people are working on generating wind power from kites – or like-flying objects – even on a commercial scale.

Wind higher than about a kilometer above the ground carries about 100 times more energy than wind at tower level, so finding a cheap way to harness it – like kite flying – could be a big breakthrough for wind power. Countries like the UK, Netherlands, and Denmark are perfect for this type of wind power generation, being located next to the high-speed jet stream.

The Netherlands scientists believe they could generate power comparable to the price of coal, and 50% cheaper than wind turbines. Now, like most all renewable energy endeavors, all these various researchers simply need the funding to back the projects. Hopefully investors will look at Google and pull a monkey-see-monkey-do.

Source: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1972/86/ (& The Guardian)

MySpace launches net music store

Ok, so here is MYSPACE. For few years, THE leading online community. Lately, ALL MUSICIANS need to have a music profile on MYSPACE to come closer to their fans. And here was the opportunity hidden.
Talked about for many months now and finally taking shape. Innovative move of the company forward to explore new ways of revenue...


by bbc.co.uk

MySpace has unveiled an online music store that lets its US members listen for free but pay for downloads.
The ad-funded service lets MySpace members listen to streamed tracks on their PC for free and build up long playlists of their favourite tracks.
Users must buy a copy of a track from the music store of partner Amazon to enjoy it on a portable player.
The service hopes to cash in on the long-standing link between MySpace and new and established bands.
Cash call
The service has been launched with backing from the big four music labels - Sony BMG, Universal, Warner and EMI - plus independent music group The Orchard.
The move is widely being seen as a snub to Apples' iTunes, which is the dominant player in the online music market.
It is known that record labels are frustrated with Apple's refusal to charge higher prices for more popular tracks. On Amazon's music store, which is only available in the US, tracks start at $0.79 (£0.42)
At launch MySpace Music only has a few thousand tracks available but said this will grow to many millions as the partner labels open up their archives to it.
All the tracks sold will be free of copyright protection mechanisms known as Digital Rights Management software.
News that MySpace was working on a music store leaked in April 2007 and the launch was delayed as negotiations with record label EMI dragged on.
It is estimated that about five million bands and artists have a profile page on MySpace and the site has helped launch the career of many up and coming musicians and help them stay in touch with fans.
As well as making cash from adverts running on the page through which people choose the music they listen to the service will also generate revenue from ringtones, concert tickets and merchandise.
"The big question is whether they can change their environment so people will want to do their shopping as well as their gossiping [at MySpace]," said James McQuivey, research analyst at Forrester.
Mr McQuivey doubted whether the site would become a big source of revenue for MySpace as studies suggest that people do not watch their computer when using it to stream music.
The opening of the store won criticism from Charles Caldas, head of independent rights body Merlin.
Mr Caldas said it was "incredibly disappointing" that the service launched without finalising a deal with the biggest independent labels and artists.
Merlin's members, which includes Koch, Beggars Group and Domino, have a 9% share of the US music market - roughly equivalent to EMI's market share.

Meet NOISE festival-entirely virtuallllll

Ok, here is something innovative! Meet others at music festival, that is virtual!

by 365MAG
NOISEFESTIVAL.COM LAUNCHES IN SECOND LIFE

As an entirely virtual festival, NOISE is the perfect partner for Second Life, the virtual world that allows users to interact in a self-contained on-line universe. On Friday 26th September this perfect pairing comes to fruition, as NOISE launches in Second Life with a display of this year's best entries in the NOISE categories of: Music; Fine Art; Fashion; Design; Architecture; Graphic Design; the Written Word; Photography; Film and Animation.

The press and the public will be able to log into the Oldham Second Life Island, where they can network with NOISE curators and participants, while enjoying a DJ-mix of the best NOISE music entries. The event will be streamed live onto big screens in Liverpool, Hull and Swindon for audiences in the city centres.

In Liverpool in-particular, the event will celebrate the launch of the Cultural Olympiad, a four-year celebration of culture leading up to the London 2012 Olympics, with NOISEfestival.com street teamers available to talk about the project's aims to involve young people in the creative industries.
The NOISE Festival, for those that don't know, is a biennial event that invites the best and the brightest under 25s in the above categories to upload their efforts onto the NOISE website. The best of their work will be chosen by specially-chosen NOISE curators, with the cream of the crop being showcased on the site throughout October (entries stopped being taken on September 1st, sorry!). Special media partnerships will allow the top NOISE talent to work with the BBC, MTV and MSN online; allowing these young hopefuls a level of exposure that many artists of any age would kill for.

So, just who are these 'curators', then? Well, for Music there's Mercury Prize- winning artist Badly Drawn Boy, acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid keeps an eye on the Architecture, eco-chic designer Noki looks over the Fashion entries, Habitat's Tom Dixon asses the Design, and Norman Rosenthal (former head of exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Art) monitors the quality of the Fine Art submissions.

However, that's just phase one of the NOISE experience. In the second year of the event ( 'biennial' means 'every two years'-ed), the NOISE website will allow the artists to network with each other, so that the budding filmmakers can find themselves the perfect soundtrack artist, or vice versa.

Unique brainstorming tool helps you to generate ideas and implement them

Get Unstuck and Get Going …on the Stuff That Matters is a unique combination of a self-help book, brainstorming tool and action-planning system. Developed by creativity coach Michael Bungay Stanier, its unique format and excellent content make it a valuable addition to any executive's creative problem-solving toolkit.

How this system is organized
Get Unstuck is a four-part system, consisting of:
A workbook, with 3 "flip" card sections that can help you to generate up to 125,000 different perspectives,
The "Action Acceleration" sheet, which provides a process that helps you to move from ideas to action,
The Little Green Book, which explains the thinking behind the Get Unstuck tool and provides helpful examples of how to use it, and
The Get Unstuck and Get Going website, which provides additional resources to users.
When I first paged through the Get Unstuck tool, my attention was immediately drawn to the 3 horizontal flip panels, which are entitled "Inspiring Stories," "Provocative Quotes" and "Powerful Models." Remember the children's flip book format, where kids can flip each set of panels to combine one animal's head with another's body and a third one's feet? That's what this ideation flip book is like. Each card is imprinted with a nugget of creative wisdom, plus a thought-provoking coaching question, designed to get your synapses firing. If you want to get an idea of the types of stories and questions featured on this card, Michael has created an interactive web page where you can test drive different combinations of story, quote and model "cards."

The Action Acceleration process
As you work your way through the Get Unstuck process, you record your answers on Action Acceleration sheets. The top half of the sheet includes spaces where you can define your challenge and write down ideas and inspirations that you get from looking at the flip cards. The bottom half of the sheet is focused on helping you to take action on your ideas, with boxes labeled "What will I do?" "What will get in the way?" "What will support me?" and
"Accountability."
Clearly, the Action Acceleration sheet is more than just a place to record your ideas and inspirations -- it's also a powerful framework for action. That's something that helps to make this a unique ideation and coaching tool.

The Little Green Book
When Michael first prototyped the Get Unstuck tool and gave it to some people to play with, he discovered that all of the "front end" information -- the instructions on how to use it -- were getting in the way of people's ability to simply begin problem-solving with it. So he broke this information off into a separate instructional booklet, which is inserted into the front cover pocket. This gives users the flexibility to either read The Little Green Book first and then use the tool, or simply start brainstorming with the tool immediately, without reading the instructions.

Additional resources
When you buy the Get Unstuck tool, Michael will send you a weekly lesson via e-mail. He is also holding Tele classes to answer user questions and to help users get the most out of this unique brainstorming tool. I applaud Michael for offering the support services; usually, when you buy a brainstorming tool, you're completely on your own.

The thinking behind Get Unstuck
Michael’s goal in developing this tool was to bring the power of coaching to a large number of people. “It’s designed to appeal to anyone who is creatively stuck and cannot afford to hire a personal coach. It provides users with a simple, practical process to define problems, generate possibilities and take action,” he explains.
Michael doesn't want this tool to be viewed as a book, which is read once and then gathers dust on a shelf. Similarly, most training courses represent a onetime "injection" of information into the participants' brains, which is often quickly forgotten. Get unstuck was designed to help overcome the limitations of both of these learning formats. "I'd love for people should keep this on their desk, so they can pull it out and use it whenever they get stuck," he adds
Get Unstuck is not only designed for individual use; Michael also envisions it as an organizational tool that middle managers can use with their direct reports to help them develop improved problem-solving skills. And coaches can use it to help their clients to think in fresh new directions. Get Unstuck is endorsed by the leaders of some of the leading coaching organizations, including the International Coach Federation and Coachville.

Conclusion
Almost anyone, given the right mindset, can generate fresh ideas. The key is taking action on them. Fortunately, Get Unstuck has both of these ends covered. This thoughtfully-designed system gently coaches you to think laterally about your current challenge and record your ideas, and then provides you with a simple, practical process to help you translate ideas into profitable action.

Daydream achiever

A wandering mind can do important work, scientists are learning - and may even be essential
By Jonah Lehrer

ON A SUNDAY morning in 1974, Arthur Fry sat in the front pews of a Presbyterian church in north St. Paul, Minn. An engineer at 3M, Fry was also a singer in the church choir. He had gotten into the habit of inserting little scraps of paper into his choir book, so that he could quickly find the right hymns during the service. The problem, however, was that the papers would often fall out, causing Fry to lose his place.
(David Flaherty for the Boston Globe)
But then, while listening to the Sunday sermon, Fry started to daydream. Instead of focusing on the pastor's words, he began to mull over his bookmark problem. "It was during the sermon," Fry remembers, "that I first thought, 'What I really need is a little bookmark that will stick to the paper but will not tear the paper when I remove it.' " That errant thought - the byproduct of a wandering mind - would later become the yellow Post-it note, one of the most successful office products of all time.
Although there are many anecdotal stories of breakthroughs resulting from daydreams - Einstein, for instance, was notorious for his wandering mind - daydreaming itself is usually cast in a negative light. Children in school are encouraged to stop daydreaming and "focus," and wandering minds are often cited as a leading cause of traffic accidents. In a culture obsessed with efficiency, daydreaming is derided as a lazy habit or a lack of discipline, the kind of thinking we rely on when we don't really want to think. It's a sign of procrastination, not productivity, something to be put away with your flip-flops and hammock as summer draws to a close.
In recent years, however, scientists have begun to see the act of daydreaming very differently. They've demonstrated that daydreaming is a fundamental feature of the human mind - so fundamental, in fact, that it's often referred to as our "default" mode of thought. Many scientists argue that daydreaming is a crucial tool for creativity, a thought process that allows the brain to make new associations and connections. Instead of focusing on our immediate surroundings - such as the message of a church sermon - the daydreaming mind is free to engage in abstract thought and imaginative ramblings. As a result, we're able to imagine things that don't actually exist, like sticky yellow bookmarks.
"If your mind didn't wander, then you'd be largely shackled to whatever you are doing right now," says Jonathan Schooler, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "But instead you can engage in mental time travel and other kinds of simulation. During a daydream, your thoughts are really unbounded."
The ability to think abstractly that flourishes during daydreams also has important social benefits. Mostly, what we daydream about is each other, as the mind retrieves memories, contemplates "what if" scenarios, and thinks about how it should behave in the future. In this sense, the content of daydreams often resembles a soap opera, with people reflecting on social interactions both real and make-believe. We can leave behind the world as it is and start imagining the world as it might be, if only we hadn't lost our temper, or had superpowers, or were sipping a daiquiri on a Caribbean beach. It is this ability to tune out the present moment and contemplate the make-believe that separates the human mind from every other.
"Daydreaming builds on this fundamental capacity people have for being able to project themselves into imaginary situations, like the future," Malia Mason, a neuroscientist at Columbia, says. "Without that skill, we'd be pretty limited creatures."
Teresa Belton, a research associate at East Anglia University in England, first got interested in daydreaming while reading a collection of stories written by children in elementary school. Although Belton encouraged the students to write about whatever they wanted, she was startled by just how uninspired most of the stories were.
"The tales tended to be very tedious and unimaginative," Belton says, "as if the children were stuck with this very restricted way of thinking. Even when they were encouraged to think creatively, they didn't really know how."
After monitoring the daily schedule of the children for several months, Belton came to the conclusion that their lack of imagination was, at least in part, caused by the absence of "empty time," or periods without any activity or sensory stimulation. She noticed that as soon as these children got even a little bit bored, they simply turned on the television: the moving images kept their minds occupied. "It was a very automatic reaction," she says. "Television was what they did when they didn't know what else to do."
The problem with this habit, Belton says, is that it kept the kids from daydreaming. Because the children were rarely bored - at least, when a television was nearby - they never learned how to use their own imagination as a form of entertainment. "The capacity to daydream enables a person to fill empty time with an enjoyable activity that can be carried on anywhere," Belton says. "But that's a skill that requires real practice. Too many kids never get the practice."
While much of the evidence linking daydreaming and creativity remains anecdotal, rooted in the testimony of people like Fry and Einstein, scientists are beginning to find experimental proof of the relationship. In a forthcoming paper, Schooler's lab has shown that people who engage in more daydreaming score higher on experimental measures of creativity, which require people to make a set of unusual connections.
"Daydreams involve a more relaxed style of thinking, with people more willing to contemplate ideas that seem silly or far-fetched," says Belton. While such imaginative thoughts aren't always practical, they are often the wellspring of creative insights, as Schooler's research shows.
However, not all daydreams seem to inspire creativity. In his experiments, Schooler distinguishes between two types of daydreaming. The first type consists of people who notice they are daydreaming only when asked by the researcher. Even though they are told to press a button as soon as they realize their mind has started to wander, these people fail to press the button. The second type, in contrast, occurs when subjects catch themselves daydreaming during the experiment, without needing to be questioned. Schooler and colleagues found that individuals who are unaware of their own daydreaming while it's happening don't seem to exhibit increased creativity.
"The point is that it's not enough to just daydream," Schooler says. "Letting your mind drift off is the easy part. The hard part is maintaining enough awareness so that even when you start to daydream you can interrupt yourself and notice a creative insight."
In other words, the reason Fry is such a good inventor - he has more than twenty patents to his name, in addition to Post-it notes - isn't simply because he's a prolific daydreamer. It's because he's able to pay attention to his daydreams, and to detect those moments when his daydreams lead to a useful idea.
Every time we slip effortlessly into a daydream, a distinct pattern of brain areas is activated, which is known as the default network. Studies show that this network is most engaged when people are performing tasks that require little conscious attention, such as routine driving on the highway or reading a tedious text. Although such mental trances are often seen as a sign of lethargy - we are staring haplessly into space - the cortex is actually very active during this default state, as numerous brain regions interact. Instead of responding to the outside world, the brain starts to contemplate its internal landscape. This is when new and creative connections are made between seemingly unrelated ideas.
"When you don't use a muscle, that muscle really isn't doing much of anything," says Dr. Marcus Raichle, a neurologist and radiologist at Washington University who was one of the first scientists to locate the default network in the brain. "But when your brain is supposedly doing nothing and daydreaming, it's really doing a tremendous amount. We call it the 'resting state,' but the brain isn't resting at all."
Recent research has confirmed the importance of the default network by studying what happens when the network is disrupted. For instance, there is suggestive evidence that people with autism engage in less daydreaming than normal, with a default network that exhibits significantly reduced activity during idle moments. In addition, more abnormal default networks in autistic subjects correlated with the most severe social deficits. One leading theory is that atypical default activity interferes with the sort of meandering memories and social simulations that typically characterize daydreams, causing people with autism to instead fixate on things in their environment.
The exact opposite phenomenon seems to occur in patients with schizophrenia, who exhibit overactive default networks. This might explain the inability of schizophrenics to differentiate properly between reality and the ideas generated by the imagination.
Problems with daydreaming also seem to afflict the aging brain: Harvard researchers recently discovered that one of the main symptoms of getting older is reduced coordination in the default network, as brain areas that normally operate in sync start to fire at different times. Scientists speculate that this deficit contributes to the inability of many elderly subjects to control the duration and timing of their daydreams.
"It's very important to use the default network at the right time," says Jessica Andrews-Hanna, a researcher at Harvard who has studied the network in older subjects. "When you need to focus" - such as during stop-and-go traffic, or when engaged in a conversation - "you don't want to let your mind wander off."
What these studies all demonstrate is that proper daydreaming - the kind of thinking that occurs when the mind is thinking to itself - is a crucial feature of the healthy human brain. It might seem as though our mind is empty, but the mind is never empty: it's always bubbling over with ideas and connections.
One of the simplest ways to foster creativity, then, may be to take daydreams more seriously. Even the mundane daydreams that occur hundreds of times a day are helping us plan for the future, interact with others, and solidify our own sense of self. And when we are stuck on a particularly difficult problem, a good daydream isn't just an escape - it may be the most productive thing we can do.