InfoCompanions

Technology Made Personal

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:34:34 +0000

Check out this cool Google search ad. Love how it makes technology feel “personal” and such an integral part of our life.

Richard St. John: “Success is a continuous journey”

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:41:38 +0000

In his typically candid style, Richard St. John reminds us that success is not a one-way street, but a constant journey. He uses the story of his business’ rise and fall to illustrate a valuable lesson — when we stop trying, we fail.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rob Hopkins: Transition to a world without oil

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:28:39 +0000

Rob Hopkins reminds us that the oil our world depends on is steadily running out. He proposes a unique solution to this problem — the Transition response, where we prepare ourselves for life without oil and sacrifice our luxuries to build systems and communities that are completely independent of fossil fuels.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don Tapscott on Gen-Y

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:25:56 +0000

The leading business strategy authority brings fresh focus to Gen-Y through the story of one over-achieving millenial who doesn’t read books (and it’s ok).

Greg Matthews on power of social media as a tool for innovation

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:23:10 +0000

With cool project work to back him up, Humana’s Director of Innovation demonstrates the power of social media as a tool for innovation.

Ian Goldin: Navigating our global future

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:06:05 +0000

As globalization and technological advances bring us hurtling towards a new integrated future, Ian Goldin warns that not all people may benefit equally. But, he says, if we can recognize this danger, we might yet realize the possibility of improved life for everyone.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Stefana Broadbent: How the Internet enables intimacy

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:01:56 +0000

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent’s research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Malcolm Gladwell: Human potential

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:51:59 +0000

Pop sociologist and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell has honed in on a profound new question: what separates extraordinary and average people? Discussing findings from his much-anticipated book “Outliers,” Gladwell details how we’re squandering human potential everywhere from the football field to the classroom – and what we can do to change it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Becky Blanton: The year I was homeless

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:01:38 +0000

Becky Blanton planned to live in her van for a year and see the country, but when depression set in and her freelance job ended, her camping trip turned into homelessness. In this intimate talk, she describes her experience of becoming one of America’s working homeless.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Itay Talgam: Lead like the great conductors

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:49:26 +0000

An orchestra conductor faces the ultimate leadership challenge: creating perfect harmony without saying a word. In this charming talk, Itay Talgam demonstrates the unique styles of six great 20th-century conductors, illustrating crucial lessons for all leaders..

Click here to view the embedded video.

Henry Markram: Supercomputing the brain’s secrets

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:45:07 +0000

Henry Markram says the mysteries of the mind can be solved — soon. Mental illness, memory, perception: they’re made of neurons and electric signals, and he plans to find them with a supercomputer that models all the brain’s 100,000,000,000,000 synapses.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Deloitte Innovation elevator campaign

admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:13:04 +0000

Deloitte Netherlands launched a new business unit – Deloitte Innovation, which focuses on developing new business ideas. As part of the campaign, several Deloitte offices had their elevators transformed into showers. Because after all, the best ideas are born in the shower.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Clay Shirky: How social media can make history

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:27:36 +0000

Twitter, Facebook and other forms of Social Media are continuing to change our world in ways we never imagined. Who imagined that Twitter and TXT messaging can facilitate the early waves of democracy in one of the world’s most authoritarian regime, Iran? And who imagined that in May 2008, BBC would first come to know about the devastating earthquake in China through Twitter (last time the quake happened, it took China 3 months just to admit that an earthquake had hit China!)

In this impressive talk, Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.

Click here to view the embedded video.

BMW GINA Light Visionary Model

admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:36:05 +0000

Am not a great fan of “concept cars”, but BMW Gina deserves special attention for completely rethinking out of the box. Check out the cool premiere video below, where Chris Bangle, Director of Design, BMW Group, describes the thought process that went behind this cool pair of wheels. No wonder GM and Ford are struggling just to survive.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Simon Whatley has some interesting pics. Also check out TechFresh.net for related pics.

Google Wave – another masterpiece from Google

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:03:34 +0000

Which one of the following communication mediums do you use the most? Email? Video Conference? Instant Messaging? Blogging? Bulletin Boards? Social Network? And if you said yes to at least 2 of the mediums above, am sure you have wished for a product that helps blur the boundaries between these products.

Wait no more, Google unveils Google Wave, an open source, personal communication and collaboration tool – all within a browser, using HTML 5 (dubbed as the Microsoft killer). Simply defined, Google Wave combines the best of worlds from plain vanilla email, hosted conversations, bulletin boards, combined with the power of instant messaging and social network applications like Orkut. Connect the concept with the possibilities at workplace – shared meeting minutes, with REAL TIME view as content is created (yup, real time – meaning text shows up in your browser as your colleague types), real time deliverables and content creation etc.

Lisa Hoover from “Computer World” defines Google Wave as:

“Wave is an elaborate mashup of collaboration, documentation, and real-time messaging that Google hopes will make people finally sever ties with AOL, Microsoft, and other online services. Its function is similar to what would happen if you linked your team’s computer desktops together, then put a giant virtual whiteboard in front of everyone.
…
I think it’s a safe bet Wave will fly in enterprise. If nothing else, the magic words “improved workflow” will entice companies to at least try it. There’s no question that freelancers, telecommuters, and anyone who relies on remote collaboration will jump on Wave the day it’s available, and stick with it if it helps save time and money.”

What’s more – Google Wave comes with a cool set of APIs, opening up a world of possibilities and opportunities to develop extensions. Drooling.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out Ben’s latest blog post on Mashable.com for a deep dive

Kwame Anthony Appiah and Golden Nugget Theory

admin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:58:20 +0000

Kwame Anthony Appiah was born in London, raised in Kumasi, Ghana, and educated at Bryanston School and Clare College, Cambridge, where he earned a Ph.D. in philosophy. A world traveler immersed in everything from ethics to racial identity, he has written often about Africans and African-Americans and has set his fiction in England and Italy.

In this video, takes to task the myths of Western culture and civilization, explaining the “Golden Nugget” theory and its five major errors. Get ready for his deconstruction of a monolith.

Also check out his article in “The Washington Post” titles, “If You Think Your Taxes Are Unjust, Just Think Again”. Chris Navin has a cool review from one of his NY Times articles… check it out at “Kwame Anthony Appiah In The NY Times: The New New Philosophy”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Economy and the Meltdown

anilreddy — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:02:23 +0000

How it all started?

It all started with lending money to Subprime borrowers or at least as the world knows how it began. Next in line was Credit crisis, as a result of freeze on lending. Banks, financial institutions and businesses across the world have lost tons of money causing the economic tectonic plates to re-adjust, drifting the financial world as we know as far back as 90’s, wiping out close to $5 trillion market value.
The technology boom of the late 90’s followed by the financial prosperity over the last decade had created numerous jobs raising the per capita and thereby standard of living of every individual. Are jobs an exaggerated response to what we thought the marketplace was? Are jobs another bubble waiting to burst? The answer only time can tell.

Investor Dilemma:

Market collapse has raised awareness on the financial model and prevailing regulations. Diverse viewpoints of each analyst is often confusing; I’ve heard one say that in a un-regulatory environment, everything could go wrong and others say that in a tightly regulated markets, nothing functions as expected. Now, how can you stay in between the two conditions and expect nothing to go wrong. Isn’t that confusing (inevitable)? Excessive greed coupled with that mystification marked the genesis of various investment vehicles such as Mortgage backed securities, Collateralized debt obligation (CDO), Credit default swaps (CDS) etc. These asset-backed securities, typically big buyers of subprime mortgage backed securities, are sliced, diced and sold to institutional investors. As subprime delinquencies soared in the year 2007, major rating agencies such as Moody’s and Fitch have downgraded some of their AAA rated CDOs to Junk; as a result their market value slumped. Insurance companies like AIG, Security Capital that guaranteed interest and principal payments in the event of default have lost their market capitalization as they began writing off the billions in their quarterly filings. Risk transferred from one institution to another without much accountability has brought down the entire market.

The crash seems to have heard every nook and corner of the world including a small and peaceful seaport town of Narvik in Norway, where the municipalities and civilians have lost millions in such complex derivate instruments.

Who has the courage to invest or spend in a market that has lost more than a decade of positive performance? During the time of enormous economic distress, Investors need confidence that most institutions that they invest in are sustainable and viable long term. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase had delivered a terrific speech at US chamber, which was meant to restore confidence in the market. When asked about Executive compensation, he aptly said that Government, Treasury or Federal reserve should not intervene or guide them to run their businesses and that institutions cannot retain talented resources if the government were to lay out stringent policies on executive compensation. I am in full accord with Jamie Dimon and other CEOs that restricting compensations would in fact prove to be deterrent for businesses on the long run because compensation and bonuses if paid for better performance over an extended period of time, are basic incentives to actuate individuals to strike better deals. Do we not have better things to do at this point than to talk about compensation?

Fundamentals fell off the cliff?

When I first started investing, I spent a great deal of time and effort in understanding what market indicators are- behavior of Stocks vs. Oil, Dollar vs. Oil, Commodities vs. Stocks, quarterly earnings, ramifications of dividend cut etc. Well, I now know what they are however they are no longer fundamentals in the current circumstances.

Considering the numbers are bloated over the years I ask myself, is this the true market value? If so, will the market ever see the heydays of the years 2007-2008?

Tibet – Technology Bridging the Divide

admin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:30:37 +0000

What are the first few words that come to your mind when you think of Tibet… spiritual and breathtakingly beautiful landscape? Disputed land? Watch Losang Rabgey share a “lesser known” side of Tibet, one where this ancient tribe of people want to participate in the new globalization as much as you or me. Those of you especially interested in stories where technology can act as a “bridge” to connect people and communities – this is a feast for the eyes and ears! Losang gives a brief demo of Tibetan Himalayan Digital Library, the first online gallery of contemporary Tibetan art, launched as part of the Machik, a non-profit organization working to develop new opportunities for education, capacity-building and innovation on the Tibetan plateau.

In Losang’s words, “Technology can flatten the world for local communities in disparate areas. These same people have other aspirations to be fully engaged in a globalized world but on their own terms as much as on the world’s terms. So if you would like to witness a small but ancient tribe of people move successfully past marginalization and into an empowered bright future, then I invite you to participate in a remarkable story that we hope has a sustainable future.”

Raised in Canada, Losang was recognized as an Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic for her innovative work in bridging cultural divides.

Connect with Losang on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Losang-Rabgey/549208134

Click here to view the embedded video.

Architecture for Humanity

admin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 05:35:36 +0000

Neema Mgana is a social entrepreneur and was the youngest of 1000 women from around the world jointly nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. She has founded several community organizations like:

1. “Everyone’s Child” – Founded in 2000, “Everyone’s Child” is a community-based organization that provides education, health and other services to children infected by AIDS. Over 200 children receive these services on a daily basis in a community center that the organization built in 2003.

2. “African Regional Youth Initiative (ARYI)”: While a first-year graduate student in 2003, Neema founded this organization which works directly with over 400 community and youth organizations to jointly develop, implement, and evaluate community, national and regional strategies focusing on development issues in Africa.

3. “Forum for Global Action”: In an effort to foster innovative thinking on international development, she co-founded the Forum for Global Action in 2006. One of the focus areas of the forum is on women’s leadership that is being implemented in Africa, Asia, and South America.

4. “African Women of Distinction project”: A peace and justice project created in 2006, the project highlights the leadership role of women in Africa. In addition, it also works with over 180 young men and women in Africa to build and nurture their leadership skills through leadership trainings, mentorship and information and communication technology.

In this video, Neema shares the progress of her partnership with Cameron Sinclair’s “Architecture for Humanity” program. “Architecture for Humanity”, an organization that brings design, construction and development services to communities in need through a global network of building professionals. Neema has paired with Cameron Sinclair to initiate the building process. Together, they’re creating a community-based health center in the rural Singida region of Tanzania.

Connect with Neema on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Neema-Mgana/683867208

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the 21st Century

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:08:49 +0000

If military strategy debates bore you to sleep, try watching Thomas Barnett lay down the “new lay of the land” for you – or what he calls “The Pentagon’s New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century”. You won’t be disappointed.

Barnett argues that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 revealed the gap between an outdated Cold War-era military and a radically different one needed to deal with emerging threats. He analyzes recent military operations including Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom amongst other, and points out that the nature of war has changed, and so has the nature of the enemy. In this video, Thomas Barnett proposes a “Department Of Everything Else” – arguing that this will be a department between War (Defense) and Peace (State), one that is focused on getting countries from the Gap (as I describe those less connected regions) to the Core. State is built primarily to deal with functioning states, or the Core, while Defense is reorienting after 9/11 to wage wars in the Gap.

Thomas Barnett has been described by U.S. News & World Report’s Michael Barone as “one of the most important strategic thinkers of our time.” He is a New York Times-bestselling author and a nationally-known public speaker who’s been profiled on the front-page of the Wall Street Journal many times. Amongst other notable achievements, Tom Barnette has served as a strategic planner who has worked in national security affairs since the end of the Cold War. He worked as a Senior Strategic Researcher and Professor in the Warfare Analysis & Research Department, Center for Naval Warfare Studies, U.S. Naval War College, Newport RI, where he taught and served–in a senior advisory role–with military and civilian leaders in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, Central Command, Special Operations Command, and Joint Forces Command. He has also been engaged in some strategic concepts that link change in the international security environment to the imperative of transforming U.S. military capabilities to meet future threats.

Click here to view the embedded video.

InfoCompanions

Technology Made Personal

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