Netflix: Ahead of the Curve

by Adeena Schlussel on behalf of Daniel Lubetzky

This New York Times article features Netflix as a prime example of companies that are staying ahead of the curve by focusing on efficiency and disruptive technology, in this case, enabling consumers to access movies from their homes instead of from a store.  What is most interesting about Netflix is that its creation was potentially self destructive- watching movies on the internet is even faster than having to wait for them to arrive via snail mail- but the company averted a crisis by adapting to the demands of the times.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

A future of humachines?

Check out this rad story about a movement that feels machine and humans will merge into an eternal force.  What the proponents of Singularity may lack in contemplation about the soul, they certainly make up for in imagination and creativity about technology.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

How Computer Recommendations Can Dull Our Searching Souls

Lev Grossman wrote an excellent article in TIME on how recommendation engines work (ie, for Netflix movie selection, and for Pandora radio selection) and how they can start turning us into boringly homogenous & predictive blockbuster consumers of the same stuff within one safe space.

Alas, when it comes to movie choices, the options and parameters are so many, that suggestions I get are often unreliable.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

Stimulating creativity and curiosity in children

Modern technology and education may not encourage creativity and imagination in children as much as the past.  Reading books makes you imagine your own characters, and blocks of wood - or pieces of nature - can prompt a child to imagine its toys. But tvs, xboxes, video games and pdas are less likely to stimulate the unknown, as they guide you through a pre-created and pre-imagined world.

Here is an article from babycenter (an informative and valuable website for parents) that shares ideas on how to tap your child’s natural curiosity.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

The future of journalism

Andrew Rice wrote an excellent article in the New York Times Magazine on online journalism entrepreneurs and the future of news.  Quite a shaky ride for the industry.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

Visualizing a Future of Palestinian-Israeli Peace - and the Arc at its foundation

The OneVoice Movement has been running for the past couple years a program called Imagine 2018, where they are asking Israelis and Palestinians to share their vision of what their lives and future would look like if the conflict were to be resolved and a two state solution achieved.

OneVoice will soon be unveiling its next phase in the project - very promising stuff.

In the meantime, I just got a video from my friends Art Winter and Doug Suisman about their vision. In cooperation with the RAND Foundation, they have worked for several years on a Palestinian infrastructure corridor that includes state-of-the-art planning to enable a Palestinian state to prosper and grow in peace with Israel.  Their work is nothing short of stunning.

Take a look at their teaser video below, and visit their site here:

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

A KIND Celebration

Check out this very creative surprise for a Danish bus driver - it was part guerrilla promotion for the bus company, part fun for the voyagers, and part KINDING for the birthday of the targeted bus driver!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

Creative Job Search

by Adeena Schlussel on behalf of Daniel Lubetzky

A neat deployment of google adwords to get the attention of prospective employers – by a creative ad guy.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

Inspiring and unorthodox Palestinian takes bold step for peace

For anyone who maybe losing hope that the Palestinians and Israelis will ever overcome their past to build a brighter future, here’s a story that should awaken the potential we all have to make a deep difference. Elias Khoury lost his land to Israel and his father and son to attacks by Palestinians, and now he has sought to bridge the gap by funding the translation of a prominent Israeli author, Amos Oz, into Arabic.

[Read more →]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis

Smart contraption

I was intrigued by this very smart promotional give-away - a usb-drive that also serves as a livestrong-like bracelet.  Smart & practical idea…

IMG_0903

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • YahooMyWeb
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • TwitThis