Wonderful water color layer for maps

This water color layer from http://maps.stamen.com/ uses OpenStreetMap data. Try it out with your district!

I found this presentation about creative youth and product "hacking" very interesting:

Absorbing knowledge from creative youth

View more PowerPoint from Ian McCarthy

Technology is getting personal

On uxmatters.com, Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain write about technology trends and the human experience (http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2012/03/ahead-of-the-curve-technology-trends-and-the-human-experience.php). They describe how fashion outlets for technology are emerging and that the next step may be customizing technology itself for people. In addition to this they the see the social technology trend re-emerging with new devices and incresing connectivity. 

To go further, these trends show us how technology is getting personal, merging with ourselves, conquering different context and patterns of our daily life. Like fashion once became our "second skin", technology now follows the same path and that's why fashion outlets for smart phones etc. are increasing. We don't actually recognize technology being around us. For the older generation this may seem scary, picturing technology is taking control. But for the younger generation these borders don't exist anymore, there's no distinct line between virtual and "real."

A Cultural Quest - Case Study on Alessi and Cultural Resources

Davide Ravasi and Elena Dapliaz, with Violina Rindova wrote an article for Organization Science about the use of cultural resources in strategy formation and change in a case study of Italian manufacturer of household products, Alessi. Over more than three decades, Alessi incorporated cultural resources from different registers like anthropology, psychoanalysis, arts, or crafts. For example, craft techniques were reintroduced in the production process or workshops with social scientists, informed employees about psychoanalytical theories about the effect of objects form on individuals. Through cultural repertoire enrichment and identity redefinition, Alessi developed new unconventional strategies and strategic versatility that led to a pioneering role in its industry and unlocking of new markets. Rindova et al. (2011) show how cultural resources are used for the purpose of substantive use, as productive means to develop new strategies of actions. This has to be differentiated from the rhetorical use of cultural resources as in advertising through verbal signs, promoted through institutions like media and critics. 

http://www.knowledge.unibocconi.eu/notizia.php?idArt=8427

Hello Etsy Conference Berlin - Report

The #helloetsy (www.helloetsy.com) summit last September inBerlin brought together over 500 people, mainly from Small Business and Sustainability. A lot of talks and discussion focused on being authentic, sharing your passion, especially by telling stories.

So were most of the speakers in sharing their experiences and insights e.g. about starting abusiness (Chad Dickerson, “Finding your way to courage“ or "Growing big while staying small“ with Xenios Thrasyvoulou), "Writing for impact“ (Farai Chideya) or branding (Lisa Rodwell). That’s why the talks were very motivating although me and others were wondering what if you don’t sell the typical emotional Etsy product like a fashion item or vintage which is rooted in your personality or a nice story? What if you sell an abstract service or “just“ toilet paper?

Chad Dickerson pointed out that courage comes by doing. You have to find your own way, be true to yourself and learn from mistakes.

Lisa Rodwell made five points of brand building: serve a purpose, stand out from the crowd, stay focused, stick to your promise (consistency!) and spread the world. She showed nice examples how moo.com give their customers something they can tell about through their customer experience (e.g. unboxing, personal communication).

In her writing tips Farai Chideya pointed out the importance of building up a relationship between writer and readers, playing with your strengths and evaluating what you’ve written by getting feedback from your readers and other people.

Douglas Rushkoff called in „Program or be programmed“ for a literacy in programming. If you don’t understand the language of computers you’ll have to trust them, like a passenger has to trust the taxi driver. At least you should understand what a tool is for and the possible bias of using digital tools and interfaces.

The last talk I attended was with Xenios Thrasyvoulou from peopleperhour.com He took a lot of time for questions and got into conversations – just as he talked about the importance of communication in „managing“ team members. This communication and sharing the core culture ofyour business with employees and freelancers is key. A lot of his practical tips go along with the credo of agile development.

Overall Hello Etsy was a very inspiring summit with a great atmosphere.