Ideas with Impact

Pop Chart Lab was founded in August 2010 by a book editor and a graphic designer who joined forces for one reason: to bring order to a swirling chaos, that is, to render the world as charts. Since the launch, Pop Chart Lab has tackled everything from beer to culinary devices to the story of a boy’s migration to a town called Bel Air.

Pop Chart Lab has been featured on “The Today Show”, in Food & Wine, and on websites such as Boing Boing, Uncrate, New York, Good, The New Yorker, Fast Company, Design Sponge, and Laughing Squid.

Patrick Mulligan

Co-Founder and
Editorial Director

Ben Gibson

Co-Founder and
Art Director

Prints Division

Research Division

Apparel Division

Wholesale Division

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© Copyright Pop Chart Lab, 2011

This week, Kiva is feeling inspired by a story from one of our lending teams! Kiva’s Lending Team, The Peace & Justice Academy has been lending through Kiva since 2009 and to this date they have funded 60 loans totaling $1,475!

Randy Christopher and Kimberly Medendorp started the school in 2009, and shortly began implementing Kiva in the classroom. In the beginning, Randy asked each of the students – and there were only ten that first year – to bring in $2.50. He made it clear that they were not to ask their parents for the money. They could scrounge it out of the couch cushions, use their birthday money or sell bottles and cans to raise it, but they could not ask mom. The students got their $25 together and all of them contributed to the discussion of who should benefit from their first loan. That was 60 loans ago!

The school found that Kiva is the perfect teaching tool. Every loan recipient’s story teaches a lesson in geography, culture, finance, history, economics and more. Kiva loves these students’ entrepreneurial spirit and their creativity around fund-raising. This year, as part of a lesson on the ins and outs of business, the boys and girls built competing lemonade stands and raised another $200 for Kiva.
To lend on Kiva visit kiva.org/lend or to start your own lending team, visit kiva.org/community

The Society for Visual Anthropology (SVA) is a section of the American Anthropological Association. We promote the study of visual representation and media. Both research methods and teaching strategies fall within the scope of the society. SVA members are involved in all aspects of production, dissemination, and analysis of visual forms. Works in film, video, photography, and computer-based multimedia explore signification, perception, and communication-in-context, as well as a multitude of other anthropological and ethnographic themes.

Founded in 1984, the Society for Visual Anthropology promotes the use of images for the description, analysis, communication and interpretation of human [and sometimes nonhuman) behavior. Members have interests in all visual aspects of culture, including art, architecture and material artifacts, as well as kinesics, proxemics and related forms of body motion communication (e.g. gesture, emotion, dance, sign language).

The Society encourages the use of media, including still photography, film, video and non-camera generated images, in the recording of ethnographic, archaeological and other anthropological genres. Members examine how aspects of culture can be pictorially/visually interpreted and expressed, and how images can be understood as artifacts of culture. Historical photographs, in particular, are seen as a source of ethnographic data, expanding our horizons beyond the reach of memory culture. The society also supports the study of indigenous media and their grounding in personal, social, cultural and ideological contexts, and how anthropological productions can be exhibited and used more effectively in classrooms, museums and television.

The Society for Visual Anthropology offers a core focus for all of anthropology. We welcome contributions from linguists and archaeologists, as well as physical and cultural anthropologists. Come join us.

“Generic hyperbole belongs on cereal boxes, not on résumés,” says Duncan Mathison, a career consultant and co-author of “Unlock the Hidden Job Market: 6 Steps to a Successful Job Search When Times Are Tough.” “If it does not pass the ‘So what, anybody can make that claim’ test, leave it off.”

Instead of being another candidate professing to be a “hard worker,” revitalize your application with a little seek-and-replace exercise. Scan your résumé for empty, overused words such as the following:

1.  Outstanding

2.  Effective

3.  Strong

4.  Exceptional

5.  Good

6.  Excellent

7.  Driven

8.  Motivated

9.  Seasoned

10. Energetic

“Watch out for words that are unsupported claims of greatness,” Mathison says. Adds David Couper, a career coach and author of “Outsiders on the Inside: How to Create a Winning Career … Even When You Don’t Fit In,” “If you call yourself an ‘excellent manager,’ how do we know?”

The nouns following those subjective adjectives can be equally meaningless. Anyone who has ever had a co-worker can claim to be a “team player.”

A better route to take is describing accomplishments and letting the hirer make his own judgment. Give specific, and preferably quantifiable, accounts of what you’ve done that makes you an “outstanding salesperson.” Likewise, peruse your performance reviews for quotable material from supervisors that demonstrates why they consider you a “strong leader.” Listing awards or other forms of recognition also can be used as support.

Some words should be avoided because they convey traits that employers consider standard for anybody who wants to be hired. “You’re motivated? Hope so. A good worker? So happy to hear that; I didn’t want to hire a bad worker,” Couper says. Don’t take up precious résumé space with unnecessary items.

Also on the “don’t” side: words that seek to overcome what you might think are your shortcomings. “Using ‘seasoned’ for ‘over 50’ or ‘energetic’ for ‘inexperienced’ looks like spin and smells like spin,” Mathison says. Keep the focus on what makes you right for the job.

On the  flip side, certain words can make hiring managers do a  double take. Light up their eyes with these 10 words and phrases:

1.  Created

2.  Increased

3.  Reduced

4.  Improved

5.  Developed

6.  Researched

7.  Accomplished

8.  Won

9.   on time

10.  Under budget

“We suggest that résumé writers include action words to describe their jobs,” says Susan Ach, a career counselor at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. Verbs project the image of someone who has the background and initiative to get things done. Employers can clearly comprehend what you’ve accomplished and can use that as a basis for envisioning future success with their company. Think about it: If you were hiring, would you rather take on someone who calls himself a “productive manager” or somebody who states that at his last job he “increased company profit by 3 percent,” “reduced employee turnover in his department to the best level in five years” and “improved brand awareness by implementing a new social media strategy”?

Lastly, it can be beneficial to use verbs and nouns that are common to your specific industry. This shows your familiarity with the language of your field and optimizes the chances of getting past an automatic scan for keywords. But remember, too, that all companies tend to speak a universal language: money.

“Terms such as ‘on time’ and ‘under budget’ are often good. Hiring managers want to know you can get things done with minimum fuss,” Mathison says. Tell them what makes you the most profitable choice for the job and employers will tell you the best word of all: “hired.”

By Beth Braccio Hering, Special to CareerBuilder
Beth Braccio Hering researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter.

A house of worship for biodiversity, the British pavilion for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is constructed of 60,000 light-funneling fiber-optic rods, each with one or more seeds implanted at its tip. British designer Thomas Heatherwick worked with the Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank project, whose mission is to collect seeds from 25% of the world’s plant species by 2020. The result was a living structure that embodied the Expo’s theme of “Better City, Better Life” and rooted digital dreams in the soil from which all life springs. That combination helped make the Seed Cathedral one of the most popular national pavilions at the Shanghai Expo, where Chinese visitors nicknamed it pu gong ying, the dandelion.
By BRYAN WALSH
Cick link for more info from Thomas Heatherwick at a TED Talk

Flying cars! Jet packs! Lasers that zap malaria-carrying mosquitoes! Here are the year’s biggest (and coolest) breakthroughs in science, technology and the arts

iPad
Flipboard
Looxcie
Kickstarter
Square
Sony Alpha A55 Camera
Amtrak’s Beef-Powered Train
Google’s Driverless Car
Martin Jetpack……
Click link for more info & details!

JUNE 21, 2011, GIJS VAN WULFEN:

There are numerous reasons why a brainstorm session can produce few great ideas or none at all. Gijs van Wulfen gives us his suggestions for the perfect brainstorm.

The fuzzy front end of innovation confronts you with a lot of questions. In my new book ‘Creating innovative Products and Services’ I try to solve them with the FORTH innovation method.

Every one of us has experienced failed brainstorms. Because 300 ideas hung on a wall and nobody knew how to go on. Or one of your vice-presidents disapproved of every idea so after a short while everybody kept his mouth shut. Or because at the end of a long day at the office you could only recycle old ideas and there was nothing new under the sun. But do not get discouraged. The perfect brainstorm exists. I have experienced several in practice. And was in the position of facilitating some of them.

So, what finally gives that WOW feeling? I’ve discovered that this simple question cannot be easily answered. I do not think there is one dominant success factor. It is much more the right interplay of many small factors. It is all in the details I experience. Perhaps the metaphor of a puzzle is most striking. There are many small pieces needed, and if you lose one, the puzzle is worthless. In my practice as facilitator I have found twenty-five pieces contributing to the perfect brainstorm, which I like to share with you.

Highly relevant

1. Define a relevant subject, which is a challenge for the organisation and the people you invite.

2. Create with the sponsor a concrete and s.m.a.r.t. brainstorm or innovation assignment.

3. Create momentum for the brainstorm. Something important must happen now!

Diverse group of participants

4. Invite people for whom the assignment is personally relevant.

5. Invite both people for content as for decision-making reasons.

6. Invite also a couple of outsiders as outside-the-box thinkers.

7. Get a good mix between men and women, young & old, et cetera.

8. Let the internal top problem-owner (vice-president) participate.

Special setting

9. Look for a peaceful and special environment (special place, special music, special food et cetera).

10. Create an (emotional) safe environment where you can be yourself.

11. Do not allow ringing and flashing iPhones and Blackberry’s.

12. Never, I really mean never, brainstorm at the office.

Effectively structured process

13. Take at least two days for an effective brainstorm for concrete new concepts.

14. Spend twice as much time on the convergence process as on the divergence process.

15. Plan and prepare an effective combination of idea generation techniques.

16. Be open to suggestions from the group to adapt the process. Do not always try to stick to the programme you have set.

17. Make sure it is enjoyable. Fun promotes good results.

18. Time box. Make sure everybody knows what the time limits are for the different assignments. And stick to the time.

19. Hire visualisers or cartoonist to visualise the results

20. Keep the pace going; otherwise it becomes long-winded and boring.

Facilitated by a professional

21. Hire an (internal) expert facilitator, hardly noticeable, with light controls.

22. Gives the opposite energy to the group. If the group is too active: be calm. If the group is too calm: be more energetic.

23. Don’t lose sight of sub groups, constantly check how they progress.

Concrete output

24. Make the output very concrete and clear to anybody. Also to those who did not participate.

25. Creating the new concepts with your own colleagues generates maximum internal support.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating of course. Try to deploy the 25 rules, and you will notice that the participants will share the WOW-feeling and support the outcome. So when you organise or lead a brainstorm, check out if you’ve complete the puzzle.

In the FORTH innovation method, a two-day brainstorm is planned in the third step: Raise Ideas. You can download the brainstorm programme here, to help you get started.

I wish you lots of success organising your own perfect brainstorm!

By Gijs van Wulfen

Brilliant organic art:

Interesting article, has the tenseness of a sociology major with too much caffeine & nicotine, but some points worth considering….  Some highlights:

“No one should ever work….

That doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things. It does mean creating a new way of life based on play; in other words, a ludic revolution. By “play” I mean also festivity, creativity, conviviality, commensality, and maybe even art. There is more to play than child’s play, as worthy as that is. I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance. Play isn’t passive….

Socrates said that manual laborers make bad friends and bad citizens because they have no time to fulfill the responsibilities of friendship and citizenship….

The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps….

The more you give, the more you get….

If we play our cards right, we can all get more out of life than we put into it; but only if we play for keeps.”

This international stealth subculture has been wrapping itself around urban structures for the past few years, and I, for one, can’t get enough of it. I’m an avid lover of urban art to begin with so when you add a covert, colorful, crafty, non-destructive element to the streets, it’s like having machine-spun maple cotton candy at the local county fair.
From: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/outdoor/yarn-bombing-the-guerrilla-knit-graffiti-movement-151393

Memory devices implantable in biological tissues; have the consistency of Jell-O….. a new generation of scrumptious, intelligent desserts?
Curious? Read more by clicking the link