Monthly Archives: May 2010

Object Lesson: Computer Mouse

By Simone | Published: May 30, 2010

Ah, the mouse. Convenient clicking machine that we all have come to know and love… or at least know. The first computer mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart in 1963, who subsequently introduced his creation at the 1968 Fall Joint Compuer Conference in San Francisco. This original mouse was supposedly “housed in a wooden box twice as high as today’s mice and with three buttons on top, moved with the help of two wheels on its underside rather than a rubber trackball.” Awkward!! While the initial product was also known as a “bug,” the term “mouse” eventually won out as the most popular name for the device.

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The New Incentives

By Simone | Published: May 28, 2010

Just watched Dan Pink’s animated explanation of what motivates us- it’s great!

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The Footage

By Simone | Published: May 27, 2010

When I first heard about iamamiwhoami’s strange video clips, I was beyond fascinated- not because they had been mysteriously sent to music bloggers, not because their source was (and is, as of now, still) unknown, and not because they are creepy, fascinating, and filled with strange clues.  I was intrigued because they reminded me of [...]

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Trend Spotting Book Review: The Empathic Civilization

By Simone | Published: May 25, 2010

Most books provide an escape from daily life or offer information about a specific subject.  Jeremy Rifkin’s Empathic Civilization does both, and also has the power to fundamentally change one’s entire worldview. As for escape- The Empathic Civilization removes readers from the specific minutiae of everyday life, encouraging them instead to focus on big, broad [...]

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Object Lesson: Yogurt

By Simone | Published: May 11, 2010

Yogurt is “a semi-solid casein gel formed by the action of specific lactic acid bacteria on a mix composed of milk solids non-fat, milk fat, sugar and stabilizer” which is to say it is… fermented milk.

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Trend Spotting Lesson 3: Social Media Scanning

By Simone | Published: May 10, 2010

Companies used to pay considerable amounts of money to hear what their customers had to say about their products and services- now they don’t know what to do with the litany of feedback available. Thanks to the explosion of social media in recent years, there is a litany of information online- not only that related to specific brands, but also regarding new social movements, technologies, modes of thought, and pretty much anything imaginable. This information can be tapped by trend spotters who can utilize it to scan for new trends- as well as engage in deeper investigation of new theories and find more information on preliminary research.

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Tomorrow's Trend Spotter: A Web App?

By Simone | Published: May 8, 2010

I recently read on Mashable about Google’s recent purchase of Recorded Future, a company that seeks to predict the future. Recorded Future allows users to get instant analyses or receive email alerts regarding the potential future of a variety of topics, including financial markets, public figures, technology. Users may also investigate themselves, as well as their company or some other keyword.

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Trend Spotting Book Review: Blue Ocean Strategy

By Simone | Published: May 6, 2010

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne provides a method by which companies can create strategies to not only beat competition, but rise above it entirely. The authors argue that simply benchmarking against competition leads only to a slow demise, while rethinking one’s entire product or service offering allows for new, untethered growth.

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UP THERE

By Simone | Published: May 5, 2010

UP THERE is a documentary about the art of hand-painted advertising murals.  Apparently, vinyl has replaced hand-painted pieces in pretty much every US city except for New York and Los Angeles. This is an amazing art- one that takes years to learn.  The men interviewed describe apprenticeships which hearken back to the way things were [...]

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Object Lesson: Engagement Rings

By Simone | Published: May 4, 2010

Ah, the engagement ring. Even though I have no romantic prospects, I already have mine picked out (The Tiffany Setting, if you please, Mr. Right). How did this strange, expensive object become a cultural artifact of such importance?

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