December 2008
“World’s first «Zero-Star-Hotel-Concept» is an interesting alternative range in the local Hotel and was devolped in cooperation with the commune Sevelen. The Low-Budget-Hotel is an art installation which is located in the well known Swiss-Air-Raid-Shelter and organised in a franchising system.”
—nullsternhotel.ch
“Unemployed? Read This. A Dear Friend of mine spent 14 months looking for a new job. It was 2006. The economy was hot. He was a very competent ecommerce executive, and his resume was a showcase of great companies and meaningful experience. On paper, there was no reason the guy should have had trouble.”
—97 Job Search Tips: “Career Advice for Desperate Job Seekers”
“Maybe you can’t make money doing what you love The thing is, it’s far easier than ever before to surface your ideas. Far easier to have someone notice your art or your writing or your photography. Which means that people who might have hidden their talents are now finding them noticed…”
—Seth’s Blog: Maybe you can’t make money doing what you love
“I blog about Africa because I see a continent blessed with cultural and natural beauty, a continent working hard to lift itself from troubled beginnings, and the rise of a new breed of African leader with a deep devotion and love for what their country, and the continent, means to them”
—Why I blog about Africa — Build it Kenny, and they will come…
TimeDesk Inspiration: Archive →
timedesk.tumblr.com
It’s been an interesting year. Check the TimeDesk archive for what’s kept us busy… I look forward to 2009, which could become my breakthrough year.
“ReadWriteWeb authors look forward to what 2009 might bring in the world of Web technology and new media.”
—2009 Web Predictions - ReadWriteWeb
Play
“In 2009, the Monitor will become the first nationally circulated newspaper to replace its daily print edition with its website; the 100 year-old news organization will also offer subscribers weekly print and daily e-mail editions.”
—Monitor shifts from print to Web-based strategy
“All the world may be available online, but there’s still something undeniably attractive about the tangibility and portability of print. That’s where Tabbloid comes in, with a new service that converts RSS feeds into a printer-ready PDF document.”
—From RSS feeds, a personalized PDF magazine - Springwise
“Consumers have become increasingly mobile and nomadic, so it’s no surprise that brands are doing the same, as witnessed by the continued popularity of pop-up retail. Helping stores get out and about whilst maintaining their brand image is bboxx—a compact and quick to construct mobile kiosk.”
—Portable kiosk for mobile brands, roof terrace optional - Springwise
“Now that anyone can set up their own online store, there’s a certain prestige to having an offline presence. The Beehive Co-op offers craftspeople and designers a retail solution that’s more substantial than a Sunday market without the daunting prospect of leasing an entire store. Members rent a portion of Beehive’s store in exchange for a monthly fee and at least four hours of staffing assistance. This keeps overhead low and puts customers and designers in direct contact, boosting the sense of community and giving the designers valuable first-hand feedback on their products. There’s an ethical draw, too: Beehive’s focus on fostering local design means products have a smaller carbon footprint, and money earned stays in the community.”
—Co-operative retail for independent designers, now offering franchise opportunities | Springwise: your daily fix of new business ideas
“Dole Organic lets consumers “travel to the origin of each organic product”. By typing in a fruit sticker’s three-digit Farm Code on Dole Organic’s website, customers can find the story behind their banana. Each farm’s section on the website includes background info, shows photos of the crops and workers and tells consumers more about the origin of Dole’s organic products.”
—Product life story labels - Springwise
“Crop to Cup, founded last year, buys directly from African coffee farmers and represents them in consumer markets. With the goal of improving farmers’ livelihoods, Crop to Cup trains and educates them in sustainable practices, and it coordinates the coffee’s processing, export, import, roasting, marketing and distribution. Not only do farmers get paid fair prices, but they also have the opportunity to realize additional per-pound bonuses connected to sales on the coffee drinker’s end. Meanwhile, Crop to Cup also reinvests 10 percent of its profits in farmer communities. So far, so good, but not new—most fair trade companies work that way.”
—Coffee life stories link farmers and drinkers - Springwise
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch—unless, of course, you happen to be a food blogger. Food manufacturers tend to be liberal with their samples when it comes to gaining exposure through influential voices, and one New Orleans-based blogger has turned that into a defining feature of his site.”
—Food blogger turned intermediary & purveyor - Springwise
“Revolutionise Scotland’s live music scene – artists, locations, venues, ticket prices: you decide. The Tennent’s Mutual transforms Scotland’s live music landscape by switching influence from the hands of the industry, into the heart of the music community.”
—The Tennent’s Mutual: Create, Control, Enjoy.
“In recent weeks a lot has been written about agriculture, about the various ways in which improvements in farming could improve the lives of people in Katine. In development circles agriculture has come back into fashion. New crop strains, genetically modified food and the not-so-distant prospects of a green revolution for Africa suggest ways forward. Most attention goes to technological or biological innovation - there is less interest in how agricultural reforms link to the culture of a particular society. While “culture” tends to dominate wider debates on the role of women, religion, health or education, discussions on farming tend not to.”
—Do farmers in Katine want to stand out from the crowd? | Society | guardian.co.uk
“The vital Trends, Risks, and Red Herrings you must know”
—Our trend map for 2009: The vital Trends, Risks, and Red Herrings you must know - Trends in the Living Networks
