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A NIH study shows that there is distinct brain activity associated with charity. In fact the brain activity occurs in the regions that are often associated with Sex and Food. IN short it appears that the human brain is wired to reward good deeds and charity. Read the full Washington Post article. Login is required.
NexGym is a new concept in engaging physical activity. In short it leverages the engaging interface of video games and gets kids to do physical activity and exert themselves. I saw an article on Gamasutra about it a while ago but now they have a new location - number 2 - in Texas and if the idea catches on we may see more of them, or even new competitors. What is interesting to me is that we are not seeing this in schools. The interfaces are expensive if we are talking about DDR, but a projector and a PS3 is a steal if you use it every day for 6 gym periods. Particularly if you can get the kids to get into the fun of it.
The Financial Times wrote a piece on the philanthropic activities taking place in Second Life. They began and ended the article focusing on the Second Life Relay For Life. I am so excited that the FT would focus in on our event. We have tremendous volunteer effort going into this and are wildly excited about the event to come.
I know I am late to see this but there is a great set of interviews on Rocketboom from the Personal Democracy Forum. Critical is the question of the internet's influence on the politics of America and further around the world. It is fine to recognize that candidates must participate online, and that conversations critical to clutch issues are going to happen online.Yet the question being asked is how do you translate that into action. Politicians and activist have been asking this for years, and now there if focus on a new medium.
Take a step back and consider the possibility of more global interaction, one focused on larger challenges. It really takes the old mantra think globally act locally and turns it on its head. Really now you can think, talk, and even act globally through the net as a communication channel. I predict the net will fundamentally change the global political landscape creating a more uniform and cohesive world population as we have more and more exposure to each other.
In an turn of events more X-Prize than anything it appears that there is a new million dollar prize out for the cure to cancer. Reuters reports that there is an odd marriage between hedge funs and scientists seeking to make a difference or a profit from the cure for cancer. One such prize is the Gotham Prize. Reassuring is that real medical doctors with expertise in cancer will review the submissions and the research. The hope is to make access to funding more open and take away the politics of medical research.
Bill Ives writes in Fast Forward a scary piece on the flip side of the E-SNA tool use. What if companies were using E-SNA to understand who was talking to whom for the purpose of simply spying on their employees, and not for the purposes of encouraging creative collaborative thought and synergy? Sadly one could see a fast chilling effect resulting in less inter-office communication via traditional channels and more work face to face, and on outside IM systems. The possibility goes further when employees take their work off of the grid to spaces like Basecamp to protect their ideas and co-workers.
PopToTheShops.net allows some UK shoppers to shop from their local markets online, and then have the items delivered. It is a great model that blends the technology of online shopping with locally sustainable business practices that benefit not only the end consumer but the local economy as well. This system effectively grants the local businesses with the same kind of online access as large big box retailers have. One advantage is that local stores may carry many products chains do not creating a competitive advantage where in favor of the local merchant.
I was in New York last Friday for the Run Walk Ride conference and I went out to dinner with my Aunt, who lives just north of Columbus Circle. We walked almost 20 blocks to a great sushi place and as we were waiting for a table I looked over and saw one of my favorite futurists in the world Lisa Bodel of Future Think. It was a chance encounter in one of the biggest cities in the world. It left a lasting impression on both of us, but would it have if we were using an electronic assistance program like Dodgeball? Would the encounter still be as exciting if we already knew we were going to meet? It is an interesting question to ponder, what is more valuable to have the encounter, or is that feeling of amazement more important?
On Friday I was on of the few selected speakers to present at the first ever Run, Walk, Ride conference put on by the same people who brought us the Cause Marketing Forum. In all it was a very tight group of about 50 or so fundraising professionals and few consultants who make it our business to raise money by conducting physical event. I was there to talk about the Second Life Relay For Life and the kinds of success we are having. I really enjoyed a few of the presentations including a very cool overview of a smaller agency that I think is following right in the footsteps of the Society - Y-Me Breast Cancer Organization.
One other presentations was from a Kintera representative. In short he was talking about the imperative need to personalize the entire experience for donors, especially the follow ups. We need to understand if the donors are giving because of the cause or the fundraiser and adjust our approaches accordingly. That is no new idea but technology is allowing us to do just that. He and I led a follow up discussion on the important of online presence and we were joined by one of the pres from Event-360 which is another fundraisng consultancy. All in all I enjoyed the trip as well as the conference. It provided some nice contact and I hope helped to move the industry forward some.
Discrevolt has a Indy Download Cards that helps bands get their music to their fans digitally. The Discrevolt cards allow fans to purchase plastic cards which act as gift certificates for the purchase of music from the Discrevolt website. Artists but the cards initially for about $2 and then resell them at concerts for about $5. They contain on average 15 credits and artists can set the price of their music in credits. In the new music landscape the single is king again and allowing fans to pick and choose their favorite songs digitally is a plus. Moreover the cash at the point of sale is the bands to use right away for gas, food, or spare guitar strings.
