Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with innovation

Punk our ballet, please.

dpcoffin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:03:09 -0800

Great innovative but still classic ballet on DVD? We're basically illiterate about ballet but have been very much enjoying the first-in-searches features on the classics and the all usual household names on Netflix. But truth be told, we're starting to get a bit bored with all the pose-strikings, the curtsies, the running back and forth; it seems like there's only about 30 or so basic moves allowed! (Ignorance shrieking out loud, no doubt; but just saying…) Which I guess means either we don't actually love classical ballet all that much, or we find the traditional choreography way too reserved, or both… or something.

So, I think what we want is to see what, if anything, modern, obstreperous, but still well-schooled folks have done to liven up ballet in the last few decades. We like the toe-shoes, the rigor, and all the weightless leaps and anything effortlessly graceful, of course. But where's the imaginative stuff, the purely visual raptures, the geometric, the angular, the pattern-making, the hypnotic, the kaleidoscopic, the punky/funky, making the most of synchronized bodies, really musical, really NEW stuff? On DVD, that is…

Thanks!
PS: It was watching the Nutcracker on PBS last night that was the last straw: Great sets and costumes, some amazing talent, but all the good stuff was WAY too short, and the tedious, ordinary stuff just went on and on AND ON, to that stupefying music… Really.

How do I make the most of the Internet?

logicalsequence — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:05:42 -0800

How do I make the most of the Internet? I find myself reading the same (primarily boring) websites on the Internet and want to make more use of my online time. What can I do to connect with others more effectively, to discover new ideas more easily, to partake in my hobbies more effectively, to become more innovative/creative or to contribute to society more?

All I seem to be using the Internet for at the minute is for checking Facebook and a couple of forums and blogs relating to my hobbies.

Please feel free to suggest ideas or specific websites.

Thanks.

Intra-company knowledge exchange

philosophistry — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:08:02 -0800

How to increase knowledge exchange in a tech company. (i.e. imitate Google)? I work at a tech. company, and often we have redundant work. For example, someone spent a full day digging through implementing something from one API that another person knew how to do in 10 minutes. The thing is, former didn't know the latter knew about it, and the latter didn't know the former was working on it.

How do you increase the knowledge exchange within a technology company?

Are there books/resources on this?

I know Google has a lot of good strategies in this arena. Their most famous one is an excellent and open cafeteria which simply increases socialization among normally narrow developers.

Less famously, they also have heavenly snack rooms that keeps developers chatty.

Some in our company suggested wikis where people post their knowledge, but I believe that those strategies tend to fail as developers become wiki-shy.

What does the Venn intersection of journalists and inventors look like?

runkelfinker — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:55:48 -0800

I've been following the development of the CrunchPad with some interest. It's made me wonder, are there any famous examples in history of journalists also being successful inventors/innovators?

Innovative Book Designs

0bvious — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:37:46 -0800

Innovative Books: I am looking to compile a list of the most innovative uses of the book format. Books that break the mould in their layout and design, perhaps books that use online systems to extend their content value or push their form into new places. I am most interested in narrative and theory, but any book that is interesting (artist books etc.) would be really appreciated. I have a few examples, in order of publication, to set the ball rolling:

Compendium for literates : a system of writing by Karl Gerstner - A book about book form in an innovative form. Beautiful and still fresh

Dictionary of the Khazars: a lexicon novel in 100,000 words by Pavic - a 'dictionary novel' "written in two versions, male and female, which are identical save for seventeen crucial lines"

A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel by Tom Philips - an artist who has used one particular edition of one particular book as a space for his work for many years

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larson - extended use of footnote, side-note and illustration to give the narrative dimension

I would love any ideas you have!

Name that campaign - innovation + social media

latch24 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:27:33 -0800

Name that campaign! Need help finding an inspiring name for an internal/staff campaign that encompasses innovation + social media use... So, I am responsible for running this campaign for work and I am struggling to think up an inspiring (and short) name for it. At the moment I am just calling it "Using social media effectively" but its boring, long and not particularly inspiring. The whole idea is that we want staff to think of innovative and effective ways to use social media (facebook, twitter, flickr, etc etc) to solve problems, communicate ideas and create opportunities for discussion and interaction between staff and perhaps even our external clients. So far I have come up with... nothing and my team, friends and family haven't been a whole heap of help either so I come to the mefites for ideas. I would love to hear your ideas! It can incorporate the name of media, rhyme, anything!

If I have to use "Using social media effectively" it won't be the end of the world but I would like to at least try something a bit fun first! Thanks for helping.

Who's doing neat stuff with the web and comics?

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:57:34 -0800

Most comics on the web seem to be just scanned in print comics or the equivalent of same. Can you point me to any web comics that are making use of web/internet technology to make the comics reading experience different from print comics? No need to mention Scott McCloud. For instance, all the web comics I've seen are essentially just one gif or jpeg per page. Are there any web comics that are putting each panel of a page in a div and layering them via css for dramatic effect? Are any using selectable web text in their word balloons instead of hand or computer done lettering that is just part of the art? Stuff like this, which incorporate aspects of the web to make comics, is what I'm looking for.

How Can NASA Encourage NASA Employees to Innovate?

choragus — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:30:58 -0800

How Might the Personal Pet Projects of NASA Employees Provide Fuel For Innovation at NASA? The employees of Genentech, 3M and Google, along with other private sector companies, are encouraged to use up to 20% of their regular work week on personal pet projects to create innovative products.

As a result of a recent recommendation, the NASA Senior leadership directed its Agency Office of Human Capital Management and Center Human Capital community to begin researching similar models for NASA employees...unclear if this includes the Agency's contracted employees, too.

How might NASA achieve a goal that enables its employees to devote 20% their time toward innovative pet projects with taxpayer-funding throughout its workforce of educators, procurement and contracts, operations, legal, human resources, information technology, legal, financial, scientists and engineers?

Is this the right question?

Help me find a creative venue in Rome, Italy

eurandom — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:02:11 -0800

I am organising an internal training on innovation in Rome for about 20-25 employees. What creative / innovative venues do you recommend in or by Rome, Italy? I plan, together with a colleague, to run a one day training session on innovation at the end of April. We have set the date (end of April) and the location (by Rome), but have not yet found a suitable venue to do the training.

An important factor for training people on innovation and creativity is the environment in which the training takes place. In order to get the creative juices to flow, the best environment is a relaxing, but inspiring, venue that pulls people out of their normal day-to-day job. Instead of a traditional meeting room with tables and chairs, a good venue should have couches or beanbags and provide a relaxing environment. Ideally, there should also be at least two different rooms, so you can move the group between locations to continuosly provide new perspectives. There should also be a lot of natural light.

Some example venues that work well for such a training include a comfortable cabin in the woods, a loft with a lot of natural light, a relaxing meeting room in a zoo or museum, a historical tower or castle, etc.

Although I am certain such places exist in Rome, Italy, I have no idea where to look for such a venue. I couldn't find anything on google, but this may partially be because I am searching in English instead of Italian.

The venue should not cost more than 1,200 Euro for the day.

Any suggestions on where to look for such a venue or venues you have used in the past for a similar purpose? Unconventional ideas are welcome and are sometimes the best ones ...

Creative Innovative Socially-Good Companies

divabat — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:46:03 -0800

Which companies and organisations are big on innovation, creativity, doing good, and support flexible work styles and ethics? I'm jobhunting at the moment and I've found that the company culture and industries they work in are just as important - if not more so - than the specific job role. I'd be happy to work in any role in those sort of companies (so long as I have enough skills); however, I'm finding it hard to find job searches that let you define the industry/style of the hiring company.

I'm after companies and organisations that put value on creativity, innovation, doing social good, flexibility, ideas, and ethical practice (they don't have to be super-strong in all those aspects, one or two main ones would do). At the moment I'm not worried about location - I may have to move internationally anyway, and travel is a huge bonus.

I have skills in arts and events management, cross-cultural communication & integration, general administration, strategy & policy, dealing with young people, research, idea generation, performance and presentation, writing & editorial, and working with the web - but I'm willing to learn new skills or work in something basic and entry-level if it's with the right company.

Some ideas of companies that look interesting:

Google (I'd LOVE to work for them but they seem to only be hiring tech engineers - and I know naught about software engineering)
BrainStore
WhatIf Innovation
GOOD Magazine
Up with People (I've volunteered with them and they have one of the best office cultures I've ever seen)
United Nations (though I've heard that they can be frustratingly bureaucratic)

Which other companies/organisations can I add to the list? How do I find more companies/organisations that fit my needs?

Tech advances in commercial air industry?

modernnomad — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:55:17 -0800

What technological advances are we likely to see in the commercial airline industry over the next 25 years? This is really a two-part question.

First, how close are airlines to implementing fully automated take-off and landing (that is, with a pilot perhaps just overseeing the process)? Is this simply a technical problem or rather a commercial one in that passengers are just unwilling to accept it?

Second, is turbulence something that is susceptible to technological innovation, or is it something that is just a given with powered flight?

What are innovative ideas for healthcare to save money, increase efficiency and improve outcomes?

mintchip — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:06:55 -0800

What are innovative ideas for healthcare to save money, increase efficiency and improve outcomes? What would be some ideas for changes to the existing US health system to save money and improve outcomes? For example, ways to better manage chronic disease, reduce medical errors, reduce duplicate tests, etc.

I'm interested in new ideas as well as ones that have been proven to work in other countries but could be "hacked" to fit the convoluted system we have here in the US.

I LOVE Brainstorming. How can I do more of it?

k7lim — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:04:54 -0800

I LOVE Brainstorming. How can I do more of it?
I find brainstorming stimulating, satisfying, socially gratifying and just really fun. I think I'm pretty good at it too. I always have these mini eureka ideas and I constantly jot things down in my notebook and on jott.com

What activities and career paths can I pursue, such that I get to brainstorm more? And such that I am rewarded for doing more brainstorming in broader and more diverse idea-spaces?

Right now, I'm a founder of a startup and I have started an "open gym"brainstorming group in my local area, but I'm thinking down the road.

How can I make the most of this affinity/ability that I have?

I've heard smart people go on about the need for innovation, and I want to do my part to increase innovation in the universe.

what's new in technology. I mean really, really new

brandnew — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:28:36 -0800

Sites for tracking new technologies, technology trends, and innovations? I've recently been moved into a position that requires me to drive R&D projects and new innovations. I lead a small team that mainly looks at how to apply our existing IP and software to emerging technologies and social contexts.

I've got all the techniques down for turning my team into a gushing innovation factory. However, I struggle in providing the inputs: interesting new social contexts and emerging technologies. Currently I suck down the popular technology news sites and journals, but I always feel that we're behind the curve.

Are there blogs out there (or even subscription services) that discuss emerging technologies, social trends, etc? Perhaps a daily newsletter that showcases interesting new patent submissions, or top-secret products, or hype curves showing where VCs are putting their money?

Environmentalist porn

Mender — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:53:47 -0800

Optimism Filter: What individuals, groups or publications are thinking innovatively about the future of our planet and how to get there? At this point, I think we can all envision the future of our environment if, heaven help us, nothing changes. So the question is, who is proposing the most interesting, the most promising, the most intelligent, even the most beautiful changes? Who has a vision for a better future?

These can be small scale or large scale ideas, technological or social or other. They can be in any field, and they can be things that are happening now or things that are still many years in the future.

Help me type without ever needing to look?

parmanparman — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:38:38 -0800

Is there a wireless, battery rechargeable, full-sized or laptop-sized keyboard available that has a memory card which will allow me to leave the office, go to the gym or a cafe and type without needing or even glancing at a monitor? So that later, I can return to give my work a good editing without caring about how it looks on the first draft? I'm not looking for a laptop or that thing Apple produced for elementary school students. I am also not looking for a braille computer. If there is a wireless full-sized or laptop sized keyboard out there that will allow me to leave the room, the building, the campus, the house, and go to the park, the gym, sit on the bus, sit in an airplane and keep typing to a large memory that I can access later, preferably in a format like SD or mini-SD (but if there is only USB, I'd me somewhat OK) I am in the market for this. Any ideas?

How does a lovely geek drop-out find gainful employment?

watercarrier — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:30:19 -0800

What would be the ideal type of work for someone with no formal education but who has amazing talents? A friend dropped out of Junior High and never looked back, basically educating herself via books, experience and internet. She is super smart, has worked in numerous jobs, from food vendor to assistant to a CEO of a global financial corporation, to simulatneous translations online to cleaning people's houses and on and on. Basically she never felt she was fulfilling her life's purpose. Now - she's at a cross-roads and must find some type of employment - self-generated or other to make a living. Her skills are almost genius in differential association, having the ability to gauge space and matter, she has exceptionally good writing skills, and a very rich language, spoken in a beautiful voice. This is a bit random, but I'm trying to fill you in on some background talents. She's computer savvy, has an eye for design and color and has a flair for incorporating nature and its elements in all she undertakes. From flowers on the wall, to driftwood sculptures, to creating fragances from trees and fauna.

The things she can't do anymore is hard physical labor like lifting heavy objects, standing or sitting for long periods of time and would probably be at her best working for herself or in a small group.

She also has a bit of struggle with long-term projects, so any job would have to be relatively short-term projects, or immediate sales.

Another quirk she has is a really ~really~ uncanny way of drawing people into stores. I've seen it myself more times than I can remember at this point. She will enter a virtually empty store and within a minute after people start crowding in. So maybe that's something to capitalize on as well as the above mentioned.

Maybe a job where she could work from home, online with occassional projects where she could venture out.

Any ideas what a person like this could do and do really, really well? The last time she took an aptitude test - it showed good marketing skills but also it was said that she could do practically anything she would set her mind to.

That's it. Hopefully, the hive mind will help generate some awesome, intelligent and insightful ideas to help her get back on her feet and feel like *she's doing her life's work*.

Cheers

Getrdone

parmanparman — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:23:31 -0800

I have many great ideas but I am a terrible personal and professional implementer. How can I do better now?

Travel innovations in development

NancyB — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:45:24 -0800

Do you know of any innovations currently in development within the travel industry that could rock the world of a business traveler? Innovations could fall in the categories of airline, aircraft, security, hotel, car, mobile computing, etc. I'm editing a magazine article on the topic, but want to be sure to include some great ideas that haven't yet hit the marketplace.

Introductions to technological development

sindark — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:07:21 -0800

Is anybody familiar with one or more good textbooks (or introductory volumes) on technology development and/or deployment? Specifically, I am looking for books that discuss deployment, barriers to access, and technology transfer in the context of sustainable technologies. For example, the deployment of renewable power technology or emissions reduction technology in the developing world.

I am not looking for something that is hugely technical, bur rather something that lays out the technological issues in a manner that would be useful for developing long term policy.

Finding a graduate program that's not a traditional MBA

lsemel — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:16:00 -0800

I was thinking going back for an MBA, but realize I may be looking for something different. My background is in Internet, technology and media, and I have a degree in computer science. I'm also good at design. I've started technology businesses on my own, but I want to make a change and open up new directions. My interests lie more in the area of innovation, new product development/design, consulting and entrepreneurship. From the research I've done, most of the MBA programs are pretty similar, and geared to people who want to work on Wall Street or in large corporations. While I'm not particularly interested in these areas, I definitely want to learn about business as pertains to my areas of interest, and make new connections. Are there any graduate programs (MBA or otherwise) more tailored more toward my interests?

Pros and Cons of Google's 20 percent time concept?

Anonymous — Mon, 14 May 2007 21:41:47 -0800

Pros and Cons of Google's 20 percent time concept? I've been promoting the concept of implementing Google's 20% time policy into our 100-person company.

This policy involves requiring engineers to devote 20% of their resources to their own projects. The only caveat is that the company owns whatever you produce in that time.

I'm trying to pitch this idea to the higher ups, and so far some people are pretty excited. They've tasked me with researching more about the pros, cons, and specific policy implementations so as to make a more compelling pitch.

I've seen some pretty good prior discussion.

The deeper question I have is, "Given Google's success, why haven't more companies instituted this policy? Why hasn't yours?"

It has been widely successful for Google, with more than half of its revenues coming from projects started during the 20% time.

Is it just resistance to change that is stopping this?

Ideas for innovative uses of technology in higher education?

genial — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:57:56 -0800

For many years our university has touted itself as being "cutting-edge" with technology by requiring students to buy laptops. Obviously we need to be doing more and I'd like some ideas for ways we can be innovative in this sector and reach out to the students, faculty, and staff with new resources that will actually be used. Bonus points for ideas that go against the grain, defend easily for funding, and generally rock. To get things started my boss mentioned the possibility of sponsoring lan parties for the students and dedicating the bandwidth and resources to really help them work. Possibly inviting outside high school students and things of the sort to make it a community effort.

So in other words, if you were still in college or worked in a university, what kind of things would you have wanted to see get implemented if no one was standing over you saying "We can't possibly do that, we've never done that before."

Set Your Own Salary

Korou — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 05:20:28 -0800

Within the past year, I read an article about a corporation where employees set their own pay. Other functions are similarly innovative. I vaguely remember a connection to Brazil/Latin America. What is this company? Where can I find more?

Where's my future-car?

limeonaire — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 13:54:43 -0800

It seems that taillights have evolved rather radically from their humble origins, now featuring LED configurations spanning cars' entire back ends. Why hasn't this kind of innovation been seen with headlights? I thought of a few questions along these lines last night while sitting in the back of a friend's van, watching the headlights around us on the highway.

Specifically:

1. Why don't car manufacturers use fluorescent or LED bulbs (backed by reflective material, just as incandescent bulbs are) in headlights? It seems to me that they'd be just as sturdy as incandescent bulbs, and probably provide brighter light with less energy required.

2. Are there practical reasons why car manufacturers continue to stick to the tried-and-true "two headlights, one on the left, one on the right" configuration, rather than using, say, a centrally mounted light bar? (Think something like the Millennium Falcon's propulsion bar, only on the front of the car and used solely for lighting purposes...) Or is it just convention?

When I discussed this with my friends, we speculated that it could be an issue of redundancy—i.e. if one gets knocked out, you still have one left. But then, I countered, couldn't that be addressed by mounting, say, two or more fluorescent tubes in the "light bar"? Or if fluorescent tubes are too fragile, perhaps multiple tiny white LEDs?

We also speculated that perhaps it was just a design/functionality issue, wherein, say, the grill is a standard air intake area for the engine, and it's easier to keep it there, rather than trying to create a radically new air intake system.

Any ideas which, if any, of these issues have curtailed the introduction of new forms of headlights?