Where do good ideas come from? Steven Berlin Johnson answers this question in his new book with almost the same title. However, you can also find the answer in this four minute video. “What sparks the flash of brilliance? How does groundbreaking innovation happen?” Johnson’s story is ingeniously animated by Cognitive Media. Johnson: “My only concern is that people will buy the book after seeing the video and will be disappointed to find that, in fact, there are no turtles in the book itself.”
No smartphone is a more popular discussion topic than the iPhone, but is it really the leading mobile device in the world? As the smartphone war continues to heat up with the introduction of new Android-powered devices, market shares shift from quarter to quarter. BillShrink.com made an interesting infographic. “What will an iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android owner buy next for their new mobile device? Some of the answers to these questions might just surprise you.”
This September 20 was the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals, as defined by the United Nations. Reason for TED.com and the Gates Foundation to organise TEDxChange in New York. Like other cities worldwide, Amsterdam joined the live video broadcast with a local event. For Deloitte, I visited this interactive dinner, where eight people had the chance to pitch their sustainable project.
Today, I reached the age of thirty-eight. “The number 38 was especially prominent in Norse mythology. The number was said to represent unnatural bravery, characteristic of the legendary heroes of Norse sagas. Most legendary sagas were divided into 38 chapters, and the number often recurred throughout stories, with the heroes combating giants or other beasts in groups of 38. The number came to be adopted by the Hardrada clan, and was displayed on their crest in the form of 38 ravens set around 38 outward-facing arrows. The number was also significant in Egyptian mythology, as it was the characteristic number of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death and mummification. Egyptian pharaohs were often buried with 38 statues of cat guardians, and their sarcophagi were adorned with 38 ankhs.” (Wikipedia)
“Blogs Are Dead.”Google it and you find it, lots of times. The world of digital media is constantly changing, so blogs are changing too. Every once in a while, some expert tries to be cool by writing an In Memoriam for blogging. Let’s put the critique into perspective. Not all blogs claiming the death of blogs have the same authority. Take for instance this blog post Ganesh Swami wrote in 2005: “Blogs aren’t cool anymore, since every kid happens to have his own.” Besides coolness Swami mentions some more arguments why blogs are dead: linearity, lack of time, non-conformance to standards, immaturity of blogging software, and stagnancy. However, Swami himself is still blogging. Just like all other critics. Wired is still blogging, and so are Robert Scoble, Hugh MacLeod, Andrew Keen, Steve Rubel and any other blog critic. Blogging is dead, long live blogging!
We all know Andrew Keen as the Anti-Christ of Silicon Valley. Like a fanatic Don Quixote, he fought the windmills of Web 2.0 with his controversial book The Cult Of The Amateur. But now, Keen is back. A new book is coming up and, guess what, Keen is promoting it on Twitter. He explained himself tonight at The Next Web Salon, a dinner session from the organizers of The Next Web Conference. Keen is one of their keynotes. Whoever thinks Keen totally hates Twitter, is wrong. Actually, he is pretty positive about it. Not completely, but hey, it’s Andrew Keen!
Last week, I was in Brussels for three days. A great city to wine and dine, a great city to buy records. I tried to grasp the special atmosphere by taking some pictures. Hope you like them.
My birthday party in De Nieuwe Anita was a blow. Me and my friends joined the French music party Winter in Saint-Tropez, hosted by DJ Natasha (Radio Oh La La) with DJ Guuzbourg (Filles Sourires). It is always great to celebrate your birthday with hundreds of people, even if you don’t know most of them. During the night I photographed my friends wearing the same winter hat – a gimmick of DJ Natashka. Let’s party!