Mass customization is more than a choice of skins for an iPod or a personalized logo for a Toyota Scion. In a bid to create an active community around OpenMoko, the mobile phone’s Taiwanese manufacturer first published its software. This allowed developers to tweak it as they wished. Releasing open-source software is fairly common these days. However, OpenMoko broke new ground when it published the 3D drafting files for the phone’s case. The latter move lets anyone who knows how to work with CAD alter the case’s design.

By releasing the software and case design files, OpenMoko hopes to generate a passionate community of developers who will create a lengthy list of add-on applications for the phone, as well as innovative designs for its housing. The result will be features and design options that no phone manufacturer could hope to create on its own. By going well beyond the norms of mass customization, the company will also jump start a cottage industry of independent customizers for its phones.

The takeaway here is threefold. Firstly, if you’re so inclined, here’s a ripe opportunity to enter the mobile phone manufacturing business on the cheap. Secondly, OpenMoko’s business model—namely open-sourcing software and hardware files—is one that other start-ups and established manufacturers might well emulate. The products might just as easily be alarm clocks or toaster ovens. And, finally, the ease with which phone cases can be created using 3D printers heralds a day when many products will be produced on the spot, tailored inside and out to a customer’s preferences. Someday a printer vending machine might even let consumers choose a product design and have it built within minutes. When that happens, we’ll be sure to let you know ;-) (Related: Build your own mobile phone — New phone company, made in Silicon Valley — Affordable phones, made to order.)

Website: www.openmoko.com
Contact: contact@openmoko.com

Spotted by RK

Being photographed by the paparazzi was once an (often dubious) honour bestowed only on the rich and famous, but today a new service is bringing the possibility to every consumer.

Upon request, New York City-based MethodIzaz will send an anonymous photographer to surreptitiously capture select moments in a consumer's life and immortalize them with a portfolio of professionally produced photos. To arrange the service, the consumer provides a self photograph ahead of time along with details of their schedule and any specific emotion, mood or theme they hope to capture. MethodIzaz's photographer will then show up at some undisclosed point during the day and photograph the subject walking through the streets or going about their daily business, without posing or artifice. For customers, the final result is a new perspective on how they appear to others as well as tangible documentation of how they lived their lives at that point in time—in short, the ultimate in gravanity-stroking. Pricing is based on MethodIzaz's time to travel, photograph, edit and produce the photographs, ranging from USD 300 to USD 400 per hour.

Founded late last year, MethodIzaz already accepts assignments worldwide, but it also hopes to expand its presence accordingly. There are consumers around the globe waiting for their taste of fame and immortality—one to partner with and bring to an area near you?

Website: www.methodizaz.com

Spotted by: Giulia Cuccolini

When it comes to choosing a career path, it's one thing to think about the job from the outside, but quite another to experience it day to day. Back in 2006 we wrote about Vocation Vacations, which helps career-changers test out different waters, and now UK-based Figuring Out offers a combination of career coaching and trial work experience to achieve a similar end.

Launched earlier this month by the team behind Striding Out, a support network for entrepreneurs, UK-based Figuring Out aims to help people at all stages of their work life figure out what they want for their next career move. The coaching part of Figuring Out's service focuses on clarifying career goals, mastering interview techniques and learning new job search strategies, among other objectives. Such career coaching programmes can come in packages of three or more one-hour sessions in person or by phone or e-mail, and are priced on average between GBP 80 and GBP 100 per hour. The work experience portion of Figuring Out's services, however, is where clients can begin testing out their options. Tapping into its Striding Out network of businesses, Figuring Out identifies and connects clients with flexible, part-time work placement opportunities that can provide the right type of work experience for their needs. The work experience service is charged at an additional fee, depending on the range and type of placements required. The result, however, is a realistic, hands-on feel for what each career possibility would really be like.

Figuring Out currently operates just in London, but it's in the process of signing up licensee coaches across the UK to take on the brand in their local area. The company also plans to develop its work experience brokerage service into a short-term recruitment agency, Managing Director Heather Wilkinson says, and is already forming partnerships with full-time recruitment agencies to help secure full-time employment when clients are ready to take that step. One to partner with in an area near you?

Website: www.figuringout.co.uk
Contact: info@stridingout.co.uk

As our regular readers know, we've covered quite a few examples of gravanity,* from children's books to personal requiems. So when one of our spotters presented yet another example of a business that's using customization to stand out, we couldn't resist. What's getting the gravanity treatment this time? Cuff links. Created by Eleven Forty Co., the links are individually modelled on photographs of a child, a loved one, a pet or a famous role model. They're available in a range of precious metals and are priced from GBP 225. When they're not holding a shirt cuff together, the two halves cleverly snap together to create a miniature bust.

This isn't the studio's first foray into high-end personalization. A few years ago, Eleven Forty Co. introduced Opus, an uber-premium football table that's made to order. Customers pick their teams, which can feature friends, family, celebrities or real football players. Each player's head is cast in 3D from a photograph supplied by the customer. One to keep an eye on if you're looking for inspiration for a customized product to bring to market!

Website: www.elevenforty.com
Contact: hello@elevenforty.com

Spotted by: Flemming Birch

* Gravanity is what our sister-site trendwatching.com dubbed the enduring trend of catering to consumers who want to leave 'something' behind in print, audio or imagery. It's a goldmine of inspiration for entrepreneurs and marketers.

In the same way that freelancers are flocking to shared working spaces, stay-at-home moms are happy to find a third space that accommodates both them and their offspring. In London, private members clubs like Maggie & Rose and Cupcake Mom, offer mothers a place to convene and relax, where they're welcome to come and go as they please, 7 days a week.

Maggie & Rose, based in Kensington, features several play areas and offers children's lessons in art, cooking, dance and more, as well as a weekend movie club and birthday party services. Parents are catered to with a comfortable and quiet café (with wifi access, of course), as well as seminars and access to a family advisory service: "well researched info on nannies, tutors, schools, holidays, etc." Memberships are priced at GBP 500 per year.

Set to open in Wandsworth next month, Cupcake also aims to provide a grown-up but child-friendly environment. Its focus, however, is mainly on pregnant women and new mothers. In addition to a crèche and an organic café, Cupcake also offers personal trainers and a spa. The top floor of the club, where the spa is located, is a "baby-free zone" and features treatments tailor-made for pregnant women and new moms, from the "Cupcake in the Oven Massage" to the "Mermaid Wrap." Cupcake also plans to install a sleep pod for much-needed powernaps, and will offer a concierge service to help busy moms complete their to-do lists. Membership is GBP 149 per month. Founded by Karen Hastings, an American MBA graduate who lives in London, Cupcake is backed by Trapezia Capital, a UK venture fund that solely invests in women-led businesses. Hastings plans to open clubs in affluent areas across the country. We’re pretty sure British moms (and dads) aren’t the only parents who would gladly pay for access to a being space, a community of peers and the opportunity for some pampered me-time. Entrepreneurs across the world: start planning.

Website: www.maggieandrose.co.uk — www.cupcakemum.com
Contact: studio@maggieandrose.com — info@cupcakemum.com

Spotted by: Tamara Shand

We've written before about product life stories and how they're bringing new transparency to the creation and distribution of consumer products. Dole Organics did it for bananas, and now Crop to Cup is doing something similar for coffee.

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.

Where the innovation and product life stories come in, however, is through what Crop to Cup calls the digitization of coffee farming. Through Crop to Cup's website, consumers can trace their coffee back to the farmers who produced it and interact with them (along with roasters and other drinkers) through message boards, forums, ratings and reviews. The result is that drinkers of Uganda Bugisu AA coffee, for example, can read profiles of the farmers who produced the beans, including Bernard Walimbwa's 17-member family, which manages roughly 30,000 coffee trees in the Bugisu Region of Uganda.

The company's founders explain: "By training and working directly with family farmers we're able to control quality of our coffees. By virtue of full disclosure and farm-level transparency, we're able to ensure a fairly traded product without costly certification schemes. We involve the farmer and their ultimate customer—the coffee drinker—in a dialogue to determine what's important."
Crop to Cup's site is still rough around the edges, but its approach is a promising one, from both an ethical and a marketing perspective. As our sister site trendwatching.com noted in its (still) made here briefing, consumers' desire to find out about product origins will only increase. Time to get working on those stories!

Website: www.croptocup.com
Contact: midwest@croptocup.com

Robot vacuum cleaners are slowly taking off, and robot lawn mowers have been around for over a decade. What's new this month, however, is a mower that not only trims the lawn all by itself, but does so using solar power.

Sweden's Husqvarna just introduced the world's first solar/electric hybrid robot lawnmower, which has no exhaust emissions and uses approximately the same amount of energy as a standard light bulb.

Cleverly targeting time-starved consumers as well as tree-huggers, Husqvarna claims: "It's been calculated that using Automower Solar Hybrid to cut the lawn in an average garden can save 40 hours of labour every year—the equivalent of an extra week's holiday." Owners just lay out a boundary cable that tells the robot where to stop cutting, saving the delphiniums from an untimely death. Cuttings don't need raking, either: the grass is cut so finely that it can be left where it falls and acts as a fertiliser.

Combining two powerful trends—convenience and eco-friendliness—has to be a winner. Who's next? (Related: Indoor composting made easy.)

Website: www.husqvarna.com

Last year we wrote about Blends for Friends, a British company that sells bespoke custom-blended teas, and recently one of our spotters came across Design a Tea, a similar—but more affordable—option.

Founded last year, New York-based Design a Tea bills itself as the place "where tea leaves dream," and users of the site get to choose each element of the teas they create. The process begins when they select a base tea to start with—black tea, oolong, green tea or rooibos. From there, they can choose one or two flavours to add, selecting from a list of more than 40 that includes such options as cassis, mango and zabaglione. Users then choose whether they want their tea loose or bagged, and they give the tea a name or personalized message to include on its packaging. Pricing is USD 4.75 for 10 bags or 22g of loose tea, and 8.50 for 20 bags or 60g of loose tea; an assortment of signature pre-designed blends are also available.

As we've said before, there appears to be no end in sight to the opportunities for customizing everyday goods, whether it's chocolate, lingerie or duvets. Design a Tea ships only within the United States and Canada; how about bringing affordable custom teas to the rest of the thirsty world?

Website: www.designatea.com
Contact: brian@designatea.com

Spotted by: Bill McMahon

Who hasn’t checked their coat at a restaurant or other venue and worried about losing the claim ticket? London-based Idscan aims to put those worries to rest with a biometric cloakroom system that it claims is a world's first.

Cloakscan records a customer’s thumbprint via a small scanner, while a digital camera records the transaction. When customers return and touch the thumb-scanner once more, their pictures show up on a monitor, allowing the cloakroom attendant to verify their identity and quickly see where their valuables have been stored. Idscan explains that Cloakscan eases stress among customers and staff alike. Customers needn’t fear that a dropped claim ticket will be found and redeemed by someone else, while staff can use Cloakscan’s touchscreen monitor to log checked items faster and more accurately. Cloakscan even prints out reports if valuables do become lost, to aid in police or insurance investigations.

The system can automatically charge customers for coat checking services and can also scan in promotional codes for special offers and services. Idscan rents its cloak-checking system for GBP 17.50 per week as a complete system or alternately sells the software running it with the scanner and camera for GBP 999.

Idscan’s Cloakscan illustrates is how pervasive biometric scans and photo verification systems are becoming. Already widely used in banks, relatively inexpensive thumbprint ID systems particular can speed up operations in everything from a retail store’s merchandise pickup area to the checkout desk at a movie-rental outlet. Bottom line: lots of start-up opportunities exist for system integrators. All it will take is some software writing expertise to fine tune thumbprint and photo applications to new types of businesses. (Related: Drive-in cloakroom.)

Website: www.idscan.co.uk
Contact: www.idscan.co.uk/uk_contact.php

Back in 2006 we wrote about wallpaper's renaissance and innovative wall graphics. While those offerings were intended primarily for indoor spaces, the D Garden Collection is picking up on the same concept and bringing it outdoors.

Paris-based D Garden Collection has its sights set squarely on terraces, balconies and patios with its textile banners, self-adhesive wall stickers and waterproof cushion covers. Banner designs are individually produced to the customer's size requirements from high-quality textiles and inks to ensure UV protection, resistance to the elements and machine washability. A variety of designs are available in categories such as "country," "grasses" and "geometrics"; a 200-by-50-cm banner, for example, is priced at EUR 140. Wall stickers, meanwhile, can be adhered to any glass or plexi surface, outdoors or in; when outdoors, they'll last at least 3 years. The standard sheet size is 30 by 42 cm, for which pricing starts at EUR 15; custom sizes are also available. Finally, D Garden Collection's cushions come in no fewer than 50 designs, with or without the inner cushion. Standard sizes are 50 by 50 cm, priced at EUR 60 each, or 65 by 65 cm for EUR 95.

No matter how tiny their terraces, consumers' desire for individuality and personal style remains super-sized. Plenty of room here for minipreneurs and others to make their mark on patios around the world!

Website: www.dgardencollection.com
Contact: deborah@dgardencollection.com

Marketers caught on long ago to the advantages of involving kids in their brands at an early age. Now natural foods heavyweight Whole Foods is applying the notion to the YouTube generation with a video contest focused on green living.

Earlier this month Texas-based Whole Foods launched the Whole Earth Generation, a video podcast series dedicated to raising environmental awareness among today's youth. Episodes of the series will address topics generated by Generations Y and Z, with highlights including interviews with celebrities and peers, ideas for a sustainable future, cool green products, and how to convince skeptical families and friends to go green. To kick off the new initiative, the company announced a contest to find six kids aged 8 to 17 to serve as hosts of the green-themed series, which will run through April 29. Children from all over the United States and Canada can either submit a video at Whole Foods' YouTube page, or they can show up in person at one of the designated Whole Foods Market stores in New York, Chicago and Austin throughout March for auditions on select days. Videos can include singing, dancing, rapping or documentary-style footage, for example, and must be no more than two minutes long. The contest closes March 24. Select videos will be featured on the site leading up to Earth Day, and ultimately, six winners—three from the YouTube entries and three from the in-store auditions—will be chosen to be hosts of the podcast series.

"So many shoppers tell us they have learned how to be more environmentally conscious by listening to their kids," explains Heather Kennedy, Whole Foods' senior coordinator of national marketing. "We hope this program takes that trend to an even broader audience via the Internet."

Besides helping to spread the green word, of course, Whole Foods' initiative will also involve kids in many of the company's core values and maybe even increase the likelihood that they'll be loyal customers themselves in a few years. Not a bad way to ensure your own sustainable future!

Website: www.youtube.com/user/WholeFoodsMarket
Contact: questions@wholefoods.com

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

The online invitation marketplace is a crowded one, with heavyweight Evite and a raft of smaller contenders all vying for their share. But a new site recently launched in the hopes of taking online invitations to a new level.

Unlike most of its competitors, pingg is taking an ad-free approach to online invitations. With a library of more than 2 million unique images, it's also focusing more on the appearance of its invitations, and incorporating more Web 2.0 features into managing the process. Users planning a party can use pingg's basic email invitations and event management services for free. That includes choosing pre-designed invitations from among 50 or so event types, creating an event page with photos and video, managing RSVPs, accessing event reporting, linking to charity or gift registries, collecting money and sharing event details on Facebook. In addition to its basic services, however, pingg offers several customisation services for a fee, such as access to unique invitation designs and invitation printing, as well as use of photos from the pingg Plus+ library. pingg users can also choose to communicate with guests using SMS/text for a fee of USD 1.50 per 20 messages. pingg gets a commission from its gift registry partners (currently just Amazon); other revenue-adding features on the way include offering the ability for users to sell tickets to their event, and a white-label service offering pingg's core functionality to other businesses.

Cofounder Lorien Gabel explains: "We know that unrelated banner advertising detracts from the user’s experience and is one of the fundamental reasons online invites have not evolved. Our approach from day one has been to identify revenue sources that actually add value to the invitation and event planning process." New York-based pingg just launched in February, so it remains to be seen how well its ad-free model will work. If nothing else, however, the site is further evidence of one of our favourite refrains: everything can be upgraded!

Website: www.pingg.com
Contact: mspiritus@pingg.com

We've written before about small-scale wind turbines that consumers can use to generate their own power, and now a new device uses wind power to create mesmerizing outdoor light.

The Firewinder, also known as the Original Windlight, is a decorative and completely wind-powered outdoor light from the UK-based Firewinder Company that transforms the ebb and flow of the wind into an upwardly spiralling glowing light. Wind from any direction spins a small turbine on the helix-shaped device, thereby lighting up LEDs along its outer edge. With light winds of at least 3 mph, the Firewinder emits a dim glow, but as winds increase, so too does the brilliance of its light. In variable winds, the result is a pulsing, twisting glow that appears to float in mid-air. The Firewinder can be hung or mounted to a post or wall, and it's made of recyclable materials; no batteries or wires are required. It will be available starting late summer in the UK priced at GBP 99.95.

As the greening of the consumer world continues apace, the market for ecologically sustainable goods will only increase. There's no end in sight to the benefits of thinking green!

Website: www.firewinder.com
Contact: info@firewinder.com

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in the developed world, and the widespread obsession with sedentary computer games certainly doesn't help. Nintendo's Wii has been applauded as a step in the right (more active) direction, as have gyms that integrate gaming. Now a UK-based firm is gearing up to go a step further—and right out the door.

LocoMatrix, which is still in beta, has developed location-based games kids can play outdoors using their GPS-enabled mobile phones. Fruit Farmer, for example, is a game in which one or more players run around a real environment such as a park, football field or beach collecting virtual oranges (visible on their mobile phone screens) while avoiding virtual obstacles and killer wasps. Multiple levels of play are available, and users can even create their own versions using a special program on LocoMatrix's website. In Treasure Hunt, meanwhile, the player follows a set of pictorial clues to find a series of locations. The game can be configured to display information about the destination locations, while its "warm-ometer" feature shows pictorially whether the player is getting hotter or colder in relation. As with Fruit Farmer, users can produce their own customized versions. Coming later this month is Locix, in which players capture territories by running in a circle around that area. If another player enters the circle before the first player has completed it, he or she has to start again. All games are free to play during LocoMatrix's beta phase, but it will soon begin charging a small fee. Ultimately, the company plans to adopt a subscription scheme in which users pay a monthly fee for access to games and more, such as the ability to enter teams into competitions.

LocoMatrix hopes to expand its offerings into role-playing games, strategy games and games of cooperation. It is also working on making its platform open so that other developers can create their own games for it.... Ideas, anyone?

Website: www.locomatrix.com
Contact: info@locomatrix.com

Spotted by: Bryan McAndrews

Consumers are never too young for a little gravanity, particularly when proud parents are buying it for them. Enter 5starbaby.com, which offers personalized birth announcements fashioned after movie advertisement posters.

Each movie poster birth announcement from 5starbaby is tailor-made for the new arrival, complete with all the critical “stats” about the baby’s birth and the names of loved ones as "supporting cast." Parents are listed as "producers," the doctor is named as "director" and the hospital is listed as the "filmed in" setting, for example. "Critics' quotes" can also be included, as can "catering" by the mother and options for virtually any other special people or ideas the parents want listed. "Ratings" given are "B" for boy, "G" for girl or "T" for twins. Movie poster birth announcements are 5-by-8-inch mini posters; pricing begins at USD 2.50 each with envelopes included. 5starbaby.com also offers large poster formats ranging from USD 25 to USD 120 each, and gift certificates are available for baby showers or other occasions.

Buffalo, NY-based 5starbaby.com will ship orders anywhere in the world, but localized versions in other languages are a natural next step. One to bring to proud parents and gift-givers around the globe! (Related: Gravanity books for kids.)

Website: www.5starbaby.com
Contact: pete@5starbaby.com

Spotted by: Bill McMahon

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.

On BlakeMakes.com, Blake Killian has developed SOOPZ, a network of 200 or so readers who are also food bloggers—"Sooper Heroes," as he calls them. Manufacturers send multiple samples of a particular item to Blake, who announces that they will be given away through his site. Registered Sooper Heroes can then sign up to receive some in exchange for at least the possibility that they'll write about them on their own blogs. Most recently, for instance, TCHO—the chocolatier we featured not long ago on our own pages—donated a bunch of its chocolate bars for giveaway to the SOOPZ network. Before that it was Sucre chocolate. Since the site's founding last May, Blake has even started developing a line of his own products, starting with Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche—of which he's given away more than a hundred jars through the site. Future plans include videos and a cookbook as well, Blake says.

Whereas food brands have increasingly begun seeking out blog exposure, traditionally that's happened just one blog at a time, and on the brands' own initiative. By acting as an intermediary, BlakeMakes.com is turning that model on its head and giving companies quick access to many bloggers in one shot. Bloggers get free food, companies get free publicity, and everyone gets happy. If you're in food, better start lining up now...!

Website: www.blakemakes.com/soopz
Contact: blakekillian@yahoo.com

Tarzan fans have long yearned for the ability to swing from the trees like the Lord of the Jungle, and in recent years new opportunities to do just that have arisen around the world. Most recently one of our spotters came across Go Ape, a UK-based park that first launched in 2002 and has since expanded to 16 locations throughout Britain. Each of Go Ape's award-winning high forest adventure parks is essentially a network of rope bridges, trapezes and zip slides that stretches for roughly a mile through the tree canopy. Visitors can climb trees, slide across high wires, crawl through tunnels, cross rope bridges, swing on Tarzan swings and walk over planks before zipping down to the ground again. All users are fitted with a climbing harness and given instruction before undertaking the course, which takes approximately 2.5 to 3 hours to complete. Entry is GBP 25 for adults and GBP for children 17 and under; the minimum age is 10.

In Lyon, France, City Aventure operates two parks that also offer a variety of high-forest adventures. Attractions include rope bridges and Tarzan swings, along with the Tyro X-speed at Ste. Foy, a giant Tyrolean traverse 110 metres long that visitors can use to zip throughout the 4-hectare park. The courses take between 1 and 2 hours to complete. Both parks are built with environmental preservation in mind, including fastening systems that do not interfere with the trees' normal growth.

Adrenalin Forest in Christchurch, New Zealand, spans more than 1km with 4 pathways between 1.5 and 17 meters off the ground. Visitors to the park, which launched last year, negotiate a series of rope bridges, Tarzan swings and flying foxes from platforms constructed in the tree canopy. Last but not least, Thailand's Tree Top Adventure Park, set in the forest of Koh Chang, also offers an assortment of rope bridges, Tarzan swings and giant zip lines.

In this age of eco-awareness and experience-seeking, high-forest adventure parks like these offer consumers a way to satisfy both and gain some status skills to boot. One to bring to your neck of the woods?

Website: www.goape.co.uk — www.cityaventure.com — www.adrenalin-forest.co.nz — www.ekohchang.com
Contacts: businessdevelopment@goape.co.uk — info@cityaventure.com — contact@adrenalin-forest.co.nz — info@ekohchang.com

Spotted by: Junaid Kazi

For many foodies, it's not a question of which restaurant is good—it's a question of where to get the chile rellenos they're craving, masterfully prepared to perfection. Therein lies the raison d'etre of Dishola, a user-driven website devoted to the best dishes in gastronomic destinations around the world.

Launched in January 2007, Austin, Texas-based Dishola eschews general restaurant reviews in favour of dish-specific advice and information. Passionate eaters can post a "Dish Wanted" query, for example, to find out where to get those rellenos—or whatever they happen to crave—in their neck of the woods. They can read smart reviews by Dishola editors, industry professionals and other members, as well as posting reviews and photos of their own favourite dishes. "Food safaris" on the site help users discover new dishes, while those not sure what they're craving can take a spin on its "Dish Roulette" for inspiration. Dishola currently includes reviews of dishes in almost 300 cities around the world—albeit most of them in the United States—by more than 1,000 users representing more than 100 cities.

In much the same way that consumers tend to seek out product reviews rather than general reviews of stores or even manufacturers, Dishola's dish-focused approach promises to make it more practical and useful for taste-driven eaters than traditional restaurant guides. And given how big the world of food is, this one cries out for localized versions—how about bringing it to the food-loving community near you?

Website: www.dishola.com
Contact: www.dishola.com/features/contact

Spotted by: Laura Bond Williams

We wrote recently about the interactive wine bar at Adour in New York City's St. Regis Hotel, and since then we've spotted several mentions of iBar, a related innovation by UK-based Mindstorm.

Unveiled in 2006, the iBar is a customisable surface technology that turns any bar into a giant version of an interactive, touch-sensitive screen. Integrated video projectors can display any content on the bar's milky surface, while built-in intelligent tracking software continually maps the position of every object touching its surface. That input is then used to let the projected content interact dynamically with the movements on the counter, allowing coloured lights, for example, to illuminate, link and follow every movement of hands, bottles and glasses. Multiple people can interact with the iBar at once, and virtual objects can be "touched" with the fingers, enabling a game of pinball where players shoot with their thumbs, for example. Content that can be displayed on the iBar includes internet content, interactive games and advertising; bars can also be fitted with Bluetooth technology to allow consumers to download their own content. The iBar is a stand-alone system comprising modules 2m long, and it can be networked wirelessly to allow interaction between two or more separate units.

The iBar has already been used in events, exhibitions, product launches and top night spots all over the world, Mindstorm says, including BMW's head office in Munich, Geneva's Pimp Club and a gala dinner at Google. Such technologies certainly have the potential to transform the consumer experience at bars, restaurants and other venues, as well as providing a wealth of new advertising and point-of-sale opportunities. One to try out early!

Website: www.mindstorm.eu.com/solutions?category=ibar
Contact: ibar@mindstorm.eu.com

Spotted by: Donnie Lam

Just when Photoshop’s photo-editing software has become a household word, along comes a free online application that offers many of the same editing tools. By signing on to Picnik, the brainchild of a group of internet veterans based in Seattle, users can upload photos from their desktop and alter their colour, brightness and other characteristics. When done, they can post them on popular photo-sharing or social-networking sites. The tool is entirely accessible from a user's browser—no need to download or install software.

The free version of Picnik is ad-supported. But dedicated users can spend around US 25 for a one-year subscription to a more feature-rich, ad-free version.

Picnik is the latest in a lengthy list of web applications that exemplify the concept of free love, which our sister site trendwatching.com examines in depth this month. In all likelihood, many more free-love applications will appear online. Two relatively new websites, overlay.tv and SmashMash.tv, for example, let users edit videos online. Short of creating an application yourself, one way to build a business around this trend is to aggregate the free applications others have built (provided their terms of use permit this, of course). A free suite of photo-editing tools, for instance, could be combined with free publishing programs to distribute the edited works when they’re complete.

Website: www.picnik.com
Contact: feedback@picnik.com

Spotted by: Bill McMahon

Many organizations donate books of various kinds to developing countries, usually through a few collection centres and a small set of volunteers or employees. A new UK-based group, on the other hand, mobilizes teams of volunteer university students nationwide.

READ International (short for Realizing Education, Achieving Development) has established 11 student-led Book Projects throughout the UK to improve access to education across the world and increase youth participation in the global community. Originally launched in 2003 as "The Tanzania Book Project" by a group of university students, it had already sent 50,000 books and materials to Tanzania secondary schools by 2005. Beginning in 2006, however, the group registered officially as a national charity, won the support of five universities, and now works through a community of student-run READ Book Projects to collect disused, high-quality Key Stage 3 and GCSE textbooks from UK secondary schools.

Student volunteers also give presentations to promote student volunteering, young social enterprise, recycling and global citizenship, and are responsible for fund-raising towards READ Book Project costs through such means as cake sales, sponsored events and local corporate support. Ultimately, the student teams travel to Tanzania to distribute the books. The result: READ Book Projects have donated 148,000 textbooks to 140 Tanzanian secondary schools and five regional libraries. By the end of the 2007-8 academic year, READ aims to deliver 247,500 textbooks to Tanzania through its 11 university projects, which it plans to increase to 20 in the next year and to 27 by 2009-10, for a total of 1.3 million books kept out of UK landfills and put to good use instead.

The group's founders explain: "We have identified our core strength—our relationship with British students. The opportunity to run, rather than work for, a national organization is our success. We see them as leaders, not volunteers. Over the next three years, we will position READ International to capitalize on this unique offering." READ International was named the Best New Charity in the 2007 UK Charity Times Awards, and is planning sister projects in Ecuador, Ghana and Zambia. For anyone involved in projects for the social good, putting student energy and philanthropy to work makes great sense for everyone involved. A model to emulate!

Website: www.readinternational.org.uk
Contact: info@readinternational.org.uk

Spotted by: Shannon Hopkins

Back in 2006 we wrote about the Nike+iPod Sport Kit as an example of the growing number of branded brands—smart partnerships between brands —and now adidas and Samsung have launched an offering along similar lines.

miCoach, which was unveiled just last week, is an adidas-branded Samsung music cell phone equipped with stride sensor and heart rate monitor to provide on-the-go personal training. With one click, users can connect to the fitness features and begin a workout. On their first use, the system assesses their fitness level and places them in one of three categories. Users can then set their own goals, or let the system's personal coach—backed by more than 200 workout plans—guide them. Either way, miCoach provides instruction to encourage and motivate users along the way, such as advising runners to “speed up to power zone” or telling them that “15 minutes is completed.” Tapping the slider phone twice produces instant updates on the workout, and the 2-inch LCD shows a real-time visual display of time, heart rate, distance, speed and calories burned. Users can arrange workout music on the phone according to tempo or motivational value, while a 2-megapixel camera and 1GB memory capacity let them capture their workout milestones. The miCoach also features USB and Bluetooth connectivity for fast file transfers and seamless sync with the miCoach web portal.

The miCoach phone will be available in Europe starting in mid-March, with delivery in the US next year. European pricing will start at about EUR 195, according to the Associated Press. For more on branded brands, check out our sister site trendwatching.com's briefing on the topic. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for more of them!

Website: www.micoach.com
Contact: wos.info@adidas.com

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

Back in the pre-internet Dark Age, resumes had to be one-page, one side. No exceptions. Social networking websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are helping to break that mold, and recently launched VisualCV hopes to do the same. Anyone shopping for a job can sign on with VisualCV and create a page that resembles an online magazine article. Besides the traditional resume detailing a user’s career, members can upload a video describing themselves. There’s also room for uploading files that list references or examples of creative work, as well as space to highlight specific accomplishments. If a member made sales explode at their last job, for instance, they can display a chart to illustrate growth.

Taken together, VisualCV’s features result in a document that’s more professional looking than what’s possible on most social networking sites, and incorporates features that help employers better assess a jobseeker’s skills and experience. Mouse over the name of a company where a candidate recently worked, for instance, and a pop-up will display a few details about it.

The site is currently in beta, but once it fully launches this spring, VisualCV hopes to make money by providing premium features for employers, such as folders that let hiring committees at companies route and comment on leading candidates. Companies can also pay for prominently placed listings. Also, larger companies or recruiters will eventually be able to license white-label versions of the website.

Plenty of variations on VisualCV’s business model are possible. As with another employment site we wrote about earlier this month (YouTube meets Monster), localizing the service or focusing on industries such as healthcare could help build traffic faster than would be the case with a generalized employment site. Likewise, customizing features to suit different professions should increase chances of success. Jobseekers could choose from an array of industry-specific templates, for example. And video-conferencing features such as those found on dating websites would let employers more efficiently screen candidates. Bottom line: employment sites have long proven themselves to be a viable web business model, but the door remains wide open for new ideas.

Website: www.visualcv.com
Contact: www.visualcv.com/www/site_information/contact_us.html

Spotted by: Michael O’Brien

When a company employs 1.6 million front-line workers throughout the world, chances are that at least a handful of them will have knock-your-socks-off singing abilities. That’s what McDonald’s reckoned when it launched its Voice of McDonald’s II.

As the title implies, this is the second time around for the event, which debuted in 2006. Then as now, company talent shows were nothing new. But the sheer number of McDonald’s participants—some 3,600 working at restaurants in 53 countries signed up for the most recent contest—helped generate valuable media coverage and customer involvement. This time round, customer votes helped select the finalists whose video performances are posted on the contest website. In April, the three top performers from the event will compete for a USD 25,000 first prize at the company’s world convention in Orlando, Florida.

Advertising and marketing bloggers have generated considerable buzz about the campaign, enough that other large companies could well emulate it. Corporate event organizers and team-building experts, and those wanting to enter that business, should be able to invent countless variations of the idea—everything from sports competitions to the funniest YouTube videos to events where finalists get to challenge the pros. As with “American Idol,” the basic idea behind these contests is universal: the yearning ordinary people have to be discovered and the fact that many who lead ordinary lives have talents which deserve to be shown off.

Website: www.mcdonalds.com/usa/voice.html
Contact: www.mcdonalds.com/contact/contact_us.html

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

As anyone with children is no doubt keenly aware, birthday parties can be extremely wasteful affairs, leaving in their wake heaps of disposable dishes and cutlery, bags of plastic packaging and torn wrapping paper, and an array of mediocre gifts the child could probably do without. ECHOage was recently founded by two mothers who were determined to come up with an alternative.

Launched at the end of February, Toronto-based ECHOage is "convenience and conscience wrapped up in a big green ribbon," as cofounder Alison Smith puts it. Specifically, the service offers a way for concerned parents to turn their child's birthday party into an environmentally respectful and socially mindful celebration by applying the philosophy of "one gift, one cause." It works like this: Parents and children planning a party begin by choosing from a variety of online invitations available on the site. Next, they sit down with the birthday child to choose from a list of charitable causes that ECHOage has screened and selected based on their track record of helping children and the environment. Participating charities include Nourish America, EarthCorps, International Child Art Foundation and Girls Inc., among others. Invitations are sent via email, and instead of bringing a wrapped gift, guests are asked to make a secure online donation of $10 to $30 (USD or CDN, depending on where the party takes place). After deducting a 15 percent administration fee, ECHOage sends half of the party proceeds to the child's chosen charity, and remits the other half to the party's host towards the purchase one really special and meaningful gift for the child. The site handles invitations, RSVPs, thank-you notes and reminders as well as collecting parent contact details and allergy information about guests. At the end, the host even gets a tax receipt for the portion of funds donated to charity.

ECHOage not only cuts back on the waste associated with most birthday parties, it also teaches kids valuable lessons about giving and quality versus quantity, and saves parents and guests time and money by eliminating the present buying, wrapping (and returning) process. "Children are full of creative solutions to environmental and social issues, and the impact they can make on this world is extraordinary," explains Debbie Zinman, ECHOage's other cofounder. "Our dream is that ECHOage parties will help members of our youngest generation recognize that they can make meaningful choices that have a positive impact on others." (For more background info on the no-present trend, check out: Cake, but No Presents, Please—New York Times, 27 July 2007.)

So far ECHOage supports parties and funds just in the US and Canada. Who wants to bring this to the rest of the world?

Website: www.echoage.com
Contact: info@echoage.com

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

Almost exactly two years ago we first wrote about Blurb, a publishing software and services company that brings bookstore-quality publishing to the masses. The San Francisco-based company has been pretty busy since then—publishing nearly 80,000 unique titles in 2007, for example, and doubling in size every three months—and now it's come out with BlurbNation, a way for users to monetize their book-making skills.

Launched at the start of this year, BlurbNation is an independent marketplace within Blurb where those skilled at various aspects of custom book-making and those in need of such skills can find each other. The idea is simple: Some people are very good at making books, while others may have ideas for books but not the time or skills to make them. BlurbNation is a way for those two sides to meet so that the books get made and those with the skills can make some money from them. BlurbNation book makers can provide such services as writing and proofreading copy; designing pages and organizing content; scanning, editing and restoring photos or artwork; or even creating the entire book from cover to cover. To be listed in the BlurbNation Directory, they must meet a set of minimum requirements, including having produced at least two books on Blurb that are publicly available in the Blurb Bookstore, and having a website or blog that promotes and explains their book-making services. They must also have technical proficiency with image-editing and design applications. Once accepted by Blurb, they can be listed in the BlurbNation Directory with a profile and work samples, and they get marketing support from Blurb. Arrangements with clients, including price, are worked out completely independently, however—Blurb doesn’t take a share of any fees.

BlurbNation is a logical next step in the evolution of Blurb's business model, which is focused squarely on enabling the creations of Generation C. It's also a beautiful example of what our sister site trendwatching.com would call a feeder business—one that feeds, and feeds off of, bigger ones. What other ventures out there need to be fed...?

Website: www.blurb.com/blurb_nation
Contact: www.blurb.com/help/general_support

Spotted by: Jono Hey

Gas prices, urban congestion and environmental concerns have brought about a veritable renaissance in bicycle riding, as we've noted before, spawning initiatives like citywide bike-rental schemes and bank-sponsored bike-sharing programs, among others. A trend we haven't yet highlighted, however, is the growing number of urban bike stations.

The most recent example we've spotted just opened in New Zealand. Located in the Britomart in Auckland (a public transport hub), BikeCentral offers bicycling enthusiasts and commuters a welcoming place to park their bikes and transition into the next part of their day. In addition to safe, secure bicycle parking, BikeCentral members have access to private lockers, showers and changing areas. Coffee, fresh food and free wireless internet are also available, as are rental bicycles and an on-site repair service for minor repairs. All-inclusive rates start at NZD 25 per week.

Chicago's McDonald's Cycle Center at Millennium Park, which launched in 2004, is a 16,448-square-foot heated facility that includes free indoor parking for 300 bikes, showers and lockers, bicycle rental and repair, and a café. A monthly membership pass costs USD 20. Finally, on the West Coast, Bikestation is a not-for-profit organization that offers secure bicycle parking and more. Stations in five California cities plus Seattle offer a variety of services including bicycle rentals and repair, showers and lockers as well as 24-hour secure bike parking. Monthly fees are USD 12.

The way things are going, demand for centers like these will only increase. And how a combination of bike stations and shared working spaces? Help consumers reduce their carbon footprints, help the planet, and help yourself to some well-deserved profits!

Website: www.bikecentral.co.nz — www.chicagobikestation.com — www.bikestation.org
Contact: info@bikecentral.co.nz — info@chicagobikestation.com — info@bikestation.org

Spotted by: Roanne Parker

True love may be hard to find, but free love isn't—at least not if you know where to look. The latest sighting: AdPerk, which rewards consumers who view online video advertising with free magazines or discounted subscriptions.

Launched last summer, AdPerk places banners on participating magazines' home pages or other outlets, offering users free issues or a discount in exchange for watching short videos. But unlike pre-roll ads that are limited by the host site, AdPerk lets consumers choose which content they want to watch. Visitors who click on the banners are taken to the AdPerk platform, where they can select the ads they wish to view by mousing over the thumbnails for each and seeing the name of the brand or product, the name of the video and its length. It generally takes between 10 and 30 minutes of viewing to complete an offer, and users can also choose when to watch that content. Once they do watch it, AdPerk requires that they enter a word verification within 30 seconds of the ad’s completion—just to make sure they were paying attention. They can then choose to watch more videos or to come back at a later time by registering with the site.

AdPerk is free for consumers; advertisers pay the cost of the free issues. The site collects only user names and addresses, as necessary to mail the magazines when earned, and it gives marketers detailed metrics and insight by tracking user behavior on the site and subsequent purchases. Popular Science, Good Housekeeping, and Field and Stream are among AdPerk's participating magazines; advertisers in the AdPerk network include Duxiana, LG Electronics, Delta Faucet Company, Disney Mobile and Kleenex.

Barry Soicher, CEO and cofounder of San Francisco-based AdPerk, explains: “It comes down to respect, user choice, benefit and relevance. We engage users at the right time and place and give them the control they’re looking for." In other words, permission-based advertising creates a motivated and willing audience. Anyone want to try arguing with that? (For many more examples of what our sister site trendwatching.com has dubbed free love, check out the free briefing.)

Website: www.adperk.com
Contact: info@adperk.com

Spotted by: Nathan Sarcyk

Honey may be one of a growing number of snobmoddities, as we noted back in 2006, but that doesn't mean it isn't still sometimes a sticky mess. Not so the Honey Drop, a new honey that you can hold in your hand.

Island Abbey Foods, of Prince Edward Island, Canada, has come out with a dried honey drop, equivalent to a teaspoon of the sticky stuff, that you can hold in your hand, drop in your tea or pop in your mouth. Released in January, the drops are made with pure Honibe honey from PEI, with no artificial colouring, flavouring or preservatives. The drops have a shelf life of one year and are available in two flavours: pure honey, or honey and lemon. Pricing is CDN 11.99 for a box of 20, which makes for a very premium alternative to sugar cubes.

Island Abbey Foods, which is a member of 1% for the Planet, is currently looking for retailers, affiliates and resellers for the Honey Drop. Sounds like a sweet proposition!

Website: www.honibe.com
Contact: reseller@honibe.com

Spotted by: NOTCOT

Companies with innovative approaches to staid industries need to move quickly in order to maintain their lead, even after they’ve become firmly established. A good example is Zipcar. The US-based car sharing venture with operations in North America and the UK first appeared on our radar in 2003. Back then, we applauded the company’s disruptive, car-on-demand service that appealed to consumers more interested in using a vehicle than owning it.

A little over four years later, as we detailed last April, a partnership with another industry disruptor—ParkAtMyHouse—made it easier for Zipcar’s customers to find a place to park. (ParkatMyHouse lets homeowners rent their coveted urban parking spaces by the hour or the day.) A few months later we wrote that a new Zipcar service enabled renters with GPS phones to access directions to the nearest car, wherever they happened to be.

And the latest Zipcar news? The company is further broadening its customer base by partnering with AKA, a provider of luxury furnished suites that currently operates nine locations in the US, with one to follow in the UK later this year. Customers of the high-end “pied-à-terre on demand” chain are given a free one-year Zipcar membership (the company’s hourly rates still apply). After applying online, guests can pick up the digital key-card to their Zipcar at the front desk of any AKA property. A smart move, since extended stay guests in big cities are a logical fit for the car sharing service. If there’s a lesson here, it’s that getting out in front of the other guys early is only half the battle—the pressure is always on to improve and innovate.

Website: www.zipcar.com — www.hotelaka.com
Contact: info@zipcar.com — www.hotelaka.com/contact.aspx

Spotted by: RK

Let’s say you have to answer an email from an important client. Not being a professional writer, you’re unsure whether the lengthy response you hacked out will even make sense. Who are you going to call? Gramlee. Paste your rough-hewn verbiage into a text box on Gramlee’s website. Hit submit. And within about two hours the text is emailed back, expertly polished by human editors so that it’s both readable and grammatically correct.

Gramlee claims that the average email runs about 150 words, and charges under a dollar to edit a document of that length. Longer documents incur built-in discounts; for example, editing a report-length 1,617-word document—about 7 double-spaced pages—costs just under USD 10, which is cheap enough to entice nearly everyone to use the service. Gramlee lets frequent users ‘buy words’ in advance, and it’s easy to imagine companies running an account with the editing service to make sure their routine documents are professionally produced.

Right now, most organizations handle the editing of everyday documents in a far less efficient manner. Important letters, emails and other documents are either handed off to the lone office worker who majored in English, or a company locates freelance editors and summons them whenever the need arises. Indeed, Gramlee does for writing what online translation and concierge services have done for other common tasks that benefit from a professional’s touch. And a fast turnaround will hook customers into making a habit of having their documents edited. Considering the billions of memos and emails that circulate every day, the market for companies providing on-the-spot editing is vast. (Related: PAs for the rest of us.)

Website: www.gramlee.com
Contact: cs@gramlee.com

Spotted by: Mark Joan

Skiers: active, athletic and often tech savvy, are ideal early adaptor candidates for mobile applications, especially when those applications make their sport more enjoyable and safer.

Case in point? Skimondo, a downloadable application for Nokia GPS-enabled phones. Like the Nike + Ipod kit that records a runner’s performance and provides audio feedback, the beta launch of Skimondo gives everyday skiers the kind of digital feedback once reserved for Olympic hopefuls. Using the free Skimondo download, skiers can easily determine their route and performance. Plus, by displaying both ski trail maps and more precise maps of mountainous terrain, Skimondo shows where each member of a ski party can be found at any given moment, whether they’re on the slopes or careening off piste through a pine grove. In fact, when coupled with a user’s mobile phones talk and SMS functions, Skimondo helps skiers quickly find out if someone in their group gets in trouble.

All that functionality requires some time to implement. And unfortunately, Skimondo currently works at just two Swiss resorts, Verbier and the 4 Vallées. Plans call for additional Swiss ski resorts to be added along with other European and presumably worldwide destination. For Skimondo’s founders, the biggest reward for their painstaking work will likely come in the form of a sizeable well-defined user base that will come to rely on the widget for other revenue-generating purposes—everything from making dinner reservations at the end of the day to clicking on a gear manufacturer’s coupon. And while Skimondo will compete with another promising ski tracking device called Satski, mobile applications (or widgets) hold great promise for entrepreneurs wanting to reach fans of other sports. Before long, we'll no doubt see widgets for hunters, cyclists and kayakers.

Mobile applications that target particular (sports) groups have several advantages: finding users is as easy as finding the special-interest websites they visit and the offline locations they frequent. Also, potential customers are generally willing to pay for products that will enhance their performance or experience. Something to work on if you’re in telecom or leisure! (Related: Ski lift tickets at a discount.)

Website: www.skimondo.com
Contact: www.skimondo.com/en/contact.aspx

Spotted by: Peter Shaw

Last April when we wrote about an Australian firm called Todae that helps companies monitor their energy usage, we noted that many homeowners would likely use a similar service. Sure enough, one of our spotters found a London start-up called Green Homes Concierge which does just that.

For GBP 199, Green Homes Concierge inspectors will come to a customer’s home, toting heat-detecting cameras and other devices to help them evaluate its leaks, wall insulation and appliances. Afterwards, the inspectors will recommend ways the home’s owner can reduce CO2 emissions, and hopefully save some money in the process. Significantly, GHC’s services don’t end there. For a full year the firm will act as a helpful concierge. Should customers wish to make the inspection’s recommended improvements, GHC will help them locate contractors and suppliers able to do the work or tell them where to buy low-energy light bulbs and other environmentally friendly items. That kind of handholding can be a big help, as anyone who has tried to negotiate with contractors can attest.

GHC gets financial help from the London Development Agency, according to an article in the Guardian. The agency wants to reduce the city’s CO2 emissions by 500,000 tons by the decade’s end. And it has targeted homes for good reason. Collectively, the city’s homes produce 40 percent of London’s CO2 emissions. Without the city subsidy, GHC’s concierge services might cost several thousand pounds.

GHC’s service could easily find a home in any reasonably affluent community. True, competing public and private services exist. In the US and elsewhere, for example, energy companies, with an eye on their own bottom lines, have long encouraged homeowners to reduce utility bills by offering counseling and rebates on fuel-efficient appliances. Also common are government tax breaks to encourage homeowners to invest in energy efficiency. But, sorting through the paperwork to qualify for rebates and tax breaks can be a major chore for homeowners. So who wouldn’t want an affordable concierge to handle the paperwork? And while start-ups modeled on GHC’s services might not benefit from the municipal subsidies available in London, the companies’ real income could come from commissions earned through contractor referrals as well as project management fees.

Website: www.greenhomesconcierge.co.uk
Contact: www.greenhomesconcierge.co.uk/contact

Spotted by: Mark Boreland

We've written before about platforms for minipreneurs that aggregate the offerings of many merchants in a single online or offline space. A few weeks ago Rumplo stepped into the fray with a t-shirt-specific site that helps consumers find the coolest t-shirts from independent makers around the world.

Brooklyn, NY-based Rumplo aims to make it easy to browse, search and subscribe to artist-produced tees from around the globe. Users can browse categories such as color, typography, slogan, photography or gradient (in addition to the more obvious "new" and "most popular"), and Rumplo serves up a selection of matching submitted shirts from independent producers all over the planet. Designers, stores and registered users can all participate in submitting links to t-shirts they love, and users can subscribe via RSS (e-mail delivery is coming soon) to their favorite designers, tags or topics. All t-shirts on the site are open to comments by registered users, along with designation as "faves." What users won't find, however, are the works of any on-demand printing sites, which Rumplo's founders have deliberately exluded.

It remains to be seen if Rumplo will charge sellers any kind of fee in the future, but meanwhile plans are apparently in the works for advertising support. By focusing on independent producers (and excluding o