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Hi [firstname,fallback=subscriber],
It's time for your weekly fix of entrepreneurial ideas! Our latest issue is now online. Here's
a quick run-down of the promising new businesses Springwise featured this week:
Author's next thriller will be cowritten by the crowds
Media & publishing
Crime author James Patterson will write the first and last chapters of
AirBorne. For those in between, a contest found 28 writers to each
create a fast-paced and thrilling chapter in less than 750 words.
A layaway option for buying festival tickets
Entertainment / Financial services
Back in 2007 we noted the return of layaway payment plans. Given
today's economic climate, it's not surprising that several upcoming
music festivals are offering a layaway option for purchasing tickets.
London diners pay what they want at Little Bay
Food & beverage / Marketing & advertising
Like the Ibis Singapore hotel we featured last week, London
restaurant Little Bay is taking a leaf out of Radiohead’s book, letting
diners set their own prices.
Home energy monitoring, delivered by Google
Eco & sustainability / Homes & housing
Targeting the 40 million "smart meters" now in use worldwide, Google
is testing a new gadget that will take the information such devices
collect and make it more easily accessible to consumers.
Music mapping tool lets users rearrange songs
Entertainment / Media & publishing
SongMap is a new web application that allows users to create
custom arrangements of songs and then download the
corresponding audio files and sheet music.
Translation service taps the native-speaking crowds
Life hacks
Focusing on short, nonspecialized texts, myGengo uses a global
team of pretested translators to offer super-speedy translations at
low prices.
Online coaching for cricket players
Lifestyle & leisure / Education
Just a few weeks ago we wrote about Links Lessons, which offers
personalized golfing instruction online, and since then one of our
spotters alerted us to a similar coaching site for cricket players.
Google roams India in internet demo bus
Non-profit / Social cause
Recognizing that not every global citizen has easy access to the world
wide web, Google has launched an effort to demonstrate the internet
to citizens of India's Tamil Nadu region.
Tweets from parliament seats
Government / Media & publishing
Tapping into the communication platform du jour, Tweetminister
has created a 'place where real life and politics tweet'. The website
collects and presents real-time updates of life in British politics.
Harman Kardon's trip planner suggests travelling music
Entertainment / Tourism & travel / Marketing & advertising
A new site from UK-based sound system manufacturer Harman
Kardon creates playlists of location-inspired music for travellers to
listen to on their next road trip.
Our next issue will arrive in your inbox on 25 February 2009. In the meantime, please
check out our daily posts, or follow us on Twitter.
Warm regards,
Liesbeth den Toom
Senior Editor
liesbeth@springwise.com
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