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There's no denying the value of a professional wedding photographer, but that's not to say that guests don't sometimes snap some gems of their own. Aiming to give newlyweds a place to gather all those amateur treasures, Olapic is a Columbia Business School startup that allows users to easily gather, share and print guests' pictures from their special day. Couples begin by creating a profile on Olapic and uploading the email addresses of their guests; Olapic then reminds everyone to bring their cameras to the wedding. After the big event, the site will stay in touch with guests via emails and cards to remind them to upload their pictures. Once they do, the pictures remain private until the happy couple decides to make them public, whether on Olapic or on their Facebook, Flickr or Picasa accounts. Unlike most social networking sites, Olapic allows not just those strict privacy controls but also bulk downloads of high-quality pictures; it also offers printing services to generate albums and prints. Couples can try Olapic for free for up to 100 photos. After that, a flat fee of USD 99 includes unlimited photo storage for a year (annual renewals are USD 25) along with 100 high-quality reminder cards to give to guests. Olapic also gives professional photographers the opportunity to offer additional services by incorporating guests' photos into their own offerings. At weddings—as virtually everywhere else in life these days—user-generated content is an increasingly valuable complement to what the professionals create. Help make sure it gets captured and enjoyed, and you'll soon be smiling for the cameras yourself! ;-) (Related: Email a photo to send prints to friends & family — Easy photo sales, direct from anyone's blog.) Website: www.olapic.com Spotted by: Marta Plana |
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GPS technology is enabling all kinds of new products and services on mobile devices, so why not on "mobile" entities of the four-footed kind? Pets, that is—many of whom have a tendency to roam at least as much as the average cellphone user. Enter SpotLight, a new solution that uses GPS to help pet owners keep tabs on their little wanderers wherever they go. Similar in many ways to SNIF Labs' RFID collar tag, which we covered last year, the SpotLight GPS Pet Locator from Positioning Animals Worldwide combines A-GPS tracking technology with dedicated 24/7 animal-recovery service from the American Kennel Club. Each device comes with a collar unit along with battery, charging cable and AKC tag. Pet owners begin by attaching the water-resistant, 2.5-oz. collar unit to their dog’s collar. They then visit SpotLight online to set "SafeSpots" for the dog, or areas such as the back yard where the dog is permitted to go. Then, any time the dog ventures outside those areas, an alert is sent to the owner via text message and/or email. Turn-by-turn driving directions courtesy of Google Maps are sent to guide the owner to within five yards of the dog's continuously updated location; once the owner arrives, a bright LED beacon can be remotely turned on that's visible from more than 100 yards away. If a compassionate passerby finds the dog, meanwhile, he or she can press a "rescue" button on the device to connect the lost pet with the owner and the AKC recovery team. Tracking history for each tag-wearing pet also gets saved so owners can see where they've gone. SpotLight works in T-Mobile's U.S. coverage areas and is priced at USD 249.99. Service plans begin at USD 7.99 per month for up to 25 pet recoveries per year. U.S. pet owners alone spend some USD 45 billion annually on their fuzzy companions, according to Fast Company, but 10 million of those pets still went missing last year, SpotLight says. Time to bring GPS-based help to your part of the pet-loving world...? Website: www.spotlightgps.com |
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Airports and Twitter have one thing in common—they both create an ever more connected global village. Be that as it may, airports themselves can still be pretty lonely places while waiting to board. A French Twitter tool aims to remedy that: bored twitterers need only tweet #boarding along with an airport code (e.g. LAX), and they'll get a reply with a list of twitterers in that airport in the last few hours. Alternatively, Boarding.fr displays a map of all the world's airports and the users in them. Users can choose which random stranger they'd like to tweet and maybe meet while in transit. Like Lufthansa's MySkyStatus, which tweets passengers' flight updates on their behalf, it's an example of real-time applications adding an automated element to the ongoing conversation that our sister-site calls foreverism. Web developer Damien Guinet created the @boarding 'twitterbot' when he realised many of his followers would tweet just to say they were in an airport. He decided to add value to this by letting them find out who else is there. Although he designed the free service "just for fun", it constantly records data to build up a picture of the most tweeted airports, and Guinet recognizes the potential to partner with airport-based advertisers—perhaps tweeting relevant airport discounts to users of the service? (Related: Connecting airline travellers for a shared cab.) Website: www.boarding.fr |
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With the many items that can be customized today—from muesli to fabrics—the trend is still going strong. Case in point: Lip Balm Labz, a Canadian startup that lets consumers design their own lip balms. At the Lip Balm Labz store in Toronto's Dufferin Mall, customers can pick and choose from more than 20 tantalizing flavors to be mixed in their lip balm, which is crafted from all-natural ingredients including beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter. "Mixologists" at the ice cream stand-styled lab are clad in tie-dyed lab coats and dance to thumping music as they mix and pour the hot lip balm into the container of the customer's choosing. Once it cools, customers walk away with a customized tube of lip balm, made exactly how they like it. A spin-off venture from the Rivendell Soap Factory, Lip Balm Labz also lets consumers order online. Pricing is CAD 2 per tube plus CAD 2 for shipping. Want to hop on board the customization train yourself? Then look around for options that include a bit of style but haven't yet been claimed. One possibility we'd love to see: design-your-own toothbrushes! :-) Website: www.lipbalmlabz.com
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Regular Springwise readers may remember Lufthansa's MySkyStatus service, which lets air travellers get flight status updates posted automatically to their Facebook or Twitter profiles. Offering a variation on the same theme, mobile application EezeeRator now gives users a simplified way to share real-time flight information and reviews via Android and iPhone. EezeeRator is a free travel companion from French Air Valid that allows passengers to post airline reviews while in flight. Travellers need only download the application—an Android version is available now, with iPhone software coming next month. With an on-board wifi connection, they can then use the application to search for airline and flight information, post reviews, and send messages, tweets and pictures in real-time from their phones. Preformatted message templates make it quick and easy to add text or photos and post; the resulting messages get sent both to Twitter and to Eezeer, Air Valid's airline-focused social network with information sheets on 1,220 airlines, information and ratings for more than 47,000 flight numbers from 260 airlines, and some 120,000 reviews from 45,000 members. All messages are moderated by the EezeeRator team, and a GPS function confirms that users are where they say they are. The company blog explains: "The next time your flight attendant gives you the cold shoulder when you ask for an extra bag of pretzels, whip out your phone and tell everyone! These are the types of applications that will show which companies are taking care of their customers and which are hiding behind slick advertising." Indeed, in addition to that much-needed dose of transparency for the airline industry, EezeeRator also gives passengers additional services including door-to-door luggage collection and delivery (thanks to First Luggage), and a way to purchase carbon offsets (through a partnership with JPMorgan Climate Care). All that and a heaping helping of nowism too! What is *your* brand doing to enable instant gratification for its customers...? Website: www.eezeerator.com |
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We've seen one-of-a-kind jewelry created to replicate a wearer's scar, as well as bracelets featuring a map of the New York City subway. Borrowing a bit of both concepts, Etsy designer triggerhappy offers two necklace designs that can be personalized to reflect the wearer's story. Triggerhappy's Narrative Cartography series features a tag made from recycled bits of silver and inscribed with the latitude and longitude coordinates of a location that's significant for the wearer. Not only that, but a secret password comes with each one-of-a-kind necklace, inviting the wearer to share the story behind the location on an interactive Google Map. The Narrative Cartography necklace is priced at USD 36. Then there are Moon Shines, made-to-order sterling discs that reflect the moon phase on a particular date. Each 3/4-inch disc is fabricated in silver and then hammered and oxidized to indicate the lunar phase. Available on either a 16- or 18-inch chain, each USD 38 necklace also comes with a handmade card featuring an accurate picture. Moon Shines have been used to commemorate births, anniversaries and even a burial, triggerhappy says. Combining one part mapmania with two parts status stories—with perhaps a splash of off=on thrown in, to continue in our sister site's lingo—triggerhappy's necklaces offer not just personal decoration but a way for consumers to reveal to the world a little bit about what makes them unique. Makers of t-shirts, bags, and most any other publicly visible good: there's a lesson in here for you! ;-) Website: www.etsy.com/shop/triggerhappy |
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Since free information is abundant, finding a way to sell knowledge or monetize content can be a challenge. Los Angeles start-up Knowledge Genie aims to offer a solution, allowing users to centralize their knowledge on a particular topic and present it in a customizable, tutorial-style package—a 'Knowledge Genie'—that can be shared for free or sold for a fee. Genies can be quickly set up through a wizard-style process which aids users in creating a learning-oriented structure, enabling them to break down their chosen subject matter into a series of steps and append downloadable resources and links. Creators can also build in checklists for learners to help keep tabs on their progress. One (ad-supported) Knowledge Genie can be created free, but if users want to sell it they'll have to subscribe, with prices ranging from USD 5 per month for one Genie, to USD 99 per month for 20 Genies. Social sharing options and PayPal / Google Checkout payments are all integrated. There are of course other options for people to share their knowledge online, from eHow and Instructables to Wikipedia. For those who aren't as active on the web or aren't accustomed to putting their know-how into writing, tools like Knowledge Genie lower the barrier to entry, making it easy to assemble instructional information and sell it online. (Related: Sell what you say — Peer-to-peer '(un)classes' match interest with passion — Local lessons, advertised and reviewed.) Website: www.myknowledgegenie.com Spotted by: Sylvie Lafave |
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Internet users can already send each other real-world gifts and letters without leaving the comfort of their online home. While such applications typically require a physical mailing address for the item's destination, however, users of UK-based SendSocial can send packages with nothing more than the recipient's email address or Twitter ID. To begin, users simply tell SendSocial the Twitter ID or email address of the friend they'd like to surprise with a package. SendSocial then sends a request to the intended recipient to get their approval. Only if that person agrees to accept the delivery does SendSocial get their address details; it does not, however, share that information with the person on the sending end. The sender, meanwhile, is notified that the mailing can proceed, and pays by debit or credit card. He or she can then print a barcoded—but address-free—mailing label to affix to the package, which gets collected and delivered within 5 working days by myHermes, SendSocial's delivery partner. Pricing ranges from GBP 3.99 to GBP 7.99, depending on package size. Following its Twitter-based conception, SendSocial is now in beta. It's currently available only within the UK; however, the company is working on expanding into other areas. Time to help foster some new OFF=ON connections in *your* neck of the social woods...? (Related: Buy a real beer for a Facebook friend — Real candy for virtual friends.) Website: www.sendsocial.com |
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BuyABeerCompany.com presents the most ambitious crowdsourcing effort yet: USD 300,000,000 for the Pabst Brewing Co. The 165-year-old firm, third-largest beer company in the US (going by 2008 sales), was originally sent to market by the IRS in 2000 as tax laws would not permit ownership by the non-profit Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation. Failure to meet the 2005 sales deadline saw it extended to 2010. With this deadline now imminent, two US ad agencies are ringing the bell for last orders from the beer-drinking crowd. Website: www.buyabeercompany.com Spotted by: Duncan Rickelton |
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The list of reasons to avoid bottled water seems to grow longer every day. While much of the controversy so far has focused on plastic waste and BPA, Australian Half a Teaspoon wants the world to realize another simple fact: namely, that it takes at least 3 litres of water to make just one litre of bottled water. That's the motivation behind both the creation and the name of 321 Water, a reusable water bottle with a built-in filtration system. Unlike the Hydros Bottle, which we featured last week, the 321 Water bottle uses a French press-style plunger mechanism with a built-in carbon block filter. Made from recyclable materials, the wide-mouthed bottle can be filled from any tap. Then, users simply push the plunger down to the bottom of the bottle, and the filter removes any chlorine, unpleasant tastes and odours in an instant, leaving the water ready to drink. The 500 mL, screw-top 321 Water bottle is dishwasher-safe and BPA-free; each replaceable filter lasts for 50 L, or 100 uses. The 321 Water bottle won the People's Choice Award on ABC TV's New Inventors series this summer. Introductory pricing on the bottle is AUD 32.10, but Half a Teaspoon needs 10,000 Australian orders before it can begin production; delivery is anticipated by the end of March 2010. One to partner with now to help make that happen...? (Related: Thirsty New Yorkers invited to refill their water bottles at cafés.) Website: www.321-water.com |
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Business models are at the core of what we write about every day here at Springwise, so we were naturally interested to see a new book launch on the topic recently. What's particularly compelling about "Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers," however, is that it was co-authored and independently published by no fewer than 470 practitioners of the model it espouses. The market for business and management books is a crowded one, to put it mildly, but it's not often one sees a book created through the very innovation processes it recommends. Led by Swiss business model guru Alexander Osterwalder, however, a team of users of Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas methodology in 45 countries together created the 280-page book on business model design and innovation. Design was done by The Movement; [http://www.thmvmnt.com/] co-creation took place via the online Business Model Hub community, and publication was partially financed through participants' access fees to that community. Pre-sales through the Issuu-powered Business Model Generation website, meanwhile, helped finance the first print run. A 72-page pdf preview of Business Model Generation is available for free. Ultimately, the full book will be available through Amazon. In the meantime, however, it can be ordered directly at a price of EUR 43 in Europe, USD 62 in the US and Canada, or USD 96 everywhere else; shipping costs (which the book's creators say will soon come down) are included. One to apply to the creation of *your* next big thing...? Website: www.businessmodelgeneration.com |
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For parents of young children, pediatric fevers are often the first harbinger of the next childhood illness to be endured. Aiming to make such fevers more obvious sooner, UK-based Babyglow offers an infant sleep suit that changes colour as the baby's temperature rises. Babyglow's registered products are designed and calibrated to change colour when the temperature of the wearer's body rises above the normal body temperature of 37 degrees C. Specifically, the pink, blue or green suits turn white when baby has a fever, thereby enabling parents to act faster to prevent overheating. Soon to be available for babies from newborn to 18 months old, the sleep suits are colour-fast and machine-washable. They require no power source, and are tested by Bureau Veritas UK and Ireland. Pricing will be GBP 20 or about USD 33 per suit, according a report in Engadget. Babyglow is looking for distributors and agents to help it expand into international markets. One to bring to the legions of anxious parents near you...? Website: www.babyglow.uk.com Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann |
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There's little doubt that taking minutes at a meeting can satisfy the barest demands of posterity. Whether the resulting document can inspire any but the driest of subsequent conversations, however, is another matter entirely. Bigger Picture is a Danish company that aims to help make meetings, workshops and conferences more effective by capturing what transpires in them visually rather than with words. Specifically, the company's graphic artists distill the business data, information, knowledge and ideas presented at a meeting and transform it into a powerful visual presentation. The resulting picture can be in various formats—both analogue and digital—and for various purposes, including summarization, presentations or dialogues. Either way, the result can increase the value of the time spent at such events, the company says. Bigger Picture includes Ikea, Novo Nordisk, Kraft and the World Wildlife Fund among its list of clients. It seems safe to say that companies and organizations will always be on the lookout for better ways to capitalize on the exchange of ideas that meetings are intended to enable. For graphic designers and other artistic entrepreneurs, meanwhile, this could be a promising new line of work. Website: www.biggerpicture.dk |
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It may be true that once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you'll never forget; the thing, of course, is learning that first time. Training wheels have long been a staple of the childhood learning process, but now a San Francisco company has designed an alternative it says will get kids riding in a single afternoon. Gyrobike's patented Gyrowheel replaces a bicycle's standard front wheel and uses gyroscopic technology to keep kids from falling over. Specifically, it can sense unbalanced riding and re-center the bike underneath the rider's weight when the bike starts to wobble. Not only does it help kids stay on their bikes, but—unlike training wheels—it also fosters and reinforces correct riding technique, Gyrobike says, resulting in a natural and smooth transition to conventional two-wheeled riding. Three successive stability settings enable that transition, in fact, as a rider’s skills and confidence improve; when powered off altogether, Gyrowheel behaves like a standard bike wheel. Gyrobike will release a 12" Gyrowheel in early December for about USD 100, and a 16” model will follow in the spring. Both will come equipped with internal rechargeable batteries and a charger and offer a choice of black or white tire colour. Adult sizes and full-scale kids' bikes are also in the works. Gyrobike plans to begin distributing the Gyrowheel through select retail stores next year. Retailers around the globe: one to get in on early...? Website: www.thegyrobike.com |
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Like other crowdsourcing websites we've covered, Canadian startup Spudaroo aims to connect businesses with talented 'crowds' of creatives. This time, the focus is on the written word rather than graphic design. Launched in October, Spudaroo allows small business owners and entrepreneurs to tap into a growing community of freelance copywriters, authors and business writers to crowdsource submissions for business plans, presentations, press releases, newsletters, web content and more. How it works? Clients outline their project requirements, upload any material to be used as part of the project and set the amount of prize money they're willing to pay. Writers then review project briefs and submit their entries. When the contest period ends, the contest holder selects a winning entry, the winner transfers copyright and final materials to the client, and Spudaroo transfers the prize money to the winner. Prize money minimums range from USD 75 for articles and blog content, to USD 450 for user guides and manuals. In addition to the prize money, the cost per posting is a USD 20 listing fee, plus a 10% prize handling fee (maximum USD 30). The site also caters to job hunters by facilitating resume and cover letter writing contests. Spudaroo offers clients the advantage of having writers compete to deliver high-quality submissions on schedule. Spudaroo's founder Kate Hiscox explains: “Spudaroo was created because it was a service that we would use. A couple of times we used companies that claimed to specialize in producing business plans or sales material. We'd meet, discuss and hand over some money for them to get started, but the results rarely met our expectations. So it was time to level the playing field for our business and others just like us.” With Spudaroo taking care of written business materials and ventures like CrowdSPRING, 99designs and customAdArt offering access to graphic designers and commercial photographers, what will we see the crowdsourcing contest model applied to next? Website: www.spudaroo.com |
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Electric and hybrid vehicles are typically eco-iconic in their own right, but a new program from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation aims to give them additional recognition via special license plates as well. The Canadian province hopes to have one out of every 20 vehicles driven in Ontario electrically powered by 2020. As part of that effort, it is encouraging the purchase and use of electric cars via several incentives. First, vehicles purchased after July 1, 2010, can qualify for rebates of between CDN 4,000 and CDN 10,000. Even more eco-iconic, however, is that drivers of such vehicles will be given special, green license plates from the province starting next year. Said license plates will qualify them to use Ontario's High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes until 2015, even if there is just one person in the vehicle; give them access to provincial recharging facilities; and allow them to use designated parking spots at the University of Toronto and private companies such as Wal-Mart Canada. Particularly interesting from a crowdsourcing perspective is that the province's green license plate design was chosen through public voting from among four competing alternatives. If there's anything more gratifying than simply reaping the benefits of an environmentally friendly vehicle, it's having that ethical purchase decision recognized and rewarded, for all the world to see. How long before every DMV under the sun has its own version of the green license plate...? Website: news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2009/11/new-green-licence-plate-selected-by-ontarians.html Spotted by: Monica Watkins |
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It's no secret that cities love to promote Christmas shopping as a festive way to boost the local economy. What we hadn't yet spotted, however, was a city selling its very own holiday gift wrap, which is what Manchester is doing this season. Created by graphic designer Peter Saville—whose work has graced the city since he designed for and directed Factory Records—the wrapping paper's vivid colours match Visit Manchester's multi-hued logo. Produced in a limited edition of 5,000 rolls, the gift wrap is sold for GBP 2,99 through Visit Manchester's online shop, as well as at the city's Tourist Information Centre, Manchester City Art Gallery’s shop, exhibition centre Urbis, Visit Manchester’s Christmas market stall, and—with a nod to Saville's musical roots—at local record store Vinyl Exchange. It's an innovative launch by Manchester's city marketers, and one that their colleagues in other cities will no doubt follow next year ;-) Website: www.visitmanchester.com Spotted by: The Scout |
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Credit card debt is an all-too-familiar topic for all too many consumers. While the US government is working on its own solutions to that problem, Chase Card Services recently rolled out a new set of tools designed to help its customers manage their debt better. Chase Blueprint offers free tools consumers can use to pay down balances, manage everyday spending and pay off major purchases. Going well beyond simply helping users analyze their spending, Blueprint is fully integrated into customers' accounts, enabling them to create customized payment plans—changeable without penalty—and track their progress on every statement, literally spelling out "sofa" or "new laptop". The offering's Full Pay feature, for example, allows customers to decide which expenses they want to pay in full every month and set those purchases aside so as to avoid interest charges by paying them in full each month. Blueprint's Finish It tool, meanwhile, gives customers the flexibility to create a plan to pay down their current balance faster, allowing them to choose a goal payoff date. Chase does the math, calculates the monthly payments, sets up the plan and charts customers’ progress toward achieving their goal on each monthly statement and online. Available to the 20 million or so users of the Chase Freedom, Chase Sapphire, Slate and Ink cards, the new Blueprint service is the result of a customer survey indicating that consumers want more control over their finances. Gordon Smith, CEO of Chase Card Services, explains: "Given today's economic environment, the kind of flexibility and control that Blueprint offers is especially important. Blueprint enhances Chase's partnership with our customers by helping them better manage their finances—setting them up for long-term success. This strengthens our relationship with our customers and helps make Chase their card of choice." Indeed, with its focus on the challenges currently faced by many credit consumers, Blueprint is one part proactive perk and one part sympathy for those heavily burdened with debt. The lesson? Never forget that tough times are an opportunity to show you care! Website: www.chase.com/blueprint |
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In 2006, the US counted 37.3 million aged 65 or older. By 2030, the US Administration on Aging expects the number will have increased to 71.5 million. With this burgeoning market clearly in mind, Marbles: The Brain Store is urging the residents of Chicago to "outsmart their age" with a range of products to help maintain mental agility. The company has launched four retail outlets in the region in just over a year. Website: www.marblesthebrainstore.com Spotted by: Jonathan Pirc
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