NEW! An open-source ethos Melbourne Innovation Club. For Generation X & Y. The price of admission? Ideas & ideas alone!

Innovations from CeBIT, a wrap-up of analysis from CeBIT & some future Innovation Themes!

National Broadband Network, & closer technological collaboration between Australia & Germany are 2 key themes of CeBIT AusInnovate.

VIDEOS, USA — Some interesting ideas from nature. From TED 2005. Janine Benyus speaking on “12 sustainable design ideas from nature”.
The Shells Story is very interesting, and there are opportunities.
Da Vinci got his ideas from nature. Many designers do.
Where do you get your ideas from?

COMMENT, Melbourne — The Rudd Government today announced $6 billion in life support for the local Australian car manufacturing industry.
Manufacturing skills, infrastructure & cars are important.
Rudd’s $6 Billion on the Amex.
The Rudd plan is broadly positive, however it has a large cost. $6 billion to be precise.
One of the problems with Government intervention in the economy is that Governments see costs, and not opportunities. Costs not revenue increase.
It’s unimaginative.
But when I’ve worked for Government that’s what I normally find. Lack of imagination.
Most farsighted ideas will be killed. Or implemented in …

This morning noticed these excellent slides on slideshare, of creative workplaces.
Well done to Serdar Belbag.
The 2thinknow view is that companies seeking to become employers-of-choice, need creative workspaces as an element of their strategy.
What do you think? Would it inspire you to work in these offices?
Or is your work or dream office more creative?
Post the photos in our new flickr group: Creative Companies

About Creative Companies
Creative workplace. Employers of choice. Ethical corporations. Nice seats. Micro-finance projects. Creative Capitalism. Innovation Teams. Inspiring workplaces. Not cubicle farms (unless they are cool). Cool.
The places you …

COMMENT, EU, USA — Most of the focus in the recent crisis has been on the USA and Federal Reserve.
But the banking crisis is far broader than the USA. The German economy in Europe is in a few key ways closest to the US model. And German investment banks are close to collapse, according to De Spiegel.
“(Dusseldorf bank) IKB was on the verge of bankruptcy, with its supposed wonderful US investments worth little more than the paper it was printed on.”
De Spiegel International, 20th February 2008

German bank CEOs are not …

Food, real food. We take it for granted – yet more often than not what Westerners are eating is not ‘food’, but produced artificially in labs. As Felicity Lawrence, Peter Singer, Jim Mason and Greg Critser (among others), have argued the time has for consumers come to demand and purchase only real food, and not ’substitutes’. This flight to food is fundamental to human health and wellbeing, now and in the future.

REVIEWS, Global – The T-Shirt Collectors scene is potent globally. And yes, it now has a magazine. T-World.
Like sneaker-collector and custom sneaker decoration scene in Melbourne, another scene. With a local, but soon to be even more international, vertical-niche magazine.
The magazine, created by and crafted for T-shirts enthusiasts, T-world highlights global T-shirt culture.
T-world is a new niche publications with a cult status already, after only the 3rd edition.
It can be ordered online, or via MagNation in Melbourne or New Zealand. Try this link to have a look and order.
What’s the …

COMMENT, Korea –A design agency in South Korea exploring new materials have arrived at a new design incorporating green ideas into the design of a shop.

The basis is a French botanist using a light material on the skin of a building, on which various plants can be grown.
From the site:
“Mass Studies was founded in 2003 by Minsuk Cho in Seoul, Korea, as an investigation of architecture in the context of market-privileged culture of mass production and intensely over-populated urban condition. Mass Studies explore building materials/techniques, space matrixes and building typologies …

COMMENT, Global — Confused by Economics? A few politicians are too.
Economics is just theories. This is something not often enough remembered.
“(In the Great leap Forward) Mao launched a large number of large-scale but senseless projects, which achieved little, but took thousands of laborers away from the urgent task of growing food.
“At this time, the most popular economic theory, in both east and west, proposed that for a backward country to develop, it needed industry, and industry needed steel.”
– David Rooney: Guerrilla: Insurgents, patriots and terrorists from Sun Tzu to …

VIDEO, Youtube — Presentation by Google CIO Douglas Merrill on Innovation at Google.
Diagnose an undiagnosed problem.
Find a creative solution.

COMMENT, Global — According to De Spiegel, France’s leader, Sarkozy, has made the sad decision to axe the English-Language component of France 24.
“French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced the killing off of the English-language news channel France 24, barely a year after it first hit the airwaves. ”
> De Spiegel: Sarkozy To Axe France 24
This is not how you win others over to your culture. It seems to play into the hands of further cultural homogenization.
The decision to cut France 24, seems a bleak decision for France, and Francophiles globally.

COMMENT, Global — Sometimes ideas matter. And to people all over the world.
How do I know?

Well simply, the most popular ideas 2thinknow tested online in 2007 were also the most intelligent. Not more Paris or Britney.
Readers, I’m proud of your intelligent choices…

COMMENT, Melbourne — I have to tell myself this one sometimes. “Don’t give up!”
Some days it seems that myopia and conservatism stop real progress. Corporations are by nature conservative. Government doesn’t often like even simple practical ideas.
I know from your comments, you ideas people feel the same often!
As difficult as real change is, nor am I a supporter of revolutionary changes.
I believe in compromise, debate, multi-lateralism, dialogue and the primacy of ideas. I have seen them work well to refine an idea into a positive change.
(Innovation? It’s merely positive change.)
But …

COMMENT, USA, Australia, UK– I look forward to a culture of ideas, dreams, art and individual creativity.Well I can hope! Many of you have said to me you dream of the same thing.
But first we have to get over this industrialist mass-produced thinking.
Here’s how the current global model goes:
Produce goods in a large a quantity as possible.
Ensure all production and pollution is outsourced to a developing country.
Ship goods all over the world.
Repeat until planet chokes.

ANALYSIS, Global – Satire has always been a weapon people use when they know most of the news they are watching is untrue or missing the point.
Whilst I applaud many fine Print Journalists, the fact is that the bias inherent in many publications and TV, means that media is increasingly untrusted.
The average person knows on some level that the mass media exists to propagate a message that is not about enlightening debate.They know Rupert’s media on some level is about Rupert…

COMMENT, Melbourne — You may not know this but Melbourne is about to approve genetically modified crops. GMO food. Canola to be precise.
This is based on economic benefits, and the current advice of leading scientists.
I say current advice, as scientists often change positions. Scientists criticized Pasteur’s theories and penicillin. In the 19th century, many surgeons ridiculed the idea that clean environments reduced infection.
And politicians are often wrong too. Many thought World War I would be a short war (forget about foreseeing World War II, or preventing it at Versailles).
Am I …

COMMENT, Global – When I say global I mean English-speaking countries, like USA, UK & Australia. Here there is a rise of info-tainment disguised as journalism.
As an example: In Australia we have a program called Sunrise. It’s morning current affairs, sort of – really more about social issues and controversy.
The 2 presenters are:
Koch: A balding ex-Finance guy, who started as a leading Finance guru.
Mel: And a parochial Canberra reporter who somehow can read an auto-prompter.
And a team of mostly nice presenters who get shuffled around like a deck of cards, …

The Big Question: Do you have a blog that is art or design based?
You can be a painter, designer, critic or follower of art… or a student.

This is a list of interesting, different art and design blogs.
I am hoping to get over 1000 here, so I will be adding them to get us started,…