De pe web adunate- selectie de articole numai bune de citit in weekend

Pentru ca am lipsit motivat de la scrierea acestui articol saptamanal, pentru astazi am facut o lista cu mai multe articole pe care le-am citit in ultima perioada:




Every industry, sector, and market goes through times of transformation and innovation. Whether you're selling smart phones or automobiles, technological change is a powerful force that drives industry innovation and disruption, shaking up traditional industry leaders and establishing new companies. The world recently watched this play out in the computing industry as users migrated away from desktops and moved towards mobile devices. But the implications of the Innovator's Dilemma are not limited to the commercial sector; we also see this phenomenon transforming the business of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and reshaping how programs are delivered to beneficiaries. Organizations that effectively adapt will be positioned well for the future; those who don't risk relevance as new models better serve beneficiaries and match donor interests.
When the Innovator's Dilemma was first published in 1997 by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, it was a radical idea. Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation posits that strategies and tactics that help one company become a market leader are not necessarily the same approach needed to maintain that position.

For many NGOs, the application of such business theories to the nonprofit world may seem out of place, but the need for innovation and adaptation is no less critical. Technology holds great promise in helping develop new interventions, improving service delivery, gaining meaningful insight and supporting community engagement in the development sector, but its deep application and usage has been relatively slow and sporadic. 


"We take the coolest kids in the playground and build our campaigns around them," says social entrepreneur and media guru Matt Hay. 

His agency, LatimerGroup, is part of a rapidly growing social enterprise alternative to mainstream media and advertising, known as co-creation. Brands such as Paul SmithProcter & Gamble, ITV and Boots are increasingly turning to providers with a social purpose, not just a business one, and the appeal of these social enterprise agencies isn't just a box-ticking exercise for corporate social responsibility. These clients are desperate to reach young people and these agencies offer a unique way of doing that.

The agency also uses the co-creation model to produce broadcast-quality content and campaigns that engage youth audiences on topics such as gang grooming, radical extremism and eating disorders. The content is aimed at young people and is distributed by a network of "key influencers", including bloggers, journalists and mainstream media outlets.

Everything We Know About Facebook's Secret Mood Manipulation Experiment


Facebook’s News Feed—the main list of status updates, messages, and photos you see when you open Facebook on your computer or phone—is not a perfect mirror of the world. But few users expect that Facebook would change their News Feed in order to manipulate their emotional state.

We now know that’s exactly what happened two years ago. For one week in January 2012, data scientists skewed what almost 700,000 Facebook users saw when they logged into its service. Some people were shown content with a preponderance of happy and positive words; some were shown content analyzed as sadder than average. And when the week was over, these manipulated users were more likely to post either especially positive or negative words themselves.




To do that requires founders who look at their hard-earned creation, their venture built on long hours and deep risks, and say, “This is not mine.” That’s anathema to most entrepreneurs, but it’s a necessary step to creating an entity that is bigger than one or two people’s ability to develop it into a long-lasting business.

Prominent African bitcoin campaigner Alakanani Itireleng is turning her attention to charity, appealing for bitcoin donations to Botswana’s SOS Children’s Villages. SOS will use any amount raised in its bitcoin appeal to fund the refurbishment of the Serowe Youth Facility, which has been vacant for over two years. The facility is used to help older children transition to an independent life once they have left the villages.

As well as helping to build local economies by making transactions easier for businesses, bitcoin has a strong role to play in charity. Few, if any, other payment mechanisms allow donations of any size to be sent instantly from anywhere in the world to locations where they’re needed.
It also promotes the use of bitcoin in Africa for economic activities other than charity by highlighting its advantages. The SOS Children’s Villages appeal is part of South African bitcoin exchange ice3x’s campaign to assist local charities. You can find more details and the donation address on their site. The campaign also accepts litecoin donations.



McRaven, the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command who organized the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, stressed the importance of making your bed every morning, taking on obstacles headfirst, and realizing that it's OK to be a "sugar cookie."
All of his lessons were supported by personal stories from McRaven's many years as a Navy SEAL.
It was a simple task—mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle hardened SEALs—but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.
If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.
By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.





3D printing is about to revolutionise our lives. The technology has even begun popping up at our favourite fashion-focused events like Ascot, in the form of an incredibly chic hat, by Gabriela Ligenza. 
Imagine this: Instead of making the trek to a department store during rush hour traffic, most likely in the rain, you’ll soon be able to pick your design online, and print it. Right from the comfort of your own home.

3D printing has already made a huge impact in the development of medicine, architecture, engineering, and now fashion. Pretty soon, it will totally reinvent the way we consume. Here’s what you need to know:


How it works: 


Just like an inkjet printer, really. Only a 3D printer prints layers, like horizontal cross-sections, of materials like nylon, substrates, molten metal, even pizza dough, (yes, you can print your own pizza) on top of each other to create a three dimensional object. It works by making a 3D image then printing each slice on top of the last, starting from the bottom.

The printing machines can create replicas of existing objects, or can print computer-aided designs that you can download, or create yourself.





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