Category: The Next Good Idea

Innovation, inspiration, and common sense for all

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The Next Good Idea

The War Against Omnivideo

Scott Macauley at the Filmmaker Magazine blog tipped me to a stock market blog, SeekingAlpha, and the post “How Video Is Going To Take Over The World”.  But the reality is that its not “going to”, it already has.

It feels pretty damn close to Bladerunner in NYC with video coming at you in all directions: in taxicabs, on subway station signs, and in corporate elevators.  Where’s the escape?  Scott pointed out a comment on SeekingAlpha where we will soon need to have anti-video glasses to squash the onslaught.

There needs to be a Citzens’ Bill Of Rights enacted that guarantees that the marketeers don’t have the right to invade our minds in the public space.  Turning On should be a matter of personal choice.  Soon we will have no escape from commercials others than our own home.  If I was backpacker, I wouldn’t be surprise to find a large flat screen at the top of the hike, selling me more cheese.
How are we going to stop Omnivideo World from materializing everywhere?  I like daydreaming.
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The Next Good Idea

Virtual Front



Last weekend I was walking home and saw that one of the stores in my neighborhood had been cloned and flattened.  I greatly enjoyed the marketing prank and looked forward to the punch line the next day, not yet sure what they were selling.  Sure enough, the butcher was back on Monday, it’s full dimensionality entact, albeit a little eyesore in the window completing the marketing.  A lot of work for the few who saw it, but I appreciated my glimpse.

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The Next Good Idea

Supreme Court Judges Should Divest

It never occurred to me that the judges that set our laws are so riddled with conflicts. Many of the Supreme Court judges continue to hold stock in companies that they either directly or indirectly must decide on. The Supreme Court is the most important job in the land, and I thought the judges took their jobs seriously. The New York Times had an editorial this Saturday that not only pointed the fallacy of this out, but also mentioned that most blatant abuser is Judge Steven Breyer who holds stock in more than three dozen companies. The editorial points out the many conflicts that have come for the judges who continue to hold stock, and how our nation’s legal system is stalled because of it. It definitely seems to me to be a good idea that if you want to be a Supreme Court judge you must agree to divest in your holdings, after all the country is a little bit more important than a little bit more profit. It also was a good idea two years ago when Congress changed the rules for the judges so they had no capital gains tax when they divested in order to avoid conflict. You can read the editorial here.

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The Next Good Idea

The Girl Effect

Girl Effect is a new social action organization based around the idea that when you empower one girl  to have the opportunity to participate in her society, powerful social and economic change results.  It’s also a nice bit of text animation too, from NY animation house Curious Pictures.  I not only like this idea, but I like how well they have personalized social change and used the internet.  It’s been demonstrated how well microloans work, particularly with women in developing economies, to facilitate social change.  Here, they also bring hope.

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The Next Good Idea

Marketing Pranks


I hate always being sold to.  But I love the clever ways they come up with to do it.  What can I say this is a very good idea.

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The Next Good Idea

Carbon Footprint Label

We have labels on our food to alert us as to what is in it, shouldn’t we also know the environmental costs of the products we consume?  If we knew that when we drink ordinary water imported from Fiji, we are contributing X to the carbon emission crisis, would we change our habits?  How would we get manufacturers to post a simple label on all products?

The New York Times had a relevant article back in April, posted here.  Evidently, Tesco, Britian’s largest supermarket chain has voluntarily introduced just such a system.  Can we import that?
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The Next Good Idea

Tuna Calculator

I am not sure how many things I have on my I-Know-Its-Bad-For-Me-But-I-Just-Don’t-Want-To-Stop List, but I am sure sushi rates at the top of the list.  The FDA’s proposed recommendation of 12 ounces of fish a week per person could result in people getting an unsafe level of mercury into their system, particularly women.  So use the Tuna Calculator!