I Think or We Think?
January 29, 2008 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : e-democracy, Bristol, Innovation, Festival of Ideas, collaboration , add a commentIn many large, corporate organisations, it is the Chief Executive’s views that all-important. But is there another way? Can organisations develop new, collaborative ways of working and will these deliver better services?
In the Connecting Bristol bid we referred to “co-production” – Charles Leadbetter talks and writes about “we-think”
“We-Think: the power of mass creativity is about what the rise of the likes of Wikipedia and Youtube, Linux and Craigslist means for the way we organise ourselves, not just in digital businesses but in schools and hospitals, cities and mainstream corporations. My argument is that these new forms of mass, creative collaboration announce the arrival of a society in which participation will be the key organising idea rather than consumption and work. People want to be players not just spectators, part of the action, not on the sidelines’
from Charles Leadbetter We Think
In this Festival of Ideas event, you can, for £7.50, help co-create an interesting lunchtime outing as Charles Leadbetter is speaking at the Watershed in Bristol.
Charles Leadbeater
We-think: the power of mass creativity
26 February 2008, 12.45-13.45
Watershed Media Centre, Bristol
£100m Funding for Technology Innovation
November 19, 2007 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : Bristol, Innovation, News, Technology, Funding , add a commentThe Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, has announced that the business-led Technology Strategy Board will invest a further £100m in innovation, and invites businesses to submit proposals for collaborative research and development in innovation and new technology.
The competition, which covers eight technology areas and which will be phased over 6 months, is designed to generate innovative proposals in which businesses work together and with research communities on research and technology projects to deliver successful new products and services.
Proposals with potential applications across several business sectors, which build on links between academic and business research and which involve SMEs would be especially welcome.
The eight technology areas for which submissions are invited are
Phase 1, opening 8 November 2007:
* Materials for Energy
* High Value Manufacturing
* Cell Therapy
Phase 2, opening 19 December 2007:
* Low Carbon Energy Technologies
* Advanced Lighting, Lasers and Displays
* Technologies for Health
Phase 3, opening 30 January 2008:
* Gathering Data in Complex Environments
* Creative Industries
Pervasive Media commissioning scheme launched
October 23, 2007 Posted by Clare in : Bristol, Innovation, Media , 1 comment so farBringing together leading technology, artistic and media talent, Media Sandbox is a new commissioning scheme to support South West companies/organisations to research emerging possibilities in digital media.Media Sandbox is looking to make six catalytic investments in innovative Research and Development pilots which exploit opportunities in digital media presented by pervasive computing/wireless technologies. The scheme is an entirely unique opportunity for SMEs to collaboratively create radical new products and processes – pushing forward understanding and potential usage of next generation digital media.
For more details, and to register for the launch event, visit www.mediasandbox.co.uk
Media Sandbox is managed by iShed working with South West Screen and Futurelab with support from South West Regional Development Agency and Watershed.
Use Blackle for more energy efficient Googling
July 26, 2007 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : Bristol, Innovation, Environment, Technology , 4 commentsThanks to Helen Goulden from CLG for sending this -
When your screen is white - an empty word page, or the Google page, your computer consumes 74 watts, and when its black it consumes only 59 watts. Mark Ontkush wrote an article about the energy saving that would be achieved if Google had a black screen, taking in account the huge number of page views, according to his calculations, 750 mega watts/hour per year would be saved. In a response to this article Google created a black version of its search engine, called Blackle, with the exact same functions as the white version, but with a lower energy consumption…. it is also helpful for people with visual impairments too
Try it here
