суббота, 31 июля 2010 г.

Directory lists businesses that are based on sharing and participation

Original: Directory lists businesses that are based on sharing and participation

Regular Springwise readers are already familiar with transumers and the many ways in which they share and exchange goods without ever having to own them. The Mesh Directory is an online network that attempts to encapsulate that trend, aggregating all the many companies that now "create, share and use social media, wireless networks, and data crunched from every available source to provide people with goods and services at the exact moment they need them, without the burden and expense of owning them outright," in the site's own words.

Similar in many ways to Milk or Sugar, the Mesh Directory provides a freely searchable index of some 1,500 companies that are helping to enable the new sharing economy. Designed as a companion site to a forthcoming book on the same topic, the directory allows users to browse alphabetically or by category as well; among the categories included are transportation, fashion, food, real estate, travel, finance and entertainment. Provided for each company on the list are its URL and contact information along with a description of its offerings; there's also an option for companies not already on the list to request to be added. Included on the list, incidentally, are numerous "alumni" of our pages, including <

Given the rapid growth and far-reaching impact of many consumer trends, figuring out what's already out there can be a considerable challenge. Where else might web users need some guidance navigating new ground...? (Related: First magazine for green weddingsProduct portal for independent retailersOnline library of green building materials.)

Website: www.meshing.it
Contact: info@meshing.it

Spotted by: Jon Wisler

Just Us Hens - Meet The Chickensitters

Original: Just Us Hens - Meet The Chickensitters

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Wed, 2010-07-28 11:47.
Posted in: Odd Numbers
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://justushens.com/

PORTLAND, Ore. (CNNMoney.com) -- You've heard of cat-sitters, dog-sitters and, of course, babysitters. But chicken-sitters?

In Portland, Ore., a city known for its deep do-it-yourself streak and poultry-permissive laws, two backyard farmers have stepped up to meet an unusual need: watching hens when their In late May, they launched a blog, followed by a full website in early July. They also publicized their services at Portland's online chicken chat group, PDXBackyardChix, which has more than 1,000 members.

The fledgling company has only a handful of customers. But as word passes through Portland's substantial population of urban hen keepers, they hope Just Us Hens will take off.

There's certainly an audience for it. Chickens are all the rage in Portland, where longstanding city regulations allow residents to keep up to three of them -- but no roosters -- without a permit. Even Mayor Sam Adams has a brood: three hens, all named Alma. (Adams let his chief of staff's daughter, Alma, pick the names.) Hundreds of chicken enthusiasts will turn out on Saturday for Portland's seventh annual Tour de Coops, a self-guided stroll through 25 backyard hen houses, including the mayor's own.

One of Just Us Hens' first customers was Renee Wrede, a nurse i mstress in Arkansas, who she cl

When The Folks Give You The Biz

Original: When The Folks Give You The Biz

пятница, 30 июля 2010 г.

The New York Night Owls

Original: The New York Night Owls

Directory lists businesses that are based on sharing and participation

Original: Directory lists businesses that are based on sharing and participation

Regular Springwise readers are already familiar with transumers and the many ways in which they share and exchange goods without ever having to own them. The Mesh Directory is an online network that attempts to encapsulate that trend, aggregating all the many companies that now "create, share and use social media, wireless networks, and data crunched from every available source to provide people with goods and services at the exact moment they need them, without the burden and expense of owning them outright," in the site's own words.

Similar in many ways to Milk or Sugar, the Mesh Directory provides a freely searchable index of some 1,500 companies that are helping to enable the new sharing economy. Designed as a companion site to a forthcoming book on the same topic, the directory allows users to browse alphabetically or by category as well; among the categories included are transportation, fashion, food, real estate, travel, finance and entertainment. Provided for each company on the list are its URL and contact information along with a description of its offerings; there's also an option for companies not already on the list to request to be added. Included on the list, incidentally, are numerous "alumni" of our pages, including <

Given the rapid growth and far-reaching impact of many consumer trends, figuring out what's already out there can be a considerable challenge. Where else might web users need some guidance navigating new ground...? (Related: First magazine for green weddingsProduct portal for independent retailersOnline library of green building materials.)

Website: www.meshing.it
Contact: info@meshing.it

Spotted by: Jon Wisler

Just Us Hens - Meet The Chickensitters

Original: Just Us Hens - Meet The Chickensitters

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Wed, 2010-07-28 11:47.
Posted in: Odd Numbers
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://justushens.com/

PORTLAND, Ore. (CNNMoney.com) -- You've heard of cat-sitters, dog-sitters and, of course, babysitters. But chicken-sitters?

In Portland, Ore., a city known for its deep do-it-yourself streak and poultry-permissive laws, two backyard farmers have stepped up to meet an unusual need: watching hens when their In late May, they launched a blog, followed by a full website in early July. They also publicized their services at Portland's online chicken chat group, PDXBackyardChix, which has more than 1,000 members.

The fledgling company has only a handful of customers. But as word passes through Portland's substantial population of urban hen keepers, they hope Just Us Hens will take off.

There's certainly an audience for it. Chickens are all the rage in Portland, where longstanding city regulations allow residents to keep up to three of them -- but no roosters -- without a permit. Even Mayor Sam Adams has a brood: three hens, all named Alma. (Adams let his chief of staff's daughter, Alma, pick the names.) Hundreds of chicken enthusiasts will turn out on Saturday for Portland's seventh annual Tour de Coops, a self-guided stroll through 25 backyard hen houses, including the mayor's own.

One of Just Us Hens' first customers was Renee Wrede, a nurse i mstress in Arkansas, who she cl

четверг, 29 июля 2010 г.

Organic cotton fabrics designed for crafting and quilting

Original: Organic cotton fabrics designed for crafting and quilting

Organic cotton fabrics are becoming increasingly common, but most are still used primarily for clothing. Aiming to bring eco-sensible supplies to the quilt and craft market, New Jersey-based Cloud9 Fabrics offers a line of organic cotton fabrics designed to give crafters modern style in a green-minded alternative.

Cloud9 uses only 100 percent certified organic cotton in the manufacturing of its base cloths and low-impact dyes for printing and dyeing. Although cotton is typically one of the most chemically treated crops there is—accounting for roughly 25 percent of the pesticides used in agriculture, Cloud9 says—the company's own fabrics meet the Global Organic Textile Standard. Its whitening process, for example, is a non-chlorine, eco-friendly bleaching technique that involves no chemical brighteners. Cloud9 imports its organic cotton and goods from India, where it aims to work closely with mills that foster the practice of organic cotton farming and eco-responsible print and dye methods. The company's retro-inspired color palette and whimsical designs, meanwhile, are generally focused on natural themes. Retail pricing on Cloud9's collection is reportedly USD 16.50 per yard.

Cloud9 fabrics are available from a variety of stockists around the world. Crafty-minded retailers: one to bring to your own eco-minded shoppers...? (Related: Swathes of customization: fabric printed on demand.)

Website: www.cloud9fabrics.com
Contact: info@cloud9fabrics.com

Spotted by: Martha Stewart Living

Just Us Hens - Meet The Chickensitters

Original: Just Us Hens - Meet The Chickensitters

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Wed, 2010-07-28 11:47.
Posted in: Odd Numbers
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://justushens.com/

PORTLAND, Ore. (CNNMoney.com) -- You've heard of cat-sitters, dog-sitters and, of course, babysitters. But chicken-sitters?

In Portland, Ore., a city known for its deep do-it-yourself streak and poultry-permissive laws, two backyard farmers have stepped up to meet an unusual need: watching hens when their In late May, they launched a blog, followed by a full website in early July. They also publicized their services at Portland's online chicken chat group, PDXBackyardChix, which has more than 1,000 members.

The fledgling company has only a handful of customers. But as word passes through Portland's substantial population of urban hen keepers, they hope Just Us Hens will take off.

There's certainly an audience for it. Chickens are all the rage in Portland, where longstanding city regulations allow residents to keep up to three of them -- but no roosters -- without a permit. Even Mayor Sam Adams has a brood: three hens, all named Alma. (Adams let his chief of staff's daughter, Alma, pick the names.) Hundreds of chicken enthusiasts will turn out on Saturday for Portland's seventh annual Tour de Coops, a self-guided stroll through 25 backyard hen houses, including the mayor's own.

One of Just Us Hens' first customers was Renee Wrede, a nurse i mstress in Arkansas, who she cl

Franchise Reinvents The Ice Cream Truck

Original: Franchise Reinvents The Ice Cream Truck

среда, 28 июля 2010 г.

Small Biz Owners in NYC

Original: Small Biz Owners in NYC

The Butch Bakery - Boozy, Manly, Camouflage-Frosted Cupcake

Original: The Butch Bakery - Boozy, Manly, Camouflage-Frosted Cupcake

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-27 10:19.
Posted in: Crazy Money
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You



http://www.butchbakery.com/

Entrepreneur: David Arrick, laid-off commercial real estate attorney and former celebrity trainer, now founder of Butch Bakery, an online Manhattan cupcakery

Idea: Cupcakes for men. "We stay away from pastels and sprinkles," Arrick says. Hence the "Driller," a maple cupcake smothered with crumbled bacon and choc that we're on the other side of the 'Why didn't I think of that?' fence."

Customers: 90 percent women. "I've tapped into the 'What do you get for a guy?' market."

Work philosophy: "It's just cupcakes. Relax."

Media Love: A cupcake cookbook deal with John Wiley & Sons, slated for release next year, with 50 "guy friendly" (read: easy) recipes for manly occasions (football season, barbecues, spring training…). On deck: A reality show pilot with MY-Tupelo Entertainment. The concept: "Guy reinvents himself through a bakery."

2011 and Beyond: Develop a masculine baking brand, start shipping nationwide, open Butch Bakeries in Chicago, Boston, L.A., San Francisco and Miami; ultimately, "I'll be a cross between Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri."

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via -

If businesses can benefit from the help of undergraduate students through UK-based Student Gems, it's a safe bet that MBA students could be even more valuable. 31Projects is a new online platform that helps connect such graduate students with companies and organizations in need of business expertise.

Now in closed beta, North Carolina-based 31Projects bills itself as "a project marketplace connecting organizations with top MBA and graduate students through real-world projects." The site maintains a network of prescreened students interested in solving real-world business problems—it's open only to full-time students and recent alumni from the top graduate management programs in the US. Organizations in need of assistance can then post those opportunities on the 31Projects site. Postings can take the form either of challenges—crowdsourcing-style competitions whereby a company poses a business-related challenge and students compete to develop the best solution—or short-term consulting projects, which are done by a single student or team of students. Either way, 31Projects plans to charge a small posting fee along with a variable project fee based on the student compensation awarded once the project is done.

31Projects founder and CEO Jon Reifschneider explains: "Our vision is to provide an open platform where all organizations, regardless of size or resources, can easily and effectively identify and recruit the talent they need to be globally competitive. The projects and competitions are win‐win situations for both organizations and students, and can be used by employers to create a highly effective pipeline of top student talent into their organization."

31Projects will go live in August. One to get in on early—or to emulate in other parts of the world?

Website: www.31projects.com
Contact: info@31projects.com

Spotted by: Preston Hubbard

вторник, 27 июля 2010 г.

The Butch Bakery - Boozy, Manly, Camouflage-Frosted Cupcake

Original: The Butch Bakery - Boozy, Manly, Camouflage-Frosted Cupcake

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-27 10:19.
Posted in: Crazy Money
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You



http://www.butchbakery.com/

Entrepreneur: David Arrick, laid-off commercial real estate attorney and former celebrity trainer, now founder of Butch Bakery, an online Manhattan cupcakery

Idea: Cupcakes for men. "We stay away from pastels and sprinkles," Arrick says. Hence the "Driller," a maple cupcake smothered with crumbled bacon and choc that we're on the other side of the 'Why didn't I think of that?' fence."

Customers: 90 percent women. "I've tapped into the 'What do you get for a guy?' market."

Work philosophy: "It's just cupcakes. Relax."

Media Love: A cupcake cookbook deal with John Wiley & Sons, slated for release next year, with 50 "guy friendly" (read: easy) recipes for manly occasions (football season, barbecues, spring training…). On deck: A reality show pilot with MY-Tupelo Entertainment. The concept: "Guy reinvents himself through a bakery."

2011 and Beyond: Develop a masculine baking brand, start shipping nationwide, open Butch Bakeries in Chicago, Boston, L.A., San Francisco and Miami; ultimately, "I'll be a cross between Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri."

For more unusual ways to make money, visit this site.

[Via -

Mobile ticketing may offer myriad benefits for both event managers and consumers, but most options still require specialized scanning hardware to read the ticket from the user's device. Not so Twicketer, a new service that delivers event tickets that can be verified and validated right on the smartphone.

Now in beta, Wisconsin-based Twicketer is powered by technology from its Danish parent company, ScreenTicket, that uses a patent-pending system called On Device Verification. How it works: Event managers can send out links with a shortened URL to their events through social media including Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. From there, attendees can buy their mobile tickets online by simply following the included link. Once it's time for the event, the mobile ticket can be scanned and verified onsite without any scanning hardware. Twicketer charges a service fee of USD 0.99 for every ticket sold; it can also be used to distribute mobile coupons and vouchers.

Currently, Twicketer can deliver mobile tickets to more than 200 countries via more than 800 mobile carriers. Custom branding is available, as is a comprehensive API. One to try out for your next event, coupon or other paperless promotion...? (Related: Ticketing marketplace makes prices negotiable.)

Website: www.twicketer.com
Contact: info@twicketer.com

Spotted by: Stan Zlobinski

New Bizop Classified Ads This Week

Original: New Bizop Classified Ads This Week

понедельник, 26 июля 2010 г.

With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet

Original: With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet

The "buy one, donate one" initiatives are coming fast and furious. Hard on the heels of our stories about two such efforts targeting children—namely, Happy Blankie and Whitten Grey's Project Little Grey Dress—comes news of one designed to help homeless pets.

Launched this spring, the Plus One Movement from Canadian pet food maker Darford International aims to provide fresh, quality food to abandoned dogs awaiting new homes. How it works: Attached to every Darford box of treats and food is an extra meal of the company's Zero/G dog food intended specifically for donation to a dog in need. Specially designed collection hampers have been placed in-store at the roughly 3,000 US and Canadian retailers that carry the Darford brand. Consumers can simply drop their donation meals into those hampers, and participating animal shelters will pick up and use the donated food for local homeless dogs. The video below explains the project:

Some 4 million dogs are euthanized each year in the US and Canada alone, primarily for lack of room and food, Darford notes. Other pet-friendly brands and retailers: time to step up and do your own generous part...?

Website: www.ilovealldogs.org
Contact: info@ilovealldogs.org

Spotted by: Peter von Hahn

This Is Not A Bike

Original: This Is Not A Bike

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Mon, 2010-07-26 10:17.
Posted in: Crazy Money
ink of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://www.elliptigo.com/

As fitness equipment goes, the world's first elliptical bicycle is pretty darned impressive. It's got the sleek curves of a high-end road bike, the clean lines of a Razor scooter, a pair of shiny carbon-fiber elliptical pedals, a smooth hub-and-crank stride mechanism and a steering column that collapses for easy storage. Plus, it's not a each, Calif., and so far have sold 250 bikes at $2,199 each, including two to a Napa Valley-area police department. They've had glowing testimonials from Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazas (who rode the ElliptiGo from San Francisco to Los Angeles as a warm-up for the L.A. Marathon), Nike Project Oregon runner Adam Goucher and three-time Olympic pentathlete Michael Gostigian.

ElliptiGo's buzz is growing, thanks to regular test ride events and its "Epic Ride" campaign, where Pate and Teal enter the ElliptiGo in challenging biking events such as the California Sierras' 129-mile "Death Ride." This month, it's the 10,000-foot "Cycle to the Sun" climb in Maui.

They're hoping to deliver 2,000 bikes after the summer marketing push, which would make them a small profit by year's end. And in 2011, the goal is to move 11,000 and possibly introduce lower- and higher-end models. But their main objective is to kick off a new industry. "That's our busine terests, Insights, and Invention

Potato Chips Hand

Original: Potato Chips Hand

воскресенье, 25 июля 2010 г.

With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet

Original: With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet

The "buy one, donate one" initiatives are coming fast and furious. Hard on the heels of our stories about two such efforts targeting children—namely, Happy Blankie and Whitten Grey's Project Little Grey Dress—comes news of one designed to help homeless pets.

Launched this spring, the Plus One Movement from Canadian pet food maker Darford International aims to provide fresh, quality food to abandoned dogs awaiting new homes. How it works: Attached to every Darford box of treats and food is an extra meal of the company's Zero/G dog food intended specifically for donation to a dog in need. Specially designed collection hampers have been placed in-store at the roughly 3,000 US and Canadian retailers that carry the Darford brand. Consumers can simply drop their donation meals into those hampers, and participating animal shelters will pick up and use the donated food for local homeless dogs. The video below explains the project:

Some 4 million dogs are euthanized each year in the US and Canada alone, primarily for lack of room and food, Darford notes. Other pet-friendly brands and retailers: time to step up and do your own generous part...?

Website: www.ilovealldogs.org
Contact: info@ilovealldogs.org

Spotted by: Peter von Hahn

Potato Chips Hand

Original: Potato Chips Hand

Making Money From Vynil Clocks

Original: Making Money From Vynil Clocks

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-20 12:13.
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

http://pavel-sidorenko.com/

20100717101


The invention and application of the digital players marks that the mankind have entered the Digital Age, during which period people seldom use vinyl records or CD players. But we never forget them, and designer Pavel Sidorenko has applied the clock idea to vinyl records, creating several clocks of various shapes. You see, here is a gun, a bird, a rabbit, a chair, a teapot, and all of them are laser-cut. Fantastic!



The Million-Dollar Idea in Everyone: Easy New Ways to Make Money from Your Interests, Insights, and Inventions

IdeaSpotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea

суббота, 24 июля 2010 г.

Potato Chips Hand

Original: Potato Chips Hand

With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet

Original: With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet

The "buy one, donate one" initiatives are coming fast and furious. Hard on the heels of our stories about two such efforts targeting children—namely, Happy Blankie and Whitten Grey's Project Little Grey Dress—comes news of one designed to help homeless pets.

Launched this spring, the Plus One Movement from Canadian pet food maker Darford International aims to provide fresh, quality food to abandoned dogs awaiting new homes. How it works: Attached to every Darford box of treats and food is an extra meal of the company's Zero/G dog food intended specifically for donation to a dog in need. Specially designed collection hampers have been placed in-store at the roughly 3,000 US and Canadian retailers that carry the Darford brand. Consumers can simply drop their donation meals into those hampers, and participating animal shelters will pick up and use the donated food for local homeless dogs. The video below explains the project:

Some 4 million dogs are euthanized each year in the US and Canada alone, primarily for lack of room and food, Darford notes. Other pet-friendly brands and retailers: time to step up and do your own generous part...?

Website: www.ilovealldogs.org
Contact: info@ilovealldogs.org

Spotted by: Peter von Hahn

Making Money From Vynil Clocks

Original: Making Money From Vynil Clocks

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-20 12:13.
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

http://pavel-sidorenko.com/

20100717101


The invention and application of the digital players marks that the mankind have entered the Digital Age, during which period people seldom use vinyl records or CD players. But we never forget them, and designer Pavel Sidorenko has applied the clock idea to vinyl records, creating several clocks of various shapes. You see, here is a gun, a bird, a rabbit, a chair, a teapot, and all of them are laser-cut. Fantastic!



The Million-Dollar Idea in Everyone: Easy New Ways to Make Money from Your Interests, Insights, and Inventions

IdeaSpotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea

пятница, 23 июля 2010 г.

iPad app turns social content into personalized digital mag

Original: iPad app turns social content into personalized digital mag

There may now be myriad ways to take online content and repackage it attractively for offline presentation, such as through the News from YOUs Facebook application. Those reading online, however, are typically still stuck with the same, dispersed set of online feeds they always have been. Flipboard is a new iPad app that aims to integrate and spruce up all those tweets and updates in a single, personalized online magazine.

Just launched this week, Flipboard for iPad bills itself as "a social magazine that brings to life the stories, photos, news and updates being shared across Twitter and Facebook." The free app automatically creates a magazine from the user's social content. Sections devoted to Facebook and Twitter, for example, let readers quickly flip through the latest stories, photos and updates from friends and trusted sources. Links and images are rendered right in the digital magazine, so users no longer have to scan long lists of posts and click on link after link; instead, they instantly see all the stories, comments and images in one place. Flipboard also lets readers easily create sections around topics or people they care about. Suggested sections include sports, news, tech and style, all featuring content hand-curated from popular and interesting Twitter feeds; alternatively, users can create their own. Ultimately, material from sites including Flickr, Foursquare and Yelp will also b

Mike McCue, Flipboardʼs CEO, explains: "With over one billion messages posted every day, social networks are quickly becoming the primary way people discover and share content on the Web. The result is a huge influx of incoming messages and links people must sort through across multiple web sites just to stay up to date. We believe the timeless principles of print can make social media less noisy, more visually compelling and ultimately more mainstream." California-based Flipboard just acquired semantic analysis company Ellerdale, with an eye toward helping future versions of Flipboard extract, categorize and feature highly relevant and hot trending content from across a variety of social networks, it says. Eventually, it aims to accept advertising and to charge for certain content, the NYT reported. App-minded entrepreneurs: one to get involved in... or emulate with an offering of your own?Website: www.flipboard.com
Contact: info@flipboard.com

Spotted by: nytimes

Making Money From Vynil Clocks

Original: Making Money From Vynil Clocks

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-20 12:13.
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

http://pavel-sidorenko.com/

20100717101


The invention and application of the digital players marks that the mankind have entered the Digital Age, during which period people seldom use vinyl records or CD players. But we never forget them, and designer Pavel Sidorenko has applied the clock idea to vinyl records, creating several clocks of various shapes. You see, here is a gun, a bird, a rabbit, a chair, a teapot, and all of them are laser-cut. Fantastic!



The Million-Dollar Idea in Everyone: Easy New Ways to Make Money from Your Interests, Insights, and Inventions

IdeaSpotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea

Window Screens and PVC Oil Spill Cleanup

Original: Window Screens and PVC Oil Spill Cleanup

понедельник, 19 июля 2010 г.

How Did They Name It?

Original: How Did They Name It?

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sat, 2010-07-17 10:33.

Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

We reach for them when we need a sugar fix, but how well do we know the stories behind our favorite ice creams, cookies, and snack cakes?

Mental Floss takes a look at the names behind some of our guilty pleasures.


1. Häagen-Dazs
What does the upscale ice cream company's name mean? Nothing! Polish American entrepreneur Reuben Mattus started making ice cream in New York during the 1920s, and by 1960 he was ready to launch a premium brand. Mattus thought that people would associate a Danish-sounding name with Denmark's re hile others give James Henry Mitchell the nod for inventing a machine that could fill a cookie with jam. What's less controversial, though, is that the Kennedy Biscuit Company of Massachusetts began mass-producing the first Fig Newtons in 1891. The company liked to name its sweets after towns in the Boston area, so the new cookie got its name from Newton, MA.


4. Oreos
Nobody knows exactly where the Oreo name originated, but that doesn't stop people from speculating. Some guess that the name comes from the "re" cream being nestled between two "O"-shaped chocolate cookies. Others credit the Greek word oros, which means "small mound or hill." Still others credit the French word for gold, or, because the cookie's original packaging was gold. One thing everyone agrees on: they are terrific with milk.

The failings of survey panels are nothing if not well-known to market-researchers and clients alike, but still they remain widely used—albeit expensive and slow—tools for collecting data. Aiming to provide higher-quality results at a lower price, Chicago-based Lab42 conducts its clients' surveys not in artificially assembled panels but in the social networks where target respondents naturally spend their time.

Clients begin by telling Lab42 about their products and their target consumers. Lab42 then helps to craft a survey, with the option of focusing it based on gender, age, location, lifestyle and interests. Next, Lab42 takes the resulting survey to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and smaller niche social networks, using highly targeted incentives to garner attention and responses while consumers go about their day-to-day activities. Two packages are available from Lab42: a premium one for USD 500, with results in three days or less; and a preliminary one for USD 300, with results in 5 days or less. Custom arrangements are also possible.

It's always refreshing to see services that have traditionally been performed slowly and expensively rethought and remade to reflect new technologies and new societal shifts. One to try out when researching your next big thing...? (Related: Advice from the crowds, with a market-research twistOpen polls gauge popular opinion in minutesBrainstorming service uses Twitter to crowdsource ideas overnight.)

Website: www.lab-42.com
Contact: info@lab-42.com

Spotted by: Sara Robinson

Inventor’s Journal: Bill Phelps

Original: Inventor's Journal: Bill Phelps

воскресенье, 18 июля 2010 г.

Five business ideas aimed at cats, dogs & their doting owners

Original: Five business ideas aimed at cats, dogs & their doting owners

We love our pets. US consumers spent USD 45.5 billion on them in 2009, according to the American Pet Products Association. Increasingly, a good chunk of this money goes toward treating domestic animals in ways that reflect their owners' own lifestyle choices. Here are five products and services that reflect this anthropomorphic trend:

1. FIDO FACTOR — Fido Factor is a US directory of dog-friendly restaurants, venues, bookstores and other establishments. The site encourages user-generated content through its iPhone app, Facebook integration, and with the promise of a donation to San Francisco SPCA when new content gets added for that city.

2. COUNTRY DOGS — Country Dogs forms partnerships with farm owners near US cities to create boarding facilities for dogs in disused barns, stables or other outbuildings. Touting itself as a more stress-free alternative to urban kennels, the service emphasizes fresh air and exercise for customers' pets in a spacious, rural environment.

3. VET CARE EXPRESS — Vet Care Express provides emergency and non-emergency transport for sick and injured pets in the Florida area. They also provide a taxi service when pets need to be moved from A to B without their owners. Their 'animal ambulances' are fully equipped with appropriate cages, gurneys and first aid facilities.

4. VIYO — Prebiotic drinks such as Yakult and Actimel have become highly successful in recent years by combining some fairly sober medical rationale about immune systems with upbeat and positive lifestyle marketing. Inevitably, there's now a Belgian prebotic for pets. Viyo comes in a cat formula and a dog formula, with varieties for different ages. Like its equivalents for humans, the drink contains friendly bacteria plus nutrients, vitamins and other supplements.

5. PET SPEAKERS — Cats and dogs are sensitive to a much wider sound frequency range than their owners. Pet hearing specialists Pet Acoustics have created a music system designed to please man and beast alike: My Pet Speaker eliminates frequencies that go unnoticed by human listeners but could unsettle cats, dogs, and horses too. Plus the controls are all positioned so they can't be flicked by passing tails.

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann, Tom van Daele and Bill McMahon

How Did They Name It?

Original: How Did They Name It?

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sat, 2010-07-17 10:33.

Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

We reach for them when we need a sugar fix, but how well do we know the stories behind our favorite ice creams, cookies, and snack cakes?

Mental Floss takes a look at the names behind some of our guilty pleasures.


1. Häagen-Dazs
What does the upscale ice cream company's name mean? Nothing! Polish American entrepreneur Reuben Mattus started making ice cream in New York during the 1920s, and by 1960 he was ready to launch a premium brand. Mattus thought that people would associate a Danish-sounding name with Denmark's re hile others give James Henry Mitchell the nod for inventing a machine that could fill a cookie with jam. What's less controversial, though, is that the Kennedy Biscuit Company of Massachusetts began mass-producing the first Fig Newtons in 1891. The company liked to name its sweets after towns in the Boston area, so the new cookie got its name from Newton, MA.


4. Oreos
Nobody knows exactly where the Oreo name originated, but that doesn't stop people from speculating. Some guess that the name comes from the "re" cream being nestled between two "O"-shaped chocolate cookies. Others credit the Greek word oros, which means "small mound or hill." Still others credit the French word for gold, or, because the cookie's original packaging was gold. One thing everyone agrees on: they are terrific with milk.

суббота, 17 июля 2010 г.

Five business ideas aimed at cats, dogs & their doting owners

Original: Five business ideas aimed at cats, dogs & their doting owners

We love our pets. US consumers spent USD 45.5 billion on them in 2009, according to the American Pet Products Association. Increasingly, a good chunk of this money goes toward treating domestic animals in ways that reflect their owners' own lifestyle choices. Here are five products and services that reflect this anthropomorphic trend:

1. FIDO FACTOR — Fido Factor is a US directory of dog-friendly restaurants, venues, bookstores and other establishments. The site encourages user-generated content through its iPhone app, Facebook integration, and with the promise of a donation to San Francisco SPCA when new content gets added for that city.

2. COUNTRY DOGS — Country Dogs forms partnerships with farm owners near US cities to create boarding facilities for dogs in disused barns, stables or other outbuildings. Touting itself as a more stress-free alternative to urban kennels, the service emphasizes fresh air and exercise for customers' pets in a spacious, rural environment.

3. VET CARE EXPRESS — Vet Care Express provides emergency and non-emergency transport for sick and injured pets in the Florida area. They also provide a taxi service when pets need to be moved from A to B without their owners. Their 'animal ambulances' are fully equipped with appropriate cages, gurneys and first aid facilities.

4. VIYO — Prebiotic drinks such as Yakult and Actimel have become highly successful in recent years by combining some fairly sober medical rationale about immune systems with upbeat and positive lifestyle marketing. Inevitably, there's now a Belgian prebotic for pets. Viyo comes in a cat formula and a dog formula, with varieties for different ages. Like its equivalents for humans, the drink contains friendly bacteria plus nutrients, vitamins and other supplements.

5. PET SPEAKERS — Cats and dogs are sensitive to a much wider sound frequency range than their owners. Pet hearing specialists Pet Acoustics have created a music system designed to please man and beast alike: My Pet Speaker eliminates frequencies that go unnoticed by human listeners but could unsettle cats, dogs, and horses too. Plus the controls are all positioned so they can't be flicked by passing tails.

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann, Tom van Daele and Bill McMahon

How Some Sugary Treats Got Their Names

Original: How Some Sugary Treats Got Their Names

How Did They Name It?

Original: How Did They Name It?

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sat, 2010-07-17 10:33.

Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

We reach for them when we need a sugar fix, but how well do we know the stories behind our favorite ice creams, cookies, and snack cakes?

Mental Floss takes a look at the names behind some of our guilty pleasures.


1. Häagen-Dazs
What does the upscale ice cream company's name mean? Nothing! Polish American entrepreneur Reuben Mattus started making ice cream in New York during the 1920s, and by 1960 he was ready to launch a premium brand. Mattus thought that people would associate a Danish-sounding name with Denmark's re hile others give James Henry Mitchell the nod for inventing a machine that could fill a cookie with jam. What's less controversial, though, is that the Kennedy Biscuit Company of Massachusetts began mass-producing the first Fig Newtons in 1891. The company liked to name its sweets after towns in the Boston area, so the new cookie got its name from Newton, MA.


4. Oreos
Nobody knows exactly where the Oreo name originated, but that doesn't stop people from speculating. Some guess that the name comes from the "re" cream being nestled between two "O"-shaped chocolate cookies. Others credit the Greek word oros, which means "small mound or hill." Still others credit the French word for gold, or, because the cookie's original packaging was gold. One thing everyone agrees on: they are terrific with milk.

пятница, 16 июля 2010 г.

Online room-makeover service offers nine 'designs-in-a-box'

Original: Online room-makeover service offers nine 'designs-in-a-box'

Not everyone has an eye for interior design—or the budget to hire a full-fledged, custom service. Enter California-based Avenue Interior Design, which recently launched an online offering that aims to give consumers a lower-cost way to get a professional look for their home.

Consumers begin by choosing the room or rooms they want to make over. They then browse through Avenue's I Heart Design site, which offers nine very different looks chosen by its designers. Each is represented by a door with a corresponding style; when clicked, users can see inside for a closer look. Once they find a look they like, users tell I Heart Design about their goals for the room and any special considerations, such as pets with a penchant for muddy pawprints. Measuring the room comes next, followed by uploading a few photos including any furniture that will be reused. For a fee of USD 3.50 per square foot, I Heart Design will then send out a custom box including two space plan options for each room; a spec card for each piece of furniture the designers selected; a paint card with recommended colours; a window treatment card with recommended styles; and a tape measure and other small tools. I He

This fall, I Heart Design by Avenue will launch a similar offering aimed at hospitality providers. One to try out on your own hotel or restaurant—or emulate in another part of the world? (Related: 3-D tool helps students decorate (and shop for) dorm roomsHome enhancement service focuses on senior citizensSocial shopping meets interior design.)

Website: www.iheartdesignbyavenue.com
Contact: service@iheartdesignbyavenue.com

Spotted by: Heidi Heifetz

Your own personal $129 cloud

Original: Your own personal $129 cloud

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-13 11:54.
Posted in: Odd Numbers
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://www.pogoplug.com/

(CNNMoney.com) -- Daniel Putterman is a data junkie.

The San Francisco software entrepreneur knew he'd collected too many files -- videos, photos, songs, documents -- to keep on his personal computer. But for all his digital savvy, he couldn't figure out the best place to store his heaps of information.

He could, for starters, buy a ith a name for his gizmo: the Pogoplug.

Putterman talked about his idea to people everywhere he could -- at his daughters' swim lessons, on the airplane, in online forums.

"We knew people wanted it," he says.

Having vision was one thing; being able to follow through and build an actual machine is much harder. A hardware startup can require deep pockets to develop a tangible product and get it to market. That's why the big guys -- Sony, Dell, Apple -- dominate the information hardware industry.

But when Putterman decided to take the risk, capital followed. He launched Cloud Engines in 2007 and quickly landed $2 million in seed funding from influential investors, including PeopleSoft executive Peggy Taylor, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia and early Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) investor Ron Conway. When Pogoplug was ready to hit shelves in the summer of 2009, Cloud Engines landed another $7 million from Boulder venture capital firm Foun he company's website, my.Pogopl

Business Idea: Cupcake Liner Website

Original: Business Idea: Cupcake Liner Website

четверг, 15 июля 2010 г.

Site enables online bidding for cosmetic auto repairs

Original: Site enables online bidding for cosmetic auto repairs

The internet may have already brought new transparency, accountability and ease to myriad aspects of consumers' lives, but auto repair is not typically among them. Aiming to provide an alternative to the time-consuming process of driving from shop to shop collecting estimates, DentBetty is an online system that lets users upload photos of the damage to their car and receive competing bids from local repair shops in return.

Structural damage typically requires a physical inspection for a realistic estimate, DentBetty notes; for that reason, it focuses on dings, dents, scrapes and scratches instead. Users begin on the free system, which is currently in beta, by simply entering their ZIP code and uploading at least two photos of the damage to their car. Local auto body shops can then examine the photos and come up with bids for getting the repair done. Whenever a shop makes an estimate, DentBetty notifies the user by email; all estimates received so far (up to the maximum of seven) are presented together on a personal DentBetty page. The DentBetty Quality Scoreboard, meanwhile, keeps a running record of consumer feedback and other information about the various vendors involved to help consumers evaluate their reliability. When the consumer selects a bid, he or she then contacts the shop directly to schedule an appointment.

There are currently more than 100 shops nationwide in the DentBetty Network, each prescreened against DentBetty's rigorous standards. Such members get notified every time a new consumer within driving distance requests an estimate. Since some repairs are difficult to estimate by photo alone, shops can indicate a level of confidence along with their bid. DentBetty's staff also prescreens every photo to make certain that it's from a legitimate consumer—"not just some teenager having fun with his camera."

Of the USD 36 billion spent each year in the US on collision repair, some USD 3 to 5 billion takes the form of out-of-pocket expenditures for cosmetic damage. One to partner with or emulate in other parts of the world? (Related: Home-repair bidding site prescreens contractorsPremium tire chain focuses on transparency.)

Website: www.dentbetty.com
Contact: thebetty@dentbetty.com

IronDrive Coatings

Original: IronDrive Coatings

Your own personal $129 cloud

Original: Your own personal $129 cloud

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-07-13 11:54.
Posted in: Odd Numbers
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://www.pogoplug.com/

(CNNMoney.com) -- Daniel Putterman is a data junkie.

The San Francisco software entrepreneur knew he'd collected too many files -- videos, photos, songs, documents -- to keep on his personal computer. But for all his digital savvy, he couldn't figure out the best place to store his heaps of information.

He could, for starters, buy a ith a name for his gizmo: the Pogoplug.

Putterman talked about his idea to people everywhere he could -- at his daughters' swim lessons, on the airplane, in online forums.

"We knew people wanted it," he says.

Having vision was one thing; being able to follow through and build an actual machine is much harder. A hardware startup can require deep pockets to develop a tangible product and get it to market. That's why the big guys -- Sony, Dell, Apple -- dominate the information hardware industry.

But when Putterman decided to take the risk, capital followed. He launched Cloud Engines in 2007 and quickly landed $2 million in seed funding from influential investors, including PeopleSoft executive Peggy Taylor, Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia and early Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) investor Ron Conway. When Pogoplug was ready to hit shelves in the summer of 2009, Cloud Engines landed another $7 million from Boulder venture capital firm Foun he company's website, my.Pogopl

вторник, 13 июля 2010 г.

A Guy, Who Makes A Living, Designing Corn Mazes

Original: A Guy, Who Makes A Living, Designing Corn Mazes

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sun, 2010-07-11 10:52.
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://www.cornmazesamerica.com/

JANESVILLE, Wis. — At 22, Scott Skelly already has a national reputation in his field - corn.

The recent college graduate has been creating corn mazes since he was an enterprising 9-year-old who persuaded his dad to let him cut a few paths with dead ends in a cornfield on the family's 200-acre farm. His first maze a n at his laptop as he bounces through a bumpy cornfield on a lawnmower that turns on a dime.

It's all part of a plan to market his family's Janesville-area farm - and other farms around the country - as destinations for city tourists seeking affordable family fun.

Skelly's family in the last decade has converted its dairy farm into a blueprint for agri-tourism. The family sold the dairy herd in 2000, and renovated the cow barn into Skelly's Farm Market to sell fruits and vegetables, which replaced corn and soybeans. They started with a few acres of sweet corn and pumpkins, and now have 100 acres in fruits and vegetables. The remaining 100 acres are rented to another farmer who plants conventional crops.

Skelly's Farm Market, which employs up to 50 people during the growing season, features pick-your-own strawberry and pumpkin patches, eight off-farm stand locations, and two corn mazes spanning a total of 17 acres. The mazes t llege fund for Skelly and his

Fiat offers electric bikes as loaner vehicles

Original: Fiat offers electric bikes as loaner vehicles

Last year we saw a UK Volvo dealership offer bicycles as loaner vehicles when customers' cars are in for service, and recently one of our spotters alerted us to something similar in Spain. Specifically, Fiat now offers owners of its Fiat 500 an electric bike option while their car is in the shop.

Launched in May, Fiat's offering is now available in its Barcelona, Valencia, A Coruña, Sevilla and Madrid locations through a partnership with bicycle maker Trek. There's no charge for borrowing the electric bikes, which have a 70 km range and recharge during braking as well as through plug-in power. The motivation for the move, Fiat says, is to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable mobility; the company also offers an eco:Drive service to help consumers use their cars more efficiently.

If the electric-bike loaner program proves popular in Spain, Fiat will reportedly extend it to other European countries as well. Other car makers and dealerships: what about you? And since this is a relevant and appealing way to let consumers try out a product that's still unfamiliar to most consumers, electric bicycle brands would do well to seize the opportunity and initiate similar partnerships. (Related: Bicycle trailers on loan at IKEA.)

Website: www.fiat.es
Contact: www.fiat.es/contacto

Spotted by: Leticia Pérez Prieto

Advertising on Idle Slot Machines

Original: Advertising on Idle Slot Machines

воскресенье, 11 июля 2010 г.

The Perfect Christmas Gift…..

Original: The Perfect Christmas Gift…..

A Guy, Who Makes A Living, Designing Corn Mazes

Original: A Guy, Who Makes A Living, Designing Corn Mazes

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Sun, 2010-07-11 10:52.
Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You


http://www.cornmazesamerica.com/

JANESVILLE, Wis. — At 22, Scott Skelly already has a national reputation in his field - corn.

The recent college graduate has been creating corn mazes since he was an enterprising 9-year-old who persuaded his dad to let him cut a few paths with dead ends in a cornfield on the family's 200-acre farm. His first maze a n at his laptop as he bounces through a bumpy cornfield on a lawnmower that turns on a dime.

It's all part of a plan to market his family's Janesville-area farm - and other farms around the country - as destinations for city tourists seeking affordable family fun.

Skelly's family in the last decade has converted its dairy farm into a blueprint for agri-tourism. The family sold the dairy herd in 2000, and renovated the cow barn into Skelly's Farm Market to sell fruits and vegetables, which replaced corn and soybeans. They started with a few acres of sweet corn and pumpkins, and now have 100 acres in fruits and vegetables. The remaining 100 acres are rented to another farmer who plants conventional crops.

Skelly's Farm Market, which employs up to 50 people during the growing season, features pick-your-own strawberry and pumpkin patches, eight off-farm stand locations, and two corn mazes spanning a total of 17 acres. The mazes t llege fund for Skelly and his

Volvo supplies cars for new London drive-in

Original: Volvo supplies cars for new London drive-in

The concept of the pop-up drive-in movie is not brand-new—we covered a California-based effort back in 2006, after all—but we're pretty sure the involvement of a major car brand has not been seen before. Sure enough, though, that's exactly what's enabled the Starlite Urban Drive-in, which recently sold out a three-night run in London's East End.

Situated in the cultural heart of London at the Truman Brewery, the Starlite featured a full-sized, outdoor screen along with 25 pre-parked Volvo cars, ready for patrons' viewing, reminiscing and snacking pleasure. Tickets were GBP 25 per person, with a maximum of two people per car—included among those were the Volvo XC60, C30 and convertible C70, all wired to play the soundtrack on their radios. Snacks were even available from waitresses on roller skates at the event, which began on July 1 with a specially commissioned short film about the story of the drive-in movie. "Dirty Dancing" was featured the next night, followed by "Grease" on the last of the run. Tickets to the Startlite's events sold out in two minutes, causing its creators to begin planning a nationwide expansion of the theater, which is even carbon-neutral.

"The opportunity seemed to be one that fit well with our brand," a Volvo spokeswoman told AdAge. "It also gave us a fun and unique opportunity to reach a younger audience that may not have been exposed to the Volvo brand before. We've been delighted with the success of the Starlite Urban drive-in." Other car brands and entertainment entrepreneurs: time to embark on your own trip down memory lane...?

Website: www.starliteurbandrivein.co.uk
Contact: info@starlite.co.uk

Spotted by: AdAge via Raymond Kollau

суббота, 10 июля 2010 г.

The Perfect Christmas Gift…..

Original: The Perfect Christmas Gift…..

10 Crazy Business Ideas That Made A Six Figure Profit

Original: 10 Crazy Business Ideas That Made A Six Figure Profit

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-06-29 11:43.
Posted in: Crazy Money

Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

1. Million Dollar Homepage

1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel – that's perhaps the dumbest idea for online business anyone could have possible come up with. Still, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old who came up with the idea, is now a millionaire.

2. PickyDomains

Hire another person to think of a cool domain name for you? No way people would pay for this. Actually, naming domain names for others turned out a thriving business, especially, when you make the entire process risk free. PickyDomains ank" href="http://uncommonbusiness.blogspot.com/2006/04/cistercian-monks-jesus-ink-business.html">Full Story

5. AntennaBalls

You can't sell antenna ball online. There is no way. And surely it wouldn't make you rich. But this is exactly what Jason Wall did, and now he is now a millionaire. Full Story

6. FitDeck

Create a deck of cards featuring exercise routines, and sell it online for $18.95. Sounds like a disaster idea to me. But former Navy SEAL and fitness instructor Phil Black reported last year sales of $4.7 million. Surely beats what military pays.

7. PositivesDating.Com

How would you like ss the globe for $14.99.

Volvo supplies cars for new London drive-in

Original: Volvo supplies cars for new London drive-in

The concept of the pop-up drive-in movie is not brand-new—we covered a California-based effort back in 2006, after all—but we're pretty sure the involvement of a major car brand has not been seen before. Sure enough, though, that's exactly what's enabled the Starlite Urban Drive-in, which recently sold out a three-night run in London's East End.

Situated in the cultural heart of London at the Truman Brewery, the Starlite featured a full-sized, outdoor screen along with 25 pre-parked Volvo cars, ready for patrons' viewing, reminiscing and snacking pleasure. Tickets were GBP 25 per person, with a maximum of two people per car—included among those were the Volvo XC60, C30 and convertible C70, all wired to play the soundtrack on their radios. Snacks were even available from waitresses on roller skates at the event, which began on July 1 with a specially commissioned short film about the story of the drive-in movie. "Dirty Dancing" was featured the next night, followed by "Grease" on the last of the run. Tickets to the Startlite's events sold out in two minutes, causing its creators to begin planning a nationwide expansion of the theater, which is even carbon-neutral.

"The opportunity seemed to be one that fit well with our brand," a Volvo spokeswoman told AdAge. "It also gave us a fun and unique opportunity to reach a younger audience that may not have been exposed to the Volvo brand before. We've been delighted with the success of the Starlite Urban drive-in." Other car brands and entertainment entrepreneurs: time to embark on your own trip down memory lane...?

Website: www.starliteurbandrivein.co.uk
Contact: info@starlite.co.uk

Spotted by: AdAge via Raymond Kollau

пятница, 9 июля 2010 г.

New Service Saves Students from Ever Being Late Again

Original: New Service Saves Students from Ever Being Late Again

10 Crazy Business Ideas That Made A Six Figure Profit

Original: 10 Crazy Business Ideas That Made A Six Figure Profit

Submitted by Dmitri Davydov on Tue, 2010-06-29 11:43.
Posted in: Crazy Money

Link of the day - If You Sell Links On Your Site, I Will Buy Them Off You

1. Million Dollar Homepage

1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel – that's perhaps the dumbest idea for online business anyone could have possible come up with. Still, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old who came up with the idea, is now a millionaire.

2. PickyDomains

Hire another person to think of a cool domain name for you? No way people would pay for this. Actually, naming domain names for others turned out a thriving business, especially, when you make the entire process risk free. PickyDomains ank" href="http://uncommonbusiness.blogspot.com/2006/04/cistercian-monks-jesus-ink-business.html">Full Story

5. AntennaBalls

You can't sell antenna ball online. There is no way. And surely it wouldn't make you rich. But this is exactly what Jason Wall did, and now he is now a millionaire. Full Story

6. FitDeck

Create a deck of cards featuring exercise routines, and sell it online for $18.95. Sounds like a disaster idea to me. But former Navy SEAL and fitness instructor Phil Black reported last year sales of $4.7 million. Surely beats what military pays.

7. PositivesDating.Com

How would you like ss the globe for $14.99.

Ice cream shop crowdsources its organic fruit

Original: Ice cream shop crowdsources its organic fruit

It's not often we see crowdsourcing applied to food products, and when we do—Yellow's chocolate bar and Vitaminwater's flavour contest both come to mind—it's typically a matter of soliciting input on product development. Bringing the concept into the realm of the supply chain, New Zealand's Giapo Gelato is now inviting consumers who grow organic fruit to sign up as suppliers for the store's new "Giapo Certified Organic" line.

Located in Auckland, Giapo Gelato serves up an all-natural line of healthful gelato and sorbets, with inventive flavours including Spirulina, Feijoa and Chili Chocolate. Earlier this week, it kicked off its new crowdsourcing effort to incorporate organic fruits supplied by the crowds. To be eligible for consideration, consumers must guarantee that no herbicides or pesticides have been used within the growing area of their fruit; samples will be randomly tested to ensure compliance. The price of the fruit supplied will then be calculated in current market prices, and Giapo will give suppliers free Giapo Gelato in return.

Given the garden produce that tends to overflow each growing season, it's a safe bet there are gardeners aplenty willing to exchange some of that abundance for free ice cream—not to mention a good status story and some (still) made here appeal. Next, who will find a way to help consumers unload all that excess zucchini...? ;-)

Website: www.giapo.com
Contact: giapo@giapo.com