15 May 2012

Brilliant advice from Atari Founder on how to be innovative.

posted in: Uncategorized |

Brilliant advice from Atari Founder on how to be innovative.

From the Mindshare conference.

Be Uncomfortable
“You wanna build your IQ higher in the next two years? Be uncomfortable. That means, learn something where you have a beginner’s mind. I like to play chess. So it turns out, the neurogenesis (the birth of new brain cells) of chess, for me, is over. My brain grew a great deal when I was first learning, but once I really got it down, it’s very, very incremental. So if you want to do it right, learn how to ski. And then once you feel like you’re kind of under control, learn how to snowboard. And then learn how to rollerblade, then do tai chi, then do yoga. Stay on the uncomfortable path and you will find that you can get smarter.”
Look For Beauty
“Walk to work, even if it’s four miles. Ride a bike to work. Drive a different way. On your way there, try to find beauty. You’d be surprised how much more of the neighborhood you can perceive and experience when you’re looking for unique spots of beauty. When you get to work, you’ll find that you have a better attitude, you’re more content, and you can put away your Zoloft.”
Move Your Body
“Exercise aggressively. Twenty minutes. Thirty minutes. Get your heart rate to 80% of your ability, and then for the next three hours, just learn something. It turns out that when you are exercising aggressively, your brain is creating BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), ‘Miracle-Gro for your brain.’ That is a precursor protein for dendrite formation (dendrites are branched extensions of nerve cells). You’re putting in hardware for the software.”
Go (The F***) To Sleep
“Remember that we can only in our forebrains handle 5-7 items. Our backbrains can handle massive amounts. So when you’re given a problem, think about it before you go sleep, and chances are you can solve it by the next morning. What’s happening is, your background processing is going on with many many more synapses, and you’d be surprised by the capability you’re able to unlock.”
Trust Your Ideas
“Innovation almost has zero constituency. For example, if I showed you this left-handed purple widget, maybe no one thinks it’s a good idea, yet it’s clearly innovative. And so, when Steve Jobs and I used to hang out, one of the things we used to talk about is innovation, and I told him, ‘Steve, if you believe in something, and you go into a room and there are 50 people there, and all 50 of them tell you that you’re crazy, stick with it. Stick with your project.’”
“Innovation is hard. It really is. Because most people don’t get it. Remember, the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, these were all considered toys at their introduction because they had no constituency. They were too new. And what you’re working on right now may in fact fall right into that. And if you see clearly, the pathway to the future, stick to it.”

14 May 2012

Who to work for to be a Growth Hacker

posted in: Uncategorized |

Who to work for to be a Growth Hacker

How do I learn to be a growth hacker? Work for one of these guys 🙂 | Andrew Chen (@andrewchen)

  • NameBackgroundTwitter
  • Noah KaganAppSumo, Mint, Facebooknoahkagan
  • David KingBlip.me, ex-Lil Green Patchdeekay
  • Mike GreenfieldCircle of Moms, ex LinkedInmike_greenfield
  • Ivan KiriginDropbox, ex-Facebookikirigin
  • Michael Birchex-Bebo, BirthdayAlarmmickbirch
  • Ivko Maksimovicex-Chainn/Compare Peopleivko
  • Dave Zohrobex-Hot or Not, MegaTastydzohrob
  • Jia Shenex-RockYoumetatek
  • James Currierex-Ticklejamescurrier
  • Stan Chudnovskyex-Ticklestan_chudnovsky
  • Siqi Chenex-Zyngablader
  • Ed BakerFacebookesbaker
  • Joe GreensteinFlixsterjoseph77b
  • Yee LeeGoogleyeeguy
  • Jamie QuintLookcraft, ex-Swipelyjamiequint
  • Elliot ShmuklerLinkedIneshmu
  • Aatif AwanLinkedInaatif_awan
  • Andy JohnsQuora, Twitter, Facebookibringtraffic
  • Robert Cezar MateiQuora, ex-Zyngarmatei
  • Nabeel HyattSpark, ex-Zynganabeel
  • Paul McKellarSV Angel, ex-Squarepm
  • Greg TsengTaggedgregtseng
  • Othman LarakiTwitterothman
  • Akash GargTwitter, ex-Hi5akashgarg
  • Jonathan KatzmanYahoo, ex-Xoopitjkatzman
  • Gustaf AlstromerVoxergustaf
  • Jon TienZyngajontien
10 May 2012

Huggy Pajama paper awarded “Honorable Mention” at CHI 2012 Conference

posted in: Research |

Huggy Pajama paper awarded “Honorable Mention” at CHI 2012 Conference.

Paper title: Keep in Touch: Channel, Expectation and Experience – Paper

Rongrong Wang – Virginia Tech, USA

Francis Quek – Center for Human Computer Interaction, Virginia Tech, USA

Deborah Tatar – Center for Human Computer Interaction, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, USA

Keng Soon Teh – National University of Singapore, Singapore

Adrian David Cheok – Keio University Graduate School of Media Design, Japan

Contribution & Benefit: Describes a remote touch study, showing communicative touch accompanied by speech can significantly influence people’s sense of connectedness. Identifies perception of communication intention as an important factor in touch communication design.

CHI 2012 – Program

8 May 2012

Augmented Reality Event – Sneak Preview of ARE 2012 Schedule: Chock-Full of Augmented Reality Goodness…for The People

posted in: Keynote Speeches and Talks |

Augmented Reality Event – Sneak Preview of ARE 2012 Schedule: Chock-Full of Augmented Reality Goodness…for The People

ARE 2012, the world’s largest augmented reality event, invites you – The People – to discover the wonders of  augmented reality (AR). Register today with the Early Bird Discount and save $100 before it expires on March 21st.

For the first time, ARE 2012 is reaching out beyond the tech world – to everybody out there – who is seeking to leverage AR to advance their business or their life.

The event will kick off with keynotes by Frank Cooper (CMO of Pepsi), and Miles Ludwig (VP Digital at Sesame) – that will showcase how mainstream corporations are using AR as a key tool to drive customer engagement in consumer packaged goods, as well as education and entertainment.

Adrian Cheok (Professor at Keio University, Tokyo) keynote will blow your minds by demonstrating how AR can go beyond the visual sense and leverage all our senses.

Can’t have a true AR event without “The Prophet of AR”; Bruce Sterling will come back this year to share his insights about the evolution of the AR industry, and have a fireside chat with special guest Daniel Suarez (best selling author of techno-thrillers Damon and Freedom) – about the far reaching opportunities with AR, and its looming dangers.

In addition to these fantastic keynotes, ARE 2012 will feature 30 hours of sessions across 3 tracks: Business, Production, and Technology – covering topics such as:

The AR Market and successful business models with Maarten Lens-FitzGerald (Layar) – on how to generate revenue with Augmented Reality, and  Matthew Szymczyk (Zugara) – about where we are in the AR Commerce Hype Cycle.

AR for Marketing and Branding– a panel moderated by Gene Becker showcasing best practices from leaders who implemented some of the most successful AR campaigns to date.

AR for eCommerce and Retail – including talks by Bruno Uzzan (CEO, Total Immersion)  and Andrea Carignano (CEO, seac02) about real revenue-making products in this market.

AR For Wellness with Adam Odessky (HelloDocPal) about current use of AR for healthcare, and HealthCare Alert – an app tracking health alerts in real time with augmented reality.

AR Games as always will be a big draw featuring speakers from the most successful AR games companies:  Brian Selzer (Ogmento), Josh Shabtai(Vertigore), and more.

AR and Crime – A riveting new session moderated by AR enthusiast and Law Enforcement officer Joseph Rampolla who put together a staggering panel: Kevin Manson (Cybercop Portal),  Edward Roche (Barraclough), Best selling author Daniel Suarez (Daemon), and Brian Wassom(Augmented Legality.)

AR For Cars – a session dedicated to the automotive industry led by Juliana Clegg from MVS California creator of the CableGuide HUD with participation from major car companies, and analysts in this space.

User Experiences in AR with one of the world’s top experts in AR user interfaces – Mark Billinghurst (HIT Labs NZ), and additional world experts in UX for AR.

As in every year, the leading players in AR Eyewear will be back to excite us about the prospects of AR in your field of view, and update us on how long we need to wait for it and what we can do to accelerate it.

For the techies, a hole track of sessions will drill into the state of the art in AR Technologies.

Mobile AR Technologies with Marc Gardeya (Dekko) which will talk about Hybrid Tracking, David Murphy (Nokia) – about Nokia’s Mirror world browser, Ben Blachnitzsky (Metaio) – about Object Tracking, Martin Lechner (Wikitude) about SDK for AR browsers, and Hafez Rouzati (Georgia Tech) about their standard-based Argon browser.

Christine Perey (Perey Consulting) will lead a panel discussing Interoperability and Open AR Content and experiences.

Dr. Thomas Alt, founder and CEO of metaio will discuss the process of building a delivery stack that ensures reliable, accessible AR from chipset platform to end-user.

And speaking of hardware for AR, Stephane Gervais-Ducouret (Freescale) will speak about efficient hardware for AR,  Mike Housholder (InvenSense) about motion interface for immersive mobile AR experiences, and Neil Trevett (VP at Nvidia and President of the Khronos Group) about emerging hardware for AR.

Steven Feiner, Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, will share his experience in implementing AR for more than 20 years. If you go by Churchill’s old quote: “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see”, Professor Feiner is the most qualified to speak about the future of AR.

ARE will also feature a bunch of thought provoking talks about AR Game changers such as Amber Case (Geoloqi) and Brian Mullins‘ (CEO, Daqri): AR at the Center of the New Polis: Sociopolitical Impact & Opportunities.

This was just a sneak preview. Stay tuned for many more speakers and fascinating sessions about how to turn around your business – with Augmented Reality.

8 May 2012

posted in: Uncategorized |

Adam Yauch • 1964-2012

Beastie Boys

 It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys. With fellow members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band’s 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend. In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces. In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985’s Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities. In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women’s Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources. Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including “So Whatcha Want,” “Intergalactic,” “Body Movin” and “Ch-Check It Out.” Under his own name, Yauch directed last year’s Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for “Make Some Noise” from Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future. Yauch’s passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze’s Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more. Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch. 

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