Time flies. It feels like yesterday when I curated a weekly roundup, and now it’s Friday, again. Before we know it, CSW Europe 2015 will be upon us! Have you booked your Summer Bird tickets yet? Moving forward, here are the handpicked crowdsourcing news and updates spotted by our team — from crowdsourced designs of the New Zealand flag to connected cities and open innovation and more.
New Zealand wants to change its flag and designs were crowdsourced
Changing the design of a national flag isn’t like creating a new art project. New Zealand’s government had something better in mind: they are crowdsourcing the new design and they have received 10,292 suggested designs. Foreign Policy featured the finalists and quoting from the open letter, “A potential new flag should unmistakably be from New Zealand and celebrate us as a progressive, inclusive nation that is connected to its environment, and has a sense of its past and a vision for its future,” the Flag Consideration Panel wrote in an open letter releasing the long list.”
Spotted by Epi Ludvik Nekaj
What is a connected city?
Another good read via Wtvox entitled, “What Is A Connected City? IoT, Big Data And Why You Should Care,” is a thought-piece about big data, innovation, and smart cities. Probably some of us keep on hearing and reading these buzzwords like IOT (Internet of Things), big data, etc,; this piece will highlight the smart cities and implementation of new technologies for better and efficient transportation, facilities, traffic management, and more.
Spotted by Epi Ludvik Nekaj
Easy reporting of municipal issues in Singapore via mobile app
Direct and open communication between the citizens and the government – this is one of the perks of Singapore’s OneService app. “The Municipal Services Office (MSO) has launched a mobile app named OneService today to make it more convenient for members of the public to send their feedback on municipal issues in Singapore,” MSO writes. “The launch was held at “Clean Up South West!”, a recycling event jointly organised by the South West CDC and the NEA.” With the mobile app, it will be easier for the citizens to give their feedback based on their experiences. The app itself will route the report to the relevant agency to respond and take action.
Spotted by Benjamin Ng
Five industries ripe for disruption, can you guess one?
“Air travel is just one of several industries in need of a serious disruption. Too many hours are wasted in loss productivity in the current system,” writes Rana Florida in Huffington Post. The author of the Upgrade shares the five industries ripe for disruption: air travel, higher education, healthcare, banking, and home improvement contracting. What do you think?
Spotted by Etienne Verbist
Open innovation and cloud, a good match?
“A recent report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) paints a picture of a rapidly expanding cloud sector, Circulate News writes. “While the evolution of cloud technology is most commonly associated with a combination of ‘cool’ new gadgets and concerns over security risks, there are growing indications that cloud technology will have a broader impact on the global economy and in particular, in supporting the development of new innovation,”. Three years ago, the cloud I knew and wrote about was more on the business and enterprise exploits; today, with the cloud and open innovation business model colliding, cloud technology has the potential to tap global verticals – from government to intelligent industries to manufacturing to transformation of smart cities and many more.
Spotted by Briana Green
How uncomfortable are you?
A great read in technology that caught us by surprise this week when Google announced its new CEO, Sundar Pichai and changes to its organization. In this post, The Verge features Pichai plus an interview, as we get to know more about this “new kid on Google’s block.” One of the good takeaways from Page’s post says, “We’ve long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant.” Indeed, it’s a thought-provoking takeaway.
Spotted by Priti Ambani
How China’s blockbuster movie this summer was a product of crowdfunding
In China, crowdfunding is categorized as an “Internet finance,” and it’s being used in novel ways to raise funds like in movies. “The novel fundraising channel impressed many Chinese movie-goers when “Monkey King: Hero is Back” presented a long producer list that included 109 children, whose parents pooled money to aid in the movie’s marketing,” Chinese agency, Xinhua writes. “More inspiring is the news that the parents, who have invested a total of 7 million yuan (1.1 million U.S. dollars), will get more than 30 million yuan in return thanks to the film’s immense box office success.” Li Wei, the producer of the film said he used the local social media channel WeChat to raise awareness for the campaign, “when the film was near completion. The initiative attracted many parents who made donations ranging from several thousands to over 100,000 yuan.”
Spotted by Maria Krisette Capati
[Photo credit via Deposit Photos]
There are tons of amazing stories out there. What else caught your eye this week? Did you come across some breaking news or a good thought piece?
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