Here is another Red Dot 2009 award in Design concept productivity.

The Road Printer is, as can be seen from the pictures, a small robot designed to “print” traffic signals.

The way it works is astonishingly simple: all you need to do is select the signal you want to paint on the floor from all available signals, press the button and Road Printer starts the job. As quick as that, probably saving much time and energy, as it uses solar power to recharge its battery with a small panel on its top cover.

The ink is recharged in much the same way as a printer’s cartridge.

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

The two ideators that helped us in choosing our winners are anikravitz and twentydur. Many thanks to both of you for helping us as part of the jury.

These are the 3 winners:

1st prize, winner of 400$
(49704) St. Valentine’s trips for singles, by jesuspucela who suggests “Holidays should be organized for people who are single during St. Valentine’s, new couples could arise, and people could be organized in groups by ages, with guides working as “cupids”, that would organize activities and games.”

2nd prize, winner of 200$
(50070) YES I DO!!!! IN SAINT VALENTINE’S by pattypy who has come up with the idea of “a COMPANY WHOSE ACTIVITY IS TO ORGANIZE MASSIVE WEDDINGS, every February 14th in different countries, those interested have to register and become members”, and “the company would offer packages for hotels or honeymoons, bachelor parties, photos, videos, and could also organize monthly meetings for members. ”

3rd prize, winner of 200$
(49856) Guide for Courtship, so U can celebrated this Valentine by falling in love by justV
who wants to lend a hand to “guys who, although they mean well.. often blow it when they try to express themselves with girls…” with a book that collects the opinion of women on compliments or flirtatious comments they’ve received or heard, to finally create a guide that could help a lot of guys.

Congratulations to the 3 winners! And many thanks to all the ideators that have participated in the challenge.
But at ideas4all we never stop having ideas, so you can now take part, until March 31st, in our new challenge: Ideas for the world of Fashion. Click here to find out more.

Ideas4all, as it has done on other occasions, attended the monthly event organized by Innosfera. Here are a few brush strokes of what was said on a subject that is not very well known, Social Innovation.

Three speakers who, with their enthusiasm, managed to transmit their passion for social projects, and their personal vision on the originality and novelty that can be developed within the framework of social innovation. Whether their aim was to shake our social enterprising spirit or not, that is exactly what they did.

The conference got started with Alfonso Carlos Morales, patron and researcher for the ETEA Foundation for Development and Cooperation. (He writes a blog on “Social Innovation”, entitled “Cerillas en la Oscuridad” (“Matches in the Dark”).

With his clear, colorful and very photographic speech, he presented an historic outline of social issues up to the 20th century, with the appearance of micro-credits, recycling policies, open universities and organizations such as Amnesty International, among other subjects that have given a different meaning to social innovation, a new framework for these issues to become reality and gain strength in our society.

Alfonso knows the process one must go through within this environment well: first comes the visualization of the project, then a certain amount of opposition, until one achieves acceptance and diffusion. These are the systematic stages in the process of social innovation.

He shares examples of brands such as Rolex, who in 1976 organized awards for the discovery of innovative ways of achieving social well-being; these were the beginnings. The fact that Barak Obama has created an office for social innovation is a turning point, a paradigm change where these focal points become pioneers in the search for new solutions for this type of problems.

The Center created in Stanford University (USA), the Koll Centre (UK) and the CEPAL Fair (in Latin America) are some examples showing that social innovation is present, and looking to make an impact with results that solve social needs not included in companies’ balance sheets.

But how can we innovate in a product?

Alfonso describes 3 areas in which social innovation can be carried out.

.- Social innovation in territorial terms (COMMUNITY): This is the recovery of ancestral craftwork and activities (ecological agriculture among others), the integration of these in a process of economic and cultural sustainable development, and a space for communication with other generations. All of which entails a certain amount of inventiveness and knowledge of the market in order to achieve the right adaptational mechanics.

.- The Internet and ITC (THE WEB). Can become a reflection of various activities (culture, sports…), calling for talent through the use of 2.0 social networks to put activities into practice, that support solidarity with a global perspective.

Within this kind of 2.0 markets, many initiatives come from traditional business models (lucrative) that become social organizations, by benefitting from the Long Tail phenomenon.

.- Businesses as CORPORATE CITIZENS: Aligning social responsibility with the company’s main activity. One example is Inditex (shops with disabled employees).

Companies begin to develop social activities connected to their main activity, meaning these are no longer something that is peripheral to the company.

Social innovation seeks: autonomy (economic independence), Inclusion (human development), Environmental Sustainability, and of course, a more horizontal point of view, says Alfonso Carlos Morales.

The second speaker is María Zapata, she is Director of International Operations at Ashoka, a global organization that identifies and invests in innovative ideas by social entrepreneurs. A very important support for all those social entrepreneurs that are trying to launch enterprising ideas with one point in common: Innovation.

What is asked of these projects is that they generate a social impact through their idea, that these entrepreneurs have an enterprising vision and ability (perseverance). Ideas and people with a vocation to take them beyond their personal environment.

Certainly, as María says, for an entrepreneur to have an idea of such a calibre, it is essential for him or her to carry out a systematic analysis that results in a deep understanding of social innovation, allowing the entrepreneur to solve a real problem with his or her idea. What becomes clear to us, beyond any doubt, with her speech is that a social entrepreneur must have a social vocation.

Our last speaker, Cristóbal Colón, is President of  La Fageda, a Cooperative that employs people with mental disabilities, and that has become the third yoghurt manufacturer in Catalonia (Spain).

Specialized in work therapy, Cristóbal firmly believes in work as a dynamic element in helping people with this type of problem (physically disabled or mental patients without much to look forward to, who perceive themselves as being of no use). One must not forget that 90% of mental patients are unemployed.

He explains they have not used social marketing in their cooperative for two reasons: firstly to avoid the possibility of social rejection that could boycott their social project, and secondly because, for the activity to be truly therapeutic, employees had to feel they were involved in the project, and this could not be achieved by “promoting their insanity” but by making them feel responsible for the project and, therefore, for their own lives.

There is no doubt in our minds that, as he says, success in their work has been the best therapy for employees as special as these.

Cristóbal Colón reflects on the actions carried out by DANONE in the Indian market, adapting its products to the Indian population: “Business policy is currently being adapted; cooperation models with social entrepreneurs begin to surface and proliferate”.

Our three speakers confirm that a company can have economic success while fulfilling social objectives. We should do without the stereotypical idea of business and social intervention being incompatible, for it does nothing but consolidate the rejection of the social work sector for the business sector, and vice versa. Both sectors can work perfectly well, hand in hand.

The conference was entertaining, intelligent, with a great deal of sense of humor and a pinch of irony, capable of moving anyone with some sensibility.

We recommend a social vitamin injection with this video.

Rocío Bravo of Ideas4all

Cables and more cables. Computer, speakers, chargers, lamps, gadgets and we want to plug it all, but sometimes traditional adaptors are simply not enough. The solution: PowerPOST, designed by Choi Won Seok and Kim Do Yeop

A leg on the table that all of us with so much to plug will love, if it ends up being manufactured, as it is only a concept for now, although it has won the Red dot award: design concept 2009, a prestigious design award

An innovative idea that is, above all, very functional, I love it.

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

ideas4all iniciador

Last February 10th, in another edition of  Iniciador, Julio Alonso, founder of Weblogs, with 10 years’ experience as strategy consultant, spoke to us of his entrepreneuring experience, offering advice to anyone thinking of starting up a business.

Julio has a network of specialized content blogs (vertical or specialized publications on the Internet) with communities of users interested in the subjects covered. His other line of activity is consulting for companies in areas such as blogs, social networks and web 2.0.

His line of business, with over 37 blogs organized by subject (featuring the collaboration of over 200 bloggers), has over 14.3 million unique users every month and over 64.8 million pages viewed monthly. His blog has two types of readers he calls his family: The regulars (very well-read in his subject-matter) and parachutists (who are linked from google, an indispensable tool in creating new users).

Here are some brush strokes on the most interesting points of his intervention:

.- The risk of turning your idea into something real is something he considers inherent to any business project. Enterprising, he says, entails taking risks.

.- Tolerance to uncertainty is basic in this process and must be interiorized before one sets out on an entrepreneuring project.

.- Giving form to ideas, executing them while adapting, although that may entail having to charge your course of action, are steps we should not forget.

.- Start things at a small scale, test until confirming the market validates what you do, and then climb rapidly. A far from negligible piece of advice, given that many entrepreneurs become afraid and never manage to survive the early stages of activity; while others thing “so big” that their giant leaps seem to move them closer to a spectacular failure.
Risks in early stages should be very limited.

.- He who enterprises must know that being “multi-task”, having “multiple abilities”, being “multi-experienced” is an advantage because it allows us to surround ourselves by great professionals and make better decisions.

.- Knowing the market in which we operate is essential: who consumes our product and who is our competition. These are basic rules in any business plan, that are however often missing. It is a good idea to look back and review our project’s evolution.

.- Your company’s competitive advantage must be related to its capacity to innovate, evolve, and even change its initial model in order to adapt to what is demanded by the market; but we must remain realistic and not expect our company to cover each and every front. Making focus and flexibility compatible is essential.

.- Lastly, he speaks of something we were waiting to hear, something fundamental, a theory that has to be taken on by any entrepreneur: A PASSION for what we do and, of course, the ability to have fun while working.

And what about Social Networks? Are blogs, as an alternative, a threat?

“Social networks have an advantage in terms of demographic segmentation, but the fact that you can take your product to interested communities is a relevant factor in specialized publications that generic networks don’t have. They are, undoubtedly, complementary”.

According to Julio, an advantage blogs have is that each person can create his or her “own informational diet”.

And what about investors?

He recommends we launch our business without help because it is normal to have diverging objectives that force us to change our project’s strategy. If we are lucky enough to count with investors that are aligned with our own objectives while making capital and contacts available, as well as generating marketing capacity and transmitting confidence, we should feel very fortunate.

The ideal situation would be to work within a zero-cost structure, increasing our cost as we generate income.

And what about advertising?

Our entrepreneur and businessman believes in the Internet’s advertising potential, but accepts that Spain is lacking brand advertising because the right format or way of measuring results has not yet been found. There is a lack of innovation in this field.

Should we monetize, or as Julio says, pride ourselves on accepting donations?

“Some subjects attract a lot of interest but are difficult to make money with. Subjects with different potential advertisers than we are accustomed to. We must be enormously creative and observe the ability to create interest in brands.”

Do you compete in the traditional media sector?

He answers with a quote by Gandhi, “first they will ignore you, then laugh at you, then fight you, and finally you will win”.

He then convinces us with results:

“We have managed to generate better content. Cost structure models are lighter than in traditional media. We know that traffic is generated better than in traditional media, that the model works and evolves better. In terms of advertising, there is still much to do, and the traditional market has the advantage, but thanks to the potential of this new Internet industry, brands will become accustomed to new formats and different media”.

You can see a video of the event here.

Rocío  Bravo from Ideas4all

Either speaker told us of their most immediate projects in a time of crisis, while journalism seems to, paradoxically, be living one of its sweetest moments. Their business projects might appear to be pure acts of faith, but what they in fact make clear is their own belief in a new way of seeing and understanding the world.

Theirs is quality journalism, getting through to the reader on the look-out for another type of information, a more serene and detailed reading.

Special thanks to Millán I. Berzosa and Bárbara Yuste, responsible for this much awaited and novel event, and for inviting us to attend.

If you missed the event, you can see it here, courtesy of Agoranews

Rocío Bravo from Ideas4all

Attending the event’s inauguration will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, representing this year’s guest country, Spain. Spain was chosen as Partner Country “for its great development in the creation of the information society” coinciding with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, throughout the first semester of 2010.

Spain will take part in CeBIT with the installation of 6 Spanish pavillions, containing Spanish companies in the sector (Software, Webciety , Green IT, Future Parc, Banca y Seguridad y Telecomunicaciones) and one institutional pavillion (representing the central Government and many Autonomous Regions). A central auditorium will also be installed, with the organization of conferences, exhibits and videos related to the ITC sector in Spain.

You can see the video of the opening ceremony here.

Rocío Bravo de Ideas4ll

We all know we need to recycle if we want to help save forests, but recycling is most important in places that consume considerable amounts of paper, like offices.

This machine that looks somewhat coarse has a surprising function: it recycles office paper and turns it into toilet paper.

It sounds brilliant, and although it still needs to be perfected, this first model fulfills its function, and with an average of only 40 sheets of paper introduced gives out a toilet paper roll. The machine works through 5 different steps: it shreds, dissolves, mixes, stretches and finally makes a roll of the new paper.
For the time being, the machine’s dimensions, and price, are rather massive: 600kg, almost 2 meters tall, and costing 100,000 $.

It’s a first step.

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

Sometimes ideas allow us to imagine fantastic things, and this concept is like that. Its name is Beriscope and it allows us to dive without getting in the water.

Who knows if designer Jaewon Choi’s dislike for cold water made him come up with this idea, but the fact is Beriscope saves us from experiencing those small inconveniences related to underwater diving or snorkeling.  It also brings the marvels of the seabed to people who would otherwise have no access to them, be they elderly people, small children, or disabled people who cannot dive.

It has a camera at the end of a long cable that is thrown into the water as if fishing, once the camera is inside the water, all that is left is to enjoy all that is hidden in the bottom of the sea.

Via YankoDesing

Maria Mazariegos from ideas4all

OME 2010 will count with the cooperation of experts from Spain and abroad, who will share their experience and explain case studies, as well as comment on subjects of interest within the areas of On-line Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, E-commerce, Social Networks, Web Positioning, Web Analysis, and a long etc….

The exhibitors attending the fair will be Advertising agencies, Media agencies, Web Search Marketing agencies, Web Analysis experts, On-line content providers, Mobile Marketing Agencies, E-mail Marketing agencies, Performance Marketing agencies, E-Commerce agencies, Web Designers, On-line Games, On-line Purchases/Auctions, Associations

Access will be free for all visitors.

Rocío Bravo from Ideas4all