The DARPA balloon, social media and incentivizing participation.
Not surprisingly, MIT won the challenge and the $40,000 prize by locating ten weather balloons in less than nine hours. What was genius about MIT's methodology is that they offered a $2,000 reward to each person who located a balloon, significantly increasing the likelihood of winning while retaining a significant amount of the prize money. The MIT students made signing up to hunt for the balloons pretty simple, http://balloon.mit.edu , and created a simple way to reward signing up friends. (diagram from ireport.com).
What I'm reading
John Elder Robison: Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's
Amazing book about the life of a young boy with undiagnosed Asperger's. From dropping out of school to touring with KISS, Robison's life is an adventure in the extraordinary.Barbara Demick: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Absolutely amazing. You will be shocked and saddened by this portrait of a country cut off from the rest of the world.Keith Richards: Life
Loved this book - doesn't matter if you are Stones fan or not, Richards will ensnare you in his tale and make you wish you'd done it yourself.Andre Agassi: Open: An Autobiography
Feeding my new addiction to tennis.Arlene Blum: Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life
Seeing Arlene Blum speak last month inspired me to start climbing mountains again. (Kilimanjaro, Spring 2010) If you need a kick in the pants to start believing in the impossible, buy this book.Count Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenia
Yes, this book is 800 pages and I'm only on page 17, but there is lots of potential.Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Infidel
Please read this - it is so smart and honest.Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger
First book I'm going to attempt to read on the Kindle.- Junot Diaz: Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao Signed
Diaz's first novel that won the 2008 Pulitzer for fiction. My words won't do it justice. Just read it. Bill Bryson: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
Reading Bryson's book about growing up in Des Moines is not unlike strolling through my own childhood. Despite the 25 years that passed between Bryson's days in DSM and my own, very little seems to have changed. My grandfather's clothing store, Frankels, also makes a few appearances in the story. Since I never met my grandfather, it is cool to read about him through another person's lens.
Links to My Life
- See Change Happen
Nancy King's blog about using design and advertising to create positive change. - Viva Las Aguas
Nancy King and Crystal English's blog about chucking our jobs in advertising to go on the run! - Business Week
Gilt Story - Flickr Photos
- Twitter
- House of Naked: The Home of Naked Communications NYC
Work Blog - someecards: When you care enough to hit send
Spend lots of time on this site - amazingly written and free ecards for every possible occasion.
Digital things I'm trying to make work
- FriendFeed.com/nanking
- one more
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Recent Posts
- Why Gap is Failing
- Another reason to love kickstarter
- Timeless Principles for Building a Career
- After a long hiatus, Im
- Help me learn about the smart grid
- It is easy to love Zappos
- Marketing that doesn't feel like marketing - VB Drinking Chips
- The DARPA balloon, social media
- In defense of the blogger.
- After taking a break, Im
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