March 25, 2010 by admin.

Thanks for visiting the Good Thang blog, and for joining.

This post is to let you know that I will no longer be updating this blog: I have moved the content to my other blog, Impact for Good.

I would like to encourage you to visit the new blog, join if you want to comment, or subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Posted in marketing | 1 Comment »

July 8, 2009 by admin.

In a move to increase the power of Facebook Pages, Facebook has just released a new widget that allows brands and businesses to share status updates from their Facebook Page - and get new Facebook fans - on any website.The new “Fan Box” widget, built on Facebook Connect, allows Page owners to put a piece of their Facebook Page anywhere on the web.

Facebook says the Fan Box widget is designed to help convert website visitors into Facebook fans. It’s a smart move by Facebook to make it easier for brands and businesses to encourage more of their customers to become fans of their Facebook Pages.

Unfortunately there is still no API for soliciting fans directly through applications on Facebook.  (more…)

Posted in Facebook, web 2.0, media, development, marketing | 1 Comment »

June 12, 2009 by admin.

I recently learned of a charity that’s working with wounded veterans and their families, and did a little background search on them to find out more about their focus and their work.

I came across an article written by Mychael Urban posted on MLB.com which mentions some of the work being done by the charity Strikeouts for Troops, created in 2004 by San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito.

…Zito’s ever-expanding roster of big league contributors [to Strikeouts for Troops] is nearly 70 strong, and more than $2 million has been raised since the program’s inception, with 100 percent of the funds distributed; Zito covers the administrative costs associated with making sure the money goes where it’s supposed to go.

The money comes primarily from the participating players, who donate per strikeout, home runs or RBI or make flat donations. Among them are CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher of the Yankees, Manny Ramirez and Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers, Albert Pujols and Rick Ankiel of the Cardinals, Jake Peavy of the Padres, Dan Haren and Eric Byrnes of the D-backs, Eric Chavez of the A’s, Jermaine Dye of the White Sox, and Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson and Matt Cain of the Giants…

This March, Zito continued his annual tradition of bringing to Spring Training a large group of wounded Marines who’ve been recovering at Balboa Naval Hospital in his hometown of San Diego…

Zito had secured for the Marines a section of seats directly behind home plate [at a pre-season game between the Dodgers and White Sox in Glendale, AZ], and when the Marine Corps Hymn was played during the fifth inning, the Marines stood at attention. The crowd followed suit with a standing ovation.

As depicted in the recent movie Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon (excellent movie!), there is a substantial cross-section of America — people of all ages and political views — who are not only ready to respond but they are looking for ways to show honor to our service men and women, to embrace their families, to pay their respects.

I was particularly impressed with excerpts from letter sent by Rick Williams of the Marine Corps League of San Diego, which Urban quoted in his article and I’ve included below.

…What happened next was detailed in a letter that Williams sent to Zito upon getting the troops back to San Diego.

When we all left the game in the seventh inning to get back to the airport, the injured Marines had to walk up, directly behind home plate, about 75 stairs to leave. Of course, it took a while because several had canes, and even more could not walk fast because the guys with the canes were at the head of the line.

As they filed up the stairs out of the stadium, in a single-file line, spontaneously the crowd again all stood up and gave the Marines [another] standing ovation until the very last one reached the top of the stairs. Had to take 3-4 minutes.

It was loud. It was crazy. The players on the field were even clapping. It was truly a proud moment for me. When the Marines got to the top of the stairs, several were crying. It was very, very emotional. Emotional for them, for me, for the crowd.

… To be taken out of the hospital, out of rehab and told “Thanks” by the very same people they are fighting for, it is truly overwhelming for them. To watch them hobble up those stairs, with 12,000 to 15,000 people cheering for them and then them having tears streaming down their cheeks, it made me very proud.

… [Barry], I want you to know that you made it possible for them to receive the recognition that they deserve. You should be very proud for what you are doing for our military and, especially, my fellow Marines.

“Baseball is my job,” Zito says, “… Strikeouts for Troops is personal. Baseball is a game, and I’m fortunate to be living my dream by playing it for a living. But would any of us be living any of our dreams if not for what our soldiers are doing and have done in the name of our country?

“No, obviously. And nobody should ever lose sight of that. Strikeouts for Troops isn’t about me. It’s about baseball showing appreciation for the men and women who put their lives on the line.”

Barry, you’re making a major-league baseball fan out of me.

To Rick and others in the Marine Corp League, that applause on the way out was for all marines, and for the people who support them. Thanks for what you’re doing!

I hope that those 12,000 to 15,000 cheering people will watch to Gratitude Campaign video (70 seconds) and help to spread the message. It only takes a few people living-it-out to start a worldwide movement.

To the ball players involved in Strikeouts for Troops, and to the behind-the-scenes donors, a salute to you.

And to all the American heroes serving here and overseas, recovering in hospitals or at home, separated from loved-ones by distance or time or injury, or back in civilian jobs taking each day at a time… we are standing and applauding you, too.

(Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. Excerpted story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Used under GNU public-use license.)

Posted in media, MLB, heroes, gratitude, public policy, social ventures, philanthropy, nonprofit, military, CSR | 1 Comment »

June 7, 2009 by admin.

I’m loving the Ubiquity add-on for Firefox, a (nearly) natural-language command line interface that creates user mashups on the fly. It takes advantage of the power of language and open APIs. Brilliant!If this is their alpha, can’t wait to see the beta!

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Posted in techthang, usability, web 2.0, media, development, design | No Comments »

June 4, 2009 by admin.

Brainstorming responses to the Katrina disaster gave me license to research low-cost housing. I had already been musing about the possibility of opening-up and exploiting new markets, finding new ways to use this huge mortgage lending (mortgage banking) machine that was Countrywide.

Nobody around me took the idea of low-cost housing seriously. Nobody wanted to talk about mortgages in developing countries. I was uninformed, they said. “There’s no money in it.” Hmmm.

Still, I wondered about it.

Well, since that time, lo and behold – microcredit (peer-to-peer lending or P2P lending) has taken-off, and traditional financing has, well… collapsed.

So, uh… I guess I’ll bring it up again: where’s the money being made these days? What was only a “whacky idea” a few years ago now doesn’t look so crazy. (Thanks to Richard Weddle for recommending The Starfish and the Spider.)

When you’ve got a huge demand, low production costs, ample financing, job-creation, ultimate “portability” (the building system and micro-lending model can be replicated just about anywhere), you’ve got the makings of an economic boom — or a bonanza, at the very least). This is a great example of “the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations.”

Low Cost Construction Housing Affordable Building System

The man interviewed in the above video is Associate Professor Bernard Lefebvre (Domtec Company Ltd), affiliated with the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

Background on Habitech

Conceived at the Habitech Center of AIT the Self-Contained Housing Delivery System is an inexpensive, quickly and easily erected building system, the cost of which consistently undercuts conventional construction systems. Components have been added to create a complete modular interlocking building system especially suited for construction by unskilled labour which eliminates the need for construction equipment as the components are lightweight. The system has been disseminated in Asia since 1987 when research and development started up to 1995 when the building system was made available through private sector equipment suppliers.

The technology was demonstrated through housing projects (75) in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Fiji, where small scale building material industries have been set-up creating employment, generating income and producing affordable housing for middle and low income groups.

As the building system spreads through Asia, the beneficial reduction in the consumption of timber products for construction will lead to a salutary effect upon the environment and help reduce the depletion of forest.

Habitech Center was awarded the Matsushita Award by the Japan Housing Association in 1994 “in recognition of excellent achievements in improving human settlements in Asian countries by promoting research and development related to technologies for low cost housing as well as providing educational programs and facilities to disseminate the results of their research efforts”.(Source: UNESCO Most Clearinghouse)

Posted in city planning, community development, urban renewal, public policy, NPR, suburban infill, infill development, microcredit, homelessness, poverty, redevelopment, social ventures, ventures, P2P, development, investing, philanthropy, politics, Linkedin, finance, jobs, shelter, affordable housing, small business, marketing | 1 Comment »

June 3, 2009 by admin.

Building sophisticated educational tools out of cheap parts, Johnny Lee demos his cool Wii Remote hacks, which turn the $40 video game controller into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted 3-D viewer.

 

About Johnny Lee

Researcher Johnny Lee became a YouTube star with his demo of Wii Remote hacks — bending the low-cost game piece to power an interactive whiteboard, a multitouch surface, a head-mounted display … Full bio and more links

Posted in media, public policy, social ventures, ventures, web 2.0, education, techthang, innovation, maker, just for fun, jobs, small business, development, nonprofit, investing, marketing, video, Linkedin, stimulus, schools, finance, design | No Comments »

May 30, 2009 by Robert.

When I first saw the TED demo of PhotoSynth by co-creator Blaise Aguera y Arcas, I was awed and intrigued (not at that unusual).

But, as with so many novel ideas, I didn’t really grasp what it was about, didn’t fully understand it, didn’t know what to do with it at the time.

 The idea of simulating 3-dimensional movement using a database of 2-D images intrigued me.

 To me it was a novelty, for sure. I imagined it as a way to archive history — not just  to simulate 3-dimensional spaces, but to travel backwards in time.

 Virtual time travel — maybe there’s something to that idea.  Or maybe not. Forensics? Crime scene investigation? Environmental monitoring?

 That was before I carried a digital camera around in my pocket, before I posted so many images to Picasaweb that I have a hard time managing them, before I became a regular user of a social network on which people are posting new images several times a day.

 And then I began to appreciate what PhotoSynth could do with “current” photo.  After all, time is just another dimension to consider: all the photos in any database are in a sense “historical” photos.  Each photo represents a point in time, a point in 3-dimensional space, a vector (directional view), a magnification factor, etc.

 We can intentionally attend to certain dimensions and filter-out others. We can create applications that assist us in filtering-out or enhancing certain dimensions. And we can index or otherwise annotate those dimensions with metadata (”Africa trip”, “Capetown”, “Eilene”, etc.)

Posted in media, web 2.0, ventures, Linkedin, development, design | 1 Comment »

May 29, 2009 by Robert.

I applied for a job at Google yesterday that I found posted online. I copied-and-pasted parts of my resume into their forms, and then attached a cover letter and a .doc version of my resume according to the instructions.

“Microsoft Word format, huh?” I thought to myself, “That’s awfully magnanimous of them.”

They could have invented an entirely new Google Resume Format (.GRF) and announced it with great fanfare at the latest SXSW. They could have forced prospective Google applicants to find and purchase and register an entire suite of applications, download a bunch of drivers (along with a development kit) in order to install a special Google Resume Tool (included).

Mac format? Forget it — buy a cheap PC. Or an Android phone for that matter. If you were truly serious about working at Google, you’d do it in a heartbeat, right? Er — I mean, you’d already be using an Android.

But no. They didn’t do all that.

Google just instructed me to use the common standard .doc format, which I did. Then they asked me a few optional survey questions — beyond the mandatory racial/sexist questions — which of course I dutifully answered. (What happens if you decline to answer?)

“Have you ever operated a profitable business that was not a technology buisness?” Ha! Good question! Yep, done that.

“Have you ever started a nonprofit?” Hmmm. Another interesting question. Yes — as a matter of fact — yes, I have. (Well, I was part of a group that founded a nonprofit. That counts, right?)

And then they asked me if I’ve ever set a record (local/state/national). And I paused.

And then dread crept over me. “Holy cow — they caught me! Here I was thinking that this was just a survey, answering the questions candidly from memory.” But I now see that they were just messing with me!

Have I ever held a record? Google wants to know if Robert Marston ever held a record? Like they don’t know?

For crying out loud, why would Google ask me for information about me in a job application? What more could Google possibly want to know about me that Google doesn’t already know?

“Crud!” Panic started to set in. “This is no job application survey — it’s fodder for a new database that they’re building. Or worse, an authentication process to see if I’m really Robert Marston! Oops! The casual wording and ease-of-use lulled me into dropping my guard.

“What have I told them already? Have I said too much? I shoulda recorded every one of my answers. If there’s a cross-examination later, I might slip-up under pressure or over-think the answer…”

Ahhh! It’s not fair! They’re way too good!

Then I calmed down and realized that they’re really not asking for information. They’re simply measuring variability in my answers and my ability to recall facts. And probably measuring my typing speed, too, to see if I’m hestitating or slowing down. I wonder what they can tell from all that biofeedback? (I saw the The Matrix — I know how it works.)

They want me to believe that this is a job application like any other. They want it to appear as though it was my idea to apply for this job. And if/when they respond to my so-called application and grant me a so-called interview, I’ll go along with the whole charade. I’ll pretend like I’m a candidate and that I’m being evaluated against other candidates and all that. (wink-wink, nudge-nudge)

As though Google doesn’t already know the outcome.

Awesome. Bring it on — I’m ready.

Posted in just for fun, jobs, Linkedin, development, marketing | 1 Comment »

May 29, 2009 by Robert.

This video is a very clever presentation and whimsical commentary on New Media, posted by Michael Wesch, professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University in 2007.Don’t read the comments on YouTube — they’re mostly vulgar spam.I find it humorous to see that the YouTube video attracted a storm of comments *protesting* and *correcting* the author on factual matters, leading the author to post a quick revision and promise a new version “soon.” Ahem.And now the YouTube video is an epithet to good intentions in a web 2.0 world.Notice that the author was also apparently inundated with inquiries about the music in the background. I wonder if that was their intention. Many indy bands have been made famous over the years by licensing their music to be used in videos that “go viral.”Note to self: be sure to prominently credit the source of all content, or at least post a companion website somewhere which leaves a breadcrumb-trail to the information, providing Wikipedia with a verifiable “source.” And remember to use a disposable email address.

Note that the project was:

If only they’d used a more “nimble” tool for producing video, they could have responded more rapidly and continued the conversation (affordably, or even profitably) rather than being overwhelmed/bored/whatever (used-up by The Machine).But it’s still interesting, effective and fun as anthropology, if not profound.Already, the “crowd” has taken ownership, and is advising, crafting, revising, innovating, and even promoting (as I’m doing here). With 9 million+ views and counting, copied-and-translated into many languages, could this “modern antiquity” become a classic?

Posted in media, web 2.0, education, Linkedin, video, design, wordpress, marketing, RSS | 1 Comment »

May 28, 2009 by Robert.

 We’ve passed a historic milestone with more than 50% of North America living in cities.  That number is expected to grow — some say to 80% or more.

 Here’s a thought: instead of gobbling-up farm land, cutting-down forests, and plowing-up pristine wilderness… why not combine urban renewal with urban farming? Why not use poorly-planned sections of a city, under-performing commericial real estate projects, empty shopping malls and retail storefronts for farming?

Does the idea of a farm in a shopping mall sound silly to you?  This video may change your thinking:

I suspect that if we’re shipping fresh California produce across the Pacific Ocean to Japan and elsewhere, and bringing tomatoes in from Mexico and grapes from Chile… there has got to be a pretty good profit margin on organic produce that can be reliably grown year-round near or directly within

• densely-populated 
• residential areas
• downtown and retail centers (with offices and restaurants)
• airports, railroads, and ocean ports

The recession is hurting shopping malls and the recent string of big-box store closures have blighted otherwise high-traffic areas across America.

One draw-back to urban farming — the creative re-use of retail or warehouse space for farming –is job density. Indoor farming is not very labor-instensive (not like a retail store, anyway).

But a farmer’s market does provide some jobs.  And it could enhance a community, and it could help to revive foot-traffic in an otherwise sluggish strip-mall or shopping district.

So, despite minimal job creation, a suburban farm supplying organic produce to local stores, restaurants, and food services could help to increase the tax base of a community.  And the location might also be used for adult education or recreational gardening classes.

Is there a big empty warehouse or stand-alone building in your town that might make a good indoor farm?  Would you like to turn a portion of your property into a demonstration farm?  Are your solar panels generating more power than you can use?  Please let me know.

 If you’re interested in the latest on this topic, or if you’d like to educate me on this topic, please follow @grownupfoods on Twitter.

Posted in city planning, community development, urban renewal, public policy, social ventures, suburban infill, infill development, ag tech, agriculture, organic farming, redevelopment, ventures, jobs, development, nonprofit, investing, politics, Linkedin, finance, energy, small business, stimulus, schools, renewable energy | No Comments »