5 October 2009
4 September 2009
Posting from iPhone
This is an experiment to check blogging software.
Only problem is no way to include images.
Only problem is no way to include images.
30 August 2009
25 May 2009
Global Travel Sites for Taxi's & Hotels
Two new travel tools are now part of my travel toolkit. I recommend them for everyone who has to travel to many different cities in different countries.
First, the International Taxi Fare Calculator. Taxi costs vary from city to city. Even though this site is still in Beta, it can calculate your fare from airport to accommodation in major cities listed in their drop down menu. I've used it a few times already, and it has been pretty close to what I've had to pay.
The second recommendation is Wotif.com to find amazing accommodation deals at GREAT RATES for a broad range of hotels, motels, apartments, resorts and bed & breakfasts around the world. You can even book last-minute for rates you would never expect - at 5 star hotels as well. They are taking the empty rooms and managing "room sales".
Would like to know how you've experienced these.
First, the International Taxi Fare Calculator. Taxi costs vary from city to city. Even though this site is still in Beta, it can calculate your fare from airport to accommodation in major cities listed in their drop down menu. I've used it a few times already, and it has been pretty close to what I've had to pay.
The second recommendation is Wotif.com to find amazing accommodation deals at GREAT RATES for a broad range of hotels, motels, apartments, resorts and bed & breakfasts around the world. You can even book last-minute for rates you would never expect - at 5 star hotels as well. They are taking the empty rooms and managing "room sales".
Would like to know how you've experienced these.
14 April 2009
Start-ups - the Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Everyone is looking for the next big thing. Business organizations use their experience on all levels to take advantage of trends, indicators, brand behaviour and assessments to identify the perfect gap to fill.
What do start-ups do?
No start-up is the same, except in their naiveté.
My experience in helping start-ups or participating in them is that it should be all about the people and how to mobilise their expertise. A start-up is a joint venture at its most basic level. What is the inventory of each person's assets in four arenas - personal, relationships. creativity and knowledge, and material? How have they applied those assets in the past? What is the potential for applying those assets in the future? What assets do they have that are not yet valued? Look for the demonstrated and forensic evidence that each person can contribute something necessary to actually build a business around a great idea.
After that, it's all about how well they work together and learn how to handle situations together. Are they solo players or team players? Have they identified the essence of their brand and its unique behaviour? Do they understand basic business practices and how to work as an organization to deliver that unique brand - including managing the relationships that will help build their business? Have they got evaluation criteria in place for making decisions together - and how much value those decisions generate?
Finally, who is going to ground the pie-in-the-sky big idea into a working framework with blueprints to actually build and grow a business around that idea? Who is going to position that idea with the right communication so that everyone who needs to know about the idea will be drawn into the business of that idea? Who is going to lead the people and the business in the direction it needs to go?
What do start-ups do? What's your experience - the the good, the bad and the ugly?
What do start-ups do?
No start-up is the same, except in their naiveté.
My experience in helping start-ups or participating in them is that it should be all about the people and how to mobilise their expertise. A start-up is a joint venture at its most basic level. What is the inventory of each person's assets in four arenas - personal, relationships. creativity and knowledge, and material? How have they applied those assets in the past? What is the potential for applying those assets in the future? What assets do they have that are not yet valued? Look for the demonstrated and forensic evidence that each person can contribute something necessary to actually build a business around a great idea.
After that, it's all about how well they work together and learn how to handle situations together. Are they solo players or team players? Have they identified the essence of their brand and its unique behaviour? Do they understand basic business practices and how to work as an organization to deliver that unique brand - including managing the relationships that will help build their business? Have they got evaluation criteria in place for making decisions together - and how much value those decisions generate?
Finally, who is going to ground the pie-in-the-sky big idea into a working framework with blueprints to actually build and grow a business around that idea? Who is going to position that idea with the right communication so that everyone who needs to know about the idea will be drawn into the business of that idea? Who is going to lead the people and the business in the direction it needs to go?
What do start-ups do? What's your experience - the the good, the bad and the ugly?
12 March 2009
Periodic Table of Typefaces
I really enjoy people turning their ideas into Periodic Tables. Here's a new one thanks to Download Squad: 
Periodic Table of Typefaces
Awhile back I also posted the Periodic Table Printmaking Project and a Periodic Table of Visualization Methods.
Periodic Table of TypefacesAwhile back I also posted the Periodic Table Printmaking Project and a Periodic Table of Visualization Methods.
3 March 2009
Aha! Twitter Is Personal
When I first decided to make the plunge and start Twittering (actually pushed by some serious users), I thought I would do that as @quantumbrands. Branding, technology, and social media are woven together by people and their communities. It became very quickly obvious that I needed a business Twitter and a personal Twitter.
We see the world through such a different perspective in our roles in business than through our human being roles of just being ourselves. I have contact with different groups of people in business - and follow them for different reasons. With Twitter @colbystuart, I reach more lofty ideals and more conscious choice about my personal interests and fascinations.
Are you Twittering in different identities? Why?
We see the world through such a different perspective in our roles in business than through our human being roles of just being ourselves. I have contact with different groups of people in business - and follow them for different reasons. With Twitter @colbystuart, I reach more lofty ideals and more conscious choice about my personal interests and fascinations.
Are you Twittering in different identities? Why?
4 February 2009
EnlightenNext - Magazine for Evolutionaries
"EnlightenNext - The Magazine for Evolutionaries" is sharing a digital version of its December 2008-February 2009 edition. Definitely worth a read for inspiration and to provoke some new thinking on evolutionary processes.
Their own description of the magazine: "Through in-depth interviews and insightful cultural analysis, EnlightenNext offers new ways of thinking about ourselves, our world, and the future we are here to create."
After you read it, ask yourself "What did it awaken in me?"
Their own description of the magazine: "Through in-depth interviews and insightful cultural analysis, EnlightenNext offers new ways of thinking about ourselves, our world, and the future we are here to create."
After you read it, ask yourself "What did it awaken in me?"
3 February 2009
A Deep Breath, A Fresh Beginning
I'm sitting here enjoying a cup of tea. The installer has just moved the telephone line from the old studio to my flat - a temporary solution until I find a new work studio. It's quiet, and I feel relaxed and reflective.
What a change from this upheaval of 2 months of moving out of our work space. We've unloaded so much "stuff" that no longer served a purpose in our lives or our way of working. It creates more space - to think, to do, to create.
Creative Awareness
I want to do for myself and my business partner what we've been doing for clients for years - re-purpose and re-launch our brand. When you've been in the creative industry of communication, advertising and media for 30+ years, you need a fresh look at the world and your role in it. We want Quantum Brands BV to have real meaning for our clients - and to create more virtual work and learning environments. We want to build on the values that have meaning for us: creativity, adventure, wisdom, joy, passion.
poster www.MarkAndrewWebber.com
Today, I am making a list of things I really enjoy doing. ( I already have that list of things I never want to do again.)
I am also reading through the blogs I've aggregated in Bloglines with pleasure - seeing what catches my eye and my interest. What's hot? What's not?
Though I will continue to dedicate much of my time to Kids 2020 Foundation, I need to discover the kind of work that gratifies the soul of my creativity. Without that, how I can expect myself to inspire others?
What are you doing that really awakens your creativity and brings you to life? Take a deep breath...and...
What a change from this upheaval of 2 months of moving out of our work space. We've unloaded so much "stuff" that no longer served a purpose in our lives or our way of working. It creates more space - to think, to do, to create.
Creative Awareness
I want to do for myself and my business partner what we've been doing for clients for years - re-purpose and re-launch our brand. When you've been in the creative industry of communication, advertising and media for 30+ years, you need a fresh look at the world and your role in it. We want Quantum Brands BV to have real meaning for our clients - and to create more virtual work and learning environments. We want to build on the values that have meaning for us: creativity, adventure, wisdom, joy, passion.
poster www.MarkAndrewWebber.com
Today, I am making a list of things I really enjoy doing. ( I already have that list of things I never want to do again.)
I am also reading through the blogs I've aggregated in Bloglines with pleasure - seeing what catches my eye and my interest. What's hot? What's not?
Though I will continue to dedicate much of my time to Kids 2020 Foundation, I need to discover the kind of work that gratifies the soul of my creativity. Without that, how I can expect myself to inspire others?
What are you doing that really awakens your creativity and brings you to life? Take a deep breath...and...
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