Social Hallucinations

Meaningful Branded Content

Amazing project from Red Bull Stratos. Breaking the barriers and exploration. Really WOW in terms of idea and doing something meaningful. The idea is incredible: they send skydiver and base jumper Felix Baumgartner to at least 120,000 feet above the earth and he will attempt a stratospheric free fall jump - the longest in the history of man - and hopefully will become the first human to break the speed of sound with his own body. It is so awesome!

"Red Bull Stratos will attempt to make history and deliver valuable learnings for medical and scientific advancement that will aid the exploration of space in future years."

Making a difference and making something extraordinary! I am so in love in this project.

The 6 types of ideas

via Tom Fisburne 

We shall not flag or fail. We shall slow down in the office, and on the roads.

In times where politicians and different arts of gurus tell us we need to work harder, run faster and just give everything out of ourselves, The International Institute of Not Doing Much seems like an uplifting and fresh initiative. Running fast all the time will not bring the fruits we expect as we simply get tired and our performance will be weaken. Like every machine, humans need to take a break for servicing and refueling. On the website of The International Institute of Not Doing Much you can learn a lot about slowing down and not doing too much. What I liked the most is the advice to cultivate dreams not aspirations. 

 

Here is 10 tips on how to slow down:

1. Drink a cup of tea, put your feet up and stare idly out of the window. Warning: Do not attempt this while driving.

2. Do one thing at a time. Remember multitasking is a moral weakness (except for women who have superior brain function.)

3. Do not be pushed into answering questions. A response is not the same as an answer. Ponder, take your time.

4. Learn our Slow Manifesto.

5. Yawn often. Medical studies have shown lots of things, and possibly that yawning may be good for you.

6. Spend more time in bed. You have a better chance of cultivating your dreams (not your aspirations.)

7. Read the slow stories.

8. Spend more time in the bathtub. (See letter from Major Smythe-Blunder.)

9. Practice doing nothing. (Yes this is the difficult one.)

10. Avoid too much seriousness. Laugh, because you're live on earth for a limited time only.

via Crackunit

"Radical Abundance: How We Get Past "Free"

Douglas Rushkoff on "Radical Abundance: How We Get Past "Free" and Learn to Exchange Value Again" 

We know so much about the supply chain and so little about 'the removal chain'

Trash Track is an awesome project that visualizes individual traces of trash objects. Everyday objects at some point in their life cycle are declared of no more use by their owners and cross the fine line between being a proudly owned utility item and a trash object. 

How the system works?

 
 

Data can be so beautiful and useful. 

via InfluxInsight

The importance of digital literacy

Howard Rheingold on the importance the literacy in participation and sharing is what will decide whether Internet will be useful tool or garbage. 

The Internet as Playground and Factory - Howard Rheingold from Voices from The Internet as Play on Vimeo.

Technology and Us

Image via Wikipedia

Douglas Adams’ “rules that describe our reactions to technologies”:

Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

Anything that’s invented between when you’re 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.

Anything invented after you’re 35 is against the natural order of things.

Walking Makes a Difference

2 days ago I wrote about the need for companies to give back to society, about the approach that is not about planning, modeling but DOING. Seeding in order to harvest. And this morning I stumbled upon this interesting solution - Pavegen.The idea behind is simple: creating energy from people's footsteps. So in fact people save energy, make a difference without any effort...well they walk but they would do it no matter what, so it is a win win for all parts: people and the Earth. Great idea!