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May 22, 2012
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Many an entrepreneur—even the most level-headed—has been distracted at some point by dreams of overnight success. But seasoned tech investor Rowan Simpson, who’s seen his share of startups, reckons this can breed a myriad of misconceptions about growing a business. This week he wraps up The Mythical Startup, a series of blogs exploring the key tenets to venture prosperity (a version of which appears in the latest Idealog). Find out to attract investors, create real value and establish the right end goal, backed up with lessons learned by the likes of the founders of Delicious and LinkedIn.
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Edward Tufte occupies a revered and solitary post in the world of graphics. A statistician and graphic design theorist, Tufte has spent the last 30 years refining the art of taking raw information and transforming it into something that’s easily understood at first glance by the layperson, something that’s easier said than done. In short, he’s heading the revolution in data visualisation, and we’re better off for it.
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The global calendar is pretty well populated with any number of film festivals, so the launch of yet another mightn’t be an event to blink at. But this July will see the launch of the world’s first Robot Film Festival in New York, which founder Heather Knight hopes will “inject a sense of playfulness” into traditional science and engineering. Knight is a roboticist who runs Marilyn Monrobot Labs, which creates socially intelligent robot performances and sensor-based electronic art (she’s also one of the people who worked on OK Go’s viral video, This Too Shall Pass). Since entries opened a week ago, clips featuring robot characters have been submitted from all around the world (although not from NZ, as far as we know).
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From wristbands to t-shirts, and concerts to text donations, there’s been a bunch of generous and creative fundraising initiatives in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake. The latest comes courtesy of graphic design company Ratio, whose creative director Peter Oxley spotted a gap for something that could be deemed more of a collector’s item. Result: a poster which presents NZ as a typographic map, illustrating cities, towns and other geographical points as letters of the alphabet (Christchurch is marked in red). At $100 a pop, Oxley hopes to raise $50k, with all sales going to the Red Cross appeal.
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This Queen’s Birthday, embrace the past with fellow Handmade 2011 attendees at Te Papa in Wellington. It’s the place for people who want to learn the skills and crafts of previous generations but with a touch of modern flair. From cheese and soap-making to crochet and DIY, workshops, masterclasses and lectures will equip you with everything you need to know. Come to as few or as many as you like depending on your budget and time (weekend passes are available).
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Would you like to stretch your digital media muscles under the tutelage of expert practitioners? Next month up to 10 selected teams will spend a weekend producing a two-minute story-based project for either mobile or web as part of a Massey University-AUT workshop. The workshop is open to groups of 1-3, which must cover the roles of writer, producer, director, editor, sound
recordist and cameraperson. Applications close next week; see the website for more details.
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Flexible working arrangements are more and more common these days, but what if you don’t have a spare room to turn into an office? Well, you could always set up an OfficePod in the backyard: fully fitted with integrated desk, storage and a locking system, it can be put together in the space of a day. The British invention is weathertight and can be easily relocated as needed (either indoors or outdoors); you don’t get much more versatile than that.
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Meet the Miniatur Wunderland, home to the world’s largest model airport. Spread over 150 square metres in Hamburg, Germany, it features 40 different airplanes that take off and land up to 360 times each day. The concept was first born in 2004 and is finally open to visitors, complete with lit-up runways, tow trucks, cars and of course aircraft. While there are plenty of videos of it in action, it’s especially impressive by night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kkhhlezdSU
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Quote of the week
When you first start out, and actually for quite a while afterwards,
it’s hard to differentiate between a hockey stick growth curve and a
flat line. - Rowan Simpson on the reality of a slow burn
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