Being Real as Opposed to Getting Real

I got an email today from one of the many email newsletters I subscribe to - nothing really new and existing about that. But what was new - was the tone of this email. The Author apologized for having a great year last year - and probably getting off the track - in the name of building business.

He then when on to state who [and why] he wanted to do business with. He clearly stated in the email that if you don't fit please feel free to unsubscribe - no harm no foul. I find that blunt honesty refreshing.

He decided he didn't want to be everything to everybody - he wanted to be a somebody to a few people - that he could really help and educate. No excuses. If you don't fit - that's fine - because he's not really there to help you. If you don't understand - he's not there to help you.

We all should be that honest in your business and personal lives.

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Springwise | Trends and Ideas from Around the World

It appears the whole world is turning Mobile.  And that is the growth in the market right now.  Hardware it's all about being mobile.  Storage it's all about the "cloud" and sharing files or backing them up.  Applications it's all about mobile access through browers or your phone.  So - what becomes important?  Having a mobile platform [believe the OS will continue to be unimportant to anyone by those that develop the OS and developers choosing what platforms to develop for] and your location.

 

So Mobile and Location is the big trend right now in technology.  Products and services in those areas are key.  Enjoy!

 

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Here are the new business ideas that caught our attention this week:

App enables live video direction across multiple mobile devices
	The ability to direct a live video shoot across multiple cameras in real time has historically been a luxury reserved for professionally equipped directors. However, once again, app-based technology has turned a well-established norm on its head. Offering the same capability to anyone in possession of a smartphone or tablet, we recently came across CollabraCam. READ MORE...

Portraits created from Twitter users' tweets
	Regular readers of Springwise may remember Social Print Studio, the service that created posters from collections of Facebook friends or Twitter followers. In a similar vein, we recently came across Netherlands-based Kunst Buzz, who are upping the personalization ante by creating users' images out of a Twitter user's tweets. READ MORE...

In India, mobile water tracking system updates local residents
	The reliability of water supply is a major issue for millions of households in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Although water is meant to be delivered to communities via a piped supply on a rotational schedule, the water often isn't being piped when it should be — leaving families waiting indefinitely for supplies. Hoping to provide a solution, we recently came across NextDrop. READ MORE...

Easter chicks for rent from Michigan farm
	We've seen try-before-you-buy urban chicken farming and we've seen household pets offered up for rent. Combining a bit of each, Michigan-based J&M Farm is now offering "Easter chicks" for two-week rentals, giving kids and families a short-term taste of what it's like to raise the real thing. READ MORE...

In Japan, real-world gifts sent via Twitter
	It's been several years since we first saw the emergence of real-world gifting capabilities for online friends, and it appears the trend is still going strong. After beginning in the Facebook realm, though, we're now seeing the gift-minded offerings move to Twitter as well — now with Japanese Giftee. READ MORE...

Gourmet airline food served for free from roving New York truck
	We've seen food trucks experience a surge in popularity over recent years, usually using Twitter or Facebook to keep potential diners updated on their whereabouts. Just recently we saw the Roving Mammoth putting an alpine twist on the concept, and now we've discovered Air France putting another new spin on the food truck: free food! READ MORE...

Whiskey and espresso for shoppers at Sydney shirt store
	If consumers can drink coffee or eat pizza while they shop for books, then why not let them sip whiskey or java while they contemplate a rack of shirts? That, indeed, is much the premise behind Shirt Bar, an Australian venture that offers an assortment of dark spirits and fresh espresso drinks for the pleasure of its visiting customers. READ MORE...

Cross-platform digital magazine adapts to the reader's device

We've seen numerous innovations in the word of online publishing, from a magazine that detects and adapts to users' reading interests, to digital books focusing on reader immersion through interaction. The latest spotting? The Toronto Standard is a newly relaunched web-based magazine that's been designed from the ground up to span digital platforms, adapting automatically to the reader's viewing device. READ MORE...

Giant sticky notes feature templates for web & mobile design
	Necessity is the mother of invention, as the old saying goes, and we'd be hard-pressed to find a better example than UX stickynotes. Targeting designers of web pages and mobile apps, the self-adhesive sheets of paper feature pre-printed browser and iPhone templates, making it easy to visualize and explain new interface designs. READ MORE...

Local networking platform offers community and care for pets
	The cost of caring for pets can often be a burden for owners, and we've already seen initiatives such as Coupawz stepping in to offer a helping hand. Now, hoping to relieve the financial pressures associated with pet care, we recently came across US-based Pet It Forward. READ MORE...

Brandable sleeves help consumers mark their bottle of beer
	Evenings spent at a busy party or bar can often cause drinkers to lose track of their beverages. Wine drinkers already have wine charms to identify their glasses, and now — thanks to BeerTag — there's an equivalent for beer drinkers too. READ MORE...

Combined deliveries from small, local grocers
	It was just a few short months ago that we covered the UK's Beelocal grocery delivery service, and already we have occasion to cover yet another like-minded venture. Also in the UK, London-based Hubbub lets customers place online grocery orders with multiple local shops and receive a single, aggregated delivery to the door. READ MORE...

In London, public transport travel gets gamified
	We've already noted the rise of gaming as a way to create engagement among consumers, but we didn't expect to see it applied so soon to something as seemingly mundane as public transport. Sure enough, though, Chromaroma is a new application from UK-based Mudlark that turns Tube travel in London into a rewarding game. READ MORE...

Urban farming expands onto school grounds
	Community-supported agriculture is not an unfamiliar concept for regular Springwise readers, nor are the often-associated add-ons of bicycle-based produce delivery and compost services. Canadian Fresh Roots Urban Farm offers all of these; what sets it apart, however, is a series of partnerships it's formed with local schools in the Vancouver area to create urban farms on school land. READ MORE...

Brazilian video rental service distributes using USB drives
	Just as the music industry is struggling against the popularity of illegal downloads, so too the film industry is being badly affected by movie piracy. But just as DATAROCK have turned to USB pens to fight back, we recently discovered Brazil-based 100% Video adopting USB pen drives to widen the circulation of legal movie rentals. READ MORE...

Connecting buyers and sellers of agricultural goods & services

We've featured countless online exchanges over the years that connect buyers and sellers of a wide variety of goods. Zeroing in on the agricultural domain there's been Eggzy, for example, targeting home chicken farmers, as well as Veggie Trader and Local Dirt, to name just a few. The latest spotting — Farmbook — however, is an international agricultural marketplace based in Russia that aims to help both companies and individuals around the world market their agricultural goods. READ MORE...

Our next issue will arrive in your inbox on 27 April 2011.  You can also check out our daily posts, subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Can't wait to tell your friends & colleagues about this newsletter? Just use our handy tell-a-friend tool. Thanks for spreading the word! Warm regards, Chris Turner Senior Editor chris@springwise.com

Wait, there's more! Interested in industry-specific ideas? You can access everything we've published in our idea database, which is conveniently organized by industry. Want to subscribe? Was this message forwarded to you? Join 100,000+ other subscribers and get your own free subscription. Want to contribute? Check out Springspotters, our network of 8,000+ spotters. Sign up today to start earning gifts. Our contact details Springwise BV, a 53rd Floor BV company Address: Springwise, 9 Argyll Street, W1F 7TQ, London, United Kingdom Web address: www.springwise.com Email address: info@springwise.com

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