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We've seen a few different high-tech methods of keeping tabs on roaming pets--through GPS and RFID, in particular — but Canadian Blanket Online ID takes a different approach. Its BlanketID tag taps into the web to facilitate just about everything that could help a lost pet get home. Pet owners begin by purchasing a Canadian-made BlanketID tag for CAD 24.99 and then registering it with the British Columbia-based service. The tags come in a wide variety of colours and patterns, and CAD 3 from the sale price of each tag goes toward the company's fund for animals in need. Included in that price is also the owner's first year of membership in the BlanketID service. As part of the registration process, pet owners create an online record of their contact details as well as photos, medical notes and other details about their pet; that information is available for editing and updating as it changes over time, so new tags need never be ordered if an address or phone number changes. Should a pet with a BlanketID go missing, the owner simply notifies the service, and it will automatically send a broadcast email to the local SPCA, animal hospitals, shelters and other local BlanketID members. Included in that email is a link to the owner's online data so that everybody has 24/7 access to all the information they might need to help identify the lost pet. Owners, meanwhile, can print a “Lost Pet” poster from their BlanketID.com account. When the pet is found, the finder can enter the BlanketID tag number at the company's website to gain immediate access to all of the information they need to care for and safely return the pet. Traditional, engraved pet tags have room for limited information and can only help while they're still on the pet, while the BlanketID's online information means that shelters and vets can watch out for and identify a pet even if its collar is gone. Currently, the BlanketID broadcast service operates only in North America, which leaves plenty of opportunities for distributors in other parts of the world. Website: www.blanketid.com Spotted by: Jamie Mollas |
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Thanks to webcams and the power of the internet, consumers can already perform an increasing number of tasks remotely, including vegetable gardening and planning trips to the local health clinic. Our latest spotting? A Swedish effort that lets people snap live photos of real, mountaintop reindeer for inclusion on their very own Christmas cards. Four cameras are trained on a group of real reindeer atop Sweden's Funäsdalen Mountain, where they're being cared for by reindeer herder Niklas Blindh and a team of helpers. For SEK 15, or roughly USD 2.25, consumers can focus the live cameras in on a scene they like, snap a photo and have it printed and sent with greetings as a Christmas card to their loved ones; worldwide postage is included. Users can also vote on the photos snapped so far in a gallery on the site. The Living Christmas Card effort, as it's called — or Levande Julkort in Swedish — was created by Posten, Sweden's postal service. The world may be an increasingly homogenized place, but sometimes there's nothing like a local, (still) made here touch. We wouldn't be surprised, in fact, to see a charitable angle added to an effort like this, with the goal of protecting reindeer habitats around the planet. In addition, it's refreshing to see a national postal service target consumers worldwide. (Related: Novelty telegram service, $4.70 worldwide.) Website: www.livingchristmascards.com Spotted by: Erik Boltjes |
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If consumers can give gifts to their Facebook friends, shouldn't they be able to do something similar on Twitter? Such, indeed, is exactly the premise behind Wondertüte's Gift a Follower, a site that gives Twitter users an easy, inexpensive way to thank their best followers. A sister site to Pay with a Tweet, which we covered earlier this year, Gift a Follower can actually be used for both Twitter and Facebook friends. Either way, gift-givers pay only USD 1 per gift via PayPal; that, in turn, entitles the recipient to one “grab” into what the site calls “the internet's surprise bag.” Possible items they may come away with include links to “cool, weird, fun and fascinating stuff online”; donations made in their name to reputable charities; gift cards and coupons from major brands; or even gadgets such as flip cams or iPads. New York-based Wondertüte welcomes inquiries from brands interested in adding their own offerings to its virtual “grab bag.” Gifts given through the site, meanwhile, can be sent only to U.S. users — one to partner with or emulate in other parts of the world. (Related: Swapping content for a tweet or Facebook mention — Real packages for virtual friends, no address required — Personalized gift raps via Facebook.) Website: www.giftafollower.com |
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Business relationships are not all that different from romantic ones in many ways, which is why the concept behind MatchFounders is so intriguing. The same can be said, in fact, of Spain's ESADE Business School, which now holds “speed dating”-style events with the aim of matching MBA students with real-world projects. Launched last year, ESADE's Innovation Speed Dating program is a joint initiative between the school's Entrepreneurship Institute and Career Services department that's designed to help full-time MBA students studying entrepreneurship find innovative projects to participate in. At the program's inaugural event, 100 or so MBA students were paired with representatives of 27 local business ideas ranging from self-heating smart fabrics designed for health-care applications to a new mobile phone application that lets users find the nearest taxi. Students were given information on each project ahead of time, allowing them to plan who they were most interested in meeting. Then, following the traditional speed dating format, participants at the event underwent a series of brief face-to-face encounters that let everyone meet and get to know each other. Those who seemed to “click” could then further the relationship afterwards, potentially leading to the launch of a new company. Turns out speed dating is also being applied to business at competing Spanish B-school EADA, which has held similar events for executives and headhunters as well as for alumni networking, according to a report on ElPais.com. Clearly, the idea has merit, and is worth considering if you're in education, recruiting or HR. (Related: Applying the speed dating model to roommates — Mixers for babysitters and moms.) Website: www.esade.edu Spotted by: Leticia Pérez Prieto |
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It's a well-known fact that tourists typically get a very different view of a city than locals do, but it's a pretty safe bet that participants in Sock Mob Events tours get an even more different view than most. That's because Sock Mob's Unseen Tours of London are led by none other than homeless residents of the city streets themselves. Inspired by London's Sock Mob, which is a volunteer group that engages routinely with London's homeless, Unseen Tours offer an entertaining and poignant walk through the streets of London with trained homeless guides, giving participants a historical but also unexplored perspective. The tours interweave the guides' own stories and experiences, giving participants a view of the city through the lens of homelessness while introducing a new social consciousness into commercial walking tours. Four routes are currently available — more are coming soon, the group says — each culminating in a “merry pub trip” at the end. Pricing is GBP 5 or GBP 8 per walk, depending on what the participant can afford, and two free places per tour are always set aside for people who are unable to pay and/or are accompanying someone as a care-giver. Launched on World Homeless Day — 10 Oct. 2010 — Unseen Tours happen at 7pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. In offering its Unseen Tours, Sock Mob aims not only to provide tour participants with a different view of the city, but also to empower the homeless and restore their confidence. The “lion's share” of the tour's proceeds goes to the guides, the group says, with any profit getting reinvested directly back into the enterprise to engage more guides and widen the scope of the offered tours. Ultimately, the group hopes to turn over the reins of the enterprise to one of the homeless guides themselves, and to spread the concept to other cities. (Related: Specialist tours of London — Niche tours focus on sustainable London — Blind guides take sighted on sensorial walking tours of Lisbon — Guided travel for photographers.) Website: www.sockmobevents.org.uk Spotted by: Kevin de Caluwé |
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The social networks for travellers are coming fast and furious! The virtual ink had barely dried on our story about Bumped.in earlier this month when we got word of not just one but two more social networks targeting those on the go. Danish Planely, for example, gives air travellers a way to hook up with others who have similar itineraries. Users need only log into the free service's website or connect via Facebook, and give it their flight details. Planely will then return with information about who else is travelling on the same plane or arriving and departing in the same time frame at the same airports. From there, users can connect with those who look interesting and make arrangements to meet up. A video on Vimeo demonstrates Planely in action. Coming soon from the site will be a way for users to see if their travel overlaps with that of anyone they already know through their social networks, it says. Along similar lines, is Find a Flight Buddy, a new app on Facebook. There, users can enter their planned mode of travel — plane, train or bus — and other relevant details to get information about who will be travelling in the same place at the same time. Meanwhile, Eezeerator, which we featured last year, has also added a find-a-buddy feature to help its users find fellow travelers while waiting at airports or checking into hotels. Add Foursquare to the mix, and this is becoming a crowded space for new startups! (Related: Trip-planning site helps find others to travel the world with — Connecting airline travellers for a shared cab — Londoners share lifts to Luton airport — Enhanced networking for business travellers — Sympvertising and secrets for business travellers.) Website: www.planely.com — apps.facebook.com/flightbuddy Spotted by: Murray Orange |
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Finding quality feedback and advice on the feasibility of their ideas has always been a challenge for entrepreneurs. Traditional consulting firms remain out of reach, while free advice from friends and family can lack true objectivity. Hoping to fill this gap, Austrian feedbackers.biz offers quick, professional advice on new business ideas. The company employs a team of consultants who will assess an idea within 24 hours as part of a USD 99 'Quick Check'. Potential clients fill out a contact form and they are then contacted for a detailed discussion of the idea in question. At this point, they may request feedbackers.biz to focus on a particular area, such as design or competitors. The service — which is available in English, French, German, Russian and Spanish — promises to evaluate each aspect of a business plan, from the strengths, weaknesses and risk factors associated with the concept to the accuracy of financial calculations. A 'Close Look' option is also available clients who seek more comprehensive analysis of their plans. The main challenge for feedbackers.biz is to prove that its advice is valid. For example by including client testimonials and offering more information about its consultants. And how about publishing a sample analysis? In order to succeed, it will also need to be able to reassure potential clients that it won't 'steal' their ideas. That said, there's definitely a market for professional advice with reasonable and transparent pricing. Website: www.feedbackers.biz Spotted by Marc Zafiriadis
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Product comparison site Reevoo offers over 1 million reviews on a vast range of products, going up against similar services from the likes of Epinions and Amazon's hosted reviews. However, consumers faced with such overwhelming choice can now turn to an alternative offering of curated product selections from Reevoo. Just buy this one sidesteps the information overload provided by its parent site, instead taking the cumulative ratings of reviews to offer a single recommendation for each product category. Nine categories are featured, including laptops, TVs, toasters and vacuum cleaners, with multiple price points available for each. The site simply offers an image of the best rated product alongside a brief list of features and the best price available — with a link to buy. If they want more information, customers can click through to Reevoo at any point to see the full range of products and reviews. There is wealth of information available online that helps consumers to weigh up the evidence and make informed decisions, but what can you do to cater to those who have little time, or inclination, to do the research themselves…? Website: www.justbuythisone.com |
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For many years, companies such as Tupperware and Avon have been demonstrating and selling their wares to groups of women in their own homes, while their male counterparts have had little by the way of in-home retail opportunities. In order to redress the balance, Minneapolis-based Man Cave is now offering a similar service to men in the US. Launched in 2009, Man Cave offers a selection of 'Man Food', BBQ accessories and gifts. The meat is grain fed and hormone-free, while the grilling products come with a lifetime guarantee. The company's multi-level marketing strategy employs 'Man Cave Advisors', who are provided with a package of Man Cave products at a discounted rate. They are then asked to host grilling demonstrations where they can earn up to 35 percent commission on sales of Man Cave products. Attendees at these 'MEATings' are invited to sample free food and beer while they watch the BBQ equipment in action. Any purchases are then shipped directly to the customer. Taking a tried and tested concept and applying it to an underserved audience, are more markets waiting for in-home sales opportunities…? (Related: Parties help guests sell their gold — Tasting parties for foodies — Nationwide tryvertising parties — Masculine cupcakes for men) Website: www.mancaveworldwide.com Spotted by Luke H |
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All the many environmental offenses that have been committed by Styrofoam over the years have made it a prime candidate for replacement by an eco-friendly alternative. That's a big part of the motivation behind Ecovative's Greensulate, which we covered back in 2008, and it's also a key factor underlying the creation of AeroClay. AeroClay is a Styrofoam substitute that's formulated using an eco-friendly, water-based chemistry incorporating clay and polymer blends. Known for its extremely low density and high air content — it's roughly 95 to 99 percent air by volume — AeroClay is based on a patented technology developed at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. First, clay is dispersed in water and mixed with milk-based polymers; then, it's poured into a mold and freeze-dried. In addition to being lightweight and made from readily available materials, AeroClay is also biodegradable. After being compressed, it springs back to its original shape. Perhaps best of all is that by manipulating the manufacturing processes and materials used, AeroClay products can be produced with a variety of different properties and a wide range of possible uses. One to test out for your next green-minded venture...? Website: www.aeroclayinc.com Spotted by: Ken Green |
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iPhone apps have become an essential part of doing business in many industries today, and we've seen several companies spring up to help make that happen. Focusing on restaurants, there's Blue Shoe Mobile Solutions, for example; for bands, there's Mobile Roadie. Now, taking a more generalized approach — and hoping to put some control back in content creators' hands — there's AppMakr, a platform that lets anyone create an iPhone app of their very own. Now in beta, AppMakr is a browser-based platform from San Francisco-based PointAbout that's designed to make creating an iPhone app quick and easy. The site can be used by anyone with existing content, and it includes features such as push-notifications for direct alert messaging to an app's users, native photo galleries, location-aware GeoRSS, App Quality Index (AQI) for iTunes App Store approval recommendations, custom CSS and JavaScript capabilities, social network sharing and mobile ad network integration for content monetization. App styling can be customized to match the brand, and creators can decide whether or not to charge anything for their app. AppMakr is free for users publishing under their own brand; for USD 999, the service will take care of everything and publish the resulting app under the AppMakr brand. Phone support is also available for USD 120 per hour. One recent example of an app developed using the platform is MetroBizSc, targeting all those affiliated with Finland's Metropolia Business School. (And created by John Greene, who spotted AppMakr for us and regularly contributes to our Springspotters network.) Given the ubiquity of mobile apps today, it makes perfect sense to see the emergence of an all-purpose facilitator. Of course, the iPhone isn't the only popular mobile device, and AppMakr just so happens to be seeking “adventurous Android owners to help us by playing with something really cool.” One to get involved in early — or to try out for your own app-minded brand? Website: www.appmakr.com Spotted by: John Greene |
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It's no longer uncommon to see cities and towns with Christmas tree recycling programs. What is unusual is to see a locally focused one such as what Parisians will be enjoying this year, whereby recycled Christmas trees go toward fertilizing the city's own green spaces. Between 27 December and 23 January, collection points will be open for old Christmas trees in 95 parks and gardens throughout Paris. Consumers need only bring their trees to the collection spot nearest them. From there, the tree will be crushed and used to enrich the soil in local parks, serving to restrict weeds and reduce evaporation. This is Paris's fourth year of recycling Christmas trees in this way, and the program is growing rapidly. From 15,000 trees recycled in 2007-2008, the number grew to 27,150 in 2009-2010, the city says. A video on Daily Motion explains the program in further detail. In all too many recycling programs, the beneficiaries are not always clear, so it's nice to see one that keeps the benefits in the local community. Next, a similar local focus needs to be incorporated into other types of recycling as well... who will help make that happen? (Related: Rental & adoption Christmas trees: delivered, picked up & replanted — Used cooking oil for ultra-local candlemaking in Tokyo.) Website: www.paris.fr/portail/accueil/Portal.lut?page_id=1&document_type_id=2&document_id=93507&portlet_id=24329 Spotted by: Irene Festa |
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Just as the intangibility of travel can make it tricky to give as a gift, so the same can be said of charitable donations. That's where the Causes Gift Card comes in, with a physical card for gift-giving purposes that lets the recipient decide which charity will benefit. Similar in many ways to Donny Card and Good Card from LavishGiving.com — sadly, both are now defunct, it appears — the Causes Gift Card is available in USD 25 and USD 50 denominations at Safeway and Vons grocery stores throughout California. Gift-givers simply purchase the (fully tax-deductible) card of their choice and give it to the recipient, who can then choose from more than a million nonprofits at Causes.com. The corresponding amount of money is then donated on their behalf via Network for Good to the charity of their choice. Causes, meanwhile, sends the cardholder a confirmation email with more information about the charity in question. Causes is currently working on enabling online sales of its gift cards for use anywhere in the world. One to partner with or emulate for the charity-minded masses near you...? (Related: ATM machines offer embedded charity with every withdrawal — A donation to charity for each hour wasted online — One-stop giving to a personal portfolio of charitable causes.) Website: www.causes.com/gift_cards |
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It can be difficult for groups to keep in touch while on the go, but a new iPhone app offers a compelling solution. With Fast Society, people with mobile phones of any kind can coordinate using private group text messages, instant conference calls and easy location-sharing. Now available in the App Store, Fast Society is a free iPhone app that provides instant, private mobile group chat. Users simply pick a length of time for their connection — the duration of a concert event, say — invite some friends, and chat with them live via group text message. Anything sent to 32787 (FASTS) will go out to the entire group, but users can also send "CALL" and link up in an instant conference call. Location-sharing, meanwhile, takes just two taps. Group members who don't have iPhones can use the app via m.fastsociety.com — it works with virtually any SMS-enabled phone and supports nearly every major US cell service provider. Fast Society currently works only in the United States, but it plans to expand internationally. One to partner with toward that end...? Website: www.fastsociety.com |
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