Baba Job

There is a very interesting article about a social networking website called babajob ,
defined as "village linkedin". What's inspiring is that out of so many social "notworking" sites that have been created, this one stands out for its creativity as well as the potential to make a real difference.

There was another video recently about India's migrant workers and their rush to Mumbai, the city paved with gold and lined with plum jobs. This boy who was interviewed had run away from home, and all he had was the pair of clothes that he was wearing, an address of a friend and a SIM card.

It amazes me how technology is altering the level of access that the working class has these days; no doubt, it's a long road ahead, but at least this is a good start.

iEconomics

I know you've had enough of iPhone and iPod related news, but this article offers a fascinating insight into the complexity of globalization and how the iPod is really much more than the sum of its parts.

(Picture cropped from a graffiti-styled white wall of the MOMA)

Stumbled upon something really cool...

The basic premise of this site is that our experience online, most often called "surfing" is more likely a stumbing experience. We search for something, click on the link, don't like it, go back, click on some other link...you get the picture.

StumbleUpon is a great site to discover new sites, tag them with a thumbs up or down. I've found some really cool sites this way, and what better way to pass your time than stumbling through websites? I love their Firefox extension, so a cool site is just a click away!

YUVA Studio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2006

Toronto design studio launches online environment to stimulate creativity

It's Children's Day in China and Hungary, and children everywhere have something new to play, create and share with! Thanks to YUVA Studio ( www.yuvastudio.com ), a Toronto based studio with a mandate to develop products that nurture creativity in young children.

YUVA Studio's Product Design team announced today that YUVA, their premier product is ready and available for purchase. YUVA, the root of all words meaning "young", is an online environment, a creative playground for children aged 4 -10 years.

Shapes are at the core of YUVA. Co-founder Jayashri Deshmukh, refers to them as "the basic alphabet of a person's visual language". YUVA fosters PLAY with a palette of shapes. The rich environment challenges the imagination of young artists as they merge, rotate, enlarge or flip them to create a variety of drawings. "It's like playing with 2-D blocks. In the process of play and experimentation, a child makes a multitude of connections that unfold the principles of pattern, design and composition."

CREATE follows PLAY - it is a more deliberate act, one driven by intention. Using YUVA, children will be able use their original drawings to create e-cards, posters, greeting cards and even custom T-shirts.

A natural step to follow CREATE is SHARE – the act of confidently showing one's creations to others through e-cards, printouts, galleries and the YUVA Studio Merchandise store. YUVA not only makes sharing easy for children but also encourages them to solicit a response. E-card recipients can send messages to the artist. They go directly into the child's "Sketchbook" – much like signing an Artist's guestbook. The YUVA Studio Gallery is a public-facing online venue for these young artists to submit their drawings to. Soon, the Gallery will invite professional artists and designers to curate art shows and competitions.

Although YUVA's primary audience is children who have basic computer skills, the co-founder of YUVA Studio, Parth Upadhye says, "YUVA is actually for everyone, for all ages. There's a child in each of us that delights in creative play. In our product tests we found that while the children were drawing trucks and birds with YUVA, their parents were designing rugs and wallpaper! The possibilities truly are endless!"

At YUVA Studio, we can all be YUVA Artists.

About YUVA Studio:
YUVA Studio (www.yuvastudio.com ) designs and develops products that: foster play (with shapes), stimulate creativity, and encourage sharing. We have a "single" focus - that of creating products that fit this "Play. Create. Share." model of a creative process.

Contact Information:
YUVA Studio | www.yuvastudio.com | Play. Create. Share.

T: 416-607-6125 or 604-678-5764
E: media@yuvastudio.com

I'm OK, you're OK.

http://www.wefeelfine.org has been harvesting human feelings from blogs. Basically, the system searches for "feelings" across the blogging world. In a time where personal emotions and feelings are open for all, this website seeks to take a 15000 ft. view of this phenomenon. The system is weighted on no. of total feelings. Why am I not surprised that Hawaii is the happiest state and Vegas the sexiest city in the US? I think it's a great concept...and maybe another idea for L's thesis!

I think what would be really cool is if they harvested personalities from blogs...it will be fun to see if New Yorkers are more aggressive than sleepy Cambridge. One of the creators, Sep Kamwar's bio is really impressive, and I agree with his mom whole-heartedly. Check out the section "Creators" to see what I mean.

Moo!

There’s something about the web that continues to fascinate me…be it cool ideas, gimmicks or actual functional utilitarian websites. Personally, I use the web for literally everything I do in the offline world…heck, I even bought my house from a craigslist posting.

I think the trick is make the product/service have its own dedicated following – a niche market that intrigues geeks, non-techies and soccer moms alike. Here’s one I came across – it’s called moo.com and it specializes in creating mini-cards from the user’s flickr stream, or other uploaded images. Now there’s an entire community out there trading moo-cards. How cool is that?

Another very interesting site is webkinz.com that bridges the gap between offline and online play-time for kids – a cross between tamagotchi and neopets I suppose.

This brings me to another idea for content on my blog – every week, I will feature a website (I’ll lean towards the small, indie websites) and talk about its concept, its people and maybe even a sneak interview with an insider. Watch this space!