Tag Archives: Jana Branch

Laffster discovers what makes an app user laugh

December 4, 2012 – 2:59 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING For app users on the search for funny, Laffster has the answer. The content-discovery start-up serves up comedy based on a user’s online footprint. Its first app, Mock the Vote, focused on political comedy and was launched in time to lighten the 2012 election cycle. Apps focusing on other types […]

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Mobile Tree Trolleys turn parking spots into leafy WiFi hotspots

September 11, 2012 – 1:11 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING For urban dwellers without a tree in sight, Matteo Cibic’s mobile Tree Trolley makes perfect sense. The Milan artist’s concept is a tree-cum-WiFi hotspot on wheels. Residents or neighbourhoods rent and park the trolley in any on-street parking spot. Where most urban environment projects are expensive and time-consuming, Tree Trolleys […]

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Savvy, sustainable innovation is trickling up from crowdfunded roots

August 28, 2012 – 11:58 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING A growing number of lauded, oversubscribed Kickstarter projects are aimed at solving sustainability issues like energy and construction. “Savvy” is the watchword as these inventions emerge from smart entrepreneurs and gain support from discerning fans. ReadySet Solar Kit, developed for Africa, is coming to the US after asking for $20K […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Home, Sustainability, Technology | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Screw Business as Usual: Richard Branson plans to revision capitalism

June 26, 2012 – 1:12 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Visionary Richard Branson means it when he asks, “Can we bring more meaning to our lives and help change the world at the same time?” Branson’s Capitalism 24902 project and Screw Business as Usual (book, summit and engagement platform) are open invitations to business leaders and employees to analyze what’s […]

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Media companies consider their brainprint

June 19, 2012 – 12:42 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Carbon footprint, water footprint and … brainprint? Yep, that’s a way to talk about the impact that content has on the global awareness of sustainability — from environmental issues to the triple bottom line. And communicating these ideas is a big deal for media companies. While brainprint is actually unquantifiable, […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Entertainment, Media, Television | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

“App gap” is the new face of the digital divide

April 10, 2012 – 12:03 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING iPads are the hot portal for kid-size edutainment, with an array of apps that build skills while engaging young minds. And with that bridge comes a new divide. Research by Common Sense Media points out that a new “app gap” is emerging between affluent and low-income kids. According to Zero […]

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EnemyGraph lets Facebook users air dislikes

April 10, 2012 – 10:48 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING The only thing that surprises us is that it took so long for a Facebook app like EnemyGraph to show up. Released in mid-March 2012, the app went through the roof. After defying predictions that Facebook would shut it down, EnemyGraph has settled in as new users worldwide declare their […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Social Media | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

100 Mile House brings locavore principles to architecture

March 20, 2012 – 2:27 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Raise the roof for local! Sustainable architecture is taking a lesson from the 100-mile diet to build the 100 Mile House. Done right, every material used, from the foundation on up, is sourced, new or recycled from within 100 miles. The Architecture Foundation of British Columbia has launched an international […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumers, Green, Home, Sustainability | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

GreenZero device chargers slay vampire energy drain

January 31, 2012 – 1:45 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING “Zero idle power” to the people. That’s what Bracketron GreenZero device chargers and power supplies deliver — a way for energy-aware consumers to automatically staunch the flow of vampire energy (the suck from devices in fully charged or standby mode). Designs dubbed Mushroom and Stone add a designer’s eye to […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Home, Sustainability, Technology | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Economy turns “emerging adulthood” from phase to full-blown lifestage

January 4, 2012 – 3:33 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Thanks to a dearth of jobs and amenable Boomer parents, “emerging adulthood” is going from a blip on the sociological radar screen to full-blown lifestage. Clark University psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett identified “emerging adulthood” as a lifestage for young adults ages 18 to 25 that is about “identity exploration, instability, […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Culture, Home, Parents | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Is It Time? plays out stark realities of old age

October 18, 2011 – 12:44 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING For elders whose best days are behind them, when is life no longer worth the effort? More contemplative than ghoulish, Is It Time? is an online game created as an affecting exercise in empathy for the lonely, diminishing process of aging. The indie art game, based on the end-of-life experience […]

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EtherFilms platform from Halo-8 evolutionizes entertainment

October 11, 2011 – 2:09 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING L.A. production house Halo-8 Entertainment has seen the future of films and TV, and they call it EtherFilms. The HTML5 delivery platform is meant to disrupt linear narrative in film and online books, enabling the viewer to guide the watching experience. That turns passive consumption into a mode of narrative […]

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What’s it worth? Dedigitization raises the question with virtual-to-physical retrofits

July 13, 2011 – 9:07 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING “Dedigitization,” a term recently coined by cultural commentator Rob Walker, describes virtual goods or iconography retrofitting into the physical world. He cites the smiley emoticon ring or Facebook “Like” rubberstamp. Physical to virtual. Virtual to physical. The pendulum swing is part of physics. Vinyl died and came back. Sci-fi characters […]

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Ticket Angels give car owners a heads-up to avoid parking tickets

June 2, 2011 – 11:50 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING In Santa Monica, CA, parking in the wrong place during street cleaning will net you a $64 ticket. That hurts, but when one neighbor warned another to move his car, they saw a business opportunity, and the Ticket Angels was born. Members’ specially stickered cars are on the route of […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Transportation | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Cowork spaces give German free agents structure and social support

April 26, 2011 – 12:27 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Any freelance creative or digital nomad knows the struggle of sticking to structure outside of an office environment. In Germany, lone rangers are heading to coworking spaces like ClubOffice, Studio70, Betahaus and Wostel, where a coffeehouse atmosphere and office-type space combine for greater productivity. ClubOffice is an early supporter of […]

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Global, Work | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off
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