The H(app)athon Project

What is the measure of your life? That may seem like a loaded question, but the it's one the H(app)athon Project is trying to answer. Using Big Data and developing technology, it could be possible to analyze trends in your behaviors and emotions and actually convey what makes you happy. This data will be gathered through mobile app surveys and small conferences and workshops. The result: a global economy based on well-being rather than wealth. 

The H(app)athon Project Video Introduction from The H(app)athon Project on Vimeo.

This fall, H(app)athon is coming to Boulder as a happiness challenge with Somerville, Mass. We're excited to be part of the compitition. Bring it on, Somerville!

Let's Talk: Jack Dorsey Supports Local Business

Jack Dorsey is the cofounder of Twitter and Square. Square revolutionized the payment industry, making it simple enough for anyone with an iPhone to easily run a retail business. In an effort to support all the small, local businesses that use Square, Dorsey has started the Let's Talk panels. At these small panels, local vendors can connect with other local vendors and customers to help build a stronger, more supportive entreprenurial community.

As advocates for conversation that create change, VHG would like to say, kudos to you Mr. Dorsey. Kudos. 

The Growth of Innovation: A Debate

Economist, Robert Gordon has a TED Talk called "The Death of Innovation, the End of Growth". It's terribly pessimistic, but Gordon makes some interesting points. He argues that there are four "head-winds" facing U.S. economic growth and innovation: demographics, education, debt and inequality. He describes these problems alongside descriptions of the innovations that allowed us travel with the horse and buggy to the Boeing 57. In conclusion, he challenges the innovators of today to "match" what was done in the 20th century.

Director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, Erik Brynjolfsson presented a much more optimistic argument in his TED Talk, "The Key to Growth? Race with the Machines". Brynjolfsson says that innovation builds on top of "general purpose technologies", like computers, and as a result, productivity is at an all time high. The problem with this is that a de-coupling has developed between productivity and jobs. Technology has raced ahead of us, and it is our "great challenge" to learn how to "race with the machine".

These two men's arguments both end with challenges: one, to match the innovations of the past, and the other to continue to innovate and catch-up with modern technology. Brynjolfsson's argument, however seems more relevant to a world where technology is growing at an exponential rate. Gordon asks us to compare today's advancements to those of the past, but we don't yet know the full effects and potential of modern innovation. Big Data, the Internet of Everything and renewable energy are opportunities for U.S. economic growth and innovation, not the death of it. 

Biological Diversity in Agriculture

The VHG team is gearing up for a national conference centered around the management and improvement of the agricultural system in the United States; a topic that can easily be over looked. 

After taking a closer look, however, one can identity a major problem: the decrease in biological diversity in the world's agriculture. What does that mean? Well,  Dr. Cary Fowler, the Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and long-time biodiversity activist, discusses its importance in his TED Talk: "One seed at a time, protecting the future of food".

Dr. Fowler explains that we should be concerned about the biodiversity of food because thousands of species of fruit, wheat and rice are going extinct each year. Some would argue that those stains are "undesirable", in that they are smaller or don't taste as good. So why keep them? Dr. Fowler would explain that a skimpy, "undesirable" strain of apples could have that one trait that allows it to grow in extreme or abnormal conditions. Since we're living in an era of climate change, such unknown traits are more important than ever.  As Dr. Fowler says, “You don’t look in the eyes of a carrot seed quite in the way you do a panda bear, but it’s very important diversity.”

Life After Oil and Gas

"...Much of America continues to regard renewable power as a boutique product, cool but otherworldly". I know I've been guilty of this when driving by those huge, white, wind turbines down HW 93. I know what they are, and to some extent, what they do. Yet they are still few and far between, solidifying their image in my mind as fascinating and alien. 

Hopefully, this "boutique" image around sustainable energy in the United States will change in the next 20 years or so. According to several studies, and the New York Times Sunday Review, it is scientifically and economically possible to power the U.S. using renewable energy. In fact, a team of Stanford engineers recently published a proposal showing how the state of New York could be fully powered by renewable energy by the year 2030. The problem arises when we can't accept the benefits of renewable energy socially and politically.

We seem to have accepted the inaccurate montra that says we need oil and we have no other options. This just isn't true. Countries like Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Germany all produce more than 20% of their energy from renewable sources. Even our northern neighbor, Canada, has managed to produce 63% of their power from renewable sources, mostly from hydraulics. 

These countries' efforts to move towards more sustainable energy sources are impressive and trail blazing, making it even more inexcusable for the for the U.S. not to follow suit.  

Can a Bicycle Make Up for Everything a Car Has Done?

Well, Carma, a small, but impressive company based in Portugal, is giving some people a chance to try. This month, the Carma bike, made almost completly out of old car parts, will be riden accross the continent in an attempt to make up for the 159,761 km the car ran. It's a bike with the Karma of a car. It's on a mission and we think that's pretty cool.

Ron Finley: A Guerilla Gardener

Did you know that 26.5 million Americans live in a "food desert" or a district where fast food and corner stores greatly outnumber access to fresh produce? That's hard to believe, considering that here in Boulder we have a Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmer's Market and Alfalfa's all within a 5 mile radius. There are places like South Central LA, however where the food market is made up of fast food, drive throughs, corner stores and vacant lots. Ron Finley, a South Central native, has become an activist in changing his city's status from a "food desert" to a lush food garden. 

"Gardening is my graffitti. I grow my art." - Ron Finley

The Human Face of Big Data

Back in December 10,000 of the world's most influential people recieved a copy of an extraordinary illustrated book called, The Human Face of Big Data. The book contains more than 200 stunning images and compelling essays, created by a team of over 100 of the world’s most talented writers, designers and photojournalists, illustrating just some of the ways big data is already helping to shape and address many of the biggest challenges facing our planet. The concept of the book, and of The Human Face of Big Data project, revolves around the idea that our planet is developing a nervous system that many data experts believe will soon have a greater impact on our lives than the Internet.

This ambitious project was created by VHG friend, Rick Smolan and his partner Jennifer Erwitt and we are looking forward to seeing the ripple effects of the spalsh they made in the Big Data industry.

Friends in Action: Dovetail Solutions

Do you rememebr learning about the Golden Rule back in grade school? How often do we forget to thank and apprecite the people who make our jobs easier and our lives better? Our friend, Andy Boian at Dovetail Solutions, posted a nice reminder in their newsletter that we thought was worth sharing.  

"Next time you see someone struggling to hoist open a heavy door or work to get their baby stroller down a flight of stairs, stop and offer help. Ask how the valet who stands outside the restaurant on a cold night is doing, or maybe make eye contact with the bagger at the grocery store and smile. Take an extra minute to tell your mom you love her, or your brother you admire him."  

It's the little things that let people know you appreciate them. Keep it up Dovetail! We like what you're doing and we love what you're saying.

Imagine a World Where Everyone Believes They are Creative

While he declines to accept the title of "Guru of Creativity", David Kelley, founder of IDEO, has some really inspiring ideas about individuals' creative confidence. Kelley believes that eveyone is creative and sees it as his mission to help as many people as possble realize their creative potential.

Below is a short excerpt from Kelley's interview with Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes.  At the end of the clip, Kelley profoundly concludes, "If you think of yourself as being creative, then you can create a new future." 

The full interview covers David’s pioneering work in design thinking, co-founding IDEO and Stanford’s d.school, and his ’54 Chevy pickup truck.