Voting Deadline: Midnight, Friday August 27th Its that time of year again where SXSW posts the ideas for this years speaker/panel topics and asks for people to vote.  The panel that have been proposed for me to talk to is: Hacking The Future Can you predict what the future will look like in 5 to 10 years? Hacking the future requires the ability to dream, to visualize...

In a recent set of tweets, I commented on the growing number of innovation competitions.  A number of you responded by sending me a list of competitions that you found interesting.  If you have more competitions, post them as comments below or send them via email.  Given the challenges that are facing us as a society, getting the collective intelligence, creativity...

One of the challenges for creating a culture of innovation within an organization is the ability to get along with others.  Innovation is about constant change which is uncomfortable and stressful.  The result is that some individuals/groups will not respond and actually become quite negative (corporate anti-bodies) to the innovation effort.  What are you to do?  How...

Sounds like a silly question, doesn’t it?  It’s not.  We are bombarded with visual logo’s that help sell a brand – why not audio?  In the last few years, audio logo’s (sound branding) have become THE thing to have in the brand arsenal with the objective of becoming the “hook” to get people to pay attention.  One example of...

I’ve been asked to join the Board of Directors for the Tech Museum.  If you can’t tell by now, my wife and I support educational institutions that help others understand, learn and apply technology and innovation.   In particular, the Tech Museum has a great program for school kids to come in an experience “labs” where they can get hands on experience...

With the recent rash of movies like Avatar, moviegoers are gaining a new love for everything 3D.  As a result, theaters are enjoying a positive impact to their bottom line.  But 3D isn’t just about the movies.  It has a role in the business world ranging from medical (3D medical imaging), oil and gas (3D geo-spatial) and financial services (3D modeling of...

The video of the “Hacking The Future” speech I gave at Maker Faire 2010 has been posted over at Fora.tv.  The foundation for the speech is the precept that the world in changing at an ever increasing pace.  To ensure we, as a civilization, are prepared for this changing future, we need to spend the time and try to understand what the future will/could look...

On Saturday, I gave a speech at Maker Fair 2010 on “Hacking The Future” where I talked on predicting the future through a variety of influences.  One that I shared was the role of science fiction. It’s staggering how much of what we do today is last generations science fiction!  Did you know: Suba was predicted in “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”...

One of a handful of events that get locked on my calender each year is Maker Faire.  For those of you not aware of Maker Faire, its a weekend event where the DIY (Do-It-Yourself,), inventors, innovators, hackers, etc come out and show off their creations.  The event is VERY family friendly with activities and experiments for the kids in all of us to do. I will be...

My latest column for Forbes has just been posted … One way technology companies make money is by pushing their latest and greatest gadgets to their most rabid customers—and charging a premium for it for as long as they can.  The question: Do you plunk down early and often to get an edge on competitors who drag their feet? Or, do you hang back and wait...