Innovation Spotlight: Text to donate…

 

TEXT "HAITI" to 90999 is a great example of innovation in fundraising. A crisis of Haiti's proportion presents a unique challenge for NGO's and non-profits. These organizations need to provide a quick, easy method for individuals to donate, and this initiative answers that call. By partnering with major cell phone carriers, the Red Cross was able to create a unique and simple way for people all over the world to donate. The intiative addresses a key challenge for fundraising, getting people to answer the call to action without making them go to a website, pull out a credit card, or phone into a hotline. By utilizing an established medium of communication, the Red Cross cut out the traditional transaction channels and streamlined the process of donating to a simple text.

 

This is Innovation at Work.

Simply text "HAITI" to 90999, and a $10 dollar donation will automatically be given to the Red Cross. Donations appear on customer's monthly bills.

 

For more information on this innovative method of fundraising visit: http://bit.ly/7fmoJL

Brightidea - All Access Pass to CES 2010

 

 Last week, more than 2,500 companies gathered in Las Vegas for the 2010 International CES, the world's largest trade show for consumer technology.

Brightidea attended this mega event to join customer YTL Communications for the official launch of their mYprize global innovation challenge. With this open competition, YTL rewards unique applications, devices and ideas that highlight the benefits of its 4G Network in Malaysia with one million US dollars. But that’s another story…

This year’s CES featured over 20,000 new products and a large number of first-time exhibitors. As with most events of this kind, mega vendors like Sony or Microsoft were closely surrounded by numerous little exhibitors. We noticed an increased amount of booths from emerging innovator nations, most of all China, among them.

 

We had interesting conversations with innovative thinkers and entrepreneurial minds, who want to push the envelope and drive progress. They are curious about new ideas and look for new ways to turn visions into reality. Across the board, the atmosphere seemed optimistic and, whether established industry giant or small exhibit floor newbie, the need for more open, automated innovation processes was top of mind for everyone we spoke to. There was overall consensus that OnDemand services as tools to implement these process are the way to go – besides for the United Postal Service, who will continue to use the mail for customer feedback, but who would blame them…

Brightidea's Paul Tran, Business Development Director,
& Max Partl, Business Consulting Manager, at CES 2010

The Consumer Electronics Show 2010 was a great stage to kick off the next decade of electronic innovations and an exciting playground for tech enthusiasts. For the Brightidea team, it was also a platform for interesting personal encounters and new friendships in the innovation space.

Inside the $1M YTL "mYprize" Global Innovation Challenge

Techie Diva's Gina Hughes and Ponzi Pirillo sit down with YTL's CEO Wing Lee, and SVP Rick Robinson to talk about the mYprize Global Innovation Challenge running on the Brightidea Webstorm Innovation platform.

Last week during the annual Consumer Electronics Show, YTL CEO Wing Lee and SVP Rick Robinson gave an insider's overview for GadgetSpin.com of the recently launched mYprize innovation contest. The 1 million dollar contest launched January 8th, 2010 globally with the goal to bring "the best 4G applications and devices out there into the marketplace," Lee said.

Q&A with Cisco: Inside the Cisco Live Program

 

This Q&A was conducted with Matt Asman to discuss the Cisco Live event slated for January 2010 in Barcelona.

 

Overview of Cisco Live:

Once a year, Cisco creates an opportunity for its Customers and Partners to sharpen their skills and grow their knowledge with the Cisco Live event. The purpose is to equip Customers and Partners with the technical knowledge required to stay competitive in today's challenging economy. The event is designed for Cisco's most technical customers, often referred to as the Networkers community.

 

Innovation at Cisco Live is a new initiative designed with the Networkers community in mind and with the specific intention of enhancing our knowledge of what is important to them. To achieve this we are placing this community firmly at the center of the way we develop our products and services whilst making a positive change to the future of Cisco technology. 

Brightidea goes to Hong Kong

Between Twitter, Facebook, email and phone it's fairly easy to let everyone know what's going on in your life, wherever you are, at any given moment. Sometimes, though, "twittering home" alone does not quite do a travel experience justice. It's just not the same as sending a good old-fashioned postcard…

This week, the Brightidea San Francisco office received three cards from Hong Kong sent by our CEO Matt, our Biz Dev Master Paul and Solutions & Pre-Sales Expert Max. Of course, the postcards arrived at home after the travelers did. Some things don't change.

The reason for their trip was nothing less than Brightidea's first innovation management software deployment in China, specifically at China Light & Power Group (CLP), one of the largest electricity investor-operators in the Asia Pacific region. The power company joins a rapidly growing list of Brightidea clients in this thriving part of the world.

Adobe Acrobat Ideas & Brightidea Named Finalists in the Forrester Groundswell Awards

Our customer Adobe was recently selected as a finalist in the 2009 Forrester Groundswell awards, for their highly-regarded initiative Acrobat.com Ideas, powered by Brightidea's Webstorm technology.

Specifically, Adobe Acrobat Ideas was recognized for embracing social technologies among a business-to-consumer audience. The concept behind "Embracing the Groundswell," coined by Josh Bernoff  and Charlene Li, is about engaging customers with social technologies to help in the design of products. Adobe Acrobat Ideas is a shining example of this concept; since the beginning of 2009, more than five million users have signed up for Acrobat.com, contributing valuable ideas and future improvements for Acrobat.com.

"We launched Acrobat.com Ideas as an easy way for customers to play an active role in the development of Acrobat.com.  The level of customer interaction has been outstanding and we are incorporating 35 customer submitted ideas into our next release.  Not only do we get great feedback, but also are able to get a good sense of how to prioritize what our customers need, which ultimately makes our services that more valuable to customers and shortens our development cycles." Lisa Underkoffler, Principal Product Manager, Acrobat.com

At Brightidea, we're excited to see our customers recognized for the success they're having with WebStorm. We congratulate Adobe on their selection as a finalist for such an esteemed award, and look forward to seeing more customers recognized for successfully embracing social technologies in the future.

Check out Adobe's Blog Post

Tweet This

Q&A with Mensa on IdeaAid: Donate Ideas, Not Money.

Below is a Q&A conducted with Mensa on the upcoming launch of IdeaAid. For one week, November 14th-21st, IdeaAid will host a 'Brainstorming Benefit' to gather ideas to help solve some of the world's toughest problems. Brightidea's Webstorm software is powering the IdeaAid site.

Read below and participate starting November 14th as Mensa Process searches for novel ideas on how to raise 1 billion dollars annually to help eradicate global poverty. 

What is the mission of Mensa Process?

Mensa Process is the only consulting firm in the world with access to the unrivaled brainpower of Mensa — a highly respected, international organization whose membership represents some of the world's most intelligent people. Mensa members are geographically and occupationally diverse, representing more than 100 countries and thousands of professions and passions. By tapping into this group's unparalleled intellect and combining it with the creativity of other bright minds, Mensa Process helps businesse innovate, solve problems and grow.

Fortune’s Brainstorm, Sponsored by Shell, Seeks 'Wisdom of the Crowds'

 

Fortune Brainstorm: GREEN is a world-renowned conference on energy and the environment that draws the brightest thinkers around the world to tackle the toughest issues facing the future of sustainable energy. Distinguished speakers at the 2009 event included President Bill Clinton, Founder of the Clinton Global Initiative, Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Co. and Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc.- just to name a few.

Leading up to the 2010 conference, Fortune extends an open invitation to the public to become 'part of the conversation' on alternative energy solutions with the launch of an innovation social network powered by Brightidea's WebStorm solution sponsored by Shell. 

 

 Join the conversation today by CLICKING HERE

Please TWEET THIS

 

 

The Future’s So Bright: Happy 10th Anniversary Brightidea!

This past week, Brightidea, Inc. celebrated its 10^th anniversary in San Francisco. Employees flew in from across the US to celebrate this milestone with 4 days of fun-filled activities including cocktails in our new office space, rooftop dinner, and a BBQ at Baker Beach that featured an all-out kick ball competition- East vs. West coast style. The weekend concluded with an exclusive party at Orson Restaurant on Saturday night.

Brightidea, in Partnership with Adobe Acrobat Ideas, Competes for 2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards

I am pleased to share that Adobe Acrobat Ideas, powered by Brightidea, is a contestant for the 2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards. The Groundswell Awards identify leading social applications that harness the power of innovative social technologies. Adobe Acrobat Ideas, using Brightidea's Webstorm software, is a new site for Acrobat.com users to share their voice, opinions and ideas about the services and features on Acrobat.com. The site is a great example of open-innovation fueling the process of 'customer co-creation' while providing early market validation and increasing user loyalty. 

Join the conversation by reviewing the submission and give us your feedback!