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NextThought Monday: Friending Egypt, the True Value of Social Media
Blotted out in Egypt as an organizing tool by demonstrators and singled out at Davos for its social innovation prowess, Facebook was at the apex of two worlds last week. The uprising shows how quickly social media can fuel protests while exposing income inequality. But social media’s ability to build new enterprises is just finding its footing.
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- Technology
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Brazil’s Flourishing ’LAN’ Houses Supplying More Than Internet Connections
Brazil hosts over 100,000 publicly sponsored Internet access centers, or LAN (Local Area Network) Houses. The phenomenon started in affluent areas of S?o Paulo in the 1990s and now extend into poor isolated regions. These centers represent to 45% of all Internet access in Brazil, and connect 30 million Brazilians, mainly in low-income communities.
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- Technology, Telecommunications
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33Needs Turning Ideas into Action
Securities law prevents investment in companies not listed with the SEC, creating a barrier for small and medium-sized businesses from funding. Josh Tetrick decided to literally redefine that negative and turn it into a positive by forming 33Needs, a startup crowd-funding website focused on social entrepreneurs.
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- Environment, Impact Assessment, Technology
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NextThought (Tuesday): Meeting Customers in the Middle and Other HBR Insights
This month’s Harvard Business Review ambitiously re-calibrates the dialogue on corporate social responsibility and the true meaning of shared value in rebuilding capitalism?s sullied reputation following the financial crisis. The HBR authors also implore established companies to "take a page from startups" by treating each emerging market as new.
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Changes in the Behavior of the Brazilian BoP consumer
To understand the current state of the Brazil’s social mobility, companies need to not only understand the differences between the segments that make up the base of the pyramid, but also consider the differences between regions and age groups. After all, 72% of the population in the Northeast region fits into the lower income classes.
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- Technology
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- Base of the Pyramid, data
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NextThought Monday: Gold Stars, the Best of December (and Best Ideas of 2010) on NextBillion
NextBillion ended 2010 by picking our writers’ and editors’ brains on what really made a difference - the best ideas if you will - this year. At the same time, December’s lineup of the top five most-popular posts seemed to reflect the step forward for development through enterprise on numerous fronts.
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- Education, Technology, Transportation
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The Best Ideas of 2010 – iHub Nairobi
The Nairobi technology community is small, but it’s also behind some of the most exciting examples of realizing the potential of mobile technology in development. The iHub in Nairobi a clubhouse for innovators in the hotbed of mobile innovation that’s most relevant to the majority of mobile phone users in the world.
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- Impact Assessment, Technology
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Best Ideas of 2010: Cardiocam
"Cardiocam: Technology for Non-Contact Multi-Parameter Physiologic Measurements" was developed by researchers at Harvard/M.I.T, and captures physiological data via a webcam. The webcam is able to detect subtle shifts in face color and blood flow and then translates these facts into usable data, enabling physicians to diagnose patients from afar.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology