(likemind) X New York Times

(likemind) made the New York Times Style section last friday! Me and Eric Cedo have been running (likemind) here in Detroit for about a year and half now. Detroit is just one of the 55+ cities around the world that meet every third friday of the month for coffee + conversation. We like to think of (likemind) as a anti-networking event. Don’t get us wrong,. you still meet new + interesting people. There’s just something about meeting early in the morning that makes it feel less like ”networking” event and more like hanging out with good friends. Read excerpt from article >

Likemind caters to young professionals in advertising, media and design who are products of the age of personal blogs, warts-and-all YouTube videos and viral marketing. For them, the best pitch is the disguised pitch. Nothing, participants said, is more uncool than the hard-sell of traditional networking (which may explain why likemind is not capitalized).

So if you like meeting new people,.. but hate going to networking events,.. then I really suggest you come hang out with us @ (likemind)Detroit + bring a friend, or two, or three. The next (likemind) is December 5th (the last one for 2008) We’re having it @ a new location this time (Mercury Bar) Me + Eric will be there around 8.30am. Feel free to come anytime though.  We will be grabbing lunch @ Slow’s BBQ around noon.

If you need more info or have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me > nev [at] idunited [dot] com

Via > New York Times

PS - Congrats to Piers + Noah [!]

The Rise of the Rest

 

Spotted over @ PSFK >

Marketplace broadcast that looks at the subject of economic stability and the impact of the fast rising economies of developing countries. In the broadcast, Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, says the growth of developing economies is a major factor in our current economic crisis.

Oil prices are high not because producers are choking off supply, but because consumers — in the United States, Europe, China, India — are increasing demand.

Expensive oil is one facet of the signature trend of our age — global growth. Last year 124 countries around the world grew at over 4 percent. This year, despite the American slowdown, growth in most of those countries remains robust. While we debate the current financial panic and impending recession, our future is not likely to be shaped by crisis and collapse. The real problems we will face will be the consequence of what I call the “rise of the rest” — the rest of the world that is.

Look around, it’s not just oil that is soaring. Almost every commodity is at a 200-year high. Wheat and rice prices have doubled and then kept on rising over the last two years. In some cases, demand is so high that we’re actually running out of stuff. Helium, the gas used in balloons and MRI machines is in short supply globally. And it is the second-most abundant element in the universe.

The problems of growth are, of course, high quality problems. But on this scale they are problems we have never really experienced before. We know how to handle a recession. But how do we handle the rise of the rest? That will be the real challenge of the next decade, long after this recession has turned to recovery.

Looks like spreading the American Dream around the world is starting to cost us $$$. Welcome to the Global Economy.

Via > PSFK 

It’s all Politics

I’m not going to get political on this site. I just wanted to share with you something really great I read last week. Talib Kweli was interviewed in a local Detroit paper (RDW) and had some great insight and inspiration into the whole political scene we’re currently in />

Regardless of how he’s categorized, the political element in Kweli’s work is hard to overlook. Even though he is quick to criticize the Bush administration, he sees voting as a rather limited instrument of social change. Read more

Business Sustainability

Here is a great post I read awhile back on PSFK entitled > Why Build Sustainability Into Your Business? Written by Piers Fawkes >

The only reason to really motivate a business to go green is for competitive advantage. Sustainability must be part of your core business strategy. We have to remember that businesses are designed to make profit not save the planet. We have to appeal to their greed. Greed got us in this mess and greed will fix it. Being green means making more profit.

Why create a sustainable business?

• Your competitors aren’t doing it
• Your customers want it
• It improves your product, your efficiencies and your bottom line

Realize that sustainability is part of the mainstream. You, as businesses, are playing catch up even though you as consumers are already in the mindset. Be careful about making a statement about being green though – it comes across as cliché. Build it into your story so that it enhances your brand.

To read the entire post go here.

And read the great follow up by Clownfish Marketing > discussing how hopefully greed isn’t and shouldn’t be our last hope >

What this all points to is that, although an understanding of how going green can benefit companies economically is undoubtedly a catalyst for improvement, they’ll enjoy it more and have a much greater chance of success if their efforts are not driven by greed, but by a genuine and holistic desire to change, stemming from a shift in corporate values in response to global social and environmental agendas. This requires companies to look beyond cost structures and profit margins, and like Ray Anderson (who Piers credits for pointing out that sustainability is not the holy grail), to really think about how to profoundly re-engineer their operations into formats that are more compatible with nature, building on their ability to make a positive impact on individuals, communities and the environment.

Via >  PSFK

Bitch is Rich

Did you know that Leona Helmsley (the hotel and real estate investor who’s worth $4billion) died last week. In her will Leona left $12million dollars to her white Maltese, Trouble!? What the f_cK!? $12mil for a dog?…

Now before I show you what else Leona could have done with the $12mil,… I will let you know that Mrs. Helmsley left a bulk of her $4biillion fortune to the Leona M and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Great! But seriously $12mil for the pooch,… c’mon.

What if she spent $12mil on each of the charities on the next page?..  Jump to find out.

Read more

Stop the Bullets. Kill the Gun.

Check out this ad for Gun Control,… it’s shot (no pun intended) beautifully >

The tag @ the end says " Choice. Peace on the Streets" If you know anything about this organization (or who produced it) please leave a comment.

Via > if.psfk

August 24, 2007 | Filed Under Articles, Awareness, Video

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Socially Responsible Networking

 

More and more social networking sites are popping up and becoming more niche. Move over MySpace and Facebook,.. these new Social Networking sites want to change the world.  The crew over at Coolhunting put together a nice list of some of the new kids on the net >

“Coolhunting have compiled several prime examples, including:

Friction TV, the “YouTube for social activists”,

H.E.L.P, a “telemedecine-based online community of physicians and financial donors bringing advanced medical assistance to disaster zones and areas of humanitarian need around the world”

Kiva, “a site that connects the world’s poorer populations looking to develop unique business ideas to people with disposable incomes while providing a transparent lending platform”.

 For more sites and the full article go here.

Via > PSFK

August 3, 2007 | Filed Under Articles, Companies, Services

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Peace Out ‘06!

 

This is it,.. the last post of 2006! Just wanted to say thank you to all the people who’ve been helping idUnited get off the ground. And of course for all the words of support, encouragement and patience from everyone else out there! Couldn’t do it without you guys. Really looking forward to bringing you the best in ‘conscience capitalism’ in the New Year!

Wishing you all the best in ‘07!

Peace.

_idUnited

December 31, 2006 | Filed Under Articles

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“The Saints Are Coming”

Just read this press release from PR Newswire,.. I think it’s worth a share >

Music Rising announced Saturday that the download for the much anticipated “The Saints Are Coming” collaboration between legendary rock groups U2 and Green Day is now available via iTunes in the U.S. The song has topped the charts throughout Europe since its release.

All proceeds from the sale of the song will go directly to Music Rising a campaign launched in late 2005 by U2’s The Edge, producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar. Its mission to replace the musical instruments that were lost in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has now extended to its second phase dedicated to helping churches and schools of the area. To date Music Rising has helped over 2,100 musicians regain their livelihood, has been recognized by President Bill Clinton and has won the 2005 Halo Award for Cause Marketing and the 2006 Billboard Humanitarian Award.

To download “The Saints Are Coming” with proceeds to benefit Music
Rising > please go visit the iTunes store.

The footage from the flood scenes is still so unreal to me. Watch >

November 21, 2006 | Filed Under Articles, Charity, News

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Philanthropreneurs

Read this great article in the New York Times about a new generation of philanthropists and entrepreneurship coined >  ”Philanthropreneur” (at least it’s first time i’ve heard it). From Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) to Pierre Omidyar (eBay) and Jeffrey S. Skoll (eBay),.. these guys got a lot,.. a lot! of cash and want to do a lot of good with it. Watch out! Excerpt from article >

“THIS year, as never before, the line between philanthropy and business is blurring. A new generation of philanthropists has stepped forward, for the most part young billionaires who have reaped the benefits of capitalism and believe that it can be applied in the service of charity. They are “philanthropreneurs,” driven to do good and have their profit, too.”

Good Stuff. For the complete article go here.

Thanks again > SelfishGiving

November 14, 2006 | Filed Under Articles, News

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