Debt” was the most reliable term for predicting market ups and downs, the researchers found. By going long when “debt” searches dropped and shorting the market when “debt” searches rose, the researchers were able to increase their hypothetical portfolio by 326 percent. (In comparison, a constant buy-and-hold strategy yielded just a 16 percent return.)

Big Data Gets Bigger: Now Google Trends Can Predict The Market

massurban: The Atlantic: “DIY Mapping Goes Mainstream Last summer, we wrote about a DIY aerial mapmaking kit from The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science that enables anyone with $95, a camera, and some helium to become a citizen cartographer. The project empowers people to document events (oil spills, Occupy protests) that official mapmakers might overlook. But this kind of grassroots aerial surveying (distinct from other forms of grassroots mapping) also has another benefit: It produces bird’s-eye images that are sharper and more beautiful than airplanes and satellites can capture. To that end, a cache of more than 100 maps from the Public Lab project have now been incorporated into Google Earth itself, signaling some nice recognition of rogue mappers (and their DIY data) by the biggest commercial behemoth in the field. If you happen to stumble in your Google Earth wanders across a patch of surprisingly high-resolution landscape, you may be looking at a Public Lab contribution. Or, if you want to go looking for these images with a little less happenstance, you can also find all of them indexed in this Google Earth KML file.” Photo: Google Earth
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massurban:

The Atlantic:

“DIY Mapping Goes Mainstream

Last summer, we wrote about a DIY aerial mapmaking kit from The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science that enables anyone with $95, a camera, and some helium to become a citizen cartographer. The project empowers people to document events (oil spills, Occupy protests) that official mapmakers might overlook. But this kind of grassroots aerial surveying (distinct from other forms of grassroots mapping) also has another benefit: It produces bird’s-eye images that are sharper and more beautiful than airplanes and satellites can capture.

To that end, a cache of more than 100 maps from the Public Lab project have now been incorporated into Google Earth itself, signaling some nice recognition of rogue mappers (and their DIY data) by the biggest commercial behemoth in the field. If you happen to stumble in your Google Earth wanders across a patch of surprisingly high-resolution landscape, you may be looking at a Public Lab contribution. Or, if you want to go looking for these images with a little less happenstance, you can also find all of them indexed in this Google Earth KML file.”

Photo: Google Earth

(via sunlightcities)

Source: massurban

smartercities: A Smart Approach to Fixing Cities’ Problems | Harvard Business Review Corporations and small businesses use new technology and strong leadership to make their operations more successful, why not cities? This remarkable success story in South Bend, a city of 130,000, shows how strong leadership, next-generation technologies, and public-private collaboration can help make cities work a lot better, even at a time when public funds are in short supply. These days, cities are tremendous engines for innovation and economic growth. Young people, professionals, and empty-nesters are drawn to them in search of excitement, culture, and career opportunities. We have the potential to spark a true renaissance for cities, so they’re not just bigger — they’re better.
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smartercities:

A Smart Approach to Fixing Cities’ Problems | Harvard Business Review

Corporations and small businesses use new technology and strong leadership to make their operations more successful, why not cities? This remarkable success story in South Bend, a city of 130,000, shows how strong leadership, next-generation technologies, and public-private collaboration can help make cities work a lot better, even at a time when public funds are in short supply. These days, cities are tremendous engines for innovation and economic growth. Young people, professionals, and empty-nesters are drawn to them in search of excitement, culture, and career opportunities. We have the potential to spark a true renaissance for cities, so they’re not just bigger — they’re better.

How The Internet Of Things Will Transform Everything Mobile devices will outnumber humans this year.  90% of consumer-connected devices will have access to some personal cloud in 2013. 24 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020. 66% of IT professionals surveyed believe business and consumer technology will converge within 3-5 years - great news for consumer tech leaders like Apple, Samsung and Google. At least 4 billion terabytes of data will be generated this year alone. The trend toward BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has clear and present business repercussions: 75% of the surveyed IT professionals believe that employees’ personal use of mobile devices impacts how the business itself uses the cloud. via readwrite
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How The Internet Of Things Will Transform Everything

  • Mobile devices will outnumber humans this year. 
  • 90% of consumer-connected devices will have access to some personal cloud in 2013.
  • 24 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020.
  • 66% of IT professionals surveyed believe business and consumer technology will converge within 3-5 years - great news for consumer tech leaders like Apple, Samsung and Google.
  • At least 4 billion terabytes of data will be generated this year alone.
  • The trend toward BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has clear and present business repercussions: 75% of the surveyed IT professionals believe that employees’ personal use of mobile devices impacts how the business itself uses the cloud.

via readwrite

smartercities: Cities are finding useful ways of handling a torrent of data | The Economist Many cities around the country are accumulating data faster than they know what to do with. One approach is to give them to the public. For example, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago are or soon will be sharing the grades that health inspectors give to restaurants with an online restaurant directory.
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smartercities:

Cities are finding useful ways of handling a torrent of data | The Economist

Many cities around the country are accumulating data faster than they know what to do with. One approach is to give them to the public. For example, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago are or soon will be sharing the grades that health inspectors give to restaurants with an online restaurant directory.

(via sunlightcities)

Source: economist.com

sunlightcities: Mapping pollution in California:  This new interactive map makes that point really clear. Released by the California Environmental Protection Agency earlier this week, the map stems from a report [PDF] that ranks California zip codes based on factors including air quality, pesticide use, groundwater, and traffic density as well as population and socioeconomic data. -Read more at: Atlantic Cities 
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sunlightcities:

Mapping pollution in California: 

This new interactive map makes that point really clear. Released by the California Environmental Protection Agency earlier this week, the map stems from a report [PDF] that ranks California zip codes based on factors including air quality, pesticide use, groundwater, and traffic density as well as population and socioeconomic data.

-Read more at: Atlantic Cities 

First Steps for Civic Analytics Code for America shares tips from Nicholas O’Brien, chief of staff for Mike Flowers’ Office of Policy and Strategic Planning in City of New York, on how to get started with Civic Analytics: Iterate quickly Quick delivery on early projects helps generate buy-in from other departments and stakeholders. “Do it quick, test, and iterate” to show small but tangible results initially, and build the support that will allow you to take on bigger initiatives. Start with open data Chances are your city already publishes some data online, so start with what’s already available. Then, the successes of your analytics program can create more momentum for open data within your city. Use tools that are readily available You don’t need to invest in lots of expensive and complicated technology to pilot an analytics initiative. For data visualization, O’Brien recommends Tableau Public, a free online tool. For mapping, you can do a lot with the free version of BatchGeo and Google Maps. Build your skillset with free online courses Organizations like Coursera and EdX offer online courses and training on data science, statistics, and programming that are accessible, high-quality, and most importantly, free. Visualize data through maps From a marketing and community engagement perspective, maps are an ideal way to get your analytics initiative off the ground and build interest in an a way that’s accessible to a non-technical audience. Take a page out of NYC’s playbook One of the first initiatives in New York had to do with matching locations between different datasets, since each agency has a different way to collect and identify data — the buildings department uses the building ID number, the police department uses cartesian coordinates, etc. The locations are relatively easy to match, since they don’t move around and it’s still a single location. Once they had matched locations, the team was able to run analysis that targeted illegally converted apartments — leading to a five-fold return on the time building inspectors spent identifying and inspecting these illegal dwellings. This location-matching approach is replicable in other cities. From there, the possibilities for what you’ll find in that data are greatly amplified.
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First Steps for Civic Analytics

Code for America shares tips from Nicholas O’Brien, chief of staff for Mike Flowers’ Office of Policy and Strategic Planning in City of New York, on how to get started with Civic Analytics:

Iterate quickly

Quick delivery on early projects helps generate buy-in from other departments and stakeholders. “Do it quick, test, and iterate” to show small but tangible results initially, and build the support that will allow you to take on bigger initiatives.

Start with open data

Chances are your city already publishes some data online, so start with what’s already available. Then, the successes of your analytics program can create more momentum for open data within your city.

Use tools that are readily available

You don’t need to invest in lots of expensive and complicated technology to pilot an analytics initiative. For data visualization, O’Brien recommends Tableau Public, a free online tool. For mapping, you can do a lot with the free version of BatchGeo and Google Maps.

Build your skillset with free online courses

Organizations like Coursera and EdX offer online courses and training on data science, statistics, and programming that are accessible, high-quality, and most importantly, free.

Visualize data through maps

From a marketing and community engagement perspective, maps are an ideal way to get your analytics initiative off the ground and build interest in an a way that’s accessible to a non-technical audience.

Take a page out of NYC’s playbook

One of the first initiatives in New York had to do with matching locations between different datasets, since each agency has a different way to collect and identify data — the buildings department uses the building ID number, the police department uses cartesian coordinates, etc. The locations are relatively easy to match, since they don’t move around and it’s still a single location. Once they had matched locations, the team was able to run analysis that targeted illegally converted apartments — leading to a five-fold return on the time building inspectors spent identifying and inspecting these illegal dwellings. This location-matching approach is replicable in other cities. From there, the possibilities for what you’ll find in that data are greatly amplified.

smarterplanet: Samsung and the University of Texas conspire for thought controlled tablets - SlashGear Electronics giant Samsung is working with researchers at the University of Texas on a project that has to do with providing control of a tablet using brain waves. Electronics giant Samsung is working with researchers at the University of Texas on a project that has to do with providing control of a tablet using brain waves.
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smarterplanet:

Samsung and the University of Texas conspire for thought controlled tablets - SlashGear

Electronics giant Samsung is working with researchers at the University of Texas on a project that has to do with providing control of a tablet using brain waves.


Electronics giant Samsung is working with researchers at the University of Texas on a project that has to do with providing control of a tablet using brain waves.

Last week, The GovLab held its Experiment, “Making Engagement Work,” which brought together researchers, designers, technologists, and  academic, government, civil society and business leaders to explore how government can reinvent itself to be more engaging and collaborative with its citizens.

Session 5, titled “Building ‘We the City’” focused on creating smarter cities from the bottom-up. Michael Flowers, Chief Analytics Officer from the City of New York, lead a discussion on how to create a platform and action plan to engage citizens as active participants in making their own cities “smarter.”

Check out the Live Blog to see the discusison details. Common themes/questions were:

  • How can we hear everyone without creating so much noise that you don’t hear anyone? How can local governments make sense of the information citizens give via Twitter, Fourquare, or other social apps?
  • What are the drivers for participation? There is so little trust in government because there is no feedback loop. Many feel as though their basic services requests are unmet, and/or they don’t receive closure on requests, so why should they try to collaborate with government?
  • Local governments should consider “fingerprinting” social networks: help citizens access government data and connect with others according to issues they care about. Governments should be facilitators of relationship-building.
  • How do we address privacy concerns in sharing data with government? Perhaps we can frame the issue as volunteering for a social good. Instead of a blood drive, hold a “Data Drive.”
  • How does gamification fit in? Can local governments create “to-do lists” and challenges on social platforms that reward citizens whose behavior aids governments?
  • Local governments need to focus more on a “solution app” than a “problem app” by asking citizens what they want done, and collaborate together (rather than asking citizens to help government with what it wants, which is not a 2-way conversation.) Example: Change By Us.

While many of these questions obviously still need further exploration and research, it was exciting to see some of the top minds in the field come together and directly address these issues. We’re looking forward to see if Mr. Flowers will be able to incorporate some of these ideas into New York’s Office of Policy and Strategic Planning actions.    

sunfoundation: Real-time map of all forests on Earth launches next month An online map that tracks in near real-time the vegetation area of all the world’s forests simultaneously will launch next month, after a preview was shown at a United Nations summit yesterday. Called “Global Forest Watch 2.0,” the map is a project years in the making led by the World Resources Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on ecological issues.
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sunfoundation:

Real-time map of all forests on Earth launches next month

An online map that tracks in near real-time the vegetation area of all the world’s forests simultaneously will launch next month, after a preview was shown at a United Nations summit yesterday. Called “Global Forest Watch 2.0,” the map is a project years in the making led by the World Resources Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on ecological issues.

futurescope:

TED Talk: 4D Printing 

A few weeks ago, we had a post about 4D Printing, a new technology by Skylar Tibbits - MIT professor, TED fellow, architect, designer and computer scientist. His TED Talk provides a more detailed insight:

3D printing has grown in sophistication since the late 1970s; TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits is shaping the next development, which he calls 4D printing, where the fourth dimension is time. This emerging technology will allow us to print objects that then reshape themselves or self-assemble over time. Think: a printed cube that folds before your eyes, or a printed pipe able to sense the need to expand or contract.

[via boingboing] [Skylar Tibbits]