New Empire Builders is a collaborative media network for startups, nonprofits, and companies shifting how the world works. We are dedicated to bringing you original and curated insights of the highest quality, starting with a few selections each day.

We are committed to doing the best possible work. We will only publish a few things each day to start — to ensure that every post, audiocast, and contribution from our partners is of the highest quality. Starting with a bang, our team will focus its attention first on the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival, one of the biggest stages when it comes to technology and innovation.

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February 24, 2012

Ever since I shared a couple links about Big Data last week, I keep running into more stories about Big Data, predictive analytics, and all things data related. It’s like those paintings where the eyes follow you around the room. I can’t shake Big Data. Good thing Big Data isn’t the new WWE wrestling star, right?

The Data Levithan

Just think about how much data you generate as an individual on a daily basis. Almost of all it happens without much, if any, conscious awareness.

You log into Facebook and click a link. You search for something on Google. You download apps to your smart phone and they copy your address book and track your activity. You make a call or send a text with your mobile phone. You make a purchase with your credit card. You buy ice cream at the grocery story and get the 2-for-1 deal using your rewards card.

Should You Care?

All of these interactions create a huge exhaust cloud of data, which companies, governments, and presidential candidates are harnessing to understand what makes you tick and how they can influence you. Think your sector won’t be touched, think again.

Better yet, you can consult this..(continued)

Click here or the Jet Pack man to read the full issue.

I picked up a few new books from the MIT Press bookstore and will be sharing my thoughts and impressions of them as I finish them.

First in the queue this weekend was The Smart Swarm: How Understanding Flocks, Schools, and Colonies Can Make Us Better at Communicating, Decision Making, and Getting Things Done.

Thanks to the subtitle, you’ve got a good grasp of the book’s premise. The author, Peter Miller, is senior editor of National Geographic, and wrote the book very much like a solid long read from the publication. The only thing missing was the vivid photography.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and how Peter weaved together various research findings from the study of ants, bees, starlings, and fish. As I read the book, it triggered insights into the Tea Party/Occupy Wall Street movements, while also making me realize what’s been driving behaviors I’ve seen come from people using online and mobile technologies. Anyone wanting to improve what they’re doing to mobilize people will benefit from these insights, too.

Here is a collection of notes I took while reading this 269-page book:

Read the rest of this entry »

My friend and fellow disruptor, Brian Reich, has written a very important book, Shift and Reset, which is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to lead an organization in this hyper-connected age.

You can get a flavor for what his book has to offer by viewing these slides he put together outlining 12 Big Ideas for 2012.  And be sure to buy the book – it makes a great holiday gift to yourself or someone you know.

#1 Thing You Need to Learn from This Post:

Leaders in Port-au-Prince are hosting the #OpenHaiti Camp on Monday and welcome your online attendance to help them define a Project Worth Doing using open technology.

A More Detailed Exploration:

During my recent trip to Haiti, our group had the opportunity to meet with the organizers of this coming Monday’s #OpenHaiti Camp. This ideas came out of the recent TEDxPortauPrince event and will be hosted at the same venue, EPIH.

Do you have an interest in open technology and open systems? Can you spare 15-30 minutes or more to join in via Twitter and their wiki?  Be sure to RSVP on their Eventbrite page.

Here’s the full event description from the organizers:

Read the rest of this entry »

#1 Thing You Need to Learn from This Post:

Social entrepreneurship is mindset that can be applied to any sector.

A More Detailed Exploration:
Are you as fascinated with the rise of the concept called “social entrepreneurs” as I am? It seems like in the past few years, more people have begun to identify themselves and others with this label – almost like a new fashion brand.  Just as you may have noticed being a startup or entrepreneur is quite the thing these days, you’ll notice being a “social entrepreneur” will turn even more heads.

[If you happen to be someone who views her/himself as a social entrepreneur, I would highly recommend you read Brian Reich's advice to you. It's timely and very appropriate.]

Read the rest of this entry »

On Monday, August 8, SXSW.com will announce the launch of the SXSW Interactive Scholarship 2012 program. While last year’s scholarship program was limited to nonprofits, this year’s iteration expands its focus to recognize individuals from all sectors and from anywhere in the world who are using new media to push the boundaries of tackling community problems. Nonprofit leaders, grassroots organizers, individual citizens, and civic-minded entrepreneurs are all eligible.

Individuals can begin to submit their essay anytime between Monday, August 8, and Friday, August 26. SXSW and CauseShift will lead the review and selection process with the five scholarship recipients to be announced on Monday, September 19. Each of the five recipients will receive a complimentary SXSW Interactive badge for the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival.

Read the rest of this entry »

#1 Thing You Need to Learn from This Post:
Sensors inside mobile devices create large amounts of data that can be useful to cause leaders.

A More Detailed Exploration:
While most people want to ignore this fact, the mobile devices in our pockets can be used to track our movements and gather other environmental data when properly outfitted. If you’re living in a blissful state of ignorance about mobile data, you will not want to explore this post by Ben Kunz that introduced me to a website detailing a mobile data experiment. If it doesn’t give you Big Brother nightmares, going to the original website will.

In reading the post and playing around the website, my mind went back to the ideas Ayesha Khanna shared at our Crisis and Media event about the Hybrid Reality and the rising role of sensors in our world. It certainly supports the ideas Robert Kirkpatrick shared at the UN Population Fund summit about data exhaust.

Let’s assume this mobile data is anonymized and made available on an open data platform. What insights and services could be built on top of them? Imagine how this data could help. A few I have seen mentioned elsewhere are:

• drive detection of radiation, toxic chemicals, viruses, and other dangerous things
• chart traffic patterns and migrations over time
• provide insight into human behavior in relationship to other data overlays

These don’t even scratch the surface of what’s possible. What are some ideas you can think of?