Mike showed me Newsmap - it's a visual display overlay on Google's news feed. You can customize the display to focus on topics and countries of interest. Most interestingly is the varying size of the topic display - the larger the display box size, the more the news item is being featured.
A neat way to see not just what's going on, but the news media's weight of focus.
Mike and I've been working on developing a collection of inspiration//tools to help young folks create their own life//work paths. One feature we've been discussing is peer-to-peer mentoring that would come with the kit - you pay for the books/articles/stuff and also get 30 minutes to talk to a "Young Stunner" in that field.
Andrew Zolli's created this intelligence briefing, FirstWord -- which is also a curated 'box o' stuff' that's designed to inform, inspire and connect. Zolli's pushed past the traditional trends and insights subscription services: Pay $2995/yr & you get books and articles, video interviews with thought leaders, their contact information, a CD with links, articles, and access to a 'thought leader' conference call.
While the web and technology make access to information easy ... I think curated information and services like this will find great success as people become increasingly overwhelmed by infinite resources and seek out expertise//advice//direction. The task then will be discerning WHO we actually trust to share expertise and advice.
There are a ton of cool, well-designed 'kits' out there - below is Elizabeth Dilk's Writer's Block Kit ... great design, great idea. I'm excited to jump off this little project!
If you're interested in working on the Stunner Starter Kit - doing interviews or researching interesting careers, please reach out!
image of FirstWord from Andrew Zolli's Z+ Partners website
image of Elizabeth Dilk's Writer's Block Kit via Notcot
