Gooood news for entrepreneurs

Some years ago was just impossible to get easy and free access to a huge number of professionals from all around the world. In our days technology breaks that barrier and lets the "business networking" to be a simple and easy job.
I'm talking about portals on the Internet that makes business networking possible. I know 2 of them and I really recommend them:

1. Xing

1. Linkedin

In both cases the membership is free.
The principle of the sites is to be able to see profiles of persons and their interests. If some of them looks interesting for you then you can invite them to join your network. Of course you can invite also to all your existing base of customers, providers and friends.
The effect is really interesting because each of your contacts will have also their own contacts and they will be able to see your profile and eventually invite you to be a direct contact with them as well. That means that as more contacts you have better possibilities of knowing more people.
Both services are very well designed and they avoid spam. I never received a message that wasn't interesting for me.

In the case of Linkedin there is a new service called "Answers", it is something similar than the Yahoo Answers service but the benefit is that you get answers from adults and in most of the cases especilists in different topics, very cool!

Xing is also interesting because it lets you participate and create "groups". There you can create forums and also communicate with the members of it using newsletters. You can use the group's home page from your web site or link it from your email signature, that can be very useful if you need to communicate with partners or providers with a reliable service and great security functionality.

NOTE: It is important in both cases to be an active member and to keep your profile with current information. There are millions of persons participating so it is not so easy to be contacted "just like that". My advise: invite all your contact list! that will also help you to keep your contacts online... so if your computer crashes... you have them also online :)

T'ikapapa, 2007 Environment And Development Awards

"Papa" means potato in Spanish.
Some years ago I've heard the comments of a professional in social services that one of the problems within indigenous population in Peru is the lack of leadership. That person is a United Nations member. And I think it is true. That problem comes from the Peruvian complex history.
Nevertheless, the times are changing and together with non for profit organizations and international aid agencies the Andean communities are making steps forward to development, leadership and environmental responsibility; in this case I'm talking about The Seed Initiative.
A group of Peruvian entrepreneurs is selected like one of ten finalists for a product called T'ikapapa. The project helps small scale farmers "...Taking a participatory market chain approach, T’ikapapa fosters the formation of local farmers’ associations and opens access to
technological assistance, technological innovation and market information, thus facilitating vending to supermarket chains...".
I wish them great success! Congratulations!

A gooood business case

In January Cisco (a company that provides telecommunication, networking and security devices), and Apple (providers of the Ipod and the Mac) had a problem. Apple used a brand registred previously by Cisco.
The problem was that Apple showed an aggressive and arrogant behavior. Cisco showed from the start a strong will to find a win to win agreement.
Apple ignored it.
Today the press announced that both companies found an agreement and both get more than the usage of their brands, they will cooperate in other areas. I think this is a good sample about getting the best out of problems.

The best way to help - special answer

I'm very glad to tell you that I received an answer that really satisfies the question of "how is the best way to help?".
I received that answer from a person trained for social services using the Yahoo Answers web site. Here the answer:

"Usually by the time a person hits the streets, there are multiple issues that they are facing: poverty, addiction, mental health, lack of education and/or skills etc.

Giving someone a smile and a coffee is nice in the moment, but to really help people, they have to want to be helped. Usually there are non-profit organizations that have the training and the staffing to address the multi-level challenges that accompany people who are living on the streets.

The best way you can help is to volunteer at these organizations, educate yourself on the issues, or if you don't have time for that, at least strive to support these charities through donations (money or otherwise)

Just my 2 cents."

This person's nickname is "chunkamunka" Thanks a lot for your great answer!

Turning memories into diamonds

One of the questions I have about my own life is... how would I like to be buried?
I think that I'm getting close to an answer after watching a video about a girl that was turned into a diamond after her death. (Check the video).
There is a company named LifeGem that is making that possible. They use the carbon from the ashes of a loved one and then after a very especial process they can make a diamond.
You can see some pictures about the work of other companies making synthetic diamonds as well in News.com.

The best way to help

Hello! This time is not a good new.. it is more a way to get information about what you think about helping people or even countries.

• Dow we have to give money to beggars? Or is it better to give them food?
• Is it good to give food or better to give work?
• Is it good to give work or better to give opportunities?
• What about knowledge?

Many people help organizations like Unicef and many think that their money goes to pay salaries of Unicef employees (I personally like to cooperate with Unicef). Others are supporting individuals that help people to build wells or other things... but then they don't have security of how their money is managed.

Please let me know your opinion. If you want your voice to be heard click on the following button and record your voice. If you are more comfortable by writing just let a comment in this post. Thanks in advance! your ideas can change the world... don't forget that! :)

Good news for Friday!

After a long week of work the only thing I would like to have is a good "siesta"!
The good news here are related to my wish. A new study shows evidence that people that take regular siestas of 30 minutes per day can decrease their chances of dying from heart disease in 37%.
There is more to read in sciam.com

Different ways to say "I love you"

It is all about love :)
Humans aren't the only ones expressing creatively their feelings. Scientific American published a nice picture gallery. Check it... it is funny and why not... creative!
You can also see what others are thinking about today special day in Flickr. Love is in the air!
Happy Valentine's day!

Just imagine...what to do with all the fat from the fast food industry?

In the US the fast food industry uses 3.9 billion gallons of oil (1 gallon=3.8 litters aprox.). That is oil that after used is trashed. So... what to do with it? can we get something from that waste?
Yeeees! it looks like it is possible! we can get biodiesel! At least this is what BiOil Corporation answered.
Give a check on News.com article.

Good reading!

In the last few months I've read many books. Very interesting ones to tell you the truth. But all of them related to technology, business and even graphic design.
I forgot on some topics I love! like fantasy.
I had the luck to go to a bookstore in London where I found one book that captured my attention. Its name is: "The Last Elf" by Silvana de Mari. In Amazon you can find it like "The Last dragon".
The good new here is to share with you a book that is based on "innocence". The magical world of fantasy transported me to the time when I was a child so it made me remember how great is to feel the world without the day to day complications of the "adult" world.

The meatrix videos!

I think it is always a good new to see the creative effort of persons and organizations trying to solve current problems. They help us to open the eyes to realities that are hidden for us and of course they help us to create a better opinion.
The videos are worth to see, check them visiting: http://www.themeatrix.com/