Noise Kills 200,000 People a Year in Europe: Sound Design is the Future

Julian Treasure has an interesting talk to get to sound health in 8 steps. He says our increasingly noisy world is gnawing away at our mental health -- even costing lives. His 8-step plan includes advice on softening sonic assault (starting with those cheap earbuds) to restore our relationship with sound.

He notes that women listen expansively compared to men and jokes that if men could take one thing away from his talk, it's to listen more expansively and you'll transform your relationship.

Noise is killing 200,000 people a year in Europe. He says that there's a price we pay from music compression; we have to work harder to get the sound and using bad headsets are part of the problem or using them incorrectly. 61% of students have hearing issues related to poor headphones. Quality 'listening' means you don't have to turn the music up so loud.

The last two things I took from his talk and my favorites: Silence is beautiful. He says the Elizabethans described language as Decorated Silence - how great is that? And secondly: Sound Design is the Future. Julian encourages us to design everything around us with sound in mind.

Acumen Fellows Program Applications Open

The Acumen Fellows Program is now accepting applications for 2011 and 2012.

The Acumen Fellowship is a one year program that immerses Fellows in world-class leadership training, field work with social enterprises on the front lines, and a community of change makers and thought leaders.

For 2011, they received over 550 applications from over 65 different countries for 10 positions. While each Fellow comes from a diverse background and brings a unique skill set to the Fellowship, below are some key indicators of a successful Fellow:

* Proven track record of leadership and management responsibilities

* Experience working in emerging markets

* Unrelenting perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills

* Strong passion and commitment

* 3-7 years of work experience

* Graduate degree preferred

Below is a synopsis of some of the fellows and what they have done and where.

iPad Gets Cheers Down Under

From Wall Street Journal Digits this week, iPad goes down under and gets lots of cheer.

Top Twitter Cities

As an avid tweeter and someone who has lived in countless countries over the years, I found this chart incredibly fascinating....twitter usage and popularity around the world, starting with London in first place, LA in second place and Chicago in third (a surprise). The rest of the line-up through #70 below.

Australian Innovation in Silicon Valley: Kudos to Solar-Gem

Solar-Gem won the 2010 Australian Innovation Shoot Out as part of the G'Day USA: Australia Week.

An event, that included a competition, was held this week to showcase Australian innovation, illustrating collaborative, entrepreneurial spirit between Australia and the United States.

The competition was to promote Australian innovation by showcasing the country’s most pioneering technology companies. The fourth annual Innovation Shoot Out was hosted at Microsoft’s Mountain View, CA campus this week.

Solar-Gem provides modular solar-powered off-grid lighting and electricity systems, pre-pay tariffing systems, and high-efficiency LED lighting modules targeting the 1.6 billion people without access to power.

Companies were judged based on their ability to solve a recognized problem, demonstrate a clearly defined business model and market for their solutions, offer a solution superior to what’s already available, and provide a reasonable return on investment.

There was a judging panel of industry leaders chaired by Mark Anderson, CEO of Strategic News Service. Judges included Deborah Magid, director of software strategy at IBM Venture Capital Group; Allison Leopold Tilley, partner at Pillsbury; Chris Shipley, chairman and CEO of Guidewire Group and former executive producer of the DEMO Conference; and Prashant Shah, managing director of VC firm Hummer Winblad. Microsoft’s Dan’l Lewin, corporate vice president, strategic and emerging business development provided the event’s opening keynote.

Other participating companies included: Digisensory, Intelliguard, Mid-Comp International, MultiTrode, Solar-Gem, Synengco, and Zarloc.

Now in its seventh consecutive year, G’Day USA: Australia Week promotes Australian culture, business, fashion and food through events across the United States. The annual Innovation Shoot Out offers Australian companies the chance to present their technologies to U.S.-based venture capitalists to show that they are ready to enter the U.S. marketplace.

Who Will Be Named G'Day USA - Australian Innovator of the Year?

Australia has an Innovation Shoot-Out this Wednesday in Mountain View.

Australia's most forward thinking technology innovators take the stage in Silicon Valley for the fourth annual Innovation Shoot Out. They each have five minutes to convince a panel of top-tier U.S. investors and industry experts that their technology is ready to play on the global stage.

Inspiration guaranteed — All attendees are entered in the prize drawing to win two round trip tickets to Australia, courtesy of Qantas (you must be present to win).

The opening keynote will be Dan'l Lewin of Microsoft Corporation and Judging Panel Chair & Closing Keynote is Mark Anderson from Strategic News Service.

Judging Panel:

*Allison Leopold Tilley, Pillsbury

*Deborah Magid, IBM Venture Capital Group

*Prashant Shah, Hummer Winblad

*Chris Shipley, Guidewire

The 2010 Shoot Out finalists are:

Digisensory, which combine smart imaging devices with their web-based real-time distributed intelligence system to deliver an end-to-end security and surveillance solution.

Intelliguard, a provider of DDoS protection for online enterprises and Internet service providers.

Mid-Comp International, a supply chain management infrastructure provider.

MultiTrode, a specialist in lift station control and monitoring for water and wastewater facilities around the world.

Solar Gem, a creator of affordable off-grid energy based on clean solar technologies.

Synengco, a technology provider that helps companies assess and reduce their greenhouse gas and other emissions.

Zarloc, creator of the ROSS system, web-based employee scheduling software that brings sophisticated workforce management software to the small business owner.