Coordinated Migration ~ FB on Human Relocation

Thanks to the DM's Ellie Zolfagharifard for spotting How Facebook reveals human migration...

"Facebook data scientists recently compared users’ hometowns with their current residences to uncover the top 10 cities that had coordinated migrations -- or the movement of large numbers of people from one place to another. The top destinations were found throughout the world in countries that are rapidly urbanising. In these areas at least 20 per cent of the population of one city had moved to another city. [...] ‘We believe that these migrations have cultural and political motives, on top of economical ones,’ said Facebook. [...] According to this data, countries such as India, Nigeria, and Turkey are becoming increasingly urban, with many people moving from rural areas into large cities such as Hyderabad and Chennai in India and Lagos in Nigeria. For most of the cities on the top 10 list, the megacity migrations are coming from within the same countries."

Internet Everywhere ~ NeilG et al on Future Web

World Science Festival panel on Internet Everywhere...

"Pioneers of the digital revolution examine the Internet’s brief but explosive history and reveal nascent projects that will shortly reinvent how we interact with technology -- and each other. From social upheaval and ever-shifting privacy standards to self-driving cars and networked groceries..."

Twitter Diffusion ~ Accelerating US Adoption...

US Twitter Adoption map over time...

"From late March 2006 through the early August 2009, nearly 3.5 million people signed up for twitter. 2.3 million of those users signed up in the 408 cities displayed here. As users sign up, the blue circles grow and size and turn read then that city reaches a critical mass of users. We defined critical mass as achieving 13.5% of the total number of users that city will gain over the three years. The graph represents the number of new users signing up each week."

Definitely read Traditional social networks fueled Twitter’s spread...

"...the site’s growth in the United States actually relied primarily on media attention and traditional social networks based on geographic proximity and socioeconomic similarity"

Diaspora Networks ~ Mapping Migrant Clusters

The Economist Daily Chart spotlights Indian & Chinese diasporas...

"Where are the world's biggest Chinese and Indian immigrant communities? More Chinese people live outside mainland China than French people live in France, with some to be found in almost every country. Some 22m ethnic Indians are scattered across every continent. Diasporas have been a part of the world for millennia. But today their size (if migrants were a nation, they would be the world’s fifth-largest) and the ease of staying in touch with those at home are making them matter much more. No other social networks offer the same global reach—and shrewd firms are taking notice..."

Plus related Economist article on The magic of diasporas notes...

"Immigrant networks are a rare bright spark in the world economy. Rich countries should welcome them. [...] Diaspora networks -- of Huguenots, Scots, Jews and many others -- have always been a potent economic force, but the cheapness and ease of modern travel has made them larger and more numerous than ever before. [...] These networks of kinship and language make it easier to do business across borders. They speed the flow of information. [...They] also help spread ideas. Many of the emerging world’s brightest minds are educated at Western universities. An increasing number go home, taking with them both knowledge and contacts. [...] Diasporas spread money, too. Migrants into rich countries not only send cash to their families; they also help companies in their host country operate in their home country. [...] Rich countries are thus likely to benefit from looser immigration policy; and fears that poor countries will suffer as a result of a “brain drain” are overblown. The prospect of working abroad spurs more people to acquire valuable skills, and not all subsequently emigrate. Skilled migrants send money home, and they often return to set up new businesses. One study found that unless they lose more than 20% of their university graduates, the brain drain makes poor countries richer."

Connected Crisis ~ NYTimes Debt Infographic...

Bill Marsh et al at the NYTimes crafted this rich infographic about the connected crisis of debt exposure among sagging economies...

Supernetworked Firms ~ Global Corp Control...

New Scientist trumpets Revealed -- the capitalist network that runs the world, spotlighting The network of global corporate control by Vitali, Glattfelder, and Battiston...

"An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy. The study's assumptions have attracted some criticism, but complex systems analysts contacted by New Scientist say it is a unique effort to untangle control in the global economy. Pushing the analysis further, they say, could help to identify ways of making global capitalism more stable. [...] When the team further untangled the web of ownership, it found much of it tracked back to a "super-entity" of 147 even more tightly knit companies - all of their ownership was held by other members of the super-entity - that controlled 40 per cent of the total wealth in the network. "In effect, less than 1 per cent of the companies were able to control 40 per cent of the entire network," says Glattfelder. Most were financial institutions."

Which, to the extent they manage mutual funds and the money of masses, is obvious. But nevertheless interesting!

Ringing Change ~ ICT/Mobis Empowering Women

Meena Bhandari writes in the Guardian about Using technology to close the gender gap in Sierra Leone...

"Admire Bio has the reassured presence of a successful businesswoman, with an edge that reveals she is still hungry for more. Bio, 28, a single mother living with her parents, set up her first internet cafe in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, only a year ago. She has expanded with two more branches, and plans to go national if she can secure a bank loan. "My biggest motivation is challenging men," she says, "to [get women to] say: 'Yes! I can be successful without you'." [But there are many barriers to overcome] "There's a need to nurture a culture of real entrepreneurship to allow women to grow. As a first step, we need to put businesswomen on the map," she says. Unipsil and local NGO Afford-SL are working with women across the country to establish a national business network. "Once we have this kind of structure we can begin to bridge the gap between urban and rural businesses, for example, through technology, networking and training," says Manja Kargbo of Afford-SL. "Yes, I'll join a women's network," says Admire Bio. "I always tell women they can be like me -- stronger by saving, investing and doing business with technology."

Real Life Social Network ~ Understanding Circles

Check out this Presentation That Inspired Google+

LA's Red Cars ~ Pacific Electric Railway System

Fascinating to read about the Pacific Electric Railway or Red Car system in greater Los Angeles...

"...a mass transit system in Southern California using streetcars, light rail, and buses. The largest electric railway in the world at its greatest extent, around 1925, the system interconnected cities in Los Angeles County and Orange County, as well as in San Bernardino County and Riverside County. [...] Pacific Electric was the largest operator of interurban electric railway passenger service in the world with over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of track. The system ran to destinations all over Southern California, particularly to the south and east. [...] The railway company "connected all the dots on the map and was a leading player itself in developing all the real estate that lay in between the dots". [...] Pacific Electric passenger service was sold off in 1953 to a company known as Metropolitan Coach Lines, whose intention was to convert all rail service to bus service as quickly as possible [...] in what became known as the Great American Streetcar Scandal."

CONNECTED ~ The Power of Six Degrees...

The Center for Complex Network Research's Professor Albert-László Barabási and Dr Baruch Barzel will soon host a documentary showing of CONNECTED ~ The Power of Six Degrees, revealing the many...

"...applications of network theory in our everyday lives. In the film, Barabási and other scientists suggest that computer viruses, infectious diseases, proteins in the cell, and human social groups are all governed by the same fundamental concepts. By applying of these fundamental concepts to the military, to technology, and modern medicine, "network theory" scientists develop strong guides in research that may help us to control AIDS, break-up terrorist networks, and yes, perhaps even cure cancer."

Here's a sneak peak at the trailer...

Most Connected Capitalists ~ Über-Dealmakers

Maureen Farrell writes in Forbes about the Most Connected Capitalists, the über-linked who Ted Zoller, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of North Carolina, searched for within the infotech and healthcare sectors. Net result? A list of 15 of the...

"...most well-connected entrepreneurs, financiers and advisors in U.S. -- the very people America's fragile economy depends on to take risks and create jobs. "There's an important class of people who are really market makers and help early stage entrepreneurs make their deals successful," says Zoller, 45, who also runs CommonWeal Ventures, a venture and private equity firm, and serves on the board of three private firms. "They build the bridges needed to get new high-growth companies off the ground." [...] The most connected capitalists -- or "dealmakers," as Zoller calls them -- have at least three current connections with three of these companies. Meaning: Each relationship must involve an equity stake, as well as an operational position (say, as a chief financial officer), an advisory role or a seat on the board of directors. Zoller then weighted those players based on their absolute number of connections."

Superclass ~ Global Power Elite Rules Planet...

Interesting to read in the IEET about David Rothkopf's book Superclass which investigates the role of some ~6K people who each have...

"the ability to regularly influence the lives of millions of people in multiple countries worldwide."

Rothkopf's both an entrepreneur and himself connected to nodes in this power elite. See here his talk at the Carnegie Endowment...

Venture Café ~ Links at the Innovation Epicenter

As I've noted before, the new Venture Café is being prototyped by Carrie Stalder, Tim Rowe and crew this summer every Thursday afternoon-thru-eve 3-8pm at the Cambridge Innovation Center at One Broadway in Kendall Square, Cambridge. The point of the Venture Café is to connect inventive, creative, and entrepreneurial people in an informal but interesting setting in the heart of our MIT + Kendall Square innovation epicenter, all fueled by tasty morsels and fine fluids. Spread the word to venture-minded friends and colleagues!

Carrie Stalder ~ MIT SDM and Venture Café!

Very cool to have MIT grad student Carrie Stalder join me on MaximizingProgress.tv tonight. Carrie shared a bit of her background and current experience building up the new Venture Café in Kendall Square, Cambridge. This venue is currently in alpha prototype phase every Thursday afternoon in the Cambridge Innovation Center at One Broadway. Their goal? No less than dialing up the connectivity and serendipity and vitality of the entrepreneurial ecology in Kendall Square! Not easy, but quite needed! After her undergrad studies in engineering and applied science at CalTech -- MIT's west coast spinoff school;-) -- Carrie first got herself into astronomy, then construction, and then the defense electronics sectors! A self-described "extrovert among introverts" she's a great addition to MIT's grad student population as an SDM'er -- System Design and Management.

Zthere ~ Smartfone for Distance Demo & Collab

Nice to see Scott Kirsner's Innovation Economy piece Zthere turns smartphones into a collaborative tool about newco founded by MIT alum entrepreneur Matthias Wagner and Dan Ostrower. Kirsner quotes Ostrower...

"The idea was born out of frustrations that Matthias and I have had during years of hardware development and entrepreneurship. For example, flying people to Asian manufacturers to solve problems we felt there should be a way to solve remotely. ...We started asking ourselves, 'How could you show a tech in a factory how to use a thermal camera without sending him to training and without having someone next to him showing him what to do?'"

Check out the rest plus view the embedded demo video showing how to voice-annotate pictures or collaborate live-linked...

MIT Wins Balloon Challenge! ~ Celebration @ HQ!

DARPA just publicly announced the MIT Red Balloon Challenge Team winning the DARPA Network Challenge! The atmosphere here at MIT Media Lab Human Dynamics Group HQ is quite charged!-) Check out CNN's mid-Saturday interview with MIT's Riley Crane...

D-Lab Design ~ OpenCourseWare Shares All!

MIT's OpenCourseWare (OCW) staff spotlight D-Lab Design! OCW is MIT's project to share via web nearly all MIT course content openly and freely available to the world. We hope that other engineering colleges and universities -- or even motivated individuals -- can benefit from having these materials to either start or enhance great offerings at their own locations.

MIT ID-D-Drinks ~ MuddyMonday June 15 7p+

Interested folks are invited to join me and Seeding Labs founder Nina Dudnik and friends this coming Monday night, June 15th, at the Muddy Charles Pub from 7pm-onwards for our informal International Development Discussion & Drinks gathering! Come meet others thinking about science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and transformative global development! Alas, because of harshly enforced unconstitutional drinking age laws in our police state, everyone's expected to bring their Proper ID showing an age exceeding 21 years. Spread the word to those who might appreciate and add to the conversation!

African Terabits ~ Undersea Cable Maps

Thanks to White African for spotlighting this African undersea cables-mapping project at Many Possibilities...

Science News Cycle ~ PhD Comics Sensation ;-)

Thanks to Paul from GeekPress for spotting this PhD Comics sensationalization of the otherwise totally logical memetic diffusion of fact into myth...