Hungry for Social Innovation?  We can hardly believe it either but the day’s almost here and the excitement is unbearable. We’ve gathered the best of the best in the socially innovative and creative worlds–and not just speakers mind you, but attendees, partners (and a few surprises too).
Hear from the likes of Dickson Despommier, of the vertical farming project, Scott Belsky, Founder of Behance, and Dale Jones, CEO of Play Pumps International, just to name a few. Then connect and collaborate with some of the best in the business. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
If you haven’t bought you ticket already, there are only 13 left, so get to it! You can register here. And for more information, go to http://www.thefeastconference.com

After the shock and awe, we’ve pretty well gone through all the stages of grief in regards to the collapse of Wall Street and the subsequent teetering of the world’s markets, (or at least ignored it all, opting to just attended the various discount/recession themed parties and clothing swaps). It now seems we’re settling into acceptance… but why not excitement instead? An interesting gopher of an idea has been popping up around the innovation and entrepreneurial scene– maybe this collapse was a good thing?
It’s not a crazy idea. If you know us well, you know we’re of innovation. If you know us REALLY well, you know that we have crushes on people like  Joseph Schumpeter and theories like creative destruction.
The notion has been found in writings by myriad thinkers, but according to Schumpeter, the term describes the process of transformation that accompanies radical innovation, where entry into the market by entrepreneurs that sustained long-term economic growth, lead to the destruction of the value of corporate culture ( which is contrary to true capitalism) and established companies that enjoyed monopoly power.
In a broader sense, it’s the age old ideas behind the Phoenix out of the ashes, the something beautiful can be rebuilt upon total destruction. When something is truly leveled ( and the entrenched malign ideas, people and methods with it ) it becomes all the easier (and some might say, only then) can truly new and innovative ideas take root as new alternatives and opportunities.
So take a deap breath and get pumped. We’re excited to see what’s next, because, perhaps Werner Sombart put it best, “again out of destruction a new spirit of creativity arises”.

MySpace has created your new best friend: MySpace Impact, a profile that links users to resources in order to inspire social change and civic engagement. Just add it as your friend and be plugged into political blogs, local benefits, videos of your favorite celebs speaking their socially conscious minds, latest headlines, songs from musicians dedicated to helping out, and endless information on non-profits.
The site encourages users to take advantage of MySpace’s free services and use it as a vehicle for social change. Impact provides information on how your organization can achieve a non-profit status and will assist with your organization in leveraging the MySpace platform. See the tips listed on Impact for uploading photo and videos, and for creating a personalized layout. If these don’t help, Impact’s dedicated team will help your organizations create programs and features “that engage our users in issues and campaigns relevant to them.” All political candidates, non-profits, and concerned citizens are encouraged to request a listing in the Impact directory (coming soon) and to request partnership with Impact on campaigns, events, and publicity.
MySpace Impact has also launched the MySpace Impact Awards, which features one of the six categories each month: poverty relief, international development, community building, social justice, environmentalism and health and safety. Users nominate organizations in the featured category and then vote for the winner, who is featured on the Impact Awards page and receives an award of $10,000.
On top of all this, Impact has created sister profiles through partnerships with various organizations: a collaboration with Volunteer Match has produced VolunteerSpace, which is a search engine for local volunteer opportunities. OurPlanet is Impact’s branch dedicated to the environmentally concerned and serves as a forum where users can discuss the latest environmental trends and more importantly, how to be part of the solution.
MySpace, owned by notoriously Republican News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch, is known to many as a social networking site and…as a place enabling adults to make inappropriate sexual advances towards minors. Can MySpace transform its reputation like it asks users to transform passive natures into motivated and eager minds working towards change? With the burgeoning amount of Impact supported profiles and the increasing number of “friends” they draw, it looks so. Let’s all give our new friend a pat on the back.

New Orleans 100 Mixer
Tuesday, October 28th
6 - 8 PM
The New Orleans 100 is a worldwide initiative that will highlight and encourage discussion among millions about 100 of the most innovative and world-changing ideas to take root in the city since Katrina.
All Day Buffet is coming down to the Big Easy from the Big Apple! Come join us to celebrate the innovators, social entrepreneurs, and creative mavericks that make up the NOLA100. RSVP is required and the secret location will be emailed on Monday, October 27th.  Complimentary drinks will be provided by Tito’s Vodka.  Yum!
Come drink for a cause, party with a purpose, and hit up Rebirth for one dope after party. Everyone is invited, so tell all your friends! RSVP by visiting http://www.alldaybuffet.org/neworleans100/mixer

We can hardly believe it either but the day’s almost here and the excitement is unbearable. We’ve gathered the best of the best in the socially innovative and creative worlds–and not just speakers mind you, but attendees, partners (and a few surprises too).
Hear from the likes of Dickson Despommier, of the vertical farming project, Scott Belsky, Founder of Behance, and Dale Jones, CEO of Play Pumps International, just to name a few. Then connect and collaborate with some of the best in the business. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
If you haven’t bought you ticket already, there are only 41 left, so get to it! You can register here. And for more information, go to http://www.thefeastconference.com
It all goes down on October 16th at The Scandinavia House NYC in 7…6…5…4…

Education–the backbone of our citizenry– might be the most important service we and our country could offer. So why are the stewards of education underpaid and under-appreciated?! One school is taking that issue head on through a simple but innovative route to changing the education system– creating a school that offers value and incentive to good teachers the way the rest of our economy always has :: monetarily. It’s called  The Equity Project Charter School (TEP) and if you haven’t read the New York Times article about it yet, perhaps you’ve heard the buzz around (or seen the drool from educational friends and associates over) the $125,000 salaries they’ll offer. Acording to the front page in today’s Times, the school will:
“open in September 2009 in Manhattan’s Washington Heights community, and it will aim to enroll middle school students at risk of academic failure. Students with the lowest test scores will be given admissions priority. In order to recruit the country’s top teachers to work with these at-risk students, the school’s founding principal will cut administrative costs and put a higher percentage of the school’s public funding into teacher salaries. He’s also seriously
raising teacher qualifications, offering teachers a potential $25,000 bonus, and expanding the school day and work year for teachers. The principal will make $90,000. There will be no vice principal.”
We’ve all seen talented teachers in high risk schools or otherwise do their time and move on to more lucrative careers, burn out or become frustrated by the lack of support or motivated and quality colleagues. Not to say we’re believers in the “free market”, but definitely think that’s power in monetary incentive (paired with education methods and policy). Think about it.. you always value what you pay for.
So why not give teachers a chance to get rich from teaching? Education creates value for our society and country (goodness knows we need that now), so why not give them a peice of the pie they’re helping to bake. Now that’s all American.
As a Charter school, they don’t get a school building from the gov’t, so they’re looking for donations for their facility. You can donate here or let us know if you want to help.