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| Jolly old St. Nick by Jack Mattson |
Last month we talked about the DARPA Network Challenge. This was a nationwide competition to demonstrate the power of social networks. Ten eight foot red weather balloons were placed across the United States. Teams assembled to locate all of the balloons and be the first to report them. Using the 2500 or so regular users of BalloonHQ.com, I was able to collect data on six of the ten balloons out there. Unfortunately, I was only able to report four of them before a team based at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology was declared to be the winner. However, I'm satisfied. Four is still pretty respectable. In a nationwide competition, we placed at number 20. That's not too shabby. And knowing that if I had reported the last two that we had would have put us much higher on the list makes me smile.
Where we were really successful was in getting major media attention. People saw that this group of "naive and fluffy" (according to The Register) balloon artists has quite an established network across the US. In national media interviews, I talked about the worldwide reach of our network. For this particular event, it was people in the continental US that were most important. Wouldn't it be fun to do a similar event that covered the world?
Some of you are still waiting for the final results of the cupcake
challenge. We'll get those results out ASAP. Read about that in last
Twistina is an award-winning artist based in the UK. In edition to
appearing at many parties and special events, she shares
her creativity through instructional materials, lectures and workshops.
Featured artist portfolio: Twistina
English breakfast by Twistina
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