thinking: relating- celebrating :-)

Stephen Knightly is going to be presenting at TEDxAuckland on gaming for good.

One of the games that he will probably mention is called MyFriendQuest.

MyFriendQuest is an animated PC application created by the BrightMind LABS team to teach children to recognize and respond appropriately to emotions.

Initially designed for the specific needs of children with high functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome, MyFriendQuest also achieves great results with children with ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia, learning difficulties, social anxiety and severe shyness. 

MyFriendQuest is designed to engage children on a gaming level while making sense of a part of everyday life that many struggle with.

Stephen is a Director of video games consultancy InGame and technology and innovation marketing consultancy Pursuit PR, but has turned his longtime passion for creating video games into an income and a positive contribution. Recent posts by Stephen include Case Study: Autism game for kids and TED talks about gaming.

One that caught my attention was this talk on a the gaming layer idea by

Seth Priebatsch: Entrepreneur (21)

Prresented recently At TEDxBoston JUly 2010  12:02 minutes Posted: Aug 2010

By now, we’re used to letting Facebook and Twitter capture our social lives on the web — building a “social layer” on top of the real world. At TEDxBoston, Seth Priebatsch looks at the next layer in progress: the “game layer,” a pervasive net of behavior-steering game dynamics that will reshape education and commerce.

He is currently (more about Seth Priebatsch)

“working on SCVNGR, “a massive experiment in building a mobile game together.” Backed by Google Ventures, SCVNGR is part game, part game platform.  Players play SCVNGR by going places, doing challenges and having fun — outside of the office, beyond the screen, in the real world. Organizations use SCVNGR by building on the game layer by adding their own challenges to the places they care about.”

About Seth Priebatsch

“Proud Princeton dropout” Seth Priebatsch runs SCVNGR, a mobile start-up trying to build the game layer on top of the world. Full bio and more links

I predict an unusual demand for baby sitters this coming Tuesday morning. Its going to be a bit hard to find a sitter at 2am but I think some parents are going to try. The reason is a live global event called TEDxChange which is being broadcast live to the web from NYC.

It is free to attend and the first 50 students to apply actually get free tickets to the TEDxAuckland event being held on Sunday 26th of September at Westlake Boys High on the North Shore in Auckland.

If you want to be in on the free ticket offer you need to view the TEDxChange_Auckland.pdf and read the details there to see if you qualify. As student tickets are $5o each for TEDxAuckland that is a great deal. (The poster is 1.4mb so careful if on your mobile data plan.)

“Please join TEDxAuckland for a crazy pyjama party and a unique experience on September 21, 2010 at 2 a.m for TEDxChange, a live event from New York, co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and TED.”

TEDxChange marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the eight Millennium Development Goals set out by the UN to tackle global issues such as poverty, child mortality and disease.

Convened by Melinda French Gates and featuring talks by some of the world’s most inspired thinkers and doers, TEDxChange will look at what changes have taken place in the last decade, and what more needs to be done to ensure the health and well-being of future generations.

Watch the webcast: The entire 90-minute program will be streamed live on TED.com on September 20, 2010 at 11am EDT which is 2 and 3 am in the morning NZ time

Where: Business School Decima Glenn Room, Level 3 Owen Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Rd. 2am-5am BYO Teddy.

Any tips on where to find babysitters at 2am in the morning will be warmly received.

I will definitely be going the the TEDxAuckland event on Sunday the 26th which is just one week away now.

If you want to download a poster to email or print out please $100 adults $50 Students http://ow.ly/d/6Bp

At DialogCRM we are proud and delighted to be one of the sponsors for the event.

Download: TEDxAuckland_2010.pdf

This video clip is from Plum Jungle: Pete Longworth (photography), Michael K. Chin (music), Christopher Baron (film). @PlumJungle are coming across to Auckland and presenting at TEDxAuckland on 26th of Sept. I’m looking forward to this. Music, film, photography, media and more. Michael is @TokyoLoveIn Genres:Electronic, Music, Jazz

‘Life on Top of Hyde Park’ project – the genesis for other works like, ‘Another Time, Another Pace’. Music: ‘Crosstown’ – from the album, ‘Life on top of Hyde Park’ by Michael K. Chin (Tokyo Love-In)

Available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/

I like the work but also spotted that @FundBreak is partly behind some of this creative work. Their tagline is FundBreaker, Crowd funding platform for your projects & ideas.

I don’t believe we have anything like this in NZ . The fundbreak business model looks like a great way to lend a hand up. I have written here before about peer to peer banking and development aid. This looks like a start-up waiting to happen here. The Big Idea New Zealand creative community meets Give a Little.

Apparently there is some $ available The New Zealand Venture Investment Fund says $50 million has become available to establish new funds targeting innovative local companies …not strictly for creative companies (The deadline for proposals for new funds is 5pm Monday, 27 September 2010.)

What is Fundbreak?
Fundbreak is a new crowdfunding platform and community for creative projects and ideas. Developed for artists, musicians, filmmakers, journalists, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, event organisers, software developers and all other creative’s, to raise funds and give project creators the break they need to realise their goals and aspirations.

How does Fundbreak work?
Fundbreak provides project creators with a platform to present their ideas to a worldwide audience. If anyone likes the idea, they can support it by pledging money to the creator’s project. In return for support, the project creators will offer rewards depending on the level of funding; essentially differentiating itself from the normal funding process.

Who is the Fundbreak team?
The Fundbreak team is made up of four energetic, tech-savvy, eccentric team members, situated in Sydney.

Whether you are a part-time photographer or an inspiring xylophone musician, Fundbreak is here with a capable platform in helping you find your funds.