As businesses race to adopt AI, traditional hiring models are being challenged—opening the door to a more diverse and potentially more effective workforce.

A Different Kind of Competitive Advantage

As artificial intelligence continues to transform how businesses operate, a new conversation is emerging around talent—and who is best equipped to thrive in this rapidly changing environment.

According to Josh Hough, founder of home care software company CareLineLive, neurodiverse individuals may be particularly well suited to this shift.

Speaking during Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Hough highlighted that traits often associated with neurodiversity—such as pattern recognition, deep focus, and problem-solving—are becoming increasingly valuable in AI-driven workflows.

Josh Hough, founder of CareLineLive, advocates for the value of neurodiverse talent in the AI economy

Challenging Traditional Hiring Models

Hough argues that many organisations are still relying on outdated hiring frameworks.

“A lot of businesses still want people who tick every box. The reality is, people who think differently often solve problems differently.”

In an AI economy defined by constant change, adaptability and alternative thinking are becoming critical.

This marks a shift away from:

• Process-driven roles

• Standardised thinking

• Linear problem-solving

Toward a workforce that can:

• Interpret complex systems

• Identify patterns quickly

• Approach problems from new angles

Lived Experience Shapes Innovation

Hough’s perspective is shaped by his own experience.

Born with a rare muscle-weakening condition, he spent much of his early life in a wheelchair—an experience that required him to constantly adapt and rethink how to navigate everyday challenges.

“When you grow up having to do things differently, you don’t assume the standard way is the best way.”

That mindset, he says, has carried directly into how he builds and leads his company.

Building Technology Around Real-World Needs

Founded in 2014, CareLineLive develops software used by more than 700 home care providers globally, supporting over 25,000 carers.

The company focuses on improving how information flows across care systems—an area where inefficiencies can have real-world consequences.

“Too often, information doesn’t move between people in the way it should. That creates risk and wastes time.”

By prioritising clarity, communication, and accessibility, the platform reflects the same principles Hough advocates in workforce design.

Neurodiversity in an AI-Driven Workplace

As AI adoption accelerates, the nature of work is evolving.

Rather than replacing human capability, many AI systems:

• Require interpretation

• Depend on pattern recognition

• Benefit from non-linear thinking

These are areas where neurodiverse individuals may excel.

Hough believes businesses need to rethink how they define capability:

“Not everyone is going to fit a traditional mould—but that doesn’t mean they can’t be excellent at what they do.”

A Broader Shift in Workplace Thinking

The conversation around neurodiversity is moving beyond inclusion—and toward performance.

Forward-looking organisations are beginning to recognise that:

• Cognitive diversity can drive innovation

• Different thinking styles can improve outcomes

• Inclusion is not just ethical—it’s strategic

In the context of AI, this shift may become even more pronounced.

Conclusion

As the AI economy continues to evolve, so too must the way organisations think about talent.

Josh Hough’s perspective highlights a simple but powerful idea:

The future of work may belong to those who think differently.

And for businesses willing to adapt, that represents not a challenge—but a competitive advantage.

The post Rethinking Talent for the AI Economy appeared first on Tech Trends.

The leaders in backup software have remained hardware independent but backup storage is an inflexible bundle of hardware and software. As a result, backup storage software offers limited innovations. StorONE is delivering a unique software-defined backup storage solution, S1:Backup, that delivers innovations like ransomware immutability and production-class performance and availability. Its software-defined flexibility provides cost-saving features like high-density hard disk support and seamless addition of higher density drives within the same volume.

“StorONE’s S1:Backup solution is the first software-defined backup storage solution that succeeds in separating the logical and physical, the hardware from the software.” said Gal Naor, StorONE’s CEO, “Our technology enables storage managers to determine the preferred RTO, RPO and TCO based on their organization’s needs without compromising on the quality of the hardware. StorONE has partnered with the industry’s best storage hardware manufacturers — HP, Dell, Intel, Seagate, SuperMicro and more — to deliver the best, most-affordable and future-proof solution on the market”

Most Flexible Ransomware Resiliency

Backup data is a primary target of ransomware, and legacy backup storage systems expose their customer’s last line of defense to the attack. StorONE’s new S1:Backup works with Veeam, Rubrik, HYCU, Commvault, and others to ensure backup data is immutable to ransomware attacks and extends the value to backup infrastructures while lowering the total cost of backup storage ownership.

If they offer it, legacy solutions force customers to use S3 for immutability. S1:Backup is the industry’s only solution that delivers immutability across all its protocols, including NFS, SMB, S3, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, and NVMe-oF. S1:Backup delivers 100% ransomware resiliency:

• Captures every backup job into an immutable state
• Retains immutable copies indefinitely without impacting performance
• If attacked by malware, rollback to a 30-second old immutable copy

Most Flexible Ransomware Resiliency

If they offer it, legacy solutions force customers to use S3 for immutability. S1:Backup is the industry’s only solution that delivers immutability across all its protocols, including NFS, SMB, S3, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, and NVMe-oF. S1:Backup delivers 100% ransomware resiliency:

• Captures every backup job into an immutable state
• Retains immutable copies indefinitely without impacting performance
• If attacked by malware, rollback to a 30-second old immutable copy

Most Flexible Long-Term Data Retention

Modern backup software supports decade-plus data retention, but modern backup storage can’t scale to meet this capability. The lack of scale and flexibility forces customers to add yet another storage silo, an archive.

S1:Backup delivers built-to-last backup storage supporting the highest-density hard disk drives (HDD) without compromising availability. It can scale to 15+PBs in a single cluster for long-term data retention while delivering high-performance backup and recovery.

S1:Backup provides genuine support of high-density HDD

• Fastest RAID rebuilds, recovering from 18TB drive failure in two hours (competing solutions take days)
• Unique bit-error-rot protection, critical for long-term retention
• Ultimate flexibility, mix new drive densities without creating new volumes or reconfiguring backup jobs

Flexible Auto-Tiering for Affordable Recovery Point Objectives

Capabilities like block-level incremental (change block tracking) backups enable customers to reduce their exposure to a ransomware attack or other failure. However, a high frequency of backup jobs puts too much strain on hard drive only backup storage technology, and All-Flash-Only backup storage is too expensive for the use case.

S1:Backup solves the problem by flexibly auto-tiering between a generous flash tier and up to a 15PB+ hard-disk tier to deliver:

• Supports hundreds of simultaneous backup jobs per hour for low RPO
• The lowest possible backup costs thanks to maximum performance from a small number of flash drives and 90% utilization of high-density hard disk drives

Flexible Backup Storage Elevates Instant-Recovery to Instant-Production

Modern backup-server software’s instant or live recovery features provide a dramatic reduction in recovery times. The problem is that the overhead of legacy backup-storage software makes the performance of that instantly recovered VM or application unusable and risky.

S1:Backup is the first backup storage solution that has the flexibility to be standby-production storage. IT can now take the time required to investigate the ransomware attack, software bug, or hardware failure that instigated recovery without impacting users or applications.

S1:Backup is the first to deliver a production-class experience

• Highly-Available backup cluster
• Supports FC, iSCSI, NVMe-oF, NFS, SMB and S3 protocols
• Enterprise-class performance and features
• At backup storage prices!

S1:Backup is the first backup storage solution designed to complement modern backup server software, delivering complete ransomware protection and recovery while extending the value of the backup storage investment and dramatically lowering the upfront and long-term costs of storage.

S1:Backup – Modern Backup Storage for Modern Backup Software

• Most flexible Ransomware Resilient Backup Storage
• First to elevate Instant Recovery to Instant-Production
• Lowers total cost of backup infrastructure

Learn More About S1:Backup:

• www.storone.com/backup
• Register for our live webinar “Ransomware’s Three Attacks on Backup and How to Neutralize Them” Live on November 18th.
• Download our white paper “Modernizing Backup Infrastructures.“

The post Innovating Backup Storage appeared first on Tech Trends.

Air pollution is one of the biggest threats to both the population’s health and the climate. The WHO estimates that air pollution kills at least 7 million people every year. The primary cause of this air pollution is fossil fuel emissions with a recent study estimating that there are nearly 8.7 million premature deaths each year because of the burning of coal, oil and gas – that’s 20% of all deaths.

The landmark agreement at the COP26 conference from world leaders to “phase down” the use of coal, highlights the growing awareness of the pressing need to act against fossil fuels and the wider issue of air pollution. Meeting these ambitious climate targets will be essential to mitigate both the devastating environmental and health effects of air pollution.

Indoor air quality is also crucial, as Covid-19 has highlighted, especially considering we spend roughly 90% of our time indoors.
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Indoor air quality is also crucial, as Covid-19 has highlighted, especially considering we spend roughly 90% of our time indoors. In light of the WHO’s estimate that 3.8 million people die prematurely each year from illnesses attributable to household air pollution, it is clear that combatting indoor air pollution must also become a priority.

The key to mitigating the devastating consequences of air pollution will be a reliable and accurate global air monitoring system. This will allow pollution hotspots to be identified and targeted measures to be implemented in order to combat the dangerous effects of poor air quality. These measures will be crucial to saving the countless lives that are put at risk by air pollution each year.

The need for a new system

Air monitoring systems are the key to pinpointing areas of high air pollution and providing the necessary data to reduce this pollution. However, most air monitoring systems rely on a scarce distribution of monitors which can only offer an approximation of local data. This lack of precise and up-to-date data can make it difficult to evaluate which actions are best to reduce the air pollution being identified.

Up-to-date data on pollution levels is vital to facilitating key measures such as traffic reduction schemes, emission taxes and the identification of safe locations for public facilities.
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Conversely, detailed and real-time data can be utilised to successfully mitigate the dangerous health risks of air pollution. Up-to-date data on pollution levels is vital to facilitating key measures such as traffic reduction schemes, emission taxes and the identification of safe locations for public facilities.

The role of community

Currently, more than 90% of the global population are breathing air with pollution levels well above the WHO’s 2005 guideline for tiny particles. Clearly, air quality is an issue which is affecting everyone and, as such, everyone should have an opportunity to play a role in addressing it. Delivering a successful hyperlocal air quality monitoring system relies upon the role of communities and their engagement with the system. In order for this to be a success, affordable and easy to use sensors are vital so as to enable a large-scale adoption which can provide the most accurate data.

PlanetWatch champions a community-driven solution to air monitoring with our system of plug-and-play devices which rely on the engagement of local residents, authorities and organisations. This community-driven model of air monitoring offers a real-time network of sensors which provide accurate and real-time information. This hyperlocal data allows the most effective solutions for each specific region to be identified.

PlanetWatch champions a community-driven solution to air monitoring with our system of plug-and-play devices which rely on the engagement of local residents, authorities and organisations.
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By involving communities in the process of air monitoring, they are empowered to deliver improvements to their surroundings from which they will directly benefit. Those who own sensors are rewarded when air quality data is sent to PlanetWatch with Planet Tokens. These can then be redeemed for useful products or services such as air purifiers.

PlanetWatch leverages blockchain technology to store the data from sensors safely and anonymously. This offers a global, permanent and safe air quality ledger to track and reward all the data which is provided. Sensor owners are able to voluntarily provide further information to improve the monitoring network making the monitoring process both an individual and community efforts. This community-driven approach provides accurate and real-time data whilst also empowering citizens, local authorities and organisations to take charge of their air quality.

The Smart Cities of the future

PlanetWatch’s partnerships with local organisations across the world are creating a growing network of air quality sensors. In addition, our partnership with the blockchain ecosystem Algorand demonstrates a real and important use of a technology which has immense potential for the future.

With pollution cutting an average of two years from the lives of the global population, it is clear that everyone has a stake in the monitoring of our air quality in order to mitigate these devastating effects.
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With pollution cutting an average of two years from the lives of the global population, it is clear that everyone has a stake in the monitoring of our air quality in order to mitigate these devastating effects. An approach which utilises cutting-edge technology and the community signals the future of air quality monitoring as we take a vital step towards combating the effects of air pollution.

The post Looking to the Future of Air Pollution Monitoring appeared first on Tech Trends.

Towards the end of SXSW 2022, there was a truck on Red River Street offering free smoothie samples. This is not an abnormal occurrence for SXSW. However, this pop-up sampling is a bit different. These samples were made with “upcycled food,” by Trendi, a Canadian “robotics brand focused on innovative food waste and upcycling solutions.”

Each year around “15% of all food produced on farms” is wasted due to “labor shortages, cosmetic imperfections, weather events, and more.” This adds up to around 15 million tons of produce in the US and is nearly 30% of the total US food loss and waste.

Trendi wants to change that. They have invented “BioTrim” units that can be placed at farms to “rescue” food that would have been wasted “when it’s freshest and process it on-site.” These units freeze-dry the food and “by reducing its size and weight by more than 80%,” they can “reduce emissions during transportation.” Trendi claims that this food also maintains “95% of the nutrients,” making this an efficient and impactful process.

I spoke with Carissa Campeotto, Co-Founder & CMO to learn more about this company. They started out with the “concept of automating a smoothie machine.” They later pivoted into what they are doing now with the “rescue and capture of food.

Campeotto says that “everyone was always talking about the waste in restaurants and at home, but nobody looks at the farm at the early stage of the food cycle.”  This step is crucial because “that’s where all the big waste is” and “the farther down the food cycle the waste goes, the more difficult it is for us to rescue it.”

By placing BioTrim units directly on farms they get immediate access to the food that would be wasted. These units make this process much more affordable, and also help “the smaller farmers to take part in it as well.” Instead of paying for the cost of disposal, farmers can have a new revenue stream. The increased efficiency of farmland could reduce the environmental impact of agriculture as a whole.

Another benefit of the BioTrim units is that “a percentage of all the product we process through these units goes directly to community programs in low-income communities that really need the nutrient-dense foods.” Campeotto describes this as  “more of a localized program” that can help local food go to local communities. She describes the company’s ethos as “doing good and helping those who don’t generally have a fair voice in the food industry like the farmers and those who are hungry.

It takes a lot of expertise to make a project like this happen. Campeotto explains that “our team has collectively hundreds of years of food experience.” This kind of expertise comes in handy because “it’s very difficult to manage a freeze-dried product because the second humidity touches the product, it goes really bad.”

Freeze-drying was invented in 1906 by Jacques-Arsene d’Arsonval. During World War II, the process was used to “preserve blood serum.” It wasn’t until the 1950’s that “industrial freeze-drying of foods began.” Freeze-dried foods have a better quality than other dehydrated foods, due to “the absence of a liquid phase, as well as the low temperature of the process.” This process “preserves flavor, color, and appearance, while minimizing thermal damage to heat-sensitive nutrients”.

The BioTrim units also make freeze-drying cheaper. Campeotto says that, at home, if she wanted to “freeze-dry a kilo of product it would cost me like $50.” With BioTrim, it “costs us about $12.50 to do it ourselves.” The process of freeze-drying can be expensive but, since they use “upcycled ingredients,” they get them at “a great value” and that “offsets the more expensive costs.”

I tried the smoothies they were handing out. They had refreshing ingredients like apple, cucumber, kale, lemon, celery, blueberry and cranberry. They were good. They tasted like a nice healthy smoothie. If Trendi continues down its path it could have a massive impact on reducing food waste on a global scale. That is certainly worth following and one of the potentially significant innovations at SXSW 2022.

The post Trendi: Stopping Food Waste at SXSW 2022 appeared first on Tech Trends.

SXSW is, among many other things, a place where technology and music can come together. The “metaverse” was a popular topic at SXSW 2022. At the “Across the Metaverse: Independent Music in XR” session, speakers discussed how XR and the metaverse might have an impact on independent music makers. Roblox, may be poised to have an impact in this particular space, according to Jon Vlassopulos, Head of Music at Roblox.

The metaverse is a term used to describe an interconnected network of virtual worlds. This term originated in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash, a science fiction novel written in 1992. Currently, the term is largely applied to internet-based 3D worlds, sometimes accessed with a VR headset.

Roblox is a popular online gaming platform. It allows people to play games and create games for other people to play. They can explore worlds that other players have built and interact in these online virtual communities. The website (as of December 31, 2021) has 49.5 million daily active users. 52% of them are over 13 and the 17-24-year-old age group is their fastest-growing demographic.

I spoke with Jon Vlassopulos, Head of Music at Roblox, about the role of music in Roblox and some of the future aspirations of the company. There are some parallels between his previous experiences with other media companies and his current visions for Roblox.

PARTICIPATORY  MEDIA

Before Roblox, Vlassopulos was a TV producer in the “interactive TV” space. He worked on shows like “Deal or No Deal,” where people would text or call in order to participate in the TV program. This worked for things like, voting on the outcome of something or entering a contest. Vlassopulos refers to this as “participatory media.”

This participatory media expanded on the idea of people getting to be a part of the show.  Vlassopulos described how they would do “live callouts” to people who were interacting with the show via their chat lines or websites.

Back when he was working in interactive television, he had firsthand glimpses of the power of live interaction. He tells the story of a man called “Tommy55” who was really active in the chat rooms of a TV show. He was fascinated by the host of the show and the host responded by doing shoutouts on live TV or responding to requests. This kind of interaction made the chatrooms (and ratings) go crazy and they demonstrated the power of making people feel like they are part of the show.

Vlassopulos explained that, over time, people drifted out of this space. The advent of apps and smartphones, “fragmented” this marketplace because they were “trying to do it all” while needing a separate app developed for every system and marketplace, as opposed to “a single call in who’s good for 95% of the audience.”

However, Netflix’s interactive movie, Bandersnatch, came along and reinvigorated the concept of interactive media, from his perspective. It, once again, seemed like a particularly viable space. So, when Roblox approached him, Vlassopulos was intrigued by their potential and how they engaged in participatory media.

He describes Roblox as an “interactive full platform” with an “underlying economy.” From his perspective, this interactive world was “a platform at scale that was under the radar” and that made it an ideal place to “insert music” and allow “the next era” of the music business.

MUSIC IN ROBLOX

This leads to the value of Roblox for live concerts. They could build virtual venues that leverage the interactive qualities of their platform. Vlassopulos uses “the metaphor of a city” to describe the potential of music in a Roblox environment. He explains that they could use concepts of “real-world city planning” to incorporate music venues into the Roblox social environment.

He explains that these virtual venues could be avenues of discovery for music. He compares this to the early days of the Meatpacking district in New York. Sporadic events would happen and over time “a community built around it and it became more cohesive.” This sort of organic growth could be facilitated in the Roblox platform as people create “live music” experiences there that may eventually lead to more permanent virtual venues.

They need not be “intense concert experiences,” according to Vlassopulos. He describes the possibility of hanging out at the virtual equivalent of “your mate’s house in Brooklyn” where you might be subject to that friend’s musical curation. You might play games together while being exposed to your friend’s virtual playlist. Vlassopulos expands on the idea that playlisting in a virtual space may be more interactive and playful and allow for more voices in the music curation space.

Vlassopulos sees the potential for label interest in this kind of growth. The labels may, in his vision, come in to create custom venues for their artists. They might have more immersive brand experiences in the space. Eventually this kind of growth could lead to an environment that resembles some of the organic qualities of “real venues.”

Vlassopulos describes an event they had with Poppy, an artist on Sumerian Records. He explains that they worked to have a cost-effective experience that combined her “music and artwork.”  They created 9 top Roblox “bespoke” experiences with her music playing in the background that coincided with her album drop.

Fans responded to this with a 241% growth in Poppy’s official Roblox group and over 6 million listens across the day of release and the following weekend. This experience also included “Free Flux “verch” (virtual merch) items were offered in the Avatar Shop” and these verch items were obtained by 10.5 million users.

Vlassopulos describes this event as “playing matchmaker.” He sees potential in artist growth for connecting game devs with artists to create these collaborative experiences. This kind of experience could be particularly valuable to independent artists as a way of expanding their reach. He envisions a world where independent artists “who were open to doing this” could have a “bigger listening party network”.

He describes this as a “new Renaissance of artist creativity” and believes artists “with the tools on the platform” could be like “TV producers or filmmakers and allow people to participate in the world that they create.” He sees this as a way for artists to expand their creative world-building beyond the limits of liner notes, which are a rarity in the world of streaming-based consumption. Vlassopulos insinuates that this kind of media may give TV and film “a run for their money” and could serve as an alternative to scripted content.

In Vlassopulos’ vision, an artist may choose virtual events as an alternative or addition to live events. The artist doesn’t have to wear their fancy “lycra jumpsuit” to perform. They could wear a mocap suit and give a performance that would play to “millions of people from around the world.” These millions could interact with the performance online, like a more advanced version of the participatory media of yesterday.

Another potential benefit of this is an increase in quality of life for the artist, according to Vlassopulos. If the artists don’t have to play stadiums they could play smaller, more intimate venues for a live audience while streaming the event to a virtual venue. Or they might be able to avoid touring entirely if they needed to create a more healthy balance between touring and building their own lives. Another bonus Vlassopulos mentions is a reduced “carbon footprint for artists.”

Vlassopulos says that “We want to have more artists be able to make 20 grand a month, 20 grand a year, 30 grand a year, like a living wage.” He sees the virtual venues as something that could help make that happen. The virtual venues provide another avenue of revenue in the form of “virtual merch.” These virtual items can be collected and worn inside of the virtual space and they would serve as an easily-scalable source of revenue for artists in a time when relying on streaming revenue may not be enough.

The virtual venues could also provide a social element. Vlassopulos mentions that after you “buy the ticket, there’s this sort of silence,” while you anticipate the concert. He has a vision that a ticket, live or virtual could come with access to a virtual venue. You could hang out in the space with other fans and get to know people before the concert. After the concert. you might retain access and continue to connect with other fans to reflect on the experience.

However, with all that connection and interaction, one might wonder, what kind of rules will exist in these virtual venues?  As the virtual space begins to resemble “real life” at what point will the problems of the real world seep in as well. Will the virtual venues start requiring IDs or an “X” on the hand of the underaged attendees?

Roblox will be faced with unique challenges as they continue down the road of replicating the particular magic of a live music experience. These questions will no doubt continue to be relevant as interest in the metaverse grows.

For now, we can anticipate that Roblox is taking steps to add music to the metaverse. Perhaps your new favorite venue will be online.

The post Music in the Metaverse: Will People Flock to Virtual Venues? appeared first on Tech Trends.

By Laura Kobylecky

The Doodles activation at the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals connects the intangible world of NFTs with the visceral world of experiential marketing.

Experiential marketing is an SXSW staple. Brands make grand spectacles to court the attention of conference-goers and sometimes the general public as well. SXSW 2022 is no exception. The Doodles SXSW activation occupies a large space across the street from the Austin Convention center. The pastel colors and charming, cartoonish, aesthetic entice crowds to gather at the entrance.

But what are Doodles? “Doodles are a collection of 10,000 NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that are made up of hundreds of exciting visual traits designed by Burnt Toast.” NFTs are a hot topic at SXSW this year. In short, NFTs allow people to claim ownership of a digital asset. This ownership is verified using the blockchain ledger. The ledger is a series of blocks that record transactions and can be used to verify ownership of digital assets.

This means that your digital asset belongs to you and you can prove it. Other people might copy the image or something, but you are the “official owner.” Some assets are one of a kind and others are part of a limited series. Some people collect digital assets for fun and some people buy in the hopes that their digital assets will gain value.

Burnt Toast, who is also known as Scott Martin, is a “Canadian–based illustrator, designer, animator and muralist.” Burnt made up hundred of “visual traits” that exist in the adorable Doodles. Drawn in a pastel-bright, simplistic and slightly cartoonish style, the Doodles include cartoon figures and things like  “ skellys, cats, aliens, apes and mascots” as well. The collections can include rare variations as well.

Owning a Doodle lets people participate in the Doodle community. Owners can “vote on community-driven features, products and events.” This experiential event was designed to bring some of that community feel to the “real world.” (https://doodles.app/)

Luca De Laurentiis, VTProDesign’s executive producer, has some things to share about this exciting event. Laurentiis explains that VTProDesign is an agency that creates experiences, usually with “an element about creative tech.” For this event, they wanted to “allow Doodle holders to actually get a real in-person experience.” They worked directly with Doodle and did all the creative ideation for the experience.

To make this happen, they created a world that is “Immersed in all the lore of Doodles, it’s all iconography of doodles.” The outside of the building is bright pastel and cartoonish. The inside space is brightly colored and filled with statues of Doodles and Doodle images printed on the wall.

There are “different touchpoints around the experience.” At these touchpoints, you can interact with your Doodle in the real world (through a digital screen)

The event has many elements to keep people immersed in the world of Doodles. Laurentiis says that they used a “custom score and sound design” to round out the experience. As you “walk through the space it has a narrative feel through it.” The building is impeccably transformed with bright floors and walls that create a kind of pastel, cavern, experience. The outside world is entirely blocked out.

They have a variety of other fun elements in the activation. Like the Doodle noodle station and coffee cart. It is the classic SXSW siren call of free food and drink. There are other, more specialized, experiences as well. Laurentiis explains that you can “get your nails done here with your Doodle on them.” There is also a shop where people can purchase Doodle merch.

After the missed SXSW of 2020, and the Online SXSW of 2021, Laurentiis seems excited to be back in person for SXSW 2022. He says that “It’s great to be back in the immersive real space with people.” He says they are getting great “buzz” from word-of-mouth sharing and on Sunday some “2,500” may have gone through the experience.

Laurentiis explains that he has “a love for SXSW.” He met his wife at SXSW, a couple of years ago. He is fond of the “randomness” of SXSW that allows people to meet and connect in different ways (such as marriage).

At SXSW, you meet certain people, your “SXSW family,” and you may only see them at this one event, but you remember each other and you find ways to reconnect every time you meet.  Laurentiis seems to see a beauty in that synchronicity.

The Doodles activation at SXSW is a fun experience that gives people tangible memories of their in-tangible, and non-fungible, tokens. This marriage of the “real” world and the world of NFT collections, all taking place in a vividly transformed event space, is a classic SXSW experience.

The post Doodles at SXSW: NFTs meet Experiential Marketing appeared first on Tech Trends.

By Laura Kobylecky

Interview with Kim Macharia, Executive Director of the Space Prize Foundation

Space is always a popular topic at SXSW. There is a bright future for space travel and the commercial industries that connect to it. All kinds of inventions and innovations are emerging within this sector.

Kim Macharia wants to ensure that this growing field includes a diverse group of voices. She serves as Executive Director of the Space Prize Foundation. This nonprofit organization is “focused on promoting STEM education and increasing the representation of women in aerospace careers.”

Macharia explains that she “had a really unconventional entryway into the world of space.” She had a screenwriting fellowship in college. She bought “a NASA space camp jacket” at a thrift store and it inspired her to write “a musical comedy about two women competing for a free trip to space.” Her two main characters were immigrants and, while researching the script, she found out “just how difficult it can be for women, people of color, people from non-space faring nations” to enter the space industry.

After that, she dedicated her senior thesis, as a philosophy student, to “writing about democratizing space.” Macharia had originally planned to do non-profit work in entertainment. But, while volunteering at a space conference, she tells the story of a chance encounter:

“I met my first boss while I was holding a door open at the conference. We had a coffee meeting the next day and three weeks later… I moved to New York for an internship position he had created just for me and I’ve been working on projects centered around democratizing and diversifying the industry ever since.”

Her non-traditional background informs some of her current vision. She explains that “at Space Price, we really prioritize, not just the word ‘STEM’ [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics]  but ‘STEAM’ [Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics].”

Macharia believes that:

“There’s so much power in utilizing the arts to affect the development of all the innovations we’re seeing in all kinds of technological fields, not just space. The arts add this beautiful layer that allows us to, I think, take a more humanistic approach to how we create technology that’s going to revolutionize the way we function as humans.”

She says that now is “the most exciting time ever to be doing anything in space.” With the cost of launch coming down, “due to advances made by companies, mostly SpaceX, but companies like SpaceX,” people are “given the opportunity to engage in space in a way that they never could before.” This particular time is crucial because “there’s room for us to innovate in ways you can’t do in other more established sectors.”

Macharia states that “out of the 600 or so people who have ever flown to space, just 12% are women” and that “it’s going to take quite some time to really shift those numbers.” If we want to shift these numbers “we have to get girls excited about it right now and that is going to take some creativity because girls can’t really see themselves fully in the industry right?”

Many of the biggest names in the “billionaire space race, are all men, white men at that. And what little girl can, you know, look to Elon, or look to Bezos and really envision a path for themselves in it?”

Macharia wants to change that, with the Space Prize Foundation. They are launching a “global contest that opens in June of this year.” They will be sending two girls to space. To apply, the girls must be ages 15 to 18. They can be “from anywhere in the world.”

The contest will include:

Four rounds:

1. General form with short answers
2. Essays
3. Creative submissions
4. Interviews

There are additional benefits as well: “All 30 finalists will go on a Zero-G flight together and then all 30 finalists will get a year of mentorship from a leading figure in the aerospace industry.” Macharia describes this as part of a goal to build “that pipeline” to get girls “excited about all the possibilities that are there. the Space Prize Foundation wants to “connect them directly with women, who have paved the way, who have broken the glass ceiling ahead of them.”

And they want to do more than just help these young women. the Space Prize Foundation is also dedicated to “promoting universal space literacy.”  They believe the general public is “not really aware enough of all the amazing contributions that space has offered to society in a variety of industries” They are developing a curriculum that will be “accessible to teachers and students.” This curriculum, which launches in June, will help teach about the “new space economy” and space science, as well as design thinking.

Macharia explains that the broader curriculum is based on a desire to “build people who will not just work in the industry, we want to build future leaders to innovate and refine the industry.” Because, although the Space Prize Foundation wants to get “girls excited about space,” they also see the value in inspiring more general learning. Even if they end up “switching to other industries” then “at least we know that we gave them a chance to think about something so big, so impossible, that it made them feel like they could accomplish just about anything in the world.”

We may all look forward to a bright and inclusive future in the world of space innovation.

Kim Macharia spoke at the SXSW Session:

Hidden No More: Black Women In Space

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2022/events/PP120555

The post Space for Everyone: Diversity in Commercial Space Ventures appeared first on Tech Trends.

SXSW is always a source of interesting innovations. SXSW 2022 is no exception. This year at SXSW, Nature’s Fynd showed up to promote their new fungi-based protein. This protein is used to make things from vegan cream cheese to veggie burgers.

How did this product come to be? The answer involved NASA, U.S. National Science Foundation and Yellowstone National Park.  In 2012, Dr. Mark Kozubal discovered a fungus in Yellowstone National Park. This fungus was an “extremophilic fungal organism,” which means that it can grow in extremely harsh conditions (like a hot spring.) From there, the company now known as Nature’s Fynd, began to “convert inedible plant materials into valuable and sustainable products using the isolated fungus.”

If you want to learn more about that discovery process, NASA has a PDF with details:

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20210024737/downloads/007-Nature’sFynd_SuccessStory_V6.pdf

Through the work of Dr. Mark Kozubal, Chief Science Officer, and Thomas Jonas, Chief Executive Officer,  Nature’s Fynd successfully created “Fy.”  This Fy is “a nutri­tion­al fun­gi pro­tein derived from a nat­u­ral­ly occur­ring microbe (Fusar­i­um strain flavolapis).” This protein is “cer­ti­fied non-GMO” and made through an  “inspired-by-nature fer­men­ta­tion process.”  The product is “a com­plete veg­an pro­tein source with all 20 amino acids, includ­ing the 9 essen­tial amino acids.” https://www.naturesfynd.com/

In addition to being a good source of protein, this product is also eco-friendly. This nutritional fungi protein uses 99% less land, 99% less water and 94% less greenhouse gas emission, when compared to beef, according to Thomas Jonas. He described this protein as a “protein platform.” Something that can be adapted to make a variety of meat or dairy replacement products.

But how does it taste? Fynd has been sampling all week, at a lounge for SXSW attendees outside the convention center. People eagerly consume small quarters of Fynd burgers and samples of chips and Fynd “cream cheese.”  I attended a brunch with a variety of Fynd products. There were sandwiches with Fynd patties (and “cheese” spread) as well as whipped Fynd “cheese” and berries.  They were good. I personally enjoyed the flavor and experience.

But the ramifications of this protein may stretch beyond the bounds of this planet. NASA is seeking “innovative and sustainable sources of food that can be easily produced with minimal resources.” Since “water is a precious resource in space…an ideal food source would require as little water as possible to nurture the food and to clean any materials used for cultivating.” If Fynd’s protein fits the bill, there is potential for this protein to be useful on the ISS (or other space ventures. Science that began in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park may stretch into the stars.

For now, Nature’s Fynd will be selling their products at Whole Foods and other grocery retailers in the near future. The combination of NASA, nature, science and free snacks is another classic SXSW experience.

The post Fun With Fungi at SXSW 2022: Eating Yellowstone with help from NASA appeared first on Tech Trends.

By Gordon Midwood, CEO of Anything World.

Now that I have your attention (or mild disgust depending on your predilections) there is a big issue around any notion of Metaverse that we urgently need to address. In true optimise an article for SEO style, however, I won’t be telling you what that urgent need is in the second paragraph though. That would be amateurish .

Of course, the notion of what the Metaverse could be is currently in its formational stage and is the subject of much debate. So why not throw our own definition onto the pile?

There is a big issue around any notion of Metaverse that we urgently need to address
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The Metaverse is a series of persistent 3D worlds that accompany every aspect of our lives.

Property development is full of sharks

The Metaverse is a series of persistent 3D worlds that accompany every aspect of our lives
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The Metaverse would ideally just be one massive 3D environment, but I think we are a long way off singing that communal chorus just yet. Interoperability is the best we can hope for at the moment whilst the big players jostle for power in their big power jostling pants. In any case, I digress.

There are many excellent toolmakers and service providers in a great position to connect, empower and enable the growth of many aspects of the Metaverse, many of whom are good friends of ours, for example:

• ReadyPlayerMe — A cross-game avatar platform for the Metaverse
• Volograms — Easy volumetric video capture
• Oorbit — Publish and play interactive worlds
• Crucible — Tools for the creation of the open metaverse
• Volta XR — Design mixed reality experiences

Interoperability is the best we can hope for at the moment in the Metaverse whilst the big players jostle for power
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However, the Metaverse need that we feel most urgently at Anything World and have been grappling with for a couple of years is where all the content for these rich 3D worlds is going to come from.

Or, tenuous link and cheap play on words though it is undoubtedly is:

Who will write the chorus for the Metaverse?

We, in our entirely impartial and unbiased view, would strongly argue that A.I. smart services like Anything World are going to power a revolution in content creation, one in which anybody can be a 3D content creator.

There are many toolmakers and service providers in a position to connect, empower and enable the growth of many aspects of the Metaverse
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A.I. smart services like Anything World are going to power a revolution in content creation, one in which anybody can be a 3D content creator
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Thanks to the Machine Learning expertise that squarely resides in members of the team not called Gordon, we can empower anyone to create living 3D worlds with no technical knowledge. We have 7 proprietary ML steps that can turn any static 3D model into a living object with behaviours and animations applied. We automate the sourcing and bringing to life of models from the likes of Free3D and in particular Sketchfab and have ingested all the models from Google Poly. From next month you’ll be able to add your own private collections to our animation systems too.

So do whatever you want: create animated objects and living worlds and build out apps, add them to the Metaverse platform of your choice, or even mint them on a chain of blocks if you want some NFT freshness.

We are available in Unity right now so come and join the ~4,500 others creating with us! If Roblox is more your thing get in touch with us straight away, we have something top secret in the works! Well, it was top secret.

Gordon Midwood is the co-founder & CEO at Anything World, a service that uses Machine Learning to empower everyone to be a living 3D content creator. In his spare time he likes to think about why he doesn’t have enough spare time. Hit him on Discord, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook 

The post Metaverse: But Where’s The Chorus? appeared first on Tech Trends.

Q&A with Toby Lewis, CEO at Live Group

Tech Integration in the Events Industry Post-Covid is Vital for the Survival of Event Operators

Toby Lewis, CEO of Live Group, a tech-driven events and engagement agency, discusses his outlook for the sector post-Covid, and the role technology will play in keeping event organisers in operation and growing new business.

1. Why has tech integration in the events sector become crucial in light of lessons learned during the pandemic?

Technological development has been at the core of Live Group’s operations for over 15 years. We used the pause in typical play during the pandemic to accelerate progress along our development roadmap. As a result of this, and our consistent investment in new tech, we are well-positioned compared to our peers in the market.

An inability to participate in in-person events during the pandemic prompted a major shift to virtual, with webinars and video conferences being more widely used. This uptake in virtual methods has educated audiences in a new way of engaging. Now, as plans for in-person events kick off again, we are seeing an increased demand for hybrid solutions which blend the virtual and the physical together.

For event operators looking to capitalise on this behavioural shift to virtual and hybrid, investing in tech integration will be key to satisfying both their clients and delegates.

2. Which tech tools has Live Group used that have contributed most to the success of client events?

Among the tools we have found which help optimise results for clients are indoor positioning systems using Bluetooth beacons, which expedite delegate registration on-site, and show clients the areas of an event space which engage their audience most. This tracking creates an event ‘heat map’ for future use which can inform best areas for sponsor placement and floor planning overall, as well as providing further insights into what content is making the biggest impact.

Facial recognition software has also proved to be an interesting avenue of exploration for us. This tech has multiple applications in the events space, including sentiment tracking through analysis of delegate expressions and reactions. This allows us to spot which content is hitting the mark and modify the agenda in real-time based on audience perception.

Following COP26 and the Net Zero Carbon Events pledge made by the Joint Meetings Industry Council,[1] which Live Group is a part of, there has been a stronger focus on tools for tracking carbon output, such as Live Group’s certified Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) tool, which help clients monitor and manage their environmental impact.

3. How can technology be best used to benefit event clients?

For our clients, we believe data is integral to achieving their goals. Our event technology is about generating data-driven insights that create meaningful engagement, and a major advantage of integrating technology into events is the increased potential for the gathering of more in-depth and more useful data. This is true across event types and formats, where data can be collected and analysed to help maximise ROI for both the operator and client.

In a physical space, the aforementioned Bluetooth and facial recognition technology is maximising the utility of in-person gatherings to generate insights into audience behaviour. In a virtual space, Live Group has built an approach with data strategy at its core. Our virtual platform, Hive, where our virtual events are hosted, tracks engagement, audience behaviours and key metrics specified by each of our clients to ensure we have a detailed understanding of how our events succeed and how they meet the needs of our audiences.

4. Can the newfound popularity in a metaverse be resolved within the events industry?

Over the last few years, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology have been increasingly used across the events industry, often to allow delegates to attend a virtual event as an avatar and interact with other attendees and the event content.

While this technology is undoubtedly pushing boundaries, we are careful to only adopt practices that truly enhance the delegate experience, delivering engagement that drives business.

Currently, there is much talk of the metaverse and how this will affect the events industry. This encompasses much more than avatars or digital platforms and includes areas such as blockchain, cryptocurrency and NFTs. We are noting developments related to the metaverse and will continue to assess their potential benefits to Live Group and applications within events.

[1] https://www.conference-news.co.uk/index.php/news/global-events-industry-presents-net-zero-carbon-events-pledge-cop26

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