DEMO
Seventy products. Six minutes each. No PowerPoint. "Those are the rules," says DEMO exec Neal Silverman. "We're looking for real products, not canned presentations." For almost 20 years, this Gong Show -- style approach has helped investors find and fund hundreds of innovations, including TiVo and JavaScript. Thirty "alpha" companies -- most working from business plans or prototypes -- will also give 90-second pitches at this year's three-day fete. But the real party, Silverman says, is on the first night, when attendees "rock out" during a free-for-all jam session. For better or worse, it's not limited to six minutes. -- DM
Mon, September 21
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DEMO
San Diego
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Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, Technology, Leadership, Design, Magazine, FC Calendar, Neal Silverman, TiVo Inc., Microsoft PowerPoint |
The last time kids paid to watch crazy things fall from the sky, Disney's Chicken Little gobbled up $135 million stateside. We think that bodes well for Sony's Meatballs, the latest in the genre, in which a goofy scientific experiment goes awry, and the world gets hamburger rain and pancake tornados. But for a more informed take, we called Brandon Gray, president of BoxOfficeMojo.com. He predicts "it could mirror an animated film like Open Season," another September kiddie release, which grossed a respectable $85 million. Palatable. -- DM
Cryptografreaks and booksellers, rejoice! Brown's newest novel, which covers a 12-hour period in the ever-puzzling life of Da Vinci Code protagonist Robert Langdon, hits shelves with an initial print run of 5 million. That's only half the run commanded by a Harry Potter sequel, but it should be enough to boost flagging spirits at Random House. The largest trade publisher in the world saw sales slip 6% last year, and it's hoping The Lost Symbol will mean found revenue. -- KR
The average American generates 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Researchers are trying to figure out where to put all of it, since the atmosphere has turned out to be a less-than-ideal place. One notion is to sequester CO2 in forests or underground -- Norway and Britain are working on a way to put billions of tons under the bed of the North Sea. Since most projects are only small-scale and at demo stage right now, this year's CCSS focuses on how to accelerate and commercialize the technologies. Skeptics note that we can't be sure that carbon sequestration will work in the long term -- you can store CO2 in trees, for instance, but they'll die eventually too. Frankly, though, other than cutting our gas guzzling, we don't have any better ideas, so let's just call that an inconvenient truth. -- ACL
This kiddie-products expo -- which will draw more than 5,000 wholesale buyers perusing items from some 900 manufacturers of everything from diaper bags to organic mattresses for children -- has been based in Vegas since 2003. If you think it's odd that a trade show featuring kids' products would be held in Sin City, you're not alone. "We get that question a lot," says organizer Eric Seemann, laughing. "But let's just focus on this: We're moving to Louisville in 2011." Oh, baby. -- DM
Thanks to the rise of the staycation, attendance at the nation's 218 accredited zoos and aquariums has been holding steady. Ahead of its annual industry meetup, AZA spokesman Steve Feldman is trying to maintain his optimism: "We're multigenerational and affordable," he says. Going to the zoo "is about the price of the movies, but it's a longer experience." But that price is typically subsidized by donations, and that revenue has been falling. One cost-effective solution: low-maintenance temporary exhibitions that may even include fake animals. Chicago's Brookfield Zoo, for instance, has installed animatronic dinosaurs that require no regular feedings, just a steady supply of electricity. While we have nothing against the roaring, spitting Ruyang Yellow River dinosaur, it does lack the one thing you want to see when you go to the zoo: life. -- ACL
Fifty years ago, Congress passed a bill authorizing the creation of the federal food-stamp system. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was president at the time, wasn't interested. It was not until 1961, under President John F. Kennedy, that the federal government launched a pilot program offering low-income citizens the opportunity to buy -- yes, buy -- discount coupons that they could exchange for food. First in line: a West Virginia couple who bought $95 in food stamps to feed the 15 people under their roof. Their initial purchase was one can of pork and beans. -- AB
Mouse House enthusiasts can listen to Radio Disney, watch the Disney Channel, play at Disney World, relax aboard Disney cruise ships, and scramble Disney Eggs (which have Disney characters printed on the shells). And now they can celebrate the whole $38 billion empire at D23, Disney's first-ever fan expo. (The name alludes to 1923, the year the company was founded.) Organizers expect more than 10,000 attendees, each of whom will shell out at least $30 to watch Disney films (Sleeping Beauty, The Shaggy Dog) and see performances from "chart-topping Disney talent" (Miley Cyrus, please!). We'll be there, with Tinkerbells on. -- DM
When it comes to contemporary art, "Made in China" may be a good thing. The spring auctions of Chinese art in New York and Hong Kong delivered mixed results -- some significant works went unsold, but several beat presale estimates handily. That's good news in today's "flat is the new up" market. The organizers of this fair, one of Asia's largest, are staying upbeat: "There's still a lot of excitement and interest among and beyond collectors," says spokeswoman Eva Altosaar. She cited a new initiative to help institutions reach potential buyers, called the Asia Pacific Collector Development Program. Yet if the market were truly excited, one wonders whether it would need such a program -- or, as we call it, stimulus plan. -- ACL
"How do we bring back casual fans?" Mark Waller, the NFL's SVP of marketing and sales, asks rhetorically. Well, are you ready for some football ... and some event-driven marketing? Kickoff Weekend is a clever marketing construct designed as much for the NFL's partners as for fans. Sure, there's the something-for-everyone concert (Tim McGraw and the Black Eyed Peas will perform for fans this year) and marquee games (the defending Super Bowl champ Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Tennessee Titans in the season opener). But it's the big brands that are pulling out their new playbooks. EA Sports, for example, will be pushing its new Madden NFL 10 video game, and Coors Light will debut its fall/winter ad campaign. And if 70 million to 80 million fans tune in as expected? Touchdown! -- DL
