It’s ironic to consider inefficiency in healthcare at UCSF, but less so when the focus is how data-tracking might improve our experiences–and wellbeing–as people and patients. Today GigaOm’s Roadmap conference featured analyst Jody Ranck describing the need for more connectedness in the sector. The web-based “socialization of disease” (that is, the idea that lots of people want to share their experiences and literal pain points) isn’t the only evidence I need to agree.
And it’s encouraging to see SF-based companies that are running with this concept. At Rock Health’s demo day this afternoon, incubator company Genomera described the large-scale transition from “n=they” (when people waited for others to be studied for treatment) to “n=we” and “n=me” (when there’s a bias towards participation to improve outcomes). It’s being realized with platforms like SuperBetter from Social Chocolate and Eatery from Massive Health, both of which I’ve just starting trying. What other related services have you excited? Looking forward to hearing.
Blame too much fancy Texas toast at Outerlands, but by the time I walked into General Store in the Outer Sunset I wanted to hire a trailer to cart its new and vintage wares home. A carefully crafted selection of succulents, art books and letterpress cards is something to behold–but still second to the shop’s skateboard ramp-esque indoor structuring and backyard greenhouse. Wooden radios and fringe moccasins indicate that collaborators Serena Mitnik-Miller and Mason St. Peter have great taste, and when their site implores to “come out for a visit!,” I’m inclined to say “how soon?”
On the way to a work date with Ladywood creator Jamie P., we took a peek at After Life, a new boutique on Valencia and 22nd with a nice combination of hardwood floors, non-ratty vintage Ts, and reconstructed jewelry. An ACDC-style font may give the wrong impression, but the shop is full of delicate leather bags and carefully crafted sunglasses (and well worth a visit). Walk out without something from a case of key and fan-themed necklaces by Adoura Demonde, I dare you.
While I’ve been enamored of their aqua blue and black kits for some time–and am convinced that single folks seeking athletic eye candy of either gender should start accompanying their day-long rides–the thing that has me most excited about Mission Cycles this week is the club’s redesigned website. Web app developer Onehouse created the new hub’s rider profiles, which include preferred frames and self-described secret powers, along with ride reports that will integrate Strava’s geographic data tracking. A feature that enables members to congratulate each other with virtual jerseys is a nice addition to the MC Riders Twitter list (coffee and pizza are frequent topics) and a “webstore thingy” that is to be stocked with signature color wares this spring.
As they say,
Mission Cycling is a neighborhood-based cycling club that aims to bring people together through the shared experience of cycling. That sounds so official, doesn’t it? We’re just trying to build a sense of community among our riders and sponsors. I mean, we’re already riding our bikes and frequenting these businesses, so why not bring the two groups together?
After all, it’s not every local adult extracurricular that gets the backing of Self Edge, Ritual, Bespoke, and other establishments of note (and with good reason).
On a day of yoga teacher training that involves the start of a vegan cooking experiment of indeterminate length, I feel compelled to call out the work of SF surfer and spiritualist Jaimal Yogis (whose mother–I assume–frequently tells him, as mine does, that “I don’t really understand what you’re doing but I guess you’re busy”). The author of the acclaimed book Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer’s Quest to Find Zen on the Seathat is currently being shot as a film, Yogis was recently named the “New Face of San Francisco Media” in a Commonwealth Club competition that solicited votes for broke-ass author Stuart Schuffman and former Ignite Bay Area speaker and SF Weekly writer Alexia Tsotsis, among others. The former’s social justice reporting for San Francisco Magazine and reflections on Zen Buddhism as it relates to water sports helped win him the honor, and he provided the following reflections.
SF: Do you consider yourself a writer, spiritualist or surfer first? And at what point did you recognize the overlap between the three?
JL: They’re all sort of part of the same program for me so I wouldn’t say one is at the top. I define the spiritual path as any that leads to real freedom and contentment, and writing and surfing have both been tools for me in that search, just like meditation has, just like art, travel, relationships, etc. I see everyone as on that path – whether they use the term “spiritual” or not – and everyone has their own tools and rituals they use along the way.
Writing and surfing have been great tools for me probably because of the family I grew up in – mom, big reader; dad, a surfer – but I try to keep myself from identifying too much with any one of them as a hard label that defines me. I’m just a human with interests, and those interests have formed some quirky personality I call Jaimal Yogis, a story, but that story isn’t all that I am.
Friday night dance shows are disadvantaged from the beginning: chatty crowds can find it hard to focus after the work week with the second act being the only thing keeping them from a cocktail. ODC, the local company that set up shop in San Francisco after arriving with a busload of dancers from Ohio’s Oberlin College in the ’70s, has worked around that problem. (It is also one of two American companies to join the State Department in a cross-cultural look at dance education in South Africa, according to The New York Times today.)
In staging its the second of its original spring 2010 programs at Yerba Buena, the 10 dancers under Brenda Way’s charge present simultaneously athletic and intentional performances that demanded audience attention. Despite neutral costumes, the playful choreography of “Something about a Nightingale” and the premiering “Labor of Love” is a perfect way to showcase the ability that has helped the company win tests of strength against Cal athletes in recent years. But the keynote of the program, “In the Memory of the Forest,” is most compelling with its video backdrop of dancers interacting in the forest as a live performance of the original score bounces and climbs. The very capable dancers’ imaginative approach reminds me of an observation of e.e. cummings’ poetry: it’s only when you know the rules of the craft well that you can break them.
My most recent sleeping bag purchase was for a thin and inexpensive bag (the two often going hand in hand) bought early in college, and I have rarely paid them much thought since. Enter ALITE Designs, a new SF-based camping goods company whose neon backpacks and tents have me eagerly planning for this summer’s Wanderlust. Founded by former North Face design director Tae Kim, the Potrero Hill-based company will be releasing their Spring 2010 line this Friday at a party with Kelly Malone’s Indie Mart.
After creating products for elite athletes and Everest climbers, Kim said he became more passionate about getting everyday individuals outside with friends (and their dogs). “With so many places to be outside in San Francisco, like Golden Gate Park, Dolores Park, Fort Funston and Stern Grove,” Kim said, “it was easy for me to convince my friends to leave their boring jobs and start Alite Designs.”
The resulting offerings include Japanese-style fisherman’s packs and magenta and red Sexy Hotness sleeping bags that can be zipped together (for pals, not those nights after outdoor festivals, por favor). I’m a fan of the prices and the color palette, which feel like a rendezvous between Rainbow Brite and classic L.L.Bean.
(Also, two points to ALITE for using the customer feedback solicitation tools from Get Satisfaction–a good partner for getting started on the eve of the social CRM company’s unveiling of the Facebook Social Engagement Hub.)
In celebrating San Francisco designer Victoria Smith (Ms. SFGirlByBay) and her endeavor to encourage dialogue about personal inspiration, I’m taking today mention the organizations, projects, and ideas by women I admire and am motivated by, SF or otherwise.
The Blog It Forward project, which includes 300 design aficionados discussing their inspiration, is a kind of chain letter in the best way. No middle school students have their feelings hurt, and bloggers partaking in the project link to one another’s work. Ohioan Pretty Shiny Things shared her visual inspiration before me, and today I’ll be followed by the vintage-minded The Sunday Times Market, which I’ve become quickly enamored with while I should have been typing and linking away on this.
In having spent the better part of this week in the Texas state capital for South by Southwest Interactive, interactive whiz kids (and migas) are especially front of mind. I feel fortunate to be learning from especially visionary women designers, communicators and founders, and following Heather Gold’s recent live taping of her podcast episode about acknowledging the effort in making things, I tip my bicycle cap to these inspiring individuals, including:
Alison Covarrubias and Claire Fontana, whose educational Hatch Network design is admirable /// Jen Bekman for demonstrating the potential for art community growth with 20×200 /// Han Pham for her Youth Women Social Entrepreneurs collaboration /// Jamie Panzarella, for giving y’all Ladywood in the next few days /// Miki Johnson, for her visual and thought-provoking liveBooks photo blog contributions /// Tiffany Shlain for sharing her early “Connected” documentary work /// Rebecca Bortman, who I’d love to have perform at a future Ignite Bay Area event with her SF-born band My First Earthquake, for art directing another successful Disposable Film Fest /// Janetti Chon and Stacey Foreman for announcing a great speaker lineup for this summer’s Conversational Marketing Summit /// Lindsay Ronga for bringing the Cork’d wine community to vino drinkers everywhere /// Cara Jones for introducing journalist consortium Storytellers for Good locally this week //// Maria Ly, for bringing activity tracking platform Skimble to SXSW to lots of acclaim when she wasn’t allowing us to tape her climbing at Mission Cliffs time and again /// Kristy Graves and Amy Benziger for helping open the HUB community space in SF in the upcoming weeks /// Sharon Vosmek’s leadership in the Astia network’s expansion to India /// Kennedy School alum Elana Berkowitz’s contribution to the FCC’s broadband plan, which goes before Congress shortly /// High school pal-turned-producer extraordinaire Leah D’Emilio for helping Rocketboom’s programming expand /// Femgineer Poornima Vijayashanker and Liz Wilsie for rigorous prep of their new software for sole proprietors /// Caitlin Bristol, for expanding Ecofabulous’ style and sustainability video offerings while kicking leukemia butt on her bike /// Shauna Causey for leading by @Voluntweetup example /// Gayla Trail, for whom positive “Grow Great Grub” book reviews are well-deserved /// Danae Ringelmann, whose good acquisition news about the IndieGoGo funding platform is well worth celebrating this week /// Project H founder Emily Pilloton for getting the Design Revolution Road Show to kids and adults nationwide /// Rebecca Orlov for exapnding Blog Out Loud live events to Northern and Southern California /// and, of course, Victoria Smith for starting this undertaking and launching her vintage Etsy shop last week.
This is just a sample of the women who inspire your work, and I’d like to open this up to mentions of yours. Have at it!
Since moving to SF almost four years ago and after more post-run ales at Kezar Pub than I count, I’ve wondered what took place inside the stadium across the street. This weekend pals and I found out in the form of co-ed roller derby in which the SF Bay Bombers took on Brooklynites with the encouragement of the adult Cheer SF Squad (see them, I implore you). But after more than a few dramatic over-rail plays, the contest seemed more staged than I expected, and I’m eager to see a competition more along the lines of the athletic and fierce nickname competition Micki Krimmel presented at the first Ignite Bay Area.
In advance of the most recent Skimble iPhone app update, company co-founder Maria Ly talked with Women 2.0 and VidSF about creating the activity tracking platform. She certainly didn’t sit down for the In Conversation series interview at Mission Cliffs, but she did discuss transitioning from a Fortune 500 company to selecting activities for personal tracking, including snowboarding, swimming, running, and yoga. Platform participants note their physical exercise and can share their progress with friends, and it doesn’t take much to understand how the Bay Area with its plethora of weekend warrior has been home to the startup.
