After spending some time reflecting on our mission at another great company-wide all hands meeting, it’s great to hear co-founder Danae Ringelmann giving some tips to campaigners on how to be successful on Shopify’s podcast.

Tech News

Move over Siri, there’s a new voice assistant in town named Alexa, who will turn off your smartlights and help you order toothpaste or an Uber. AND she’s hotter. Just kidding, she’s just a voice and I don’t even know what she sounds like. CoWatch works with both iOS and Android, but uses Amazon’s Alexa to help you organize your life. It may be thicker than an Apple Watch, but it looks a lot more like a regular watch.

It seems like everyone is getting sleepier because I’ve been seeing a lot of campaigns that are trying to get people out of bed. Remember Pavlok, the wearable that literally shocks you out of your bad habits? They have now created the logical next step, which is Shock Clock, a wearable that is sure to start your day with a jolt.

It’s a sad situation when you really slay a Guitar Hero solo and realize that being good at a video game is not the same as being good at music. But Magic Instruments has made it possible for even those with no musical talent whatsoever to feel like rockstars. It won’t make you any better at playing guitar, but it will definitely help you sing along to sweet sweet melodies.

Social Impact Crowdfunding

Creating an infrastructure to provide power, water, and all of the other stuff that makes cities work is hard. Power grids and pipes are going out of style; Watly is a hub of solar-powered supercomputers that provides internet, electricity, and purifies water. The team has created a system that by integrating these three things becomes more efficient. The flow of water keeps the solar panels cool so they can operate at the hottest temperatures to provide electricity and internet connectivity, while the heat from the sun boils the water so it can be purified. Watly is actually fundraising for their second system, while the first is proving itself incredibly useful in a remote Ghanaian village. But because Watly is so good at water purification, it may be used in places like California that are dry but next to the ocean.

Biking in the rain is truly the worst. The only way to stay dry is by wearing head to toe rain gear, and then you get all sweaty in the plastic and your hair gets wet anyway. To solve this problem, a Swedish designer created PodRide, which is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a four-wheeled bike that is completely covered to look like the cutest car in the world. Full disclosure: it does have a motor for emergencies, but it’s designed to be pedaled and only can reach 15mph, so not exactly speed demon status.

Where are they now? Indiegogo Success Story

South Central L.A. has a bad reputation because of the proliferation of gangs and the violence that accompanies them. In the 1970s, a basketball league was established at Charles Drew Jr. High school in South L.A. to help students form meaningful relationships and keep them from less productive pursuits, and to bring professional players back into the community. The documentary that Baron Davis produced (narrated by Xzibit!) about the “Drew League” was funded on Indiegogo and will premiere on Showtime this Friday, April 29.

Feeling inspired? Download the free Indiegogo field guide and get started today!