fastcompany

Starting point: Curiosity about innovations that have social and environmental impact

Organizing strategy: A website and magazine that highlights innovations

Tools: Internet

Outcomes: Lively service to inspire taking advantage of new possibilities

Primary Resources: http://www.fastcompany.com/welcome.html?destination=http://www.fastcompany.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Company_(magazine)

Aside from an annoying proclivity to organize by numerical lists (the twenty best/worst/etc) Fast Company offers a diverse look at innovations, most of which are strongly allied with the themes of sustainability in a business framework of social entrepreneurship. Its ten best lists of cities in North and South America, Europe and Asia hone in on their congruence with sustainable living in an enthusiastic, yet realistic way that is typical of the Fast Company style.

In their words: Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. Written for, by, and about the most progressive business leaders, Fast Company and FastCompany.com inspire readers and users to think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations, and create the future of business.

Launched in November 1995 by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor, two formerHarvard Business Review editors, Fast Company magazine was founded on a single premise: A global revolution was changing business, and business was changing the world. Discarding the old rules of business, Fast Company set out to chronicle how changing companies create and compete, to highlight new business practices, and to showcase the teams and individuals who are inventing the future and reinventing business.

Co.Design is a daily exploration of the intersection of business and design, from architecture to electronics, consumer products to fashion. Controversies are front and center here, alongside great designers speaking their minds in blog posts and comments–and plenty of eye candy.

Co.Exist is a daily tour of the latest world changing ideas and innovations in transportation, energy, education, food, and health. The focus is the projects that are going to change the way people live in the next year and in the next 100 years–and hearing directly from the people behind them on how and why they do the work they do.

Co.Create is a daily exploration of creativity in the converging worlds of branding, entertainment, and tech. The site, along with its associated tentacles, serve up daily inspiration from creative people and the films, shows, ad campaigns, apps, games, music, and other things they make. They also go behind the work and get into the the guts of creativity–exploring the creative process and the bigger issues around how people, companies, and industries are making creative ideas happen.

Co.Labs is a fast-moving look at the creative technologists who are pushing industries into the future–and the methods, philosophies and concepts underlying their code. This site doubles as FastCompany’s in-house publishing lab, where we conduct programmatic experiments to try to move the needle on traffic and engagement, and explore novel ways of storytelling. On all its beats, Co.Labs is knowledge in action–the ultimate resource for makers and creators building software to revolutionize the way we do business.