Insects Archives - Breakpoint Book

Growing Your Business Via a Strong Network – Stibel on “The Business Journals”

July 31, 2015 By Jenny Crawford

“To grow your business, grow your network,” Jeff Stibel said in his July 30, 2015 post for “The Business Journals.”

In this article, Stibel talks about attracting customers and increasing revenue by having a strong network. He brings it back to the ant colony that he references in “Breakpoint,” noting that an ant colony knows it’s the strength of the network that matters, not the size.

To learn more about building a strong network in order to help grow a business, read Stibel’s full post here.

Photo Credit: The Business Journals, violetkaipa

Networks Anonymous: I had so many friends!

July 31, 2013 By Mariel Redlin

I currently have 1,222 friends on Facebook. I know, it sounds impressive. Some even might say, “Wow! You are one popular lady!” But sadly, author Jeff Stibel reveals that for humans, we are only capable of socializing with 150 people. This means that it’s difficult for us to maintain more than 150 relationships—that’s the social breakpoint of the brain. All networks operate on this basis.

Fortunately, help is available:

All networks hit their breakpoint. But it’s up to you what happens next- either thrive and survive like an ant colony, or collapse.

Pick up Breakpoint today to learn more about networks and how to anticipate – and capitalize upon – a breakpoint!

What Biological Networks Tell Us About Business Networks

July 25, 2013 By Denali Tietjen

Now that Breakpoint has been released I’d like to tease to you with some of the insights unleashed in the book.

Hunky Ant

You’re probably wondering why there’s a hunky ant in our promo video. I can’t give it all away (I’ve got to lead you on a little bit) but I’ll give you a little something:

In Breakpoint, author Jeff Stibel explains that “science and history give us a guide for just around everything.” Ant colonies, as such a stable network formed of such simple organisms, model this concept well. In fact, a collective ant colony has the same number of neurons as the human brain and consequently functions similarly. All networks follow the same pattern–let it be the neuronal network of your brain, the social network of facebook, or a network of ants

For more insight on how ant colonies, and biological networks in general for that matter, relate to business networks, get your copy of Breakpoint!

Not Just Ants, Thieves Too Target Circuit Wires

June 25, 2013 By Catherine Shalloe

Grand Prix for Good: Ants March With Leaf Billboards in BBDO’s WWF Stunt

Ants that make a statement. Yes, you read that right, leaf-cutter ants are now activists for themselves and for the World Wildlife Fund. Ants protested with leaves reading “Help now!”, “Save Trees” and many other phrases supporting the environment. Look here for the awards won and a video showing the protest itself.

CANNES, France-One of the biggest cheers at Saturday’s award ceremony here at Cannes Lions was reserved for the Grand Prix for Good winner, which amusingly and ingeniously harnessed the power of …

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Can conservation biology save the planet’s biodiversity?

A new, innovative though coming from wildlife perservers and nature lovers is that wildlife needs room to grow and expand. It simply cannot be constrained to isolated parks throughout the world if it is expected to completely flourish. Different people share their views of what wildlife should look like, their experiences in wildlife, and some of the bumps along the road.

A new school of thought argues that wildlife needs land to roam — and that preserving isolated parks isn’t enough

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Not just ants, thieves too target circuit wires

Now we’ve all heard of the “Twanny Crazy Ants” by now, but in case you have not, they are ants that will destroy your technology. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) have contracted a number of complaints about missing copper and auxiliary foils from signal boxes. 5 culprits have been detained and arrested for such actions.

RPF nabs a gang of thieves that would rip off copper and aluminium foils from circuits at railway signals and sell them to scrap dealers, causing disruptions in train services

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Google Ventures and its investing tactics a new formula for venture capital business

A short synopsis of how Google approaches venture capital for business. Instead of taking it as an art form, Googles look at if from a science. The key is to collect data, organize and finally study the information, only the will money begin to emanate.

Here is how the venture capital game used to be played around here:

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Are fungus-farming ants the key to better biofuel?

With climate change and global warming everyone is constantly trying find new ways to fuel our society’s needs. Although ants are not everyone’s favorites, fungus-farming ants may be the next answer in creating biofuel to keep society going. The chemical enzymes used by these ants to breakdown leaves, can also be used to breakdown corn byproducts that will make fuel.

A group of scientists discovered a chemical key that could revitalize corn-based ethanol by allowing it to be made from stalks, leaves, and other bits beside the cob itself. Turns out, the savior of ethanol could be the South American leafcutter ant.

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Tech Can Make Immortality a Reality

June 21, 2013 By Catherine Shalloe

The First Farmers

Who comes to mind when you think of farming? Most likely you thought of humans, but did you know that humans were actually the 4th species to discover farming. Humans figured it out after some of the smaller creatures discovered it tens of thousands of years ago. And little did you know the first to discover farming was the ant! Check out what they grew and what other creepy crawlers farmed before humans.

Did you know that farming began about ten thousand years ago? Actually, before humans, there were other species that deliberately grew their own food. Learn more on this Moment of Science.

Tech Can Make Immortality a Reality, Says Head Google Engineer

Google engineers predict that somewhere in the next 10 to 20 years, science will experience huge growth. Within the next 15 years science will hit a breakpoint with the amount of time they add onto a persons life because of such substantial growth. See what Ray Kurzweil, Head Google Engineer, has to say about the scientific progress and see how immortality may in fact become some sort of a reality.

Rapidly evolving technology is making immortality more realistic, Google’s engineering director told the Global Future 2045 World Conference.

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It’s Not All Miss Utah’s Fault That Her Response Was So Ridiculous – Some of it is Biology

Can you really believe that biology could cause such a silly response in the Miss USA pageant? Well you should. Scientists point out that when under pressure, stress can cause your brain to enter into “fight or flight” mode at the worst possible times. So maybe it’s not fully Miss Utah’s fault she came up with such an unlucky answer, blame the brain.

I caught just enough of the Miss USA pageant this weekend to be weirded out by Nick Jonas and Mo Rocca existing in the same space, but not enough to see the unfortunate answer that Miss Utah …

Here are your top 20 U.S. cities for venture capital investment

Starting up a new small business and in need of venture capital? Well here is your very own list of top cities that rank the highest with venture capital investment. Check it out, maybe some of the cities will pleasantly surprise you.

San Francisco and San Jose, sure. Boston, New York and Austin? Certainly. But technology startups shouldn’t ignore Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta.

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Using crowdsourcing technology to change the way we save lives

Crowd sourcing technology is the new innovative way of helping people get through disasters. By using texts, maps, and live-feed donor lists, people and cities will be even more prepared for disasters, thanks to crowd sourcing.

One scroll through your Facebook or Twitter news feed and you’d think the world was going crazy. People share their addresses, their heated political commentaries, and strange pictures of cats […]

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Lumosity launches new web-based data methodology for conducting human cognitive performance research

Lumosity has just announced the starting of the Human Cognition Project! A new web-based data methodology for running cognitive performance research. By doing this on the web, researchers gain speed, scale, efficiency and more range of topics in studying human cognition. Check out what the project entails and what scientists hope to gain from it…

Lumosity, the leading brain training company, today announced a new web-based, big data methodology for conducting human cognitive performance research. Lumosity’s research platform, the Human …

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Scientists use new ‘computational cell biology’ to kill cancer cells by making them sick

Scientists from Ottawa, Ontario are beating cancer by engineering viruses to contaminate and kill cancer cells. By using mathematical models these scientists are finding ways to kill cancerous cells without harming normal cells and eventually could be the next great way to cure cancer.

From The Raw Story 16 June 2013 – Scientists use new ‘computational cell biology’ to kill cancer cells by making them sick. One doesn’t often think of cancer cells themselves being vulnerable to …

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Technology makes Europe accessible

There is no sense in denying that travel has changed with technology. Rick Steves reminisces on his backpacking through Europe days and talks about how technology has changed the backpacking experience. It helps with budgeting, communication and so much more. Check out the different ways technology has changed the way you travel.

Internet is a quick and easy way to find economic options for overseas trip

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What is Responsive Web Design?

A web design that can tell whether the customer is on a smart phone, computer or tablet is a responsive web design. There are multiple compelling reasons why small businesses should format their websites with a responsive web designs, one of which is the fact that it’s cost effective. Check out more reasons and how to make the switch in this article.

Websites built with responsive Web design can better serve customers by adapting to different screens on different devices.

Small dam construction to reduce greenhouse emissions is causing ecosystem disruption

Small dams help the environment, but they also hurt it. See how a small dam construction that helps reduce greenhouse emissions, also hurts the ecosystems surrounding it. Researchers point out that with main dams more people pay attention to ecosystems and take care of them, however with smaller dams, like this, less people notice the harm it brings to the biodiversity and the ecosystem.

Researchers conclude in a new report that a global push for small hydropower projects, supported by various nations and also the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may cause unanticipated and potentially significant losses of habitat and biodiversity.

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Biological systems.. A learning opportunity for networking?

June 10, 2013 By Divya Parameshwaran

In his new book Breakpoint, brain scientist and entrepreneur Jeff Stibel talks about how the world as we see it today is poised for a networking revolution. This will change the way we access the world’s information and the way we connect with one another. Studying biological systems is perhaps the best way to understand such networks, and nature has a lesson for us if we care to listen: bigger is rarely better in the long run. The deadliest creature is the mosquito, not the lion.

It is the quality of a network that is important for survival, not the size. The bad news is that all networks—the human brain, Facebook, Google, even the internet itself—eventually reach a breakpoint with the potential for a catastrophic collapse. However, the good news is that reaching a breakpoint can be a step forward, allowing a network to substitute quality for quantity.

Ants, for instance aren’t smart, but once a colony matures beyond its breakpoint, ants show increasing signs of collective intelligence. When mature ants act as a group, a single unit, they defy logic. It turns out that the intelligence of ants does not lie with the individual – it lies with the group.

Check out this cool video about how when a flood hits a fire ant colony in the Amazon jungle, the ants create a lifeboat to protect their queen. Its amazing to see how the species has adapted to water to protect the queen.

Breakpoint is the common ground between how ants, the human brain, reindeer, facebook, traffic, technology and networks function. Watch this space to find out more… and make sure to register (below!)to get notified when you can pre-order the book!