Fresh Ideas

I get this each week from Springwise.com:

Hotel rooms scattered across the city of Linz
Tourism & travel

Linz has scattered unique hotel lodgings throughout the city’s
metropolitan area, in effect turning the entire city into a one large
hotel.

Amazon trades gift cards for used video games
Retail / Gaming

Offering consumers a convenient way to sell unused games, Amazon
has launched a program to offer gift cards in exchange for second-
hand video games.

Playground for men features heavy equipment
Lifestyle & leisure

For EUR 219, visitors to Männerspielplatz can shed their office
trappings and get seriously dirty while playing with excavators, wheel
loaders, Caterpillars, quads, Jeeps and more.

Donated site helps families keep their homes
Non-profit / Social cause

SmallCanBeBig was formed on the premise that small donations
can add up to a big difference for families on the brink of financial
disaster.

Garden offices geared for telecommuting
Homes & housing

For employers who want to give their staff the option of working at
home, the OfficePOD is a 2-by-2-metre freestanding structure that
can be installed in a day, typically without planning consent.

Bikesharing comes to Asia
Transportation

We've already featured bike-sharing schemes in Paris and other
cities in Europe and North America, and recently we spotted a few
like-minded efforts popping up in Asia.

Helping consumers rent out unused space
Marketing & advertising

Spareground bills itself as "the one-stop shop for finding somewhere
to store your sports equipment, keep your caravan for the winter, park
your car, graze your horse or find somewhere to display your art."

Fitness class by Reebok & Cirque du Soleil
Lifestyle & leisure

Much like a free-hanging trapeze, the Jukari FlySet -- developed by
Reebok and Cirque du Soleil -- can be used for swinging, jumping,
hanging, kicking, pulling up and strengthening.

Email signatures with a fundraising twist
Non-profit / Social cause

San Francisco-based Replyforall gives users a way to raise money
for their favourite causes by simply adding a tailored signature to the
e-mails they normally send.

Social networking for dogs
Media & publishing / Lifestyle & leisure

A social networking site designed for dogs, Dogtree is a free service
that aims to help dog owners find playmates and walking friends for
their canine companions.

Tracing jam back to the strawberry farm
Food & beverage

Condiment maker Beerenberg has introduced Provenance Pathway,
an online tool that lets customers trace their jam or sauce from ‘soil
to shelf’.

Playgrounds, mapped & reviewed
Lifestyle & leisure

The KaBOOM! Playspace Finder is a user-generated online directory
that lets anyone enter, search for and rate play spaces in their
community.

A tryvertising lab for San Diego
Marketing & advertising

Sample U is a joint effort with Alliant International University to offer
new market research opportunities for sampling and testing new
products.

Free car for the weekend, no strings attached
Automotive / Marketing & advertising

It’s the equivalent of being handed a cute puppy, knowing you can give
it back if you don’t want it: Renault is hoping that once consumers
spend a weekend with its new Megane Hatch, they'll want to keep it.

Emails warn patients of health-changing weather
Life hacks

Developed to warn them in advance, MediClim emails registered
users when changes in humidity, pollen count, barometric pressure
and temperature might change how they feel.

TerraCycle collects non-recyclables at big-box stores
Eco & sustainability / Retail

Partnering with brands like Best Buy and Home Depot, TerraCycle is
introducing a non-recyclable packaging collection system in American
big-box chain stores.

Learning site motivates kids with real rewards
Education

SmartyCard offers what it calls the world's first "learn, earn and play"
experience by rewarding kids for completing educational games
with prizes from popular vendors and family sites.

Event-planning niche: wedding rehearsal dinners
Lifestyle & leisure

Aiming to deliver a stress-free, memorable pre-wedding celebration,
Well Rehearsed is an event planning company that focuses solely
on rehearsal dinners.

Crowdsourcing economic solutions for Ireland
Non-profit / Social cause

In Ireland, a new grassroots initiative is aiming to tap into the wisdom
of the crowds, through a campaign to solicit ideas for the country's
economic recovery.

A paperless alternative to the postal system
Life hacks

Zumbox has created an online mailbox for every street address in the
US, so anyone in the country can begin using its service immediately
to send and receive all-digital mail for free.

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