To make planning your next trip across the city a little smoother, Google Maps has implemented live traffic information for arterial roads. The service uses GPS enabled smart phones with the Google Maps application to crowdsource its data. With many devices telling HQ how fast they are traveling, a fairly accurate picture of where congestion is or isn’t can be presented. The ability to view traffic history also makes it easier to predict future conditions.
Tools like this make life easier, but there are concerns that if large numbers of drivers all try to optimize their route at once, even [...]

We’ve been noticing more stringent enforcement of traffic laws at Shanghai’s major intersections over the past few months. At one of Shanghai’s busiest intersections, we recently noticed an interesting voting booth / suggestion box created by LEGO.
The “Satisfaction Post” (满意柱) allows citizens to vote on whether they are satisfied or not with the local police’s ability to control traffic.  Placing a red ring on a small plastic pillar means “satisfied,” while a blue ring means “unsatisfied.” Below the ringed voting system is a slit to submit any feedback.
We were interested to find a LEGO logo at the bottom of the [...]

The Internet Famous Class at Parsons New School is all about studying the art and science of getting hits.  Recently featured on Current TV, the course is dedicated to teaching students the most effective ways of leveraging social media to gain the largest possible audience online.
In order to test their theories and experiment with new strategies for gaining popularity, students are expected to develop their own projects, either collectively or on their own, utilizing any and all media in conjunction with the internet.
What makes the course particularly interesting is that students’ grades are based entirely on how much traffic they [...]