Anja_A's Profile

As an avid slow cooker user, I am interested in the digital innovation this brings. It can be worrisome to leave the house with food cooking knowing there is absolutely no way to verify how the process is going. I usually have an irrational fear that I somehow forgot to turn it on, or that the device will malfunction and burn down my house. This technology addresses those concerns, and gives that peace of mind. One potential barrier to entry is vacuum sealing. Is there an accompanying device that needs to be bought? A partnership with Ziploc?

I’m surprised Providence rolled this technology out in such an extreme environment. Alaska’s population is so widely dispersed that it seems safer to to use this system in rural contiguous US before full implementation. Regardless, hopefully the citizens are aware of the benefit of this technology. I would guess there are people who are either considering moving closer to bigger towns for better medical care, or choose not to be seen at all due to the inconvenience while their health continues to suffer. This sounds like a great way to ensure doctors/nurses and patients all benefit.

I never thought about how wearable technology was impacting the fitness industry. Your idea of developing more advanced sensors could be a huge competitive advantage. It seems as though members that have gone so far as to buy a wearable fitness tracker and buy a gym membership would be encouraged by added technological devices that can only be used at the gym. The key would be having experts (trainers) available to not only demonstrate proper usage, but to facilitate results, which would further encourage people to pay for their membership. This is an exciting future for fitness!

It seems as though the big US pizza chains are racing through incremental changes to edge out their competitors by marginal amounts. Do you feel as though Domino’s has a sustainable advantage with how they’ve incorporated digital technology? It would be interesting to see if any of these pizza chains use technology to streamline the pizza making process and instead focus on the customer service aspect (instead of outsourcing to other delivery service companies).

Wow! At first glance it seems like the fish pods a more humane method of fish farming, but is it really any better than shallow fish farms beyond the free current? If fish are still stuck inside the cage, will future regulation have to specify wild vs farmed living conditions? I think the technology around automatic feeding and monitoring could be a game changer in the industry. It will be interesting to see if any other fish farming companies follow Kampachi, or wait for the technology to be more affordable and available.

Has the Maldives considered filling in land to try to extend the longevity of habitation? We’ve seen other countries in the Pacific region build entire atolls and islands from outsourced land fill. It would potentially damage or harm the eco-system surrounding the islands, but would save (or extend the existence) of homes. Another option would be to not try to stop or slow the effects of global warming, and instead embrace the potential attraction for tourists to explore the submerged islands. While not beneficial to inhabitants that will be forced to relocate, it may help offset the rising cost of living on the remaining islands and hopefully preserve the incredible (and ideally protected) undersea life.

Do you think consumers will value the eco-labels to the extent they would pay a premium price for that type of beer? It might help maximize profits to find the beer product that consumers would pay more for, if completely sourced with sustainable materials. Could they also do R&D for alternative packaging instead of just reduced packaging?

The Fleets of mobile communications units (COWs, COLTS, CROWs, and GOATs) are interesting and potentially a game-changer in the event of a natural disaster. It sounds as though Verizon has already invested in them, yet will get 0% utilization until a natural disaster event. Is there any way to include them in current operations to achieve some level of usage? It also seems as though the government would find value in subsidizing sustainable communications infrastructure for the exact reason of crisis management.

It seems as though the potential mitigation options would alter the qualities of the wine produced, and in itself pose a large risk for consumer acceptance. Changing the location of grape fields and/or the grape seeds may be too much variability. It seems as though California wineries will be cornered into either early immediate action or a collective effort across large regions and multiple wineries to ensure the existing conditions produce adequate grapes and wine. The other option would be changing consumer tastes for changing wine products.

If the insurance industry continues to see an increase in claims, particularly after a catastrophic disaster, will insurance policies eventually become too costly to purchase? Certainly consumer demand would increase as natural disasters increase, but either massive insurance policy claims would bankrupt companies, or rates would sky-rocket and be unaffordable, and therefore deteriorate the entire supply/demand chain. Maybe another consideration would be to diversify insurance portfolios by location or insurance type to avoid massive pay outs.