Mark Cuban Crowdsources Next Maverick’s Uniform

Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks, Crowd Sourcing,startups,Shark TankEver since our co-founder and CEO Nick Tippmann got Mark Cuban to come to his Shark Tank Season 3 Premiere party in Indianapolis, we’ve covered Cuban and his investments in startups. Cuban’s personal blog, blogmaverick, describes the billionaire investor, Shark Tank Shark and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, to a “T’. Not because he’s the owner of the NBA team with the same name, but because he’s a maverick himself.

Cuban isn’t one to do things the “normal” way. After a dismal season this year, Cuban has decided that maybe the Mavs need a change in uniform. He wants to implement the change in the 2015-2016 season.

On his blog, Cuban announces to the world and the Maverick’s fan base that this change is coming. More importantly though, Cuban isn’t hiring some big shot consultant or spending millions of dollars to come up with 10 mediocre designs. He’s crowdsourcing. He wants fans of his beloved Maverick’s to design the teams next uniform.

sneakersNow he wants the uniforms to fit the NBA uniform format. He also wants to keep the logo intact and try not to stray far away from the current color scheme. Of course he’s looking for creativity stemming from the great people that love his team.

He’s quick to point out that any design submitted immediately becomes the property of the Dallas Mavericks and if you don’t want to adhere to that you need not submit.

“Who will own your design ? The minute you post it, the Mavs will.  If you think its horrible that the Mavs own your design. Do not post. If you think its cool that the Mavs could possibly use your design and you will have eternal bragging rights , then post away.” Cuban writes.

If Cuban feels up to it he may throw in some tickets for the designer. There’s no promise of anything except bragging rights, and he may not select any fan design at all. “That is life in the big city. Move on.” Cuban adds.

The contest is open until the end of May, click on over to Blogmaverick for more.

Check out more of our Mark Cuban coverage here at nibletz.com

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DC Startup: Hitch An Uber Alternative To Taxicabs VIDEO

We were asked several times at the TechCocktail event Thursday night who our favorite startup was at TechBUZZ earlier in the week. In my opinion it was a three way tie between Syllabuster, Cont3nt and Hitchrides.com

Hitchrides.com is another alternative source for transportation in the form of an app. It blends crowdsourcing, social networks and transportation. Hitch is good for the environment and for the user.

David H Miller the founder of Hitch says that Hitch is a way for drivers to make money whether they are driving to or from work, down the street, around town or a long ways away. It’s like the ride-share section of Craigslist but safer, more efficient and for money.

more after the break
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Boston Startup: Wizgig, Crowdsourced & Expert Advice In 150 Characters Or Less

A new Boston area startup called Wizgig launched in March offering the wisdom of both experts and the crowd. The caveat, all of the wisdom comes in 150 characters or less. It’s like Twitter for wisdom with 10 more characters.

Wizgig co-founders Matt Murphy and Mark Boswell feel that by limiting the advice tips to 150 characters users will get right to the point, without the clutter. We’ve all been there, reading three and four page expert advice columns and finding that the meat and potatoes is no more than a few sentences.

The trick is going to see if the tips can be in intelligent, easy to understand language. We’re even guilty of shrinking some of our tweets down to hash tags, and internet lingo.

Here’s an example of a Wizgig tip, this one is on interviewing:

Prepare beforehand and research the company, the people, the culture, etc. Be prepared to match your skills and background to the company’s needs.

Here’s another on quitting smoking:

When you do your spring cleaning, make sure to get rid of all the ashtrays so they don’t remind you of smoking.

All of the topics are laid out in a nice looking design and easy to navigate. With 150 characters or less you can view many tips at the same time. This is what the teaching category looks like.

Although I tend to be modest about it, I often speak as a “twitter expert” at conventions and conferences. I think my use of Twitter since the very beginning is why I was so intrigued with Murphy’s pitch to nibletz. I got a chance to talk to Murphy about starting up Wizgig.

Check out the interview, after the break
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