Sorry I couldn’t make it to this year’s Global  Cleantech Meetup but am pleased to post information provided  by Harold Simansky about his company, 360 Chestnut , which provides resources for consumers and service providers  in the home improvement market, and about WeFunder, a crowd investing platform for startups.

Both companies are headquartered at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square, where I share space, although I have not yet met either Simansky or WeFunder cofounder and President Mike Norman.

Simansky says the two companies “stole the show,” but I’ll bet they got a run for their money (so to speak) from my friend and informal PR client,  Christine Adamow, who announced that her company, EuphorbUS,  which has produced pure fuel oil from tree seeds in Africa since 2007, is setting up shop in Hawaii. [Link to Euphorbus release.]

Simansky writes that WeFunder is the premier crowd investing platform for startups, while 360Chestnut is growing into one of the largest home improvement sites on the web.

Both startups were featured presenters at the  two day conference: Norman gave the keynote address to the more than 500 attendees and Simanski spoke on home improvement and sustainability.

Simansky points out that 360Chestnut is using the WeFunder  platform to raise its most recent round  of  investment, and in his  keynote, Norman called  360Chestnut an “ideal company” to use crowd investing to fund its growth.

Simansky describes WeFunder as “a crowd investing platform for startups.”  Using the platform, crowd investors can purchase stock for as little as $100 in promising new businesses around the country.  With the passage of the  US JOBS Act in April,  startups will soon be allowed to solicit investment from small, “unaccredited” investors and sell small stakes in their businesses online.

He says that  360Chestnut is “a no-cost, trusted source” where homeowners learn what to do to make their homes more healthy, energy-efficient and comfortable;  connect with qualified service providers, and access the more than 5000 rebate and incentives that will pay for this type of work.

For service providers, 360Chestnut is “a constant source of educated, nurtured customers; marketing & sales support; easy-to-use software and applications; online training; financing options and more.   Service providers pay to join and may purchase products and service son the site.

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and online-marketing firm based in Cambridge, MA.

 Local AFL-CIO Insulators, Tin Kinockers and Pipefitters from Cambridge Local  use a large inflatable rat to make clear how they feel about the use of non-union, non-Cambridge workers by PH Mechanical for work currently underway at 302 Third Street in Kendall Square.  “They don’t conform to community standards; they are unlicensed, and they have no apprentice program,” said one union member who declined to give his name. He said he expects that Cambridge City Council will be discussing the issue at its next meeting, possibly this evening.

Photos C. Anita M. HarrisInsulators, Tin Knocker, & Pipefitters Local AFL-CIO unions protest use of non-union workers at 302 3rd St.

—Anita M. Harris

Anita Harris is a writer in Cambridge, MA.  New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group,  a marketing and public relations firm based in Kendall Square, Cambridge.

At a Loss for Word

I spent the day trying to write and wrestling with Word. I’m a decade late with this rant, but today it got me.

I can barely remember why, but I loved Word Perfect. It was so well named from a writer’s perspective. It was the document software in which I  learned to type and for a long time the standard for writers and PR people and everyone who wanted to share a common language. It could catch my thoughts as they leapt fully formed (if out of context) from my brow;  store sidebars without getting sidetracked; set up and organize the page, stylize it with heads and subheads and put things in the order I wished; insert exported images and show me how they looked; accept Tom Swifties and newly minted puns; and help me express my thoughts in my own voice.

Then came PCs and laptops and Word slipped in under the tent flap and became the standard. Let’s face it, by comparison, Word bites and . . . behaves in other infantile ways. (You know what I mean, but you’ll see in a minute *** why I can’t type it.)

Who made Microsoft geeks the emperors of syntax and spelling and slang (Oh my!)? Who taught them to spell and keep up with language? Why are they the Wizards of Word? Why don’t they know that the basics (page layout, font, ability to insert, addition of typographical and graphic marks) should be doable without leaving the page? How come they use spellcheck to block current spelling of workplan and wasteland and  inhouse that don’t have hyphens- and make us change our use of speech to accommodate that quirk? What kind of bleeping editing program does not challenge words like ‘pubicrelations’ when you meant public relations, or f*** and s*** when you meant to write funk or shim? C’mon, that’s adolescent geekspeak for gotcha, smartyhosen!

What’s your favorite Word bugaboo?  While I’m at it, why do they call it Windows when they’re opaque, and laid on top of what you need to see for reference? For puzzle fans there are seven words flagged here in red by Word (none were on Lenny Bruce’s list).  Can you find them?

All for today. Rest easy  (See? If they knew syntax they’d have flagged that for easily!).

Guest blogger Ann Getman is a writer, painter and public relations consultant based in Cambridge, MA.
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

You don’t need to be a geek to get into some of the newest technology for keeping track of your health. I was blown away when I heard about pill bottle caps that will tell  you (or your doctor or your caretakers)  if you’ve forgotten to take your meds…a kazoo that measures the chemistry of the air from your lungs…and a telephone that can assess whether you’re depressed–from the tones of your voice.

These gizmos are the brainchildren of David Rose, an entrepreneur who is now the CEO of Vitality, Inc., in Cambridge.  Rose has also invented bathroom scales that can show whether you’ve lost or gained weight, an umbrella that can sense whether it’s going to rain, and objects that assess air quality.

Rose was one of four panelists who spoke last week at a program sponsored by the Medical Development Group about some astounding new health gadgets, most of which are actually on the market. (MDG is a Boston area organization for individuals involved in the medical device and technology industries). 

Rose focused on the above-mentioned pill bottle “Glo-Caps”, which “sense”  when a patient takes a medication, and, via a wireless Internet connection, show health care professionals, patients or caregivers whether reminders are needed.  

The caps light up, play a melody, and even ring a home phone to remind patients to take their pills.  The caps can send weekly emails to remote caregivers, create accountability with doctors through an adherence report, and automatically refill prescriptions. 

Glo-Caps are not currently available for purchase by individuals, but they are being used by patients enrolled in programs sponsored by certain health insurers and pharmacies.

Panelist Ben Rubin, Co-Founder and Chief Technology officer of Zeo, in Newton, MA, described Zeo’s novel  headset and device that monitor an individual’s REM sleep and factors influencing sleep patterns.  Knowing how well you sleep is important because sleep is closely tied to health conditions like obesity, depression, diabetes and the like, Rubin said. “If you measure it, you can manage it.” 

Zeo’s sleep devices, which cost $250,  connect to  an Internet site. For an additional $100, Zeo provides email advice coaching to help individuals improve their “sleep hygiene.” 

There’s also a  Smart Phone application designed to promote better sleep:  using the Ap, you put your phone under your pillow to measure your movement (and restlessness) during sleep.

Panelists also described glucose monitors that send data to doctors via patients’ Smart Phones and Nike running shoes that measure your steps. At one point, Rose pulled out a keychain that tells him whether he’s met his daily walking goals and whether he’s on track (ha ha) to meet his monthly goals.

Also mentioned  were Internet tools such as a Google Ap to measure flu trends; Healthmedia, through which Johnson & Johnson provides digital coaching for managing stress and chronic disease, Philips Direct, which provides live coaching over email, and various “calorie and other body monitors through which individuals can receive online coaching through gyms.

All of these devices fall under a category moderator David Barash, MD, CEO of Concord [MA] Health Strategies calls “local health monitoring” –meaning that the devices can be used by patients or consumers almost anywhere–rather than just at home or in a hospital,  doctor’s office or lab.

 According to a recent review by my client, Scientia Advisors, “remote health monitoring” devices are the fastest growing category in a booming home health care market. 

The devices are growing in popularity in sync with an aging population, increasing chronic disease, and new Internet technologies, Barash said.

Panelist Frank McGillin, Vice President of Global Marketing for Philips Healthcare, which markets a variety of home monitoring devices, said  remote monitoring  will become increasing important in light of growing health care costs.

Gillin cited government statistics showing that  health care current accounts for 17.6 percent of the  gross domestic product in the US, and that by 2050, half of the population in the developed world will be chronically ill—making traditional medical care  fiscally overwhelming. 

Devorah Klein, PhD, a principal at Continuum, in Newton, MA, who designs devices and evaluates patient adherence to therapy regimes for diabetes, asthma, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and erectile dysfunction, emphasized that  simple designs are key because “many patients are not all that interested” in learning to use devices.

And Barash pointed out that while many consumers may be intrigued by these gizmos, doctors have been slow to embrace them.

 For one thing, with a dearth of clinical trials to assess devices’ effectiveness, insurers are reluctant to reimburse doctors for evaluating the data thus compiled.

For another,  it’s not clear how doctors can manage or assess  potentially large amounts of additional data, or  how data collected for individual conditions can be assessed in relation to data collected elsewhere for other, possibly related, conditions.

–Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is published by the Harris Communications Group, a  writing  and public relations firm in Cambridge, MA.  All rights reserved.