We talk a lot about ideas: what inspires them, how to act on them. But it's really quite simple: The best ones come from just going about our lives -- encountering, then attempting to resolve, both major obstacles and quotidian annoyances.
Our choice of categories for this year's Brilliant 100 reflects this. This feature has always skewed digital, heavy on apps, online platforms and social networking. Now those technologies are a given--they're ingrained in all we do, informing everything from how we work to how we eat to how we love. So this year, we have turned our focus to the ways in which the digital realm affects lifestyles, with categories on ideas that benefit city dwellers, rural folk, office workers and the environmentally minded (and who among us isn't?). We also take a look at ideas revolving around human interaction, in the literal sense of dating/connection and in that most intriguing new method of innovation: crowdsourcing.
The companies featured here have turned brilliant ideas into business solutions. Here's hoping you'll do the same.
SUSTAINABILITY
The Serial Entrepreneur Who Is Tackling E-Waste With EcoATMs
Automated kiosks that buy back used electronics aim to ease the electronic waste burden and put cash in consumers' pockets.
LOVE / CONNECTING
A Privacy App That Ensures Personal Data Really Disappears
Wickr gives users the ability to send self-destructing files securely and anonymously.
INVENTION
MakerBot's 3-D Printers Lead the Hardware Revolution
Smaller, less expensive 3-D printers are unlocking the ability for more people to be part of the maker movement.
FOOD / BEVERAGE
The Cloud-Based Startup Making Waves in Wine Country
Napa Valley tastemakers are giving traditional wine sellers a run for their money.
WORK LIFE
A Company That Makes User Analytics Simple
KISSmetrics has crunched customer data for AOL, Foursquare, Microsoft, and other major companies.
GAMING
The Startup Bringing Video Games into the Real World
The video game of the future just might remind you of toys of the past. Sifteo cubes give tactile appeal to technology.
CROWDSOURCING / COLLABORATION
GitHub Is Helping Companies Work Together by Crowdsourcing Software
The online hosting service makes it easy for millions of developers to create and share software projects.
SPORTS / RECREATION
An Analytics Platform That Has Mastered Sports Predictions
NumberFire has built data models that have outdone the experts at ESPN.
