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Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Open Innovation — What are the costs and benefits of open innovation? We spoke to industry experts to find out what the less obvious costs and benefits are, and how to maximize the potential of an open innovation campaign.

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Crowdfunding Campaign for Lisbon’s Mayor Nearing End

The Mayor of Lisbon is wrapping up a successful (if modest) crowdfunding campaign on the Portuguese platform PPL. The platform’s founders believe it’s the first political crowdfunding campaign in Europe.

Apple Acquires HopStop and Locationary

Apple confirmed late last week that it has purchased HopStop and Locationary, two startups that make use of crowdsourcing for mapping related services. The move comes only a month after Google acquired the crowdsourced directions startup Waze.

Ubuntu Edge ‘Superphone’ Seeks $32 Million on Indiegogo

Canonical, the U.K. software company behind Ubuntu, recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to help fund the production of the super powered, super expensive phone. The all-or-nothing funding goal: $32 million.

BBC Announces iCreate, Internal Idea-Sharing Portal

BBC’s next hit series could come from its mailroom. Using its internal talent pool, BBC plans to crowdsource the development of future television shows.

Crowdfunding the Trentino 2013 Universiade

The Universiade is an international sporting event for university athletes that takes place in the summer and winter every two years. This year’s winter games are slated to take place in Trentino, Italy in December. In order to help fund the event, the team behind the winter Universiade decided to create the Crowdfunding Challenge, a campaign on Indiegogo that has an accompanying ‘game’ to go along with it.

The Worldwide Crowdfunding Landscape: An Infographic

The folks at Eventstir whipped up the following infographic, which provides a great overview of the worldwide crowdfunding landscape. It covers broad topics, like overall dollars raised and platform breakdown by region, as well as specific ones, including the most successful platforms and projects.

Crowdfunding Tip of the Week: MoolaHoop, the Crowdfunding Platform That Campaigns for Women

Rose Spinelli, a crowdfunding consultant who runs The Crowdfundamentals, writes in with her latest Tip of the Week, a series exclusive to Crowdsourcing.org. Check out her thoughts on MoolaHoop, a crowdfunding platform that wants to connect women entrepreneurs with capital to launch and grow their businesses; the platform launched today.