How many things are we missing?

I came over one blog post again, and I felt it had so much to say that I'm writing about it here. In this post the sandbox crew tells the story of a world famous musician who performs in the streets. Nobody really cares and most people simply walk by. Many of them would probably have been amazed to see this guy if only they had known who he was.

Three questions arise:
1.) If we miss such obvious blockbusters, what else are we missing?
2.) What influence does a large marketing machinery have on the perceived competence of artists?
3.) How many talents do we meet every day without recognizing their potential?

Since question 2 cannot be simply answered, I'd like to focus on question 1 and 3.

If we miss such obvious blockbusters, what else are we missing?
I personally think we are missing so many blockbusters in so many fields that we just have to cope with it. We will never be able to take notice of everything special going on in the world but IT will eventually become really useful in helping us to sort this information. A lot of work in the area of the internet of things and in the area of recommendation systems will have to be done, because today's technology is by far not advanced enough. Current communication standards simply do not allow for the recognition of such happenings. Standards for information sharing will have to be implemented (will that ever happen?) and recommendation systems will have to understand human behaviour to some extent (a tough challenge too, regarding the many misunderstandings between peers with strong social ties). What are ways to take notice of important and interesting events? How can we filter them?

How many talents do we meet every day without recognizing their potential?
The answer becomes obvious on such occasions as the frequent sandbox dinners and other networking events (like START Summit, StartupCamp and Synetgies sessions). You just go there, talk to some random stranger and realize his/her intelligence, wealth of ideas and drive to live up to these ideas. There is so much talent out there that we will need some "filter" for it, too. Some companies are making good progress in the area of matchmaking for job searches, but talents are needed in so many other, more dynamic fields than specific jobs. I don't have a clue how to scan my extended network for such hidden talent yet but I will continue thinking about it. Do you have ideas or best practices?