Nikola Tesla Statue Could Be Built in Silicon Valley

Via Mashable:

The proposed statue would be built in Palo Alto, Calif., home to many tech companies, startups and near Stanford University. The statue rendering depicts Tesla holding a lightbulb, demonstrating a wireless electricity concept.

Nikola Tesla Statue Could Be Built in Silicon Valley

Even gives free Wi-Fi.

Every Business Person Involved At All With The Internet Should Glance At This Presentation

Via Business Insider:

…the purpose of the deck is educate "business people" on "concepts of the Web and Web applications," "understand how Web-based software works," and "understand technical discussions better."

Every Business Person Involved At All With The Internet Should Glance At This Presentation - Business Insider

A useful primer.

Cisco's John Chambers Has Found A New $14 Trillion Market

Via Business Insider:

Cisco CEO John Chambers says a new tech market is coming that will generate an astounding $14 trillion in profits over the next decade: the Internet of Things (IoT).

IoT is about putting all sorts of inanimate objects on the Internet like cars, door locks, appliances, smart meters, video surveillance, health care devices, thermostats and so on.

Cisco's John Chambers Has Found A New $14 Trillion Market - Business Insider

Latest fad or coming trend? Most likely coming trend because of developments in sensor technology. New hot credential? Control systems professional engineer.

New Generation Of Philanthropists Is Changing Everything

Via Business Insider:

They [donors] are flexing philanthropic muscle at a younger age than their predecessors. At many top business schools, students are integrating the practice of philanthropy into education early on, and donors are often beginning to share substantial wealth long before accumulating the full measure of it.

New Generation Of Philanthropists Is Changing Everything - Business Insider

Points:

• “…the whole Wall Street crisis caused business schools to reevaluate their own priorities and tell a different story. It's okay to make money -- but also, give back.”
• “…donors are not waiting to get to retirement age to start thinking about philanthropy, but are making it a much more meaningful part of their lives earlier than previous generations.”
• “Dozens of MBA and undergraduate business programs now offer philanthropy studies, either as part of course work or in distinct degree programs.”
• “Corporate giving has become more of a strategic function, which means it is to be directed by the company's interests and not by the personal preferences of top management.”
• “The numbers show that philanthropy has hovered between about 1.8% and 2.3% of GDP, according to the Congressional Research Service and other sources. That would mean the enormous gifts made by Gates and Buffett have not released a torrent of largess that has changed the scale and impact of philanthropy.”
• “When I was in my 20s, those who wanted a professional degree and wanted to change the world and weren't sure how that would happen went to law school. Today, if you want to change the world but aren't sure how, you're more likely to consider business school."

Ponder: As much as the media breathlessly reports billionaires’ and celebrities’ charitable giving, the article makes these points about the true backbone of philanthropy:

It's not surprising that philanthropy has not gone up as a percentage of GDP, says Kim Meredith, executive director of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, since most giving -- 71% -- comes from individuals. "I think you see these levels of consistency, and that is because for Middle America and lower-income America, their income has not gone up, and they are the people giving the gifts," she says.

Moreover, adds the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors' Berman, "if you think about the amount of wealth lost in the last economic downturn [along] with persistently high unemployment, the fact that giving has not plummeted is just remarkable."

Read more: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3234#ixzz2SKEWI7vj

6 Things You May Not Know About Open Data

Via Government Technology:

Palo Alto, Calif., CIO Jonathan Reichental cleared up some of the confusion during the annual meeting for BayNet -- an multi-type library association consisting of professionals and librarians located in the San Francisco and the Bay Area -- held at the San Francisco Public Library .

In his keynote speech at the event, Reichental said that when it comes to making data more open, “The invisible becomes visible," and he outlined six major points that identify and define what open data really is.

6 Things You May Not Know About Open Data

Points:

1. It's the liberation of peoples' data

2. Data has to be consumable by a machine

3. Data has a derivative value

4. It eliminates the middleman

5. Data creates deeper accountability

6. Open Data builds trust

Robotics company, Byrd Institute to offer tech training

Via Charleston Gazette:

A new partnership between the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing and a national robotics company will teach workers the necessary skills to help shorten a "skills gap" in the state, an RCBI spokesman said Tuesday.

Martin Spears said the partnership with FANUC Robotics America Inc. to offer the FANUC Robotics Certified Education Robot Training program will provide training that workers need for jobs that are already out there.

Robotics company, Byrd Institute to offer tech training  - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

Points:

• “A skills gap between graduating students and retiring Baby Boomers is real.”
• “There's a whole workforce who are retiring or being promoted so they need the replacement workers to fill their spots, but all these jobs are going unfilled.”
• “Much of the skills gap is going to be concentrated in "middle skill" jobs, skilled technical jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree.”

Ponder: Your area is probably experiencing similar employment issues. What is happening in your area to address those issues?