How A Boston Venture Capital Firm Grew Into A Silicon Valley Powerhouse

How A Boston Venture Capital Firm Grew Into A Silicon Valley Powerhouse
Posted by Jake MeLoo on February 27, 2014
Posted in: Tech Stuff. Leave a Comment


Charles River Ventures has quietly emerged as a venture capital force in Silicon Valley.



CRV partner George Zachary

Charles River Ventures

In the fall of 2008, during the height of the financial crisis, raising venture capital to fund your startup amounted to a fool's errand. But PayPal alumnus David Sacks is no fool, and he knew exactly who to tap to get his new messaging service off the ground.

That service was Yammer, and the person Sacks tapped for both money and advice was George Zachary, a partner at early stage venture capital firm Charles River Ventures. In return for its tiny financial investment and strategic advice, CRV was repaid with a handsome profit after Microsoft bought Yammer in 2012 for $ 1.2 billion.

Named after the Charles River in Boston, CRV has quietly emerged as a real force in Silicon Valley on par with better known and more established venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Bayer or Greylock Partners. The firm, which moved most of its operations to the Valley a decade ago, has strung together a series of high-profile exits to go along with Yammer. In 2003, almost a quarter of their portfolio was west coast-based, and most of the partners were on the east coast — it's now nearly 60%, and most partners are on the west coast.

“The market perception, especially here or in San Francisco, is that we're not there,” CRV partner Izhar Armony said of the view of his firm's place among the Valley giants. “But results-wise, we're definitely in that group.”

CRV — as the firm is known around Sand Hill Road, the Menlo Park, California expanse that hosts the most powerful venture capital firms in the world — is poised to continue its streak this year, with evidence emerging that its early bet on Zendesk is about to pay off big in the form of a potential IPO of the enterprise software maker. It also recently landed an investment in Pebble, a fast-growing smart watch startup.

“Unicorn” exits, or sales or IPOs of venture capital-backed companies in excess of $ 1 billion, are exceedingly rare. According to CB Insights, 68 investors were able to capture at least one billion-dollar exit in the past decade ending November 21, 2013. That number falls to 17 for two exits, and continues to shrink.

Three firms — Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and New Enterprise Associates — were able to score eight “unicorn” exits each (or 24 total) according to that report in the last decade, a phenomenal track record of consistency. Sequoia Capital recently had one of the largest exits in venture capital history after Facebook bought WhatsApp for $ 19 billion.

CRV is not far behind those firms, though, with “unicorn” exits, included among them Twitter (IPO), Yammer (sale), Millennial Media (IPO), Equallogic (acquired by Dell for $ 1.4 billion) and Netezza (acquired by IBM for $ 1.7 billion). Zendesk will likely up CRV's tally closer to that of Sequoia and Greylock when it eventually goes public.





CBInsights / Via cbinsights.com





View Entire List ›

NASA discovers 715 new planets

NASA discovers 715 new planets



By Doug Gross, CNN
updated 3:29 PM EST, Wed February 26, 2014


Scientists announced in June 2013 that three planets orbiting star Gliese 667C could be habitable. This is an artist's impression of the view from one of those planets, looking toward the parent star in the center. The other two stars in the system are visible to the right.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Four of 715 newly discovered planets may support Earth-like life
It's the biggest single discovery of planets in history
All were found in the first two years of the Kepler telescope's voyage
NASA expects next batch of data to reveal more habitable planets


(CNN) -- Our galactic neighborhood just got a lot bigger. NASA on Wednesday announced the discovery of 715 new planets, by far the biggest batch of planets ever unveiled at once.

By way of comparison, about 1,000 planets total had been identified in our galaxy before Wednesday.

Four of those planets are in what NASA calls the "habitable zone," meaning they have the makeup to potentially support life.

The planets, which orbit 305 different stars, were discovered by the Kepler space telescope and were verified using a new technique that scientists expect to make new planetary discoveries more frequent and more detailed.

"We've been able to open the bottleneck to access the mother lode and deliver to you more than 20 times as many planets as has ever been found and announced at once," said Jack Lissauer, a planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California.

Launched in March 2009, the Kepler space observatory was the first NASA mission to find planets similar to Earth that are in, or near, habitable zones -- defined as planets that are the right distance from a star for a moderate temperature that might sustain liquid water.

Tuesday's planets all were verified using data from the first two years of Kepler's voyage, meaning there may be many more to come.

"Kepler has really been a game-changer for our understanding of the incredible diversity of planets and planetary systems in our galaxy," said Douglas Hudgins, a scientist with NASA's astrophysics division.

The new technique is called "verification by multiplicity," and relies in part on the logic of probability. Instead of searching blindly, the team focused on stars that the technique suggests are likely to have more than one planet in their orbit.

NASA says 95% of the planets discovered by Kepler are smaller than Neptune, which is four times as big as Earth.

One of them is about twice the size of Earth and orbits a star half the size of Earth's sun in a 30-day cycle.

The other three planets in habitable zones also are all roughly twice the size of Earth. Scientists said the multiplicity technique is biased toward first discovering planets close to their star and that, when further data comes in, they expect to find a higher percentage of new planets that could potentially have a life-supporting climate like Earth's.

"The more we explore the more we find familiar traces of ourselves amongst the stars that remind us of home," said Jason Rowe, a research scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, and co-leader of the research team.


© 2014 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of service | Privacy guidelines | AdChoices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
CNN Newsource | License Footage

Can Obamacare Avoid a Consumer Rebellion?

National Journal
Can Obamacare Avoid a Consumer Rebellion?

HEALTH CARE
Can Obamacare Avoid a Consumer Rebellion?
Insurers bet that low premiums would be enough to get customers to stomach narrow networks, but a new poll suggests they may have gotten it wrong.




The Affordable Care Act didn't create the trade-off between insurance premiums and coverage networks, but that doesn't mean consumers aren't furious about it.(AFP)

By Sam Baker
February 26, 2014

When Obamacare handed insurance companies millions of compulsory customers, it also handed them a reminder of one of their industry's toughest realities: Consumers want low premiums, and they want to see any doctor they want. And it's impossible to give them both.
RELATED STORIES
Obamacare Enrollment Hits 4 Million
Report: Health Premiums Will Go Up for Small Businesses
Medicare Advantage Faces Rate Cut
Could This Yale Professor Have the Answers to Our Health Care Dilemma?

Generally, insurers selling plans on Obamacare's exchanges opted to keep premiums low, hoping the public would prefer a low upfront price tag—even if that meant customers couldn't always pick their first-choice doctor.

But "if you like your doctor, you can hope she's in our network" was always going to be a tough sell for insurers. With the insurance market now viewed through the distorted lens of the endless partisan fight over Obamacare, it's going to be harder than ever. Republicans have pounced on the narrow networks, citing them as further proof that President Obama lied when he said the Affordable Care Act would not cost people their doctors.

And as the volume of enrollees and rhetoric rises, insurers are worried about a possible backlash. Narrow networks are getting a bad reputation, and consumers may demand more choices.

It has happened before: In the 1990s, insurers hoped that by using health-maintenance organizations to move their coverage away from expensive doctors and hospitals, they could control health costs while creating an incentive for providers to lower their prices. What they created instead was a popular rebellion, with customers balking at the HMO plans and complaining loudly to Congress about it.

Some analysts see a similar climate brewing now.

"People don't like to hear 'no,' and this is saying 'no,' " said Austin Frakt, a health policy economist at Boston University.

That's clear from the Kaiser Family Foundation's latest tracking poll on the health care law. Among those the foundation surveyed, 51 percent said they'd prefer a broader network and higher premiums, compared with just 37 percent who preferred "a more limited range of doctors and hospitals" in exchange for lower premiums. And most of the 37 percent changed their minds once they were reminded that a plan with "a more limited range of doctors and hospitals" might mean the same thing as "you would not be able to visit the doctors and hospitals you usually use."

The administration is in a tough spot on network size. Republicans have laid the whole issue at Obamacare's feet, even though it's a market dynamic that Obamacare really didn't cause: It's a business balance between price and quality that existed long before the law was created.

But this market dynamic nevertheless exists within Obamacare policies, and the administration clearly wants to address a potentially unpopular part of people's coverage—without making that coverage more expensive, and thus accessible to fewer people.

"The administration has shouldered the blame for things that are so vastly beyond its control, and has attempted valiantly to work these problems out," said Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health care policy at George Washington University.

Republicans have played up narrow networks in their criticism of the law, arguing that the prevalence of narrow provider networks invalidates Obama's promise that "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor." But that assumes you had a doctor to lose in the first place, and many of the people signing up for Obamacare didn't. According to New York state's exchange, about 70 percent of people who have picked a plan in the state were previously uninsured.

That's part of the reason insurers are still betting that narrow networks can gain traction.

In the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 54 percent of the people most likely to be shopping for insurance through the Affordable Care Act's exchanges—those who are uninsured or who buy insurance on their own—said they'd rather have a low premium than a wide network of providers. Just 35 percent of the likeliest Obamacare customers said they would prefer a more expensive plan with a broader provider network.

And there are some substantive differences between the HMOs of the '90s and the narrow networks of today. For starters, HMOs made it difficult to see specialists, attempting to cement care around cheaper primary-care doctors. The ACA includes new tools designed to better coordinate care among hospitals, doctors, and specialists. It also requires plans to cover certain services that HMOs were able to limit.

Still, it's largely up to the states to determine whether an insurance plan's network is adequate enough to actually make those benefits accessible. And the Obama administration is at least sending a signal that narrow networks are on its radar, if not directly doing anything—yet—to forcibly broaden them.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released new guidance for insurers about their networks. Its most tangible change was to boost the number of "essential community providers" a plan must include, from 20 percent to 30 percent. But the rule also hinted at closer scrutiny of plans' overall networks—without spelling out specific changes that would upset the balance plans have struck between access and cost.

The guidance says CMS will more thoroughly review networks to make sure they're "adequate," rather than simply taking plans' word for it. And what constitutes "adequate"? CMS won't say, and outside observers don't know.

"We don't know what that standard is," Rosenbaum said. "I have no idea what that standard is … this is like otherworldly, this thing."





Rand Paul Is the GOP's Early Presidential Front-RunnerBY JOSH KRAUSHAAR


41% of Republicans Don't Want Chris Christie in 2016BY MARINA KOREN


The United States of Same-Sex MarriageBY SARAH MIMMS AND BRIAN MCGILL


Can Obamacare Avoid a Consumer Rebellion?BY SAM BAKER


Inside Detroit’s Nascent Start-Up CultureBY TIM ALBERTA


This British Company Wants to Change the White House's AddressBY ALEX BROWN


Too Late for the Cut-and-Run SlurBY RON FOURNIER


Is John Boehner a More Popular Speaker Than Nancy Pelosi?BY MATT VASILOGAMBROS


Why Our Nutrition Facts Need an OverhaulBY BRIAN RESNICK

MOST READ
1.Rand Paul Is the GOP's Early Presidential Front-Runner
2.Can Obamacare Avoid a Consumer Rebellion?
3.Is There a Way Forward on Unemployment Insurance in the Senate?
4.Arizona Lawmaker Defends Controversial Religious Freedom Law: 'The Pillars of Society Are Under Attack'
5.Google Fears FCC's New Internet Powers

MORE HEALTH CARE
Why Our Nutrition Facts Need an Overhaul
Can Obamacare Avoid a Consumer Rebellion?
Could This Yale Professor Have the Answers to Our Health Care Dilemma?
Obamacare Enrollment Hits 4 Million
The Mystery About Obama’s Medicare Cuts


LeadershipCopyright © 2014 by National Journal Group Inc.CDN powered by Edgecast Networks

CDC forced to release documents showing they knew vaccine preservative causes autism

VoltaireMan is free at the moment he wishes to be.


HOME
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
HEALTH
THE AMAZING
GOOD NEWS
BE THE CHANGE
BADGE ABUSE

CDC forced to release documents showing they knew vaccine preservative causes autism

895Share 1 0 2Reddit 12TweetBy Dave MihalovicThe RefusersFebruary 25th, 2014
PhD Scientist and Biochemist Reveals Hidden CDC Documents Showing Thimerosal In Vaccines Increase Neurologic Disorders

The CDC has been shunning the correlations between thimerosal and neurological disorders for a very long time. Although the FDA gave a two year deadline to remove the mercury based preservative from vaccines after the neurotoxin was banned in 1999, it still remains to this day in 60 percent of flu vaccines. A vaccine industry watchdog has now obtained CDC documents that show statistically significant risks of autism associated with the vaccine preservative, something the CDC denies even when confronted with their own data.


For nearly ten years, Brian Hooker has been requesting documents that are kept under tight wraps by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His more than 100 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have resulted in copious evidence that the vaccine preservative Thimerosal, which is still used in the flu shot that is administered to pregnant women and infants, can cause autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Hooker, a PhD scientist, worked with two members of Congress to craft the letter to the CDC that recently resulted in his obtaining long-awaited data from the CDC, the significance of which is historic. According to Hooker, the data on over 400,000 infants born between 1991 and 1997, which was analyzed by CDC epidemiologist Thomas Verstraeten, MD, “proves unequivocally that in 2000, CDC officials were informed internally of the very high risk of autism, non-organic sleep disorder and speech disorder associated with Thimerosal exposure.”

Factually, thimerosal is a mercury-containing compound that is a known human carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen and immune-system disruptor at levels below 1 part-per-million, and a compound to which some humans can have an anaphylactic shock reaction. It is also a recognized reproductive and fetal toxin with no established toxicologically safe level of exposure for humans.

In November, 1997, the U.S. Congress passed the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, requiring the study of mercury content in FDA-approved products. The review disclosed the hitherto-unrecognized levels of ethylmercury in vaccines.

In July 1999, public-health officials announced that thimerosal would be phased out of vaccines. The CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, and FDA insisted that the measure was purely precautionary. They requested of all vaccine manufacturers to eliminate mercury from vaccines.

The requests were denied by vaccine manufacturers and continued every year thereafter.

The FDA does not require ingredients that comprise less than 1 percent of a product to be divulged on the label, so a lot more products may have thimerosal and consumers will never know.

Elevated Risk of Autism

When the results of the Verstraeten study were first reported outside the CDC in 2005, there was no evidence that anyone but Dr. Verstraeten within the CDC had known of the very high 7.6-fold elevated relative risk of autism from exposure to Thimerosal during infancy. But now, clear evidence exists. A newly-acquired abstractfrom 1999 titled, “Increased risk of developmental neurologic impairment after high exposure to Thimerosal containing vaccine in first month of life” required the approval of top CDC officials prior to its presentation at the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) conference. Thimerosal, which is 50% mercury by weight, was used in most childhood vaccines and in the RhoGAM shot for pregnant women prior to the early 2000s.

The CDC maintains there is “no relationship between Thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism rates in children,” even though the data from the CDC’s own Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) database shows a very high risk. There are a number of public records to back this up, including this Congressional Record from May 1, 2003. The CDC’s refusal to acknowledge thimerosal’s risks is exemplified by a leaked statement from Dr. Marie McCormick, chair of the CDC/NIH-sponsored Immunization Safety Review at IOM. Regarding vaccination, she said in 2001, “…we are not ever going to come down that it [autism] is a true side effect…” Also of note, the former director of the CDC, which purchases $4 billion worth of vaccines annually, is now president of Merck’s vaccine division.

Toxic Effects of Thimerosal No Longer Disputed by Scientific Study

Thimerosal-Derived Ethylmercury in vaccines is now well established as a mitochondrial toxin in human brain cells.
Article continues below these recommendations


There are dozens of scientific inquiries and studies on the adverse effects of thimerosal, including gastrointestinal abnormalities and immune system irregularities.

Thimerosal, is metabolized (converted) into the toxic and “harmful” methylmercury. And then in turn, the harmful methylmercury is metabolized (converted) into the most harmful, long-term-toxic, “inorganic” mercury that is retained in bodily tissue.

“Inorganic” mercury is the end product of mercury metabolism. Methylmercury subject groups confirm that the metabolic pathway for mercury in the human and animal body consists in the reduction/conversion of the harmful methylmercury into a more harmful “inorganic” mercury which is tissue-bound, and long-term-toxic. Hence, both the originating substance (methylmercury) and its conversion/reduction, inorganic mercury are found.

Based on published findings by Dr. Paul King, the metabolic pathway for organic mercury involves the conversion of Ethylmercury (Thimerosal) into “methylmercury” and then the further reduction of “methylmercury” into inorganic mercury.

Congress Must Act

Dr. Hooker’s fervent hope for the future: “We must ensure that this and other evidence of CDC malfeasance are presented to Congress and the public as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence. Children’s futures are at stake.” A divide within the autism community has led to some activists demanding that compensation to those with vaccine-injury claims be the top priority before Congress. Dr. Hooker maintains that prevention, “protecting our most precious resource — children’s minds,” must come first. “Our elected officials must be informed about government corruption that keeps doctors and patients in the dark about vaccine risks.”

Referring to an organization that has seen its share of controversy this past year, Dr. Hooker remarked, “It is unfortunate that SafeMinds issued a press release on my information, is accepting credit for my work and has not supported a worldwide ban on Thimerosal.”

Brian Hooker, PhD, PE, has 15 years experience in the field of bioengineering and is an associate professor at Simpson University where he specializes in biology and chemistry. His over 50 science and engineering papers have been published in internationally recognized, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Hooker has a son, aged 16, who developed normally but then regressed into autism after receiving Thimerosal-containing vaccines.


Dave Mihalovic is a Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in vaccine research, cancer prevention and a natural approach to treatment.

Read the article

All information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided on TheFreeThoughtProject.com is for educational purposes only. It is not to be construed or intended as providing medical or legal advice. Any views expressed here-in are not necessarily those held by TheFreeThoughtProject.com

Live Free. Think Free. Be Free.


Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cdc-forced-release-documents-showing-knew-vaccine-preservative-autism/#q1mOoyiwSjEp50lu.99

5 Tricks to Remembering Anybody's Name

5 Tricks to Remembering Anybody's Name

BY JACQUELINE WHITMORE | January 23, 2014|



Image credit: Mykl Roventine

What's in a name? A lot, it turns out -- particularly when it comes to garnering new business contacts. When you remember somebody's name -- even after meeting them just briefly -- it sends the message that the interaction was important to you. Perhaps no other skill can make others feel as valued, or open as many doors to new connections.

While some people possess a gift for remembering names, for others, it's more of a learned skill. But every new introduction is an opportunity to practice recognizing faces, and, as you improve, others will begin to perceive you as a valuable connector in business and in life.


Use the strategies below to practice -- and make it a point to challenge yourself at networking events. My advice? Start slowly, and then increase your repertoire with each new introduction:

1. Repeat names throughout the exchange. Repetition helps your brain form the connections necessary to retain information. As soon as you're introduced, say, "It's lovely to meet you, Jane." Refer to the person by name upon greeting and then repeat it again in parting.

2. Make mental associations. Make a visual connection with a person's name to something memorable in your world -- the more outlandish, the better. For example, if you meet someone named Jay who happens to be a music producer, visualize a blue jay at a mixing board. The humorous image will imprint his name and career onto your memory.

Related: How to Nail an Introduction

3. Study names in print. Use your eyes as well as your ears. When someone wears a nametag, for instance, look at the nametag as well as the face to create an association. As soon as you receive a business card, glance at the name and say, "Thank you, John."

4. Ask for clarification with difficult names. If a new acquaintance has a name that is difficult to pronounce or happens to mumble their introduction, simply ask him or her to repeat it. Then say it again yourself for verification. In addition to gaining clarity, the extra effort will speak to your attention to detail.

5. If you forget a name, address it head on. If you absolutely can't remember a name, try to offer any information you can remember, such as where the two of you may have met. Alternatively, if you shake hands and introduce yourself, your contact will most likely follow suit.

If you think you know someone's name, but are unsure, venture a guess: "Bill, right?" Or you could simply apologize and say, "I'm sorry, I'm a little forgetful at the moment. Please remind me of your name." Don't worry, it happens to everyone.

Related: Did You Say 'Charbucks'? 7 Big Chains That Battled the Name Game

The author is an Entrepreneur contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.


Jacqueline Whitmore

Jacqueline Whitmore is an etiquette coach and founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach. She is also the author of Poised for Success: Mastering the Four Qualities That Distinguish Outstanding Professionals (St. Martin's Press, 2011) and Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work (St. Martin's Press, 2005).
HOW TO NETWORKING MEMORY TIPS NAMES

Copyright © 2014 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230997#ixzz2uOuCw9pr

How to Make It as a Freelance Entrepreneur

How to Make It as a Freelance Entrepreneur

BY JON SALM | January 29, 2014|




Image credit: Daveybot

When people think of an entrepreneur, often they conjure up a founder of a newly launched startup, a veteran business owner or someone running a franchise. But the term includes so many other folks, one being the freelancer.

Many entrepreneurs have found success as a freelancer providing various services including data mining, designing, producing and writing, among others. But to build a successful, prolific freelance career, you need more than luck and access to clients online.


Here are five key skills that will go a long way in helping you find success:

1. Market yourself. You might have rock-star design skills, a knack for storytelling or coveted coding chops, but without a personal marketing strategy, no one will know you are open for business. All good freelancers should have a robust online presence -- everything from public social media accounts (keep it professional, please) to a personal website and a digital portfolio. Having a well-defined personal brand can go a long way towards boosting your professionalism for both current and future clients.

Tools: Social media management applications such as HootSuite and Buffer help keep your online presence organized and up to date. Custom-built websites are always best for showing yourself off in a unique way, but LinkedIn, Wix, WordPress, and About.me enable you to create a professional online presence in minutes.

Related: How to Build a Business Plan For Your Personal Brand

2. Set a schedule, goals and expectations. Whether you're working on a last-minute project or have all the time in the world, it is important for freelancers to establish deadlines and manage expectations with clients. Determining what the final product will look like, when it will be delivered and how it will be done helps freelancers stay on track and allows clients to know what they're getting.

Tools: Visually's Project Center incorporates a custom timeline for each project, clearly establishing deadlines and deliverables. There is also Podio and Asana, both of which provide management tools for collaborating with a team and staying on top of project goals.

3. Keep track of all your great ideas. At any given point, you might be working on a number of different projects at various stages of completion. Keeping track of all of the ideas and inspirations associated with each one can be tough and top-notch organization skills are a must for any freelancer's arsenal.

Tools: The gold standard for organization tools and apps is Evernote. No other tool has as many features, as simple of an interface,or is as easy to use as Evernote. With full-featured integration across a variety of desktop and mobile platforms, the tool can be accessed virtually anywhere inspiration strikes.

Related: 5 Steps to Rescue Your Productivity When Days Go Bad

4. Communicate effectively. It sounds like a no-brainer but effective communication builds a foundation for business success. This is even more applicable for freelancers. Going the extra mile to stay on top of communication can help eliminate the physical distance between you and your client. Being available via email, over phone and on video chat is a must, but don't be afraid to also check out screen sharing apps too, as these can be helpful for walking clients through more intricate and detailed work.

Tools: The go-to app for communication is Skype. Its simplicity is unmatched and universally adored. While Skype offers basic screen sharing, dedicated tools such as Screenhero and join.me are best for power users.

5. Follow up, build a network and grow your freelance business. You've finished a project and sent your invoice to the client. This might seem like the end of you and your client's working relationship, but it's not. Follow up with the client a week or two after the project has been delivered, and ask for feedback. If it's positive, ask for them to recommend your work to others, endorse you on LinkedIn or provide a short testimonial for your website or portfolio.

Tools: Simple skill endorsements on LinkedIn can only go so far, but a glowing recommendation can set you apart from the crowd. Visit the Visual.ly Marketplace and we'll bring your story to life.

This article originally appeared on the Visual.ly blog

Related: 5 Tricks to Remembering Anybody's Name


Jon Salm

Jon Salm is an Associate Client Analyst at Millward Brown Digital in New York City and freelances for Visually, where he is a certified journalist in the Visually Marketplace and a regular contributor to the Visually blog. You can find him online at about.me/salm.jon, on twitter @S4LM3R, and on Visually at Visual.ly/users/salmjon.

Copyright © 2014 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/231029#ixzz2uOswNHgY

3 Simple Reasons Google Doesn't Hire the Top College Grads

3 Simple Reasons Google Doesn't Hire the Top College Grads
 By Zak Cheney-Rice

3 Simple Reasons Google Doesn't Hire the Top College GradsImage Credit: AP

The news: After years spent recruiting some of the best and brightest young people in the world, Google has learned an important lesson: GPA doesn't matter.

In a June 2013 interview, Laszlo Bock, the tech giant's senior VP of people operations, told theNew York Times' Adam Bryant that GPAs and test scores are "worthless" and "don't predict anything," and in fact, the "proportion of people without any college education at Google has increased over time."

Hold on. Is he saying that your $50,000/year college education is totally worthless? Not exactly: "Good grades don't hurt," he told the Times' Thomas L. Friedman, especially in technical areas where math and programming proficiency are necessary. But more importantly, Google has chosen to focus on "general cognitive ability," or a prospective employee’s capacity for learning and processing "on the fly" and "[pulling] together disparate bits of information."

How do they determine these attributes? "We assess that using structured behavioral interviews that we validate to make sure they're predictive," Bock said. So much for thenotorious brainteasers – i.e. "How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?" or "How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?" – we've come to associate with Google hiring.



Image Credit: AP

But what is it about the most accomplished college grads that fail to meet these criteria? Here are three elements in particular:

1. "School is used as a crutch."

Many colleges can be summed up as great opportunities to "generate a ton of debt" without learning "the most useful things for your life," according to Bock. "It’s [just] an extended adolescence." On the other hand, "when you look at people who don't go to school and make their way in the world, those are exceptional human beings. And we should do everything we can to find those people."

Basically, Google wants to emphasize your capacity for learning over what your diploma says you've already learned. In many cases, brand-name colleges aren't the best predictors for future success.

2. They lack "emergent leadership" qualities.

Were you class president? Did you found your school's first beekeeper's club? Google doesn't care. These are examples of what they call "traditional leadership," and if you haven't figured it out by now, Google likes to eschew tradition:

"What we care about is, when faced with a problem and you're a member of a team, do you, at the appropriate time, step in and lead," Bock said. "And just as critically, do you step back and stop leading, do you let someone else? Because what’s critical to be an effective leader in this environment is you have to be willing to relinquish power."



Image Credit: AP

3. Not enough "intellectual humility."

"Successful bright people" are unaccustomed to failure, Bock said. As a result, they don't know how to "learn from that failure," but instead "commit the fundamental attribution error, which is if something good happens, it's because I'm a genius. If something bad happens, it's because someone’s an idiot or I didn't get the resources or the market moved." For many hotshot brand-name college grads, success is attributable to natural talent instead of hard work and flexibility.

"Intellectual humility" is akin to "emergent leadership" in that it fosters adaptive learning and collaborative problem solving. It means learning from mistakes and being able to step back when faced with a better idea. This is what Google is looking for more than anything.

Where do I sign up? There's something refreshingly egalitarian about the qualities with which Google is bolstering its ranks. Does this mean they'll hire just any "adaptive learner" off the street? Probably not. But it does give many aspiring Googlites an advantage where before they felt under-qualified.

Copyright © Mic Network Inc. All rights reserved
35 West 36th St. 9th Floor West, New York, NY 10018

The 7 Best Money Tips

The 7 Best Money Tips
by CNBC Feb 19th 2014 11:21AM

Add caption

Alamy

By Jerry Lynch, president of JFL Total Wealth Management

I have been a financial planner for quite some time now. There are a lot of things that are very easy to understand about planning and there are many other aspects that are incredibly complex. At least when you are starting out, by focusing on the basics and doing them well, you can get a tremendous jump start on your future.

Here are a few of the best tips that I have heard over the years:

1. You will not get rich in the stock market. You will get reasonable rates of return, but that will be over a long time horizon. People get rich in one of four ways: They inherit it, they make it in real estate, they make it by owning a business, or they save a tremendous amount over a long period of time. Do not overestimate the stock-market returns and understand how it works. Develop a reasonable investment strategy, stick to it and over time you will do fine.

2. Save -- no matter what. There is always a reason not to save but successful people do the right thing on a consistent basis. Often the best time to save is when times are at their worst. Looking back on 2008, the greatest returns in your portfolio are from dollars invested during that market downturn.

3. What is your plan B? "Plan A" never works and you need to make sure you have something to fall back on. Most successful people have not had everything go their way all the time. They know that no matter time and preparation that they do, things will never go exactly as planned. Having other alternatives that you can use to make the plan work is the key to being successful.

4. The tortoise always wins! Success is not the result of one great action and it is not a one hit wonder. It is about consistently doing the right things on a regular basis. The individual that gets in early, takes additional training and education, and consistently works to make themselves better in all aspects of their lives (family, friends and business) will beat the person who is more sizzle than substance.

5. Get the smartest people to work with you. My goal is to be the idiot in the room because that means I'm in the right room filled with very bright people. Every major decision I make I run by my advisors and associates first before I do anything.

I just put an offer on a building and prior to that, I ran the numbers by my accountant,
how to structure it with my attorney, my contractor had walked through the property with me, and my mortgage person gave me the financial options ... all prior to making an offer. Nobody can be an expert at everything, and understanding what your limitations are and then bringing in top people to help will make for much better decisions.

6. I have saved more money by saying "no" than by saying "yes." Not all deals are great ones and anytime something doesn't fit what you are good at, it is better to walk away and live to fight another day. Getting involved with projects that don't fit your core strengths generally is labor intensive, mentally exhaustive, and, more likely than not, you will lose you money.

7. Understand the "reasonable range" for anything. Someone offers to sell you a brand new Porsche Turbo convertible. "Zero to 60 -- in 3.3 seconds. It has a seven-speed power-shifting transmission with 520 horsepower and 524 pounds of torque. The list on it is around $160,000 and I can get you a brand new one for around $80,000 ... what do you say?" If you say "I'm in," then you are going to be ripped off for $80,000! People get themselves in a lot of trouble when they get away from reasonable ranges. Generally, deals that seem to have no risk are the riskiest, and investments with guaranteed large returns generally will guarantee that you lose money. I am not saying that there are not great deals out there, but if it is being proposed to you, really do your homework and due diligence.

I have been fortunate enough to work with some amazingly talented people over the years and they have given me some tremendous opportunities to learn from them. People make things way too complicated. These rules are simple and will make your life a lot easier!

More from CNBC
How Not to Fail in Business
Get Rich and Make Millions by Relying on Yourself
Secrets To Pitching Big Investors

RARE, POLIO-LIKE DISEASE FOUND IN CALIF. CHILDREN

Discovery News

RARE, POLIO-LIKE DISEASE FOUND IN CALIF. CHILDREN: A rare, polio-like syndrome that has no known cure has emerged in a small number of children in California. Although poliovirus has been eradicated from most of the globe since the introduction of a vaccine in the 1950s, five children are suffering from sudden onset paralysis. Read more about this new virus that has researchers puzzled here: http://dne.ws/1pkFiHE

WATCH: Bird strikes windshield of plane in Florida

Are Super-Intelligent Aliens Hiding Within Our Atoms?

Exploring the fringes of science and history. Caveat lector!



Are Super-Intelligent Aliens Hiding Within Our Atoms?Posted by Greg at 13:00, 15 Feb 2014




Okay, so that headline sounds pretty off-the-wall, and considering it's a Daily Grail headline then you know it's pretty weird! But that's exactly the question put forward by artificial intelligence researcher Hugo de Garis, who wonders whether the advanced artificial intelligences of extremely old alien civilisations might end up harnessing the vast computational power offered by sub-atomic elements, a hypothetical technology he labels 'X-Tech':


X-Tech provides a potential solution to the Fermi Paradox ("where are all the nonhuman civilizations?") ... maybe they're not out there living on other planets, but rather living inside atoms and particles! Perhaps we should be looking inside “elementary” particles because creatures constructed at these tiny scales would operate hugely faster, at far greater densities, and with vastly superior performance levels. We may need a paradigm shift away from outer space to inner space, from SETI to SIPI -- the Search for Infra Particle Intelligence!

...as one scales down, in general, performance levels increase dramatically. Hence one can readily speculate that any nano-based artilect [de Garis's monker for advanced 'artifical intellects'], sooner or later, will not be able to compete with his femto-based cousins, and will probably downgrade itself as well. This logic applies all the way down (to Plank-tech?). Hence we come inevitably to the following dramatic conclusion.

The hyper intelligences that are billions of years older than we are in our universe (which is about 3 times older than our sun), have probably “downgraded” themselves to achieve hugely greater performance levels. Whole civilizations may be living inside volumes the size of nucleons or smaller.

When I first had this idea, about a decade ago, I chuckled, but now I take it very seriously, because there seems to be so much logic behind it.

De Garis notes that once this idea is thought about seriously, the current SETI paradigm seems very 'provincial'. "Extra terrestrials (ETs), who might be primitive enough to bother sending radio signals to beings like us," de Garis says, "are NOT the most intelligent specimens in the universe. The really smart ones I suggest are very very tiny."

I have to say, reading about this concept at Centauri Dreams did bring to mind some of the shamanic stories about intelligences hiding within plant DNA, DMT etc. In particular, an experience that Dennis McKenna related where he was given a vision that was "a water molecule’s eye view of the process of photosynthesis", before hearing a voice behind his left shoulder quietly chiding him: "You monkeys only think you’re running things".

Fun speculations to riff on!

Link: SETI at the Particle Level

UPS pilots complained of fatigue before fatal crash

UPS pilots complained of fatigue before fatal crash
By Mike Ahlers, CNN
updated 4:58 PM EST, Thu February 20, 2014

A UPS cargo plane crashed just short of the Birmingham, Alabama, airport last August, killing both pilots.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Two pilots talked about rest; transcript of cockpit conversation released at safety hearing
Pilot fatigue one of the hottest issues in commercial aviation; cargo pilots want one rest standard for all
The National Transportation Safety Board did not find any mechanical problems with Airbus jet
Plane crashed in August just short of runway in Alabama; both pilots killed


(CNN) -- Before boarding the last flight of his life, UPS cargo pilot Capt. Cerea Beal Jr. confided to a colleague: "These schedules over the past several years are killing me."

Just before takeoff, his co-pilot also expressed concern about fatigue.

In a conversation captured by the cockpit voice recorder, First Officer Shanda Fanning told Beal that she had just gotten a "good sleep," but she was still "so tired."

Both Beal, 58, and Fanning, 37, died last August when their plane, an Airbus A300, crashed just short of the Birmingham, Alabama, airport just before dawn.

Details of the conversations were revealed Thursday during a National Transportation Safety Board public hearing.

The board released documents around its investigation and heard testimony from UPS officials, pilots, and other experts.

Until Thursday, the issue of fatigue had received little attention in the UPS accident.

But with the release of the cockpit transcript and interview records, the crash of UPS flight 1354 is now part of one of the hottest debates in commercial aviation: pilot rest.

'One level of safety'

In January, the Federal Aviation Administration enacted new rest rules for all airline pilots. But the rule excludes cargo crew.

Cargo pilots say the FAA should have "one level of safety" for all pilots -- a sentiment expressed in the doomed cockpit -- and say government and industry should place the same value to cargo pilot's life that they give to airline pilot and passenger lives.

Cargo pilots have special rest needs, they say, because they typically fly "on the back side of the clock" -- at night -- which raises havoc with sleep rhythms and contributes to fatigue.

UPS argues that it gives pilots ample opportunity to sleep, that it has a non-punitive system for pilots who say they are too tired to fly, and that work hours have been largely negotiated with the pilots' union.

Finally, they stress that pilots share responsibility that they get adequate rest and are fit to fly.

Cockpit conversations

Even though the NTSB is months away from determining the probable cause of the accident, the rest issue erupted in full Thursday.

It was raised, in this case, by the ill-fated pilots themselves, their haunting words captured on the cockpit voice recorder.

As the plane cruised toward Birmingham, Beal noted the two-person crew would have two extra hours off-the-clock on the ground, and pointed out their rest period during a previous leg was cut short by a 30-minute ride to the hotel.

"This is where, ah, the passenger side (passenger airline pilots) ... they're gonna make out," he said.

"I mean I don't get that. You know, it should be one level of safety for everybody," he said.

Fanning agreed.

"It should be across the board to be honest. In my opinion, whether you are flying passengers or cargo or, you know, box of chocolates at night, if you're flying this time of day..." she said.

"The, you know, fatigue is definitely," she added, her voice becoming unintelligible.

"I was out and slept today. I slept in Rockford. I slept good," she said. "And I was out in that sleep room and when my alarm went off, I mean, I'm thinkin' 'I'm so tired,'" she said.

"I know," Beal responded, saying cargo companies "got a lot of nerve."

'They told us'

The union representing the 2,600 pilots who fly for UPS took note of the cockpit conversation.

"Pilots rarely get to speak for themselves from beyond the grave in these cases," said Brian Gaudet, a spokesman for the Independent Pilots Association.

"I'm going to take their word at face value. They told us what was going on at the beginning of that flight," he said.

UPS said its rules are within FAA requirements, and that it had a FAA-mandated fatigue risk management program.

A typical UPS pilot is on duty 70 hours a month, and flies less than half of that time.

UPS said both crew members were coming off extended time off. The captain had been off for eight days before beginning his final trip, and the first officer had flown just two of the previous 10 days.

Beal had flown 41 hours in the previous 30 days; Fanning had flown 31.

UPS representative Capt. Jon Snyder said that "a majority" of the company's flights occur at night, so the company can keep its commitment to deliver packages by 10 a.m.

"That's the nature of the business," he said.

Last year, he said, pilots flew 123,000 flights, and on 138 occasions called in to report they were too tired to fly.

In 96 cases, the company determined that the pilot was within his or her rights, and in 42 cases it deducted days from their sick days after concluding the pilots could have managed their rest periods better.

IPA representative Lauri Esposito said pilots are reluctant to call in tired.

"Members view it (the company's response) as being punitive; they get dinged for it."

At the hearing, experts testified Beal and Fanning missed numerous cues that the plane was descending too rapidly.

NTSB investigator in charge Dan Bower said he has found no indication that the plane had mechanical problems.

Democratic legislation proposed last year in the Senate proposes to align rest rules for cargo pilots with those of their passenger airline counterparts..


© 2014 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of service | Privacy guidelines | AdChoices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
CNN Newsource | License Footage

The Consumer Society

Serious privacy concerns have surfaced over the federal government's apparent push to track license plates

Fox News
Serious privacy concerns have surfaced over the federal government's apparent push to track license plates as a way to find fugitive undocumented immigrants.

DHS Seeks Technology to Create Huge License Plate Database
foxnewsinsider.com
Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on Catherine Herridge's report.

Woman who recorded traffic stop spends night in jail

Woman who recorded traffic stop spends night in jail
A woman pulled over a traffic stop who ended up getting physically injured after admitting she was recording the incident spends the night in jail.

Message to Police

12 Steps for Self Care

Company plans to beam free Wi-fi to every person on Earth from space

Forget the Internet - soon there will be the OUTERNET: Company plans to beam free Wi-fi to every person on Earth from space

An ambitious project known as Outernet is aiming to launch hundreds of miniature satellites into low Earth orbit by June 2015

Each satellite will broadcast the Internet to phones and computers giving billions of people across the globe free online access
Citizens of countries like China and North Korea that have censored online activity could be given free and unrestricted cyberspace
'There's really nothing that is technically impossible to this'

You might think you have to pay through the nose at the moment to access the Internet.

But one ambitious organisation called the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) is planning to turn the age of online computing on its head by giving free web access to every person on Earth.

Known as Outernet, MDIF plans to launch hundreds of satellites into orbit by 2015.

And they say the project could provide unrestricted Internet access to countries where their web access is censored, including China and North Korea.





The New York company plans to ask NASA to test their Outernet technology on the International Space Station (left) so that they can begin broadcasting Wi-Fi to web users around the world (right)

Using something known as datacasting technology, which involves sending data over wide radio waves, the New York-based company says they'll be able to broadcast the Internet around the world.

The group is hoping to raise tens of millions of dollars in donations to get the project on the road.


More...
Is Twitter making you STUPID? Social networking sites are making it hard for people to think for themselves
The end of HACKING? Cryptography breakthrough could make computer programs impenetrable to cyber criminals

The Outernet team claim that only 60% of the world's population currently have access to the wealth of knowledge that can be found on the Internet.


This is because, despite a wide spread of Wi-FI devices across the globe, many countries are unable or unwilling to provide people with the infrastructure needed to access the web.


The Outernet project is aiming to raise tens of millions of dollars to launch hundreds of miniature satellites known as cubesats to make their dream a reality

The company's plan is to launch hundreds of low-cost miniature satellites, known as cubesats, into low Earth orbit.

Here, each satellite will receive data from a network of ground stations across the globe.

Using a technique known as User Datagram Protocol (UDP) multitasking, which is the sharing of data between users on a network, Outernet will beam information to users.

Much like how you receive a signal on your television and flick through channels, Outernet will broadcast the Internet to you and allow you to flick through certain websites.

THE OUTERNET PROJECT TIMELINE


By June of this year the Outernet project aims to begin deploying prototype satellites to test their technology

In September 2014 they will make a request to NASA to test their technology on the International Space Station

By early 2015 they intend to begin manufacturing and launching their satellites

And in June 2015 the company says they will begin broadcasting the Outernet from space

'We have a very solid understand of the costs involved, as well as experience working on numerous spacecraft,' said Project Lead of Outernet Syed Karim, who fielded some questions on Reddit.

'There isn't a lot of raw research that is being done here; much of what is being described has already been proven by other small satellite programs and experiments.

There's really nothing that is technically impossible to this'


But at the prospect of telecoms operators trying to shut the project down before it gets off the ground, Karim said: 'We will fight... and win.'

If everything goes to plan, the Outernet project aims to ask NASA for permission to test the technology on the International Space Station.

And their ultimate goal will be to beginning deploying the Outernet satellites into Earth orbit, which they say can begin in June 2015.