Big data. These two words have surfaced on almost every technology outlet recently and many people have been as uninspired by them as they were by the word “cloud”. The problem is that while it is an intellectually understandable concept – human beings are generating data at an astonishing rate – there is no clear explanation as to what this actually means for the user, the business or the world.

Let’s start by analysing what the term big data means. There is an infographic created by DOMO and Column Five Media that shows exactly how much data we generate every minute. Some of the more impressive statistics include: 571 new websites, 217 new users, 48 hours of YouTube footage uploaded, over two million Google search queries, and around 648 478 Facebook users sharing content every minute.

The world is full of people who have great, change-the-world ideas, and many of them desperately need someone, or something, to help realize their dreams. In the modern digital world, that help often comes in the form of an engineer.

But as engineers and entrepreneurs know all too well, highly technical individuals have more opportunities than they could possibly manage. As an engineer forced to choose between projects, it's easy to feel like you're not doing enough, or that you're a conduit for someone else's creativity. Generations past used engineers to solve problems like building the Empire State Building or Apollo 11. Today, engineering talent is being used to build someone else's car-sharing app.

I recently came across a fascinating article by TechCocktail on Scribd detailing some of the factors that green entrepreneurs should consider before jumping on board with an accelerator. I thought I’d do my best to distill some of its wisdom for those of you with less reading time:

1) What is driving your interest in joining an accelerator? Not all accelerators are alike. Are you primarily in it for the hands-on advice and mentorship? For potential follow-on investments? For the network of startups? For publicity and PR? Understanding these primary drivers will help you pick the right program and get the most out of your experience. Of course, this is assuming you can get into an accelerator! Some of the top programs are highly competitive, often taking successful graduates of other less prominant accelerators and incubators. Many startups in accelarators already have traction, customers, revenues, etc. It may not be the corporate ladder you have to climb, but make no mistake- there are clear hierarchies in the startup world full of “prove yourself” hurdles.

Melbourne: A Professor of Physics has tried to explain why airline food is often awful.

Jay Wacker from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US, said that the constraints upon aeroplane food are pretty severe.

He said that for a hot meal to be served to passengers', right after the take off, the airline will have to make a meal that can take being heated for extended period of time in the serving container, News.com.au reported.

The “GLOBAL 1000 Meet | Partner | Deal | Corporate Venturing :: Startups Conference + Showcase" is an important transaction-based conference for angels, VCs, universities, accelerators, incubators, state programs, SBIR programs, and others with startups ranging from new formation to ready-to-exit.  

CONFERENCE

• Global 1000, VC and Angel Panels – Global 1000 companies, Venture Capitalists andAngel investors talking about the latest trends in startup funding and exits.

SHOWCASES

• Startup Showcases – featuring the best startups nominated by universities, accelerators, Angel investors and VCs from their portfolios. 
• Corporate “Needs” Showcases – a series of presentations by Global 1000 companies outlining their open innovation platforms and technology needs.

The Internet has grown to such an enormous size, many job seekers find it incredibly daunting. For example, a quick Google search for “jobs in pr” results in 700,000 listings!

With intimidating results like that, where do you even start?

Fortunately, there are a few little tricks and tools on Google that will help you find the results you’re actually looking for:

Visionary companies do not only try to see into the future – they create the future. The history of innovation is scattered with examples of misjudgments regarding the dynamics of new technology. Less than two years before Polaroid’s bankruptcy, Morgan Stanley made the following statement: “We are upgrading Polaroid to Outperform from Neutral based on the company’s new product performance…

In today’s rapidly evolving world the ability to create new value and the ability to be innovative is now more important to an organisations survival than at any other time in our history and the ability of organisations to assign the right level of resources in the right manner is a critical to creating a successful innovation practise.

The biotech IPO window is officially open.

Eleven second-quarter biotech initial public offerings totaling $1 billion — the strongest quarterly biotech market for venture-backed IPOs since third-quarter 2000 — fueled an overall surge in IPOs, according to the National Venture Capital Association and news and data company Thomson Reuters.

Indiana University scientists have transformed mouse embryonic stem cells into key structures of the inner ear. The discovery provides new insights into the sensory organ's developmental process and sets the stage for laboratory models of disease, drug discovery and potential treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders.

A research team led by Eri Hashino, Ph.D., Ruth C. Holton Professor of Otolaryngology at Indiana University School of Medicine, reported that by using a three-dimensional cell culture method, they were able to coax stem cells to develop into inner-ear sensory epithelia -- containing hair cells, supporting cells and neurons -- that detect sound, head movements and gravity. The research was reportedly online Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Microryza.com (not the catchiest of names) is a crowdfunding platform for research that raises money over the Internet from individuals who are willing to donate small amounts to fund a specific project. The average donation according to Microryza is $92.

In return for a 5 percent cut of funds raised and a 3 percent credit card processing fee, Microryza provides researchers access to a website where they can solicit money from the public to fund their research. Crowdfunding is typically an all-or-nothing deal, where donors only have to pay their pledged support if the project is fully funded within a defined period of time.

At the funding panel discussion Wednesday at CONVERGE, a serial entrepreneur asked about crowdfunding.

First we got the stock answer of “don’t see how it’s possible for healthcare companies.” Then the conversation turned to cap tables.

Elliott Menschik of Dreamit Ventures said that having 50-60 people on a cap table is becoming normal.

Innovation is a vague word and is too overused today, in the words of Bryan Sivak.

That was kind of a bold statement to make at a conference focused on, well, innovation.

In his keynote address at CONVERGE, the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the department’s philosophy is that innovation happens as a direct result of the freedom to experiment, a much more descriptive and meaningful phrase.

Innovation- it’s the buzzword of the day. From President Obama’s State of the Union address to Foreign Policy’s latest cover story to initiatives to revive Middle America, the word has been invoked to solve problems from Africa to St. Louis. It’s a seductive notion: if we just innovate, discovering new technologies, drugs, and agricultural products, the global economy can be driven out of the stagnation it’s experienced since the Great Recession. Even the great Robert Solow realized that technological process was the primary driver of long-run economic growth.

But, innovation largely remains a goal without a clear path towards attaining it. Should research and development be funded primarily by the private or public sector? Should the government direct its increasingly limited funds more towards basic research or towards developing products for commercialization?

The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) is a Michigan based venture capital fund.  The company has announced today that their initial investment of $16.7 million has led to a total of nearly $300 million in 20 new Michigan companies.  This means that they are seeing a ratio of $17 venture capital investment coming into Michigan for every dollar invested by the RVCF.  This led to the creation of hundreds of high-wage jobs that pay an average of $80,000 per year.

WE ALL USE EMAIL, BUT WE DON'T ALL USE IT THE SAME WAY. HERE DHARMESH MEHTA, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OUTLOOK.COM, GIVES US THE LOWDOWN ON THE THREE TYPES OF EMAIL USERS--AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR INBOX. BY: MILES KOHRMAN

Not all email users are created equal.

According to Dharmesh Mehta, senior director of Outlook.com, email users can be separated into three distinct categories, based on their daily interactions with their inboxes.

"There's no one rule for email," he says. "There's just different styles."

Nick Woodman is the 36-year-old founder and CEO of GoPro, a wearable camera produced by Woodman Labs that can capture footage for athletes as they whiz down a mountain or surf 6-foot waves.

Last week, Foxconn purchased 8.88 percent of Woodman's camera company for $200 million. Forbes learned that Woodman is the majority owner. Even if he owns a minimum of 51 percent of the company, that means Woodman is now a billionaire, worth at least $1.15 billion.

Virginia Tech students will be able to apply to an entrepreneurship-focused living-learning community this month as a housing option for fall term, Virginia Tech announced in a press release. The Innovative community at 2475 Oak Lane will immerse 35 students in a two-year pilot program that could help build leadership, strategic planning and project management skills, said Robert Sumichrast, Dean of Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business.

First-year students of all majors will be able to apply for Innovative housing this month. Innovative’s residents will meet with faculty and alumni experienced in entrepreneurship. The house itself features study lounges, a conference room, a living room with a stone fireplace and a large kitchen and dining area.

The life cycle of products decreased by factor 4 the last fifty years. Innovation is essential. But it is difficult, risky and it demands a lot of resources. Senior managers don't like to make mistakes and want to 'cover their ass'. So they ask you for an innovation plan. What will you develop? How? And why? A lot of corporate innovators do as they are told and write their plan. But did you get any new insights writing a plan? Or did you discover new opportunities writing a plan? Or did you get any breakthrough ideas writing a plan? Of course not. That's the main reason why innovators should stop writing plans.

The nation’s aging population and corresponding wave of baby boomers nearing retirement age is an undeniable demographic phenomenon throughout much of the country.

There are, though, a few select areas that are not only bucking the trend, but actually appear to be getting younger. In each of these areas, there’s at least one primary driver shifting the demographics in the opposite direction.