Crowdsourcing' and global work will become central to US business and society says Ross Dawson, author of new book on how businesses can get results from crowds

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) December 15, 2011

American companies will soon hire millions of designers, coders, writers, marketers, and other skilled people from all over the world, says Ross Dawson, co-author of the just-released book Getting Results From Crowds: The definitive guide to using crowd-sourcing to grow your business.

For an indication of how developed a geek community, just ask if there is a HackerSpace around. That’s an observation made by Zane Kripe, a PhD student at Leiden University in the Netherlands, in an article for the International Institute for Asian Studies newsletter.

“HackerSpace requires substantial dedication and effort, and thus can be considered to indicate the existence of a more developed and substantial geek community,” she wrote, adding that Hackerspaces are gaining momentum in Southeast Asia. These spaces are distinct in that they are independent from the government and large corporations.

The assumption in Silicon Valley is if you put in your time and work hard, it will pay off.

"What does it feel like to put blood, sweat and tears into a startup only to realize one day that you need to cut your losses because it's a failure?"

Someone asked that question on Quora.

Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint.com, responded:

First, some background. I spent a couple of years thinking about Swift, a maglev based system to replace cars, then put months of the best thinking, invention, coding, physics, and algorithms development that I've ever done. Many months in, after incorporation, after lining up money, after considerable technical development, all the experiments I was running showed the system was not economically viable.

The National Institutes of Health has launched the Transfer Agreement Dashboard, or TAD, to streamline the transfer of NIH-developed research materials to the biomedical research community.

The system reduces dramatically the transaction time for transferring NIH-developed materials, addressing a Presidential directive to better facilitate technology transfer and commercialization activities.  The more than 6,000 researchers who conduct research in NIH laboratories help to drive the nation's research and discovery process partly through the generation of these valuable research materials, such as cell lines or specially bred research animals.

The TAD works in conjunction with Materials Transfer Agreements, or MTAs.  MTAs govern the transfer of tangible research materials between two organizations, and they define the rights of the material provider and the recipient with respect to the materials.

Texas metros, led by number one San Antonio, took nine of the top 25 positions among the 200 largest metros in the 2010 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index -- and four of the top five.

Leaders in this year's index, which ranks U.S. metros based on their ability to create and sustain jobs, are cities that most benefited from renewed investment in business equipment; have diversified technology bases, which also drive growth in business and professional services; are exposed to America's booming energy sector; and are home to a large military presence.

The 2011 top 10 performers (with 2010 rankings) of the 200 largest metros:

1. San Antonio, TX (14)

2. El Paso, TX (9)

3. Fort Collins- Loveland, CO (50)

4. Austin-Round Rock, TX (2)

5. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX (1)

6. Salt Lake City, UT (49)

7. Anchorage, AK (8)

8. Huntsville, AL (3)

9. Provo-Orem, UT (25)

10. Kennewick-Richland-Pasco WA (5)

Did someone say economic slump? Not in Silicon Valley. The initial public offerings of LinkedIn (LNKD) and Groupon (GRPN) brought billion-dollar paydays* to venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital, and Greylock Partners, while Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is expected to profit handsomely from Zynga’s IPO on Dec. 16.

For venture firms that missed out on those highfliers, plenty of money was made on vacation-rental site HomeAway (AWAY), which helped Redpoint Ventures crack the year’s top 10. Khosla Ventures was the only investor to make a splash unrelated to the Web with its majority ownership of KiOR (KIOR), a biofuel maker that is valued at over $1 billion even though the company has yet to generate a penny of revenue.

BioAccel, a Phoenix nonprofit that helps startups commercialize their products, has created a network to attract more funds to Arizona’s biosciences community.

While a few local biotech companies have garnered venture capital from out-of-state sources this year, the lack of capital coming from within Arizona continues to plague the industry.

Enter the Philanthro-Capitalist Network, a group that aims to bring together the business community and high-net-worth individuals looking to invest in biotechnology-related companies.

Entrepreneur Mick Hagen and his friend David Peterson rapped at Jesse Draper's party last night. This is the first time they performed live since the group made a splash on YouTube a few weeks ago when they made a rap video to try to get funding.

After the surge of media covering the rappers, Draper found them online and thought they were good. So she asked them to sing at her party, which was put on for her show 'Valley Girl'.

Many websites and magazine articles offer ideas about how to lose weight over the holidays, but Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, says that people need to realize that weight loss during this time generally isn’t realistic. Diekman is past president of the American Dietetic Association.

“Parties are meant to be enjoyed,” Diekman says, adding that a little advance planning can ensure that, while people may not actually lose weight, they can keep weight gain in check

You can never go wrong with fun, science-themed duds. And there’s tons of apparel emblazoned with clever slogans to be had on the internet. From t-shirt that proudly pronounce “Because I’m The Microbiologist, That’s Why,” or “I share half of my DNA with a banana,” to a cute onesie depicting phagocytosis (for the future researcher on your list), cafepress.com is a one-stop shop for great science clothes. Price = $20-$30

The headset manufacturer Plantronics doesn’t much care where its employees work, and to prove that, it’s new offices are outfitted with a cornucopia of features that make telecommuting simple, easy, and encouraged.

Plantronics has a shiny new headquarters in Santa Cruz, Calif., but most employees probably won’t spend too much time there. The space is designed for people to not come in to work; there aren’t even enough desks to accommodate the whole Santa Cruz staff. The audio communications company hasn’t just accepted telecommuting, it has designed around the concept.

A growing number of confectioners have crossed what may be the final frontier in candy flavoring: candy made with beer.

They've worked out technical kinks -- beer burns at the high temperatures used to make many kinds of candy -- and developed a market for sweets they describe as "hoppy," "malty" and "yeasty."

It's all part of a push by specialty chocolatiers to make candy more manly, and to get men to reach for a stout caramel or India Pale Ale bonbon as eagerly as they might grab a nice cold one.

It may come as no surprise that the job of newspaper reporter is going the way of the buggy whip maker -- but the forces of modernity have placed some unexpected occupations on the endangered species list as well. Using statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook 2010-2011, we identified 10 of the most surprising job categories whose numbers are projected to shrink in the coming years, plus a few that will grow so slowly that you might as well be sending your resume to Greece for a civil service job.

Entrepreneurs often wear every hat. Problem is, few entrepreneurs have tried all those hats on before they start a company, so sometimes they fit very poorly—if at all.

Since the best way to learn is by doing, here are five jobs every budding entrepreneur  should hold, even if just for a few months. The lessons learned last a lifetime.

1. Sales. A business without customers isn’t really a business. That’s why every business owner is in some way involved in sales. An entrepreneur who lacks basic sales skills faces major challenges. If you can’t clearly explain the logic and benefits of a decision or action—because that’s what “sales” really means—you’ll find it almost impossible to land financing, establish partnerships, motivate employees… and most importantly, land your first customers.

On 20 July 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong announced to an enthralled America: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” His pronouncement of humankind conquering the moon in many ways ended the Space Race and brought about an era of space exploration and research unparalleled in history, although recent budget cuts to NASA and confused vacillations in America’s strategic plan for space potentially signal an end to our leadership.

Today, America faces the Innovation Race – the race to out-innovate our global competitors and continue our dominance in the global marketplace in the face of emerging nations and economies. While many lament the putative decline in America’s competitive advantage, especially as regards the condition of our innovation ecosystem, the National Science Foundation (NSF) potentially has taken “one small step” that will result in “one giant leap” for innovation in America. While others talk the talk, NSF has begun to walk the walk on innovation.

We spent the last two weeks asking venture capitalists what's on their holiday wish lists.

Here are the coolest gadgets they use and where you can buy them.

“This company needs to be more innovative!” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But what happens next? Because a true change in how innovative a company is must also reflect a change in the skills of employees that are related to innovation. Which, of course, begs the question: Is innovation a skill set that all employees can acquire? Can employees that are not innovative learn how to be? And, if so, what are these skills? How are improvements in them measured? In this article Dr. Mark Juszczak attempts to provide HR practitioners with some guidelines and a background into the competencies linked to innovation and the extent to which such competencies are teachable.

Having a remote workforce can be a huge benefit to organizations, reducing office space expenses and environmental footprints. Companies can reap the benefits of talented individuals all over the globe who are able to do work that excites and engages them and do it in a place they want to live.

As attractive as this working arrangement sounds, it takes a lot of planning and preparation to implement. Businesses must thoroughly discuss the terms of working remotely before launching such an initiative including work schedules, home offices, secure computer networks and job responsibilities. One thing is for certain: Being able to communicate effectively and efficiently with remote employees is the key to success.

Lehigh University, Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University were each awarded $200,000 in the fourth round of the University City Science Center's QED Proof of Concept Program, the Science Center announced Dec. 12, 2011. It was the first time any of the three universities have received a QED award. The QED Program is designed to facilitate commercial investment in early-stage life science technologies with high potential in the healthcare industry.

The projects receiving awards include a fabric that resists bacterial contamination developed at Philadelphia University, a portable device for delivering oxygen to critical care patients developed at Lehigh University, and a breakthrough diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer developed at Thomas Jefferson University. The projects were selected from 10 finalists by an independent group comprising industry and investment professionals.

A motley crew of backers is pushing Congress to loosen restrictions on crowdfunding, the new capital-raising method that uses the Internet to solicit start-up investment, despite warnings about the potential for fraud.

Popularized by online platforms such as Kickstarter and Kiva, crowdfunding currently relies on a donation-style model where fans of an artistic project, venture or nonprofit campaign pledge money in exchange for early product or philanthropic fulfillment.

It seems in Washington, almost everyone is a fan, from conservative Republicans to grassroots liberals; a recent House bill to ease crowdfunding restrictions passed 407-to-17.