What’s the Next Big Thing?  It’s not technology, and it’s not exponential, but it is disruptive, and it is changing our world.

Long ago and far away, at the end of the last century when we were starting Garage, our thesis was that the next big thing would be global entrepreneurship.  Thanks to the Internet and mobile phones, the world was connecting at a pace never before seen in human history.  Certainly, technology companies would benefit from this trend, and we intended to capitalize on that.  And we did.   :-)

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, FRS (April 23, 1858 – October 4, 1947) was a German theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many contributions to theoretical physics, but his fame rests primarily on his role as originator of the quantum theory. This theory revolutionized human understanding of atomic and subatomic processes, just as Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity revolutionized the understanding of space and time. Together they constitute the fundamental theories of 20th-century physics.

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck - Planck in 1933 

When a great idea from an innovator or intrapreneur inside a corporation, nonprofit or government fails to reach its potential, there can be soul searching or worse. Failing gracefully is an important skill for entrepreneurial minded employees, but if those failures were avoidable, why not skip the messiness? Here are five intrapreneurial missteps innovators within institutions should be aware of:

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Inventors are problem solvers. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be inventing. But ask anyone who has gone through the process of turning an idea -- even a great one -- into a marketable commodity: The list of problems is just beginning.

That’s not to be discouraging. It’s just to point out that the world is not waiting breathlessly for your product or technology, no matter how good it is. Successful inventors understand the process necessary to bring a solution to market. They listen and learn along the way.

Image: dyson.com 

Pulling around massive limestone blocks to construct equally massive monuments necessitates tricks —especially 4,000 years ago.

A team of physicists discovered one trick ancient Egyptians may have used to move the stones on sledges across the sand: water.

Image: FLICKR, KAIROINFO4U 

The economic benefits of big data are no longer just hype—but many developing economies are set to miss out on them, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.

Data sets are “a new form of asset class,” which, with the right analysis, can be translated into economic wealth, say the authors of the 13th Global Information Technology Report. But many countries in the world lack the technological infrastructure, social environment, or both, needed to capitalize on them. Wealthier nations continue to build new infrastructure that will widen the use of information and communications technologies (ICT). But the report says many developing and emerging economies remain “comparatively stagnant” when it comes to such investments.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

In the capital of the old Confederacy, Richmond, Va., on a boulevard of elegantly aged homes and muscle-limbed trees, stands a string of large statues honoring a nation that enshrined human bondage in its founding document. Generals and politicians, these heroes of the Civil War South are well known.

Image: http://www.nytimes.com - Timothy Egan

Italian Irish startup MySmark moved to Dublin in 2011 to take advantage of a more advanced digital support system that did not exist in Italy at that time. Nicola Farronato and his co-founder Paolo Panizza took the big decision to relocate to the Guinness Enterprise Center in Dublin to build their new age marketing company.

Image: http://www.irishcentral.com 

I have been thinking a fair amount lately about what it takes to make a successful start-up ecosystem.  (I am focused, unsurprisingly given my background, on technology communities.)  There are a limited number of thriving start-up ecosystems globally (Silicon Valley/San Francisco, Israel, New York, Boston, Chicago, London, and Berlin among them, together with a handful of cities in South America, India, China and Vietnam).  Some of these, such as New York, Chicago, London and Berlin have come to be recognized as successful engines for company and product creation only in the past few years, though all have had growing company formation activity for much longer.  At the same time, there are numerous efforts underway to create new innovation ecosystems, particularly as elements of urban renewal efforts, in places like Detroit, Las Vegas, Providence, Chattanooga, Brazil and Chile.

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Housed within the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a catalyst for business and leadership growth

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced the appointment of Julie Lenzer Kirk, an award-winning entrepreneur and advocate, as the new Director of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Housed within the Economic Development Administration, the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship works to foster a more innovative U.S. economy focused on turning new ideas and inventions into new products and technologies that spur job growth and competitiveness and promote economic development.

“I am excited to have Julie join our team here at the Department of Commerce. She is a visionary leader and tireless advocate for entrepreneurs who has focused her career on leveraging innovation to create jobs and empower communities,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. “By connecting Commerce to local communities and business leaders, the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is building ladders of opportunity for all Americans through fostering innovation and supporting entrepreneurs, both of which are key drivers of U.S. economic growth and key priorities of the Department’s Open for Business Agenda.”

Work-life balance is a myth we all want to believe. And why wouldn’t we? We are told that being hyper-connected means we can be brilliantly productive anywhere, while enjoying deep friendships, a happy family life, personal achievement, and a meaningful spiritual connection.

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DRESS FOR BOTH THE JOB YOU WANT AND THE JOB YOU HAVE WITH THESE APPS FOR REFRESHING YOUR SPRING WARDROBE.

BY SAMANTHA

If you believe in dressing the part, this edition of Free App Friday is for you.

As always, while they're free now, we can't guarantee how long they'll last--so don't wait too long.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

When it comes to us 20-somethings, the general consensus is that we suck. That seems to be how the older generation views us in a nutshell. We get called lazy, told we feel over-entitled, and are constantly berated for our love of texting and Facebook. But the truth is, young professionals have an insane amount of skills to offer the workforce and world.

While I’ll be the first to say that not all of Gen Y is as hard-working and motivated as I am, I do think that a large number of us are a great benefit to our employers, our startups and the U.S. economy as a whole.

Image: http://under30ceo.com 

Last year, I served as a judge for the Gensler Design Excellence Awards.  As I read through the entries from Gensler’s dozens of offices around the world, I was struck by one program requirement that was repeated from entry to entry in the office category. It was this: Design a space for our firm that will support chance meetings and the constant exchange of ideas among our employees.

Image: Flickr user Mycatkins. 

Silicon Valley celebrates a certain kind of founder — the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to succeed, who isn’t afraid of breaking a few eggs to make an omelette, who looks at rules as challenges rather than limitations.

Not surprisingly, founders like that can get into trouble when they find themselves on a larger stage, and the past week has provided two stark examples: the founders of RadiumOne and GitHub.

Image: Truth or Consequences is not just a place in New Mexico. Image Credit: Einalem/Flickr 

Romania will host the only bio-molecular research center for infectious diseases in Central and Eastern Europe by the end of 2015.

The center will be created at the Matei Bals Infectious Diseases institute with the help of EU funds worth EUR 10.8 million.

Image: http://share.cannonball.io 

Killer whales and other marine mammals likely hear sonar signals more than we’ve known.

That’s because commercially available sonar systems, which are designed to create signals beyond the range of hearing of such animals, also emit signals known to be within their hearing range, scientists have discovered.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Startups vying for spots in accelerators already prepare as though for a beauty pageant, putting on their best face and preening for partners.

Velocity Venture Capital’s Entrepreneurs Showcase. Velocity Venture Capital/via Instagram But a Sacramento venture firm is taking the pitching to the next level–having a group of potential accelerator startups make their pitches to the public for voting à la “American Idol.”

Image: Velocity Venture Capital’s Entrepreneurs Showcase. Velocity Venture Capital/via Instagram 

By the age of thirty, our personalities have stabilized and behavior change becomes relatively difficult. It’s especially hard for senior executives, who have got where they are thanks to the way they behave. Although others may think their behavior is dysfunctional, they see no compelling reason to change and place any blame for failure on others. Even if they are willing to make an effort to change, they don’t really know how and need help to do so.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

SAN FRANCISCO — Venture capital rising to levels not seen since 2001. Companies with no profits going public. Billions of dollars being paid for start-ups.

These and other signs that the tech boom may be taking an irrational turn are leading some notable investors to utter the dreaded word "bubble,"waking up the ghosts of an era many in Silicon Valley would prefer to keep buried.

Image: Nasdaq's surge since June spawned a rise in tech IPOs, including that of Chinese microblogging site Weibo on April 17. Above, the company's logo is displayed on a monitor outside Nasdaq in New York. (Scott Eells / Bloomberg / April 17, 2014) http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tech-bubble-20140501,0,4408027.story#ixzz30ZpNz59J