The app world has taken over the great digital attention span, with the U.S. population now spending 52 percent of its “digital time” on mobile apps, according to a Comscore report. Crossing the 50 percent threshold is a pretty important milestone. The Comscore report is filled with data that probably confirms what you already know: It’s harder to get somebody’s attention because they may be looking down at a mobile device, engrossed in the latest game or social post. Total mobile usage of digital media is now 60%, and mobile is still growing rapidly as a percentage.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

A new anatomy of the entrepreneurial body is emerging with increased mobility of people who travel, visit, study or work without restraint outside their native countries. Moreover, the Internet-mediated economy facilitates personal ties and continued access to one's home culture. Physical proximity is therefore no longer the most important factor in discouraging networking on a world scale.

The European Commission is promoting a ‘smart specialisation’ strategy for innovation where regions focus efforts and spending on their strengths rather than spread investments too thinly. But the hardest part is what to drop, says Robert-Jan Smits.

Image: Robert-Jan Smits, Director General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission (Photo: Lisbon Council's Flickr photo stream) 

On Wednesday (20 August) the German government passed its first "Digital Agenda 2014-2017" bill, aimed at helping Germany become a worldwide leader in expanding high-speed data lines, internet security and fostering cyber-related entrepreneurship. EurActiv Germany reports.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet has approved Germany's first "Digital Agenda", including plans to provide nationwide access to fast internet by 2018.

Image: Ministers Alexander Dobrindt, Thomas de Maizière, Sigmar Gabriel (left to right) met in Berlin Wednesday (20 August) to present the German government's new "Digital Agenda". (Kristian Fetz)

Mumbai: Deshpande Foundation, founded by philanthropist Gururaj Deshpande, which focuses on building an ecosystem for innovative social businesses, and Microsoft Ventures announced their partnership last week to launch Sandbox Startups, a Hubli-based incubator. The two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding on Saturday, formalizing the three-year collaboration.

With federal regulations for equity-based crowdfunding still unfinished more than two years after the practice was signed into law, numerous states are moving ahead with their own measures that allow residents to funnel small sums of money to local businesses.

Nobody loves a Roomba quite like the people of Delaware.

From 2013 to 2014, the nation's "first state" has been the top consumer of robotic vacuums from online shopping hub eBay. The Internet retailer analyzed which items states purchase the most, finding the top 500 brands for each state and then boiling them down to general categories.

Image: http://mashable.com/ 

One of the most common failures I see in startups is lack of focus. Unfocused entrepreneurs boast that their new technology will generate multiple disruptive products for consumers as well as enterprises around the world. Investors hear this as trying to do too many things with limited resources, meaning the startup will not shine at anything, and will not survive the competition.

Sleeping on the job may still be frowned upon as a sign of laziness, but in recent years, many progressive companies have begun to encourage employees to take mid-day naps to recharge.

Marketing-software company, HubSpot has a nap room featuring a hammock suspended above a plush carpet and soothing cloud-covered walls to encourage its 750 employees to catch some z’s at work. CMO Mike Volpe, who is known to use the nap room frequently, says a 20-minute nap is often all he needs to regain focus and re-energize to be more productive for the rest of the day.

A new investment fund supported by government-backed venture capital funds in New Zealand and Taiwan has raised US$75 million ($89.2 million), of which at least US$35 million will be invested into local technology companies.

The GRC SinoGreen Fund III is overseen by a group of venture capitalists including Kiwi Tony Bishop and his team at the Auckland branch of GRC Managers, formerly known as Pan Pacific Capital.

Image: Franceska Banga says the fund will be important for New Zealand's growth-stage investment sector. Photo / Sarah Ivey 

The second episode of VC/DC,  a regular look at the issues technology companies and investors should be paying attention to but probably aren’t, has now been posted.

Some of the loudest buzz in the regional innovation community this summer arose from the JPMorgan Chase announcement of its five-year, $30M Small Business Forward initiative. Eleven cluster/innovation networks across the country were selected to participate in this exciting new example of engaged corporate philanthropy.

SSTI is proud to announce that its 2014 Annual Conference will be held September 14-16, 2014 in Chicago. Illinois is a global business capital that puts science, technology, and innovation to work for its residents and economy.

People are always asking me for an inside tip on Internet sites that will be “the next big thing.” Those are hard, since someone has to invent something innovative, but I do have some views on other ideas whose time has come and gone.

In some cases, these are concepts that have already been done too many times, and the space is crowded. In others, the concept has been tried too many times, or no one has yet succeeded in making any money. Or both. Here are my favorites:

Image: http://www.alleywatch.com

As a facilitator of the creative process, I continue to be astounded by how few organizations have any kind of process is place to PAUSE, reflect, and make sure they are coming up with the right questions. Apparently, I'm not alone.

1. "It's not that they can't see the solution. They can't see the problem." - G.K. Chesterton

2. "There are no right answers to wrong questions." - Ursula K. Le Guin

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

If there’s one thing most folks in the tech industry can agree on, it’s that there aren’t nearly enough technology-minded individuals helping to run the government.

The U.S. government’s chief technology officer Todd Park plans to do something about it, which is why Park has decided to step down from his position, VentureBeat can now confirm. The news was initially reported by Fortune.

Image: http://venturebeat.com

The Internet is no longer just accessible from your laptop or mobile phone. It’s now part of television sets, baby monitors, ovens and cars. It is increasingly embedded into medical devices and other critical devices. The Internet is everywhere and the Internet of Things (IoT) is a trend that will continue to grow.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

Although the below is titled, "How To Start A Creative Agency," it can also work as a guide on how to get funded in Silicon Valley during a period when the Fed is pumping huge amounts of new money into the system.

There are some very smart operators and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, but my guess is that they are limited to probably 15% of all the characters out here. The rest are operators with very bad business plans, funded by people who have come into money but are clueless about business. Aside from nutty business plans, to start with, I would say the greatest failure is in understanding marketing.

When you compare the overall development and well-being of men versus women, men are clearly better off in most societies across the globe. But there are exceptions--countries where women are now doing better than men--and those countries are worth noting.

Overall, the United Nations' latest Human Development Report shows women are 8% less well-off than men, considering concerns like education achievement, life expectancy, and income. In South Asia, for example, there's a 17% gap between the sexes, reflecting persistent inequality and discrimination.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking an organization to support its Small Business Innovation Research(SBIR) awardees by providing technical and business expertise and resources to promote commercialization of the technologies developed through the SBIR program.

Through the SBIR program, NIST funds small businesses to conduct research projects related to its mission to advance measurement science, standards and technology to support U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness and to improve the nation's quality of life.

image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net 

I was labeled one. You probably were too. And now that we’re grown up, lots of us believe that being a “nerd” is actually a badge of honor.

But David Anderegg, author of Nerds: How Dorks, Dweebs, Techies and Trekkies Can Save America and Why They Might Be Our Last Hope, argues that the nerd stereotype is more detrimental to our future than we realize.

Here’s an edited, condensed version of my interview with Anderegg. For audio of the full conversation, visit the Innovation Hub homepage.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17818511@N00/214330120