Using the “crowd economy” as a source of value and competitive advantage is increasingly common for businesses, and for many SMEs it is a way to successfully compete with larger rivals.

This might be through crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, open innovation and many other models of engagement with the crowd.

Satellites are good at measuring temperatures over vast stretches of ocean, but less accurate at monitoring a particularly important type of marine environment—coastlines. Now help could come from an unlikely source: a water sports “navy” of surfers, anglers, scuba divers and others. A U.K.-led team of researchers has proposed this alliance to help gather coastal climate data in a recent paper in Frontiers in Marine Science.

Image: Scientists use surfboards equipped with temperature sensors to gather climate data on hard-to-reach coastal areas. Credit: Bob Brewin

A study of the 50 US states provides an index to indicate which states are leading in the ‘new economy’, and which are falling behind. It also reveals clear patterns, proposing ‘winning’ policy formula for economic development.

The top five states in the index are Massachusetts, California, Washington, Virginia, and Delaware. The five lowest-scoring states, from 46th to 50th, are Louisiana, Wyoming, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

Image: http://www.thenextsiliconvalley.com

The turkey’s bathing in brine, the relatives are preparing their political arguments and the children are parked in front of the television, watching a larger-than-life Pikachu pursue a too-big-for-his-britches SpongeBob SquarePants. Since the first balloon debuted at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927, balloon-spotting has been as much a Thanksgiving tradition as donning elastic-waisted pants. But those gargantuan rubber characters—which can require as many as 90 handlers, a number that still hasn’t prevented run-ins with lampposts and the occasional bystander injury—have been the source of nearly as much Thanksgiving drama as have dinner-table debates.

We’ve become a “Shark Tank” nation. Since the show’s inception in 2009, it’s become a household staple. Members of generation z -- who were weaned on investments, valuations, royalties and Mr. Wonderful's snark -- have embraced the concept in a big way.

Is it any wonder that these late 1990s babies are poised to become the biggest entrepreneurial generation yet? They’re so comfortable seeing themselves as founders that business schools are offering more startup-style classes, including the opportunity for students to compete in Shark Tank-inspired events.

igel Toon, the cofounder and CEO of Graphcore, a semiconductor startup based in the U.K., recalls that only a couple of years ago many venture capitalists viewed the idea of investing in semiconductor chips as something of joke. “You’d take an idea to a meeting,” he says, “and many of the partners would roll about on the floor laughing.” Now some chip entrepreneurs are getting a very different reception. Instead of rolling on the floor, investors are rolling out their checkbooks.

You’re just coming off that promotion you’d been angling for, and feeling great about the bump in pay, added responsibilities, bigger team, and the chance to make a deeper impact. You’re still settling into the new position, so the last thing on your mind is your next role after that. But maybe it should be.

Too many good ideas don’t make it to the market. Too many passionate founders fail. The odds are bad and we need to do better. If we are going to feed 9 billion people by 2050, we need the innovators to succeed. If we are going to improve the nutritive efficacy of our food, be better stewards of our environment, and make food and beverage attractive to the next generation of entrepreneurs, we must do better.

It’s understandable that when people see empty storefronts, they infer it’s the mark of economic malaise. It is not. What’s not taken into account by jumping to that conclusion is that times change, marketplace dynamics change, shopping habits change.

Consumers are spending money, all right, just in different places and in different ways. A storefront that made sense in past decades for a succession of business tenants simply may not make sense any more for any tenant. Looking at it another way, when was the last time you had milk delivered to your doorstep? How commerce is conducted is ever changing, as it should be. There will be collateral damage in the process, for sure. What’s the antidote? Change with the times.

It’s an exciting time to work in fintech, particularly with the rise of blockchain. If you want a career in fintech, a blockchain lab might be the perfect place.

Over the last two years, Deloitte has moved developers and designers into a brand new blockchain lab in Dublin.

The lab is Deloitte’s EMEA centre of excellence in blockchain and works alongside specialist teams in other member firms.

But what’s it actually like working in a blockchain lab? Lory Kehoe is Deloitte’s EMEA blockchain lead. “I’m lucky and privileged to work in blockchain technology with 25 other people that are more intelligent, funnier, will be more successful and younger than me,” he said.

Image: Lory Kehoe, EMEA blockchain lead at Deloitte. Image: Deloitte

COLUMBUS, Ohio — They seem an odd couple. J. D. Vance, author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling memoir of growing up in the postindustrial Midwest and his journey of escape. And Steve Case, the billionaire co-founder of America Online.

But Mr. Vance joined Mr. Case’s investment firm this year to scour the Midwest for small yet promising start-ups, particularly for a new seed fund. The firm, Revolution, plans to raise up to $100 million for that fund’s investments, it disclosed in a filing last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Image: A presentation, left, that is part of a Rise of the Rest tour at the Idea Foundry, an innovation center in a former factory in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2014, the Revolution venture group has sponsored the tours to encourage start-ups in the middle of the country. Credit Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Just as blockchain technology is shaking up the startup space, it's also revamping the way venture capital firms invest in emerging companies.

Over the last year and a half, startups have raised nearly $4 billion through initial coin offerings, or ICOs, which are a kind of unregulated fundraising technique involving the creation of new digital tokens, or units of value.

Venture capitalists have been wanting a piece of the action. Enter the Simple Agreements for Future Tokens, otherwise known as a SAFT. 

Image: SAFTs — Simple Agreements for Future Tokens — may invoke images of a casino. But in many ways, they are similar to traditional initial public offerings.Reuters/Siu Chiu

Six years ago, at age 49, Julie Gregory paid an online service to sequence her genes, hoping to turn up clues about her poor circulation, blood-sugar swings and general ill health. Instead she learned she had a time bomb hidden in her DNA: two copies of a gene variant, ApoE4, that is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s. Most Americans with this genotype go on to develop late-onset dementia.

A perfect storm is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances aggravates an environment drastically. In the entrepreneur world, I feel we are in such a situation now for new startups, with the confluence of business transformations, the explosion of new digital technologies, and the political turmoil around the world.

This past weekend, after finally completing the book I’ve been working on for more than 2 years (The Moral of the Story), I was looking forward to relaxing a bit with the family. However, it didn’t take long before thoughts of all the things still on my plate for the weeks ahead began causing anxiety. In addition to the typical workload, this time of year always brings with it an influx of last-minute projects, new business activity and, of course, personal- and business-related holiday commitments (i.e., parties, gifts, cards, travel, etc.). How could I possibly juggle it all?

Image: http://innovationexcellence.com

Drinking heavily and smoking for years are well-known features of an unhealthy lifestyle. They can also make you look older, according to a new study.

In the new research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, a group of Danish researchers took advantage of a large database of health information involving more than 11,000 Danes in the Copenhagen City Heart Study. The people in the study were followed from 1976 to 2003 and provided information about their eating, smoking and drinking habits. They also agreed to several medical exams to measure signs of heart disease and aging.

To determine TIME’s annual unranked list, we consider hundreds of inventions from around the world. In the past, we’ve featured everything from the floating lightbulb to the desktop DNA lab. Here, the 25 inventions that made this year’s cut.

Personal robots, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, have come a long way in recent years. But fundamentally, they’re still stationary speakers whose defining expression is a light that turns on when you speak.

Image: Jibo, Inc.; Photo Illustration by Allison Schaller

As one of the exceedingly rare members of her species to live beyond age 110, Goldie Michelson had divulged her secrets to longevity countless times before dying last year at 113.

“Morning walks and chocolate,” the Worcester, Mass., resident and onetime oldest living American told the steady stream of inquisitors that marked her final years.

Image: Clarence Matthews, 110, had blood drawn at his home in Indian Wells, Calif., last year, part of a project to examine the genes of the very old. Mr. Matthews died a few months ago. Credit Ivan Kashinsky for The New York Times

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report out today from the National League of Cities (NLC), Etsy, Recast City and the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA) provides a roadmap for cities to develop policies, programs and a culture that better supports local maker businesses. The guide, "Discovering Your City's Maker Economy," defines the maker community, highlights specific ways that city leaders can support these entrepreneurs and provides profiles of supportive programs, policies, and partnerships at the city level.

Steve Jobs' last big project is finally ready for the public — but you have to go to Cupertino to see it.

I'm talking, of course, about Apple's famed "spaceship" campus. Though employees moved in months ago, and Apple launched the iPhone X in the newly minted Steve Jobs Theatre, none of the campus has been open to the public — until now.

On Friday, Apple officially opened the doors of Apple Park's Visitor Center — the public face of the company's storied new headquarters — and the Apple faithful were there in full force to savor the moment.

Image: APPLE