Salman Khan is a low-tech global Visionary - teach any child anywhere. (Above, is a brief extract of Mr Khan's speech at SVForum 2012 Visionary Awards.) I had the enormous privilege of shaking the hand of Salman Khan, at the SVForum Visionary Awards earlier this week. I thanked him for showing the world that public education can be enormously boosted through simple means.
For years I've railed at the poor state of Silicon Valley's public schools. For years I've reminded this community that we can't tell the world we are inventing the future if our public infrastructure, our schools, are in such a poor state. John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, once told me, "Tom, we've tried and it can't be done, our public schools can't be fixed. " Others have told me its too expensive, or that the bureaucracy and government regulations are the problem, and a hundred other reasons why schools can't be improved. Silicon Valley's schools should be showcases, not basket cases. Ugh. Innovation is not about technology, because technology is just a product. SDForum Awards Part 4: Brent Schlender, Exec Dir Techonomy. Posted by Tom Foremski - June 25, 2010 Brent Schlender, a former journalist, was introduced by Bill Gates and Dan'l Lewin at the SDForum Visionary Awards. Mr Schlender spoke about the unique attributes of Silicon Valley pioneers.
Coming up: Arthur C. Patterson - Accel Partners. SDForum Visionary Awards Part 1 - Dutch Consul SDForum Awards Part 2: Reid Hoffman And Creating Sustainable Social Enterprises SDForum Awards Part 3 - Chris Shipley, CEO Guidewire Group. SDForum Awards Part 2: Reid Hoffman And Creating Sustainable Soc. Posted by Tom Foremski - June 25, 2010 The introductions at this year's SDForum Awards were so over the top with long lists of incredible virtues that I fully expected Mahatma Ghandi or St.
Francis of Assisi to mount the podium and collect an award. I preferred the traditional SDForum approach of a gentle roasting of the award winner. Here is Reid Hoffman talking about a subject dear to my heart, creating sustainable social enterprises. It's not a "non-profit" approach but what Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace prize winner, would call a "not-for-loss" venture. Coming up: Arthur C. Patterson - Accel Partners; Chris Shipley, CEO Guidewire Group; Brent Schlender, Executive Director Techonomy.
SDForum Visionary Awards Part 1 - Dutch Consul. SDForum Visionary Awards Part 1 - Dutch Consul. Posted by Tom Foremski - June 25, 2010 (In the front row Michael Arrington next to past Visionary Award winner Steve Kirsh.) I was at the excellent SDForum 2010 Visionary Awards Thursday evening, at Stonebrook Court, the palatial mock-Tudor home of Kelly Porter. I was very excitied because I was sitting right behind Doug Engelbart, one of Silicon Valley's legends. [Please see: What if Buckminster Fuller were still alive and looking for funding? I'm still in shock at Silicon Valley's blindness regarding Doug Engelbart - SVW] The evening started with a short address by Bart van Bolhuis, General Consul of Holland, which has established an incubator in Silicon Valley with the SDForum.
SDForum: My FastPencil Book - "In My Humble Opinion" Posted by Tom Foremski - June 25, 2010 The SDForum Awards marked the launch of my first book: "In My Humble Opinion - Notes From A Silicon Valley Watcher. " Here is Susan Lucas-Conwell, CEO of SDForum, (and its heart and soul) introducing my book! The book was commissioned by FastPencil.com, a fast growing online book publisher in Silicon Valley, which has some great social media collaboration tools. I'd like to thank Steve Wilson, CEO of FastPencil, and Ms. Lucas-Conwell from SDForum, for their generous support, and especially: Seana Norvell from FastPencil, whose patient persistence made this project a reality. In My Humble Opinion I'll be publishing extracts from the book next week. SDForum Awards Part 3 - Chris Shipley, CEO Guidewire Group.
SDForum Visionary Awards 2010 - Reid Hoffman, Arthur Patterson, Posted by Tom Foremski - June 24, 2010 I'm looking forward to the SDForum Visionary Awards this evening. This year's winners will be joining past awards winners that include: John Chambers, Vint Cerf, Jim Clark, Judy Estrin, Bill Gates, Reed Hastings, Vinod Khosla, Michael Moritz and Walt Mossberg. This year's winners are: Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock Partners Reid Hoffman is executive chairman and a co-founder of LinkedIn.
Mr. Hoffman joined Greylock Partners as a partner in 2009. More info: www.sdforum.org. SDForum Visionary Awards is one of my favorite events of the year because it is a relaxed atmosphere and there are plenty of stories. Here is Jim Clark from 2009: Please see my prior SDForum Visionary Awards coverage: SDForum Visionary Awards - Present And Past: Before Walt Mossberg Became Walt Mossberg . . . Judy Estrin: Silicon Valley Unwilling To Fix Structural Problems Around Innovation, Blame Others. Visionaries of tech share their lessons on thinking big (videos) Yesterday, the who’s who of Silicon Valley gathered at the 13th annual SDForum awards event at the chateau home of Kelly Porter of Woodside Capital. (See our photo gallery). Every year, SDForum, a nonprofit technology-industry association, hands out its Visionary Awards to the people who have helped make Silicon Valley one of best places on earth for tech innovation.
The speeches of the winners were instructive for entrepreneurs who want to leave a mark. This year’s event honored four visionaries: Arthur Patterson, cofounder of Accel Partners; Reid Hoffman, cofounder and executive chairman of LinkedIn; Brent Schlender, former Fortune editor and cofounder of Techonomy; and Chris Shipley, former executive producer of DEMO and CEO of Guidewire Group. Patterson, cofounder of Accel Partners, was introduced by Ram Varadarajan, chief executive of Arcot Systems.
Patterson said in his speech that Varadarajan “laid it on thick” in his kind introduction. Schlender. Silicon Valley’s elite come out for tech awards (photo gallery) Once a year, it’s a sure bet that you can find Silicon Valley’s elite gathered all at one party. On Thursday night, top Valley entrepreneurs and investors gathered at the 13th annual SDForum awards event. The SDForum, a technology-industry nonprofit, has been around for decades. Its awards are like the Oscars of tech, honoring people who it deems visionaries.
This year’s event was held at the the chateau home of Kelly Porter of Woodside Capital. The place is about 90 years old. This year’s event honored four visionaries: Arthur Patterson, cofounder of Accel Partners; Reid Hoffman, cofounder and executive chairman of LinkedIn; Brent Schlender, former Fortune editor and cofounder of Techonomy; and Chris Shipley, former executive producer of DEMO and CEO of Guidewire Group. One of the highlights for me was a short chat with Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the mouse and a variety of other tech innovations. Arthur Patterson, cofounder of Accel Partners, was one of the award winners.