U.S. Venture Capital Investment Amounts Doubled In Q2, As Bay Area Companies Raised More Than NYC, LA, Boston Combined Total new capital invested in the United States tech industry rose from $1.9 billion in April to $3.8 billion in June, a 100 percent increase in two months, according to quarterly data from CrunchBase. The data, which is specific to the United States, breaks down new venture capital raised by round type, investor, company, geography and more. In the second quarter of 2013, $9.2 billion was invested in over 1,347 rounds. The rounds break down to 500 angel rounds, 306 Series A, 109 Series B, 102 Series C and later, and 330 unattributed rounds. This data set doesn’t include some investments, such as private equity and post-IPO investments, and thus is lower than the total funding for the quarter. The San Francisco Bay Area still dominates other regions, as companies in the Bay Area raised more capital in Q2 than Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, the next three regions in total capital raised, combined. Biotech companies led the way in amount of money raised, followed by software startups.
The Beginner's Guide to Digital Journaling Maintaining a private journal is a great way to build your writing skills, spill out your thoughts, desires, worries, and reflections on paper. The very act of writing itself can often help you think through problems and arrive at solutions. As someone who started keeping a daily paper journal back in my college days, when the word “digital” was hardly a regularly-used word, I can attest to the greater benefits of keeping a digital journal. I have written before about useful journal apps, and about the advantages of journal writing on Penzu.com, but having experimented with a lot of software I will also explain which tools I have found most useful and why. Building Writing Fluency If journal keeping and writing are a challenge for you, I highly recommend starting off with the website, 750 Words. I recommend 750 Words for building voice to text dictation skills, with programs like Dragon Dictate. Online Journal Keeping 280Daily is set for you to write on average 280 words per entry.
Top 40 Useful Sites To Learn New Skills | This and That... The web is a powerful resource that can easily help you learn new skills. You just have to know where to look. Sure, you can use Google, Yahoo, or Bing to search for sites where you can learn new skills , but I figured I’d save you some time. Here are the top 40 sites I have personally used over the last few years when I want to learn something new. Hack a Day - Hack a Day serves up fresh hacks (short tutorials) every day from around the web and one in-depth ‘How-To hack’ guide each week.eHow - eHow is an online community dedicated to providing visitors the ability to research, share, and discuss solutions and tips for completing day-to-day tasks and projects.Wired How-To Wiki - Collaborate with Wired editors and help them build their extensive library of projects, hacks, tricks and tips.
The Internet map The map of the Internet Like any other map, The Internet map is a scheme displaying objects’ relative position; but unlike real maps (e.g. the map of the Earth) or virtual maps (e.g. the map of Mordor), the objects shown on it are not aligned on a surface. Mathematically speaking, The Internet map is a bi-dimensional presentation of links between websites on the Internet. Every site is a circle on the map, and its size is determined by website traffic, the larger the amount of traffic, the bigger the circle. Users’ switching between websites forms links, and the stronger the link, the closer the websites tend to arrange themselves to each other. Charges and springs To draw an analogy from classical physics, one may say that websites are electrically charged bodies, while links between them are springs. Also, an analogy can be drawn from quantum physics. Anyway, the real algorithm of plotting The Internet map is quite far from the analogies given above. Semantic web The Internet Phenomenon
25 (more) clever ideas to make life easier . We heard you loud and clear. When we published our first list of clever ideas to make life easier last year, we received an overwhelming response. So without further ado, here’s another 25 ingenious household tips and organisational tricks that will have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Source: chezerbey.com Got an empty kitchen shelf? Source: maillardvillemanor.com Wall mount cutlery trays and add a cup hook in each compartment for brilliant jewelery storage. Source: apartmenttherapy.com Avoid messy dresser drawers by “filing” your clothing side-by-side instead of stacking items on top of each other. Photo: William Warby on flickr.com Has putting Toy Story on constant repeat finally taken its toll? Source: realsimple.com Packing tip: Protect breakables such as wine bottles or food containers with children’s inflatable floaties. Source: whatiwore.tumblr.com Rather than bundling them in your drawer, loop tights over a coathanger and store them in your wardrobe. Source: bakedbree.com
The Innovation Mindset in Action: Sir Peter Jackson - Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas by Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas | 1:00 PM July 22, 2013 Peter Jackson is a game changer who transformed the practice of filmmaking. Like Jerry Buss, who revolutionized basketball, Jackson and other effective innovators share a common set of qualities that we call the innovation mindset: they see and act on opportunities, use “and” thinking and resourcefulness, focus on outcomes, and act to “expand the pie.” Regardless of where they start, innovators persist till they successfully change the game. As an only child, Jackson was often left to entertain himself. His parents bought him an 8-mm movie camera when he was 8 years old. Jackson saw a unique opportunity in making hit movies with special effects that would keep people mesmerized in their seats. Jackson used “and thinking.” Jackson managed what may have been risks in others’ eyes by being resourceful and focusing on outcomes. Sir Peter Jackson is a game changer.
How To Use Conflict To Unlock Creativity The average CEO spends 25% of his time coping with conflicts. It’s worth asking how much of that conflict has truly been used for useful purposes, like fostering creativity? Business mythology is rife with tales of firms that use conflict to rediscover their true purpose. Creative industries pat themselves on the back for being “disruptive,” but too rarely are they willing to unleash that same uncertainty within themselves. Former GE Chairman Jack Welch evangelized against “superficial congeniality,” the inability of companies to face threats and problems. So how can managers of companies in disruptive industries use conflict to foster innovation? “The more innovative an idea, the more excited I become, the calmer I present it," says Otis D. Inside the firm or with a client, Gibson points to the need for information as a tool to push conflict in the right direction. Its not just persistence, says Gibson, being careful to point out the limits of passion. Sudhir Venkatesh is William B.
The Insane Opulence Of The Ukrainian Presidential Palace During the summer of 2011, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych opened up his modest home to six television reporters, revealing what a journalist with the AP described as "a cozy place with a small office just big enough for his grandchildren to play in." Except even at the time, it was pretty obvious that he didn't live there. The same AP story went on to detail "strong evidence he actually lives in very different digs: a luxurious, marble-columned mansion with a golf course, a helipad, and even an ostrich enclosure." Yanukovych's critics were right. The opulence is overwhelming. The mansion wouldn't look out of place as the country abode of an oil baron or a Hollywood starlet, perhaps, but this is the private resident of a public official, who for most of his career made a salary in the realm of $2,000 a month. Mezhyhirya, as the residence is called, was, up until 1923, the home of a monastery. As Open Democracy reports:
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