cool global BIZ

Still Valid Question: How Long Will Silicon Valley's Legendary Tech Economy Last?

 

"Four Tubes in a Row "by Mike Cohn, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.com.

 

Editor's note: Will Silicon Valley's technology-driven economy continue to grow in the coming decades? Or will it wane as technology spreads globally? This week's rosy job outlook in the valley provides false hope for the long run. Can't ignore history. Even the greatest industries one day hit a plateau and fade like aging ballplayers. Here's a revised post on the topic from last year, when tech stocks rallied and fired up the broader market.

 

AS CISCO SYSTEMS, Intel and other U.S. tech titans spearhead another economic recovery, I wonder how long Silicon Valley and the U.S. tech realm will reign as the world's preeminent force for business growth and innovation.

Tech watchers have long debated the question, and time-honored "Whither Silicon Valley?" stories by the media surface every 5 or 10 years. (I plead guilty to writing a couple myself, including "Tech Industry Struggles To Cope With Its Losses" in USA Today, when many thought the growth of the New Economy and the dot.com boom would never end.)

CNN 2011 Hero: "Mother Robin" Lim Offers Prenatal, Medical Care to Poor Indonesians

 

 

 

ROBIN LIM, AN American woman whose health clinics offer free prenatal, birthing and medical care to thousands of poor Indonesian women, was named CNN's 2011 "Hero of the Year" last night after public online voting. Lim and nine other global non-profit leaders and social entrepreneurs were honored for their community and charitable work over the years. Lim, known as "Mother Robin" in Indonesia, told CNN: "Every baby's first breath on Earth could be one of peace and love. Every mother should be healthy and strong. Every birth could be safe and loving. But our world is not there yet."

• CNN.com, " 'Mother Robin' Wins CNN Hero of Year" by Kyle Almond. 

 

From Africa to Asia, Colors (Colours) are Changing the Global Beauty Industry

 

 

"The State of the Global Beauty Industry: Entering a New Chapter"  by Euromonitor International, via YouTube.  Irina Barbalova, Euromonitor's head of cosmetics research, recapping her presentation made at In-Cosmetics 2010 in Paris, France.

 

MISS UNIVERSE CONTESTANTS might look like Barbie dolls in different shades. But beyond glitzy pageants, the colors (colours) of beauty are slowly but surely changing global consumer culture and the beauty industry, according to SkinInc.com ("Skin Color of the United States" by Daphne Kasriel-Alexander) and a new book by Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones (Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry).

NBC's "Sing-Off" and Judging of Diverse Vocal Groups Reflect Real-Life Dynamics

 

REALITY TV SHOWS are fascinating reflections of real-life social dynamics. Witness NBC Universal's "The Sing-Off," an enjoyable show on American television that showcased 16 diverse vocal groups this season. One odd, off-key note: the finest group, Afro-Blue from Howard University, didn't make the final three last month after questionable voting by the judges. You sensed that would happen, after one judge inadvertantly referred to Afro-Blue's "Soul Train" dance line choreography in one song as a "wedding march." A wedding march? Can you say "different . . . cultural . . . perspective"? Fair and open-minded judging is subjective, of course, and all of the groups are talented and deserving. But Afro-Blue no doubt stood out. Good show regardless, with multiethnic Pentatonix of Austin, Texas, capping the season this week by winning the $200,000 prize and a big Sony Music contract. Hope Afro-Blue lands a lucrative deal, too.

  

 

Soul Train dance line and Moon Shoes Boogieland. Video courtesy of SoulTrain's channel on YouTube.

 

CoolGlobalBiz, December 7, 2011

Link TV's ViewChange: A Multimedia Project on Global Social and Political Change

 

Entrepreneurs from rural Zambia embark on months of leadership and business training. Among those featured in the video are Florence, Esnart, Ng'andwe and Precious. Video courtesy of Link TV's ViewChange.

 

THE MEDIA BOMBARDS audiences 24/7 with negative news from emerging nations, where heart-wrenching problems take on an epic scale. Link TV's ViewChange.org, a new multimedia project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes to sway the public and spur people to action. ViewChange highlights 450 videos and documentaries on global social change by the media and nonprofits, from Bread for the World to Oxfam America.

Journalist Rebecca Fannin a First Mover on Entrepreneurs and Startups in Asia

 

HERE'S A PLUG for Rebecca Fannin, a fellow journalist and clearly the leading U.S. media expert on entrepreneurs and startups in Asia. It's safe to say that Fannin, a Forbes contributor and a former editor at the Asian Venture Capital Journal, is a true first mover who has covered the rise of entrepreneurial Asia for many years with her former boss, Dan Schwartz, chairman emeritus of the AVCJ and author of The Future of Finance: How Private Equity and Venture Capital Will Shape the Global Economy.