"Valley Future" Posts on ValleyZen

Last night we attended a special evening arranged by Peter Thiel and the Thiel Foundation entitled “Audacious Optimism.” Held at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, this unusual philanthropic summit brought together 8 organizations to present their visions for the future.

The evening began with a reception and cocktails and then a welcome from the Thiel Foundation and Patri Friedman, grandson of economist Milton Friedman and co-founder of the Seasteading Institute…

“I had this extraordinary passport to go anywhere” Michael Moritz said today at the luncheon hosted for him today by Silicon Valley Bank at the Rosewood Hotel…

Yesterday TEDxBerkeley gathered world-leading thinkers, makers, and doers at UC Berkeley to discuss Doing the Unprecedented. The audience was composed of a diverse and curated mix of 750 entrepreneurs, executives, professors, students, and thought leaders from Berkeley and beyond. A stimulating day of presentations, discussions, entertainment and art sparked new ideas.

To capture the theme of “Doing the Unprecedented” Drue created an original work of art. Drue’s “A Small Step” is a bear in a space suit walking on the moon.

In this post is a photo essay of highlights from the day…

Unconscionable acts of many large corporations have become significant concerns of many people in the United States. Their concern have been further enlarged by the U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that Corporations can not be precluded from directly contributing money to political candidates or causes…

“We used to have a manager and we got rid of them. We use to have a PR person and we got rid of them. We used to have a [inaudible] and we got rid of them,” Moonalice guitarist Roger McNamee (aka Chubby Wombat) said on stage to the enthusiastic crowd below at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Sound serious? Sure — the art of subtraction is not an easy one.

McNamee continued “So we turned it all over to Facebook and Twitter and …

As a child, I was enthralled with the works of James Burke. Like the enso, the tales he told had no beginning or end. His work simply explored the “connectedness” of things, both past and present.

I was reminded of James Burke while attending the recent ICANN gTLD & IDN Outreach event in Hong Kong (videos of all of the sessions and materials are available here online)…

Drue and Bill were invited to attend the Churchill Club’s July 23, 2009 program, held at Microsoft’s campus in Mountain View, CA, “The Free Economy: How Companies Make Money From Giving Things Away.” Chris Anderson, whose latest book FREE: The Future of a Radical Price was the moderator of an outstanding panel including five founders and/or CEOs of companies that produce products made of bits. The event started with a short context-setting statement by Chris. He explained how the “zero”-cost of bit product reproduction makes it possible for companies to make money by giving away a large quantity of a product in order to sell at a “Freemium”…

“It’s not brain surgery—It’s economics,” Meg Whitman recalled the take of her brain surgeon husband, Dr. Griffith Harsh, on California’s budget crisis. With a wry sense of humor, and authentic personal stories, Meg shared her impressive vision for a new California at the MEGa Women Bay Area Launch. Pumping up the audience was Statewide Chairwoman Jillian Manus: “there’s so much estrogen in this room, it could blow off the roof.” A diverse audience of female Silicon Valley influencers cheered when Jillian challenged them to go out and make MEGa Women a million strong…

Who are the most influential women in technology for 2009? You had to be with ValleyZen in the Fairmont San Jose last Thursday to be able not only to see but to experience the answer.

Women have gone a long way in tech, and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology’s Women of Vision’s Award celebration and dinner presented ample evidence of the distances women have traveled. The event was beautifully emceed by CBS News Anchor, Sydnie Kohara with inspirational opening remarks by Telle Whitney, President & CEO of the Institute. The 2009 Women of Vision Awards honored three women who have made significant contributions to technology through outstanding innovation, leadership, and social Impact.

ValleyZen got full access to these inspirational women and the ambitious event. We interviewed the keynote speaker and the award recipients and spoke to numerous other accomplished women in technology, from…