Big Idea from Dubai: A Global Risk Management Commons

One of the most important sessions at the Global Agenda Council Summit in Dubai addressed the issue of Managing Global Risks.  We are moving into an age where profound threats are emerging to the global economy, society and even the very existence of humanity....

ClimateSpark – a new venture capital contest

Mark Twain famously said about the weather that “Everyone’s talking about it but no one’s doing anything about it.” Now that’s changing. Thanks to Web 2.0, the entire world is beginning to collaborate-for the first time ever-around a...

Citizens as scientists

Earlier this week the New York Times Bits blog had a post about a new research project at ARM Holdings, the British chip designer. Called mbed, ARM has put together a kit for a microcontroller, which is a basic, low-power computer on a chip. ARM provides a set of...

OneBeep offers one-way connectivity to remote communities

In true Wikinomics spirit, every year Microsoft’s Imagine Cup challenges students around the world to dream up  new ways to use technology to solve some of the planet’s toughest problems. Participation in the contest has soared from less than 1,000 student competitors...