That being said, Mark Cuban’s recent post about Wall Street’s goals is spot on. While I think he is a bit optimistic in that I feel we are somewhat beyond the point of reigning in the bulls, I do believe it’s something we need to be discussing on a national stage in the country.

Sadly I don’t feel many people outside of the industry really understand the implications and basic foundation of high frequency trading platforms, so I am not sure how fruitful that national conversation will be without it becoming overly political. Still, better to have the conversation than not. It’s time we took a good hard look at what the market should do for the country.

The Maker Movement takes manufacturing and makes it widely and broadly accessible for anyone to create and make goods with minimal (relatively speaking to the past) cost, something that will need to happen if we want to ensure a strong manufacturing base in the future. We all know that small businesses are the ones that keep the economy moving along, and I think the Maker Movement can become a tremendous opportunity for a lot of people. I still believe they are people in older manufacturing jobs that could benefit from this new access to capital, ideas and markets, who would better serve the economy by switching into this new market of making things at scale with minimal cost up front.

As long as we continue to invest in programs and services that help would be entrepreneurs grow and learn from each other (think local events like Meetups, online resources like Google’s new Entrepreneur center, other online web resources and the myriad SaaS services out there now to manage a business, etc.) we will start to see more and more innovation continue to happen at the lightning fast pace we have been accustomed to in the Internet era. And that is definitely a cause for celebration in a weak economy.

• Ars Technica: From Altair to iPad: 35 years of personal computer market share – For anyone who wants to get nostalgic about their first PC.
• The Economist: The veepstakes: Why Paul Ryan? – An interesting choice for the Romney ticket. Still not sure what to make of this pick though.
• Wired: How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking – A scary read for all of us in the interconnected cloud. I read it more as a cautionary tale on how to be smarter on the web, rather than a “don’t ever use the cloud again or any online service.” We just need to be smarter about how we protect ourselves. It should be further noted that security measures will continually be broken as hackers learn more; it’s a cat and mouse and hopefully you don’t get caught in the middle of the chase.
• TechCrunch: SocialPandas Raises $1.5 Million For CRM Tools To Aid The Forgotten Sales Person
• Business Insider: Twitter Cofounders Unveil Their Newest Project, An Online Publishing Platform Called Medium – I’m skeptical of this product, but need to read more to get a better understanding of it.
• TechCrunch: Khan Academy Launches The Future of Computer Science Education – I think the work Khan Academy is doing is great. This, along with other education startups, will definitely help us in the future, especially as workforces will need to adapt and we will need to educate our workforce for the future. A great step forward.
• Guardian.co.uk: Slavery still shackles Mauritania, 31 years after its abolition – Tough to comprehend, and sad all the same.
• NationalPost.com: A year after the massacre, Norway refuses to sell out its values – A strong culture and a strong people. If only all cultures and countries could be half as strong as they are.
• The Economist: Paul Ryan’s Randianism – Great writing from the Democracy in America Blog. Illuminating.
• The Economist: Bagehot: Glory and Hope – A lot of people have been writing what sort of lasting legacy the Olympics will have had on Great Britain after the games leave. Many are pondering the economic impact on spending billions during a (potential) double dip recession there, but I think Bagehot nails it: so what if nothing tangible really comes from the games? The fact that it was a great show, that people got together, and Britain notably exceeded even their own peoples’ expectations are all causes worthy enough to stamp the games with an A+.
• TechCrunch: Why All Schools Need iPads: Ending Texas’ Bizarre Control Over National History Textbooks – I’m a big proponent of this and any sort of education reform, big or small.
• Ars Technica: How a drug mule named “Big Foot” helped create terrible GPS search law – Fascinating, annoying and funny all the same.
• New Yorker: Can Hospital Chains Improve the Medical Industry? – Time and time again everyone is talking about the ticking time bomb that is healthcare. Putting universal coverage aside and that whole debate, let’s simply look at costs. This is a great look at how medicine can learn a thing or two from one corporation that has managed to remain efficient in everything they do: The Cheesecake Factory. While, yes, doctors will still need to interact with patients, there are still many “layers” of healthcare that need to be peeled back and also streamlined. Medicine would do well to heed some of the ideas learned within the kitchen.
• Wired: Apocalypse Not: Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry About End Times – A great reality check for all you doomsday lovers out there. And yes, while human existence faces some very real threats to our continuation as a species, let’s remember to put everything back into perspective.

However, I do think it can be difficult to keep motivated in the original business when all resources from a corporate standpoint are looking to the “next big thing” at the company: people within your own organization will see you are basically building Noah’s Ark for when the floods come to destroy your existing company, but the new company will continue to float on, thereby completing the cycle. Nevertheless, companies need to manage employee expectations and also the timing of their jump into the next business, both of which are understandably easier said than done.

• TechCrunch: If You Don’t Think You Need It, You Haven’t Seen Greatness – Great article for any startup or entrepreneur looking to develop an idea.
• NYTimes: A Desert Beyond Fear
• TechCrunch: Best New Way To Get a Cab
• The Atlantic: Proof That We Sexually Objectify Women – A study was performed that shows how we recognize and view a woman’s body compared to a man’s body. I think more studies need to be done to support the findings in this one but the results are truly interesting.
• The Atlantic: Understanding Murderers vs. Exploiting Murder – In the aftermath of the Aurora shooting, I’m sure plenty of people fall in either the first camp or the second camp. But this article brings up interesting points we need to consider as we consume the media and information surrounding the shooting. Specifically, we need to disassociate the idea that reporting on the murder somehow empowers the murderer and dishonors the victims and their families.
• TechCrunch: Parse Shows Off Anypic – Parse is an awesome company that is making it incredibly easier for companies to build mobile apps fast. I’m definitely intrigued by their product offering and I am sure plenty of VCs/Companies are as well.
• TechCrunch: FoundsClub Wants To Bypass VC and Let You Invest In Startups – When Obama signed this law into effect, I was extremely happy. Democratizing the opportunity to take your funds and help an entrepreneur succeed is something that we can all stand behind. The opportunity for the average Joe like myself to help make an innovative product, and reap the upside of that investment, is awesome. I’m a big proponent of crowd-sourced funding.
• Design Taxi: How To Finish – A great article for anyone in the creative field who has trouble completing projects. I like reading articles from time to time about this because it motivates me to work on the projects that I like to work on and also work on them efficiently.
• The New Yorker: Leaving Facebookistan – A bold move, no doubt.

• Economist.com: Marissa moves in – Great move for Yahoo! and a great move for Mayer. I’m happy for her and wish her all the best. Although that job has to be one of the toughest in the tech industry today, I commend her for taking it on. I hope she can pull it off.
• Business Insider: Why Yahoo! Picked Marissa Mayer
• Businessweek: The Education of Groupon CEO Andrew Mason – I always thought he acted like a clown, but perhaps that may be his greatest strength. Also, if anyone knows the name of that Japanese restaurant that he works at, I’d love to check it out!
• TechCrunch: If Startups Can Be Built In Ghana, Africa, They Can Be Built In Cleveland, Ohio
• Economist.com: Rehabilitating Capitalism – For those who have lost faith – I don’t necessarily feel that I have lost faith in capitalism per se, but I do feel as though we (being myself as an Economics major in college and other people who believe in Capitalism) haven’t done a good job showing people the real, true benefits of a capitalistic approach to the economy. I also recognize realities: that our economy is really a mixed-market economy, that supply and demand don’t always dictate the equilibrium price, and that markets aren’t perfect precisely because we can never assume that people act “rationally”. If we can stop focusing on which theory is best, and instead, focus on acting, I think we can get back to a better state in the economy.
• HBR.org: The Science of Building a Scalable Sales Team – No easy feat, but necessary for companies to survive.
• HBR.org: Act Fast, but Not Necessarily First – I post this because it’s somewhat counterintuitive to the agile development culture of the startup world, but they make great points for anyone running a small business to consider.
• Wired: The Perfect Bagel is Engineered In California  Blasphemy!
• FastCompany: Cheap, Chic, And Made For All: How Uniqlo Plans To Take Over Casual Fashion
• Economist.com: The golden rules of banking – I was shocked when I saw this article come from the Economist. If ever there was an article where I could feel the Economist getting pissed off, this has to be it.
• Wired: X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis Has His Eyes on the Future – So much respect for the vision and hope that he sees in mankind.
• TheAtlantic: The Terrifying Background of the Man Who Ran a CIA Assassination Unit

And at the moment, I figured I would post the song that I am listening to while writing this post:

None other than The Allman Brothers band Live from the Fillmore East in ’71. Love this track.

• Economist.com – Lexington: What’s Eating Appalachia?
• Economist.com – Formula One in the United States: Skidding Around – This one made me particularly sad, simply because I love F1 and think its a great sport. If I could, I would be going down to Austin for the opening of their new F1 track, but thankfully I should be able to see a race closer to home when the competition comes to New Jersey.
• HBR.org – The Best Strategy for Reducing Stress – See also my blog post & commentary on this article. Great read.
• Jugnoo.me – The Future of Social Business & Why Social CRM Will Be Key
• HBR.org – Every Company Should Build a Second Corporation – The only issue I have with this post is how a business can maintain the level or morale and focus on iterating through a product that is necessary to keep the existing business alive, while resources, energy and excitement are being funneled into the “second” business. Perhaps this is by design: the first business continues to throw off cash and fund efforts, while the second one eventually becomes top dog, and the cycle continues.