Don Tapscott, best-selling author (Wikinomics, Growing Up Digital, and more) and authority on the strategic impact of IT and innovation, posted his “Personal Card to the Internet” on the Huffington Post yesterday. He also announced he’ll give an anniversary gift to the Internet, by making a donation to TakingITGlobal, a collaborative learning community which provides youth with access to global opportunities, cross-cultural connections and meaningful participation in decision-making. Don, who is a member of the Spencer Trask network, wrote, “I’m hopeful others will send similar presents as well.”

We liked Don’s idea so we are encouraging you to make a financial gift to the charity of your choice in recognition of the impact the Internet has had on our global awareness and collaborative action. To make anniversary gift-giving easier, we teamed up with Inlieuofagift.com. Inlieuofagift.com offers electronic invitations with a “donate now” button associated with the charity of the party host’s choice. Guests are asked to make a donation in lieu of bringing a gift. There are no fees and all donations are 100% tax deductible. Inlieuofagift.com partners with GuideStar and JustGive.org to offer access to 1.8 million charities, and has been featured on the Today Show and Oprah.

Tomorrow, UCLA will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet. The event’s featured speakers include Internet visionaries, activists, and analysts who will offer insights on the opportunities and pitfalls that lie ahead.

Watch the live event online from 8:15 am PST. The keynote, featuring Nicholas Negroponte, begins at 9 am PST; followed by Arianna Huffington at 9:40 am PST. And, don’t miss our own Kevin Kimberlin, who will take the stage at 4:15 pm PST.

Webcam chat at Ustream (more…)

Dwayne Spradlin, InnoCentive CEO, appeared on the CNBC “The Business of Innovation” series. Featured in the “Power of the Crowd” segment, he discusses the shift from the individual expert to the collective knowledge of the crowd, as a better way to find solutions for business and work issues. The story highlights Procter and Gamble, an InnoCentive “Seeker,” and its success finding innovative ideas in unexpected places. Additionally, several prominent InnoCentive “Solvers” are mentioned, showcasing the power and diversity of InnoCentive’s Solver network. (more…)

Inventors, scientists, adventurists and others have long been inspired by grand prizes. Last week’s Economist included a list of some well-known prizes. However, since many are so-called “recognition” prizes (e.g. Nobel), I decided to compile a list of some of the larger past and present “challenge” prizes. Here’s what I found:

Historic Challenges

The challenges most often cited seem to be the Longitude and Orteig Prizes.

In 1714, the British government offered the Longitude Prize through an Act of Parliament. Back then, the measurement of longitude was an important problem to solve as ships made more transoceanic voyages. Determining latitude was relatively easy but early ocean navigators had to rely on dead reckoning, to determine longitude. This was inaccurate on long voyages, often ending in disaster, until John Harrison, a self-educated English clockmaker, developed a chronometer that could be used to determine longitude. (more…)

InnoCentive announced InnoCentive for Startups, an open innovation solution for early-stage companies. The program is designed for private companies with annual revenues below $50M, and their backers — VCs, angels, and investment firms. Through InnoCentive for Startups, early-stage companies can post challenges to the Open Innovation Marketplace at a “special price.”

It’ll be interesting to see how quickly the startup community jumps on InnoCentive’s new program. The effectiveness of its Open Innovation Marketplace has already been proven with over 150 organizations, including big multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, SAP, Dow Chemicals, and Rockefeller Foundation. Startup teams can now leverage the same resources to identify market opportunities, solve complex business and technical problems, and access partners and talent. Also, if large organizations trust InnoCentive (more…)

Charles K. Kao, widely regarded as the “father of fiber optic communications”, was awarded half of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for “groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication.”

In 1965, Kao’s research concluded that the fundamental limitation for glass light attenuation is below 20 decibels per kilometer (a measure of the effective distance a signal could be transmitted), which is a key threshold value for optical communications. He also identified the impurity of glass as the main cause for the dramatic decay of light transmission inside glass fiber, rather than fundamental physical effects such as scattering as many thought at that time. (more…)

Ciena Corp., announced that it is in advanced discussions to acquire substantially all of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Networks business. (more…)

According to a review of financial filings by EE Times, some of the top semiconductor companies are sitting on huge piles of cash that could be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development. (more…)

We’re on a roll. Last week “open innovation” went mainstream (see the Wall Street Journal article entitled “Netflix Prize A “Turning Point” For Open Innovation“). This week “crowdsourcing” made prime time and touched off a hot debate. (more…)