How Important Is Meeting In Person?

Those of you who have been following the CIO Priorities series by Narayanan Raman may have noticed that several CIOs are aggressively adopting video collaboration, telepresence, and other kinds of remote technology-based communication paradigms. >>>

Silicon Moon: Netscape Moment Coming Up in 2010

Bernard Moon has a very accurate prediction for 2010: “I do predict at least one of the hot startups that have an incredibly high valuation and a ton of capital will not live up to the hype. It might even go public, but soon afterwards go down a similar path that Netscape did and fade into the background due to competition from a tech giant or rapidly changing tides of the market. None will shut down in 2010 since they have so much cash, but chinks in the armor will be revealed during the year. Who will it be? Twitter? Slide? Zynga? Ning?”

I agree. What do you think? Who will it be?

Deal Radar 2010: Office Ally

Office Ally is an electronic clearinghouse that acts as a go-between in processing insurance claims for doctors’ offices, clinics, and hospitals. Founder Brian O’Neill saw that although the United States often has the latest technology for clinical testing and patient care, it often lags when it comes to business operations in the health-care industry. O’Neill entered the market in 1999 with a physician as his partner—whom he bought out after about one year—at a time when the market was beginning to explode with opportunity and interest in health-care management technology and services for providers was increasing. The number of oppportunities should only increase as the United States reforms its health-care system. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and the and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently issued two regulations to help implement the electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. >>>

Power Of The Urban Wind: Mariah Power CEO Mike Hess (Part 5)

SM: Who were the VCs that you raised money from?

MH: Noventi Ventures was the main investor. There were two small firms, Greenhouse Capital and Big Sky Partners. We converted the notes and raised $5 million in new cash. >>>

GiveIndia: Vote To Give Kids A Chance

Readers, you may be aware of the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook. One of India’s most trusted and credible NGOs, GiveIndia, is taking part in this competition to win a $1 million grant. The winner will be the NGO that gets the highest number of votes from Facebook users. The prize of $1 million will help put or keep 40,000 children across India in school for one year. >>>

Catching Up On Readings: On The Waterfront

Guest author Vaswar Mitra explains how cities in both the East and the West can make riverfronts both showcases for local history and areas of economic importance. Click on the full article for this and all of the week’s posts. >>>

Power Of The Urban Wind: Mariah Power CEO Mike Hess (Part 4)

SM: How much money did you raise through the angel process?

MH: The first time we raised $750,000. We then did $2 million in convertible notes. After that we did a VC round. >>>

Conservation of the Urban Identity (Part 4): The Riverfront

By Guest Author Vaswar Mitra

The greatest cities of the world and the cradles of civilization have grown up on the banks of rivers. These cities have a complex relationship with the water body that is built up in layers over the lifetime of the city and the sustaining of which is vital for preserving the identity of the urban fabric. >>>