My company has more than 1,200 job openings -- half of them located here in Silicon Valley -- many of which have gone unfilled all year.  For our employment staff it is a daily struggle to even find qualified candidates to interview.  Out my window are dozens of neighbor companies...

Although I am in Washington, D.C. today, where everyone is abuzz about the spread of the "occupations" movement nationwide, my focus is back home in Silicon Valley, where Apple has just announced the release of the iPhone 4S. Just another high tech gadget to some, the...

I received an email from a member of the Newspaper Guild asking me not to write this blog. This week that union called on bloggers to form an "electronic picket line" around the Huffington Post and boycott further posts until the HP changes its business model. As the...

If anyone in the world should be paying close attention to the grassroots political unrest in the Middle East, it is Big Business and Big Labor in America. The rise of self-organized groups of people toppling once-entrenched regimes is a harbinger of things to come here in the U.S. too.

Social media has received much credit for its role in galvanizing throngs of citizen protesters in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Yemen. But while the press likes to call out the big platforms -- Facebook, YouTube and Twitter -- it has actually been a set of lesser-known tools that have been...

I started the week at the World Expo in Shanghai and ended it at the World Cup in Cape Town. Both events offer a spectrum of perspectives on what is really happening in the world economy today.

The New New York

First, the Expo in Shanghai truly was a showcase...

I was in Havana this past Friday when Yoani Sanchez was snatched by Cuban police and brutally beaten. The officers didn't draw blood this time--after all, they are professionals--but they left enough bruises and welts to remind her and others that using the Internet to defy the regime can get...

Billy's Bakery enjoys a loyal following that keeps both its Manhattan locations buzzing throughout the day. But what really drives a line out the door are the daily "tweets" to its diehard followers on Twitter. Several times a day 300 or so loyal customers receive brief messages ("Lemon tarts are...

From smart grids to complicated "cap-and-trade" schemes, the Obama Administration has taken a catholic view to any and all means to dramatically reduce US dependence on foreign energy -- while at the same time lowering pollution levels and mitigating climate effects. Problem is, often the search for grand solutions overlooks...