I got a chance to go to the 4th session in BAVC's Innovation Salon series, where I got a chance to hear from some great panelists about the past, present, and future of digital rights. A couple of things that I walked away with:

My sister recently left to study abroad for a semester in China, where she's getting to know millions of her closest fellow Chinese. She started to blog about her experiences but what really struck me were two comments: 1. it's the first time ever that she doesn't have access to specific sites (her high school wasn't that restrictive when she was younger) and 2. she can blog but she can't read her blog after it's posted.

Last year, with the help of the MacArthur Foundation, the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) launched the Producers Institute, an exciting

I don't remember much of my economics education but I did walk away with the idea that it usually wasn't a good idea of your supply outpaced your demand and vice versa. Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired, recently wrote an article about the economics of "free" and how the combination of technology and "free" goods contradict some of the traditional economic models. You can find the article here (thanks Seth Godin).

Earlier this month, Tim Wu and I had the opportunity to do some strategic planning for a family foundation in Hong Kong (!). It was my first time traveling to HK and I was excited to see a city where my father spent some of his childhood. Additionally, HK underwent a huge change when the territory reverted back to Chinese control and has been part of China's huge economic growth.

With all the advances in technology, the world of giving continues to change rapidly. With all the latest buzz about social networking, it was only a matter of time that philanthropists began to test different ways of harnassing the power of social networks for social good. The Case Foundation and PARADE magazine have teamed up to issue a challenge: the nonprofits and individuals that are able to attract the largest number of unique donors between now and Jan 31st will receive grants ranging from $1K-$50K for their cause.

CTF ZFellow and grantee spotting!

MTV Networks, RealNetworks, and Verizon Wireless announced yesterday that they were going to team up to "create a single, integrated digital music experience that consumers can access via their PC, portable music device, or mobile phone." It's an interesting combination of players and one that is "anti-startup" by bringing together three very established companies in their respective fields. Undoubtedly, it's also aiming at Apple, who's been able to conquer both the software piece as well as the device field.

Elite schools are always looking for more ways to spice up the application process and it looks like University of Chicago's business school is requiring MBA applicants to submit a powerpoint presentation as a part of their application (thanks to the link from Seth Godin's

One of our grantees, Institute for Local Government, recently got some press coverage for their work around making information about local governments more accessible to citizens.