Tonight, we'll have a special chance to hear from veteran Silicon Valley executive and venture capitalist Bill Davidow as he discusses his latest book, OVERCONNECTED: The Promise and Threat of the Internet .
About the Event:
In Overconnected, Bill Davidow, a former Silicon Valley executive, successful entrepreneur, scholar, historian, and bestselling author (The Virtual Corporation), explains how the almost miraculous success of the Internet has also engendered a unique set of hazards and challenges for government, social institutions, business, and economies.
The benefits of our highly-connected state have been myriad and dramatic, propelling economic growth and making the world more efficient. The practical applications of this new medium – the ability to manage our lives and businesses at anytime from anywhere, network and socialize with our friends, and create commercial enterprises that span the world – have made the Internet a force unequaled in scope or impact in our daily lives. But high levels of connectivity can also create a degree of momentum that can be devastating.
In Overconnected, Davidow meticulously — and counter-intuitively — anatomizes how overconnectivity can create systems with excessive amounts of positive feedback, making those systems extremely volatile, accident prone, and subject to contagion. Davidow explains how the Internet – and the overconnectivity it gave rise to — played a starring role in the collapse of the Icelandic economy, our loss of privacy, and the spectacular real estate and financial market crash of 2008.
Davidow identifies problems with our overconnected environment that few people understand. Through skillful use of history, he puts current events in perspective. Drawing on lessons from the past, he offers a set of practical suggestions that will help to minimize future missteps.
About the Speaker:
Bill Davidow has been a high-technology industry executive and a venture investor for more than 30 years. He continues to act as an active advisor to Mohr Davidow Ventures, a venture capital firm. Davidow is the author of Marketing High Technology and a co-author of Total Customer Service and The Virtual Corporation.
At Intel, Bill served as senior vice president of marketing and sales, vice president of the microcomputer division and vice president of the microcomputer systems division. Prior to Intel Corp., Bill worked in various managerial positions at Hewlett Packard and General Electric. Bill’s community involvement extends to serving on the boards of California Institute of Technology and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He also sits on the Foundation Board of the University of California, San Francisco, and on the Board of the California Nature Conservancy.
Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Dartmouth College, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from both Dartmouth College and the California Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
Agenda:
6:30 - 7:15: Networking and dinner buffet
7:15 - 7:30: Welcome, announcement
7:30 - 8:30: Presentation and Discussion
8:30 - 9:30: Informal discussions and networking
When: Tuesday, April 12th; 6:30 - 9:30pm
Where: Bank Leumi - 2000 University Ave, 1st Floor, East Palo Alto
Cost:
$20 at the door, or meetup members can pay $15 in advance (purchase tickets at http://jhtc.org). Includes dinner buffet and wine.
This event is being produced by JHTC.org
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