Last week, I joined 70 entrepreneurs, entertainers, philanthropists and local leaders from across the U.S. in Washington, DC to discuss and brainstorm new responses to our country's most pressing issues. I was invited to represent the greater Midwest on behalf of the AIM Institute and Silicon Prairie News. The Conference on Next Generation Leadership was convened by Howard W. Buffett and the White House's Office… read more

Omaha At last month's Midlands Venture Forum gathering, David Milligan and Kevin West, both patent attorneys at Advent IP, gave a 25-minute presentation on patents. In his opening remarks, Milligan introduced their talk with a one-sentence summary. "We're basically going to go through what we would consider kind of an assessment of… read more

Omaha Silicon Prairie News is turning two and we want to celebrate! For those that remember, last year we teamed up with BrightMix, who was celebrating their second birthday, and held our inaugural summer ice cream social at our shared office at 5018 Leavenworth Street. It was a wonderful time for all who attended! Now that we've made it through our first couple of years, we'll be celebrating once again. read more

Omaha Social media is at a high point for further developing the business models of major companies and establishing a new means of communication for people to share their thoughts, experience and location. To celebrate, Social Media Club (SMC) Omaha gathered on June 30 at Nomad Lounge for drinks and conversation around the latest trends… read more

Omaha At Big Omaha this past May, charity: water founder Scott Harrison (left) told his story to a packed house of 500 attendees. Needless to say, he inspired us all. Without any further waiting, we're overwhelmingly excited to announce the results of the Big Omaha charity: water Campaign which we launched on March 29, six weeks before Big Omaha. When we set out to raise enough money for one well, $5,000… read more

Des Moines Highlights from last month's inaugural TEDxDesMoines event are available online. TEDx is a local series of talks that mirrors the format and branding of the larger TED event in California. TEDx events are held across the globe and Des Moines' iteration took place on May 16 at the State of Iowa Historical Building. Mike Draper (left), founder of… read more

Omaha Last week I spoke with Joe Olsen about Omaha Creative Week, a week-long collection of events focusing on all things creative, taking place September 5-11. The event's planning team, or caretakers, include Joe and others from his interactive brand experience agency, Phenomblue, as well as a mix of creatives and entrepreneurs from across the city. Silicon Prairie News' Jeff Slobotski is… read more

Omaha If I had to imagine what participation in a Washington think tank would be like, I'd recollect my experience at last Wednesday's Regional Energy Innovation Summit at the Gallup Organization’s Omaha campus, a follow up of the Energy Innovation Summit that took place May 7 at the White House. Thanks to a partnership between Gallup, the White House… read more