Green Tech tips from TechSoup’s Anna Jaeger

Green Tech tips from TechSoup’s Anna Jaeger

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

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Listen to Fresh Dialogues with Anna Jaeger, TechSoup

I caught up with Anna Jaeger, Director of the GreenTech Program at TechSoup Global, during  The Green Enterprise UnConference at The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, December 3, 2008. San Francisco-based TechSoup partners with many leading tech companies like Microsoft, Adobe and Cisco to put technology in the hands of nonprofits; and Anna is spearheading its efforts to educate organizations to reduce their environmental impact through effective use of technology.  Our discussion includes:

Best “green” office practices

Software as a service (SoaS): e.g Google Apps –  Docs, Video, Gmail

Virtualization

Thin clients/ dumb terminals

Second Life online collaborations

Cisco’s WebEx

Forum One’s UNconference concept

Note: Another excellent source of best green business practices, just launched this month, is at the Environmental Defense Fund’s new online resource, The Innovation Exchange where you can find information about running a carbon neutral office.

Ann Winblad talks Kool-Aid, green tech and Bill Gates

Ann Winblad talks Kool-Aid, green tech and Bill Gates

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

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(12 minutes)

Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad

I talked to celebrated tech leader and VC  Ann Winblad at Hummer Winblad on December 5th. New jobless figures had just been released, and were reminiscent of the mid 1970’s. Yet, despite that gloom, the views over the Embarcadero to San Francisco Bay Bridge were breathtaking, and Ann, in true venture capitalist style, was refreshingly upbeat.

She talked about her early days:

Working in the strawberry fields of Minnesota at age 7… “I learned that patience and focus is a very good balance with overall efficiency; and that’s served me well as an entrepreneur.”

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Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad – strawberry fields

Drinking the Kool-Aid. To be a successful VC, “we have to look at the glass as half full….we have to slurp up that Kool-Aid for an instant, but we can’t get addicted.” 

 

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Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad – Kool Aid

 “SDForum is an open door to entrepreneurs and innovators…we’ve funded several companies from walk-in meetings…Susan Lucas (Conwell) is our CEO and a remarkable director.”

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Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad – SDForum

  

Is Green Tech going to save Silicon Valley?  “The press likes to focus on Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer; they forget about Prancer and Dancer and Donner and Blitzen. They want one cartoon character of salvation.”

 

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Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad – green tech and Rudolph

  

Ann has been friends with Bill Gates for over 20 years. What was the atmosphere like among software experts in the mid 80’s?  “Everybody was working so hard…we’d get together for dinners and we all had a lot of fun. People would share their stories…their dreams. That’s how we got to know that some people had bigger dreams than others.” 

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Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad – friendship with Bill Gates 

 

In part two of Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad, we explore top market trends, cloud computing, virtualization and the attributes of successful VCs. Check back soon.

Mary Vincent, green goddess goes gourmet

Mary Vincent, green goddess goes gourmet

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Former Sun Microsytems Executive, Mary Vincent chaired a panel of green venture capital and entrepreneur experts at the 2008 Women in Technology International (WITI) Conference in Silicon Valley. She talked to me afterwards about the key moment that inspired her to give up her corporate job as a Java expert and become a green entrepreneur. She cites the UN Climate Change Report 2006, and says “animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than transportation…it shocked me.” Seeing a way to leverage her skills to work on climate change, she recently founded Green Star Solution and Gratitude Gourmet; and is using many web 2.0 tools to build her business:

Facebook homepage feeds

Twitter

Blogs

Google Calendar

Clean tech group on Facebook

 

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

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 Download Fresh Dialogues with Mary Vincent

Firoozeh Dumas: brings laughter and a message of peace

Firoozeh Dumas: brings laughter and a message of peace

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Firoozeh Dumas, bestselling author of “Funny in Farsi” is not only hilarious on the page, she’s a hoot in person.  Yet she wants to do more than tickle our funny bones; this Thurber Prize for American Humor nominee wants to focus on the commonalities that unite us, no matter where we’re from. You could say she’s a world peace maker that uses humor as conduit. Our conversation explored:

American optimism

Shared humanity

Post 9/11 generation

Iranian stereotypes

Tolerance

Iran’s censorship bureau

Being a “sexual” Muslim

Listen to Fresh Dialogues with Firoozeh Dumas

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

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Download Fresh Dialogues with Firoozeh Dumas

Check back soon for Part Two of this Fresh Dialogues when Firoozeh talks about how Silicon Valley inspired her, outsmarting the bad boys at school and why noses are big in Iran.

Martin Sheen, the activist and actor

Martin Sheen, the activist and actor

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

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Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel for more exclusive interviews, including Elon Musk, Harry Hamlin and Jessica Jackley.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Sheen who was visiting Silicon Valley as a guest of Dick Henning’s Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series.  In this first part of our Fresh Dialogues interview, Martin talks about the roots of his social activism, his faith, his marriage and his movies.

Read transcript highlights.

We also explore:

* Money and happiness

* Silicon Valley millionaires

* Social conscience

* What is God?

* His college fantasy

* His heart attack during the filming of Apocalypse Now

To read selected quotes from the interview click here

Here is Part Two of Fresh Dialogues with Martin Sheen when we explore his environmental activism, his “West Wing” perspective on President Barack Obama and what two exciting movie projects Martin will be working on through 2009.

Note: Martin donated all proceeds from his Celebrity Forum appearance to the Berkeley based nonprofit, The San Carlos Foundation What a guy!

Check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews.

Heidi Roizen gives the skinny on new venture

Heidi Roizen gives the skinny on new venture

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Celebrated Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist Heidi Roizen invited me to her home to talk about her career and her new venture: Skinny Songs. A former executive at Mobius Venture Capital, Heidi has recently been featured on the Martha Stewart Show, Oprah & Friends Radio and The Early Show. We had an animated discussion about her motivations for this 180 degree career change and how she’s still keeping one foot in the tech world.

Heidi changed focus from software to song writing: what all-time-high became her impetus for change?

What inspired the lyrics for “Skinny Jeans” and “You Da Boss” and how did her Stanford degree help?

How does being politically INcorrect help her business?

How does she deal with the critics?

Why does she describe her product as “a sound track without the movie”?

What does she mean by her “portfolio career”?

What’s next for Heidi? News about her new book: “Can’t buy thin.”

Listen to this Fresh Dialogue with Heidi Roizen

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

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Download Heidi Roizen Fresh Dialogue Part 1

For part 2 of Heidi’s interview when she gives tips to entrepreneurs click here