<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, larry brilliant]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, larry brilliant]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/larrybrilliant http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/larrybrilliant <![CDATA[Zuckerberg follows Jobs, Page, Skoll to ashram]]> neem_karoli_baba.jpgIn the latest installment of "Where in the World is Mark Zuckerberg," one stop on his tour to the subcontinent was to the favored ashram of Larry Brilliant, director of Google's entrepreneurial philanthropy project, Google.org. This would presumably be the one run by Neem Karoli Baba which Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs has also visited. Brilliant has said he also brought Google cofounder Larry Page and eBay cofounder Jeff Skoll there.

Baba's teachings include the precept that showing kindness to others is the highest form of devotion to God, and writings compiled by noted mystic Ram Dass in the book Miracle of Love. It's an opportunity for Zuckerberg to appear deep when discoursing on management philosophy. More importantly, he can now share the experience with other tech titans as a sort of rite of passage in the tightknit world of the Valley's ultrarich. (Photo by Ken Wieland)

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=392845&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Google wants you to show plug-in hybrids some YouTube love]]> RechargeIT, the plug-in hybrid publicity program sponsored by Google.org, the search giant's relatively poorly funded do-gooder initiative run by Larry Brilliant, is running a YouTube contest. The company wants anyone who has a plug-in electric hybrid, or wishes they did, to upload a video describing their obsession. The contest isn't official yet, but Earth2Tech found a submission page which doesn't list exactly what you might win by entering. A new car would be nice, but I'm guessing it'll be more along the lines of sitting through a press conference, a free meal at the cafeteria and maybe a test drive.

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=388840&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[At Google, failed entrepreneur Larry Brilliant to save the world with entrepreneurialism]]> larry_brilliant_pam_omidyar.jpgRolling Stone's profile of Google.org director Larry Brilliant presents a man with an unimpeachable reputation in public health and a decidedly impeachable one in private business. Since Google.org is run more like a venture fund than a traditional philanthropic foundation, the company's supposedly humanitarian work is expected to serve pecuniary self-interest. The RE<C project to replace coal with renewable energy sources could certainly prove quite profitable. But Brilliant's expertise is in epidemiology, and as anyone in big pharma can tell you, there's very little money to be made in curing diseases, especially in the developing world. The piece does have an interesting sidenote — Steve Jobs ran into Brilliant on his way to meet guru Neem Karoli Baba. Which explains where Jobs learned what it takes to lead a cult. (Photo by Pierre Omidyar)

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=377050&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Does your VC have a Democrat in his pocket?]]> BarackandHillary.jpgSenator Clinton polls higher than Senator Obama in Santa Clara County, 43 percent to 27 percent, a Clinton campaign staffer told the Wall Street Journal. But we know what really counts in Silicon Valley: money. And when it comes to raising cash, Barack Obama's winning over the tech crowd. He raised about $500,000 just last weekend at a breakfast in Atherton. Wondering who was there? Here's a list of known Silicon Valley supporters for each candidate.

Not many in the Silicon Valley money crowd support Hillary Clinton. The notable exception is John Doerr, who now counts former VP Al Gore as a colleague at Kleiner Perkins.

The list is lengthier for Barack Obama.

  • David Anderson, managing director, Sutter Hill Ventures
  • John Thompson, Symantec CEO
  • Gordon Eubanks, former Symantec CEO
  • Yahoo exec Brad Garlinghouse
  • Former California gubernatorial candidate, current Steve Jurvetson pal and Tesla Motors board member Steve Westly
  • John Roos, CEO of law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
  • Google execs David Drummond and Marissa Mayer
  • Google.org director Larry Brilliant
  • YouTube founder Chad Hurley
  • VC Doug Hickey of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
  • VC Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie
  • Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitielo
  • Sequoia Capital venture capitalist Michael Moritz
  • Craiglist founder Craig Newmark
  • Netscape and Ning founder Marc Andreessen (who also supports Mitt Romney)

(Photo by azrainman)

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=348137&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Google: We give away less than Gates because we're smarter]]> Google.org, Google's for-profit charity, announced all kinds of new initiatives today. The short version: health, climate change, good government. The basic idea, as MarketWatch notes in a video report about the project, is to approach "giving" like a venture capitalist. Thing is, Google's only "investing" about 3 percent as much as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. No matter, says Google's Larry Brilliant in this clip.

Far more important than the amount of money you put in is the way you nurture the work that you do. The way you conceive it. The way you think about it strategically. The people that you get to work with to, ah, to tackle a problem.
Aren't you supposed to feel better about a company when it gives away $2 billion?]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=346209&view=rss&microfeed=true