Tech Moves: Joanna Lord named CMO at BigDoor; Brian Arbogast joins the Gates Foundation; and more

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—Online marketing whiz Joanna Lord has left her VP job at SEOmoz to become chief marketing officer at BigDoor, the Seattle gamification startup. In her new role Lord will oversee branding, content, community and other functions for the Seattle-based company. Keith Smith-led BigDoor raised $5 million last year, bringing total funding to $13 million. “The first… Read More…

Microsoft stock hits 5-year high as Gates reclaims world’s richest title

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It’s a good day to be Bill Gates. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, Gates’ reclaimed the title of world’s richest man for the first time since 2007, as his fortune reached $72.7 billion this afternoon and pushed him $600 million ahead of second-place Carlos Slim. And on top of that, Microsoft’s stock hit a five-year high… Read More…

Bill Gates: Like athletes, teachers need their Vince Lombardi or John Wooden

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To improve upon something, we must learn, and to learn, we often seek guidance from others. For example, Michael Jordan received hoops help from his incredible coaches Dean Smith and Phil Jackson. To sharpen his bridge skills, Bill Gates sought out the advice of professional Sharon Osberg. But, as Gates details in his latest TED talk, teachers… Read More…

Video: Melinda Gates tells Duke grads to reject the ‘Me Generation’ label

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Duke University computer science and economics grad Melinda Gates returned to her alma mater this past weekend to deliver the commencement address, telling grads to reject the notion of Time magazine’s thesis in the piece “The Me Me Me Generation.” “I want to encourage you to reject the cynics who say that technology is flattening… Read More…

Tech pioneer Bill Gates still lugs around a giant bag of paper books

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It’s always interesting to keep track of what Bill Gates is reading, and for some reason I envisioned him taking advantage of an e-reader or tablet — or at least something digital — to read and process all that material. Nope. It turns out he carries a giant tote bag of old-fashioned books when he’s… Read More…

Gates, Buffett say online purchase taxes are fair and good for state budgets

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Billionaire buddies Bill Gates and Warren Buffett wholeheartedly agree on one thing: Online retailers need to be taxed. Speaking on CNBC this morning, Gates and Buffett discussed a bevy of topics including the bill that’s expected to pass the U.S. Senate today which could make it easier for states to collect sales tax from purchases made… Read More…

Gates, Myhrvold tap startup vet to lead ‘Global Good’ technology initiative

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The position of “Vice President of Global Good” at Intellectual Ventures made news even before it was filled. The Bellevue company, with its massive patent holdings and controversial licensing practices, is a lightning rod in the tech industry. The very title of the job was viewed as highly dubious or at least ironic by the company’s… Read More…

Bill Clinton (officially) joins Twitter, gets shout out from Bill Gates and Colbert

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Former president Bill Clinton has joined Twitter — and this time the ex-commander-in-chief is doing so without the help of comedian Stephen Colbert. You may recall that Colbert helped Clinton send his first Tweet on air a few months ago under the unofficial account @PrezBillyJeff. “What if you tweet and nobody tweets back?” Clinton said on… Read More…

Bill Gates on how better technology will help eradicate Polio

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A few months ago, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg announced their plans to team up in the fight to eradicate polio. The goal is not a new one for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but the Bloomberg team-up will add a 100 million dollar pledge and another big perspective to the plan. It’s a… Read More…

‘Gates’ bio is back on Kindle, with new take on Jobs vs. Gates

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More than a decade ago, as I was getting up to speed on the Microsoft beat, one of my new contacts handed me a biography called Gates, by journalists Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews. More than anything else I read at the time, the epic biography helped me understand Bill Gates and his company, and what… Read More…