Power and Potential

“Distracted from distraction by distraction.”
-T.S. Eliot

Mary Meeker’s annual report on Internet Trends is always fascinating. The presentation is 355 slides full of insight, and far from “death by PowerPoint.” Meeker, a Kleiner Perkins executive, provides a perspective on the key aspects of Internet usage including what is growing, who is using it and how, and geographic and social data around the world.

While the report is full of insights, slide 353 caught my attention as an economic developer. It is simple slide about Economic Growth Drivers:

• Pre-18th Century: Cultivation and Extraction
• 19th and 20th Centuries: Manufacturing and Industry
• 21st Century: Compute Power and Human Potential

The slide can be interpreted in different ways, but I believe it means that we have the tools — or will soon — to improve and lengthen lives, vastly increase productivity and create economic growth and efficiencies that we can only begin to imagine. It is easy to forget that the Internet we use every day is world-changing and a powerful force.

-Kenny McDonald

One Columbus Update

• Last week, UnitedHealth Group announced that it will add 700 new jobs in Dublin over the next two years. Thank you to UnitedHealth Group for their continued commitment to the Columbus Region and congratulations to both the company and community.
• This week, the One Columbus team is hosting companies evaluating the Columbus Region. We’ll also attend Interact17 in Columbus as well as PLASTEC East 2017 and City Nation Place Americas in New York City.
• Next week, our team will travel to Washington, D.C., for the SelectUSA Investment Summit.
• Denison University president Adam Weinberg has been recognized by the National Association of Colleges and Employers for innovative approaches to career readiness and development. Learn more about the recognition and Denison’s new approach to careers here.