I grew up near Palo Alto, so if I had a bias, it would be that Palo Alto is the epicentre of the tech world. And as ‘all things tech’ come to be understood as the driver of growth in business, like a massive snowball picking up speed down the mountain, it should be more important what’s happening in and around Palo Alto.

Today, 75 percent of people globally have access to a mobile phone. Of the six billion subscriptions worldwide, 77 percent are held by people in developing countries. And despite the great disparities among high and low-income regions globally, there is a reasonable parity in access to mobile phones.

Are the rules for entrepreneurial success different in the digital space from auto components or baked goods? Give or take some social-media buzz, I suspect they’re not. Taking a good idea, perfecting it, maintaining quality as demand grows, persuading target customers to pay a decent price: these are the essentials, whether that product is virtual, physical or edible. Here’s a couple of examples that have caught my eye.

For me, entrepreneurcountry represents what we need to do to embrace change for the future. Change for many is a very scary thing. For some, it is becoming the norm. And for a few, it is what makes them tick.

If you have ever been fortunate to hear Stephen Phillips’s story of We Are Hunted fame, then you’ll know that ruthless perseverance, brilliant talent and highly commercialised innovation can truly come from anywhere. Twitter acquired the company in late 2012 and turned its platform into Twitter Music in 2013.

In addition to the decline of PC gaming described in my previous blog post (The Rise and Fall of PC Gaming), the business model of game development is broken for most developers, on both consoles and PCs. They spend millions to build a game. They sell it for $49.99 for a few months, at best, in an ever more hit driven environment dominated by mega-productions.

Enterprises everywhere are going all-in with mobility. They are arming their sales force with tablets, setting up enterprise app stores, enabling BYOD, and developing a mobile policy. But what does it get them? Sure it’s cool and hip, but do they know what value mobility is intended to bring? What is the real return on investment in mobility?

As part of our Start-Up of the Week series, entrepreneurcountry spoke to Finnish-based company Scoopshot. With a game changing concept, innovative technology and world class business strategy, Scoopshot was founded in April 2010 and provides a photo crowdsourcing service that connects mobile and professional photographers with individuals, international media companies and brands around the world.

How things have changed. I remember my first mobile phone “Motorola” being what we all used to call “a brick” with the ability to send a text message, make a call or play Snake. We went from no internet to dial up to WiFi and Broadband. The internet is a very confusing world and some people are still struggling to grasp the concept of the evolution that is the World Wide Web.

“This house believes that academic education will never satisfy the skills needs of the IT Profession” was the title of last week’s Oxford Union style debate, jointly hosted by BCS Chartered Institute for IT (via Learning Development Specialist Group) and the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, at Armourer’s Hall in the City of London.