Web 2.0 Summit Focuses on Social Investments

In the spirit of the new era in American history, philanthropy and investing in a better future were the first topics of discussion…

Against the backdrop of the change in power in Washington, D.C. (opportunities) and the economic meltdown (one of the problems), the navel-gazing tech industry lives on. Speakers at the event include VC legend John Doerr, Yahoo’s Jerry Yang, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Alibaba’s Jack Ma, Intel’s Paul Otellini, Al Gore, and Lance Armstrong. Co-host John Battelle, who is also the CEO of ad network Federated Media, was quick to thank the sponsors who came through with the money, citing the tough climate for advertising.

But the Web 2.0 Summit inaugural session didn’t start with talk about Web 2.0 business models, entrepreneurial riches, or surviving the downturn. In the spirit of the new era in American history, philanthropy and investing in a better future were the first topics of discussion.

Google.org Executive Director Dr. Larry Brilliant talked about how his organization put $100 million to work in the past year. Google invests 1 percent of Google’s equity and profits (in various forms) and employee time to fund the organization.

Most recently, Google.org’s “Predict and Prevent” initiative gave grants of more than $14 million to support partners working in Southeast Asia and Africa to prevent the next pandemic.

Google.org isn’t purely philanthropic in its approach to investing in a better future. The Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal initiative, for example, has made $50 million investments in alternative energy companies. “It’s different than pick and shovel investments,” Brilliant said. “It is important that we make money on these investments and for the companies to make a profit…If they don’t make money, no one else will and we won’t be able to take advantage of capital flows and market forces.”