Land continues to hold value for people in the business of farming crops and housing data for cloud computing. Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and Ask.com already have data centers, not in urban sprawls but in rural areas in  the Northwest, and now Facebook wants to claim its territory too.

Facebook, Inc. plans to build a 145,000 square foot data farm in Prineville, Oregon, a town that has had its share of economic heartache. High unemployment and the loss of five sawmills have burdened the town of about 10,000. Facebook’s expenditure of $175 million over the next three years will create much needed jobs and cash flow for residents.

So why Prineville? City Manager Steve Forrester says it’s a combination of “low cost land…and high voltage power lines nearby.” And of course, the weather. “The critical thing was our climate: low humidity and cool nights.”

Check out more details on the story, “Where Clouds Displace Forests: Oregon Town Is Latest in Northwest to Leverage Cheap Electric Power to Lure Data Farm,” in The Wall Street Journal.

Land continues to hold value for people in the business of farming crops and housing data for cloud computing. Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and Ask.com already have data centers, not in urban sprawls but in rural areas in  the Northwest, and now Facebook wants to claim its territory too.

Facebook, Inc. plans to build a 145,000 square foot data farm in Prineville, Oregon, a town that has had its share of economic heartache. High unemployment and the loss of five sawmills have burdened the town of about 10,000. Facebook’s expenditure of $175 million over the next three years will create much needed jobs and cash flow for residents.

So why Prineville? City Manager Steve Forrester says it’s a combination of “low cost land…and high voltage power lines nearby.” And of course, the weather. “The critical thing was our climate: low humidity and cool nights.”

Check out more details on the story, “Where Clouds Displace Forests: Oregon Town Is Latest in Northwest to Leverage Cheap Electric Power to Lure Data Farm,” in The Wall Street Journal.

Libraries are depositories of information, and librarians are the navigators. A degree in information science certifies these professionals in the study of the classification, storage, and retrieval of huge amounts of data. These days, that data comes by way of books and bytes.

If you haven’t visited your local library in a while, you might be surprised to see DVD’s displayed front and center of the building. In fact, DVD’s are one of the most frequently borrowed library resource. If the local video store is going out of business, the library is a fine alternative; the selection may be slimmer, but borrowing is free.

In this age of information explosion on the internet, some have questioned the necessity of libraries. In her new book, “This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,” Marilyn Johnson offers her view of the superhero librarian who “create(s) order out of the confusion of the past, even as she enables us to blast into the future.” The librarian is the new Google Master, helping all citizens make meaning of the information we read and experience. “In tough times, a librarian is a terrible thing to waste,” writes Johnson.

Libraries are depositories of information, and librarians are the navigators. A degree in information science certifies these professionals in the study of the classification, storage, and retrieval of huge amounts of data. These days, that data comes by way of books and bytes.

If you haven’t visited your local library in a while, you might be surprised to see DVD’s displayed front and center of the building. In fact, DVD’s are one of the most frequently borrowed library resource. If the local video store is going out of business, the library is a fine alternative; the selection may be slimmer, but borrowing is free.

In this age of information explosion on the internet, some have questioned the necessity of libraries. In her new book, “This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All,” Marilyn Johnson offers her view of the superhero librarian who “create(s) order out of the confusion of the past, even as she enables us to blast into the future.” The librarian is the new Google Master, helping all citizens make meaning of the information we read and experience. “In tough times, a librarian is a terrible thing to waste,” writes Johnson.

2010’s new technological trend in housing is the 3-D television set, which is likely to become the new hub of the home (WSJ’s Market Watch). Imagine a t.v. that not only brings entertainment but is the central command station for communications, social media, and the home’s security and energy systems.

We will soon have the ability to talk with friends and family around the globe. (Skype-enabled TVs should come out this spring.) And the zero net energy house already exists; it’s only a matter of time that its price tag diminishes. Technology will continue to expand its control on energy consumption, making homeowners “greener” in the process.

The demand for technology is moving at an exponential rate. T.V. reached 50 million homes in a 38 year period; radio reached 50 million listeners in 13 years; and the internet hit 50 million servers in 4 years. Can TV better connect us with the people we care about and reduce our carbon footprint on the environment? The sheer possibility is fascinating.

In the blog section of Harvard Business Review is Scott Anthony’s post, “How to Kill Innovation: Keep Asking Questions.” Anthony proposes that two seemingly beneficial words become one double-edged sword.

“What about…?” Anyone seeking to grow a business or career ought to ask this question many times over. However, the pursuit of answers can be endless and exhausting, leading to inaction. So how much questioning is appropriate? Anthony suggests that we keep in mind that the future is not perfectly created in the present. We need to ask important questions but also be able and willing to make quick decisions in favor of cost-efficient methods.

“The future can’t be analytically derived. Of course it’s almost always valuable to think comprehensively about a new idea. But maintain a healthy balance between analysis and action. If you get stuck in ‘What about…’ loops, you’ll never get the results you seek.”

Ideas are organic, and though innovation may not be the final result every time, it’s what we pursue.

Next week, a new federal credit-card law goes into effect that could significantly decrease the amount of fees and interest paid by card holders. WSJ’s article, “Credit-Card Fees: the New Traps,” highlights how the law may affect consumers.

The biggest change is transparency. Credit card companies must publish the hard truth — how long it will take to pay off the full balance with minimum monthly payments. Additionally, the cardholder can only exceed the credit maximum by first acknowledging a penalty fee, and he or she need only pay interest rate increases on new purchases (provided that the account is no more than 60 days late).

But buyer beware — with the new law may come new tricks. Credit card companies may lose up to 12 billion in annual revenue, and they are quickly maneuvering to recover some of this loss by hiking interest rates and adding or increasing other fees (e.g. overseas transactions, annual card fees), which they can legally do as long as they give consumers a 45 day notice. The smartest move by the cardholder will be to stay proactive by learning the rules of the game and avoiding the penalties.

Forrester Research predicts that businesses will spend about $11 billion this year on Customer Relationship Management strategies, or tactics used to gain customers and retain them by nurturing an ongoing relationship. Businesses, small and large, are always asking the question — how do we stay on the minds of our customers? Big corporations may advertise on network TV, flashing images of product in front of consumers’ eyes. But if your marketing and advertising budget is tight, there’s no need to moan.

Consider a tactic like the Lowe’s Program for Realtors that offers personal marketing tools for real estate agents. According to a recent RISMedia article, South Carolina-based realtor Maria Tascon relies on the program as one way to take care of her clients.

“Between the coupons, information and gift card discounts, the Lowe’s Program for REALTORS® really helps you differentiate yourself…After closing, a lot of [agents] disappear from people’s lives. Offering something like a gift card or discount coupon is so useful. When you move into a new house, whether you need to buy appliances or just some paint, especially now, every little bit of savings helps.”

Want a new way to add value to your services? Help clients save money, not just once, but on a recurring basis.

Historically, famous architects design buildings for the wealthy. Shigeru Ban is one exception to this tradition. He maintains a hand in each of the projects of his company, Shigeru Ban Architects, whose three offices (Tokyo, New York, and Paris) focus on a few projects rather than mega-structures. And his overarching desire is to bring architecture to all classes.

Mr. Ban is known for using recyclable materials such as paper tubes — waterproof and fire-resistant — to provide temporary shelter for victims of Kobe’s earthquake in 1995. He has also built schools in Sichuan, China, and a music hall in L’Aquila, Italy, after these regions experienced devastating quakes.

When interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about his hope for the profession to become more socially responsible, Ban shared that architects are an important piece to the success of recovery efforts in disaster areas. “We are responsible for disasters. After an earthquake, when a building collapses…it is not because of the earthquake itself but because of the structure of the building. That is the responsibility of the architect.”

For more on Ban, tune into the WSJ interview.

Clichés are plentiful, but how can we use them effectively in our communication? Seth Godin helps writers and speakers become more adept. Here is his post, “How to use clichés.”

Football star Joe Montana once said, “Confidence is a very fragile thing.” The Toyota Corporation is knee-deep in crisis. After over 75 years since its founding, Toyota struggles to maintain the “Toyota Way 2001,” the management credo that stakes company values on two principles — Respect for People and Continuous Improvement.

Six million drivers in the U.S. alone have had their automobiles recalled for safety issues. Mr. Toyoda, President of Toyota, made steps to repair the broken relationship between the corporation and its customers by starting with an apology.

“At his news conference…Mr. Toyoda lamented that an overzealous pursuit of growth had led Toyota to lose sight of its commitment to quality. ‘We so aggressively pursued numbers that we were unable to keep up with training staff to oversee quality. We were also somewhat slow in collecting, analyzing and acting on complaints we received from our drivers.’” (New York Times, “Toyota Takes New Steps to Restore Confidence,” February 17, 2010)

The difficulties of the world’s biggest automaker reminds us that profit is always one goal of business but never the single driver.

Last week, Google launched Google Buzz, a social networking service to compete with Twitter and Facebook. The service is based on the 176 million users of Gmail. If you have a gmail account, Buzz will automatically create a “built-in circle of friends” for your networking and chatting conversations.

Amid the excitement of the launch, the talk around Google Buzz is not all positive. Critics say that Buzz invades privacy by assuming the right to create a potential friend list without asking for the user’s permission. Todd Jackson, product manager for Gmail and Google Buzz, responded that the company will make necessary changes in the weeks ahead.

In a business world where products are often introduced and then improved using real-time customer feedback, some wonder if Google launched their social networking rocket too soon.

“It was a terrible mistake,” said Danny Sullivan, a specialist on Google and editor of SearchEngineLand, an industry blog. “I don’t think people expected that Google would show the world who you are connected with. And if there was a way to opt out, it was really easy to miss.” Time will tell if Google can alter course before the market runs out of patience.