Pearltrees’ CEO Patrice Lamothe and CMO Francois Rocaboy on the Web 2.0 Launch Pad stage in San Francisco this week, selected as only one of five companies to present to a panel of three judges.

The social life of the search engine: does it get any hotter than that? At The Marker Com.vention in Israel, client Answers.com CEO and founder Bob Rosenschein spoke on a panel titled, Search Engines: Steady State or a Gathering Storm?

From the Answers.com blog, Bob spoke up on the necessary mix of search engine support, as well as participation on social platforms. “The future is one where Google is certainly still strong, but social media, including Facebook, are just as important.”

Other panelists included Yoelle Maarek, Senior Research Director at Yahoo! Israel; Arkady Volozh, Co-founder and CEO at Yandex; and Barak Berkowitz, Managing Director at Wolfram|Alpha.

Here’s the direct link to the video segments on the Answers.com blog, which includes links to the video segments from the panel.

Part I here. Part II embedded below. Part III here.

Author David Shenk talked to us at the TEDxSF event this past week on Gene Expression.

In scientific terms, gene expression is defined as “the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product.” Shenk talks about what ‘gene expression’ means in the context of our lives and why earlier understandings and belief systems around gene expression must change and has changed.

He references Bell Curve thinking which suggested that genes were simply something we were born with and whether we were successful or not, depended on our ‘gene pool.’ (see Bell Curve debate).

Success of course, is not just about genetics and those of us who have overcome genetic obstacles know that success IS in fact, the result of so many other things, including the lifestyle we choose, our environment, and the process we tap into. The current thinking is that a trait ’emerges from the interaction between the gene and the environment,’ a quote he attributed to professor and researcher Michael Meaney.

Shenk is the author of six books, including Data Smog, The Immortal Game, The Forgetting and The Genius in All of Us, which just came out in March 2010.

Watch Part II of his exploration of genes and success.

I heard Dr. Paul Watson talk this past week at the California Academy of Sciences. For over thirty years, he has been at the helm of the world’s most active marine protection Sea Shepherd Conservation Society His real passion? Saving whales.

Originally from Canada, he says with force, “I’m not here to watch whales getting killed, I’m here to save him. I’m here to bankrupt and sink the Japanese whaling fleet.” He reinforces how serious the state of our oceans are in and reminds us that if our oceans die, we die.

Paul worries that we’re going to destroy the diversity in our oceans and one of these days, we’re going to pull one too many and we won’t survive it.

Listen to a man with conviction and heart below. Part II of the video I shot can be found here.

Part II of his story.

Author and Educator Julie Wurm tells us a story at TEDxSF this past week about how getting ‘beaten’ at 23 and landing in a coma for five months as a result of it, has changed her life. Her work focuses on cultivating critical thinking and inquiry skills in students and reawakening the original joy that lives in discovery.

Core takeaways in my words, not hers: relish every moment, believe that you can make a difference, have the resilience and courage to say no, move forward and move on. Part I of her story embedded below. Part II can be found here.

Part II…

Bhi Bhiman is a folk singer who writes lyrics about struggle and injustice. Originally Sri Lankan, he now lives in San Francisco. His parents are Sri Lankan Tamils who overcame incredible odds to emigrate to the U.S. in the 1960s.

The very last session at TEDxSF (San Francisco) was with poet Michael Warr, who read a poem in front of 400 or so attendees. His first book of poems We Are All the Black Boy (great title), was honored by the Illinois Library Association. He is also a co-editor of Power Lines: A Decade of Poetry from Chicago’s Guild Complex. Listen in.

LOOP!STATION is a musical duo: Sam Bass on cello and Robin Coomer on vocals. Together, they produce a dreamy, mystical, captivating and enchanting blend of sounds that brings you on a musical journey worth tuning into. I didn’t shoot the entire song but below, you’ll get a wonderful 3 minute experience of their style.

President of CBR Global Advisors Celina Realuyo who is also an assistant professor on counter terrorism, talks to the TEDXSF audience at the California Academy of Sciences yesterday afternoon. She encourages people to set up plan of attacks for potential risk scenarios in our lives, whether it's in management or in our personal lives.

Her orientation comes from serving as a former U.S. diplomat, a foreign policy maker under the Bush and Clinton Administration, and a professor of counterterrorism and national security.

I had a chat with Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010, last week in New York. Below is a video clip of her talking about how she uses social media, as well as some of her personal and professional goals.