Top Twitter Posts: Growing Up, Nifty Inventions and Heroes of American Manufacturing

Wait, how is it Friday again? Didn't we just write one of these? We enjoyed a week packed with planning, strategizing and prepping for our next events (read: Pack Expo, PTDA and AHTD coming up). In the meantime, we've kept our finger on the pulse of manufacturing and technology news via our Twitter feed. Here's some of what we found. Contribute your own thoughts during the coming week by following and interacting with us at @BWCnews!

Credit: Fast Company

1. "What Do I Want to Do When I Grow Up?" Is Wrong Question to Ask via Fast Company: We're all trying to figure out our personal goals — it's a quest that starts in kindergarten when our teachers ask us what we'd like to be when we "grow up." But that's the wrong way to look at life and careers, this author says. Instead, glean from the journey instead of staying all wrapped up in the destination. Jump on opportunities, collect new experiences and, basically, figure it out as you go. What say you? Ready to take a chance and try something new?

2. A Stairclimbing Handtruck on Design Magazine & Resource: Sometimes incredibly useful inventions involve simplifying an existing design. Here's a product spotlight about a three-wheeled extension to a dolly (or handtruck) that allows the user to push it up a flight of stairs. Since we're in the business of wheels and guided motion innovation, we can appreciate simple inventions like this. Moving companies everywhere, rejoice!

Credit: NIST

3. Heroes of American Manufacturing a video series by the National Institute of Standards and Technology: NIST has its own YouTube channel, one filled with informative videos about science, technology and advances in American manufacturing. Trust us, click that link and you'll get lost in an hour of informative clips about a whole range of fields, including information technology, manufacturing, fire research and electronics and telecommunications.

4. The Hardest Step in the Startup-to-Manufacturing Cycle on Design World: As the nation tries to figure out how to revive an ailing manufacturing sector, the discussion often veers toward startups, says Design World. There's a lot of attention focused on research, but not enough on actual production, the article says. Watch the video accompanying this story, too. What are your thoughts on the whole turning-ideas-into-reality thing?

5. History of BWC on bwc.com: As we celebrate 62 years in the engineering and manufacturing business, we look back and how we got to where we are today. We compiled a timeline of the early days of Bishop-Wisecarver (from before we even had that name!) to the present, the patents, the ideas and the teamwork that led to our present success as a global provider of motion technologies. Happy birthday, BWC!