Today marks the launch date of the Ballston Innovative Initiative (BI2), another notch in the beltway highlighting the technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in the Washington, DC region. The press release outlines the program as it is shaping up, a series of events taking place around the region between April and June, 2013.
BI2 was the brainchild of Jonathan Aberman, founder and Managing Director of Amplifier Ventures, creator of the esteemed FounderCorps, guitarist for Two Car Living Room, professor, entrepreneurship professor at Smith Business School, University of Maryland, and co-host of Left Jab Radio.
As if he didn't have enough going on, he drummed up the idea to launch a three-month initiative designed to bring together entrepreneurs, academia and government, to demonstrate that the Greater Washington region can accelerate its growth as an entrepreneurial center by taking advantage of opportunities to work with the funding source and buyer of the most cutting edge of technologies.
You won't want to miss the Launch Party, to be held April 18th, featuring keynote speaker Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, and delivering a panel of respected CEOs that have launched successful ventures that focused on building products critical to our national security agencies.
We sat down with Jonathan to learn more about what insprired this initiative, what he hopes to accomplish, and what we can expect to see.
Jonathan Aberman, founder and Managing Director, Amplifier Ventures
SPEAKERBOX: So, Jonathan, there is such a focus on what's happening in government right now, with Sequestration, with our elected officials, why this, and why now?
JONATHAN: Well, despite the hubbub in Washington today, one thing remains...we still need to support creating the technology that this country needs to protect and serve. And many companies are doing just that, but face challenges in bringing products to market. Moreover, technology procurement is very centralized on a small number of companies and sources. There are literally millions of entrepreneurs and technologists that are invisible to our national security agencies. And, vice versa. Efforts to date to bridge these gaps have just brushed the surface of what could be done. It’s a big job and one that could really help our region and the nation at a time of budgetary reallocations. Folks know that the world of national security is changing, but they don’t quite know into what. We thought that by raising awareness and bringing folks in the community together we could advance figuring this out. I think this can bring some positive energy to the government technology landscape, particularly at a time of economic uncertainty.
SPEAKERBOX: Tell us more about this 3-month initiative, and what prompted the idea.
JONATHAN: This stems from the idea that the biggest funders and purchasers of advanced technology are in our back yard...in Ballston and the Greater Washington region. The relationship between new technology and government spending, particularly in national security, is really striking. For instance, if you look at the industrial history of the US, quite literally every major technology industry that we have benefitted from since World War II was fostered in a significant way by national security research and development or purchasing. The smart phone you use today is a great example – the chips inside it, the GPS system, the voice enablement of Siri and the internet it relies on – came out of national security funded basic research and development.
There are over 70,000 emerging companies financed a year that focus on new technologies (and this is just VC and Angel financed companies -- there are many others that are self funded), and very few of these companies and entrepreneurs are engaged with the national security agencies. The entrepreneurs behind them, and the broader community of technologists both in and out of universities, are often working on technologies and approaches that would be perfectly suited to address technology requirements for the Department of Defense, DARPA, or other intelligence agencies. But both sides need help; startups don't often know how to navigate the purchasing landscape and the world of FARs and contract vehicles, and the agency program managers don't always have visibility to what are called by many “nontraditional performers.” We want to bring these two worlds together, and surround them with a support structure and ecosystem in business and academia, that can help further this for a greater good.
SPEAKERBOX: What types of events will there be?
JONATHAN: Well, so far we have the launch event organized. That will be a lot of fun, and should be a great opportunity to hear some well-known entrepreneurs share their experiences and meet fellow community members. I’m happy that Carly Fiorina was willing to come along and join us in particular, as she is a tireless advocate of free enterprise and entrepreneurship. When I told her about the intiative a few weeks ago she was immediately engaged with it. Peggy Styer of Blackbird Technologies and Steven Chen of Power Fingerprinting are great examples of the kind of national security entrepreneurship that we want to promote.
Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard
We have another of other impressive people lined up and will be adding to our announced speakers next week. The other events that are planned and will be rolled out over the next week or two, including a bootcamp to teach entrepreneurs how to start a government contractor, or otherwise work with the government, a suite of high quality classes around entrepreneurship, company creation and expansion (taught by FounderCorps) and a company showcase event that will bring together promising technology startups with investors and program managers. There are also some things in the hopper that are more targeted to bringing nontraditional performers into contact with national security program managers, because we hope to do some things there too.
SPEAKERBOX: Are these events open to the general public?
JONATHAN: Absolutely. We'd like to see as many supporters as possible for this initiative, and to see it grow and expand. We're thrilled to see so many folks come in from academia, the business community, the government, and local government agencies such as Arlington County.
I'd also like to give a hat tip to my friend Bill Flook, who ran an article on this initiative this morning (note, subscription required) in the Washington Business Journal. It goes into more detail on what we're looking to do.
SPEAKERBOX: Thanks, Jonathan, this sounds like a terrific program, and we'll be excited to follow along! How can we find out more?
JONATHAN: We have a website which will be continually updated to reflect new speakers, programs, etc.: www.ballstoni2.com. You can also register there online. And follow BI2 on twitter @ballstoni2. Check back from time to time for updates, hope to see you all at the launch event!
--Elizbeth Shea, @eliz2shea
Bright and early this morning, I headed down town to the Hispanic Public Relations Association DC (HPRA-DC) Chapter’s “Meet the Hispanic Media” event. The event consisted of a meet and greet and panel discussion with reporters from top-tier, Hispanic publications that focused on the changing nature of technology and social media, print and broadcast media and how bilingual and bicultural issues affect their reporting. Along with moderator Yazmine Esparza, Secretary of HPRA-DC and Account Supervisor for Ogilvy PR, panelists included:
Photo courtesy of @Parks_PR
- Roque Planas, Editor, Latino Voices, A Huffington Post “verticle” publication
- Antonieta Cadiz, Washington Correspondent for La Opinion
- Ione Molinares, CNN en Español
The conversation was driven mostly by the new and changing Hispanic/American demographic, kicking off with the statistic that 45% of U.S. Hispanics get their news from their mobile phones…I wasn’t able to confirm this statistic that was shared by Esparza, however I was able to find that 45% of US Hispanic mobile phone users have smartphones compared to 34% of general market. Either way, I think this stat can point to the fact that the US Hispanic market is connected and changing and these changes need to be addressed by the media.
Each of the panelists gave background about their publications, what they cover, how they prefer to be reached by PR folks and addressed the major issue of the generation gap and language trends happening in the US amongst Latinos and what that means for the future of Hispanic-targeted media. Here’s the recap, in case you weren’t able to attend:
Roque Planas is the editor for Latino Voices, a Huffington Post, web only publication that discusses issues that affect the daily lives of the Hispanic community – in English. Their publication takes on the characteristics of a blog, focusing equally on aggregating and curating conversations and reporting. He noted that the web-centric site covers everything from Latino politics that aren’t covered enough to celebrity and entertainment news. Pointing out immigration coverage, Planas openly notes that the writers do not take a neutral view, as you can imagine would be difficult in this specific example. Since their stories are “happening now,” Planas’ deadline is constant and for pitching, PR folks should understand how their story fits and should be timely. They should also think about language and how the publication caters to Latinos in English. That said, when it comes to social, Planas is communicating in Spanish and English at all times, treating each language as separate market.
Antonieta Cadiz is the Washington Correspondent for La Opinion, an online and print publication written in Spanish. Antonieta covers the Supreme Court, politics and any issues important to Hispanics happening in DC. When pitching, she notes that PR pros must answer one question when reaching out for her for consideration: How does this topic affect Latinos? She has daily deadlines of 6PM EST and 7:30 PT. A former public relations professional herself, Cadiz encourages creative/interesting subject lines that will catch her attention when pitching via email and asks that folks not be afraid to jump on the phone and give her a call. In her reporting, Cadiz tries to stay neutral and sensitive to both sides of an issue and has worked closely with both Democrats and Republicans for stories. She uses Twitter as a professional tool, only and does not like to receive pitches via social media. When it comes to writing in Spanish or English, she says its best to know your market. Being a print publication in Spanish, she understands she is catering primarily to first generation Hispanics, as they tend to read the language more so than following generations. That said, she notes that Spanish print is here to stay, as it brings Hispanics back to their roots. She does, however, note that it is a changing industry.
Ione Molinares is the Washington correspondent and broadcast reporter for CNN en Español, where he focuses on US issues that relate to Latinos and people in Latin America, mostly politics. His goal is to drive valuable information, taking a neutral stance on issues and only likes to be contacted via email. His show is conducted completely in Spanish, which is also the language he prefers to Tweet in. He does not want to receive pitches via social media and asked for people to watch their hashtags to make sure they are relevant! Ione notes that there is definitely a generational gap in the Hispanic community, with a tendency for younger Hispanics to read and write in English and says it is still to be seen whether Latinos will simply migrate to all English or if they will seek out alternatives in Spanish.
For more information about the Hispanic Public Relations Association DC (HPRA-DC) Chapter, visit http://www.hpra-usa.org/dc/ or follow them on Twitter @HPRAusa.
As companies everywhere dive headfirst into their 2013 marketing plans, I’m sure a social program is included on everyone’s agenda. How do you get your message out effectively, via which social platforms and how do you get your audience engaged in conversation? What should you be tracking and what tools should you be using to make it a success? Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran, social platforms are developing so quickly it can be hard to keep up. Check out the events and conferences coming up in 2013 that could help with your social media endeavors, and feel free to comment with others that we may have missed. After all, it’s about being social, right?
Social Media Marketing World – April 7-9, San Diego, CA
Social Media Marketing World 2013 will combine high-quality 
sessions with an amazing social experience. You’ll rub shoulders with the biggest names and brands in social media, soak up countless tips and new strategies, and enjoy extensive networking opportunities in San Diego, California. Connect face-to-face with top social media marketing experts while breaking bread with like-minded peers from around the globe.
Event Twitter Handle: @smexaminer
Event Hashtag: #SMMW13
BlogWell – April 17, New York, NY
BlogWell features 8 great case studies on the best social media programs at large corporations. This year’s case study presentations will be given by:
- Verizon: Learn how Verizon uses social media to connect with their customers.
- Walgreens: Learn how Walgreens builds internal collaboration and employee relationships through social media.
- ComEd: Learn how ComEd used social media to turn one of the hottest summers ever into the “Coolest Summer Ever” in 2012.
- TD Bank: Learn how TD Bank is becoming a social business by engaging employees and connecting customers with experts.
- Wendy’s: Learn how Wendy’s uses social media listening to make business decisions.
- Corning: Learn how Corning is getting the attention of their fans using social media.
- Sanofi: Learn how the U.S. affiliate of this global pharmaceutical company engages diabetes patients through social media.
- Walmart: Learn how Walmart uses data to build better social media strategies.
Event Hashtag: #blogwell
The Social Media Strategies Summit – April 23-24, Chicago, IL
Social Media Strategies Summit has been designed to apply to a variety of industries. In an effort to meet attendees’ learning objectives, it is built in six tracks, each outlined to focus on a particular industry. Each track includes sessions focused on the following categories: corporate case studies; community engagement and customer service; measurements, including analytics, ROI and tools; sales approach; legal risks & strategies; and marketing strategies & tactics.
Event Twitter Handle: @GSMIonline
Event Hashtag: #smssummit
iStrategy Global Digital and Social Media Conference – April 23-24, Miami, FL
Join North America's most forward-thinking digital marketers, social media mavens and online experts as they converge on Miami in April 2013 to discuss the future of digital marketing and share strategies for improving customer engagement, driving conversions and developing campaigns that positively ring with authenticity, relevancy and significance. Speakers, panelists and workshops will be lead on the following topics:
- Social media
- Mobile marketing and applications
- Display advertising
- Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC)
- Email marketing, database marketing and customer relationship management (CRM)
- Web analytics
- E-commerce
- Content strategy including video, viral and blogs
Event Twitter Handle: @iStratBuzz
Event Hashtag: #iStrategy
The Social Media Strategies Summit June 12-13, New York, New York
Social Media Strategies Summit has been designed to apply to a variety of industries. In an effort to meet attendees’ learning objectives, it is built in six tracks, each outlined to focus on a particular industry. Each track includes sessions focused on the following categories: corporate case studies; community engagement and customer service; measurements, including analytics, ROI and tools; sales approach; legal risks & strategies; and marketing strategies & tactics.
Event Twitter Handle: @GMSIonline
Event Hashtag: #smssummit
Pivot Conference – October 15-16, New York, New York
Pivot is not a social media conference, or even a traditional conference at all. Pivot is as close to a true social community of powerful leaders as a physical gathering can be. In our incisive on-stage conversations, the speakers contribute to the audience, the audience contributes to the speakers and everyone contributes to one another. All Pivot’s participants are leaders of social initiatives from major brands and the organizations that serve them. The result is a singularity that defines the heart of social for the year ahead.
Event Twitter Handle: @pivotcon
Event Hashtag: #pivotcon
When I was in college, I spent one of my summers selling books door-to-door with The Southwestern Company, and set out to make enough money to support my next year in college. I moved to a city outside of Boston with 20 some other crazy kids, learned a script by heart to spout out to the families I met, read Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World and rode a borrowed bicycle from door-to-door. I was in sales, the best kind there is, where I received a full 40% commission from every book I sold! I ended up miserable, but I made it through. After that summer, I swore to never be in sales again.
So I was intrigued to have the opportunity this week to listen to Dan Pink, bestselling author of five books, including Drive and A Whole New Mind, at the Entrepreneur Organizations' monthly learning program. He has released a new book on the ironic topic of how at its heart, everyone is in sales, and I know that even though I don't have "sales" in my title, I sell every single day, to almost everyone I meet.
Pink has seen positive reviews on all of his books from the likes of Forbes, the LA Times, the Huffington Post, NPR, and numerous other notable outlets. He even sat with Oprah and contributed an article for the Harvard Business Review.
He is currently promoting his new book, To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, and we are fortunate enough to have him in our back yard (he's a local)! The room was packed. I wasn't sure what the expect from his talk, but the gist of the speech was about how in today's world, everyone is selling, each and every day, and understanding what makes people good at it can be very empowering. In fact, if part of your job is to separate someone from "time, resources or money," you are selling!
To share some of the big takeaways I had:
- He began with asking what words or assocations did the audience have with the term "salesperson..." and not surprisingly, most were not positive terms! Sleazy, pushy were at the top of the list, and yet 1 in 9 people in this country hold a position where they are responsible for sales. Chances are, they aren't all bad!
- We live in a world where it's no longer a "buyer beware" mentality, where the seller holds all the cards because he or she is the keeper of information. Now, it's "seller beware" with the buyer often times being armed with more information than ever. So pushy salespeople often times don't get very far...
- The most fascinating part of his talk was the research he provides in his book, about the social science of humans and how some facts are counterintuitive to what we believe about the art of selling. For example, how being introverted isn't a recipe for disaster in sales, but rather a blend of introversion and extroversion is very powerful...folks who scored in the middle were proven again and again to be the most successful selling. And two, how it has been studied that in multiple cases, when a company eliminates commission, revenues go up. Huh! No wonder my 40% commission really wasn't a motivator in the end...
- There were some interesting and useful tips he gave on how to get people's attention when sending an email or other communication, such as using rhymes in a clever way, or alliteration. There have been tests done on the higher memory recall of statements or subject lines in emails that will pull better, just because they rhyme!
- Where we used to live by the sales mantra of "Always Be Closing" (the ABC's of selling!) we now should live by "Attunement, Buoyancy and Clarity." Attunement: being able to empathize, listen, and understand where a person is coming from. Buoyancy: the art of positive self-talk; and Clarity: being able to see a realistic portrait of the situation.
So while I can still recite much of the script I learned in college, and still remember the "bookman song" we sang every morning to get us motivated, I'm glad those days are gone.
--Elizabeth Shea, @eliz2shea
Since signing up for INBOUND 2013, I’ve been thinking about what else is out there in terms of inbound marketing conferences. After doing some digging, I found there were a handful of upcoming events all over the globe that could help with your inbound marketing initiatives, no matter where you’re located. Looking for the latest in tips, tools and discussion to launch your inbound marketing program? Take a look at some upcoming events that can help:
Confab London – March 25-27 – London, England
This conference strives to hit the perfect balance between well-known content experts and emerging new voices. Whether you’re looking for conceptual discussions about the future of content, or practical, day-to-day applications within your own work, Confab will have something for you.
Inbound Marketing Summit – April 3-4 – New York, New York
Inbound Marketing Summit (IMS) is the one event that brings together enterprise CMOs, business leaders, agency execs and their teams, awesome keynotes, expert panels, plus solutions providers and their tools, all in a dynamic, community-based setting. Learn about the latest in social strategy and branding, content marketing, online video, Social CRM, mobile payments and more. Also, the event provides exclusive demos, showcases and a multimedia experience from The Pulse to help you explore how to turn your plans into action. For a limited time pay-what-you-want (as little as $25) to attend! * Dates to be announced in San Francisco and Boston!
B2B Content2Conversion – April 22-23 – Times Center, New York
Now entering its second year, Content2Conversion has already established itself as the premier educational and networking event for B2B marketing professionals. With unique needs to use content to fuel their demand generation initiatives and maximize the value of their marketing automation investments, B2B marketers are looking for real-world insights into how their offers can drive engagement and provide measureable results. Content2Conversion caters exclusively to this audience, speaking the language of lead nurturing, buyer stages, personas and campaign best practices.
Confab Minneapolis – June 3-5 – Minneapolis, Minnesota
This Confab program spans three days: an optional full day of workshops on June 3, followed by the conference on June 4-5. As always, this conference strives to hit the balance between well-known content experts and emerging new voices. Whether you’re looking for conceptual discussions about the future of content, or practical, day-to-day applications within your own work, Confab will have something for you.
INBOUND 2013 – August 19-22 – Boston, Massachusetts
INBOUND is a 3-day marketing conference and training event designed to help marketing professionals, business owners and agency executives deepen their knowledge of inbound marketing through a combination of inspiring keynote presentations, focused breakout sessions, expert-led small group workshops, innovative product demos, and exciting networking activities.
** SpeakerBox will be here! If you will be too, we’d love to meet up…just shoot us a line @SpeakerBox, on our Facebook page or send an email to arobinson@speakerboxpr.com or eshea@speakerboxpr.com.
Content Marketing World – September 9-12 – Cleveland, Ohio
Content Marketing World is the largest gathering of content marketing professionals in the world. In 2012, over 1,000 marketing and PR professionals from 23 different countries attended. At this event you can learn and network with the best and the brightest in the content marketing industry. You will leave with all the materials you need to take a content strategy back to your team – and – to implement a content marketing plan that will grow your business and engage your audience.
** If you're interested in inbound marketing, you should also check out our On-Demand Webinar: Inbound Marketing - Getting Found with Creative Content **
On February 3rd, people all over the United States will tune in to CBS to watch the most exciting event of the year…Super Bowl XLVII of Advertising. Yeah, I’m sure two cities (tops) and those who placed high-stakes bets may actually be tuning in for the football game, as well, but most viewers will be tuned in to see which companies spent an insane $4 million for 30 seconds of exposure. Yes, I said $4 million – the highest price tag for Super Bowl ads ever, up $500,000 from last year’s event according to a recent Huffington Post article.
Back on January 8th,
Broadcasting and Cable also reportedthat the ads for this year’s game have officially sold out, although not as quickly as in the past two years. Maybe the price tag hike had some companies double thinking the purchase. The article also quoted CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves saying, "Yes, we are sold out. But obviously, if some of those movie companies want to come in at the last minute and pay us five or six million dollars, we will find a place for you." (Obviously!)
But how do the Super Bowl ads of the past compare to one another? The folks at USA Today are counting down the top 25 ads in honor of the 25th anniversary of their Ad Meter. They’ll be revealing one per day in the month of January until they announce the number 1 ad on January 28th. Be sure to check them out as they are announced here. Here's number 21 on their list and one of my personal faves:
Want to see who is already signed up for the big day of advertising (and, maybe football) on February 3rd? Business Insider has been reporting on confirmed participants, which include:
- Anheuser-Busch
- Audi/Volkswagon
- Axe
- Best Buy
- Cars.com
- Century 21
- Chrysler
- Coca-Cola
- Doritos/PepsiCo
- Ford (Lincoln)
- Fiat (Chrysler)
- Gildan’s Activewear (WHO?)
- Go Daddy
- Hyundai/Kia
- M&Ms
- Mercedes-Benz
- Oreo
- Samsung
- Sketchers
- SodaStream International
- Taco Bell
- The Walking Dead
- Wonderful Pistachios
Last week, mobile developers joined forces at the Gannett Conference Center in McLean, VA for the conference portion of MoDevEast – a mobile conference for developers, manager
s, designers and marketers to gather and talk about everything mobile. The event consisted of pre-conference workshops on Thursday, Nov 29th, a full conference agenda on Friday, Nov 30th, and a hackathon on Dec 1st.
I was lucky enough to be in attendance for a great day of speakers on Friday, but before things kicked off, MoDev and Disruptathon Founder Pete Erickson, along with the backing of the mobile community, announced support for Movember – an initiative to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues. A lot of the gentlemen in the audience were sporting mustaches to add an extra punch to raise funds for their cause, although many expressed how excited they were that in less than 24 hours November would be over and they could get rid of it! Either way, it was a nice way to kick off the holiday season and the event with the message to give back!
Matt de Ganon, VP of Mobile Products and Operations for Gannett, gave the morning keynote, focusing on how mobile has matured over the past year. He specifically pointed out Hurricane Sandy and the devastation it caused to the NY and NJ areas as proof of how valuable the mobile device has become, pointing to photos of folks who were affected by the aftermath hunting down places to charge their devices and even making homemade chargers powered by bicycles.
Along with this revelation of mobile vitality, he also noted that a huge challenge with the mobile industry has been finding a way to put the pieces together for both users and advertisers, stating that mobile has a beauty and complexity that he doesn’t think we’ve seen before in the technology arena. It’s an opportunity to address a user in multiple ways based on how they’re their own devices and what those users want to achieve. The new question in mobile shouldn’t be how to keep up with tech, but how to mature mobile products so we’re innovating rather than reacting, de Ganon prompted. He said that the mobile-first attitude has not penetrated many companies (Gannett excluded) and that more companies need to make this a priority so they aren’t left behind. How will we mature mobile products so we’re innovating? “Our job is to be smarter than we have been about how we publish and design apps and how we present mobile utility to a customer,” said de Ganon. “We need to understand the vision, what the user needs and wants and develop a strategy that executes on that.”
The day continued with four breakout rooms that included talks ranging from super technical to the basics. But, I stuck around the main stage to avoid getting lost in some of the more technical talks. One panel included developers from App47, BusyConf, Bear Eco, Gannett and Adobe, all of whom favored different development platforms: HTML5, iOs, Windows and Android. Despite their differences, they all agreed the most important advice they can give for app creation is to make sure you know what you want your app to do and why before you even get started.
“Chief Doer” for Savvy Apps, Ken Yarmosh, spoke to the crowd about the impending death of the home screen, saying it will soon be replaced by notifications, widgets and voice and that apps no longer need to be opened to be useful. He called this Home screen 2.0, and predicted it will include:
- Voice – Features like Siri Eyes Free (announced as part as iOS 6) will allow our devices to interact with voice while driving your car. You won’t have to touch the device to access contacts, email, etc.
- Sensors – Web cams will detect hand movements that allow you to access specific apps, while box screen widgets will allow you to access apps with a certain gesture
- Background – the home screen will be everywhere. We will no longer need to unlock our devices to get to a utility or open an app.
- Notifications - Soon things like Google Now will, with permission, crawl your email and send live notifications and info that it thinks you might be interested in (weather, movies, shopping, etc.).
- App interactions – Your primary device will soon become a second screen. For example, you will use the Netflix app on your phone to control your TV.
- Location-based ads – More apps such as Waze will be available, giving you advertisements and deals based on your exact location, i.e. sending an ad to your home screen for the Whole Foods you just drove past.
The next talk was another panel, with speakers from
3Pillar Global, Gannett,
MicroPact,
Carfax and
WeddingWire, which focused on product modernization- shifting your product base to meet the needs of mobile customers. Panelists addressed how having a mobile offering can change your value proposition as a business and how often there is no one at a company that has the responsibility, authority and accountability for mobile – but there should be. Also, did you know there are 4.8 billion mobile devices and only 4.2 billion toothbrushes?
Amit Jotwani, Developer Evangelist with Mashery, presented a talk about APIs, outlining the ways you can make your platform a developer magnet. He noted APIs should be treated like a product, and gave some tips, including:
- Be prepared
- Inspire
- Know your developers
- Provide stellar documentation
- Solve the pain
Of course there were many other great sessions along with the ones outlined above, but unfortunately, I couldn’t be everywhere at once. If you’d like more details about who spoke and what the sessions discussed, you can always check out www.modeveast.com. The event’s closing keynote was given by John Schlegal, Founder and CEO of Optime Software, where he divulged his secrets to success, including that experimentation is the key to building a business and that ideas do not need to be original or defensible, only scalable. All in all, if you are a developer, designer, marketer or mobile enthusiast, this was a great event to attend.
Here are a few of the day’s presentations that are available online:
- "DevOps Best Practices for Cross-Platform Mobile Apps", Sanjeev Sharma, Executive IT Specialist at IBM
- "Rapid and Responsive: UX to Prototype with Bootstrap", Josh Jeffryes, Lead of UI Development at The College Board
- “So, You Think You Know App Management”, Chris Schroeder, CEO and Co-Founder, App47
- "Confessions of a Serial Developer: A Phonegap Case Study", Paul Murphy, Founder and Developer at 3Advance.com, Darren Gibney, 3Advance and Jeff Sonderman, Digital Media Fellow at The Poynter Institute
- "Details of a Multi-Platform Notification Strategy", Mark D. Gerl, Director of Mobile Development at POLITICO and Scott Tury, System Architect at AOL
Want to hear about the MoDevEast Hackathon and who won the grand prize? Check out Amit Jotwani’s blog post recapping the action!. Also, MoDev will be hosting the CEA MoDev Hackathon Sponsored by Travel Channel this year at CES in Las Vegas, January 8-11, 2013. Be sure to check it out!
Yesterday, Potomac Tech Wire held their Social Media Outlook 2013 at the Gannett/USA TODAY Corporate Headquarters in McLean, VA. The event consisted of a keynote, panel and three speaker presentations all focused on bringing us expert viewpoints and analysis of where things stand with social media and where they’re expected to go in the upcoming year. You can check out the recap of the keynote, posted by my colleague Jennifer Edgerly here and get all the details from the panel below. Panelists hit on everything from Facebook to Tumblr and told us about the coolest social media campaigns they’ve seen this year. The panel was moderated by Potomac Tech Wire’s Paul Sherman and included the following industry thought-leaders:
- Leigh George – Director of Digital Strategy, R2integrated
- Rohit Bhargava (also the keynote
speaker!) – Founding member of the 360 Digital Influence Group at Ogilvy and author of the best selling book “Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspring Action”
- Jodi Gersh - Director/Social Media & Engagement at Gannett
- Shashi Bellamkonda – Social Swami (otherwise known as Sr. Director, Social Media) at Web.com and Adjunct Marketing Professor at Georgetown University
Q: What’s going on with Facebook? I’ve heard that Facebook is losing its “cool” for younger generations.
According to panelist Leigh George, Facebook is now a mass media that has reached every demographic. She stated that the only real area of growth for the major social media platform is with baby boomers, which may be why it seems like it is losing its “cool” amongst the younger generations. Bhargava agrees, saying that one drawback to Facebook is that once your parents are on it, it may not be cool anymore. That said, he doesn’t think people will be fleeing the platform. He also noted, Facebook is the only way he is connected with many people and to ditch his account would mean to lose those connections.
Q: How are you advising clients to use Facebook right now?
George also weighed in on this topic, stating that Facebook is not a sales platform, if you want to engage with people here, as a company, you have to reach them through what people are talking about. Ads on Facebook are viewed as intrusive – you need to talk about topics like community involvement or recruiting, and not try to buy your way in. She says you must add value to your audience.
Jodi Gersh noted that the newest challenge with Facebook comes from their ad- ranking algorithm, which places a higher value on engagement than likes. This gives companies the new goal of not simply attracting more likes to their page, but getting those who like their page to engage with their content. She admitted to currently having a love/hate relationship with the platform. Bellamkonda stated that Facebook is the easiest publishing platform and it isn’t going anywhere. He noted that people will share content that provides them with value and recommends people holding social giveaways on fan pages that give away the companies’ own products.
Q: Startups used to have Facebook at their core, but now they appear to have more of an “at arms length” relationship with the platform. Is Facebook losing its “cool” with startups?
There was a time when you had an ecommerce site that you had to display openly that it was VeriSign secure, or people would be nervous to purchase. But, over time, everyone had one so sites didn’t feel the need to put it in the limelight – it was just expected that sites had it, explained Rohit Bhargava. He goes on to say that this is similar to the relationship between Facebook and startups, which used to have the platform front and center. But now, everyone just knows they are there. Continuing with the similes, he also compared Facebook to plumbing, saying that you don’t miss it until it’s gone.
George agreed that his analogy between the plumbing and Facebook was spot on. Hitting back on the younger demographic, she notes that the 18-24 demographic is really involved with the more visual social networks like Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram, and Facebook is the plumbing for all of them (meaning they are all interconnected and you can log in to these various platforms via your Facebook account). Most of these platforms are mobile and she thinks they will eventually catch on with the older demographics.
Shashi Bellamkonda added that as companies and startups integrate into mobile, whoever makes plugging-in easiest will be the most successful, and right now, integrating with Facebook is the easiest way to do that. Bhargava agreed the Facebook platform was simple, but also noted that the interface is looking pretty old and almost compares to that of craigslist. He’s super excited about the new MySpace platform, though, noting its horizontal scrolling.
Speaking of interface makeovers, have you checked out the new USA TODAY web page? Gersh says the new web page is super visual and almost “Pinteresty” with a new cover view option. I’m not going to lie, it looks pretty sharp!
Q: What campaigns/strategies have wowed you this past year and why?
Panelist: Leigh George
Campaign: Coca-Cola
Reason: Leigh is fascinated by Coca-Cola’s embracement of becoming a social company. Last summer, they released their content strategy and people thought they were crazy for giving out their secret sauce. Leigh disagrees, stating that she thinks transparency is intelligent. Coca-Cola is also embracing social business, Leigh explains. They co-create content with their consumers via social by getting them to talk about their concept of “Opening Happiness.” Check out their “Happiness Is…” campaign on Tumblr.
Panelist: Rohit Bhargava
Campaigns: Toyota 100 Cars for Good and McDonalds “Ask Anything” Twitter Campaign
Reason: Rohit mentioned the cleverness of the Toyota 100 Cars campaign, which allowed social media users to select which charities received the free cars from Toyota. But he gave most of his praise to McDonalds, who challenged its customers to ask any question on Twitter and they would answer it. He noted this was the perfect way to engage people when they think you are “BSing” them. Check out some of the results.
Panelist: Jodi Gersh
Campaign: Oreo
Reason: Jodi gave kudos to Oreo’s recent Facebook campaign, in which they post photos regularly of Oreos that have been carved to look like different things. She says its brilliant because of Oreo’s complete understanding of Facebook as a platform. They are taking the cookie that everyone already loves and making something out of it to share. Check out AdAge’s coverage.
Panelist: Shashi Bellamkonda
Campaign: Network Solutions, Go Granny
Reason: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn25Lb8dick
Q: What is coming in 2013 for Twitter and Google+? What about “dark social?”
According to George, Google+ is a ghost town and will continue to be a place for the small, yet active older, male population. She says its great for SEO, but not broad engagement. But, Bellamkonda says it still plays a role, saying that everyone should have a Google+ button on every page of their website. He also noted the rise in predictive analytic-focused platforms like GoogleNow, which collects your data and gives you the info it thinks you want to see when you start your browser (i.e. local weather, favorite sports scores). The group didn’t have too much to say about Twitter, but Bhargava gave a final push to the new MySpace, calling it an exciting destination.
They wrapped-up the panel by talking about dark social, stating stats from an Atlantic article that showed half of the links we go to come from email, text, chat, etc. George said that we should look at dark social traffic and use it to help generate content. And, Bellamkonda recommended using a button tool such as AddThis to help track this data.
As the spouse of a veteran, I have always felt that the Veteran’s Day holiday is an important time to pay tribute to those who have served our country. Perhaps I’m a bit biased, since I understand the trials and tribulations associated with those who dedicate their time and effort to assuring our freedom and safety, but also the difficulties experienced by members of their families who are left behind to hold down the home front.
I also have a great appreciation for organizations that provide services to our troops, vets and their families, and that is why this year’s Veteran’s Day was so great. This year, I had the privilege of being part of the SpeakerBox team that helped launch Troop ID.
Many of you may be familiar with TroopSwap, the online e-commerce discount site for service members and veterans. Recently, Blake Hall and Matt Thompson (who happen to be retired Army Rangers) have launched a new technology for authenticating veteran and active duty military identities so that they can receive online discounts from vendors
that already provide those discounts in their brick-and-mortar facilities. Several large brands, including Under Armour (NYSE: UA), are launching merchant partnerships with Troop ID in conjunction with the announcement. Troop ID verification can be found on UA's desktop site first, then will expanding to mobile site in the coming weeks. Startup America has also endorsed Troop ID as a best practice for its regions as a means to gate identity for veteran-centric events.
I can attest that this is a much-appreciated technology, especially now that so much of modern commerce takes place online. And, now, soldiers can actually take advantage of these discounts while deployed overseas, as well. In the official release, Troop ID Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Blake Hall described the verification widget as the means to ultimately bridge the long-standing civilian/military divide: "Without a way to verify military credentials, brands are unable to deliver discounts to service members and veterans online. Troop ID solves that problem. On the surface, it looks like we are allowing brands to give service members discounts online, but what we are really doing is letting service members and veterans know that Americans care."
So if you’ll pardon a little bit of chest thumping, we were quite enthusiastic to share the success to date for the launch, which officially took place on Tuesday, November 13. Several local DC media along with national retail publications wrote about the news, which can be found here: Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, InTheCapital, Tech Cocktail. Tech Bisnow, Daily Deal, Internet Retailer, PotomacTech Wire and USMC Life.
And, if you know any active-duty military or veterans, be sure to let them know about this new offering so they can take advantage of it this holiday season!
A few weeks ago I attended the ITEXPO on behalf of the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA), and the StartupCamp that the CCA sponsored. The StartupCamp organizer, Larry Lisser, hosted Broadsoft CEO Mike Tessler who gave a keynote address to the packed room.
Larry invited four companies to come and present, who would be subsequently judged, wtih the audience ultimately voting on the comapny that is believed to be most viable.
Each of the four companies was impressive on their own, and were seeking somewhere between $1M and $4-5M in money.
The winner was one of my favorites that presented, so I wasn't surprised! The company, RingDNA is a built-in call detection and and tracking system, that integrates with your system CRM system or database, including Salesforce.com.
Their message is that they help get the right person to the phone, with the right data on any device, right when you need it. They quoted that salespeopple typically spend 24% of a sales call researching and preparing for that call, and thus, RingDNA can help sales tremendously. They closed a $1.1M round in funding in July and are looking to raise another $4-6M now.
Congratulations RingDNA!
--Elizabeth Shea, @eliz2shea