This competition allows companies the opportunity to present their innovative application (either in development and about to launch, or recently launched). All entrants will receive visibility E2 Launch Pad site, and four finalists will be invited to present their applications live on the keynote stage to the Enterprise 2.0 Conference audience.
OurRound 1 Twitter pitch saw submissions from across the globe, explaining in 140 characters or less why they deserve to be considered. The E2 team whittled down the entrants to 8 quarter-finalists who are crafting 3 minute videos for the E2 community to vote upon. The winner receives not only the fame and the glory, but the chance to present live on the Enterprise 2.0 SF keynote stage.
Wishing I’d gone ahead and done that Toastmasters course right now. One month countdown to stage fright…
I have justified not climbing on board the Twitter bandwagon in the past, but I can’t deny the value any longer. It’s been six days and thus far, I’ve discovered:
Amplifying a message to my network and watching the viral validation RT wave that results is really gratifying.
The peer-to-peer acknowledgement via RT and being followed is empowering.
It’s so easy to connect with like minded people. They just appear.
The seven degrees of separation – especially in business – feel cut down to six. Maybe five.
Looking over this list, it sounds like Twitter is serving as a personal ego boost. A micro-boost. Folow me @peepf.
I’ve recently been participating in conversations around how to select the most appropriate social network for your business. There are a lot of options out there. Should I create a Facebook application for product/customer specific networking? Jive and Leverage both have attractive UIs. Should we build our own?
One thing is certain. Engaging your customer community and embracing transparency will ultimately fuel your business and make your customers feel heard. Long gone are the days in which a company could spit out a product and not listen to feedback (unless you are Apple). You need to give your community the opportunity to engage with one another and share their opinions on what you’re contributing to your market, or else risk a coup. One should think of the platform as a giant suggestion box.
Mapping the social graph on to the web is a delicate thing. We are social creatures and when selecting which social network is most appropriate to strengthen your brand one needs to take into consideration the community’s intention; i.e. if I use Facebook for personal use, what value does it have in a B2B market? What is the shelf life of this thing? What do my users want to accomplish when using our social network?
With the advent of technology, transparency is crucial. You must give your community the opportunity to engage with one another and give good, bad and ugly observations on your company. Grin and bear the fire hose of information that cannot be ignored
Koogle is a ‘kosher’ search engine that enable devout ultra-Orthodox Jews to search the web without stumbling into sexually explicit or inappropriate material. The site caters to rabbis who want to search the web but fear being visually assaulted my immodesty or pornography. Cleverly named, Koogle is a play on kugel (yum)+ Google.
I’m overwhelmingly proud of my good pal Lex, who recently launched FamilyFridge, an online tool to help families stay on top of hectic schedules and keep track of significant life events.
FamilyFridge cleverly combines social-networking features with organizational tools like shared calendars, birthday lists, reminders and photo sharing all secure behind the ‘family firewall.’ Private information can be stored securely in the Freezer section and although you probably won’t log in everyday, FamilyFridge saves the day when you forget your grandparents’ wedding anniversary or need your cousin’s mailing address. It’s also free to use.
I’m a convert. I’ve used or owned a PC my entire life, but at age 26 I am now the proud owner of a little 13″ black MacBook with 2.4 GHz and 2.2 GB RAM.
Not only do I own this beauty but I occasionally wear skinny jeans and drink coffee from Ritual and ride a single-speed bicycle in San Francisco. Bear witness: I will never cross the hipster threshold and ride my bike to Ritual to work on my MacBook. I digress…
As a new Mac owner I take even more pleasure in the Get a Mac ads that recently came out. They say marketing is the new customer service – and Apple has really tapped into this mantra with their Genius Bar. Here’s my fave new ad:
Speaking with a co-worker the other day prompted some reflection around the cloud computing market. There’s been a significant shift in the coverage of cloud related news. The story lines used to lead with confusion – what is this thing? How do we define it? Or as I’ve heard MR Rangawami say, ‘Is it SaaS with lipstick?’
SaaS With Lipstick
No one can agree. And no one interview or conference will ever resolve this burning question. It might not be tidy, but it’s fact.
Instead of attempting to define cloud computing we should instead focus on the value proposition, which almost everyone can agree on. The common demoninator in all cloud solutions / platforms / applications is two fold.
1. You use someone else’s gear.
2. You use someone else’s people.
Voila! Just to get some perspective on how much has changed, I want to post this hilarious Larry Ellison quote from September 2008.
“The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we’ve redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do. I can’t think of anything that isn’t cloud computing with all of these announcements. The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women’s fashion. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?
Breaking news today… Oprah Winfrey has opened a Twitter profile. Her first words?
HI TWITTERS!
Like all things Oprah Winfrey touches, this will no doubt mark a huge, mad influx of new Twitter accounts, as Oprah fanatics create their own profile so they can follow her tweets and discover a new recipe sharing platform. OMG!
It appears the era of free flowing information on the Web is tapering off. The Associated Press announced last Monday that they will begin to track how their content is used in an effort to start receiving revenue share where their content is being repurposed and monies are collected. If the A.P. and the media outlet can’t come to some agreement, the Associated Press will threaten legal action.
I’m genuinely surprised it’s taken this long. As the Web has evolved, the legal ramifications that trail behind are establishing new precedents and case law. It’s been a bit of a free for all, but it looks like the good times are coming to an end.
To solve this pesky content ownership problem, the A.P. said it would build its own searchable landing page where links from member media outfits would aggregate tidily under the A.P. name.
There are thousands of news related websites that repurpose content and serve up (usually Google) ads alongside that day’s featured stories. Suddenly that smug feeling of having your business model dialed in and being profitable doesn’t seem so safe and secure. Although the A.P.’s announcement didn’t name names, the biggest culprit is a little website called Google News; Google relies heavily on the A.P.’s member newspapers for content.
It appears newspapers are getting a touch desperate. As David Carr succinctly put it:
The current recession combined with a structural shift in ad spending and consumer habits have left the newspaper industry in a box canyon. Many believe they have no choice but to shoot their way out, even if it means taking on Google and the hundreds of millions of eyeballs it represents.
Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, made it clear that he doesn’t want to pay to distribute content to users, but Google could make it easier for newspapers to charge end users for their content. In a recent press conference after the Newspaper Association of America meeting in San Diego last week, Schmidt diplomatically stated:
Anything that makes it easier for your content to get to your users is a win.
As a new story emerges each week about a newspaper losing money or on the verge of closing down, the need to evolve with the times has reached a pivotal ‘change or die’ point.
It never ceases to amaze me how difficult it is to convince different business units and divisions within a corporation to work together. Each group works in a comfortable silo and is primarily tasked with achieving goals native to their group. Even though it’s painfully obvious to all those outside the firewall that it’s good to share the wealth, egos and personalities prevent teamwork and collaboration.
What’s even more baffling is that these people sell collaboration software!
This isn’t a terribly thought provoking post. More of an anger management tool. Thanks.
I am equal parts excited and nervous to be moderating the Enterprise 2.0 Launch Pad contest on November 4, 2009 at Enterprise 2.0 San Francisco.
FamilyFridge cleverly combines social-networking features with organizational tools like shared calendars, birthday lists, reminders and photo sharing all secure behind the ‘family firewall.’ Private information can be stored securely in the Freezer section and although you probably won’t log in everyday, FamilyFridge saves the day when you forget your grandparents’ wedding anniversary or need your cousin’s mailing address. It’s also free to use.
