Congratulations class of 2006! It’s June and you have the golden key to success – your degree in PR, Communications, or Marketing. Now you’re ready to take on the world and land that high-paying gig running marketing initiatives for the best companies on the market. However, as you’ll quickly learn (literally), there’s a tremendous chasm between learned arts and practiced arts. And for the most part, it will seem as if you have to relearn everything in order to advance…
Going Sideways Over Pinot Days in SF This Weekend
Are you ready for mad crowds, broken glasses, drunken humor, long-long lines at the Porta Pottie, and of course, hundreds of wineries pouring their best Pinot Noir, all live in SF on Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY! Coming at cha… Sunday’s Grand Tasting will showcase 150 producers of pinot noir from 1 – 4 p.m. at Fort Mason. This is the Bay Area’s largest single gathering of pinot producers ever. Yes it’s true, in a moment of temporary insanity, we will all…
Opening Up the Corporate Kimono – Corporate Blogs are the Heart and Soul of Business
Blogging is nothing new. It’s already propelled many of whom used it as a part-time platform for their opinions and observations into the stratosphere, or shall we say blogosphere. Many bloggers and blogerati are rock stars, regardless of industry and journalistic background. Their intelligence, words of wisdom and associated niches attract legions of loyal readers. The technologies available today allow writers to easily publish, link, feed, and market globally – all with a bit of simple HTML code on their…
Web 2.0 from a Designer’s Perspective
While we all debate the true definition of 2.0, its direction, value, lifespan, cease and desist letters, impact on society and eventual impact on the economy, a recent blog post on FontFeed is analyzing the movement from a designer’s standpoint….although, I must say, that I disagree with his opening line, “There is no official standard for what makes something “Web 2.0…” Web 2.0 logos are categorized by softies, futurists, classics, and new classics. If you’re starting-up a new site, service,…
STIRR Event Tonight in Palo Alto
Tonight I’m attending the STIRR event in Palo Alto, where 5 emerging companies will present on stage to a room full of 240+ entrepreneurs. STIRR.net is an emerging technology network who’s goal is to catalyze entrepreneurial activity in the SF Bay Area and beyond. There will be 5 early stage companies presenting on-stage at 7:30pm. STIRR is unique because it forces the companies to truly master the art of the elevator pitch, having only 60 seconds or less to pitch…
Stowe Boyd’s Advisory Capital is a Solid Investment
Last Friday, I had the opportunity to hang with Stowe Boyd to discuss Web2.0 and his ideas around Advisory Capital. After coffee at the nearby Starbucks, we cruised over to Notre Dame, where he presented these concepts to the SVASE organization. Advisory Capital, per the man himself, is basically the idea of investing intellectual property as a means to help companies expedite their idea from concept to BETA without the typical Angel or seed funding associated with development. According to…
Using PR to Reach the IT Market – Q&A with Marketing to IT
Marketing to electronics companies and electronic engineers requires than marketing to other audiences/industries. Q. What’s unique/different about marketing to IT? A. 1st of all, the marketing landscape is completely different than just a few years ago. The channels of influence are varied and in many cases, traditional platforms for influence have shifted in favor of more p2p (peer to peer) aggregation networks emerge. The difference is extreme. Electronics companies and electronic engineers work within a different paradigm. Their produce development…
Detroit 2.0 – The New American Sports Car…And its Out of Silicon Valley
I have the need, THE NEED FOR SPEED. Well, that, and cup of coffee in the morning, a good glass of wine in the evening, the winning Lotto numbers… oh, nevermind. According to a recent press release, Tesla Motors closed $40 million in Series C financing from a host of high-profile venture capital firms and entrepreneurs – including Google Co.’s co-founders – to launch a battery-powered sports car. The “Christmas Tree” lights are green and the drag race is on…
I Dare You to Find a Better Wireless Handsfree Speakerphone Today
Bluetooth phones are everywhere. Whether you’re using the latest Treo, Pocket PC, Blackberry, or Razr, the ideal, must have companion is a wireless headset or handsfree speakerphone. Up until now, most of us were trading stylish designs for poor performance. To be honest, almost everyday, I yank my Bluetooth headset from my ear and wind-up putting the phone right up to my ear. Why, you ask, when Bluetooth is so advanced we couldn’t possibly have any issues with it, right?…
For Those About to Blog, We Salute You
Blogging is an interesting phenomenon. What started as diaries, op eds, reports, and commentaries, has now sparked a whirlwind of incredible proportions that can leave one spinning in place – dizzy from trying to figure out where to go, for what information, and why. This is the first in a series of pieces that will explore blogging. Having a blog these days is almost as mandatory as having a business card and a cell phone; especially if you’re in marketing…
