Recruiting 2.0
Posted on 25. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
Web 2.0 and social media are transforming businesses across every industry in how they communicate and interact with people. This impacts the entire HR 
lifecycle. The interactive industry is experiencing a major hiring crunch.
Just as consumers are less influenced by marketing, prospective candidates are also seeking opportunities through social networks. If you want to learn what a company is really like you can learn a great deal from sites like LinkedIn, Jobster and Zoom Info. You can connect with insiders on Facebook and Twitter.
You can even target advertising on social networks like this Facebook ad targeting to Boston area marketing professionals. More importantly companies establish their voice via how they participate and contribute to social content. The idea of transparency has become a key strategy for companies not only in how they engage consumers but how they communicate. What is your company doing to engage talent?
Meebo Platform
Posted on 21. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
Meebo CEO and co-founder Seth Sternberg said, “If Google is a search site, and YouTube is a video site, and MySpace is where you leave messages for people, we want to be the site where people interact live.”
Customer Service 2.0
Posted on 20. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
According to the book “We Are Smarter Than Me” on average telephone support cost $25 to $50 per call. Email support costs $4 to $14 per call. Why not use the collective power of online communities to make customer service more effective? Netflix did just that with its recommender program. Amazon reviews helps people make decision based on the feedback of other consumers. The key to get people active is to offer incentives. Special status, reward points and other incentives remind people that they are making the community a better place.
A really forward thinking example of next generation customer service is a new
site called Satisfaction. Modeled after established customer communities like Mini2.com and TivoCommmunity.com the service is “people powered” both by company representatives and customers.
(more…)
Word-of-mouth (WoM) marketing spend to top $1 billion
Posted on 20. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
According to Keller Fay Group, there are a projected 3.5 billion brand-related conversations per day in the U.S., with nearly 80% of consumers trusting recommendations from family, friends and “influential” persons over all other forms of advertising and marketing.
Spending on word-of-mouth (WoM) marketing jumped 35.9% in 2006 to $981.0 million and is expected to top $1 billion in 2007, according to findings of an in-depth analysis of the emerging word-of-mouth (WoM) marketing industry, presented in Las Vegas by PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn.
MIT’s John Maeda – Custom Reebok
Posted on 19. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
John Maeda, author of best selling book “The laws of simplicity” discusses designing a custom Reebok shoe. Maeda is a computer scientist, MIT professor, and Esquire magazine “21 Geniuses” award winner, who creates graphics using algorithms and programming codes, specializing in digital media and motion graphics. What’s unique about this design is the inside of the shoe is imprinted with the handwritten code that generated the graphic design that is printed on the outside of the shoe.
The limited edition shoe went on sale November 12 and sold-out all 100 pairs the same day.
Buy the XO laptop and give one to a child
Posted on 12. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
UPDATE: The OLPC has extended the Give One Get One program until December 31st.
MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte asks leaders in developing nations “what is 
your most valuable resource?” After various responses he suggests that the most valuable resource is their children. If every child in the world had access to a computer, what potential could be unlocked? What problems could be solved? These questions eventually led to the foundation of One Laptop per Child, and the creation of the XO laptop – a solar/crank powered, open source sub $100 laptop.
Between November 12 and November 26, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is offering a Give One Get One program in North America. This is the first time the revolutionary XO laptop has been made available to the general public. For a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving).
For all U.S. donors who participate in the Give One Get One program, T-Mobile is offering one year of complimentary HotSpot access. Find out more.
Hey, this is amazing…
Posted on 10. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
Hey, this is amazing new service called Jott [...] you basically call from your cell phone and send e-mails and reminders, instant messages, post to your Twitter account, post to your blog in fact, I am actually creating this post directly from my cell phone. listen
Powered by Jott
Vuru: “Take your vitamins” made easy…
Posted on 10. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
For anyone that in serious about nutrition there’s no such thing as “one a day”. There’s multivitamins, omega 3, extra B12, acidophilus and who knows what else. All that unscrewing the cap and screwing it back on, wrestling with cotton balls, running out or having too much once you decide to try something else.
Well Miami-based Vuru has the solution. The website offers members the same supplements and vitamins as a high-end natural food store but delivered in personalized, daily supplement packs instead of troublesome bottles. You can create your daily pack and then place the number of packs to order. Start with 4 weeks (28 packs), select 8 weeks get a 3% discount, 5% for 12 weeks and 10% for 16 weeks.
Vuru is also great for health professionals. Doctors and nutritionist can create custom packs for patients and have it sent directly to their home. Professionals then are linked to that customer so any new orders or if the customer orders directly they receive a commission.
I think this is a great answer to a regular everyday need. So what other personal concierge services can the Internet provide?
Mobile Internet Chaos
Posted on 04. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
If anyone is paying attention to what’s going on in mobile its obvious that we are headed toward some serious transformation and the media and communications industries are in chaos. Traditional operators are fighting disintermediation with convergence, while traditional media companies search for profitable and relevant business models in this new, mobile medium. Meanwhile a completely new generation of services and end-user applications are emerging.
Network operators and service providers of all kinds are competing to serve the next major frontier in computing — the Mobile Internet user. The Mobile Internet user will have ubiquitous access to computing and the Internet. 
Wireless technologies such as 3G, WiMAX and LTE have emerged as alternatives to support the Mobile Internet with ubiquitous connectivity. In addition, IP architectures are becoming critical elements in the delivery of ubiquitous mobile broadband services. As these technologies migrate toward the 4G vision, mobile Internet services will be delivered with increased performance capabilities, improved economics, high levels of security and accurate way of measuring end-user activity. (more…)
Twitter Poster
Posted on 01. Nov, 2007 by Dean Whitney in Uncategorized and has 0 Comments
Twitter Poster is an interesting project that uses the Twitter API to provide a visual representation of the degree of influence of the Twitter users. The poster is constructed of thumbnail images from user profiles in 3 sizes (24 x 24 pixels, 48 x 48 pixels and 72 x 72 pixels). The image are arranged by the number of followers the user has, from most to least starting on the left.
This is an interesting composite application that can provide some interesting insight into the Twitter community and influencers in the social media realm. I’d like the hear what other think of Twitter Poster.
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