Archive for October, 2010
Friday, October 29th, 2010
By Allan Maurer
 Jeff Ragovin - Chief Revenue Officer, Buddy Media NEW YORK – By now most big brands know social media can give them a boost or cause them trouble, but managing social campaigns can prove daunting without savvy help. That’s one reason Buddy Media has had so much success with its social media management system, which is already used by Johnson & Johnson, Borders, Crate & Barrel, Ford Motor Company, Donna Karan, Armani Exchange & GNC, among other top clients. Just today the company added an additional $5 million to the $25 million C round the company announced earlier in October.
The company is laser-focused on Facebook at the moment, says Jeff Ragovin, chief revenue officer, who is one of more than 100 top Internet thought leaders participating in the upcoming Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 17-18.
“At this point, we’re working with over 300 brands and in every vertical,” Ragovin says. They include universities, consumer brands such as Coca Cola, entertainment companies such as ABC and NBC, and many retailers and fashion firms.
Buddy Media, which launched at the same time as Facebook, has created a thriving niche for itself, Ragovin says, explaining, “We help brand marketers control everything in Facebook from a single platform. We help them schedule updates, track engagement, set up filters, and create customized tabs where people can engage with the brand.”
It includes a robust set of analytics.
Finding out what works on Facebook can require some expertise. Ragovin describes how an ABC soap opera, “General Hospital,” which he says “I’ve never seen in my life,” had made 30-40 status updates on its Facebook page without stirring any customer engagement. So Buddy Media suggested, they change the tone and talk about what was going on in the soap with status updates such as “Should Luke and Laura have had sex last night?”
That kicked responses up from about 10 comments to 10,000.
Buddy Media also helps brands use polls to test out certain ideas. Budweiser, for instance, asked fans which of three bottles for their Bud Light Golden Wheat they preferred.
One site Ragovin says is using Facebook well, with the help of Buddy Media, is Borders. We went to the Border’s Facebook page and “liked” it a week or so ago, and have received several enticing offers from the book seller since. “They’re training people to come to their page every week for those offers,” he says.
One Borders campaign that worked well, he says, was focused on National Dog Day, of all things. Borders asked people to upload a photo of their dog to the Borders Facebook page and within a few hours, 919 did. “They weren’t selling any books, doing that. They were creating a community,” notes Ragovin. Not to mention that their messages now go to 919 new Facebook feeds.
The average person may have about 130 friends on Facebook, each of whom may now see that Borders activity, with the potential of “Creating a whole new chain reaction.”
Buddy Media started working with Borders in July when they had 140,000 fans. “They just broke 400,000,” Ragovin says. “Their page is taking off.”
The Buddy Media platform costs about $3,000 to $5,000 a month and the company also sells strategic and creative services.
Ragolin says he’ll be talking about how people can take advantage of certain Facebook features when he attends the Internet Summit in a few weeks.
Tags: Buddy Media, facebook, Internet Summit, Jeff Ragovin, social media engagement
Posted in Carolinas, Internet/New Media, IT, North Carolina | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 29th, 2010
 DURHAM, NC – Back in 2003, Ned Dibner mentioned to his father Mark that some students at his school did not have computers at home and together, they decided that summer to build computers for needy students. That idea, which began in their basement, evolved into the Kramden Intstitute, a Durham-based non-profit that has awarded more than 6,000 computers to students secondary schools identify as hard-working but lacking what has become a nearly essential learning tool.
This is achieved by collecting donated computers, refurbishing, and reusing computers thereby extending their useful lives and reducing e-waste and with the help of more than 3,000 volunteers so far.
Kramden is partnering with Tech Media on one of its Computers for Kids campaigns at the upcoming Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 17-18, where it will have a booth. (See: ‘Computers for Kids’ Campaign launched by the Kramden Institute and the Internet Summit).
Kramden’s Executive Director Carrie Clark tells us both Ned, who is now in college at Elon University, and Mark, who is chairman of the Institute, remain active. Kramden, by the ways, is Ned and Mark spelled backwards.
She says the Institute expects that 1,500 to 1,800 volunteers will work with them this year and it is on target to award 2,000 computers this year.
It holds regular events, every Wednesday at its Durham office (4915 Prospect Drive, Suite J) and monthly, including every third Saturday for Geek-a-Thons at its office or sponsored events off-site that use five shifts of volunteers to refurbish 180–200 computers by the end of the weekend. On Nov. 13, Kramden will be at Fort Bragg for the third time, awarding 250 computers to students with parents serving in the military.
Tags: Computers for Kids, Fort Bragg, Internet Summit, Kramden Institute, Mark Dibner, Ned Dibner
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Hardware, North Carolina | Comments Off
Friday, October 29th, 2010
 ORLANDO, FL- PandaLabs, Panda Security‘s anti-malware laboratory, advises computer users to be careful this Halloween as they may be in for a trick thanks to malicious applications, fake websites, spam and Trojans disguised as Halloween treats by cybercriminals.
Hackers are taking advantage of popular Hollywood scary movies, such as “Paranormal Activity 2″ and “Friday the 13th,” to implement Blackhat SEO attacks that target unsuspecting online users through search results.
As the Halloween season ramps up, Blackhat SEO, scareware and spam incidents, using both old ‘rising from the dead’ and new seasonal tactics, have intensified.
In a Blackhat SEO attack, cybercriminals place links to malicious sites in the search results for popular terms, in this case the latest scary movies to arrive in theaters or party invitations for the Halloween season. Once users click on the link and access the site, they become vulnerable to infection by Trojans and other malware, which often come in the form of a fake antivirus program or rogueware, such as “Desktop Security 2010.”
Unlike Blackhat SEO attacks, which are truly malicious, Halloween-branded hoaxes look harmful but are little more than annoying pranks containing no Trojans or malware. Users downloading and installing these files will see a series of messages informing them that they have been infected by a Trojan or display a flash video simulating a wipe of the computer’s hard drive.
Tags: Blackhat SEO tricks, FL, Friday the 13th, Hacker Halloween tricks, malware, Orlando, Panda Security, Paranormal Activity 2
Posted in Business Briefs, Internet/New Media, Security | Comments Off
Friday, October 29th, 2010
 RALEIGH, NC -Researchers from North Carolina State University have made two significant discoveries in genetics.
They have found a way to optimize the development of DNA self-assembling materials, which hold promise for technologies ranging from drug delivery to molecular sensors. The key to the advance is the discovery of the “Goldilocks” length for DNA strands used in self-assembly – not too long, not too short, but just right.
One potential application for such self-assembling materials is the development of drug-delivery vehicles. For example, researchers at the University of Melbourne have created self-assembling DNA capsules that are fully biocompatible, biodegradable and capable of releasing the drug when they come in contact with a specific physical stimulus – making them ideal for drug delivery.
DNA self-assembly technology is also expected to facilitate the creation of molecular sensors that use DNA to detect, and signal the presence of, clinically important biological molecules – which could have significant diagnostic applications in the medical field. Researchers Abhishek Singh, Stacy Snyder, Yaroslava G. Yingling have published a paper on their work in the journal Langmuir.
Caging off genetic switches
Another team of researchers at NC State have found a way to “cage” genetic off switches in such a way that they can be activated when exposed to UV light. Their technology gives scientists a more precise way to control and study gene function in localized areas of developing organisms.
The off switches, called morpholino oligonucleotides, are like short snippets of DNA that, when introduced into cells, bind to target RNA molecules, effectively turning off specific genes.
Dr. Alex Deiters, associate professor of chemistry, Dr. Jeffrey Yoder, associate professor of molecular biomedical sciences, and a team of NC State researchers developed a new methodology to turn off genes at a specific time and in a specific region of an organism using UV light.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Friday, October 29th, 2010
 Marty Stanley By Marty Stanley
When you talk to people, are you focused on the transaction or your interaction? A transactional encounter is one where you’re going through the motions to get the task or the discourse done. Maybe you are texting, talking on the phone to someone else or just dazed and confused, but the bottom line is that you’re not engaged with the other person or the process. Interaction occurs when two people are engaged in a dialogue or actively participating in the process.
For example, think of the last time you went out to eat. When you ordered, was the waiter friendly, knowledgeable and quick? Did he or she show authentic interest, assistance and interaction in helping you with your order and when paying the check?
That kind of interaction is so noticeably different from a typical transaction that it is now considered a fluke, instead of what customer service should be. As a consumer, it is so refreshing to be engaged in this kind interaction and on the receiving end of good service! Businesses who have employees focused on the interaction also seem to have owners who clearly have a different strategy for hiring and training people than their competitors, who are focused on the transaction.
Effective Interaction Can Affect Outcomes
This is just one example of how effective interaction can affect the outcome. In this case, the restaurant has a loyal customer who is telling others about how great they are.
Ask yourself: What are you talking about, and are your conversations focused on the transaction or interaction? When you are talking to people, are you clear about the purpose of the conversation? Are your thoughts, words and actions aligned with that purpose and the outcomes that you hope to achieve?
If you are focused on the transaction, there can be a tendency to treat the conversation in a matter-of-fact, Sergeant Friday approach: “Just the facts Ma’am.” The conversation is like a flowchart – cover all the bases and move on to the next topic, person or activity. The implied message behind the message can be interpreted as “I don’t have time for you or what is important to you.”
During this challenging economic time, when organizations are “doing more with less,” common after-effects include employee fatigue, increased absenteeism, low morale, and diminished productivity or quality of work. All of these impact the end user or consumer of your products or services.
There is a lot of talk about “employee engagement.” But are you really walking the walk or is it really just another form of transactional communication with a fancy label? If you want to utilize real employee engagement, take a look at the quality of conversations you’re having. Are they “transactional” or are you really interacting with them?
Turning The Tide
A recent study indicated that 63% of the workforce under age 45 plans to leave their current employer when the economy improves. While it may be politically correct to say the impetus for leaving are a better opportunity for advancement or more money, the bottom line is that most people start looking and choose to leave an organization based on perceived negative interactions with management.
So how does one turn the tide from transaction to interaction?
It’s all about the level of participation in that conversation. How are you participating in the conversation? How are you listening? Are you an active participant as a listener? Or are you thinking about what to say next or envisioning the other person with a big “L” on their forehead…. “Loser…” “How many times have we heard this before?” “Here she goes again…”
Good managers and leaders understand that conversations require participation. It’s more than “just the facts.” They understand that when they speak to colleagues, employees, customers or suppliers, they are conveying multiple messages:
- The content of the message: is it clear and consistent with the organization’s policies and practices?
- The delivery of the message: is the delivery consistent with the organization’s core values, such as “respect,” or “integrity” or “good communication”
- The quality of interaction: are you really listening? Is it participative?
If you are looking for improved employee engagement or increased customer retention, an easy and cost effective place to start is by examining your conversations. Are you talking about things that are relevant and important to the other person?
Chatting about the weather or the latest sports scores are ok, but unless you are a meteorologist or sports broadcaster or coach, you’ll get more mileage with an interaction that is focused on the person, their work or their purchase.
One Conversation at a Time
Authentic interaction is heartfelt, but not sappy, and comes from a place of caring and wanting to be of service or making a difference. It’s about leaving the other person feeling glad they had the interaction with you. Even difficult conversations can be authentic, caring and leave a person feeling respected. How do you start? One conversation at a time.
Start by really listening to the conversations that you’re having with people. Are you approaching it like a transaction or an opportunity for authentic interaction? Do you care enough about yourself, your organization and the people with whom you converse to choose to have authentic interactions?
If not, just know that you may be missing out on opportunities to make a difference in someone else’s life or closed to the possibility that someone might make a difference in yours.
It’s just a choice. And you can choose to change it with your next conversation.
Marty Stanley, President of Dynamic Dialog, Inc. (www.alteringoutcomes.com) is an author, national speaker and facilitator who helps organizations create their New Normal. To contact her: martystanley@alteringoutcomes.com.
Tags: best practices, Business advice, Marty Stanley, Transaction vs. interaction, Viewpoint
Posted in Business advice, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 Joe Procopio By Joe Procopio
I drove myself back and forth to the inaugural Digital East Conference in Tyson’s Corner earlier this month. This was for two reasons: One, I recently had to fire my driver for some inappropriate text messages and Two, long drives are the only time I get to think about something other than what I get paid to think about.
Oddly enough, when these opportunities come up, I’m not thinking about cool things like football and video games, or even football video games, I’m thinking about the state of the startup ecosystem in Raleigh/Durham.
I know. I’m that lame.
Gasoline and Lit Matches
I had an epiphany while slammed in traffic just outside of Spotsylvania. There’s always been controversy around the relative health of said startup ecosystem, and lately that controversy has been either amped up or made more public or probably both.
And that’s a good thing.
The startup community here is not to be made precious or defended like our spot in the many Best Places To Increase Your Magazine Circulation rankings. Discourse ultimately benefits, and public discourse can appropriately bring the flaws to the forefront where they can be addressed.
The thing about RTP is that is has so much going for it, and at the same time so much going against it, that just about anything you say about it can be considered both right and wrong on some level. Thus, it’s actually pretty easy to be an defender and/or critic of the area.
But there’s one thing we definitely need to do.
Stop comparing the RTP to Silicon Valley.
Go West, Young Entrepreneur?
As I tweeted my own way through the Digital East Conference, and not to slight it with a late compliment, but it was fantastic, booked solid, informative, and totally networkable, I realized again how much the DC startup ecosystem is a completely different animal than the RTP.
I had known this already, having started my career at a startup that was based in Tyson’s, but the depth of the difference hit me again once I was face to face with it.
The DC/Northern Virginia area is a more formal, suit-and-tie kind of place. And while the sister conference to Digital East, the upcoming Internet Summit, will be chock full of jeans, T-shirts, and blazers (I believe corduroy is back in), there was maybe a handful of that type of getup at Digital East.
I wore a suit, if that gives you any idea.
So how does that relate to Silicon Valley, where a corduroy blazer is considered formal wear? Simple. If you’re going to start the next Twitter, you’ll want to start it in Silicon Valley. If you’re going to start the next Twitter for the Industrial Military Complex, think about what you’d say to the dude who told you that you needed to get out of DC and move west because all the VCs are there.
RTP is #3 on the Places With Most Moxie List!
Look, I’m not telling you that you have to start a company based on the local flavor, but the fact of the matter is that RTP is not Silicon Valley nor will it ever be.
1. The foundation companies, you know, the ones that the entrepreneurs leave to start their own businesses, are of a completely different stripe. This finds its way into the startup mentality here. Think biotech.
2. RTP caters to an older, more professional type. So we’re going to have older, quieter entrepreneurs with more experience and they’re probably going to be looking for revenue and customers before they look at valuations. Less sexy, unless you think dollars are sexy.
3. There is plenty of help here, from organizations established with the sole purpose of getting entrepreneurs from point A to point customer, to plain old successful entrepreneurs who have exited and happen to know what the roadmap looks like.
4. There are tons of meetups, conferences, unconferences, camps, and cults here to give the average entrepreneur something to attend every night of every week of every month. They may not all be directed at the easiest path to landing VC money, but most of us already know that the way to do that is to get customers and revenue (see item 2 above).
5. Did you know there are several startups here that exist for the sole purpose of helping startups? How wack is that?
6. Have you been to Starbucks on Page, Brueggers at Wade, or Helios downtown?
Give me an “R”
Yes, RTP has its issues, and I agree with almost all of them. There’s an old-guard mentality here, perceived and/or real. There’s not nearly as much money or interest from VCs here. There’s no direct flight to Silicon Valley which makes it very hard to work in tandem with those folks.
The secret handshake is also a little too long and creepy.
But our problems are just as different in type as they are the same in magnitude. So instead of comparing ourselves against Silicon Valley, we might want to work with them (and that direct flight sure would help) while continuing to create our own identity.
Until that happens, every time the words “Silicon Valley” enter the conversation and the comparisons are made, a reference to “deep fried bacon” won’t be that far behind. Like it or not.
Joe Procopio is a technical, management, and product development consultant who has worked with startups for years and years and started a few of his own. He’d like to point out that it would be cool if we would all start calling it “the RTP.” He can be reached via twitter @jproco.
Posted in Carolinas, Columns, Events, North Carolina, Potomac, Viewpoint, Virginia | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 ATLANTA – ExamWorks Group Inc. priced its shares at the low end of its $16-$18 range and raised $164.8 million in its initial public offering of stock on the New York Stock Exchange, where it will trade under the symbol “EXAM.”
Earlier this year, the company closed on a $32 million equity raise.
The company’s portfolio of services include medical assessment programs designed to meet the specific needs of first-party insurers, attorneys, municipalities and third-party administrators pertaining to automobile, short-term and long-term disability, group health, liability, no-fault and workers’ compensation claims.
The current service offerings include: independent medical examinations, peer reviews, file and radiology reviews, physician and hospital bill reviews, medical bill repricing and settlement negotiation services and related special services.
In July 2009, ExamWorks bought IME Software Solutions, the makers of IME Centric. IME Centric is deployed in nearly 80 Independent Medical Examination and Review companies throughout the United States and Canada.
ExamWorks has acquired a substantial roster of companies since 2008.
The company conducts over 122,000 independent medical examinations annually. The corporate headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia and New York, New York with regional family company offices throughout the country.
Tags: Atlanta, GA, Healthcare, IPOs
Posted in Georgia, Healthcare, IPOs | Comments Off
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 HERNDON, VA – Reality Mobile, a company selling software that transmits live video from any camera source to a network, has raised $6.05 million in a mixed securities offering, according to a regulatory filing.
The company raised $6.5 million in 2009 in a financing led by Energy Venures, with participation from CTTV Investments.
The company makes Reality Vision software that lets users stream video from any source, even a cell phone or from their computer screen to anyone on a network for collaboration with field workers, public event security, and other uses.
Customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. State Department, DC Metropolitan Police Department, Port of Los Angeles, Kentucky State Police, and Consolidated Edison, among others.
It has also been deployed at major events, from the Academy Awards presentation to the NFL Superbowl and the Papal visit to DC.
The company disclosed the raise in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact TJS editor/writer Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
Tags: collaboration, financing, Herndon, Reality Mobile, Security, VA, video transmission software
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Money, Potomac, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 ROCKVILLE, MD – ZeniMax Media Inc., parent company of game publisher Bethesda Softworks, says Shinji Mikami, has joined ZeniMax in a deal where ZeniMax acquired Tango Gameworks, the development shop founded and run by Mikami. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Best known as the creator of the Resident Evil series, Mikami is a 20-year veteran of the industry who has developed numerous award-winning titles.
Based in Tokyo, Mikami has an extraordinary track record as one of the world’s most successful game developers. Five of his projects, including Resident Evil, have scored 90 or above on Metacritic.com and Gamerankings.com.
Tango will continue to be run by Shinji Mikami, and he will serve as the creative lead for all future projects.
ZeniMax studios include Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, and Arkane Studios.
Posted in Acquisitions, Internet/New Media, IT, Maryland, Potomac | Comments Off
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
 BOCA RATON, FL – FriendFinder Networks, an internet-based social networking companies with over 30,000 websites and more than 405 million registrants in 185 countries, many of them dating or adult-oriented entertainment, says it has raised $551 million in debt financing.
The FriendFinder Networks family of companies produces and distributes original pictorial and video content, licenses its globally recognized Penthouse brand to a variety of consumer companies and entertainment venues, and publishes branded men’s lifestyle magazines.
Its sites also include FriendFinder.com; Amigos.com; SeniorFriendFidner.com; ItalianFriendFinder.com, AsiaFriendFinder.com and similar properties.
According to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in January, FriendFinder Networks was considering an initial public offering of 20 million shares of stock priced between $10 and $20 each, although the filing notes the information could change prior to its registering the offering.
This investment could be a pre-IPO round or may take the place of the IPO.
Investors in the company were not identified.
Contact TJS editor/writer Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
Tags: adult, dating, financing, FriendFinder Networks, lifestyle web sites
Posted in Florida, Internet/New Media, Money | Comments Off
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