Awfully quiet this morning in Boston as we batten down the hatches and get ready for the first hurricane of the season. Hurricane Earl is expected to wreak some havoc along the East Coast today slamming North Carolina’s Outer Banks on it’s way to Boston. Gov. Deval Patrick and even President Obama have both declared a state of emergency for Massachusetts ahead of big Earl’s arrival.
Whether your racing to the ferry to get off Nantucket or sitting in the office today waiting for Earl to bring the noise, here are some useful resources that will keep you ahead of the storm.
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Sprint and Clearwire have just unleashed 4G network speeds in Boston. There have been recent reports of people receiving 4G coverage in the area, but Tuesday marks Sprint’s official announcement and full rollout.
Along with Daytona Beach, Fl. and Providence, RI., Beantown joins the 48 other cities covered by Sprint’s WiMax network. WiMax is the 4G technology developed by Clearwire (a company partially owned by Sprint) that offers mobile network speeds up to 6mbps, or 4 times faster than 3G. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon customers are missing out since Sprint is currently the only national carrier to offer 4G-enabled devices and coverage. Are people jumping for 4G joy, though? Are Bostonians willing to make the switch to Sprint?
With an incredible selection of smartphones now available on all national carriers, is Sprint’s 4G network enough of a differentiator to attract new customers and possibly have them think twice about Verizon or the iPhone? Perhaps… and the record-breaking single-day sales figures of Sprint’s Evo 4G, America’s first 4G phone, are a good indication that people are willing to switch for speed.
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Kate Imbach
Well Boston, it appears the secret is out on the incredible talent Boston has to offer. Silicon Valley companies just can’t keep away from poaching Boston best talent. According to Mass High Tech this morning, Kate Imbach, Vice President of Marketing at Skyhook Wireless is leaving her post and taking a similar role at San Francisco based 8tracks Inc.
Imbach is also a part of Mobile Monday Boston, along side Matt Gross, whom we share an office with. Once hearing this news, I ran down to the mobile cave at The Hangout Hub, but there was no sign of Gross or the rest Mobile Monday crew. But the APB went out and I spoke briefly with Gross who had this to say, “Kate has been an incredible asset for us (MoMoBoston) and the Boston mobile community…We are very excited to learn more about her new position and wish her luck on the move.”
We have featured Imbach quite a few times over the last few weeks because of the great things she has done for Skyhook and the mobile community alike. My favorite quote from Imbach, “Someday there will be very few ‘mobile’ companies. Mobile is just as necessary as the web — and we don’t call every company with a website an “Internet company.”
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David Meerman Scott
The initial rules of marketing and advertising were to interrupt people in order to sell them a product or service, costing businesses millions of dollars from their budgets each year. The rules of marketing and advertising have changed dramatically. Now, buyers are finding the answers to their problems online via blogs, social media, websites and forums.
This week, we had the chance to interview David Meerman Scott, a leader at the forefront of Internet marketing and PR, about how he is assisting and creating this shift. He also dives into creating new marketing campaigns for startups in the Boston area, and let’s us in on his Grateful Dead fascination.
As you may know, Scott currently resides around Boston, but is known worldwide for his ideas that are scripted in his two books, The New Rules of Marketing and PR and World Wide Rave.
New Rules is currently published in 24 different languages, and for good reason. Not only does Scott speak throughout the United States on new marketing, but all over the world. Scott also spent a majority of his 25-year marketing career overseas. He was the Asia Marketing Director for Knight-Ridder and afterwards was based for almost ten years in Tokyo and then Hong Kong.
No boundaries or borders have or will stop Scott from carrying out his passion and message. His twenty-five dedicated years to the marketing industry illustrates this.
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Last week, Kristina Kennedy wrote a great piece about how to gain 1,000+ followers on Twitter with tips from local pros. Reading her piece reminded me of a piece I’ve been meaning to write about the question of being one’s full, authentic self online—specifically on Twitter.
When I say being one’s full self, I’m not suggesting we share everything and anything on Twitter. I’m more interested in questions like: How much information is too much information to share? Should I aim to strike a balance between my personal and professional interests or is it better to keep these two worlds separate? How often should I chat with people via Twitter? When is tweeting about one’s own work informative and helpful and when is it plain old, unattractive self-promotion?
I’ve thought about all of these questions quite a bit since falling in love with Twitter a little over a year ago. I’ve also learned a lot about wise Twitter behavior by following some pretty stellar people, most of whom are leaders in their fields with pretty large followings.
Here’s what I’ve gathered:
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Congratulations Boston, you were ranked as the top city of the global innovation economy according to Australian innovation consulting firm 2thinknow. This is the second year that Boston has topped the global list beating out fierce international competitors like Paris and Amsterdam and local rivalries like New York and even San Francisco. Keep up to date on all of the Boston startups here.
According to the Innovation Cities website, “These are the top 100 places to live, work and play due to their strong innovation economics, and potential. Measured from 162 indicators that cover the Cultural Assets, Human Infrastructure and Networked Markets needed for dynamic innovation economies.”
Check out some of the rankings below.
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Breaking news coming from the mobile cave downstairs here at the The Hangout Hub. Two fast growing mobile companies are partnering to bring location based discounts to the mass market. According to a press release and exclusive interviews yesterday, Peekaboo Mobile, one of the fastest growing mobile coupon providers in Boston, is joining forces with CardStar, the most widely used loyalty card mobile application, to offer coupons and promotions through the Peekaboo Mobile Card.
This is a huge win for both companies and the mobile-based discounts industry in general. Currently the Peekaboo Mobile App is only available on the iPhone, but with the new Peekaboo Mobile Card on CardStar’s app, the company’s discounts become available on Android and Blackberry as well. CardStar gains access to Peekaboo’s network of local businesses and provides a consolidated application for all of your coupons and loyalty cards. “It’s all about convenience. Save money with loyalty cards and new coupons all in one place” said Mike Fruzetti co-founder of Peekaboo Mobile in an interview yesterday. Andy Miller, CEO of CardStar, adds, “The addition of Peekaboo’s Card to CardStar’s cache of rewards cards offers yet another touch point for our users to discover and use coupons from their preferred retailers and brands and reap the cost saving benefits of these discounts.”
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It’s that time of year again, kids! Back to school… Or as I like to call it: when I woke up from my nap and Zach Morris had a Blackberry.
If you’re anything like me, you spend the impending days before classes thinking about past semesters: how to come out with a 4.0 while only really putting in the effort for a 3.0.
Here are a few tips and tricks to actually get that 4.0 this semester. Some of the tips are technology related and some aren’t. Cheers to starting off the school year on the right foot. Or the left. Whichever you prefer. And if your not heading back to school, chances are you STILL need these tips to help with time management.
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Eight years ago, viral marketing was in its absolute infancy. The words social and media had yet to be combined in a sentence, let alone as an industry. Traditional ad agencies were only beginning to explore the potential in launching highly inventive word-of-mouth campaigns, and casual games were still largely separate from any such endeavor.
A veteran of both gaming and interactive design when most people were still using dial-up, Steve Curran culled his experiences in both industries and set up shop in Lexington, Massachusetts. Soon after, Curran’s Pod Digital Design would gain widespread attention with its viral marketing campaign for a skincare company – Making Over Mona.
The humorous campaign allowed users to give the famed Mona Lisa a makeover using such modern “enhancements” as Botox, chemical peels and silicon. Social commentary with a cheeky wit and audience engagement – Making Over Mona was a huge success. Over 2 million visitors made Mona over and the boutique beauty line was soon stocked in upscale retailers across the United States.
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After launching a long stream of impressive partnerships with national brands, SCVNGR is starting to put the “local” back in location based. Today, it announced Boston would be the first city to reap the benefit of its new reward functionality (announced last month). 50 local businesses are included in the launch including Middle East, Kings Lanes, and Aquitaine in both Boston and Chestnut Hill.
The announcement comes just days after it announced Zipcar would utilize the feature in Boston and that AT&T shook hands with them to offer rewards to its customers in the Midwest. The rewards feature, the coolest of the those announced last month by the company, enables players to unlock rewards by accumulating points through various games at locations. All you need to do is show the reward in the SCVNGR app on your phone and voila! Get free goodies galore!
How will you know the local businesses that have rewards on SCVNGR? Well, you can see a full list here, or just roam around the city with your eyes open. Each business involved will apparently have ‘sweet SCVNGR shwag’ – from stickers, to outdoor signage, even coasters for your drinks.
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Last year, THE QUEST for Innovation — an open event bringing startupers and creatives into Kendall Square for a massive geolocation game — made its debut to much social media fanfare. This year, BostInnovation is joining the fun as a Supporting Partner.
Event organizers, including Michael Gaiss, Senior VP at Highland Capital Partners — a local VC firm — and Seth Priebatsch, CEO and “Chief Ninja” at local startup SCVNGR, are hoping THE QUEST will be one of the biggest open networking events for creative types of all colors this year.
THE QUEST is tabbed for Sept. 23, and will feature a smartphone-based SCVNGR trek and a reception at the SCVNGR office outside Kendall Square, in Cambridge, Mass. There’s a reasonable “suggested” entry fee, but all that money is going to support non-profit efforts in Greater Boston aimed at helping entrepreneurs.
Event registration opened yesterday, so we touched base with Gaiss about the goals of the event, including its non-profit underpinnings.
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Editor’s note: Shannon Suetos is an expert writer on payroll processing based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as small business payroll services at Resource Nation.
As September becomes undeniably closer, it means students are heading back for yet another year of higher education. Besides the great memories these students will be making, it also means tuition and book fees. eBay is taking note, and has released a new smartphone app that should be able to help students find the best deal for books this semester—or will it?
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Jeff Bennett
Last week, Boston-based startup SwapTree.com officially re-branded under the generic name Swap.com. The site still allows users to exchange books, video games, CDs and movies with one another for free, but now they’ll be a whole lot easier for interested swappers to find. We touched base with Swap.com CEO Jeff Bennett to find out more regarding the re-brand and pick his brain about some other swap-related items that had been bugging us. Of course, the local serial entrepreneur was happy to oblige.
BostInnovation: Can you talk a little bit about the brand strategy that goes along with “going generic” with your web brand? Why is this still so effective?
Jeff Bennett: I like to say that we are applying a “descriptive” approach for the brand. Swap.com is descriptive. Swap.com is a verb. Swap.com is a category. Swap.com is simple. Swap.com is memorable. Swap.com is trusted because it is transparent. So by adopting Swap.com as our brand we are applying a descriptive moniker to our company, our service and our community. We don’t have to spend millions of dollars in advertising to convince a consumer what we are. Swap.com is all about swapping!
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Pink Bears and Penguins are always welcome at an unconference
The initial Rules of an Unconference are remarkably simple. Turn up, introduce yourself to anyone that you don’t know, pour yourself a coffee, sit down and then (according to MacGuffin’s Scott MacMillan, organizer/master of ceremonies) “make this shit up as we go along.”
Which is exactly how GameLoop 2010 kicked off on a day when the average person was taking advantage of the gorgeous weather in Beantown.
This annual event held on Saturday at Microsoft NERD allowed 195 attendees (not just Boston-based but drawn from across the region,) access to some of the gaming industry’s leading lights and principle players with an entire floor of One Memorial Drive to play with. Throw in the chance for unlimited, freewheeling gaming discussion coupled with the occasional difference of opinion, a mouthwatering array of sandwiches and you have GameLoop 2010.
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Another weekend, another gathering of gaming.
On Saturday 195 Game Developers, enthusiasts and journalists attended GameLoop 2010, an ‘unconference’ being held at Microsoft NERD.
Organized by Scott MacMillan (McGuffin) and Darius Kazemi, the event brought together gaming companies from across the East Coast and, with a healthy Boston turnout, the day proceeded in a plethora of informative, topical and (sometimes) heated discussions.
Highlights of the day were an excellent session on Women in Gaming (which dealt mainly with representation), a Gaming vs Game Journalists debate, an Ichiro Lambe-led Marketing 101, and the chance for attendees to hang out with many of the region’s leading gaming lights in an informal setting.
