InsidEPR

Friday in the Bay: Warriors is where it’s at!

By Roya Pakfetrat

Basketball fans in the Bay Area are said to be some of the best in the nation. No matter how good or bad our Golden State Warriors are playing, we are always loyal and true to our team. Attending a Warriors game at the local (a 5 minute drive from our office) Oracle Arena, sometimes referred to as the “roaricle,” is always a good time because we (the fans) always show up with an unrelenting desire to cheer our team to victory.

At the arena, there is never a dull moment – from screaming, dancing and singing fans to the Flying W’s and the Warrior Girls – you can’t have a bad time even if you try! Last Friday I went to the Warriors/Pacers game and although a bad call prevented a win for the Warriors, the fans (including myself) stood up and cheered until the very last second of the game. We made sure “our boys” knew we thought they had it in them.

It might not have been the best outcome but like I said, we will always stick by our Golden State Warriors – through good times and bad. Check out some of my pictures from the game and see for yourself why we are proud to spend our Fridays in the Bay! #LetsGoWarriors

Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Prepare Your Communications for an Equity Event

By Jeannette Bitz

2012 is here and as we enter into the new year, experts from seemingly every sector are looking into their crystal balls and revealing their “predictions” for the upcoming year.

For those compiling their “top 10 IPO lists,” there are the clear standouts - Facebook and Yelp - but also quite a bit of uncertainty amidst fluctuating market conditions.  However, there is a sense of optimism among analysts and many believe that we will see an increase in the number of IPOs and acquisitions throughout 2012. In fact if 2012 is anything like 2011, organizations may elect to get acquired versus going through the IPO process. Dow Jones VentureSource this month released its analysis of the number of venture capital-backed companies that exited in 2011. According to the report, the number of exits by acquisitions far exceeded the number of exits by IPO by the largest amount since 1992, when Dow Jones VentureSource first began to produce exit data.

Either exit strategy requires a well-thought out communications plan. For companies that are considering an IPO or preparing to be acquired, it is important to emphasize the importance of maintaining visibility throughout the process - from the months leading up to the filing or acquisition, throughout the quiet period in the case of an IPO, and after the transaction or event has occurred. Most organizations have never undertaken this type of effort and may not realize the pivotal role that a PR agency can and should play in guiding them through the process.

One of the most important pieces of advice we offer our clients is to make sure the communications efforts continue to move forward. Even during a quiet period, companies must avoid placing their marketing and PR programs on auto-pilot, or even worse, shutting them down altogether. Although there will always be cautious lawyers on hand to pull back the reins, the reality is that a company can continue with most of its planned PR activities, such as issuing press releases or launching products, as long as it had already been engaging in these activities in the past.

Once you start thinking about an IPO or other equity event is the time to make sure your PR and marketing efforts are in high-gear and focused on building your profile with prospects, customers, investors, and the media, to establish a business-as-usual level of outbound communications.
Here are five general guidelines that companies can leverage to continue to build momentum while preparing for an equity event:

1. Stay the course. Continue planned communications strategy, product launches, press releases, and editorial opportunities.
2. Simplify your story. Re-tool your messaging to make it easy for investors or prospective buyers to comprehend and relate to.
3. Analyze your PR strategy. Focus on the activities that will get you noticed, such as thought leadership pieces and placement in trend stories.
4. Refresh your marketing materials and other assets, such as sales collateral, corporate identity, website, newsletters, and direct marketing campaigns.
5. Develop and expand social media strategy. Implement or expand social media strategy, creating an integrated marketing matrix that ties in key initiatives with social media campaigns.

It is important to know that your company will emerge from the IPO or acquisition as a substantially more significant company - from both a size and revenue perspective - with a greater burden of accountability. By putting a communications framework in place, your PR agency partner can help your organization extend the goodwill earned during the IPO or acquisition far into the future.

Fridays in the Bay: How ‘bout them 49ers!

By Mike Tomlinson

What a great time to be a sports fan in the San Francisco Bay. In 2010, the Giants win the World Series. Now one year later, our 49ers—who went 6-10 in the regular season last year under Mike Singletary and looked like a complete mess—are headed (fingers crossed) to the Super Bowl after an amazing turnaround effort by new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Who the heck saw that coming!?

It definitely wasn’t an easy journey. Our QB Alex Smith was doubted by all the big shots throughout most of the season. Not to mention the early season parking lot ruckus between San Francisco 49ers fans and Oakland Raiders fans that had doubters already chalking up the season as a failure, reinforcing the negative image the outside world has of our Bay area fans—but hey, at least we can own up to it.

One must look no further than the infamous Black Hole at the Raiders games to be stricken to the core with pure terror, but its all part of what makes the Bay such a great place to be for sports. We do get passionate about our teams! Just blame it on our high standards. In the land of Al Davis and Joe Montana, we leave our legendary teams little room for failure.

Now, with Jim Harbaugh’s brother John coaching the tough-nosed and playoff game-winning Baltimore Ravens, the only thing that could top this great season would be to see the ‘Niners take down the Ravens in a brother versus brother Super HarBowl! But whether they do or not, for Jim Harbaugh (a Stanford veteran with Bay area blood in his veins) to have turned this team around in only one season isn’t just remarkable, or incredible, or amazing.

It’s purely magical—and that kind of magic is what the Bay is all about.

 

Go Augment Yourself

By Mike Tomlinson

If there’s one thing we can take away from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), it’s that mobility is king. All computing is moving to mobile devices, but the coolest developments stem from bridging this mobile computing world with our natural movements and choices as human beings. I’m of course talking about Augmented Reality (AR)!

The big news during CES week came from Israeli optics manufacturer Lumus, who revealed a consumerized version of see-through visual displays which are currently used by military organizations around the world. Just think of its applications beyond the obvious military purposes—surgeons with these unusual looking spectacles will be using augmented reality to back them up during major surgeries. Pilots will use augmented reality to assist with complicated navigation during severe weather. But if that doesn’t sound like ‘Minority Report’ enough to you, know this - glass manufacturer Corning has developed a completely transparent glass electronic display, opening the door in the near future to our own cars overlaying important information and warnings onto our windshields as we drive about town. Even Google is getting into smart cars with AR-- but more on that in my next blog post.

We have barely touched the surface of consumerized augmented reality even though some companies are ahead of the curve and have started using AR as an extension of their marketing and sales divisions. IKEA has integrated augmented reality into their socially-oriented sales approach, allowing users to download an app that, when pointed at their living room, will overlay any of IKEA’s products onto the screen. This gives would be buyers an idea for which IKEA furniture would look best in that room. Amazon announced last year the development of Amazon Flow, a mobile AR app that scans barcodes and provides reviews, videos and prices for what it was you scanned. Just last week, Japanese electronics company Omron announced an app that will instantaneously translate text from one language to another, simply by pointing your phone’s camera at what you need translated (Chinese food, anyone?).

And soon, Google’s Goggles app will be able to visually identify any object you place within its frame of view and retrieve information about that object from the internet. The possibilities are endless, and it’s a great time to be an augmented reality proponent (and to have millions of dollars to invest into fledgling AR companies). Yet, with each advancement made in AR, more questions and complications come with it. In my next blog post, I’ll dive into the challenges in augmenting our own lives to exist in a growing digital world, reflecting the gray areas that rise up from the competing demands of these dual realities. Stay tuned!

Friday in the Bay: New York Times thinks you should visit Oakland

By Caitlin Mattias

First, an introduction – we at Engage PR think the Bay Area is a pretty unique place and just about everyone has heard about the hippie, hipster or techie culture prevalent here. Whether you discard gadgets like yesterday’s Wall Street Journal or up-cycle regularly in your urban garden, there’s a place for you in the sometimes urban, sometimes suburban oasis that is San Francisco and the East Bay. In the new weekly “Friday in the Bay” posts, we’ll share the shocking, amusing and down-right ridiculous things that make northern California the place we call home. Enjoy!

Oakland is a scant bridge away from San Francisco, yet it’s widely considered the ugly sister of the Bay Area. No longer! From urban wineries to cultural centers to Michelin-starred restaurants, it’s about time Oakland is recognized for the wonderful place it is.

The New York Times placed Oakland #5 on the list of “45 Places to Go in 2012”—between #4 London and #6 Tokyo. Not too shabby for this port town. The Times calls out Oakland’s burgeoning restaurant scene, hip nightlife and music venues as major reasons why you should pencil in a trip to our neck of the woods. We heartily agree.

Moving clients from tactical to strategic is a two-way street

By Jeannette Bitz

As we enter into the new year, some food for thought on how to begin thinking and planning more strategically...

It's easy to complain about clients that seem firmly set in tactical mode. We're also all aware of clients who have let an agency go because of its lack of strategic insight or inability to drive a successful PR program.

Clients seek PR support because they have a business challenge or a goal in mind, but it is sometimes presented in tactical terms and short time frames. For example, the client wants to launch a product next month, secure an industry award, or garner more coverage than competitors. Or the client may just want you to handle media relations and speaking opportunities. As PR counselors, we need to guide their thinking:

• Ask questions that will help client executives think in larger terms about overall business and marketing goals.
• Establish expectations for PR and educate clients on the role PR plays in contributing to sales and business success. Be upfront and honest about what is and is not achievable.
• Be objective, while showing that we understand the client's technology and industry, that we know market conditions and the competitive landscape, and that we can respond creatively to communications opportunities and challenges.
• Show we understand how PR fits within the larger marketing mix and amplifies and extends other channels. This is critical to building agency credibility and hence the client's willingness to seek out and accept PR counsel.
• Demonstrate a systematic approach to PR planning and goal-setting. Gaining client buy-in to a PR plan that identifies measurable goals and objectives by audience, and that links key strategies and tactics to them, is critical to success.
• Maintain the agreed-upon PR plan as a living document, regularly reviewing and updating it according to results-to-date and changing realities.
• Refer continuously to the PR plan to focus both client and agency on what is or is not a strategic use of time or budget. The agency should spend its time on projects of greatest strategic impact, not on seductive but low-value opportunities or standalone tactics.

Ultimately, being a strategic partner in achieving results and managing resources is the best way to ensure that clients also behave strategically.

Seasons Greetings from Engage PR

By Molly Reynolds

What are your holiday wishes? At Engage PR, we're looking forward to another year with our wonderful clients. As we close out 2011, the team recounted EPR's holiday wishes. Along the way, we ran into a few "blooper moments".  Enjoy that gem of a video here: 
 

 We wish you happy holidays and a very happy 2012!

Does the new Twitter glitter?

By Mike Tomlinson

For all the supposed earth-rattling changes that Twitter built up in anticipation of its new layout, its quiet rollout over the past week left a lot of us at EPR hanging - do I even have the new twitter redesign? Is this really it? Thankfully, at least Christmas came early for me and I wasn’t the last in the office to roll over to the new design. Checking my account hour after hour, I was soon granted access to what I imagined would be a triumphant, gold plated Twitterdom of a new age; a revolutionary upheaval in how the tweeting masses, well.. tweeted!

Alas, what I realized was that despite a few noteworthy changes, businesses wouldn’t be changing their twitter strategy much, if at all. It wasn’t the gilded paradise I had been hoping for, but there were still a few changes worthy of a second glance.

One highlight of the new design that will help businesses are the ‘Connect’ and ‘Discover’ tabs on the user home page, making it easier for users to monitor exactly who is interacting with them as well as enabling a better ‘news feed’-like visual representation of what is trending between the website’s members. The obvious win for businesses is that keeping track of power re-tweeters and responders. This will help companies stay on-point or adjust their message depending on the trends developing from their account output. Expandable tweets—not something new—have been tweaked to allow users to expand tweets within the stream, saving users the hassle of being redirected to a sidebar or another page to read the full tweet or see its media contents.

Another neat new tool is the ability to embed tweets on a third party website; no longer must you capture a screenshot and upload it as a picture! Instead users are now able to feature, for example, a tweet by an industry analyst on their company’s press room page simply by copying the provided code on the bottom right of any tweet (‘Embed This’). This should lend more credibility to third-party tweets, giving others who want to promote things being said about them a clean, easy way to repost these comments on their own websites or online press rooms.

But, that was pretty much it (cue the sad face). Ultimately, anything that streamlines the steps required to get select information,  is a good thing, especially for businesses. Yet for most of us, our personal day-to-day usage of twitter likely will not change. The informal nature of twitter posts make it unlikely a company’s tweet—controversies aside— will wind up in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal. But the new layout means that staying in touch with key influencers is easier and more manageable, and that’s certainly something worth tweeting about.

Playoffs?! You Kiddin’ Me?

By Dale Legaspi, Guest Blogger

No…we are not kidding you, and yes, it is that time in the EPR Fantasy Football Season. With week one of the playoffs in the rear-view, let’s take a look at the wild card rounds and see what is upcoming in the semifinals.

In the absentee division, A-Bash, which inexplicably backed into the playoffs as a six-seed despite having the #1 overall player in QB Aaron Rodgers (along with a top-five RB in LeSean McCoy and arguably the top TE in Jimmy Graham), and proceeded to demolish third-seeded Foster’s Hammie, which was victimized by Arian Foster playing like his hamstring was still in week-1 form and Calvin Johnson forgetting how to get open and catch passes.
 
The executive division featured a much more even matchup, as 4-seed Bitzy’s Bashers benefited from huge days from RBs Maurice Jones-Drew and Brandon Jacobs (no…seriously) to outlast the Matt Forte-less Shake’n’Bake, despite a huge day from the Falcons tandem of QB Matt Ryan and WR Roddy White.

With Foster’s Hammie and Shake’n’Bake exiled to the fifth-place game, Bitzy’s Bashers will advance to face the top-seeded Meanie Mathenys, and A-Bash will take on Hoya Paranoia. Winners of those two games will face off in the EPR Fantasy Football Super Bowl, during the NFL’s week 16.

Triple Bottom Line is Pointing Us in the Wrong Direction

By Fran Lowe

"How we define the relationship between environment, society and the economy will dictate how well we respond to the challenges currently facing us," says Marianna Grossman, executive director of Sustainable Silicon Valley. 

In a recent article in Environmental Leader, Ms. Grossman calls the widely accepted model of three pillars of environment, economy and equity (or people, profit, planet), misleading.

'“The environment is the service provider that enables human society to exist. Human society creates the conditions, rules and relationships that support economic activity.” In other words, the environment contains human society and human society contains and creates the conditions for the economy.

Until we move away from the dominant model of 3 equal pillars (people, profit, planet) we will continue to address the wrong problem.

Ms. Grossman goes on to imagine several "what if’s" that fit under what she calls “regenerative capitalism.”

“What if we had an economy based on “regenerative capitalism?” Like a healthy natural ecosystem, what if materials cycled through the economy to be used and reused over and over again?”

Such questions will be the focus of Sustainable Silicon Valley’s annual WEST Summit taking place in 2012 in Santa Clara, CA. The goal of the WEST Summit is to catalyze a sea change in action towards long-term resiliency through distributed management of water and energy supply in Silicon Valley. The 2012 Summit will focus on the impact of climate change on global trade and regional resiliency.

Think no further than this year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the current flooding in Thailand to consider our current dependency on global trade and total vulnerability to the gathering realities of climate change.

Two more of Marianna Grossman’s "what if’s" seem eminently sensible: What if companies formed industrial “neighborhoods” where natural resources (materials, water and energy) can be used and reused, creating markets for waste streams as well as for finished products? This could create local jobs and reduce the energy required to ship finished goods and waste products long distances.

What if culture, ideas and communication were exchanged widely, but most manufacturing was done on a just-in-time basis, in a way that allows each region to meet their needs primarily from local resources (feedstocks, water, energy, labor, etc.)?

Let us and SSV know what you think of the new model for sustainability, and your own what if’s for “regenerative capitalism”.

Disclosure: SSV is a client of Engage PR.

Key Factors to Consider When Evaluating a Potential Client

By Jeannette Bitz

As the owner of an independent PR agency, one of my most important challenges is evaluating potential clients. A solid understanding of where a company stands in its market today and where it may be in five years can indicate if it has the resources we need to do the job or if we'll be spinning our wheels.

Every agency has a methodology to determine whether to stick with a client. I've found that by evaluating the factors below, I can be confident about the companies we take on.

Take a look at the industry experience of the CEO, CMO, and CCO. Have they had success in similar companies? Even C-level executives can get in over their heads or into markets where they have limited experience.

If it's a private company, do well-respected venture capital firms back it? If it's public, consider earnings-to-income ratio and trends.

Analysts are an excellent place to start investigating overall company health and how it compares to competitors. Is there a steady stream of new customers? Increasing sales and users? Examine the target market's size and maturity; is there room for growth?

In addition to being successful now, the company should have a clear vision for growing its market position, developing new products and services, and so on.  Lack of vision can be a major red flag indicating the company's business has a short runway.

Does your sense of where the company is now and where it's headed jibe with what its executives say in the media and what they want in an agency? Not every company can become the next Apple.

Is there a process that allows customer feedback to impact product development? Without an active feedback process, customer loyalty can drop off and market share can go to competitors.

For some companies, leadership changes mean a new CMO, marketing staff, and PR team. How many PR agencies had this prospect previously gone through? Identifying the reasons for high, or low, turnover can let you know how your firm may be treated.

Does the PR budget reflect the company's size, its business goals, and expected PR results? Does it allow the agency to add strategic value, and the client to react to additional opportunities?

Into the Looking Glass: A View into 2012

By Suzanne Panoplos

December is one our favorite time of year from a news perspective. It is the time of year when publications and media outlets begin issuing its “top” and “best” lists and when industry experts look into their crystal balls to predict the future.

Here at Engage PR, we definitely wouldn’t classify our staff as “industry experts” but we do have quite a bit of exposure to  interesting clients that align with hot trends such as cloud computing and consumer IT.  Because our clientele span across several markets from Mobile to Enterprise Software to Telecom to Green IT, we feel that we have a front row seat to some of the interesting technologies hitting the market.

In our year end version of our quarterly newsletter the team took a look at some of the interesting trends hitting the market in 2012; more importantly for our clients, we've examined how the media is covering these trends. We also thought it would be fun to look back into the rear view mirror to see how 2011 shaped up with respect to last year's "predictions".  We think that you will find some of the media trends from last year will still be very relevant in 2012.

Take a look at the latest edition of inFocus – we are always interested in hearing your views.

Media Prediction 2012 Misses Green Boat

By Fran Lowe

I can only conclude that the Financial Times is, as they claimed earlier this week, the early media leader in moving coverage of Green business to its front page and business sections. FT is doing away with separate coverage - bringing green, clean economy and environmental coverage into the mainstream. This end to the “ghettoization" of Green IT, clean tech and corporate sustainability is a positive sign.

It is significant that green is being seen as a new way of doing business.  It is not just about creating new efficiencies, new goods and new markets; but also, it relates to global issues such as supply chain sustainability and global resource management, to name but a few.

This positive sign, however, seemed to run into a major stop sign at this week’s PRSA Media Predicts event, a gathering of top media luminaries that deliver their insights on what technologies, topics and trends will be significant in 2012. When asked by an audience member to predict what would happen in green tech in 2012 – and presumably what the media will be looking to cover – there was decidedly a “universal deer in the headlights” moment from the star line up of eight tech journalists that included TV (Bloomberg and CNBC), NY Times, SF Chronicle, IDG, TechCrunch, technologizer, SFGate and O’Reilly Radar.

The response, when it came, referred to Nest, the maker of a cool new green thermostat for consumers and current favorite with Nick Bilton, NYTimes, (@nickbilton) with a comment on consumers needing to see the benefit or incentive.  That’s certainly true, but what about business?

Sadly, consumer bias was the tone for much of the panel discussion. Sam Whitmore(@samwhitmore) summed it up well the morning after noting that John Gallant (@JohnGallant1) from IDG single-handedly drove enterprise discussion.

 For those of us who focus on B2B and the drive for not just greater efficiency and reductions in energy consumption but real innovation that is building new products, categories and industries, this green thing is pretty big stuff!

We are Thankful

Complied by Molly Reynolds

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the team at Engage PR has been reflecting on what we’re thankful for. We’ve compiled a short list; feel free to add your own thoughts.

Happy Thanksgiving from the team at Engage PR!

 

• I am thankful for my great clients and their interesting technology which motivates me to come to work everyday.
• I am thankful for GPS!
• I am thankful for my iPhone – it brings me email, music, connections with friends and family, games, restaurant suggestions and reliable directions to everywhere I would like to go.
• Keyboard short cuts!
• I’m thankful for Google Alerts about client coverage.
• Outlook meeting reminders – I would be lost without them!
• I am thankful for iOS5 and the updated Google Maps feature that shows me three different possible routes for my trip.
• I’m also thankful for the Google Maps app on iPhones because of the “use public transportation” option.
• The Wii Fit that will help me work off all the wonderful holiday food!
• I'm thankful for Facetime on my Macbook; I can still feel close to my family who live far away.

In Sum: Nick Bilton’s “I Live in the Future and Here’s How It Works”

By Caitlin Mattias

I recently dove into a book from Nick Bilton, lead writer and technology reporter for the New York Times Bits blog, titled “I Live in the Future and Here’s How it Works.” As a PR practitioner, I’m skeptical when a journalist actually commits a book to print about technology – it seems dated the moment it hits the presses; but, overall I commend Bilton for his examination of culture and human behavior as it relates to the growing tech landscape.

Here are his most compelling points…in sum:

Adapt or die.Well, he doesn’t put it in such bleak terms, but those people (we all know at least one) that starkly refuse to purchase a smartphone, do not IM and frown upon emoticons and abbreviations, will soon be tagged as cultural outsiders. Bilton points to a quote from New York Times’ coverage around the introduction of the telephone in 1876:

“Thus the telephone, by bringing music and ministers into every house, will empty the concert halls and churches…”

We all know that the music recording industry didn’t collapse until the introduction of file sharing via Napster, so clearly the telephone’s detractors overestimated a tad on how long it would take for the phenomenon they describe to impact society. Long story short, the texting and social media naysayers are the “earth is flat” subculture of our generation. Come on, even the Dalai Lama is on Twitter these days.

Trust is king.With a constant stream of information about friends and family, products and news available via SMS, web browser or app, the way that people consume and filter data has changed. In the consumer world, word-of-mouth has long been known as the most impactful information leading to someone making a purchase. But in an environment where those endorsements come somewhat anonymously through forums and conversations online, we’ve developed a more sophisticated filter for what information is more valid or trustworthy for us as individuals.

Digital natives now look to their social “anchors” for the best information about where to eat, shop and play. These anchors vary on the situation, but are most often friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances. In the digital world, however, our anchors also expand to certain journalists and experts that we’ve developed virtual relationships with online through reading their blog, following their comments on Twitter, or listening to podcasts, etc. The power that these community “anchors” wield has not been lost on marketers, who are now keenly focused on building influence and credibility online.

Bilton posits that as artificial intelligence advances and takes advantage of our online activity (purchasing decisions, reading materials, email content, etc.), we may trust our Watson-like computers to act as the filter between us and the world.

It’s not you, it’s me.In the short history of social networks and online services, one trend is still plowing ahead: personalization. From the lastest iPhone’s Siri personal assistant technology to Spotify’s recommendations for what music you prefer, advances in software and hardware lead to consumers being able to make things more their own. Bilton sites a laundry list of services that have become wildly popular based on their ability to “guess” what our preferences are and deliver us the product that we’d be most likely to purchase, rent, or view as a result.

Customization has become key to the way that digital natives evaluate the quality of experience they receive from a device or service and what they’re willing to pay for it. This is having a profound impact on business models for digital services as companies flounder to find the right equation of pricing and unique experience to keep their customers engaged.

Back to the future.As technology and the way we use it evolves, Bilton expects big changes to our cognitive processes as a result of our mulit-tasking and always-on behavior. Are we addicted to our devices? Can video games make us better drivers or surgeons? Only time will tell how the brain reacts and filters the data we throw at it, but we can expect that the changes of the past 15 years will be eclipsed by the next 15. Hold onto your wi-fi, because it’s about to become a bumpy ride!

Mostly Cloudy with a Chance of Standardization

By Suzanne Panoplos

I had the opportunity to spend part of an afternoon at the Cloud Expo West in the Santa Clara Convention Center and one thing that became clear – the cloud hasn’t lost its buzz.  Having been in high tech for more years than I care to admit, it is often the case that this year’s hot tech can quickly become yesterday’s news.

This is not the case with the cloud. The show was humming with all aspects of the cloud – from cloud security to cloud automation to private clouds. It was clear that there was still some definition needed when it comes to defining the cloud in general and this becomes even more “gray” when you start to explore topics such as “private clouds” or what is “enterprise-class security”. Whereas vendors had surprisingly slightly different approaches when it comes to the cloud, one thing became apparent – 2012 will be the year that the cloud becomes more defined.

Take for example one panel on Security, presented by an all-women panel from the Cloud Network of Women. Aside from the fact that it was amazingly refreshing to see more women presenters (not to mention a panel of all women), the presenters offered up guidelines for securing the cloud that transcended the usual discussion of technology alphabet soup. The panel began with the speakers noting that most cloud apps/images are attacked within 7 minutes of being placed on the web. This is often the case because most developers are not security experts and either rely on weak default passwords or have migrated over security issues that already existed within the enterprise, on to the cloud. For example, almost 10% of all laptops have a botnet and for those that are personal laptops and brought on to the enterprise network from the "outside" - almost 30% have a botnet.
 
What companies fail to recognize with cloud security is the human factor. Despite all the security technology that is in place, employees without the proper knowledge base and defined processes cannot protect data in the cloud. An organization must first have robust security practices in place and make sure that the workforce has been properly educated on implementing robust security guidelines. 
   
Hand in hand with security is data management. The panel also discussed the fact organizations must have a SIM or a Security Management System in place to make sure that they had command and control of the data in the cloud. This also extends to memory forensics and analytics so that organizations can glean more information to better manage its cloud services.

With a security discussion focused on processes, systems, best practices, education – it sounds like cloud standardization is not far behind.

Pumpkins, Spiders and Candy… Oh my!

By Leslie Schmidt

The spookiest time of year has yet again come and gone - but not without leaving a trail of delicious candy behind at Engage PR!

Engage PR has quite a few holiday traditions in the office, but my new favorite is BOO-ing! For those of you who have never heard of this strange tradition, let me take you though the steps. Starting on October 1st, one sneaky EPR employee decorated a colleague’s desk without their knowledge. The next day when the colleague came to work, they unexpectedly walked into a black and orange circus tent full of pumpkins, spiders and candy corn! And so it began. One by one, each employee was BOO-ed until no desk was left un-spider webbed! This year, the BOO-ing lasted all through the month, leaving many employees scratching their head as to who could have done the sneaky decorating!

Once all the EPR desks were decorated from floor to ceiling, it was time to celebrate. On Halloween day, we did what EPR does best - had a festive potluck! Only this time we were eating in style. Costume style that is. On the day of the potluck, the office also decided to have a costume contest. With a witch, a nerd, an Occupy Alameda protester, GI Jane, Michael Jackson, Charlie Chaplin and the devil twins  - there was quite a variety for voting. In the end, the protester and Charlie Chaplin took home first and second place! Congrats ladies!

For even more Halloween fun check out this scary slideshow to see EPR’s Halloween decorating skills!

Celebrity Journalists & the Trust Factor

By Caitlin Mattias

Newspapers, and the publishing world in general, are in crisis. We’ve watched as the biggest names in national news have floundered to regain subscriber numbers by alternately posting free content online, despairing at low advertising returns, erecting paywalls and tearing them down again. Meanwhile, print subscriptions continue to be cancelled and aggregators like Google News have become our go-to source for news in real time.

Many journalists have given up the industry altogether, heading for greener (and more secure) pastures practicing public relations for companies they once reported on, or even launching their own venture capital fund, e.g. Michael Arrington’s CrunchFund. With fewer overall journalism jobs, the competition is fierce…but no less fierce than the fight for readership.

Our world is now driven by metrics like page hits, retweets, and Facebook “likes.” Though many publications have denied using web traffic as a metric in performance reviews and layoffs, there’s no denying that some journalists and bloggers have risen from the masses as pseudo-celebrities. This is especially true in the tech world.

These big names – think Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of Wall Street Journal’s All Things D, Nick Bilton, David Pogue and Jenna Wortham of The New York Times – are becoming more relevant in a changing culture where trust is the true coin of the realm. In an online ecosystem where rumor abounds and the allure of page hits often trumps verifiable facts, readers have developed highly-sophisticated radars for paid content. We can smell thinly-veiled advertising a mile away and don’t turn to that blog or news source again as we make purchasing decisions.

All the statistics will tell you that we first trust “people like us” more than any journalist or so-called expert, but this mindset only extends so far. Especially as consumer electronics companies rely on the live media conference launch of Apple fame, we have no other choice than to turn to reporters who were front-and-center to drill down the facts for us. The question is – have these reporters developed such cache that we’ll follow where they lead?

Earlier this year, popular consumer technology columnist Rob Pegoraro left The Washington Post, but hasn’t seem to affected his invites to major product launches, like the recent launch of the Kindle Fire. He’s been enjoying his time according to his blog, spending time in the garden, but has been recruited as a freelancer by the Consumer Electronics Association and Discovery. He doesn’t get the scores of replies he was used to while working for the Post, but it’s clear that he’s still viewed as a credible source of gadget knowledge.

Josh Topolsky and a whole host of Engadget’s greatest writers left the site last spring and are close to launching The Verge,what’s sure to be a new competitor in the tech blogosphere. Knowing the quality writers backing this project, I’ll be sure to drop in to check it out at the very least.

Only time will tell how this trend continues, but do you see yourself following the journalists you trust from publication to publication? Or are they only the cogs in the wheel of great journalism that’s sure to continue with or without them?

A Integrated Approach To Building Thought Leadership Using Social Media – And why the C-level Needs to be Authentically Involved

By Fran Lowe

A recent IBM research report covered in Mediabistro revealed that although top marketing execs are well aware of the major shift taking place via social media, a majority of them are unprepared to address this new world. Based on responses from 1,700 chief marketing officers (CMOs) from 64 countries and 19 industries, the Global CMO Study reveals that while 56 percent of CMOs view social media as a key engagement channel, only 26 percent are tracking blogs. Additionally, 42 percent are tracking third-party reviews and 48 percent are tracking consumer reviews to help shape their marketing strategies.

I don’t know if the study also asked the CMOs or their C-level colleagues if they were actively participating in social media on their own behalf or that of their company; but, I suspect a sizeable number are still only peripherally engaged and have not yet experienced the power of social media.

Social media offers a way in; a way to connect and collaborate with members of your audience or community that you would never otherwise reach, and an opportunity to influence. But, here’s the thing – it takes passion, time and commitment. It also requires authenticity and a strategic, integrated approach with your overall PR and marketing plans and the ability to talk about issues.

Offering insights and fresh-thinking on issues that impact your market space; discussing and highlighting emerging trends; sharing commentary and new or controversial thinking from others as well as yourself, AND resisting the impulse to “market” your own company and products, is what differentiates social media pros from those who simply see social media as another channel to blast out their marketing or PR messages.

All good communication starts with predefined goals and is built around a sound strategy and compelling messaging. Part of the payoff with social media done right is that you have the opportunity to “socialize” your audience so they will hear and respond to what you are saying. And the key to social media is to use it in concert with all your other strategic communications channels and tools – hence the need for an integrated approach.

Your target audience, whether that is 50 of the top influencers or reporters and analysts covering networking or green IT for example, operates in an interconnected world. Your communications outreach must perform the same way. Consistent, insightful blogging may result in syndication or a speaking opportunity.  Building a highly targeted Twitter following, showing Twitter love and linking to your own blog, website or media coverage can get you listed on key “Top 10 lists” and help establish you as a Thought Leader in your own right.

The point is social media is not a random practice. To attain the results and ROI you would demand from any marketing or PR program, social media needs to be approached strategically as an integral part of outreach over time. It is essential to have the right messages, channels and outlets to reach the audiences you need to reach.

Engage PR is presenting a webinar on Using Social Media to Build Thought Leadership this coming Monday on October 31, in conjunction with Sustainable Silicon Valley. The webinar will guide tech and CSR executives on integrating social media into company strategy, with a presentation and Q&A session.  Additionally, Greg Ness, VP of Marketing at Vantage Data Centers and an Engage PR client, will discuss how he has used social media to build his own personal brand and thought leadership over the past 5 years.

Dear iPhone - I Miss You

By Roya Pakfetrat

A few months ago I did the near impossible - I said good-bye to my iPhone 3S and hello to the HTC Evo 4G. Man, oh, man  - I really miss that pretty little piece of technology from Apple. The Android is fine and dandy but the iPhone changed my life.

At the time, I was switching from a solo plan on AT&T to a family plan with Sprint. Economically, it was the right decision but emotionally and mentally, it was not. Now, of course, Sprint is offering the iPhone – but that’s not why I’m here today.

I may not currently be an iPhone user but I plan to be one (again) soon and in the mean time, I can at least read about the cool new iPhone 4S. Here is some of the latest hype on the new gadget:

• Apple sold 4 million units in just three days. So, if you’re thinking of buying the new phone from the Apple store, note that they are asking customers to reserve it online first.
• With the new “find my friend” application, you can even catch a cheating spouse. What could be better - a single app that helps you track users and end bad relationships!
• With “Stuff” Siri Says, you get a unique view intoApple’s new personal assistant, Siri. This site posts screen shots that capture her comical responses.
• Aside from entertainment, Siri does really seem to be a hit so far. A recent Mashable review from a veteran speech recognition user backs this up:
  “Its speech recognition isn’t perfect, and some of its errors are laughable, but in a quiet environment, its accuracy is nearly equal to that of the desktop version of NaturallySpeaking running on extremely powerful processors.”

Until I get to “find my friends” and tell Siri what to do for me, I’ll just have to live vicariously through the endless bloggers, users and writers who are loving their new iPhone 4S.