Malcom Lewis the SVP and General Manager at Spreebird. Craig and Malcom will discuss Social Media and Black Friday and how Websites, Email and Mobile can get you daily deals from thousands of merchants. About 1 in 4 smartphone owners will use a mobile device for holiday shopping, according to an annual holiday survey by Deloitte. About 59% will use their phones to compare or check prices, 46% will use phones to check product availability, and 41% will get coupons through their handsets.        Mobile search, for example, matches local businesses’ products and services with the needs of busy household managers, empowering consumers by providing valuable search environments for discovering local deals, saving time and money, and shopping smarter, during the heaviest shopping season of the year.

Nick Swinmurn the Founder of Rankd. Craig and Nick will talk about Black Friday and how you can use RNKD as a fun way to earn VIP status, discounts and rewards from the brands you love by showing them which products you already own.

Kevin Johnson the CEO at E-Bates. Craig and Kevin will discuss E-commerce and Digital Marketing. From niceties to necessities, members of Ebates benefit from incentives at top-name merchants for everything from furniture to fashion and appliances to airfare hassle-free shopping with Ebates that includes no rebate forms to fill out and no points or miles to redeem, the site supports a strong community of savvy shoppers across the country and around the world.

Amar Hanspal the SVP of Platform Solutions at Autodesk. Criag and Amar will discuss how Autodesk has taken advantage of the iPhone, iPad and the infinite computing power available in the cloud to offer companies of any size access to high performance visualization, simulation, analysis and collaboration technologies including AutoCAD WS and the Inventor Publisher Mobile Viewer App. Additionally, Mobile and web technologies are also making it possible for Autodesk to offer a new audience of amateur designers, home owners, students and casual creators access to professional strength design tools through SketchBook, Homestyler and TinkerBox.

Todd McKeller the VP North America for Mobiles Republic. Craig and Todd discuss Apps what makes them successful. Mobiles Republic quickly established a reputation for innovation and excellence in developing successful apps for the smartphone market as well as award winning apps for feature phones including the prestigious Sony Ericsson Content Award. News Republic delivers 10,000 news stories a day from over 180 major news providers, but allows users to create topic-specific “My News” streams that filter this mass of information down to the exact stories that interest them.  For example, if you create a “My News” stream for “Paul Westcott,” that stream will capture every article about Paul Westcott for you.

Michael Wong the CEO and Founder of CooTek. Craig and Michael will discuss how to enrich the functionality of your mobile devices. TouchPal Keyboard, based on CooTek’s multiple patented technology, offers a good substitution to stock mobile device keyboards. After using TouchPal  Keyboard for a while, users often find they can type faster than ever on a virtual keyboard.

Bob Schena the CEO and Co-Founder of Rajant Corporation. Craig and Bob will discuss portable wireless mesh networks that offer secure communications-on-the-move through by being able to rapidly reconfigure and adapt in real-time. Rajant’s kinetic mesh networks are a new approach to portable wireless networks where all of the components of the networks including the nodes are constantly in motion.

Sonpreet Bhatia the Co-Founder of MyCityWay. Craig and Sonpreet will discuss MyCityWay which was designed to help anyone navigate and explore the world’s cities, like never before. for example: To find a Chinese restaurant in your neighborhood, locate the nearest wireless hotspot, or buy tickets for the next showing of a blockbuster movie or even to Connect with other users to find the perfect lunch spot, keep tabs on apartments for rent, or check a live traffic feed before you leave the office.

Andy Zimmerman the Chief Marketing Officer at Brainshark. Craig and Andy will discuss how to conduct business on the go cloud-based software lets users create online and mobile video presentations – using simple business tools like PowerPoint and the telephone – and then share and track their content anytime, anywhere improving the reach and results of their business communications, while dramatically reducing communications costs.

Catherine D’Amato the Executive Director at the Greater Boston Food Bank. Craig and Catherine will discuss how the Greater Boston Food Banks distribution of food has increased from 8 to 35 million pounds of food per year and how they are using Social Media to raise awareness and involve people in their mission. They have released an app called Give a Doodle.

Todd Porter – VP Product Innovation and Marketing at QUMU. Craig and Todd will discuss Mobile Video Solutions that engage and inspire employees, improve productivity, and reduce costs Regardless of audience size, viewer device, or network configuration, Qumu simply makes video work. Only Qumu delivers the Freedom to work with existing infrastructure; the Power to reach everyone; and the Control to do it right.

On Show 627 Craig spoke with the following guests.

Chris Holbert the CEO at SecuraTrac joins Craig to discuss a new technology to the market that brings peace of mind to families, protecting children, the elderly and pets by allowing us to know where our loved ones are located at all times. SecuraTrac® develops, markets, and sells a suite of products dedicated to bringing families closer together and improving employee safety through GPS location based technology and state-of-the-art, easy-to-use websites.

Stuart Putney the CEO and Founder of Mobylyng joins Craig to discuss HTML5 technology and its advantages for social games for mobile devices and social networks. They will also discuss which Moblyng Games have just launched on the Facebook platform.

Rachel Carollo is the Senior Director of Marketing for Fandango joins Craig to discuss the nation’s leading moviegoer destination and a unit of NBCUniversal. Fandango, the leader in the moviegoing mobile and tablet space, has seen nearly 20 million downloads of its various apps, which have won three 2011 Webby Awards.  It seems that more and more moviegoers are choosing apps as their preferred means of getting movie tickets and information.

Mark Guarnera the Executive Vice President at Vendini joins Craig to discuss the industry’s first enterprise cloud based ticketing system. Thousands of organizations utilize Vendini’s solutions for event promotion, ticket sales, and box office management of operations. The company’s suite of applications includes a fully integrated marketing system to promote events via email and social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Brian Curry the VP of Product and Business Strategy at You Send it joins Craig to discuss business content collaboration. YouSendIt helps enterprises and business professionals streamline collaboration by enabling them to instantly sync and access content in the cloud and easily send files, share folders, and sign documents from anywhere — the desktop, Web or mobile devices.

Josh Koppel is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Scroll Motion joins Craig to discuss reshaping how people experience digital information and entertainment. ScrollMotion believes technology should enable, not dictate, the creative process, they offer end-to-end solutions that help companies create and distribute across digital devices without losing what makes their brands unique.

Keith Smith the President and COO at CorFire joins Craig to discuss the mobile commerce business. CorFire offers mobile technology platforms to financial institutions, mobile network operators (MNOs), payment processors, card issuers, retailers, and other technology innovators that enable delivery of mobile commerce to the mobile phone today.  Its three core technology offerings include its Trusted Services Manager (TSM) platform, a robust mobile wallet platform, and a state-of-the-art suite of mobile marketing platform.

Gregg Dunn the VP of Project Management at Sybase joins Craig to discuss Mobile Payments. Sybase 365 is the global leader in enabling mobile information services for mobile operators, financial institutions and enterprises. The recent launch of the Google Wallet has gotten the industry a buzz about what the future of mobile payments, and a mobile wallet will look like. The mobile wallet is a technology that enables consumers to transact, interact and engage with their favorite brands

Adam Kotkin the CEO at Apps Genius joins Craig to discuss Apps and Social Gaming. Apps Genius creates innovative social games and mobile applications that let you play together with real-world friends and family using the infrastructure built by social and wireless networks. The company’s cross-platform gaming and mobile applications allow users to play and interact with the same people such user would play cards, board games or go bowling within the real world, regardless of the network they are on.

Kevin Stapleford the President of V2 Broadcasting joins Craig to discuss changing the way businesses digitally connect with their customer inside of their store. V2’s proprietary The Neighborhood® shapes a unique digital customer experience that includes customized entertainment and games along shopping content, product information and social interaction right to customers’ mobile devices.

Beth Murphy the Chief Marketing Officer at Hotels Tonight joins Craig to discuss their same-day hotel booking app that brings you the best, last-minute deals. HotelTonight is made-for-mobile and available as a free download in the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace. Perfect for business travelers, vacationers and locals alike, HotelTonight brings you deals in top hotels.

According to government statistics, there are over 24 million businesses in the United States with fewer than 500 employees and they are the back bone of American economy. Most of the small business owners doesn’t have a website and don’t have the knowledge of how to market their products and services.

As more and more consumers turn to the internet to find products and services, these small business owners are faced with lot of challenges – online marketing, web presence, advertisement, yellow directories, global reaches, e-commerce, market survey, etc.

In order to meet these business challenges, John Wall’s Innuity has come up a good solution exclusively for small business owners. Innuity offers Software as a Service (SaaS) platform – which designs, acquires and integrates software applications to deliver solutions for small business.

A disparity exists, however, between consumer practice and small business response. While nearly 75% of U.S. consumers use the Internet as a source when shopping for goods and services, less than 10% of advertising dollars are spent online, and fully half of all small businesses don’t even have a website.

Innuity is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that designs and integrates applications to deliver solutions specifically targeted to small businesses from sole proprietors working from home, to local family doctors, to neighborhood restaurants, and almost everything in between.

The company’s Internet technology is based on an affordable, on-demand model that allows small businesses to interact simply with customers, business partners and vendors and efficiently manage their business. Using Innuity’s on-demand applications, small businesses can grow their revenues, reach and serve customers and run everyday operations.

Innuity currently has two operating divisions, Promotion and Commerce, each of which is focused on a critical business process. The applications and solutions offered by the Promotion division help small businesses market and promote their products and services, while the offerings of the Commerce division can facilitate and improve a small business’ selling processes and transaction processing capabilities.

Innuity delivers its small business information system solutions through its Internet technology platform – Innuity Velocity. The Velocity platform provides small businesses the opportunity to choose applications that are right for their businesses – individually or as an integrated package – with minimum initial start-up costs and maintenance.

With Innuity’s use-based pricing, small businesses pay a monthly subscription fee for the applications or integrated packages that address three major small business life stages: Getting started, growth and profitability.

For years, many small business owners spent much of their advertising dollars on traditional media such as yellow page listings or print advertising in local newspapers. (Some small businesses even choosing outrageous names for the sole purpose of getting ahead of the competition in alphabetic listings.) In the online marketplace, small businesses often lag behind local competition and the bigger e-tailers due to lack of computer know-how and an inability to adapt their messaging and optimize potential to be seen by new customers.

There are dozens of ways for small businesses to distinguish themselves and be seen by online consumers from targeted online advertising campaigns to enhanced search engine optimization.

With Innuity’s LeadConnect, businesses can be found quickly and easily by online consumers searching for applicable local goods and services. The LeadConnect service provides a simple-to-use system to gather key business data from business owners and distribute that information to the major local search engines and yellow page directories, including Google, Yahoo, and MSN, and twenty-seven more.

Innuity’s Promotion division connects businesses with customers who are most likely to buy their particular products and services – helping generate new customers as well as grow existing customer revenue. The division currently includes two business lines: Small Business Online Marketing & Search Engine Marketing.

The Small Business Online Marketing business line provides affordable solutions that comprehensively and immediately promote small businesses online and rapidly build strong customer bases.

With Innuity’s online marketing solutions, current and new customers of small businesses can find small businesses online quickly and easily via local search results and pay-per-click ads; learn about small businesses’ product and service offerings via clear, compelling and easy-to-navigate websites; and purchase a merchant’s products and services online, with ease and efficiency. Small Business Online Marketing features the following core products:

LeadConnect™: Drives top local search rankings for Innuity’s customers in the major search engines. Develops enhanced online local business profiles, places customized business profiles in one centralized location and automatically distributes these business profiles to major search engines and yellow page directories including Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, Citysearch, YP Guides and YellowPages.com.

Business Websites: Design, implementation and delivery of websites to effectively market small businesses online, provide successful customer interaction and help current and prospective customers learn about the business.

eCommerce Websites: Design, implementation and delivery of websites with safe and secure online stores, and creation and maintenance of compelling online storefronts — providing a quick, thorough and efficient way to sell products online.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising: Identify, analyze and select high-impact keywords; buy sponsored listings, advertising space, in places such as Google for identified keywords and keyword phrases; and rapidly deliver highly qualified leads.

The Search Engine Marketing business line delivers higher-end, interactive marketing agency capabilities for businesses seeking comprehensive online marketing solutions.
 SEM offerings help businesses design and implement in-depth search engine marketing strategies; deliver and convert highly qualified leads to customers; and develop higher natural rankings on search engines for clients’ keywords, transforming keywords and websites into long-term client assets. Search Engine Marketing features the following core products:

• Search Engine Optimization: Designed to deliver high natural search engine results (rankings) for carefully selected, high-impact keywords at a fraction of the cost for premium, paid keyword search engine placement. Continuous optimization efforts transform websites into long-term assets.
• Pay-Per-Click Advertising: Identify, analyze and select high-impact keywords; buy sponsored listings, advertising space, on search engines for identified keywords and keyword phrases; and quickly deliver highly qualified leads.

Innuity’s Commerce division provides the operational capability for processing, managing and supporting commerce transactions between small businesses, their online and offline customers, vendors and business partners.

The Merchant Services business line’s offerings deliver complete, end-to-end payment and processing solutions for merchants — bringing faster credit capabilities to Innuity’s customers.

Providing all the functionality and support needed to conduct bank card services, Merchant Services offers a thorough merchant solution  including merchant approval software, bank card acquiring and comprehensive merchant life cycle management products; convenient and easy-to-use payment acceptance and processing solutions that are fully functional with multiple payment acceptance methods; and seamless payment engine delivery. The Merchant Services business line delivers three principal offerings – Merchant Life Cycle Management, Bank Card Acquiring and Gateway.

Merchant Life Cycle Management (MLCM) products provide rapid merchant account application processing, real time credit scoring, board automation, contract origination, settlement data, risk management and profitability and residual management. MLCM products take merchant applications from the prospect stage through account set-up and boarding; then advance the merchant process to total terminal set-up, transaction processing and detailed daily reporting. The result is a streamlined, integrated and seamless user experience.

The Bank Card Acquiring (BCA) program provides the ability to accept retail credit cards — collecting payment from consumers’ credit cards or debit cards for goods and services sold. We have partnered with J.P. Morgan Chase &  Co., the nation’s largest merchant processing bank, to provide timely, secure and reliable payment processing capabilities and technology.

The Gateway offerings provide eCommerce, mail order, telephone order and virtual point-of-sale transaction processing. To know more about Gateway, click here.

You can click on these links to get more information on innuity, LeadConnect and YpGuides.

John Wall
CEO
Innuity

John Wall – A biography

John Wall is the CEO of Innuity and is an articulate proponent of American small business as well as an online industry expert.

A well-known technology entrepreneur, John Wall founded and grew his first company, Wall Data, to a $150 million, publicly held company.  During his 17-year leadership and CEO tenure, he transformed a fledging enterprise into a connectivity powerhouse and built dominant enterprise acceptance for his RUMBA product line brand.

John founded Vista.com (now renamed Innuity) in 1999 to reach out again to a vastly underserved market from a technology standpoint — small business. His vision now is to help small businesses 10x their business.
A technologist as well as company builder, John believes in the power of breakthrough technologies, strong teams, clear priorities, and dedication to exceeding customer expectations. Like other committed and long-term entrepreneurs, John is most interested in building a company that has a profound and lasting market impact.

John is a civic leader in his Seattle home town and has been chairman of the Washington Software Alliance and the Digital Blackboard Foundation, and board director for the Corporate Council for the Arts. He is currently on the visiting committee for the University of Washington’s Physics Department. John holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Northern Arizona University.

Here is a small piece of information shared by Andrew S. Field. Andrew is the President and CEO of Printing for less.com. He feels as a small business owners you can save yourself, your employees and your customers time and money by doing small things. Let us look at one by one.

You can leverage technology in all your dealings. You can buy your supplies online. Some of the administrative support functions such as banking, paying the bills can be automated through online. You can buy your marketing materials such as website, logo design to printing and mailing lists. Printing for less.com is one such company, which provides all these services online. You don’t need to step out on your vehicle and go to the printer to get all the works done. Printing for less.com can do all these work for you online. You can also develop your downline to work smarter. During slow periods, you can take advantage of low-cost online training if relevant. This makes your staff get motivated and do more for you.

You can use technology to make it easy for your customers. You can save their precious time and worries. If you put all your goods and services online, it is available to your customers 24X7 even if you are not there. Some of the things you can put oneline are product information, order tracking, company information, resource links, where it can use freely. Through this online display, you will maximize valuable people –power by automating routine transactions online so your team can focus on providing higher-value-add services. You can also advertise their products and link to other sites. This will help customers where to find you. If they feel that this is an easy way to do business and creating a remarkable experience for customers, you’ll be sure to get people talking and increase referrals this summer for your business.

To boost the summer sales, you can use direct mail services. Summers are the perfect time for a direct mail campaign. You can get the phone ringing with increased communication to prospects / customers. You can also use a print provider that can handle the mailings too. To get the beautiful direct mail designs, take the help of Printing for less.com

Another way is to increase the brand visibility. During the slow summers, you can use a integrated look and feel to re-inforce your company branding and increase top-of-mind-awareness. You can use full-color stationery, which is great for a professional image and branding at every touch point.

For better networking and attending trade shows, you need to use quality and eye-catching business cards and marketing materials are a must. You can re-design new cards.

Why don’t you use an e-commerce printing solution especially over the summer? It’s convenient, affordable and the turnaround will be faster.

There are some online printers who can give you the ability to order print jobs right from your computer. You just need to simply upload your print file (in any format). They will review it and approve your proof and deliver at your door step. It just as a “one stop shops” who can handle your printing and mailing needs effortlessly.

Most local printers can take weeks to handle a job from quote to finish. Online printers can usually turn your project around quickly – usually anywhere from 2-7 days. You can really save lot of time here. E-commerce printers often have lower prices than local print shops. Assume that you are ordering high quantities, you will get it at lower per-piece prices too. Internet gives you the opportunity to develop a great relationship with a printer located across the country.

While selecting your e-commerce / online printing solution, check their service. With an online printer, service is the key to a successful print project. Make sure the representative are available, friendly, and polite while talking to you. Ensure that the representatives are knowledgeable and able to answer your queries. Also, check whether they have received any service awards. Are they flexible? Can you configure a project the way you want or are there limited options?

Is their work 100% guaranteed? Check BBB. Check the fine print to make sure there are no weasel words. Ask for specifics on the guarantee?

Obviously quality matters. Request for samples of printed products before ordering. How about the quality of paper used and the printing equipment? What about testimonials? Do they have printing experience and who are their clients? All these matter when you choose online printing options.

Always, avoid looking for cheapest price. You get what you pay for – it will be usually inferior quality, substandard service and sometime you don’t get technical support too. It’s easy to find affordable printing service that can compete in quality with the big guys.

So, this summer you can do a lot now.

Andrew S. Field
President and CEO
Printing for Less.com

Andrew S. Field – A biography

Andrew S. Field is the President and CEO of Printing for less.com. Andrew Field launched PrintingForLess.com in 1996, and has since led a revolution in the commercial printing industry, tapping the power of the Internet to build one of the country’s fastest-growing companies.

Andrew’s affinity for the printing business began when he learned to run a press in high school and got a job at a local print shop in his home town of San Mateo, California. From there he worked for print shops in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, until switching careers to sales and business management when he moved to Montana in 1989.

He started a successful local automotive service business, then secured a regional distributorship for Wynn Oil Company, a worldwide manufacturer of specialty chemicals. The distributorship won Wynn Oil’s coveted award for #1 in U.S. market penetration five out of six years from 1994 to1999. After founding PFL in 1996, Andrew turned over operations of American Automotive Supply to his wife, Victoria, in 2001 so he could devote his efforts to growing his third startup company.

Andrew was named Montana’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004 for his contributions to the local economy. He was recognized by Winning Workplaces and Fortune Small Business as a winner of the 2005 Best Bosses Award for innovative approaches that have created a high-performance workplace. Through his leadership of the company’s operations and progressive business practices, he has built a dynamic culture that both empowers and inspires his employees for success.

Andrew’s leadership and maverick tendencies first showed in college (Washington University in St. Louis) where he organized a strike to protest the unhealthy dorm food. A competitive swimmer as a youth, he now dabbles in skiing and fly fishing, and enjoys floating the Yellowstone River. Andrew’s devotion to his border collie, Jessie, was the inspiration for PFL’s dog-friendly environment. What inspires him is the fine people he works with and the opportunity his company has created for them to live their dreams in Montana.
About PrintingForLess.com

PrintingForLess.com is the first and leading online commercial printing company in the United States. Located in southwest Montana, PrintingForLess.com provides unmatched technical and customer support and instant online pricing and ordering for full-color printed pieces. Go to www.printingforless.com for affordable marketing materials including: business cards, brochures, postcards, newsletters, letterhead, and more. For additional information, please visit their website.

I found some of the top talent in the Promotion, Advertising and Marketing industry at Ad:Tech in New York City about a week ago and I’ve got personal interviews all ready to go on-air.  In these one-on-one sessions, we talk about the techniques and technologies that are going to help businesses get their messages out, what’s happening with the new mobile platforms, what are the security risks and much more.  I’ll post more individualized information as we air the interviews.

Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll hear from:

• Pushpins – Grocery Coupons via iPhone
• Gold Spot Media – Interactive rich media and video advertising solutions for mobile web and applications, and rapid app creation tools for smartphone, feature phone and mobile tablet platforms.
• DSNR Media Group – Result-based internet & Mobile advertising solution provider
• WinBuyer – The WinBuyer Shoppers Audience Network enables advertisers to create highly targeted campaigns that engage over 35 million unique US consumers per month while they are making purchase decisions.
• Mediaspectrum – Manages advertising and content for the world’s largest media companies.
• Mirror Image – Combines a patented global network with results-driven content delivery solutions to help customers deploy, monitor and refine online strategies.
• Conduit – Provides web publishers with effective marketing methods for creating community among their customers/member/users.
• Tech Media Network – The fastest growing publisher and digital content provider in the technology news sector.  Publishes Space.com, TopTenReviews.com, LiveScience.com, Newsarama, TechNewsDaily, Our Amazing Planet, Life’s Little Mysteries, MyHealthNewsDaily, BusinessNewsDaily, iPadNewsDaily, North Orion, SecurityNewsDaily, and Herman Street.
• Acxiom – Helps to engage consumers at every interaction, avoiding wasted impressions, reaching just those that clients want, at the right moment and the right time.
• Exent – Broadband-based monetization of PC and video games.
• TeleNav, Inc. – They power turn-by-turn voice driven navigation that is delivered on mobile phones.
• 2adpro – 2adpro is the leading provider of ad design and high-volume production services for clients requiring very fast turnaround.
• Agendize – A one-stop-shop for plug-n-play “click-to-action” tools helping any advertiser convert traffic into online and offline conversations.
• Ziplocal – A leader in providing an innovative source of information for local businesses and communities.
• MGID Inc (Media Guide Internet Database) – A free service that allows any content driven site to advertise it’s original content and find more viewers.
• Mob Partner/Amobee – Helps to monetize mobile media to facilitate the convergence between advertisers and publishers.
• Evil Genius Designs, Inc. – A PepsiCo10 winner – combines social and interactive media, gaming and mobile technologies to create unique, engaging experiences for guests.
• Experian Marketing Services – Experian Marketing Services delivers best-in-breed data, analytics and platforms into multiple regions around the globe.
• SRDS – The “Google” of the media industry as over 95% of the US Ad agencies use our search engine to help them make an advertising decision.  Now providing information about mobile advertising.
• Email Direct – While the Email Marketing Service Provider space is crowded, EmailDirect continues to be a compelling choice for organizations that need a robust feature set and expert consultation/support.
• Beyond.com – The world’s largest portfolio of niche career communities, providing access to thousands of top-tier industry and local web sites.

So… we’re going to New York to get some more live on-site interviews with industry leaders at ad:tech!

We’re planning on putting together a series of interviews bundled with our regular shows to help businesses get back on their feet using modern Advertising and Marketing!  What is the technology in use today for Advertising and Marketing, everything from broadcasting through direct-mail and doing-it-yourself through hiring an agency.  What can business owners/managers use/do to help promote their businesses in this increasingly cluttered and busy world?

This should be a fun series that we’ll be sure to post on our podcast site!

Drop us a note if you have any feedback, and thanks for reading/listening!

We’ve been working on some shows to bring everyone up-to-date on how online marketing works.  We’re planning on covering everything from building web sites and email lists through how to conduct business online.

The economy’s tough, so we’re looking for ways to help our listeners improve their current business or start a new one.  Send us a note and let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you with your current or future online business.

We’re planning on attending Search Engine Strategies in New York City next week.  It looks like a great show covering soup-to-nuts on how you can get better rankings online.  Let us know if there’s someone we should talk to there, or follow-up with.  You can contact us by posting a comment to this article or via email to producer at my website, craigpeterson.com

From their home page:

“Connect with your Customers – Learn How to Use All Dimensions of Search

“Approximately 5,000 marketers and search engine optimization professionals attend SES New York each year to network and learn about topics such as PPC management, keyword research, SEO, social media, local, mobile, link building, duplicate content, multiple site issues, video optimization, site optimization, usability and more.

“SES New York will be packed with 70+ sessions, multiple keynotes, 100+ exhibitors, networking events and parties.”

If you could ask the CEOs and other execs of any of the Major Consumer Electronics Companies anything, what would it be?   Are you interested in their products, the direction of their industry, what pets they have, what?

This is your chance to ask them questions, an opportunity that may never happen again.  From Product Direction through Marketing, Sales and Distribution and even personal questions, they’re all fair game and this is your chance.

Since you’re following me, you probably already know that I’ve interviewed the top people at every major Consumer Electronics firm in the world.  I’ve interviewed more than 5,000 CEOs, CTOs and Marketing Officers over my past 535+ ClearChannel Radio shows in the Boston Market.

Next week, I’m going to be out at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and I’m going to be recording interviews, dozens of them.  I’ll be there with my official media credentials and recording equipment asking questions and putting together more radio shows.

Now, here’s the important part for you:  For the first time ever, I’m going to be asking them some of your questions.  I’ve never made this offer before, and I’m a little reluctant to do it — after all, we’ve all heard some people ask some pretty silly questions…  But I’m willing to give it a try.

I’m going to be using my Twitter account (@CraigPeterson) to post basic information about each guest I’m interviewing as it happens.  If you have a question for them (or for anyone), just go ahead and subscribe to my Tweets and reply when you see something interesting.  It’s that simple.

I’ll take the (reasonable) questions, ask them to the executives, record the interviews, tweet back and post the answers on my web site (http://CraigPeterson.com)  This will let you be part of the action on the floor of the largest conference and convention in the world!  Check it out at http://www.cesweb.org/

Don’t forget to follow my Tweets at http://twitter.com/craigpeterson and let me know what you think. Another milestone for social media.

Looking for a part-time/as-needed Administrative Assistant with solid small-business experience in a position that may grow into a full-time slot.

Must be an almost-native English speaker, have a positive, get-things-done attitude with a strong goal orientation and the ability to take initiative. Must be able to work primarily in the US Eastern (EST/EDT) TimeZone.

The selected candidate will be working with a business consultant who has a number of clients in different industries, and therefore must have a broad-based background.

This person will be working with a fairly unorganized team and will help provide some direction by being involved with the goal setting and performing follow-up functions with the various team members. All of the people the candidate will be working with are small business people whose responsibilities range from marketing and sales through finance and acquisitions all the way through technical people to implement various technologies.

It is extremely important that the candidate have the ability to achieve stated goals and overcome obstacles. Completing tasks independently with little hand-holding to get the job done is an absolute pre-requisite. Hand-holding is the last thing any of us have time to do, so a good entrepreneurial attitude coupled with understanding of small start-up stage business is a must.

As a consultant, change is our only constant as we set direction with at least three different companies and projects simultaneously.

Keeping up with the pace of change is critical and potential candidates must demonstrate a high degree of flexibility. Candidates must be capable of meeting the challenge of changing tasks and priorities. They must also be able multi-taskers who are comfortable with ambiguity, particularly since the full details of a project aren’t initially available, and will be changing over time.

Finally, the best candidate can demonstrate that they regularly take the initiative, going above and beyond the minimum requirements of the tasks. They must have a proven record of exemplary work.

We should probably start by answering the question, "What is an autoresponder, and why would I want to use one?" In its most basic form, an autoresponder is an email program that automatically responds to emails that are sent to it. This type of system will automatically respond with things like FAQs , product information and vacation messages.

High-end autoresponders provide features which allow people to opt-in and opt-out of your email list and provide double opt-in (also called closed-loop opt-in) capabilities.  These types of features are absolutely necessary if you have a list of more than a couple of hundred names, or if you’re trying to run a real business.

One of the best free autoresponders available is open-source and will run on both Unix/Linux and Windows machines. It’s called phplist and can be found at their website .  This software isn’t the easiest to install, but does have good basic instructions and can be installed by most system administrators without much trouble.

Be aware that even though this is the best free autoresponder, it isn’t the best thing to use if you are sending emails that are time-critical or if you don’t have time to follow-up on sites that blacklist you.  Sending out emails to bad email addresses (old, or expired) or to mail trap boxes will cause you to be blacklisted very quickly, which means that your email will start bouncing in a big way.  I’ve seen cases where competitors have subscribed one of these mail trap boxes to a competitor’s email list so that each time email is sent to the list it is immediately rejected — something that can be avoided by using double-opt-in.

If you’re looking for something very simple and use Google Lab’s email features (it’s very easy to get a free account if you’re not using it right now), check out the "Vacation Time!" feature to get a free, simple autoresponder.  There is also a more advanced feature you can use:

"If you’re sick of typing out the same reply every time someone emails you with a common question, now you can compose your reply once and save the message text with the "Canned responses" button. Later, you can open that same message and send it again and again," explains Chad Perry .

After enabling "Canned Responses " in the settings page for Gmail Labs, you’ll see a new drop-down when composing a message. The "canned responses" option can be used to save a new message or to load an existing autoreply. It’s interesting that Gmail saves the messages as hidden drafts: you can find them if you search for label:drafts , but they’re not visible in the Drafts view.  This isn’t quite the same set of features and functionality offered by phplist, but it may do for you or your business.

If you’d like more information on any of these points, or anything else related to Marketing Technology, post a comment letting me know.

I’m not a affiliate of his (maybe I should be), but if you’d like to find out more about creating information products and selling them online you really need to follow Jeff Walker’s Blog !

I can’t think of any better advise for people who want to just make a few extra bucks through those who want to create an Internet empire…

• Find a Pro – this service helps small businesses outsource specific parts of their business operations and activities.  Small business owners can be more productive by outsourcing specific tasks, which are mundane or regular in nature to someone and focus on what they love to do. Try Find a Pro service.

• Selling a Business – More business sellers are choosing BizTrader.com because it is the most effective and affordable business selling solution in the world.  BizTrader.com’s massive distribution service lets sellers place one ad that gets distributed to dozens of other websites, keeping your time short (in just 5 mins) and reach wide for marketing a business for sale.

Implement a summer schedule allowing employees to leave early on Fridays to spend time with family or to start the weekend early.   Having a few extra hours to commute to weekend destinations will encourage employees to get some much needed R&R and will contribute to their overall well-being – and keep them more productive in the long run.

Hire a summer intern — Many college students are looking for summer experience to boost their resume and to test out different fields.  This is a great opportunity for your business to hire someone eager to work who can help out with extra tasks, especially the administrative ones, which may often be placed on back burner during vacation season.

You can also offer on-site child care services or discounts so employees do not have to spend as much time and money on summer day-care.

Take advantage of available technology and offer solutions to allow employees to telecommute on days when office presence is not imperative.

On the flip side – make sure employees ARE unplugging as much as possible during vacation time so they can relax and come back to work relaxed and recharged.

Make sure working environment is comfortable for employees, especially if you’re in a hot climate.  Be sure to keep air conditioning in working order and encourage employees to take frequent breaks and to drink plenty of water when outdoors during high heat.

Colby Sambrotto
President and CEO
BizTrader.com

Colby Sambrotto – A biography

Colby Sambrotto founded BizTrader.com in 2007 and is directly responsible for leading the company’s growth and operation.

With a track record of founding, growing, managing and selling a series of successful web-based businesses including ForSaleByOwner.com, the internet’s leading resource for buying and selling real estate without a commission, Colby was inspired to start BizTrader.com to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and investors.

BizTrader.com is a global business resource – it is designed to connect business owners and operators with prospective buyers, lenders and investors.  BizTrader.com is a multilingual one-stop-shop for the small business owner who is looking to expand internationally, get a loan or be acquired.

Since BizTrader.com’s beta launch in 2008, the site has listed tens of thousands of businesses for sale and Colby has successfully brokered business partnerships with companies including Experian, and Microsoft subsidiary Franchise Gator to give the small business owners or investors the tools and resources needed to conduct business in today’s a global marketplace.

Prior to founding BizTrader.com, Colby was chief operating officer of ForSaleByOwner.com for seven years, where he directed the day-to-day operations of the company and was responsible for overseeing all operational aspects of the company including business development, web development, strategic planning and human resources.  Under his strategic leadership, ForSaleByOwner.com was acquired by Tribune Company in 2006.

Colby has provided his views and commentary on a range of business topics in hundreds of media outlets including The Today Show, Wall Street Journal, 20/20 and Businessweek.

Filled with unique tools for both buyers and sellers and led by a seasoned, successful management team, BizTrader is compiling an extensive network of business owners, brokers, and lenders to make this the most comprehensive site for buying and selling a business.

All content on BizTrader.com, including customer postings, articles and software programs, is available in English, Spanish and Mandarin.

If you are business owner and would like to:

• Sell a business, asset, or commercial property
• Value a business
• Coordinate a barter arrangement
• Find a lender, investor or potential buyer
• Multi-lingual translation
• Find a professional – from lawyers and insurance carriers to painters and computer repair

If you are an investor and buyer and would like to :

• Multi-lingual translation
• Check a company’s credit
• Buy a business
• Value a business
• Find a franchise

I’ve been arguing for a stronger role to be played by technology in the marketing function.  One of the big difficulties has been that there are few people who are great technologists who have “crossed-over” to the marketing side and even fewer who have moved from marketing into a strong technology role.

To toot my own horn, I’ve been doing this for the past 15 years, and have been providing consulting services doing just that for the entire time.

If you’re tired of marketing programs that aren’t working in the online world, or have technology to support marketing efforts that just isn’t working, you’ve come to the right place.  My clients range from Fortune-50 companies through small, private start-ups and from well-established companies in the technology business through newbies in the manufacturing space.

If you’d like more information, drop me a line.  Just send a note to Craig at CraigPeterson.  Of course, it’s a dot com.  I’d be glad to hear from you.

The Austin Film Festival summer camp started 15 years ago and has drawn thousands of participants who write and review screenplays and direct, produce and star in their films. Each camp provides a summer fantasy for around 200 children who get to perfect their various film-making interests.

The purpose is to present the concept of communication (of an idea or a message) to students in a way that enables them to connect with the media which they consume on a daily basis. Ideally, this will help to make them better communicators and more critical consumers of media. They learn script writing, craft story telling, marketing, communication, understanding audience and produce films.

The program offers in two modes. Children aged 9 – 12 will learn the entire process of conceptualization of story for a short film to finished piece and marketing. Students produce their shorts using digital video cameras with digital non-linear editing systems. Children get the opportunity to work in these technology areas, which is not a normal industry practice.

The second mode is for children aged 13 – 17. In this program, they will learn scripting, comedy shows, video class and make a film. Additionally, one of the inherent aspects of the film process which they learn is collaboration, as the medium. Parents are more excited than their children.

The skills learned both from the equipment and from the process of filmmaking can be applied to future careers in not only film-making, but other media like advertising and consumer communication fields. Though many enrolled students are inherently interested in the artistic applications of camp, the technology opens up other significant opportunities after college. Many of the past campers are now enrolled in film schools throughout the US.

Since the late 90’s, the film industry has been in the process of shifting to digital technologies in all aspects of film production. Not only is film being shot in a digital format, but the editing, sound, special effects and finally projection have all moved out of the real world and onto the computer. Technology can make film making easier now a days that anyone can buy a digital camera and make film. Apple comes with its own software which can literally edit and make films.

New digital technologies allow innovative and original voices to be seen and heard because technology has knocked down many of the roadblocks which the entertainment industry constructed with the original studio system. These digital technologies have allowed even the youngest filmmakers to produce work of a quality which would rank with some professionals (HD camera/final cut editing system).

Children are very excited when they are behind the camera. Here is what they say after the program:

“I’ve learned so much at the Austin Film Festival camp that it’s inspired me to go on and create my own movies outside and put my hands on every project I can,” said Elizabeth Breazile, a former film student.

In addition to this Camp, the Austin Film Festival runs a program in two Austin public High Schools in co-operation with the school district. The unique program teaches screenwriting in the underserved school’s English classes. Through a technology grant from AT&T, we were able to expand the program to include production of the screenplays which the students write. This opened up the opportunity for students who would not normally have the opportunity to even consider a media career to also learn practical, applicable tech skills which can be applied in a variety of careers. The student’s inherent interest in media opens up the door for them to realize many other opportunities.

For more details and other information, visit here http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/new/summer_camp
For registration, click here http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/new/files/2008_AFF_Summer_Camp_Registration_Form_3.pdf

Barbara Morgan
Executive Director, Austin Film Festival

Barbara Morgan – A biography

Barbara Morgan co-founded the Austin Film Festival (AFF) in 1994 after a series of successful ventures in the music industry. In addition to running her own financing business for national broadcasters since 1988, Morgan managed musicians during Austin On the Road, a nation-wide tour of Austin singer/songwriters, which included Michael Fracasso, David Halley, Jimmy LaFave and Jo Carol Pierce; and also co-produced records with musicians such as Michael Fracasso and Charlie Sexton as an extension of her managerial career as well.

Since 1999, Morgan has served as the executive director of the AFF, the first festival to celebrate and recognize the screenwriter as the heart of the creative process of film making. In its fourteen-year history, the Festival has expanded to include a four-day screenwriter’s conference, eight-day film program, screenplay and teleplay contests and a film competition. In 2006, the AFF drew more than 2,500 registrants from around the world and sold more than 25,000 movie tickets. The AFF is one of the few U.S. festivals to be officially recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its jury winning films.

Regarded as one of the top three script contests in the world, the AFF’s screenplay competition initiated the process of combining talented, undiscovered writers with production companies. In its first year, the AFF introduced screenplay winner Max Adams to then head of production at Columbia Pictures, Barry Josephson. The result of their meeting was the production of Adams’ script, Excess Baggage. The industry attention created by the sale of Adams’ script not only propelled the AFF to greater notoriety, but also encouraged Morgan to develop and produce a film from a screenplay competition submission. The film was 1996’s semifinalist Natural Selection, whose writers, B.J. Burrow and Allen Odom, had already signed a contract with Gotham Entertainment based on their Festival success. The finished film, which stars David Carradine (Kung Fu), Michael Bowen (Jackie Brown), Darren Burrows (Northern Exposure), Stephen Root (News Radio) and Bob Balaban (Waiting for Guffman), was completed in early 2000; has been aired on Showtime and the Sci-fi channel; is in DVD distribution and has been released internationally. In 2005, Morgan co-produced the feature documentary Antones: Home of the Blues, which was released internationally and is available on DVD; and in 2007 Morgan produced the locally made documentary, Teaching Austin: 150 Years of Public Education.

Morgan’s most recent project has been the expansion of the AFF’s Young Filmmaker Program. The program, which began with the Festival’s 1994 inception, sprang from Morgan’s volunteer work at Brackenridge Children’s Hospital, and provides local youth the opportunity to make films through the AFF Summer Camp in partnership with the University of Texas RTF department and hosts hundreds of students every summer. The program also provides scholarships to high school students enabling them to attend October’s festival at no cost and the chance to meet their screenwriting and filmmaking heroes. Recently, Morgan produced a video with the Texas Education Agency to promote a new screenwriting competition aimed at schoolchildren. The competition seeks to encourage the creativity and communication skills of participating children, by providing them with the tools necessary to improve their work in school and increase their chances of success as they enter the workforce. As a result, the Story Telling Through Film program has been implemented at three Austin High Schools and every year reaches about 500 students.

About Austin Film Festival:

The Austin Film Festival’s Film Camp will be hosted this summer at McCallum H.S. in Austin, Texas. McCallum, home to one of the leading Fine Arts Academies in the U.S., houses an impressive filmmaking lab with new Apple computers and a film studio for shooting, making the camp one of the most popular technology-oriented summer classes in the area.

In its 6th year, this affordable camp is designed to keep kids engaged in the arts by working on creative projects with qualified counselors who have experience in media-related fields. Camp gives kids interested in film an opportunity to learn from filmmakers, film students, and even film professors from UT, an experience otherwise hard to come by.

Campers can choose special-interest classes depending on their age, including Claymation, script-to-screen, funny shorts, special effects and even music video production for older campers.

The Claymation series involves using three-dimensional media and live-action, stop motion animation to make inanimate characters come to life in short films. The script-to-screen, special effects and music video courses combine the technological aspects of lighting, sound, editing and camera operation to teach young students the ins and outs of filmmaking. Students have the ability to actually produce films and receive a copy of their work on DVD at the end of the camp.

The Austin Young Filmmakers Camp takes place June 9 – August 8. Both one week and two week sessions are available for the classes, which are several hours a day on Mondays-Fridays

As an aside, the AFF Film Camp has many success stories, but the most recent involves local student Bryanne Cooke who has attended multiple camp sessions and just recently earned a full-tuition 4-year scholarship to USC’s cinema program. She credits AFF Film Camp for shaping her interest and skills.

LaunchSquad deals in emerging technology companies and startups. They were recognized by Business 2.0 for their work and they’ve crafted campaigns for HP, Palm, wOz, Wine.com, NewsGator and others. Recently, The Holmes Report, a PR trade publication, ranked Launchsquad as one of the top 15 World’s Fastest Growing Public Relations Firms in 2006. Their clients have cutting-edge stories that are best told with dynamic techniques. “We focus on helping those companies get their stories out to the world,” says Jason Mandell, founding member of LaunchSquad. “We want people to get excited about these new ideas and technologies, and build awareness about them.” To do it, the 25-team member firm channels its creative energy through Macs.

“The Macs are really at the center of our business,” says Throckmorton. “They are easy to use, reliable and fun. That drives collaboration and creativity in our office and allows our people to produce better work more efficiently. That’s a big deal and it helps make us competitive in the industry.”

The Macs are also at the center of LaunchSquad’s new strategies. “We’ve started building stories about our clients using new communications channels such as blogs and podcasts,” says Throckmorton. “We’ll use GarageBand to create content that people can listen to on the web to complement or even replace a press release. We’ll also make video content with iMovie, giving our clients even more ways to get their stories told. And we couldn’t do it without the Macs.”

Done Differently

LaunchSquad is 7 years old, but the company office still crackles with the raw energy of a startup. “We do things differently here,” says Mandell. “Everything revolves around teamwork and collaboration. The more people work together around shared goals, the more positive the environment will be.” To enhance the creative flow, LaunchSquad has torn down all the walls — literally. The main workspace is open, employees working side by side without cubes or offices.

“It enhances collaboration,” says Mandell. “You don’t have to knock on someone’s door. We can hear each other pitch stories and have conversations with clients. It facilitates elbow-to-elbow learning.” The firm’s Macs are an essential part of that collaborative environment, a simple tool that doesn’t get in the way of creativity or productivity. “People really enjoy being on a Mac,” says Throckmorton. “They’re intuitive and easy to use. They’re not problematic; there aren’t issues with viruses or technical problems. The Macs take all the hassles away from using a computer. They just help you get the job done, which makes us more collaborative, productive and efficient.”

Easy networking is key to collaboration in any office, and especially at LaunchSquad. The company set up their own network; a cloud of notebooks linked via Apple Airport wireless and simple File Sharing. “We’re a 7-year-old company and for six years we had no central data infrastructure,” says Throckmorton. “We just used basic File Sharing to trade documents, and that comes on every Mac. We have had virtually no IT or networking expenditures and that has allowed us to focus on what we’re doing as a company.”

The company plans to deploy an Xserve in 2007 as a central repository for their files. The new system will make networking and file sharing even more efficient. Might be good to talk about what brought them to this decision — many businesses are in need of a server — but why they’re buying one and why Mac server could be really interesting.
New Directions

LaunchSquad’s latest PR tactic involves using audio, video and other Web 2.0 techniques to supplement traditional PR tools that relied heavily on written text. It’s all part of the Squad’s commitment to innovation. “We like to empower people to take risks, try new things and grow in their professional and personal lives,” says Mandell. “These new tools and tactics are part of that.”

Nike + iPod

It’s tough to stay in shape when you have a busy work schedule. Mandell has found the extra motivation he needs to keep up with his workout routine: his iPod. “I recently got into using the Nike + iPod setup,” he says. “I’m excited about it because it’s motivating me to run more frequently.” Mandell is currently in a running competition with his brother. They’re going for the greatest distance ran in 100 days. The two post their progress at nikeplus.com. “I love this thing, it’s such a great tech tool,” says Mandell.

It just makes sense to reach out to new media players like bloggers, podcasters and videocasters. “We’re in the process of building a more formalized set of services around social media,” says Throckmorton. “How can we become content creators and help our clients build and distribute content on their own? We recognize GarageBand and iMovie as important solutions. They come out of the box with our computers, and to be able to sit at your desk and chop up a movie without having to use any professional services is huge for us.”

The Squad has created some podcasts and videos for its own blog called Exclamation, found at its website, and has hired a media director to head up its efforts. The team plans to make full use of iLife applications, but it also could also reach for pro solutions like Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro. “There are really no limits to where we can go,” says Mandell. “I envision us creating and distributing high quality videos for our clients that will allow us to reach their target audiences directly in addition to going through traditional media channels. That’s an exiting step for us.”

LaunchSquad also uses video to stay in touch. The company is opening a New York office and plans to use iChat for videoconferences. “We have one employee in NY now who works out of his home office,” says Mandell. “I frequently do a video call with him using iChat. It’s fast, interactive and also free. And it makes a big difference to have that face time. We’ve also used video iChat when people are on the road. They can just log in from wherever they are and they’ll be in the meeting.”

Rock-Solid Reliability

In the deadline-driven world of PR, computer crashes can cost clients. LaunchSquad simply can’t afford down time. “It’s a very deadline driven business and we cannot be hamstrung by our machines,” says Mandell. “With the Macs, we just don’t have to worry about it. They don’t crash and we basically don’t need to spend time or money on IT problems.”

“Reliability is huge for us,” says Zoe Vandeveer, a member of the Squad. “In my previous job, my PC would crash all the time and I was constantly going to tech support. Here, no one’s computer crashes. That lets us get our work done without stressing over computer problems.”

The company hasn’t needed an IT department and has utilized a consultant very sparingly during the last seven years. “It’s relieving to not have to worry about computer issues,” says Mandell. “We’re a services firm and we need to be accessible to our clients. It’s going to impact the company negatively if we have to worry about computer problems and spend a lot of time figuring them out.” Mandell estimates that the Squad has saved big money over the years. “It’s far less expensive in the long run to go with Macs,” he says. “Especially when you figure out all the ancillary costs — IT and tech support — that you would incur with PCs. I estimate that we’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars.”

LaunchSquad’s troop of notebooks also has to be rock solid. Employees are free to tote their machine and use it anytime, anywhere. “We really encourage people to take their laptops home,” says Throckmorton. “They like having a machine that’s enjoyable when they take it home. They can take advantage of it for their personal lives, for whatever they want.”

“Macs are just fun,” says Vandeveer. “I had a PC at my last job, I didn’t want to take it home. Here I want to take my Mac home. It’s a computer that you want to use all the time for work, or not for work, or a combination of the two.”

That same freedom and reliability has fueled LaunchSquad’s success. “No one here is a computer scientist,” says Mandell. “We’re marketing people, English majors, writers. No one here wants to worry about computer problems. They’re an annoyance and they create negativity. The Macs are freeing because nobody has a computer issue. The Macs just work.”

Happy Holidays

Most cube-bound office workers wouldn’t want to re-live a year at work. The Squad is different. “Two of the partners, Jesse and Brett, make a video about everything that took place during the year,” says Mandell. “They reenact funny things that happened in the office. They basically use a video camera and iMovie. We all get together and watch the video during the holiday party and everyone has a blast viewing it. We’re already talking about this year’s video and it’s six months out!”

Shared Tunes

Music inspires LaunchSquad and nearly every employee shares through iTunes. “We can play each other’s music during the day through iTunes,” says Mandell. “It brings a lot of variety into our day and it’s amazing how many times I’ll shut down at the end of the day and somebody’s listening to my music.”

Equipments used at Launchpad:

1. MacBook
2. MacBook Pro
3. iMac
4. iBook
5. Airport Extreme
6. iCal
7. iLife
8. iChat
9. iTunes
10. Pages
11. Microsoft Office Mac

Jason Mandell – A biography

Jason Mandell co-founded LaunchSquad in 2000 to help emerging technology companies get the word out about their ideas and innovations. During that time he has helped LaunchSquad grow to become one of nation’s premier tech-focused public relations agencies. Jason is a native of Simsbury, Connecticut and graduated from Boston College with a degree in Communications.

LaunchSquad is an 8-year old, 30-person public relations firm based in San Francisco with an office in New York City. LaunchSquad specializes in helping emerging technology companies grow and become market leaders through strategic PR programs; the agency has represented more than 75 clients in areas such as software, online marketing, consumer and Internet technology, security, telecom and green technology.