Archive for September, 2010
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
 RALEIGH, NC – Antibiotic resistant infections kill people and the bacteria that cause them are spreading. A new $1.8 million grant from the Department of Defense will allow North Carolina State University researchers to work with the Walter Reed Institute of Research to further test the effectiveness of molecules that have shown great promise in combating those antibiotic-resistant infections.
The two-and-a-half-year project will show the efficacy of molecules created by NC State’s Dr. Christian Melander and Dr. John Cavanagh against different types of animal cells infected with bacteria – like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDRAB) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa – that wreak havoc across the globe.
“These three drug-resistant infections have been – until now – practically untreatable,” Cavanagh says.
Published studies have shown the NC State molecules break up harmful bacterial accumulations called biofilms, causing them to revert to their single-celled state, where they can be destroyed by antibiotics. The molecules effectively take the “methicillin-resistant” out of MRSA, the NC State researchers say, and the “multi-drug resistant” out of MDRAB. Perhaps more importantly, the molecules appear to be non-toxic to cells and model organisms.
MRSA is a widespread and dangerous infection resistant to more than a dozen common antibiotics, including methicillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. MDRAB is arguably scarier. Up to 1,000 times more resistant than MRSA, it is found in hospitals and attacks patients who have compromised immune systems. Both, along with Pseudomonas, plague the military. Wounded soldiers are often more adversely affected by infections than the wounds themselves, the researchers say.
Which is where the Army’s Defense Medical Research and Development Program comes in. Military wound infection experts at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research want to see how the NC State molecules work in different conditions.
“There will be a massive effort between our two labs to identify the leading candidates that both make antibiotics work again and have a low toxicity profile,” Melander says. “Our molecules will be tested against multiple animal models of infection.”
Melander, an associate professor of chemistry, and Cavanagh, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, created molecules that mimic ageliferin, a sea-sponge chemical compound that confounds biofilms. They started a company, Agile Sciences, to put these chemical compounds to use in medical, industrial and agricultural settings – where infections come in many different stripes but have the same result: death and destruction.
The Department of Chemistry is part of NC State’s College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. The Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry is part of the university’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Tags: antibiotic resistant infections, Biotech, NC, NCSU, Raleigh, University research
Posted in University Tech | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
 WASHINGTON, DC – Digital social networks are supercharging political campaigns, according to a new national study among 1,581 Americans.
Three out-of-five of Americans who consider themselves somewhat politically active are members of a social network, and 70 percent reported that they expect to vote in November. Four out-of-five potential voters expect candidates to have a website, half expect candidates to participate in social networks and provide webcasts of events, and 41 percent expect candidates to use Twitter.
The E-Voter Institute survey conducted by HCD Research in June 2010 revealed that two-thirds of the voters want to see the candidates’ television ads on the official candidate website, and 54 percent expect campaign web video on other sites such as YouTube.
“There are few differences between Republicans, Democrats and Independents when it comes to their expectations of Internet use by candidates,” commented Rich Berke, vice president, HCD Research. ”More telling are differences in the levels of computer skills among the various voter sets.”
The study also revealed that while traditional methods such as television ads, direct mail and phone banks are effective for attracting the attention of voters, they are not very effective for keeping their attention. Conversely, websites, social networks, and email communications are more useful for retaining the attention of voters over time.
Furthermore, 40 percent of voters reported that the official candidate website is an effective method for keeping their attention, while 46 percent indicated that television or cable ads are effective for keeping them interested.
“In addition to more sophisticated websites, in 2010 we are seeing the emergence of Twitter, mobile text messaging and social media usage across all age groups,” explained Karen Jagoda, president, E-Voter Institute.
“In light of our evolving mobile culture, these are convenient and effective methods for engaging voters in campaign initiatives. The value of these vehicles must be recognized by candidates and advocates in order to maximize the use of their campaign resources,” concluded Jagoda.
Tags: facebook, HCD Research, politcal campaigns, social media, study, twitter
Posted in Internet/New Media | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
 DURHAM, NC – Argos Therapeutics, has raised $4.85 million of a targeted $6 million mixed securities offering, according to a regulatory filing.
Argos investors Lumira Capital, Forbion Capital Partners, CDP Capital, Intersouth Partners, Aurora Capital, and GeneChem, Mizuho Capital, Morningside Group and Japan Asia Investment Co.
The company raised a $35.2 million C round led by TVM capital in 2008. Formerly Merix BioScience Inc., the company has raised approximately $80 million in backing since 1997. The company disclosed the current offering in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company is developing therapies that attempt to bring the immune system to bear on cancer and infections. It says the new approach offers real promise in the fight against many of the deadliest maladies.
Argos acquired its original dendritic cell technology from Duke University and Rockefeller University and has significantly improved it. It based on optimizing a patient’s own dendritic cells—the most potent stimulators of the immune system—to trigger a patient-specific immune response. They “program” the cells to recognize the patient’s specific cancer or virus.
The result is a specifically personalized immunotherapy.
Argos Therapeutics reported positive Phase II clinical trial results of its individualized HIV treatment at the AIDS Vaccine 2009 Conference.
The company said its AGS-004 had “unprecedented results” for its immunotherapy. The company plans additional Phase II testing to confirm the results, which tested for safety of the treatment and its impact on a patient’s viral load.
See TechJournal South’s 2009 profile of Argos for more information on its technology.
Tags: Argos Therapeutics, Aurora Funds, Biotech, Durham, financing, HIV, Intersouth Partners, NC, Pharma
Posted in Carolinas, Money, North Carolina | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
 Dr. Venus Opal Reese By Dr. Venus Opal Reese
Imagine: five years, ten years, decades of your life you have poured into this company. All of a sudden, this bright-eyed, overly enthusiastic, (more often than not younger) hotshot barrels in and steals all of the boss’ favor, attention, and resource. You feel so old. Useless. Used up. Nobody knows the trouble you’ve seen or your sorrows.
Can you just hear the strings of sorrow, resentment, frustration, and silent upset waiting to happen in the background? Sad to say this is the experience of many veteran employees when the boss makes new hires.
Real or imagined threat?
When there is tension, resentment, and frustration in the background between you and your direct reports, you lose money. The veteran (VP, project manager, director, entrepreneur, or any position in upper management) has rich knowledge and experience and the new powerhouse has passion. But because of resentment they will not work together and if they do, the work is tense, strained, hostile and counter-productive. Each employee feels threatened. Threatened like their survival is at stake.
The brain cannot tell the difference between a real or imagined threat. The same circuits in the nervous system that go off when a person thinks they are being followed by a mugger on a dark street is the same circuits that go off when a new person enters a familiar situation or when an establish person doesn’t get returned calls from the boss. Survival ensues.
When corporate leaders of any kind are in survival mode, they cannot think let alone create new solutions in partnership with the person for who looks like the boss is kicking them to the curb.
As the CEO, CFO, owner, dean, president, or leader you can greatly alleviate this tension and potential loss of revenue by doing the following to minimize threat and maximize reward:
1. Listen “for”—Listening for is different from listening to. Listening to you hear the words; listening for you hear the heart. When you listen for you put your attention on what this person is trying to express. Ignore the words. Listen for where that person is coming from and what they really want you to hear. They may say, “Newbie is arrogant and doesn’t know the history of our company” what I hear, “I know things that Newbie doesn’t and I want you to value that as much as Newbie’s passion and I want you to let Newbie know that I have value here.” If you put your attention on listening for what that person is not saying and then address it, you will move the veteran out of survival.
2. Leaving others known—when you leave a person known, you speak directly to what they value emotionally and intellectually. Employees are people before they are job descriptions. They need to know that you as the boss respect them emotionally and intellectually. The way you discern what they value is to pay attention to what their actions demonstrate they value.
This may be different than what they say. One newbie employee may say she values autonomy but she is always at your door letting you know what she has just accomplished. What she values is recognition. Or the veteran employee may say he values teamwork but he is always self-imposing his opinion and leadership onto the other employees without their consent. He values respect and authority. People’s behaviors tell you what they value. Paying attention pays.
3. Public Acknowledgement: People require care. Most people have been trained to not ask for acknowledgement for fear of looking egotistical. Yet acknowledgement, specifically in front of peers, that is based on tangible results creates a sense of certainty and fairness in the eyes of all. When you acknowledge your employees, be they veterans or Newbies, they have the experience of being validated without having to beg for it.
This public acknowledgement raises their perceived stature in the eyes of their peers and that builds confidence and connectedness. The fair public acknowledgement also levels the field and lowers threat.
4. Shared Experience: Create an occasion where the veteran can teach the Newbie something and the Newbie can energize something the veteran is passionate about. Make the project light and fun. It could be planning a team outing or a fundraising event. It could be a presentation for the Board of Directors about the future of the company by combining each of their unique talents. You want them to have benefit from each other. Create a low risk, low threat situation where they can learn form each other.
5. 3 step clear space process: If there is bad blood between the veteran and the Newbie, here is a 3-step process that works every time: Write down the answer to the following questions:
1. What am I willing to give?
2. What requests am I willing to make?
3. What am I willing to forgive?
A safe, transparent space at work
When people have the opportunity to say what they are willing to do, ask, and forgive, you then can find out what the true broken trust is and you can start to craft projects and opportunities that tie directly to what they value. By so doing, you are working in partnership with them instead of superimposing your will.
This partnership creates a safe, transparent space to work and alleviates stress. Forgiveness is a grace and when a person is willing to forgive others their human failing, there is the opportunity to bring creation instead of reaction into the work place.
People require care. By acknowledging the talents and rich resources of each of your direct reports you create an environment that is safe for people to grow.
Venus Opal Reese, MA, MFA, Ph.D., is a speaker, consultant, and founder of Creation Consulting Practice (CCP), a personal and business development and expansion company with over 20 years of experience. CCP produces a personal discovery audio program and kit “Street Smarts™: Surviving Threat and Creating New Realities in Your Work and in Your Life.” For more information about Dr. Reese’s speaking and consulting, see: www.creationconsultingpractice.com
Tags: Best Practices, Business advice, Creation Consulting, V.O. Reese, Veterans vs. Newbies, Viewpoint
Posted in Business advice, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 Edward Montes, CEO of Adnetik By Allan Maurer
NEW YORK – In the days before the digital world, advertisers would negotiate an ad’s rate, placement, color, and when they wanted it inserted in a publication. They would ship the creative, “And that’s the end of the story,” says Edward Montes, CEO of Adnetik. “You might see the ad run a daily, a week, a month, but typically you are committed to what you have done and there is not much you can do to optimize.”
Those were the old days. “In the digital world, it’s vastly different,” says Montes, an attorney and former Massachusetts prosecutor who was director of special projects at Yahoo Inc. and a consultant to the wireless tech industry prior to joining Adnetik.
Montes is one of more than 50 top Internet entrepreneurs, executives, experts, and venture capitalists participating in the first Digital East event at Tysons Corner, VA, Oct. 18.
At the cutting edge
At Adnetik, Montes says, “We’re at the cutting edge, trying to lead the next wave of digital media evolution. We’re creating a technology that allows for better targeting and better buying.”
Advertising in the digital world provides the opportunity to acquire a lot more data. Although click through rates measure performance, “There is a lot more data behind an individual click,” says Montes. “There are all sorts of data elements being passed back and forth: time, geography, the ID of the individual cookie. We may have information on that cookie in terms of behavior.”
All that means that in “Less than 24 hours, we can now make changes or in 48 hours, cancel a campaign.” This all changes the role of the media buyer on a client or agency level, says Montes.
Information on an individual cookie might lead the ad manager to price something differently, Montes says. “It’s almost like playing poker. The advertiser may want this user but not that one.”
Audience investment management
Adnetik’s Audience Investment Management (AIM) product utilizes best-in-class technology to make educated buying decisions that get closer to the absolute value of each impression. Advertisers and agencies who use AIM gain a competitive advantage because they are able to leverage the power of custom targeting to maximize the value of each audience investment.
AIM aggregates data from relevant public and private sources, such as proprietary ad server data and third party information from sources like BlueKai, to give advertisers access to defined audience targets over controlled inventory sources.
It’s an exchange rather than an ad network. “It’s a significant difference when you buy from an exchange rather than directly from a publisher,” says Montes. “A publisher tends to sell on cost per thousand impressions, while in exchanges, you buy one impression for one price.”
Hitting the bullseye
Because there are libraries of information on cookies associated with given Internet users and other data available to qualify those individual impressions, they are more likely to hit the bullseye.
When an advertiser buys impressions, they’re using a shotgun approach. “You’re buying many individuals, some of them in your target environment,” notes Montes. “When you buy an impression, you greatly reduce the risk that it is outside of your target environment.”
It requires a lot of technology and skill sets on how to buy, says Montes, such as on how you buy, how you measure, how you value, and how you decide payment. “You may be buying small quantities from 1,000 publishers instead of tonnage from ten,” he explains.
Adnetik acts on behalf of buyers, individual brands or agencies, providing them with the technology to transact on the exchange. It’s a space often called an agency trading desk or demand side platform.
Publisher transparency needed
With an oversupply of digital ad inventory available right now, Montes says that Adnetik urges publishers to create “A quality ad environment, pages that perform well on behalf of advertisers. That will increase the value of their inventory. Advertisers will want that impression and be willing to pay for it.”
He also says publishers need to provide information to make buys transparent so that advertisers know what they are getting.
Montes says he believes digital advertising will resonate stronger than other kinds eventually because of its accountability. Also, he points out, “Time spent online significantly outpaces ad budgets spent online.”
Awareness of that alone is causing some advertisers to shift money, he adds.
But other things need to be addressed by publishers and advertisers. One is that both have to solve creative problems of providing content and advertisements that are themselves compelling.
“But there is a future in this kind of buying,” he says.
Tags: Adnetik, Audience investment management, digital advertising, Digital East, online ad exhange
Posted in Events, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 ROCKVILLE, MD – IDC now estimates 2010 revenue for the worldwide data protection and recovery software market will total slightly above $4 billion, representing a 3.1 percent annual growth rate. This was significantly below the 11.3 percent annual growth rate in 2008, according to its new report, “Worldwide Data Protection and Recovery Software 2010-2014 Forecast: Cloud, Deduplication, and Virtualization Stabilize Market”
The worldwide data protection and recovery software market has not been immune to the worldwide financial crisis that began in late 2008. The protracted economic downturn has adversely impacted the regional economies as well in 2009.
As a result, IDC has moderated its forecast for the worldwide data protection and recovery software market forecast. The five-year worldwide forecast from 2009 to 2014 shows a 5.2 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), with 2009 growth dipping by 3.1 percent year over year.
“The data protection and recovery software market continues to be adversely impacted by the overall stagnant economic environment. We expect long-term recovery; however, 2010 will be a tough year for some incumbent vendors,” says Robert Amatruda, research director for Data Protection and Recovery at IDC.
“Vendors should use this time to develop strategies to capitalize on adjacent markets, formulate their cloud strategies, and move further toward the comprehensive information management opportunity or evaluate acquisitions that would augment their current capabilities.”
MarketResearch.com has added the IDC report to those it sells. For more information, see: www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?ProductID=2764018
Tags: data protection and recovery software market, IDC, MarketResearch, Report
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Maryland, Potomac, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 ATLANTA - Venture Atlanta has named the companies selected to present at its conference on October 12-13, 2010 at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. The 20 companies selected to present cover a wide variety of industries including Internet and enterprise software, healthcare IT, clean tech, wireless, e-payments, and even electric vehicles.
Ashish Mistry, Venture Atlanta board member and managing partner at BLH Venture Partners, said, “This year’s presenting companies underscore our State’s diversity in high-growth sectors in addition to our depth in management talent.”
In addition to the 20 presenting companies announced, an additional 25 companies will be invited to participate in Venture Atlanta’s early-stage showcase, being held on Tuesday October 12, 2010. The early-stage showcase offers a unique, one-on-one opportunity for investors to interact with 25 additional entrepreneurs and seed-stage companies prior to Venture Atlanta’s main event.
For more information see: Venture Atlanta
The companies selected to present at the 2010 conference are:
Port Network
Scoutmob
Smartsoft Mobile Solutions
Solidfire
The Rubicon Group
Toomah
Twitpay
Wavee US LLC
WellCentive
Wheego
Tags: Biotech, Georgia, Internet, IT, Venture Atlanta selects 2010 presenting companies
Posted in Events, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 FREDERICKSBURG, VA – IntelliWare Systems, a company selling business and technical services to government and commercial clients, is raising $1.1 million in equity, according to a regulatory filing.
IntelliWare Systems is a privately-owned company founded in 2005 headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with operations in Virginia, The District of Columbia, and Colorado.
Its services include organizational planning, project management, business analysis and process engineering, information processing technology, systems architecture and analysis and others.
Clients include intelligence related agencies and the US military.
The company is raising the equity from a single investor, according to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Leslie Belluchie of Reston’s FedCap Partners is named as a principal in the SEC filing.
Tags: business services, DC, FedCap Partners, financing, Fredericksburg, government, Intelliware Systems, IT, Reston, VA
Posted in Government/Defense, IT, Money, Potomac, Security, Virginia, Washington, DC | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 A Twitter security flaw that allowed third-party web sites to redirect users when they mouseovered a tweet affected thousands of accounts before Twitter patched the security hole Tuesday.
In the security breach, just moving the mouse over certain links resulted in opening third-party sites or pop-ups appearing for some users.
According to Mashable, the flaw resulted from a JavaScript function, onMouseOver.
Tags: JavaScript onMouseOver, Mashable, third-part Twitter apps, TweetDeck, Twitter mouseover security flaw
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Security | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 DURHAM, NC – Peter Maris has been named CEO of Durham-based Kinetics, a semiconductor services company.
Maris, who has been with the firm a decade, replaces Maichel D’Appolonia.
Maris also joins the company board. He was previously with Wachovia Bank.
Kinetic sells pocess and mechanical products to semiconductor makers, the biopharma industry and other companies.
Tags: biopharma, Durham, Kinetic Systems names CEO, NC, Peter Maris, semiconductors
Posted in Carolinas, North Carolina, People | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 ATLANTA – Georgia Bio’s 9th annual Georgia Life Sciences Summit will be held October 28, 2010, at AmericasMart in Atlanta.
The day-long program will include more than 40 expert speakers discussing trends and issues in 12-concurrent sessions focusing on four broad subject tracks: The Role of Life Sciences in Public and Global Health; Therapeutics, Diagnostics and Vaccines; Medical Technology and Medical Devices; and New and Exciting Science.
More than 800 bioscience professionals from across Georgia, the Southeast and nation are expected to attend. They include CEOs and senior executives of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, university officials and scientists, hospital administrators and physicians, investors, economic developers and public policy experts. This year’s theme is “Innovation for a Healthier World…Meeting the Challenge.”
Posted in Events, Georgia | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 RESEARCH TRIANGLE, NC – TechJournal South and numerous other sites, including The Pirate Bay, AfterDawn, and Tucows, had the ads on their sites hacked last week due to a security flaw in the OpenX advertising server. That resulted in malware warnings from Google and web browsers. TechJournal South has moved to a different, more secure advertising system.
While TJS removed the OpenX source of the malware Friday, the warning persisted until Google rescanned the site Monday.
TechJournal South is sorry for any inconvenience.
For details on the vulnerability in OpenX see this report from The H, Open Source Security site.
Softpedia news reported the Tucows problem.
Tags: OpenX security flaw, TechJournal South
Posted in Carolinas, Internet/New Media, IT, North Carolina, Security | Comments Off
Monday, September 20th, 2010
RALEIGH, NC - The United States could achieve significant health care savings if it achieved widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), but insufficient privacy protections are hindering public acceptance of the EHR concept, according to a new paper from researchers from North Carolina State University. The paper outlines steps that could be taken to boost privacy and promote the use of EHRs.
A good number of Southeast firms, ranging from startups to established companies, are selling electronic health record technologies.
“Electronic health records could reduce costs in the U.S. by an estimated $80 to 100 billion each year,” says Dr. David Baumer, head of the business management department at NC State and co-author of the paper.
“Using electronic records allows the health-care system to operate more efficiently, minimizes duplicative testing, et cetera. But you can only get those cost reductions if everyone, or nearly everyone, makes use of the records, from health-care providers to pharmacies to insurance companies.”
Lack of public support
However, a lack of public support related to privacy concerns has hindered its progress. And Baumer says that those concerns are not entirely unwarranted. For example, there is some evidence showing that EHRs can facilitate identity theft. But EHRs have become prevalent in the European Union, which has significantly more stringent privacy protections and whose citizens feel more comfortable with the EHR concept.
“We are moving in the right direction in regard to putting better privacy protections in place, but we have a long way to go,” Baumer says. And that lack of privacy protection is hindering the adoption of EHRs. “For example, approximately 50 percent of people in the U.S. have EHRs, but doctors will have to check for paper records until EHRs are so widespread that checking for paper records is no longer considered due diligence.” By way of comparison, approximately 95 percent of people in Holland have EHRs.
The researchers include a list of technical and legal recommendations that could make EHRs more viable in the U.S. For example, the paper calls for the introduction of civil penalties if people share information inappropriately or with inappropriate parties.
“Incorporating EHRs into our health care system is important,” Baumer says. “The Obama administration’s health plan relies on EHR savings as part of its effort to be revenue neutral. And more privacy protections are needed to make those savings a reality.”
The paper, “Privacy and Security in the Implementation of Health Information Technology (Electronic Health Records): U.S. and EU Compared,” was co-authored by Janine Hiller and Matthew McMullen of Virginia Tech and Wade Chumney of Georgia Tech. The paper is forthcoming from the Boston University Journal of Science and Technology Law.
Tags: Atlanta, Blacksburg, electronic health records, GA, Georgia Tech, NC, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, study, VA, Virginia Tech
Posted in Carolinas, IT, North Carolina, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Monday, September 20th, 2010
 DURHAM, NC – The LaunchBox Digital startup program says a number of its early stage firms need help.
Those seeking employees include Spring Metrics, which is building “next generation web analytics.” The team includes experienced entrepreneurs from Google, Motricity, and Blackboard and is looking for a part-time contract to work on the user-facing side of its application.
Work would begin ASAP. Send resumes and any relevant URLs to shannon@springmetrics.com. Cover letter not necessary.
Leaguescape, which plans to become “the one-stop destination for fantasy sports betting,” is looking for an intern or web designer with UX talent and design skills. Contact Dan@Leaguescape.com for your interest/questions.
HealtheME, a mobile health and web-based obseity mangement platform is loking ofr a developer for front end web work and content experts in nutrition, excercise physiology, and behaviorists/psychologists. Contact: srachmuth@healthemedoc.com if you are interested.
CityPockets Inc. is looking for a web developer with good back end development experience.
CityPockets is an online voucher management platform for group-buying sites such as Groupon, Living Social, BuyWithMe, etc. It helps users store and organize all their pre-paid online vouchers from over 130 group-buying sites in the US. Users can set custom reminders, share purchases with friends, see merchant locations on one map, and more.
See jobs@citypockets.com if you are interested.
Keona Health is empowering patients with personalized recommendations on whether to see a doctor and when, leading to improved safety, efficiency, and lower costs. It has partnered with top researchers at UNC and Duke to develop this system. We are looking for Java and .NET developers who have experience working with databases, XML, web services, and web applications.
Send email to to jason@keonahealth.com if interested.
Contact
Tags: CityPockets, HealtheMe, LaunchBox Digital, Leaguescape, Spring Metrics, Startups, tech jobs
Posted in Carolinas, Internet/New Media, North Carolina, TechJobs | Comments Off
Monday, September 20th, 2010
 RESTON, VA – ComScore, which measures the digital world, says it is introducing Social Analytix, a social media intelligence service to its clients.
Powered by the Radian6 social media montiroing and engagemnet platform, the service will provide detailed and real time insights based on what consumers say about a company’s brands and products on the web.
ComScore says the Radian6 platform, which operates indepedently of its global consumer panel, captures mentions across more than 150 million soucail media sources worldwide, including blogs, discussion boards, video and image sharing sites and social networking sites such ass Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Linkedin Answers.
ComScore’s COO, Greg Dale, will discuss the company’s “Unified Measurement” technology at the first annual Digital East event in Tysons Corner, VA, Oct. 18.
For our interview with Dale see: Click is absolutely the wrong measurement
Tags: comScore, Digital East, Gregory Dale, Reston, social media analytix, Tysons Corner, VA
Posted in Events, Internet/New Media | Comments Off
Monday, September 20th, 2010
 Last week a friend of ours fired up a new laptop and tried to log into her Facebook account. Facebook, not recognizing the new PC, asked her to identify photos of some Facebook “friends” as a security check. One of the photos was of a person in a dark bar, unrecognizable even if she actually knew the person.
Facebook introduced the security feature in May and a number of users have complained the feature is not only annoying, it prevents them from getting to their account entirely.
Like many of us, our friend has numerous Facebook “friends” she knows only casually, but certainly not well enough to identify photos of them in dark bars, wearing funny hats, or other photos they may have tagged, such as food or pets. She’s a writer who has many “friends” she does not know personally.
You can try the security check again after waiting an hour. Uh huh.
Facebook told ReadWriteWeb that only a small percentage of its useer have a problem with the photo security check. That may be because only a small percentage have encountered it thus far, or that many users have only a handful of friends they who post photos they would easily recognize. It said it finds the method more effective than other types of checks.
We suspect this will become another headache for the 500 million strong social network, which has made a series of decisions that drove users crazy.
We think that if a social network ever arises to really challenge Facebook, it will be one that does not arbitrarily make decisions affecting its users’ privacy, ability to access their accounts or pretend it knows more about which status updates users want to see than the users do.
Facebook has added a question to its FAQ where users who continue to have troubles with the security check can submit a report. No telling how long getting a response to that and fixing the problem may take.
–Allan Maurer
Contact TechJournal South editor/writer at Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
ReadWriteWeb
Tags: facebook, Security, social media, Viewpoint
Posted in Internet/New Media, Security, Viewpoint | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 20th, 2010
 HUNTSVILLE, AL – Synapse Wireless Inc., a company selling software to network machine to machine communications, has raised nearly $3 million from 35 investors, according to a regulatory filing.
The company, which we profiled in February, raised $8.5 million from local investors and the Hickory Venture Group previously. It raised $2.91 million in the current round, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
says it wants its SNAP software to “become to machines what MS DOS was to PCs—the de facto standard for networking machine to machine communications,” says Paul Brasher, CFO of Synapse.
What do these networks do? They tell a manager if a piece of equipment on the factory floor is running too hot or vibrating too much. They’ll alert a building manager to a problem with the air conditioning.
Their current and potential uses are so varied across so many consumer and industrial sectors that the business of wireless networks for machine to machine communication has been estimated to reach $30 billion this year.
The company partners with Panasonic and California Easter Labs and holds 26 patents on its technology.
Founded in 2007, Synapse presented at the 2010 Southeast Venture Conference.
Tags: AL, financing, Hickory Venture Group, Huntsville, IT, machine to machine networking, Synapse Wireless
Posted in Alabama, IT, Money, Other SE | Comments Off
Monday, September 20th, 2010
By Jack Singer, Ph.D.
 Dr. Jack Singer Why is it that some salespeople with the most talent are often not the most successful? What gets in their way? How can some sales people with less natural talent over-achieve and reach much more sales success than their more talented colleagues?
Are there specific mental skills that can lead anyone toward championship levels of sales performance? What separates the mindset of a champion from that of the also-rans?
Traditional sales training programs ignore the biggest obstacles to success. Instead, they focus on specific sales and closing techniques. But the biggest obstacles are not sales talent, motivation or knowledge of techniques. The biggest obstacles, like those overcome by champion athletes, are the internal, mental and emotional barriers that sales professionals face on a daily basis..
Below are three powerful components of the mindset of a champion. Put them into action today and watch your sales performance skyrocket!
Take Charge of Your Internal Dialogue: Engage the linguistic nutrition of championship performance
Your self-talk is the foundation of your belief system and your belief system determines your attitudes about your success or lack of it in your sales career. Inner thoughts either set you up for success or failure. So often, people unconsciously use self-limiting thoughts which prevent them from being successful. It’s a form of unintended self-sabotage.
Examples of such self-talk phrases, are: “The economy will make this a tough sell now” or “I’ll be lucky if I make half the sales I made last year.” These kinds of thoughts are like eating junk food once you decide that a healthy eating lifestyle is just too difficult to maintain. Your thoughts set you up for failure.
Your thoughts determine your beliefs and your beliefs develop your attitudes, which determine your behaviors and actions. Therefore, negative, pessimistic thoughts will ultimately lead to procrastination and poor sales outcomes. Such thoughts actually convince your mind that you will fail.
Action Plan 1: Keep a written journal of negative thoughts that enter your mind regarding your sales performance and notice the patterns. Then, use rational thinking to counterpunch each negative thought with a healthy, positive thought. Example: Change “This economy will drive my customers away now.” to “I don’t have to be successful with every client. This is a numbers game. I am a sharp, creative person and I’ll find new markets/customers for my product, despite the economy. I’ll keep my eyes open for opportunities, which I really believe will present themselves.”
Unleash the Power of Your Mind: Plow through the mental road blocks to championship performance
Your subconscious mind takes orders from you without judging success or failure. You always have the choice in what you feed to your subconscious mind. Therefore, you must believe in yourself and in the value of the products you are selling. Eliminate “imposter fears,” which are the belief that you really are not good at what you do or your products are really not as valuable to potential customers as you propose they are.
So often, salespeople focus on their failures and what they did not achieve. Instead, you need to focus on what you have achieved. You can actually program your mind to believe in your strengths and your ultimate success.
Just as athletes focus on their strengths, you can focus on yours. Always remember that your product knowledge, your customer service skills and your sincere concern that the customer is satisfied and better off having purchased your products or services will overcome any deficiencies you see in yourself.
Action Plan 2: Practice presenting a positive attitude toward everyone you meet, not just prospective clients and customers. Constantly pat yourself on the back with positive self-talk, such as, “I provide a valuable service to my clients” and “I help people achieve their goals.”
Focus on good results you have achieved in your sales career and pat yourself on the back. Learn from results you were not pleased with in the past and move on. Keep a SUCCESS JOURNAL. Record times you were on a roll and situations where you were really proud of what you accomplished. Each day put at least one item on your list. Review the list of successes regularly, especially when you are having a worrisome day.
Fill Your Mind with Optimistic Expectations: Unleash the most powerful mental tool that drives championship performance
Research conducted over 30 years with over one million participants has determined that there is a single, powerful predictor of sales achievement—optimistic expectations.
Ability and motivation in ones’ sales career are not always enough to guarantee consistent results. Expectations of success or failure are self-fulfilling prophecies that often determine the outcomes, regardless of ability and motivation. The research also shows that people who develop learned optimism live longer and healthier lives, so there are major benefits that go far beyond your career.
The key here is to believe that you will succeed, despite the challenges, obstacles and setbacks that are inevitable in your sales career. Continue to believe you will succeed, even in the face of resistance, rejection and hostility. How you explain to yourself and react to setbacks in your sales career is a crucial determinant of how successful you will ultimately be. Training yourself to look at setbacks as temporary challenges and minimizing those setbacks with the knowledge that you can find a solution and overcome them, predicts ultimate success.
Action Plan 3: Developing optimistic expectations can be learned! Even if you are a chronic pessimist and your parents or spouse is a pessimistic thinker, you can absolutely learn ways to overcome the negative beliefs that underlie your pessimistic explanatory style. Revisit Action Plan 1 (above) because the best way to develop an optimistic explanatory style is by understanding your own negative thinking patterns and practicing changing them. You can also get cognitive training from a professional psychologist or by attending training seminars directed at teaching you learned optimism. Such training will do wonders for your career and in your life!
Dr. Jack Singer is a professional speaker, trainer and licensed psychologist. He has been speaking for and training Fortune 1000 companies, associations, CEO’s, sales forces and elite athletes for 34 years. Dr. Jack is a frequent guest on CNN, MSNBC, GLENN BECK, FOX SPORTS and countless radio talk shows across the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of “The Teacher’s Ultimate Stress Mastery Guide,” and several series of hypnotic audio programs– some specifically for athletes and others for anyone wanting to raise their self-confidence, self-esteem and optimism. For more information, see: www.drjacksinger.com email him at: drjack@funspeaker.com .
Tags: Business advice, Dr. Jack Singer, Marketing, sales, Viewpoint
Posted in Business advice, Marketing, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Friday, September 17th, 2010
 CHAPEL HILL, NC – ibiblio, the public’s library and digital archive, has received $50,000 from the Beal Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation on behalf of Lulu.com. Lulu.com is an open publishing resource that helps authors distribute their work for profit and helps buyers find the content they need. The gift was made to support ibiblio’s continued growth as one of the Internet’s largest public libraries.
“Public libraries serve the needs of our society that can’t be served through the markets,” said Robert Young, founder and CEO of Lulu.com. “The value of ibiblio is that it stores content and cultural icons that people don’t know how to monetize. Without storing such content, they may disappear from human experience.”
ibiblio.org, which will celebrate its 18th birthday in October, was one of the first Web sites on the Internet. It historically has been a pioneer in a number of areas, including Internet radio. Today, ibiblio is home to one of the largest “collection of collections” on the Internet and hosts nearly 2,500 non-software related projects.
“All the giving to ibiblio helps us reach out further and touch more people,” said Paul Jones, director of ibiblio and clinical associate professor at the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “We process anywhere from 12 to 16 million transactions per day on ibiblio.”
Jones said the $50,000 gift will be used to help ibiblio staff with upcoming projects, including a recent move in data centers and a shift to cloud computing.
“This gift comes at a very pivotal time for us since it will assist in our transition to a new, more affordable data center, which will ultimately save us thousands of dollars every year,” Jones said. “We are grateful to Lulu.com and to the Foundation for the generous support they’ve provided.”
Jones has been on TechJournal South’s list of the most influential Southeast Internet experts and a participant at its Internet Summit.
TechJournal South editor and writer Allan Maurer has been an adjunct professor at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Tags: digital archive, ibiblio, Lulu.com, Paul Jones, Robert Young, Triangle Community Foundation, UNC Chapel Hill
Posted in Carolinas, Education, Internet/New Media, North Carolina, University Tech | Comments Off
Friday, September 17th, 2010
 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a $51 million contract to Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., of Rockville, MD, for the development of a new anthrax vaccine using the protective antigen to stimulate a protective immune response that neutralizes the anthrax toxins.
Anthrax preparedness remains one of BARDA’s top priorities. This contract builds on HHS investments in antibiotics, antitoxins, and vaccine development for anthrax. It highlights the department’s commitment to develop a next-generation, recombinant anthrax vaccine. Consistent with the recent HHS medical countermeasure review, this program enhances the pipeline of potential products and increases the overall chances of success of developing a new vaccine.
In the first two years of the contract, Emergent will develop the final vaccine formulation and test its stability. HHS can extend the contract annually for up to three years to support scale-up and optimization for large-scale manufacturing and additional animal studies needed to apply for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the vaccine. If the government extends the contract for all three years, the total five-year contract value could be $186.6 million.
This advanced research and development contract was awarded using a flexible federal government contracting tool known as a Broad Agency Announcement. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA-BARDA-09-34) provides a way to identify innovative and promising technologies for advanced development across the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear research areas of interest.
The current research areas of interest include vaccines, antitoxins, therapeutics, antimicrobial drugs, radiological/nuclear threat countermeasures, chemical threat countermeasures, and clinical diagnostic tools.
BARDA, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides a comprehensive integrated portfolio approach to the advanced research and development, stockpile acquisition, innovation, and manufacturing of the vaccines, drugs, therapeutics, diagnostic tools, and non-pharmaceutical products for public health medical emergencies including chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases.
The medical countermeasure review
Tags: anthrax contract, Biotech, Emergent Biosolutions, Pharma
Posted in Government/Defense, Maryland, Money, Potomac, Washington, DC | Comments Off
|
