Archive for April, 2011
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 CHANTILLY, VA – Digital Signal Corp., which sells three dimensional long-range facial recognition solutions to government and commercial clients, has raised a $15 million Series C financing led by new investors City Light Capital and SilverHaze Partners. Previous investors Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Paladin Capital Group participated.
Digital Signal’s 3D facial recognition technology precisely identifies and monitors moving non cooperative subjects at long range. Primarily used to detect criminal and or terrorist activity, the solutions can also be used to identify important customers, friendly soldiers, or frequent travelers.
The company says the capital raised enables DSC to increase infrastructure, including manufacturing, to meet market demands.
“DSC’s three dimensional biometric system provides a revolutionary tool across several industries, thus helping to protect our rapidly evolving and inter-connecting society. Given our focus on investing in breakthrough products and services that contribute to safe neighborhoods, workplaces, and networks, we see tremendous value in DSC’s offering,” said Tom Groos, City Light Capital partner and Digital Signal board member.
“In an increasingly uncertain world, leaders in the security industry are constantly seeking the most effective, state-of-the-art systems to support their objectives, whether it be clearly identifying known terrorists at an airport or tracking down a repeat shoplifter or member of an organized crime family,” said David Guttadauro , CEO, Digital Signal.
Jim Fleming, Columbia Capital; Tom Groos, City Light Capital; and Zeid Masri, SilverHaze Partners; and President and CEO Guttadauro have joined the company’s board.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: 3D facial recognition, City Light Capital, Columbia Capital, David Guttadauro, detecting terrorist or criminal activity, Digital Signal, facial recognition tech, Im Fleming, Security, SivlerHaze Partners, Tom Groos, Zeid Masri
Posted in Government/Defense, IT, Potomac, Security, Virginia | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 BOCA RATON, FL – OpenPeak, a company selling touchscreen devices and a cloud-based device management platform that streamlines deployment and management for service providers and enterprises, has raised $27.9 million toward a $30 million offering, according to a regulatory filing.
The company previously raised $82 million from investors who include Intel Capital, Horizon Technology Finance, Velocity Financial Group, and GE Capital’s Commercial Distribution Finance unit.
We reported that the company raised $52 million of that amount June 2010.
At that time, Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president, said, “OpenPeak’s hardware, software and services harness the capabilities of the Intel Atom processor, creating new mobile, digital home and embedded products in a variety of vertical market segments.”
OpenPeak designs and develops end-to-end managed platforms and devices that enable service providers, utilities, applications developers, and content owners to interact with customers in their homes, offices, and while traveling.
Its OpenServices is a cloud-based device management platform that streamlines application/service deployment and management for service providers and enterprises.
It introduced its 4G ready OpenTablet touchscreen devices that run on the Android operating system during hte 2011 Mobile World Congress in Spain.
The company disclosed the latest raise in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing cites principals from New York’s RRE Ventures, Texas-based Castletop Capital, Illinois-based Ritchie Capital, New York’s GMG Capital Partners, and The Blackstone Group, among others.
Tags: Boca Raton, Castletop Capital, financing, FL, GMG Capital Parnters, Horizon Technology Finance, Intel Capital, OpenPeak, OpenTablet 7, Richie Capital, RRE Ventures, The Blackstone Group, touch screen devices, Velocity Financial Group
Posted in Florida, Internet/New Media, IT, Money | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 PINEHURST, NC – Biofuel companies are hot this year. We’ve reported investments in biofuels companies from Maryland to Georgia since January. Red Wolf Refining Corp., which holds rights to biofuels research at NC State University, wants to get in on the action and has raised $475,850 toward a $3 million equity offering, according to a regulatory filing.
Red Wolf’s technology is a thermal-chemical catalytic process that makes fuel from crops such as jatropha, camelina, soy, canola, palm, yellow grease (chicken fat), and hog fat. It coverts fatty oils into diesel, jet and gasoline fuel.
The company disclosed the offering in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: biofuels, equity offering, NC, NCSU, Pinehurst, Raleigh, Red Wolf Refining Corp., SEC
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 Fiberight's technology converts solid wastes to biofuel CANTONSVILLE, MD – Fiberight, a company that converts waste fibers into biofuel, has opened a $15 million equity offering, according to a regulatory filing.
The company, which has operations in Virginia and an ethanol plant in Blairstown, Iowa, has a technology that converts waste fibers to biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol. Its Iowa plant has a six million gallon a year capacity.
This is the third financing for a company that turns waste into biofuels that we’ve reported in a month. Investors obviously see turning solid wastes into biofuels as an opportunity.
Fiberight takes the non-recyclable components of municipal solid and industrial waste and produces biofuel using a highly cost effective biochemical and enzymatic process involving digestion and fermentation.
The company says its technology has the potential to unlock the 85 gallons of biofuel contained in every ton of non-recycled trash. Its technology can be scaled to turn the 170 million tons of excess trash generated each year in the US — contaminated paper, food wastes, yard discards and other organic degradeables — into over 10 billion gallons of renewable biofuel that will providing an important source of cellulosic ethanol to meet federal mandates.
The company landed a $2.9 million grant from the Iowa Power Fund Board in 2010.
Tags: Blairstown, Cantonville, clean energy, converting solid wastes to biofuel, fiberight, financing, Iowa, MD, Virginia
Posted in Events, Maryland, Money, Potomac | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 KENNESAW, GA - MBlast, an applications provider helping marketing professionals better understand and influence their markets, has raised $12.91 million of a targeted $20.4 million offering, according to a regulatory filing.
The company sells a web-based tool named mPACT, which it says finds and scores influence and offers comprehensive media monitoring, competitive tracking, and opportunity monitoring via an interactive, user-friendly dashboard and robust, graphical reports.
The cloud-based application helps marketers identify and interact with influencers importan to their markets.
The company says that mPACT is built on the idea that influence does not equal popularity. Justin Bieber may have more than 6 million followers on Twitter, but his voice offers little authoritative weight in the automobile or hi-tech markets.
Likewise, a particular blogger may have an impressive generic ‘influence score’ through some other influencer measuring packages in the market, but may also have the wrong focus to ever influence the market a marketing professional cares about (i.e. Automotive Engines instead of the iPhone market).
According to the company, mPACT bases influence scoring first and foremost on topical relevancy. Upon signing up, users enter a set of keywords or areas of interest.
For example, an iPhone app developer could enter their company name, product name(s), competitor names, “iPhone”, “application”, “Apple”, or any other relevant phrases. mPACT then mines terabytes of web-based data in real-time — including blogs, social sites, online publications, and journals — to identify who’s writing about that specific topic.
mPACT applies an advanced, influence algorithm which considers what an Influencer has written across online media (articles, blogs and social media), how frequently they’ve been sourced, how often they are quoted, the number of followers/readers they have, and much more.
mPACT users can see the top Influencers for any given market with granular nuance for a particular product or area of interest.
Built-in competitive intelligence tracks competitors across online publications and the social web in real-time, so marketing professionals can see which Influencers are talking about competing products, what they’re saying, and how often.
The application continually searches for opportunities that can enhance a company’s marketing efforts, including awards, editorial opportunities, buyer’s guides and directories. For example, mPACT users are alerted whenever a competitor appears in a buyer’s guide or a relevant topic pops up in a publication’s editorial calendar.
Per-user pricing ranges from $495/year to $2,995/year, based on the number of companies and markets tracked.
For a chance to meet and interact personally with influencers in the digital media space, including top executives, innovative entrepreneurs, domain experts, venture capitalists and others, check out TechMedia’s Digital Summit May 16-17 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: cloud-based, financing, GA, influencer management, Kennesaw, Marketing, mBlast, mPACT, web-based tool
Posted in Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Money, social media | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 CEO shuffles, secret board meetings, executive power struggles, disgruntled founders and too many consultants are among the troubles bubbling up at Twitter, according to Fortune.com.
Jessi Hempel lays out the back room machinations at the micro-blogging service, but also points out that growth of the service has leveled, about half the people with Twitter accounts are not active, and it does not appear to be giving marketers enough opportunities. Last year it made $45 million in ad revenue, which doesn’t seem so bad until you compare it to Facebook’s $1.86 billion in ad support.
“The problem is a board and top executive team that don’t always appear to have control of its wide-ranging cast of characters, including founders who have attained near-celebrity status (another co-founder, Biz Stone, is a regular on NPR, and earlier this year Dorsey was profiled in Vanity Fair), headstrong and divisive managers, and investors used to getting their way,” Hempel writes.
US lagging in tech use
The United States finished fifth in a an annual study of technology use in 138 countries by he World Economic Forum.
Sweden led, followed by Singapore, Finland, and Switzerland.
The ranks are based on 71 economic and social indicators, such as new patents, mobile phone subscriptions, and venture capital available.
Kindle users will be able to borrow e-books from libraries
Amazon says that users of its Kindle e-book reader will be able to borrow books more than 11,000 local U.S. libraries later in 2011.
Called Kindle Library Lending, it will let users check out local library e-books.
Additional details were not disclosed.
Michio Kaku on Why Social Media is the Ultimate Game Changer
ng will enable users of Kindle ereaders and apps to check out books from their local librari
We’re big fans of physicist Michio Kaku’s books and TV programs about science, the most recent being a series about how certain science fiction ideas could someday be a reality. In this video, he discusses why he sees Social Media as the “Ultimate Game Changer.”
UK’s Mail Online is 2nd most popular news site
Celebrity news and sex still sells, as if anyone had any doubts about that.
Figures from comScore show that Mail Online, the website of the UK-based Daily Mail, surpassed The Huffington Post in March becoming the second most visited news site in the world.
Mail Online’s traffic grew to 39.6 million unique visitors; Huffington Post had 38.4 million.
The Daily Mail parent company, Associated Newspapers, has been hiring editorial staff in New York and Los Angeles for its online news organization.
The New York Times is first by a wide margin, although reports say its traffic dropped about 15 percent since it switched to a paywall that requires users to pony up some bucks to view more than 20 stories a month, although it still allows free access coming from links in other sites.
Washington Post launches news aggregation site Trove
The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) has launched Trove, a free, personalized site that aggregates news across subjects of interest and important headlines of the day. Trove creates a customized news experience that factors in a reader’s likes and dislikes, combining state-of-the-art technology with expertise from the newsroom. And Trove’s “Comments” feature invites users to connect with others who share similar interests.
“Trove offers a place of first resort for your news, whether it is information you want to know or should know. Because Trove is all about the individual user, the experience is customized and different for everyone,” said Vijay Ravindran, senior vice president and Chief Digital Officer of The Washington Post Company. “We believe launching Trove is a good step toward understanding what the future of news could look like. And we’re pleased to have Ford on board to support our development of personalized news and our experimentation with new approaches toward online advertising.”
The site takes advantage of Facebook Connect to pull in a user’s interests as outlined by his or her Facebook profile to help jump start personalization. In the coming months, readers can expect to see more social media features and site capabilities with Facebook Connect.
Beyond algorithms, an editorial team selects news of the day— “Editors’ Picks”—to feature on Trove. Trove’s editors also create subject-based channels that feature recommended sources. And users can create their own channels—whether it’s a “Belieber” channel about Justin Beiber or the price of oil in the Middle East—to capture news about a personal interest that may not already exist on Trove.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Fortune.com, Hufington Post, Mail Online, Michio Kaku, NY Times, social media ultimate game changer, Trove, Twitter troubles, US lags in tech, Washington Post
Posted in Internet/New Media, social media, Tech Culture | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
 Jeffrey Sohl DURHAM, N.H. – The 2010 angel investor market saw a robust increase in investment dollars following a considerable contraction in investment dollars in 2008 and 2009, according to the 2010 Angel Market Analysis released by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.
Total investments in 2010 were $20.1 billion, an increase of 14 percent over 2009 when investments totaled $17.6 billion. A total of 61,900 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding in 2010, an increase of 8.2 percent over 2009 investments, and the number of active investors in 2010 reached 265,400 individuals, a small growth of 2.3 percent from 2009.
“The significant increase in total dollars, coupled with the rise in the number of investments, resulted in a larger deal size – 5.4 percent larger – for 2010 compared with 2009. These data indicate that angels have significantly increased their investment activity and are committing more dollars resulting from higher valuations. It appears that a cautious optimism to investing is taking hold.
Noteworthy changes did occur in the critical seed and start-up stage investment landscape,” according to Jeffrey Sohl, director of the UNH Center for Venture Research at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics.
Healthcare services/medical devices and equipment accounted for the largest share of
investments, with 30 percent of total angel investments in 2010, followed by software (16
percent), biotech (15 percent), industrial/energy (8 percent), retail (5 percent) and IT
services (5 percent).
“Industrial/energy investing has remained a significant sector for angels, reflecting a
continued appetite for clean tech,” Sohl said.
Mergers and acquisitions represented 66 percent of the angel exits, and bankruptcies
accounted for 27 percent of the exits in 2010. About half of the angel exits were at a profit
and annual returns for angel’s exits (mergers and acquisitions and IPOs) were between 24
percent and 36 percent, however, these returns were quite variable.
Angels again reduced their investments of seed and start-up capital, with 31 percent of
2010 angel investments in the seed and start-up stage, a decrease of 4 percent from 2009.
Angels also exhibited an increased interest in post-seed/start-up investing with 67 percent
of investments in the early and expansion stage, an increase from 2009. New, first
sequence, investments represented 41 percent of 2010 angel activity, also a decline from
the last year of 6 percent.
“This decrease in seed/start-up stage and first sequence investing is of concern. However,
as existing investments move to an exit and thus reduce the need for follow-on
investments, it is anticipated that angel capital will become available for new seed stage
investments,” Sohl said.
Angel investments continue to be a significant contributor to job growth with the creation of
370,000 new jobs in the United States in 2010, or 6 jobs per angel investment.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Angel investor market rebounded 2010, Angel Market Analysis, Center for Venture Research, Jeffrey Sohl, University of New Hampshire
Posted in Studies, surveys, reports, venture capital report | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 RESTON, VA – Apple’s iOS platform, which resides on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, has a combined platform reach of 37.9 million among all mobile phones, tablets and other such connected media devices, outreaching the Android platform by 59 percent, according to the comScore MobilLens service.
ComScore’s analysis of the unduplicated audience reach of the Apple iOS platform across iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches revealed a combined iOS installed base of 37.9 million users. The installed base of iPhones slightly exceeded that of iPod Touches, both of which were approximately twice as high as the number of iPads. Interestingly, among the 37.9 million consumers with access to the Apple iOS, only 4 million (10.5 percent) accessed the platform via more than one device.
The combined 37.9 million iOS users is 59 percent greater than the 23.8 million combined Android OS installed base, which includes users of both Android phones and connected media devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
“These data clearly illustrate the Apple ecosystem extends far beyond the iPhone,” added Donovan. “Though it’s frequently assumed that the Apple user base is composed of dedicated Apple ‘fanboys’, there’s not a tremendous amount of overlapping mobile device access among these users. This of course has significant implications for the developer community as they consider the market potential in developing applications for different mobile platforms.”
Apple iPad Ownership Extends Beyond Just “Fanboys”
The research also suggests that iPad ownership extends well beyond Apple’s most fervent consumers. Although a perception may exist that iPad owners tend to be those with a very strong affinity for Apple products, an analysis of the mobile devices of iPad owners indicates that may not be the case. While Apple is indeed the most heavily represented OEM among iPad owners, its OEM share (27.3 percent) is only slightly higher than its share among all smartphone subscribers (25.2 percent).
RIM accounts for the second highest percentage of iPad owners at 17.5 percent, but this number is well below its overall smartphone market share of 28.9 percent. Meanwhile, Samsung, LG and Nokia are all significantly overrepresented among iPad owners as compared to their respective shares of the smartphone market. In addition, 14.2 percent of iPad users had Android phones.
Apple iPad Ownership Skews to 25-34 Year Olds
The age profile of iPad users indicated the heaviest skew toward 25-34 year olds (27.0 percent) in relation to the total mobile audience (17.6 percent). iPads also exhibited significantly above average skews in the 18-24 year old and 35-44 year old segments. However, this demographic profile was similar to that of the overall smartphone user base, indicating that the advanced mobile capabilities rather than the device itself might be primary driver behind this age profile.
Tags: Android OS, Apple iOS outreaches Android, comScore, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, IT, mobile, telecom
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 RALEIGH, NC – Companies spend millions to develop their brand’s personality, in hopes that it can help sell products. But they’ve had no way of measuring whether that personality actually appeals to consumers. Now, research from North Carolina State University lays out a system for measuring the appeal of a brand’s personality.
“We developed this means of measuring brand personality appeal (BPA) so companies can figure out how favorably their brand personality is viewed by consumers – and what they can do to enhance that personality’s appeal to their market,” says Dr. David Henard, an associate professor of business management at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study.
I’m a Mac
The concept of brand personality helps consumers form attachments to specific brands. For example, Apple has its “I’m a Mac…And I’m a PC” campaign, which brands its products as young and hip. But does that brand personality actually get people to buy anything?
“Until now, researchers have only been able to determine whether a company has a brand personality,” Henard says. “The only existing scale was Aaker’s Brand Personality Scale, which could determine whether a brand personality is rugged, sophisticated, competent, exciting or sincere.
Deeper into concrete outcomes
“What we’ve done here is develop a system that digs deeper to help companies link brand personality to concrete outcomes. For example, does the brand personality actually make people want to buy their product?”
The researchers first broke BPA down into three components: favorability, originality and clarity. Favorability is how positively a brand personality is viewed by consumers.
Originality is how distinct the brand personality is from other brands. Clarity is how clearly the brand personality is perceived by consumers.
For example, Ford trucks are clearly recognized as having a “rugged” brand personality. A brand personality’s appeal is determined according to the interaction of these three variables.
The researchers then used these three variables to establish a measurement system for BPA. The system consists of 16 questions that provide information on each of the three BPA variables. The questions can be applied to any brand personality, from Mercedes Benz to Mary Kay. By assessing consumer responses to these 16 questions, a brand personality is graded on its overall favorability, originality and clarity.
Better understanding of how brands work
For example, a company may find that its brand personality has a moderate rating on favorability, but is viewed as highly original and clearly defined.
High marks for originality and clarity make the brand personality more appealing than the moderate favorability rating might indicate. It also tells a company that it needs to focus its efforts on improving its favorability rating, rather than distinguishing itself from competitors, in order to boost the brand personality’s overall appeal.
“This work gives us a much more thorough understanding of how the mechanics of brand personality work on consumers,” Henard says.
The paper, “Brand personality appeal: conceptualization and empirical validation,” was co-authored by Henard; Dr. Traci Freling, of the University of Texas-Arlington; and Dr. Jody Crosno, of West Virginia University. The paper is forthcoming from the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
Tags: Apple-Mac, brand personality, brand study, NCSU, University research
Posted in Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports, University Tech | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 We have done our share of stupid and embarrassing things, but we’re not sure we’d want to tell you all about them.
At OKimstupid.com, there are humorous & intellectual discussions on the nature of stupidity. The website also accepts submissions from literally anyone about the times in their life when they have felt stupid. We could probably fill up a page or three, but we’re not going to.
The site pitches itself this way:
“Stupid things happen on a daily basis: around the world, countless stupid stories are being generated at every moment. Someone trips over their own foot, someone else can’t control their flatulence during a job interview (as a direct result of eating a bean burrito beforehand)… Stupid things are happening right this very moment all over the world.”
OKstupid.com says it aims to provide an anonymous platform for people to share their wacky experiences. The most entertaining and informative of these stories will be published on the Stupid People blog for the world to discuss & chuckle at.
Alternatively, for those who think the idea of glamorizing stupidity is stupid in and of itself, there is a Call Me Stupid page where anyone can explain why they disagree with the philosophical mission of the site.
If they are relevant to the general discussion, these submissions will also be published on the stupid people blog, to foster dialogue & get people thinking about what the word “stupid” really means.
The site, only recently launched by Shirt on your face, the site sells tee-shirts and advertising.
Call us stupid, but we’re not sure this is the hottest idea to come down the digital pike. On the other hand, Awkwardfamilyphotos.com does not seem to have any lack of contributors. You never can tell what might go viral these days. — Allan Maurer
Tags: Digital offbeat, Okstupid.com
Posted in Internet/New Media | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 ORLANDO, FL – Orlando-based LensAR has raised $2 million of a targeted $7 million offering, according to a regulatory filing. The company is developing and commercializing laser and 3D imaging technology for refractive cataract surgery.
The company raised $7 million in equity in July 2010 and $7.1 million in August 2009.
Investors in the firm include Aisling Cpaital of New York, and MA-based Extera Partners.
Randy Frey, CEO, writes on the company Web site that “The LensAR approach is to bring the accuracy and precision of lasers into the operating room to replace blades and greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the need for ultrasound power to perform the majority of cataract removals.”
To date, according to the company, the LensAR laser system has been successfully used in well over a hundred eyes outside of the US, and is actively under review with the FDA for approval for use in the United States.
The company disclosed the latest raise in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact Tech Journal South Editor and writer Allan Maurer: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: financing, FL, laser 3D imaging for catarac surgery, LensAR, Orland, SEC
Posted in Florida, Money | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 ORLANDO, FL – AOI Medical Inc., a startup developing a medical device to treat vertical compression fractures, has raised $2.92 million of a $5.62 million offering, according to a regulatory filing.
AOI is a pre-revenue, development stage medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative orthopaedic medical devices for the spine and trauma markets.
The company says its strategic objective is to develop innovative orthopaedic devices that allow clinicians to utilize improved and minimally invasive approaches for orthopaedic reconstruction.
AOI says it expects FDA 501(k) clearance to marekt Ascendx this year (2011).
The company disclosed the financing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: AOI Medical, financing, Medical Device, Orlando Florida, spine treatments
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 CHEVY CHASE, MD – Providing much needed clarity for B2B organizations looking to integrate customer relationship management (CRM) and social media for increased customer engagement, ISM shares the top five pragmatic best practices for Social CRM.
“There still is a tremendous need to continue to educate people on exactly what is social media and Social CRM, the differences, the best ways to apply this technology, and the business return that can be expected,” said Barton Goldenberg, president, ISM. “Too often, this topic is hyped with very little substance and it needs to be brought down to earth using pragmatic, relevant examples for the business community.”
Based on significant in-the-trenches consulting with dozens of Fortune 1000 global organizations, ISM shares the top five practical best practices to social CRM:
1) Right Mix – Getting the people/process/technology mix right is as important to successful social media and social CRM as it is to successful CRM implementations. The 50 percent people, 30 percent process and 20 percent technology rule is still viable for success.
2) B2B Organizations Should Invest – Social media/social CRM is as relevant for B2B as it is to B2C organizations despite the majority of applications currently focusing on building B2C communities.
3) Social Media Integration – The most effective social media/social CRM efforts tightly integrate community feedback with customer profiles in CRM applications.
4) Own the Community – Unless the primary goal is branding, organizations need to own the community (and therefore the data) and not solely rely on social media sites like Facebook to drive the engagement.
5) ROI is Still King – Social media communities need to be tightly tied to business metrics as all communications can be turned into profitable ventures with meaningful ROI.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Best practices for social CRM, Chevy Chase, ISM, MD
Posted in Business advice, Internet/New Media, social media, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
 Desire to save money and the dramatic rise in the number of local deals providers has driven a 47 percent surge in the use of local deals compared with last year, according to a recent Bing/Impulse Research survey.
Coupons and deals offering discounts on local products and services are going gangbusters, with retailers and service providers now collectively offering hundreds of thousands of deals daily — making it exciting but also challenging and time consuming for people to track and pinpoint the relevant deals.
In fact, 74 percent of survey respondents admitted they search multiple coupon sources each week, and a quarter of respondents claimed to spend up to an hour sifting through possible deals.
The Numbers Behind the Deals Craze
- Everyone loves a good deal. Approximately half (47 percent) of adults surveyed said they use more local deals and coupons than last year.
- People are struggling to manage their deals.
- Sixty-three percent of adults will search two to 10 different coupon sources every week, and 11 percent will search through more than 10 sources.
- Nearly 50 percent of adults surveyed will spend more than 15 minutes each week searching for deals, with almost one-quarter of adults surveyed spending between 30 and 60 minutes on the hunt.
- Deals just might get you that second date. Ninety percent of women said they would go on a second date with someone who paid for dinner with a coupon.
- Vacation deals or bust. Nearly 80 percent of people said they were likely to pick their summer vacation destination based on whether they could find a deal or redeem a coupon to save money.
- Moms live for good deals.
- Eighty-one percent of moms will search multiple sources every week in their effort to find coupons and local deals.
- When it comes to moms versus women in general, moms are approximately twice as likely to search 10 or more coupon sources every week.
- Single moms lead the pack in frugality, with 96 percent saying they are “coupon believers,” compared with 92 percent of adults overall.
Deals by location are available on iPhones or Androids atm.bing.com, which is a one-stop-shop for discounts, deals and coupons.
At least one search provider sees all this as an opportunity.
Bing mobile deals — available at m.bing.com— aggregates many of the Web’s local deals, including from Groupon, LivingSocial and Tippr, and gives people one-spot access to more than 200,000 local coupons in more than 14,000 cities in the U.S. People can search by daily deals, nearby deals, keywords or deals by category, such as restaurants, spa services, arts and entertainment, and even nightlife.
About the Survey
The survey was conducted online with a random sample of 1,058 men and women, ages 18 and older— all members of the Impulse Research proprietary online panel. The Impulse Research proprietary online panel has been carefully selected to closely match U.S. population demographics, and the respondents are representative of American men and women, ages 18 and older.
Research was conducted in March 2011. The overall sampling error rate for this survey is +/-3 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Bing, consumers overwhelmed by local deals volume, Groupon, LIvingSocial, local deals, Microsoft Corp., survey, Tipper
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Twitter is in talks to acquire Tweetdeck, the popular service for using and managing the micro-blogging program, according to the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ says the deal would be for about $50 million. Venture-backed Tweetdeck raised about $4 million from investors who include the Accelerator Group, Betaworks, Ron Conway and Howard Lindzon.
The journal notes that the potential acquisition is only one of many moves Twitter is considering to make the range of its content more visible to new users.
Twitter did acquire the mobile app Tweetie in 2010 and has rebranded it as Twitter for the iPhone.
Twitter has 200 million registered accounts, but several studies have shown that a small percentage of users post the vast majority of tweets.
Apple sues Samsung over Galaxy tablet
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:APPL) has filed a patent suit agains Samsung, alleging the Korean maker of the Galaxy smartphones and tablets infringe on its iPad and iPhone. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The suit says Samsung slavishly copies Apple design, interface and packaging. A Samsung spokesperson has said the Galaxy products are a result of its own research and development and it will defend against the suit.
Apple seeks an injunction to stop distribution of Samsung’s Galaxy products, damages, and a finding that Samsung “wilfully” infringed its patents. The later finding could lead to stiffer penalties.
We tested a Samsung Galaxy Smartphone, which runs the Google Android operating system. It performed well, although all the touch-based systems take a while to get used to. At least superficially, the Samsung devices do resemble the Apple products, but then, there are only a few form factors that will work for a smartphone or a tablet.
What do you think? Did Samsung slavishly copy Apple?
Yahool to keep search records 18 months
Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO) says it will increase the time it keeps records on what users search for online for 18 months.
The company will notify users this summer of the extension. Google also keeps search records for 18 months.
Yahoo told the Associated Press that it needs to keep the search records longer to establish patterns that allow the service to personalize shopping recommendations, news pages, and help users find exactly what they want.
Currently, it anonymizes personal data after 90 days.
The move, however, disturbs some privacy advocates, who see the huge databases these Internet firms hold as potential targets for identity theft, scams, and government surveillance. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a “Do Not Track” tool, which some browsers are already incorporating, while some lawmakers have introduced legislation to create rules for companies collecting and storing online data on users.
FTC files suits against fake news sites
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sued eight online marketers who it says posted fake testimonials for acai berry dietary supplements.
The FTC alleges the companies posted sites such as BreakingNewsAt6.com and news6reprts.com with testimonials the FTC says are phony.
“Reporters or commentators pictured on the sites are fictional and never conducted the tests or experienced the results described in the reports,” according to the FTC.
Defendants in the suits include Coulomb Media, Charles Dunlevy, Tanner Garrett Vaughn, Ambervine Marketing, Beony International, IMM Interactive, Ricardo Jose Labra, and Thou Lee. The FTC seeks orders prohibiting them from engaging in false advertising or deceptive practices and seeks financial penalties.
Winklevoss twins won’t give up on Facebook suit
Tyler and Cmeron Winklevoss, the twins who initiated the lawsuit that forms much of the storyline in the Oscar-winning film, “The Social Network,” and former participants in one of TechMedia’s earliest digital media events, will not give up on their attempt to alter their previous settlement with Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerman. They are appealing a recent court decision that let their previous settlement with Facebook stand.
The twins maintained that Zuckerberg, a classmate at Harvard, stole their idea for the site, but in a settlement, dropped their initial suit for $20 million in cash plus Facebook stock.
They tried to have the settlement voided on grounds that the stock was worth less than claimed at the time.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them last week. Their attorneys have asked for an 11-judge panel to consider their appeal.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
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Tags: Acai Berry sites sued, Accelerator Group, Apple Inc., Apple sues Samsung, Betaworks, Facebook suit, FTC sues fake news sites, Galaxy Tab, Howard Lindzon, iPad, iPhone, Ron Conway, Samsung, TweetDeck, Tweetie, twitter, Winklevoss twins, Yahoo, Yahoo extends personal data storage
Posted in Google, Internet/New Media, IT, Legal, Mobile, Security, smartphones, Telecommunications, Twitter | Comments Off
Monday, April 18th, 2011
 Women considering buying a product or service are more influenced by the opinions of bloggers they know than by celebrity endorsements, says the BlogHer 2011 Social Media Matters Study, co-sponsored by Ketchum, one of the largest global communications consultancies.
The study also shows that 78% of the female American adult online population are active social media users, and of those, nearly twice as many (20%) are motivated to consider products promoted by or with a blogger they know, than by promotions featuring a celebrity (13%).
The study reveals that the introduction of more sophisticated mobile platforms and web applications have transformed many more digital users into “early adopters”, illustrated by rapid mainstream adoption of new digital services, such as online deal sites (such as Groupon), mobile gaming, location-based apps (such as Foursquare), and smartphone apps.
The study, fielded by Nielsen Company and BlogHer to nationally representative samples, was conducted to gather insights on current social media trends among women, both in the US general online population and members of the BlogHer community.
“Over the last four years we have measured and reported the growing trust women have in the bloggers they read, and how that translates directly into influence and purchasing decisions,” said Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer Co-founder and COO. “In 2011, we can see that this trust has paid off, as readers report that high satisfaction with the results of such purchases regularly send them back to blogs and social media to seek out recommendations by bloggers they trust.”
Early Adoption is the New Mainstream
The rise in mobile devices has made it easy for consumers to rapidly embrace new applications and digital services. The study found that adults of all ages are using the following mobile devices and apps once a week or more:
- After only two years in the consumer marketplace, online coupon services such as Groupon and LivingSocial are used by over half of women online (51%).
- After less than two years on the market, location-based apps such as Foursquare and Gowalla are now used by 16% of all online adults…an adoption rate that took Twitter twice as long to achieve. It should be noted, however, that this is one of the few apps and tools where women do not lead in adoption, with only 12% of women using these services actively.
- 4 out of 10 women use smartphones and related apps.
- 22% of women are active in mobile gaming.
“With the steady increase of mobile adoption, truly understanding the myriad ways a brand’s stakeholders use mobile technologies and developing a customized mobile strategy to reach them is critical.” said Nicholas Scibetta, Partner/Director, Global Media Network at Ketchum. “Creating a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to reach the masses is sure to reach but a few.”
Blogs and Other Social Media Increasingly Tapped for Purchasing Decisions
This year’s survey shows that blogs play an increasingly influential role in people’s purchasing decisions:
- Blog opinions matter: 53% of U.S. women blog readers have purchased a product based on a blog recommendation. That number soars to 80% of the BlogHer population.
- The top reason the general population trusts blog advice is because of their satisfaction with past purchases based on blog recommendations.
- The top three types of products that the general population seeks reviews and recommendations for on blogs are consumer electronics (35%), computer hardware/software (33%) and movies (33%). Among the BlogHer community, the priorities shift to food/beverage (67%) and clothing/shoes (67%), with movies coming in third at 62%.
- Almost half (47%) of U.S. blog readers tap into blogs for finding new trends or ideas, 35% for finding out about new products, and one in four for help with making a purchasing decision.
“With social media being viewed as one of the most promising media vehicles by CMOs and other senior marketers, this findings in this study will be particularly useful in developing strategic marketing initiatives,” said Kelley Skoloda, Partner/Director, Global Brand Marketing Practice at Ketchum. “Consumers are adopting social media and digital applications at unprecedented rates, so marketers have more opportunities than ever for two-way conversation and relationships. Marketers must seize these opportunities now or risk falling behind their competitors in the race for online consumer engagement.”
Promoting, not Preventing, People Connections
Despite suggestions of “online fatigue” and concerns that growing use of the Internet may affect the quality of people’s interpersonal relationships, the 2011 Social Media Matters Study found that Americans online are continuing to use blogs and other social media actively, and many see social networking as a way to preserving connections with family and friends. Specific findings include:
- Blog usage and Facebook usage continue to grow at an equal and modest rate year over year with women (~10%).
- Tech love is all about connecting: 58% of women spend more or about the same time with their friends online as they do offline, yet only 5% feel that social impact has had a negative effect. When asked why technology makes women feel hopeful about the future, the top answer (67%) was that social media makes it easier to stay in touch with family and friends.
“Women who use social media cite not only the value social media brings to their own lives, but also credit the voice they see it giving to women around the world,” concluded BlogHer’s Elisa Camahort Page. “They clearly see the array of digital tools and technologies available to them as a tremendous source of information, connection, entertainment and empowerment.”
An executive summary of the 2011 Social Media Matters Study can be found at www.blogher.com/2011-social-media-matters-study and
The study is conducted annually to show purchasing behaviors of social media users, probe how users feel about the role of technology in their lives, compare media usage patterns and gauge the level of relevance among different types of media.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: BlogHer, Marketing, mobile devices, smartphones, social media, study, women adopt mobile early, women trust blogger opinions
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Monday, April 18th, 2011
 BOSTON – We have seen a definite uptick in financings this year for companies with online learning technologies, and according to a new report, it is becoming an essential part of college and university programs.
More than 60 percent of academic leaders at private-sector colleges and universities say that online learning is critical to their long-term strategies and have included it in their formal strategic plans, according to a new study conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and sponsored by Pearson Learning Solutions.
The report, “Online Learning Trends in Private-Sector Colleges and Universities,” is a new analysis of the data collected for the annual Sloan Survey of Online Learning.
“The study’s findings highlight the unique opportunities and challenges that higher education leaders are currently facing. The continued growth of online learning, coupled with the federal goal of increasing the number of college graduates, underscores the need for innovative learning tools and strategies that will help all institutions implement successful, effective online programs,” said Don Kilburn, CEO of Pearson Learning Solutions.
The study reveals that the perception among private-sector leaders of online learning and its impact on learning outcomes has grown more positive over time, with the majority saying online learning is the same or superior to face-to-face learning, a trend that has improved steadily since initially measured by the Sloan Survey in 2003.
Three-quarters of private-sector respondents say the quality of an education at a for-profit institution is as good as at a not-for-profit institution.
About half of private-sector institutions report increased demand for face-to-face courses and programs, and 70 percent say there is even greater demand for online courses and programs, the result of the economic downturn. Nearly three-quarters of private-sector respondents report increases in applications for financial aid.
“Online student enrollments continue to be the fastest growing sector in higher education. Private sector colleges and universities are meeting these students’ unique needs by virtue of their ability to enact rapid deployment and take full advantage of innovations and new technologies,” said Dr. Anthony Piña, Dean of Online Studies for the Sullivan University System.
Pearson, a leading learning company, has global-reach and market leading businesses in education, business and consumer publishing (NYSE: PSO).
Tags: online edcuation, online learning survey, Peason
Posted in Education, Internet/New Media, IT | Comments Off
Monday, April 18th, 2011
 NEW YORK – T.Rowe Price has invested $190 million in Facebook, according to the New York Times DealBook, which cites regulatory filings.
The firm’s funds have also invested in Zynga ($71.8 million) and Groupon ($86.8 million).
T. Rowe Price has about $482 billion in assets under management.
Dealbook notes that the firm has “become increasingly agressive in social media and larger technology sectors.”
It previously participated in Twitter’s $100 million round in 2009. It has also invested in Ning (worth $10 million); Youku.com (valued at $114 million); and Angie’s List (worth $35 million).
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Angie's List, facebook, financings, Ning, social media, T.Rowe Price, twitter, Zynga
Posted in Facebook, Money, social media, Twitter, Zynga | Comments Off
Monday, April 18th, 2011
 BONITA SPRINGS, FL – Paice, a company holding what an Australian study called “the most dominant hybrid (electric car) patents in the world, has raised $4 million from ten investors, according to a regulatory filing.
During the oil crisis of 1979, Paice founder Dr. Alex Severinsky conceived the idea for a hybrid gasoline/electric car that could help reduce America’s dependence on oil. That led Dr. Severinsky to form Paice (Power Assisted Internal Combustion Engines) in 1992 as part of the small company incubator program at the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering.
Later that year, he filed a patent application covering his groundbreaking concepts for a hybrid vehicle. Paice was issued U.S. Patent No. 5,343,970 (the ‘970 patent) in 1994.
According to the company website, hybrid electric vehicles increase fuel economy and reduce harmful emissions by combining an electric motor with the vehicle’s internal combustion engine. The ‘970 patent describes a hybrid vehicle with a microprocessor that receives control inputs and uses that information to determine whether the internal combustion engine, the electric motor, or both should provide torque to the wheels. It also describes a system with a powerful electric motor that receives energy from a battery at high voltage and low current to increase dramatically the efficiency and performance of the system.
Paice’s United States Patents rank as the two most dominant hybrid patents in the world – and four of its patents rank among the 10 most dominant patents – according to a recent study of all hybrid patents filed worldwide. The company has licensed its patented tech to Ford and Toyota.
The company received funding in 1998 from the Abell Foundations, which it says has invested more than $20 million in its hyperdrive system.
TechJournal South is a TechMedia company. TechMedia presents the annual conferences:
SoutheastVentureConference: www.seventure.org
Internet Summit: www.internetsummit.com
Digital East: www.digitaleast.com
Digital Summit: www.digitalsummit.com
Tags: Bonita Springs, Dr. Alex Severinsky, FL, Ford, hybrid electric vehicle tech, Maryland Calrk School of Engineering, Paice, Toyota
Posted in Energy, Florida | Comments Off
Monday, April 18th, 2011
 RALEIGH, NC – Did you know that pencil lead may just end up changing the world? Graphene is the material from which graphite, the core of your No. 2 pencil, is made. It is also the latest “wonder material,” and may be the electronics industry’s next great hope for the creation of extremely fast electronic devices.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have found one of the first roadblocks to utilizing graphene by proving that its conductivity decreases significantly when more than one layer is present.
Graphene’s structure is what makes it promising for electronics. Because of the way its carbon atoms are arranged, its electrons are very mobile. Mobile electrons mean that a material should have high conductivity.
But NC State physicist Dr. Marco Buongiorno-Nardelli and NC State electrical and computer engineer Dr. Ki Wook Kim wanted to find a way to study the behavior of “real” graphene and see if this was actually the case.
“You cannot make a semiconductor with just one graphite layer,”Buongiorno-Nardelli explains. “To make a device, the conductive material must have a means by which it can be turned off and on. And bilayer provides such ability.”
They discovered both good and bad news.
The good news: With a single layer of graphene, the mobility – and therefore conductivity – shown by the researchers’ simulations turned out to be much higher than they had originally thought.
The bad news: bilayer graphene was an order of magnitude lower in the mobility of its electrons. “The reduction is substantial, but even this reduced number is higher than in many conventional semiconductors,” Borysenko said.
Buongiorno-Nardelli says that the NC State researchers are turning their attention to remedying this problem.
“If we put the graphene on a substrate that can ‘siphon off’ some of the heat generated by the electric current, the crystal vibrations will decrease and the mobility will increase. Those are our next steps – running the simulations with graphene and substrates that have this property.”
Tags: graphene, NCSU, pencils, University research, wonder material for electronics
Posted in Carolinas, North Carolina, University Tech | Comments Off
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