Posts Tagged ‘Events’
Thursday, October 14th, 2010
 ATLANTA – The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of the state’s technology industry, today announced the finalist for the sixth annual Excalibur Awards
Held October 22, 2010, at 7:30 a.m. at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel, 2450 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339, the Excalibur Awards recognize Georgia’s technology-enabled companies that demonstrate exemplary competency in using technology to excel in their industry.
A panel of judges identified finalists in four categories: small and mid-size company, large company, educational and creative. The 2010 finalists include:
- Small and Mid-Size Company – City of Marietta, Loyalty Marketing, Tech Exec Networks Inc.
- Large Company – AutoTrader.com, (Chip Perry, CEO of AutoTrader.com is a featured speaker at Tech Media’s upcoming Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 17-18); Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, InterContinental Hotels Group
- Educational – Darton College
- Creative – City of Marietta, NCR, Simmons Bedding Co.
“This year’s finalists represent a diverse cross-section of businesses found across the state of Georgia,” said Tino Mantella, president of TAG. “From educational institutions and city governments, to publicly traded companies and large enterprises, our finalists illustrate the importance and pervasiveness of technology throughout the state’s business community.”
In addition to honoring Georgia’s technology-enabled companies, the 2010 Excalibur Awards will feature a keynote speech from Hal Lawton, president of online for The Home Depot. Lawton is responsible for integrating the company’s online sales channel with existing merchandising efforts as well as overseeing the expansion of The Home Depot’s online presence as a selling channel and information source for customers.
For more information about Excalibur Awards and to register to attend the event, visit http://www.tagonline.org/excalibur-awards.php.
Tags: Atlanta, autotrader.com, Darton College, Events, Excalibur awars, Loyaty Marketing, Marietta, NCR, TAG, Tech Exec Networks, Tino Mantella
Posted in Events, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT | Comments Off
Friday, October 8th, 2010
 BALTIMORE, MD – The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) will host its 17th Annual Conference, “Funding Innovation: Accelerating the New Economy,” October 13-15, 2010 at the Marriott Baltimore Inner Harbor at Camden Yards.
Speakers include Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, Sean Green, associate administrator for Investment and Special Advisor for Innovation at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Steven D. Welch, co-founder of Dreamlt Ventures and author of “We are all Born Entrepreneurs.”
The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) is a host and major sponsor of this year’s conference.
Tags: Adam Chopra, Baltimore, Events, MD, NASVF conference, Steven WElch
Posted in Events, Maryland, Potomac | Comments Off
Friday, October 1st, 2010
 Michael Aronowitz, CMO, Saveology.com FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Even when you have a plethora of experience with online companies, the digital world changes so rapidly “You have to reinvent yourself year after year to understand the industry and succeed,” says Michael Aronowitz, chief marketing officer for Saveology.com.
Aronowitz certainly has a plateful of experience with online firms. He joined Saveology–which gives visitors a one-stop place to compare and choose common home services such as TV, phone and Internet–from eBay. At eBay, he led the company’s entry into the lead generation space with GigaMoves.com.
Prior to that he spearheaded development of an online cost-per-lead acquisition program for Monster Worldwide. He was also with the Direct Marketing Association and foudned Zmichaels Inc., a direct mail agency and ran its Salesoutlet.com unit, a provider of turnkey e-tail and marketing offerings.
The markettplace has changed and lead generation is taking a back seat to search engine optimization and paid search, says Aronowitz. But even while everyone looks for the secret sauce to online marketing, the industry is changing again.
“Mobile has jumped to the forefront,” he says. “You have to roll with these technology changes. It’s a matter of staying on top of whatever technology is out there.”
In the mobile space he says a major challenge is that a company has to start by looking at all the device platforms out there, the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Droid devices.
Being in the right place at the right time
Internet marketing, says Aronowitz, is about “Being in the right place at the right time. You want to be in front of someone when they want to search, research, or buy.” So the strategy is to find the consumer at the right time on the right device.
This is all leading to convenience for the consumer even as it creates complexity for the company.
Talking to us during a break from traveling, Aronowitz told us, “I was just sitting here with a friend. We were deciding where to go to lunch. We asked for recommendations at the hotel, then looked on Yelp, read reviews and decided where to go.”
Several years ago, instead of reading reviews online, making a choice and getting directions, “We might have taken advice,” he says.
How to stand out
How does a company stand out amidst the billions of web sites and mobile offerings? “You have to build your site the right way. Follow the guidelines. You have to look at analytics. It’s not one thing, it’s a combination of a lot of things.”
Those firms and entrepreneurs who are successful online “Are smart, not lucky,” he insists.
So, he says, “Do your homework. Listen to the experts and follow their advice. You can’t be a renegade online. You follow a certain pattern and you’ll be successful.”
What’s the best way to get that expert advice?
“Go to conferences like yours (The Internet Summit),” he says. “Learn from people who have been successful. Follow their advice.”
Aronowitz is one of the many Internet experts, executives, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists participating in the third annual Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 17-18.
Tags: Events, FL, Fort Lauderdale, Internet Summit, lead generation, mobile, NC, Raleigh, Saveology, succeed online
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Florida, Internet/New Media, North Carolina | Comments Off
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
 Michael Bird, Chief Revenue Officer, Netprospex By Allan Maurer
BOSTON –A major element in using social networking well is to create a process in which the customer engages with the company and the company, in return, engages with the customer. So says Michael Bird, chief revenue officer at Netprospex. One company doing it in a way others can learn from, Bird says, is Best Buy.
“What they’ve been able to do, their application of this, has been amazing,” Bird says. Via their “Twelpforce” on Twitter, Best Buy engages both its own workforce and its customers.
Something a lot of companies could do
“We all love buying the latest gadget, but then you plug it in and it doesn’t work and we all dread calling customer service. We expect to be let down. It’s just a question of how hard you fall. But they have used Twitter to attack this issue headon building their reputation and creating evangelists of their customers.”
By encouraging their employees to join the Twelp Force and participate in helping people solve problems, they engage their employee base while solving problems for customers in real time.
“It’s something a lot of companies could do,” says Bird.
Netprospex, addresses the key problem in doing business of knowing who to talk to. “You can spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure that out,” he says. Netprospex uses crowd-sourced methods to collect user-contributed business contacts. It also includes social media connections for contacts.“If someone goes to a conference and collects 50 business contacts, he can upload them to Netprospex and we’ll send him 50 of ours,” explains Bird.
Bird is likely to make quite a few new contacts himself when he appears at the third annual Internet Summit in Raleigh, NC, Nov. 17-18, which in addition to participants from top Internet brands, draws around 1,000 attendees.
Bird has deep experience in sales, media and the tech field. He has nearly 20 years experience in media, six with CNET Networks and 13 years with Ziff Davis Publishing. He was with BzzAgent, a company that pioneered developing word-of-mouth media, helped launch a small Internet company and helped build a boutique venture capital firm, a $50 million fund that invested in early stage startups.
A new level of influence
In that time, he’s seen social networking take on “A new level of influence. The culture is evolving and using it in a much deeper way. It has started to permeate the skin and enter the central nervous system.”
Although you have to drop into the teens on Netprospex’s Social Index of the top 50 companies using social media in its Social Business Report before you find a non-tech company at the forefront, even many smaller firms are managing to use social media well, says Bird.
As an example, he points to the food trucks bringing a variety of gourmet meals in numerous cities now. “They promote where they’re going to be through social media, Twitter, Facebook. You should see the lines, they’ve built so much demand and engagement. They’ve built a phenomenal business that’s growing astronomically.”
Smaller companies have an advantage in using social media, he says. “They’re not as encumbered by bureaucracy. And, he points out that by using the Internet and social media they can compete nationally or even internationally.
Creating brand evangelists
The way to get some bang for the buck out of social media, says Bird, is to create evangelists for a firm and its products. To do that, he says, “Once you sell someone a product, you create an evangelist by solving a problem.”
It may not be as hard as some might think, however. “You would be amazed at how much enthusiasm people actually have for brands,” he says.
“A huge percentage of conversation is about a product, a car someone drives, the PC they use, a movie they liked, where to go to dinner. We talk about products all the time and generally in positive ways.”
So, once you engage with a customer, provide them with information that makes them feel like an insider. “Give them information that makes them feel as if they went to a BBQ and talked with the brand manager. Tell them all the stuff you can’t say in an ad. Your level of engagement will go through the roof and you can’t get them to stop talking to you.”
Now that’s a problem lots of companies would be happy to have.
Tags: Best Buy, brand evangelists, Events, facebook, food trucks, Internet Summit, Michael Bird, Netprospex, social media, twitter
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Internet/New Media, North Carolina | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
 OCONEE, GA – The Southern Capital Conference, which brings together venture fund general partners and the limited partners and other stakeholders in private equity annually, plans to honor the “Deal of the Year” at the Sept. 15-17 event at the Lake Oconee Ritz Carlton.
Ramsay Batten of Arcapita and director of the conference tells us it is a way to give a venture firm “Some great visibility” in front of all those LPs, who are the people providing the funds the VCs invest, and “get some recognition in front of their peers.”
The Deal of the Year will be based on a portfolio company exit achieved by the GP during the prior year. The intent of the award is to provide recognition to the GP in front of a peer-group of 45+ GPs as well as 50+ LPs in attendance at the dinner.
In addition to the winner, two other finalists will also be honored at the event. The three honored GPs (the winner plus two finalists) will represent the three major asset classes represented at the event (buyout, venture/growth equity and mezzanine).
Batten tells us that despite widespread press about the contraction of the venture industry during and after the recession and less interest among LPs in that asset class, “We’re seeing as strong a response as we ever got from LPs coming to the conference.”
Batten says he recalls hearing the same sort of things about the venture industry during the last downturn in 2001 and 2002. The contraction last year was “tactical” rather than “strategic,” he says. “We’ll see over the next two to five years if there is a real strategic move in or out of the venture asset class.”
The Southern Capitol Conference confirmed LP attendees already include Capital Dynamics, FLAG Capital, Hirtle Callaghan, Grove Street Advisors, The Southern Company, the University of North Carolina Management Company and the State of West Virginia Investment Management Board, and more will surely follow.
The Conference features a variety of LP panels focused on the fundraising environment for venture, growth equity, buyout, mezzanine and real estate funds, and provides an ideal venue in which GPs can begin to build meaningful relationships with LPs for future funds.
Tags: Deal of the Year, Events, Georgia, GPs, LPs, Southern Capital Conference
Posted in Events, Georgia | Comments Off
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
 RESEARCH TRIANGLE, NC – If you use Netflix or watched online Olympic coverage from NBC, you’ve seen Microsoft’s Silverlight product in action, but it does much more than streaming video delivery. Chris Woodruff, a Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional (MVP)” in the Carolinas today and tomorrow presenting workshops in Raleigh and Charlotte on the Open Data Protocol, tells us that Silverlight can be a versatile tool.
“I’m an Enterprise consultant,” Woodruff explains. “I use it as a presentation tool to bring data to people in a more rich and engrossing form.”
He says he encourages companies to use Silverlight to put their data in front of people in richer shape. “In the old days,” he says, “It didn’t matter what data looked like if you got it in front of people. It would be battleship gray windows, apps and grids. Today, people see all these Web apps that are easy to use at home, such as on Netflix, then go to work and see difficult apps that don’t meet their expectations.”
So, Woodruff tells large companies, “Look, you need a better user experience for your people so they can be more excited about the tools they’re given.” They will use that excitement, he says, “To help your business bring in revenue.”
Using Silverlight, a company can use different visual metaphors. “If they’re dealing with accounts, give them a pen and paper metaphor instead of something unfamiliar,” he suggests. “It empowers people to be more productive.”
Companies can also learn to use Silverlight to help show customers their products, he says.
“It’s a way of getting a better user experience for both a company’s workers and its clients.” That can help differentiate them from competitors, he adds.
The Silverlight Web site offers numerous case studies on how businesses are using the product.
Personally, we use Silverlight on Netflix and appreciate the navigation options it offers. It makes it easy to move forward and backward in a film being viewed to find any scene. We wish that YouTube and other online video purveyors used such consumer-friendly technology. But it’s easy to see, even from a consumer standpoint, how the product could jazz up data presentation.
Woodruff, in Raleigh today, presents his Open Data Protocol workshop in Charlotte tomorrow, June 3, at the Microsoft Office.
–By Allan Maurer
Tags: Chris Woodruff, Events, Microsoft, Silverlight
Posted in Business advice, Carolinas, Internet/New Media, IT, North Carolina | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 24th, 2010
 CHAPEL HILL, NC – Coinciding with National Small Business Week, North Carolina will be among 10 states to participate in Google’s first-ever economic impact event on Tuesday, May 25 at 10 a.m. at Johnny T-shirt in Chapel Hill.
Small businesses are the economic engine that provide jobs, bring innovative products and services to the marketplace and sustain communities throughout our nation.
On May 25, Google will kick-off simultaneous announcements in small businesses across the country that use Google’s services to grow revenue and support jobs. Johnny T-shirt, a Google AdWords partner, will host state and local dignitaries, and business leaders at their Franklin Street store.
Penny Price, Google’s VP for Global Agency and Industry Development will speak.
Tags: Chapel Hill, eocnomic development, Events, Google, NC, small business
Posted in Carolinas, Events, North Carolina | Comments Off
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
 The ATDC is located in the Research Building at Atlanta's Technology Square ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center expects more than 1,000 technology leaders, university leaders, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs to attend its 2010 Startup Showcase at The Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center May 24.
Each year ATDC member companies who have attained rigorous growth milestones are selected to graduate from the startup incubator.
We were impressed with the variety of startup cultures and styles ATDC hosts when we visited recently. Offices of its startups range from the precisely neat to the creative clutter of long hours fueled by caffeine and sugar.
We also heard praise for the way ATDC has opened its doors to many more companies, including all of those incubated by Shotput Ventures. (See: Atlanta’s Shotput Ventures firms all joining ATDC).
Stephen Fleming, vice provost and director of the ATDC commented on the upcoming ceremony, “We are proud of this group of startup companies and the level of success they have achieved; they are representative of the types of companies that have been successful during the first 30 years of our existence.
“As we open our doors to a larger number of quality entrepreneurs and startup companies we believe that the number of companies that we can assist will grow exponentially.”
The 2010 graduating companies are:
- CommerceV3, a provider of an order-management system that allows users to create, launch, and grow customized web storefronts;
- Endgame Systems, an organization of highly skilled information security veterans providing advanced vulnerability research programs and next-generation security solutions;
- Izenda, a company that delivers a fully-integrable add-on to software developers that gives end users the ability to create and customize reports; and
- PureWire, a web security software-as-a-service vendor that secures business and social interactions on the Web.
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has graduated more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing.
ATDC has provided business incubation and acceleration services to hundreds of Georgia startups—most of which are not based on Georgia Tech research, but which benefit from the close proximity to the university.
Recently ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program.
For more information on the showcase event see: ATDC Startup Showcase.
Tags: ATDC, Atlanta, CommerceV3, Endgame Systems, Events, Georgia Tech, Izenda, PureWire, Shotput Ventures, Stephen Fleming
Posted in Events, Georgia, University Tech | Comments Off
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
 ATLANTA – Venture Atlanta has issued a call for presenting companies at its third annual investor event set for October 12-13 at the Georgia Aquarium.
Venture Atlanta organizers will select up to 20 Georgia firms to pitch their deals to more than 100 venture capitalists, private equity investors, angel investors, investment bankers, entrepreneurs and industry executives.
Organizers are seeking technology or technology-enabled businesses in all stages of growth that are currently raising or looking to raise capital within the next 12 months. Venture Atlanta will select presenters from a variety of technology markets, including:
- Clean/Green Technologies
- Communications Technologies
- Enterprise Applications
- Financial Technologies/Services
- Hardware
- Healthcare IT
- Internet Software
- Medical Devices
- Mobile and Wireless Applications
- New Media
“Georgia companies presenting at Venture Atlanta have closed over $50 million dollars in funding since 2008,” said David Hartnett, vice president of technology development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “
Venture Atlanta also features a trade show-style showcase. This showcase provides at least 25 other companies opportunity to network and pitch their wares to VC’s and other investors in attendance.
Georgia-based entrepreneurs interested in presenting at Venture Atlanta 2010 should submit two-page executive summaries and applications to www.ventureatlanta.org by Friday, August 20. 2010.
Tags: Atlanta, Events, Venture Atlanta
Posted in Events, Georgia | Comments Off
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
 DURHAM, NC – Five companies will present to a panel of experienced investors and one firm will launch at a new event called “Launch Days” starting at 5:15 p.m. at Durham’s American Tobacco campus tonight (May 12).
Organizer Scott Kelly of KeySource Commercial Bank says that in addition to five presenting companies, the event features the launch of a new hardware-focused company by veterans Matt Williamson and Alison Phillips of Bronto Software.
The five presenting companies are Ruzuku; Neobudget; Argyle Social; Shoeboxed; and Ignite Social Media.
Following their presentations they will be “grilled” by Bill Brown, a Duke law professor also involved with Durham-based Eight Rivers Capital, Andy Dreyfus of the Piedmont Angel Network, and Kip Johnson from Womble Carlye, an angel investor.
The startups can expect to be asked the types of tough questions investors pose: how big is their market, really? Is their product a game-changer?
Kelly tells us that he hopes the event helps introduce the startup companies to the community, providing them with some support.
Kelly says initially he thought of “Launch Days” as an annual event, but has received 20 responses from firms that were interested in participating and may look at more frequency.
KeySource Bank is a commercial banking firm founded three years ago. It raised $19 million in capital and mainly makes commercial loans to companies with $1 million to $30 million in revenue.
The event will be held at American Tobacco Campus’s Bay 7. It costs $29 at the door.
Tags: Durham, Events, Launch Days, NC, Ruzuku; Neobudget; Argyle Social; Shoeboxed; and Ignite Social Media.
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Internet/New Media, IT, North Carolina | Comments Off
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
 Retro Soviet matchbook art. Social Matchbook helps companies fire up their rockets. WASHINGTON, DC -Social Matchbox, which organizes a bi-annual event for Web and software startups to present to investors, will hear 11 companies at its spring event tonight (Thursday, April S29).
Presenting tonight are the firms picked from 65 nominees:
WebTaps, ShoutReel, CardStar, CouplesSpark, WhereMark, Heliograph, BreweryFans, Replyz, Ringio, Starfish Retention Solutions and Cardagin Networks.
Presenters will be given 10 minutes to talk about their product and answer questions from an audience full of their peers, investors, and members of the startup community. All presenters will be considered for the prestigious Community Choice Award, based on the audience’s votes, and the Founder’s Award, based on votes from startup founders who have previously been selected to present at Social Matchbox.
Social Matchbox has helped propel presenters to success over the past three years since the event’s humble beginnings with a $35 Guitar Center Amp and a microphone. A few of these presenter alumni include:
*Clearspring (funded), CollectiveX (funded), GeniusRocket (funded), Grab Networks (two startups meged), HonestyOnline (funded), HotPads.com (funded), Jam Legend (funded), Legal River (funded), Living Social (funded), Mixx (funded), Mobile Posse (funded), OPower (funded), Qloud (acquired), Razoo (funded), Searchles (funded), Social Gaming Network, TapMetrics (recently acquired by Millennial Media), TinselVision (funded), Unblab (funded), Webs.com (funded), and many others.
Tags: DC, Events, Social Matchbook, Startups
Posted in Events, Internet/New Media, IT, Maryland, Potomac, Virginia, Washington, DC | Comments Off
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
 ASHEVILLE, NC – CAROLINA CONNECT, a day-long conference for entrepreneurs and investors holds its seventh event May 13 at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel, 31 Woodfin St., in downtown Asheville. CAROLINA CONNECT is presented annually by AdvantageWest, the economic development commission for the 23 western counties of North Carolina.
The organizers say the highest number of accredited investors in conference history has confirmed attendance at this year’s event, offering exceptional access for those seeking to make critical connections for growing their business and perhaps signaling an improving economy.
In addition to networking and sessions on entrepreneurship and capital, mainstays of previous CAROLINA CONNECT conferences, the 2010 edition will feature additional tracks on green business and intrapreneurship – that is, the practice of applying entrepreneurial skills and approaches within an established company, such as assertive risk-taking and innovation.
The full day of connecting, idea-sharing and professional development includes a stellar lineup of keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and the popular Critical Conversations Café – plus an awards luncheon recognizing innovation and achievement in entrepreneurship across the region. The event starts with a pre-conference networking breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and ends with a post-conference reception from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Keynote speakers include Kauffman fellow and Silicon Valley investor Victor Hwang and Lisa Halpert Mesnick, social media strategy manager for the global online employment company, Monster.com.
Early registration for CAROLINA CONNECT is $95 and includes full access to all conference sessions, plus continental breakfast, lunch and the closing networking reception. After May 7, registration is $125. Space is limited and early registration is encouraged at www.advantagewest.com.
Tags: AdvantageWest, Asheville, Carolina Connect, Events, NC
Posted in Carolinas, Events, North Carolina | Comments Off
Monday, April 26th, 2010
 Janna Anderson, director of the Imagining the Future Center at Elon University RALEIGH, NC – Right from the start, from its founders to its exploiters, from its builders to its consumers, the Internet has spawned a wealth of speculation on its future.
NC-based Elon University’s “Imagining the Internet” project, a sponsor of the FutureWeb Conference Wednesday and Thursday at the Raleigh Convention Center (April 28-29), has teamed with the PEW Internet & American Life Project to track those predictions past and present.
Janna Quitney Anderson, a professor in the Elon School of Communications and director of the Imagining the Internet Center, tells us the project got underway when Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project, visited Elon in 2000.
He suggested creating a database of Internet predictions similar to Sola Pool’s research work on “Forecasting the Telephone.”
Anderson, together with another Elon professor, Connie Ledoux Book, collaborated over a number of years to get the Imagining the Internet database, going from early predictive statements to ongoing data collected via its site and activities.
Early on, the researchers established certain persistent major themes:
- The Internet will transform society; it will transform economies;
- content will drive the Internet’s success; the Internet presents security and privacy concerns;
- the Internet’s growth is dependent on an efficient and reliable infrastructure; the Internet will spawn a new generation of hardware and software;
- it will create a smaller world; it will transform America’s schools;
- it will impact professions.
The results found in this work made it evident that the predictions research should be expanded upon, the researchers say.
Some early predictions right on
Anderson tells us that while some kooky predictions appear (such as, “The trees will whisper information”), many of the early Internet founders pinpointed the issues we face today. People like Tim Berners Lee and John Perry Barlow suggested we would have to reinvent our notions of privacy, ownership and “Lots of other things we talk about today,” says Anderson.
In 2003, Anderson used Book’s study as the base from which to launch a research initiative aimed at assembling a large, thorough, public database of thousands of the predictions made between 1990 and 1995. This comprehensive study targeted statements made by internet stakeholders and skeptics. These were mined through searches of the major books of the time, Internet sites, magazines, speeches, research presentations and newspaper articles.
Ongoing predictions collected
In 2004, and years to follow, experts quoted in the early 1990s database and many other technology leaders have been sent an e-mail invitation to participate in a web-based “Future of the Internet” survey that records their thoughts about anticipated changes to come in the years ahead. The responses are published along with an accompanying research report in the Predictions Survey section on the site.
The ongoing work included publishing books based on the research, video reporting by School of Communications students, and even a video documentary. The project has also collected thousands of predictions by hundreds of people and amassed a huge and growing database.
In 2007-08, Elon University recognized the ongoing work of the project by establishing the nonprofit Imagining the Internet Center, based in the School of Communications.
When the World Wide Web conference slated a Raleigh event, Anderson was invited onto the steering committee and expressed the idea that it might be effective to bring not only engineers and infrastructure experts here, but to also co-locate a conference exploring the social and political aspects of the Web, which became FutureWeb.
Imagining the Internet site address:
www,imaginingtheinternet.com
The Early ’90s database of predictions:
www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/early90s/
The books:
www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/publications.xhtml
Latest Future of the Internet survey:
www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/expertsurveys/2010survey/default.xhtml
Share Your predictions:
www.elon.edu/predictions/RecentPredictions.aspx
By Allan Maurer
TechJournal South Editor Allan Maurer can be reached at: Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
Tags: Events, FutureWeb, Imagining the Internet, Internet predictions, John Perry Barlow, NC, Pew Internet in American Life Project, Raleigh, Tim Berners Lee
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Internet/New Media, North Carolina, University Tech | Comments Off
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
 RALEIGH, NC – FutureWeb, a conference exploring the future of social networks, open source, media, privacy, and other Web-centric issues, is bringing an impressive lineup of Internet mavens to the Raleigh Convention Center April 28-30 (next Wednesday-Thursday).
Panelists and speakers include Vint Cerf, Tim Berners Lee, Danny Weitzner, Chris DiDona, Doc Searls, and Bob Young among many others.
Cerf, often called “Father of the Internet,” spoke at our own Southeast Venture Conference in February and is an engaging and entertaining keynote speaker with a wealth of personal stories to bolster his insightful ideas about the future of the Internet.
Leaders from Google, the Web Science Trust and Web Foundation, eBay, NTIA, the US Executive Office of the President, Microsoft, EPIC, the Internet Society, Red Hat, Lulu, the Mozilla Foundation and more will discuss the probable evolution of the Web and what it will mean for our social, political and economic future.
We understand that Bob Young, CEO and founder of Lulu.com and a co-founder of open source software provider Red Hat, will be making a major announcement about Lulu. The company recently temporarily withdrew its planned initial public offering of stock on the Toronto Exchange, so we’ll be looking forward to what Young has in mind for the Web-based publish on demand company.
 The Mission of the sponsoring organization, Elon University’s Imagining the Internet, is to explore and provide insights into emerging network innovations, global development, dynamics, diffusion and governance. The Center is based at Elon Univeristy’s School of Communications and is a mostly volunteer effort financed by the university, with added support from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
Speakers and panelists at the event include:
Tim Berners-Lee, Vint Cerf, Danny Weitzner, danah boyd, Andrew McLaughlin, James Hendler, Chris DiBona, Bob Young, Marc Rotenberg, Nigel Shadbolt, Nathaniel Lin, John Lovett, Michael Clemente, Doc Searls, Lee Rainie, Scott Bradner, David Ferriero, Phil Mui, Bob Page, Alejandro Pisanty, David Burney, Michael Tiemann, Charles Coleman, Tom Rabon, Penny Abernathy, Michael Rappa, Paul Jones, Cathy Davidson, Henry Copeland, Tom Miller, Nathaniel James, Fred Stutzman, Dan Conover, Mark Anthony Neal, Negar Mottahedeh, Dave Levine, Zeynep Tufekci, Wayne Sutton, Ira Nathenson, Eric Fink, Jacqui Lipton, Tony O’Driscoll and more.
Schedule
Follow FutureWeb on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/futureweb2010
Learn more about Imagining the Internet!
http://www.imaginingtheinternet.org
Tags: Bob Young, Events, FutureWeb, Imaginging the Internet, NC, Raleigh, Tim Berners Lee, Vint Cerf
Posted in Carolinas, Events, Internet/New Media, North Carolina | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
By Allan Maurer
 Jeff Smith, CTO, Numerex, chair, TIA TR-50 standards committee ATLANTA – Smart devices, such as smart meters, home automation systems, remote monitoring and other marvels of modern technology can make our lives easier, save money and energy and even keep us safer. But they could also provide sophisticated ways to invade our privacy.
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Standards Committee on Smart Device Communications (TR-50) is meeting with experts from the Georgia Institute of Technology for the second day Tuesday (4/13) to gain perspective on possible standards gaps in smart device communications.
Dr. Jeff Smith, Chief Technology Officer at Numerex(Nasdaq:NMRX) and chair of the TIA standards committee, told us, “Part of our mission is to establish standards within the industry to make sure that when people transmit data back and forth, it’s not only economical, but also secure.”
Georgia Tech, through its Information Security Center and its Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems, and the Smart Antenna Research Laboratory, is a leader in research in these areas, Dr. Smith notes, just as Atlanta itself has a significant telecommunications industry.
The intent is to stimulate an Smart-Device-Communications-centered discussion about possible standards gaps, and areas for which TIA could demonstrate global leadership and expertise.
The discussion will look not just at standards to ensure not only that smart grids are operational, but also that they protect personal privacy, says Dr. Smith.
“People don’t think about security with things such as smart meters, home automation, and remote health monitoring, but each is an opportunity for folks to be able to get at your personal data and do nefarious things,” says Dr. Smith.
The data smart grids provide, for instance, could let people know when someone is home, what devices are being turned on and off and other information. “As more devices are deployed, we’ll see a larger awareness of the vulnerabilities within the infrastructure,” Dr. Smith says.
“Georgia Tech is leading in looking into these types of issues, making sure we do things in the industry that protects peoples’ privacy.”
TIA, he adds, “Has taken on the challenge” and wants to take a leading role in developing appropriate standards globally.
Speakers at the meeting are addressing issues such as the security aspects of smart devices, cloud computing as it applies to them, and the emerging technologies within smart device infrastructures.
Tags: Atlanta, Events, Georgia Tech, smart devices, smart grid, smart meters, Telecommunications
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Thursday, April 8th, 2010
 Entrepreneur Aaron Patzer, who sold his start-up for $170 million speaks at Duke tonight RESEARCH TRIANGLE, NC – Both Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are hosting competitions for start-ups this week.
The Duke Start-Up Challenge entrepreneurship competition runs throughout the academic year, from November to April. The competition includes an Elevator Pitch Competition in November, an Executive Summary Competition in January, and a live Finals Event in April, with multiple teams winning cash and prizes throughout the competition for the best submissions
The Duke Start-Up Challenge tonight (Thursday, 4/8) has seven finalists presenting to a panel of judges for a $25,000 first prize.
Former Duke student Aaron Patzer, who sold his company mint for $170 million, will present the keynote address at 7:40.
The event is at the Fuqua School of Business Fox Center and Geneen Auditorium.
Finalists are:
Green Wave Sciences - Green Wave Sciences seeks to develop solutions to crop pest problems through the use of electromagnetic radiation.
Rhexis Biomedical - Rhexis Biomedical has developed a disposable surgical instrument that improves the accuracy and reproducibility of cataract surgery, the most commonly performed outpatient surgery in the US.
curvit - curvit fills the gap between online resumes and manually typed and formatted resumes by allowing the user to focus on the content, while curvit manages both online and hardcopy formatting.
Micropower - Imagine running a laptop for 24 hours without plugging into a wall. Micropower is developing an ethanol fueled microengine to increase portability for consumer electronics and government robots.
The Progress and Purity Project - The Progress & Purity Project aims to improve quality of life in northern Afghanistan by empowering women to start businesses, help fellow Afghans through microfinance and handicraft fair trade, and decrease disease through chlorine purification.
Wasabi - Restaurant quality Sushi. Casual dining prices.
Colucci DANZA - Colucci DANZA will revolutionize the ballet pointe shoe market by offering shoes with superior value, safety, comfort
Dan Primack of PE Hub will be a judge at the VCIC this weekend at UNC-Chapel Hill.
The event, which started in 1998, includes 40 regional U.S. and European competitions leading to the finals.
Unlike many such events aimed at student teams submitting business plans, the VCIC has MBA teams act an investors and judge actual business plans submitted by entrepreneurs. They’re evaluated on their acumen as investors.
A quarter of the startups that present eventually win funding from real investors.
Regional event winners competing this weekend include teams from:
• Brigham Young
• Dartmouth
• Columbia
• Oxford
• Georgetown
• National University of Singapore
• University of Chicago
• University of Colorado
• UNC-Chapel Hill
The winning MBA team gets $10,000.
Tags: Aaron Patzer, Dan Primack, Duke, Duke Start-up Challenge, Events, North Carolina, UNC, VCIC
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Thursday, April 1st, 2010
By Allan Maurer, TechJournal South Editor
ATLANTA – About 100 Atlanta entrepreneurs, executives and others networked at the CEO Council/MIT Forum’s New Talent Exchange Wednesday night at the Buckhead Gordon Bierch restaurant.
The New Talent Exchange was designed to help those new to the working world get a foothold in the Atlanta technology community by bringing them together with professionals from the technology, business and law communities.
Color-coded nametags assisted with networking pairings for a portion of the evening, although we didn’t notice much use of that particular feature as those in attendance networked their way around the room.
 Virginia Martin, Associate Director, MIT Forums “This is the fourth New Talent Exchange we have presented, “said Virginia Martin, director of the MIT Enterprise Forum. “It’s a popular event for us and the perfect avenue for young professionals and their more seasoned counterparts to exchange ideas and business cards in an atmosphere that encourages success.”
We networked during the entire event, which ran from 5 p.m. to 7:30 and included excellent pizza, good beer and wine. Here are a few of the people we met:
 Peter Rosen is president of HR Strategies & Solutions, Atlanta. He works with startups that need human resources advice and will be contributing a guest blog post to TJS.  Nelson Chu of Kinetic Ventures, a 25-year-old $65 million fund that invests in IT, clean tech, and telecom, was there talking to entrepreneurs. Kinetic invested in Atlanta's Vertical Acuity, among other Southeast firms.  Ron Stockton, of U.S. energetics, an Atlanta firm with technology to turn hog and other waste into electricity, told us, "There are 12 million hogs in North Carolina. More hogs than people. If 12 million people did not have waste management, it would be outrageous.  Jonathan Goldman, vice president at Hydro Phi Inc., an Atlanta firm working on technology to make hydrogen fuel, told us the company is about to close on its first Angel funding and expects to land a larger financing not too far down the road.  Michael D. Bloom, managing director of Mazzone & Associates and director of the MIT Forums in Atlanta for 2010, told us the next event on April 20 will focus on sustainability. The MIT Forums hold 8 to 10 events a year and four workshops where member companies present their business plans to potential investors. Online: www.mitforumatlanta.org
HR Strategies & Solutions: www.hras.com
Hydro Phi: www.hydrophi.com
U.S. energetics: www.usenergetics.com
Tags: Atlanta, Events, HR Strategies & Soluitons, Hydro Phi, Kinetic Ventures, Michael Bloom, u.s. energetics
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Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
 ATLANTA – TechJournal South will be attending the New Talent Exchange sponsored by the MIT Enterprise Forum and Atlanta CEO Council tomorrow (Wednesday, March 31) at Gordon Biersch Buckhead from 5 to 7 p.m. in Atlanta.
The New Talent Exchange is designed to help those new to the working world get a foothold in the Atlanta technology community by bringing them together with professionals from the technology, business and law communities.
Color-coded nametags will assist with networking pairings for a portion of the evening.
“This is the fourth New Talent Exchange we have presented, “said Virginia Martin, director of the MIT Enterprise Forum. “It’s a popular event for us and the perfect avenue for young professionals and their more seasoned counterparts to exchange ideas and business cards in an atmosphere that encourages success.”
TechJournal South/TechView Atlanta Editor Allan Maurer will attend the event.
For more information or to buy tickets to the event see: www.mitforumatlanta.org
Tags: Atlanta, CEO Council, Events, MIT Forum, New Talent Exchange
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
 ATLANTA – Venture Atlanta 2010 is set for October 12-13 and will host 50 presenting companies at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. Also in Atlanta, the CEO Council’s New Talent Exchange, on Wednesday, March 31. Coming up sooner is the 2nd UVA Annual Venture Summit March 25-26, which brings more than 100 venture capitalists to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA.
Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-VA, a former Virginia governor and himself an investor, is among the guests at the University of Virginia event. Sen. Warner also keynoted at a Southeast Venture Conference several years ago.
Warner will participate via videoconference in a special session, titled “Government Policy, Entrepreneurship and the Financing of Innovation,” on March 25 at 10:30 a.m. in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.
“The University of Virginia has rapidly become a global destination for technology-based venture creation,” Thomas C. Skalak, vice president for research, said. “The U.Va. Venture Summit is a unique event that attracts the nation’s leading investors to collaborate directly with thought-leaders in frontier research being done at U.Va.”
The future of energy will be a theme of the summit, which will include presentations by U.Va. thought-leaders on “Design Thinking for a Clean Tech Future” as well as “Biotech: The Systems Approach” and “Computer Science Foundations of Future Software Advances.”
A panel of prominent venture capitalists will offer a “window on the future” of technology investing. J. Stephan Dolezalek of VantagePointVenture Partners will lead the panel.
Atlanta CEO Council New Talent Exchange
The CEO Council’s New Talent Exchange Wednesday, March 31,
is designed to help those new to the working world get a foothold in the Atlanta technology community by bringing them together with professionals from the technology, business and law communities. Color-coded nametags will assist with networking pairings for a portion of the evening. Participants will be encouraged to make connections with professionals inside—and outside their fields.
“This is the fourth New Talent Exchange we have presented, “said Virginia Martin, director of the MIT Enterprise Forum. “It’s a popular event for us and the perfect avenue for young professionals and their more seasoned counterparts to exchange ideas and business cards in an atmosphere that encourages success.”
The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Gordon Biersch Buckhead, 3242 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA, 30305. Ticket prices are $10 for students with I.D. and $15 for professionals. For tickets or more information see: MITForumAtlanta.
Venture Atlanta coming in October
ATLANTA – The world’s largest aquarium will serve as the stage for nearly 50 companies, in industries ranging from software and communications to medical devices and alternative energy, as they display their business models and technologies to venture capitalists, bankers, angel investors and others at Venture Atlanta 2010 October 12-13.
Last year’s event attracted nearly 600 attendees, and drew more than 100 venture capitalists from multiple geographies across the country, including Silicon Valley, Boston, Denver, Washington D.C. and the Southeast.
Tom Hawkins, managing director at Arcapita Ventures and this year’s conference chair, said, “This year, we will continue to feature an ever more impressive pool of home-grown entrepreneurial talent leading high quality, venture-grade business opportunities as we strive to again exceed the expectations of a growing number of investor attendees from across the country.”
The event is sponsored by Atlanta CEO Council, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Technology Association of Georgia. For more information see: Venture Atlanta 2010.
Tags: Atlanta, Events, venture conferences, Viriginia
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Friday, March 19th, 2010
 RALEIGH, NC – The Triangle Game Conference (TGC), returning April 7-8, 2010 at the Raleigh Convention Center and Marriott City Center, has announced its line up of tracks and speakers for an immersive learning exchange on market innovations, game development trends and the future of the video game industry.
The conference will present five tracks of panels, lectures and discussions in game development, engines and middleware, immersive learning, the business of games, and games and media. Here’s the complete speaker list.
We think the conference is another sign that the Research Triangle’s gaming hub is booming.
In addition to lectures and panels, TGC 2010 will feature an Expo and a Career Lounge with roundtable discussions with local professionals. This year’s Career Lounge will offer attendees the opportunity to meet professionals in the gaming, design, immersive learning/eLearning and CGI animation industries and hear how they navigated the frequently shifting landscape of this cutting-edge industry.
Also in the Career Lounge, attendees will have direct access to local companies currently hiring and the ability to apply electronically for posted positions through on-site computer kiosks. Attendees are encouraged to bring electronic files of their resumes for posting.
Tags: Events, Research Triangle, Triangle game conference
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