(If you like this podcast, please share it. Thanks!) Northern Virginia’s tech start-ups are getting a big boost these days, thanks to George Mason University. Through the Mason Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the Mason Enterprise Center – part of GMU’s Office of Research and Economic Development – hundreds of small businesses looking to drive IT innovation […]
How Social Media is Shrinking the Globe
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Thanks to technology, it really is a small world after all. “Small” as in über-connected. At first, ARPANET-based email developments and then Tim Berners-Lee’s hypertext breakthroughs made it possible to reach virtually any information or person with a machine and a mouse. Social media has further […]
Biggest Myths about the “New PR Realities”
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) As indicated on our blog, I recently spoke at the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit(@MAMSummit) last week as part of a panel discussion on the “new realities” of PR. Here’s my take on the topic: The contention that a wave of “new realities” are transforming the very essence […]
In Need of a Message Makeover?
Organizations ‑ especially tech companies ‑ often encounter difficulty in describing product/services offerings to audiences in a clear manner. Take the cloud, a concept subject to a long stream of muddled messaging. Heavyweights like Google, Apple and Microsoft have spent a fortune to unveil their cloud-based products to the consumer market. But try asking potential […]
Revealing the “New Realities of PR”
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) Like so many marketing niches, the PR industry is transforming itself with new platforms and mediums. This allows practitioners to reach and deliver messages to target audiences like never before, taking advantage of integrated campaigns using traditional PR, social media, content development and thought leadership. So […]
How to Avoid Event-Planning Mistakes
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) The world of public relations is evolving from standard practices – the usual press release writing and media relations – to a full communications consultancy model that includes activities like event planning. We’re now preparing to stage the 5th annual Run! Geek! Run! 8K on Sept. 15 this year. It’s one example of […]
Five Minutes With … Wayne Schepens on Bringing IT to Market
Without an effective “go to market” strategy, an IT product/services idea is simply, well, an idea. Instead, tech companies must assemble a plan that will carefully examine the competitive field, establish differentiation, finetune messaging, pinpoint targeted customers and reach out to analysts, among other requirements. As a vice president with W2 Communications, Wayne Schepens oversees […]
Five Minutes With … Rufus Manning on SEO
(If you like this podcast, please share it. Thanks!) It’s not enough to simply produce good content marketing. There are literally billions of online searches conducted every day. If your company is producing well-packaged content yet remains behind the curve on search engine optimization (SEO), then it’s very likely to “get lost” out there amid a […]
Five Insights on Pitching Reporters
(If you like this blog, please share it. Thanks!) So what are tech journalists interested in these days? It’s a mix of Big Data, innovation, mobility and cybersecurity, among other topics. Thanks to the regular “Meet the Press” series with the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), PR/communications pros find out about what’s driving the coverage […]
Five Minutes With … Ellen Hemmerly on UMBC’s Cyber Incubator
(If you like this podcast, please share it. Thanks!) With the National Security Agency nearby in Ft. Meade, greater Baltimore is emerging as a magnet for tech entrepreneurial activity. To advance these efforts, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County has launched the Cyber Incubator@bwtech. The incubator provides business and technical resources for early-stage companies working […]