Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Archives for January 2009

Minnov8 Gang Podcast – Episode 23

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m8-silverliningsThis Gang podcast is called “Silver Linings,” and we focus on good news, where your possibilities reside, how to create a different mindset and attitude about your current situation…and what action we all can take to move forward!!

One favorite meme about our current situation discussed is, “the world is undergoing an economic reboot”. In a nutshell, here’s our choice: Focus on the bad news, continued negative reports on poor economic indicators, and sit and do nothing (or continue on with business-as-usual as if nothing has happened). Or…look at this as an opportunity to grab market share, reinvent your business, or accelerate your startup.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 41:54 — 24.3MB)

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
+ MinneDemo will be live-streamed over uStream…and Minnov8 will be conducting video interviews there and we’ll then be delivering both the recorded live stream and our interviews here at Minnov8 as quickly as we can post-production done and them posted.

LINKS

  • That user generated YouTube Trader Joe’s ad mentioned by Tim Elliott is here
  • The group Phil is involved with as their new Director, The Association for Downloadable Media, whose mission surrounds providing standards for advertising and audience measurement for episodic and downloadable media. If you’re an individual podcaster, media company, publisher, syndication company, distributor offering downloadable media, advertising agency, marketer, technology supplier, hardware and software manufacturer of portable media products and services, market research firm or audience and advertising effectiveness measurement company, you’ll undoubtedly want to join.
  • Sprout, iWidgets, TubeMogul and Vimeo.

JPMorgan Internet Investment Guide

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Nothing But NetFor Minnesotans interested in starting up or expanding within the internet space in these challenging economic times, solid financial sector analysis is often difficult to obtain. For anyone who has pitched their idea, concept or business plan, it’s clear how important it is to put oneself in the shoes of investors, venture capitalists and banks providing the capital you require, and a great way to do that is to gain a more solid understanding of the data they’re using to make strategic investment decisions.

In addition, if you’re an investor with any money left in your 200.5k (i.e., half of a 401k) and could stomach some internet investing, then viewing opinions and recommendations on where to invest is key.

In both cases, an analysis of the potential of various sectors of an internet economy — by one of the world’s leading financial institutions, JPMorgan — is reason enough to spend the time necessary go through their “Nothing But Net” report.

Highlights of areas covered within it include:

  • US Sector Outlook
  • Ad Networks on the Rise
  • eCommerce Outlook
  • The Mobile Market
  • Social Networks Primer
  • Cloud Computing Outlook
  • Internet for Social Good

…and much more.

The paper is embedded after the jump along with a download link….  [Read More…]

Honeywell Backup System Is Said to Have Saved USAir Flight 1549

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honeywell-logoAn auxiliary power system designed and produced by a company with a long history in Minnesota appears to have played a role in the miraculous landing of USAir Flight 1529 on the Hudson River on January 15.

I was alerted to this news by a colleague at one of the local Honeywell facilities (in Golden Valley): Rich Hoeg, who’s manager of web collaboration and knowledge sharing. (Honeywell was founded in Minnesota and based here for most of its life, but corporate offices were moved to New Jersey when it merged with Allied Signal in 1999. The company still employs thousands here in Minnesota.)

usair-planeonriverThe first known photo of the downed plane, taken with an iPhone — with a dirty lens! — as
the first ferry came alongside.  It was shot minutes after the A320 touched down on the river.
(Photo by Janis Krums)

…  [Read More…]

Minnov8 Gang Podcast – Episode 22

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garykoellingWe strive to deliver a high value podcast at an affordable price (um…that would be free?) and this week’s show is no exception as it’s packed with topics.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson. (Photo credit: Lee Odden (TopRankBlog; Flickr).

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:02:44 — 36.4MB)

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Joining us on the podcast is a brand new Minnov8 contributor and participant, Gary Koelling, who is Senior Manager, Social Technology at Best Buy Inc. After interactions with Graeme Thickins — who isn’t bashful about promoting Minnov8 — Gary decided he’d like to create for Minnov8 and completed the form (hint: you could too!).

Gary is the founder of BlueShirtNation.com, Giftag.com and leads several social technology projects within Best Buy. He describes himself as a tinkerer, gadfly (and an aspiring iconoclast), reader, tryer (someone who tries), teacher and listener (with a fairly tuned bullshit meter). Due to the success of the efforts he’s involved in, and the high profile of our hometown consumer electronics retailing giant, Gary has been able to talk to lots of people and companies around the country about social media and social technology.

Our favorite quote about his speaking around the country from his LinkedIn profile? “I don’t know if it’s helping, but I enjoy it.” We sure think so since he’s in-the-game, taking risks, experimenting and driving towards high value outcomes for his employer.

LINKS
Here are links to sites, products or other resources discussed during the podcast:

Mayo Accelerates Their Online Presence

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sharingmayoMayo Clinic today announced the launch of what they’re calling its “culture blog”, Sharing Mayo Clinic, which provides an online site for patients and employees to share their stories about what makes Mayo Clinic unique. This WordPressMU delivered blog is clearly focusing on uplifting stories of individual patient and employee experiences. While initially interesting, I started to poke around since I wasn’t sure how this fit into their overall mission or why they’d want to have a showcase for patient and employee stories.

According to Mayo’s about page positioning this new blog, Each year over 500,000 unique patients from every U.S. state and nearly 150 countries come to Mayo Clinic for diagnosis and treatment. These patients and their families and friends, and 50,000 employees and students are part of a global Mayo Clinic community.

The goal for the Sharing Mayo Clinic blog is to provide a virtual place for this community to connect and share their experiences. It’s the online companion to the new newsletter for patients, also called Sharing Mayo Clinic, and is a hub that links to Mayo Clinic’s pages on other social networking sites, such as Facebook and YouTube.

Unless you’re a constant observer of Mayo Clinic, you may be as surprised as I was to learn how truly significant and holistic the Mayo online presence has become, and how its online initiatives actually spring forth from the innovation DNA of the Mayo Clinic. This premiere healthcare organization is leveraging social tools to extend their reach and to ensure they’re at the points online where people are increasingly focusing their attention: the internet and web with a primary focus on social media applications….  [Read More…]

‘Phizzpop Tour’ Pops Into Town, Gets Coldest Day of the Year

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A design competition for interactive agencies, sponsored by Microsoft, breezed into town on January 15 and got a rude shock: the most brutal sub-zero temps and windchills in five years.  Nonetheless, about 300 brave souls huddled inside at downtown hotspot(!) Solera and saw five agencies compete for bragging rights and a free trip to the “South By Southwest” (SXSW) festival/conference in March for the final round of the competition. phizzpop-logo2

Microsoft had plastered us with messages like this one for months: “Join us on the PhizzPop Tour to watch the top agency talent as they show us their Expression Studio and Silverlight skills.”  Get the picture?  Uh-huh, yessiree, they’re trying to sell you software.  But at least they’re out to make it entertaining. And no industry in the world likes a competition more than the ad industry. These folks live for this stuff.  …  [Read More…]

Minnov8 Gang Podcast – Episode 21

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pauldeb On this week’s show, the Gang talks with Paul DeBettignies, a Minnesota tech recruiter, about the state of job search, lots of tips and advice on networking, and about being in-the-game in social networking and why it’s so important in this tough economy.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.

Paul’s a job coach, mentor, and one of the most AWESOME social and physical networkers we’ve ever met! This guy is EVERYWHERE online: His blog; his brand new BeYourOwnHeadhunter blog (The idea behind the site is to have content on job search, webinars on the same with networking topics like creating/using LinkedIn, and a book for later this spring with information that because of time do not make it into a one hour presentation); LinkedIn profile; Social Media Breakfast; RecruitingBlogs, a social network he started as well as MinnesotaRecruiters; Twitter; and has given speeches and is in articles all over the place…amazing.

By the way, if you’re looking for a speaker on job search, networking or LinkedIn —  or are seeking a relationship-based recruiter to help with either IT placements or advice on employer branding, use of social media, etc. —  email Paul directly.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:06:43 — 38.3MB)

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Links mentioned during the podcast:

  • Twin Cities Business Monthly list of companies: http://www.tcbmag.com/factfinder/index.aspx
  • Craigslist Minneapolis Jobs postings
  • No matter what, make certain you have a LinkedIn profile
  • Graeme mentioned Doug Berg’s Job2Web (and we should mention HotGigs, a great local site that matches consultants and contractors to gigs, whether project-related, part-time, or temp-to-hire, etc)
  • Emurse, the online resume site
  • DiSO Project
  • Paul mentioned JibberJobber.

Minnov8 Gang Podcast – Episode 20

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edkohlerOn this show, we discuss the MAKE TV debut (MakeTV is a new national series from MAKE magazine, Twin Cities Public Television, and American Public Television), Best Buy buyouts, rumors of StarTribune filing bankruptcy, President-elect Obama’s Broadband Plan, and the antics of our guest, Ed Kohler.

Ed is a web strategist working within the real estate industry to help companies and agents make better use of the web to build their businesses. Outside of that, Ed’s an avid blogger on subjects ranging from Technology, to Jucy Lucy Burgers, to local community issues. He also takes on some entrepreneurial projects from time to time like his new 3rdPartyFeedback and LunchTalks.

One local news story Ed is passionate about is the plan for legislation to make yellow pages distributors provide easier opt-out systems.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 55:28 — 32.2MB)

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Other items discussed include:

A New Chapter for MN Stories

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mnstories1Video, Video, Video. Open your browser and you open a world of video access….or is that excess? From in-depth news coverage to roller-skating parrots, the world offers an unlimited supply of video. That’s a lot of video! How could one possibly discover what’s being produced here in Minnesota, maybe right up the street? Enter MN Stories, a video sharing site founded by Chuck Olsen.

You might know Chuck from any number of video and web related projects in and around the Twin Cities. Most recently, the always in motion Mr. Olsen dedicates heart and soul to the Uptake, a nationally acclaimed citizen journalism outlet that was launched to cover the 2008 election process (One that has stretched into 2009 as we Minnesotans patiently(?), at least as of this writing, await the seating of our 2nd Senator.).

The first iteration of Chuck’s MN Stories, launched in 2005, more closely resembled a video blog showcasing mostly Chuck’s work. “I always had a vision of a video sharing site.” says Chuck. “The Uptake just took over so much time.” Now, as the election hustle and bustle fades, Chuck has time to relaunch his video community vision. A relaunch we happily herald here as part of his first interview on the topic.

The newly rethought and redesigned MN Stories offers easy access to Minnesota video as well as providing a community for the producers and viewers of that video. “I can post video on YouTube but who’s gonna find me?” was Chuck’s driving question. So, think YouTube for Minnesota.
…  [Read More…]