Archives for September 2009

Going Mobile (Minnov8 + MIMA Movie)

September 30, 2009 By Phil Wilson

Our final interview for our friends at MIMA had us heading out to Carlson Marketing. There we had a chance to sit and talk with Doug Rozen, who has a rather all inclusive title…SVP, Global Lead – Creative, Interactive, Media & Mobile. Doug shares a some insight on mobile marketing and trends as well as highlights of his MIMA Summit presentation.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrHI90Icw-o

The MIMA Summit is on October 5th and is sold out. Never fear….the Minnov8 Gang will be there with our tweets, video and photos so you won’t miss a thing. If you can’t make the MIMA Summit, join Minnov8 for the Unsummit at the Hennipen County Central Library on October 10th. There will be plenty to learn and share….and it’s free.

Buy the Change and Local Tweeps

September 30, 2009 By Tim Elliott

buylocal Buythechange.com & Localtweeps.com are two websites created and co-founded by local tech startup Monkey Island Inc. entrepreneur Zack Steven. While these initiatives are miles apart in their application and scope, they share the same DNA: hyperlocal, community-driven services focused on generating both financial and social capital.

Buythechange.com, which launched around 3.5 years ago, is a localized social commerce network that helps people buy and sell products/services with their community friends and next door neighbors. It also aims to promote local businesses – as opposed to faceless corporate enterprise – say for example, one owned & operated by an out of area central office. Hyperlocal is the mom and pop shop down the street, the independent contractor neighbor, or the local food shelf. When products or services are posted “for sale” on the site, a specific geographical network (neighborhood/community) is alerted, which fosters more personalized connections than a craigslist model by simply removing the anonymity factor. This form of commerce enhances social bonds which lends itself to more meaningful long term relationships, commercial and otherwise.

There are three membership levels: a free Basic membership which allows people to post goods and events, a $24/year Personal membership which allows people to post services (as well as goods and events), and a $120/year Business membership which includes a business profile and posting of unlimited goods, services, jobs and events. The social cause comes into play when a portion of the membership fee (33-50%) is donated to a local non-profit of the members choice, and then(optionally) the cause is added into the member’s profile, further shaping the identities and intentions of each individual member. Simply put, Buythechange.com is “classifieds with a conscience”. … [Read More…]

Podcast: Download (31.8MB)

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Minnov8 Gang 52: It’s RAINing Money!

September 25, 2009 By Steve Borsch

RAIN

This week saw Graeme Thickins liveblogging DEMO Fall 2009, Tim Elliott off to California on client adventures, while Phil Wilson and Steve Borsch attended the Social Media Breakfast #19.

In between all of this activity, Graeme and Steve covered the 6th Annual RAIN Makers Conference put on by RAIN Source Capital. The RAIN Makers is a multi-state network of RAIN® funds that works with angel investors who are interested in supporting growing companies. RAIN Source® helps bring together like-minded angel investors to form individual RAIN funds ~ and then provides these funds with a process for due diligence, legal templates, management support, access to deal flow and other resources.

These RAIN funds share expertise, deals and experience between and among RAIN Source Capital’s multi-state network to support growing companies throughout the area. The conference is a chance to get together and look at startups who might be good candidates for syndicated investments shared within the RAIN group as well as to discuss pertinent items that affect all the funds participating in the RAIN network.

Graeme starts off with an interview with RAIN principal Brian Johnson, and then he and Steve interview four up-n-comers showcasing their products to the investors in attendance:

DISCLAIMER: Though she’s an avid listener to the podcast, the woman in the photo above is delighted the economy is turning around and is NOT gazing in awe at, or worshipping, the Minnov8 Gang.

The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 32:09 — 18.6MB)

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DIY Mobile Coupons with MixMobi

September 24, 2009 By Phil Wilson

mixmobi_logo There’s no doubt that mobile marketing is hot right now and one of the hottest segments is mobile coupons. While there are multiple services providing the design and delivery of those coupons, Kwingo‘s Lisa Foote and her partners saw a need for a “do-it-yourself” option for businesses. Enter their new sister company MixMobi.

Currently in private beta with a public launch scheduled before the holidays, Minnov8 got a look at the new service. In an effort to develop a product that answers a need first and foremost, Foote explained that MixMobi was born out of feedback from Kwingo customers who were looking for easy production and distribution of a coupon campaign.

lisafoote She noted that MixMobi delivers three important benefits. “Immediacy; the ability to design and deploy a coupon without the need of a graphic designer or agency. Ease; anyone can design a coupon. There are no programming skils needed. If you can send an email you can design and launch a coupon.” and finally she noted, “Reporting; once the coupon is launched tracking can begin in a matter of minutes via an easy to read dashboard.”

The MixMobi program allows for the user to log onto an account and create campaigns with the use of simple text fields, drop-down menus, and templates that can include user artwork and colors. Once the coupon and campaign are created a link to the coupon is generated. That link can be immediately deployed via Twitter, or by simply cutting and pasting the link into an SMS message, email, websites, etc. “We started with Twitter because of the ease of deployment” noted Foote. “More services are on the way.” The coupon is viewable on any web enabled device…and with the multitude of platforms out there right now, you know this is not always the easiest of feats. (See the demo video below.)

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8vLfSVuDZM

The principals at MixMobi, including Foote, Brad Roberts, and Kelly Heikilla, are looking to monetize their service in two ways. First, by targeting small to mid-size businesses who can purchase and design campaigns at varying levels of service. For example, $19.95 will allow a business to launch 2 offers per month with up to 2500 page views each. “We feel this is a very competitive price point in this space.” noted Foote. Of course, what’s a web start-up without a free-use level. MixMobi offers such a beast with one offer per month and 1000 page views.

The second road to profit for MixMobi is the targeting of large agencies or retailers who wish to purchase a software license that allows them to launch multiple campaigns across multiple brands and time frames.

The shakedown of MixMobi is privately underway with three clients and will be for at least 30 days. So far, “Feedback has been positive.” according to Foote, and she hopes to see it live in time for the holidays…which in retail terms could mean as soon as Halloween.

DEMO Fall 2009 Liveblogging

September 22, 2009 By Steve Borsch

graeme DEMO Fall 2009 is going on right now and Minnov8’s Graeme Thickins is liveblogging the event here. As always, great new companies are launching and you can follow Graeme’s liveblog or send him a tweet: @graemethickins.

demo Startups launching at DEMO Fall 2009

Analytics As a Strategy (Minnov8 + MIMA Movie)

September 22, 2009 By Phil Wilson

Here’s another of our ongoing interviews with MIMA Summit presenters. This discussion with Jennifer Veesenmeyer of Stratigent touches on her session at the Summit and the successful integration of analytics into your strategic plan…early on in the process.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo0XxmsZezM

The MIMA Summit is on October 5, 2009. Everybody who’s anybody will be there…Minnov8 will be there as well! Heads up! Registration close on October 1, 2009.

U of M Showcases It’s New Media Research Resources

September 21, 2009 By Phil Wilson

inms_logomark_white Yet another well kept secret in Minnesota tech and media is the Institute for New Media Studies on the campus of the University of Minnesota. In an effort to reveal that secret the Institute annually hosts an event to showcase the many resources available and projects underway at the University.

Held on Friday, September 18th at the Coffman Union, though not standing room only, this year’s program was presented to an interested group and included information on projects addressing journalism, social media, gaming and art, to name a few. It also showcased the institutes facilities including focus group rooms and eye-tracking software used in site design and usability studies, as part of it’s quest to provide the ability to do more applied research.

613_nora_paul I had a chance to talk with Nora Paul, Director of New Media Studies about the goals of the gathering. “I think we’re kind of the ‘Yenta’ (referring to the matchmaking character in Fiddler on the Roof.) for the campus when it comes to new media. We try to make matches.” she goes on to say that the event “brings together seasoned researchers with students.”

She adds that the Institute doesn’t want students, or others for that matter, to get “caught in silos” when comes to new media thinking. In line with that desire comes the offer of the resources and facilities to not only the campus community, but to the community at large to some extent. The Institute appears more than willing to collaborate with the private and education industries.

To find out more about the institute, interested parties including University faculty, staff, and students as well as professionals in the twin cities community are encouraged to join the New Media Research Network as well as follow along on Twitter, Facebook, Delicio.us and Flickr.

SMCpros: Building a Business Around Social Media

September 17, 2009 By Tim Elliott

While we recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the largest network in the world, where does the dawn of “social media” place the web on a maturation curve?

As a thought experiment, let’s suppose the web submitted to the infamous real age test and it was discovered to be considerably younger than its calendar age suggests. If human beings are susceptible to the chronological age vs.biological age disparity, then could this amalgamated derivative of human scientific endeavor known as the “world wide web” also be subject to the same intrinsic characteristics as it’s creators?

40 years later, the question remains: where are we?

From the imaginative minds of its visionary founders, through research labs, defense departments, corporate intranets, onto our desks and into our pockets, the web continues it’s unofficial mission to connect the world in one unified (albeit virtual) realm. It is through this networked (re)evolution, the 21st century web has reached a distinct developmental stage: adolescence.

Nebulous in definition and unable to identify its real purpose, it suffers from innumerable identity crisis and it can barely recognize the face in the mirror. Despite being bruised & beaten the commercial web still exhibits naive, irrational, and overconfident behavior of its youth. Although the modern web is as curious as ever – eager to grow up, to be more, and to interact with the world around it – it remains socially shy and awkward.

In the face of its immaturity, adolescence exists for a reason; left to its own devices and void manipulation, it’s a formative juncture inherently designed to transition a complex system from a primitive stage to a more adaptable and sustainable one. Behavioral psychologists can identify adolescence as a temporary, healthy, and essential aspect of growth & development.

Enter “social media”: part and parcel to surviving this adolescent phase of the web and diligently reaching the next level of networked interconnectedness. … [Read More…]

Minnov8 + MIMA = Movies

September 16, 2009 By Phil Wilson

As media partner for the upcoming MIMA Summit, Minnov8 has been doing some interviews with some of the presenters at this year’s gathering. Yes, there is some shamelss plugging of the October 5th event and we have a bit of fun getting into them but the topics are right on.

The first in the series of three is with Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing. Lee is all about SEO and he spent a bit of time to talk as he was headed out of town.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdfJ0wY8npo

Look for interviews with Jennifer Veesenmeyer of Stratigent and Doug Rozen from Carlson Marketing in the coming days.