As we’ve talked about on past Minnov8 podcasts and as I pointed out in a post on my own blog, these guides are nothing new in the broadcast world, but seem to have a few bloggers and online marketers a bit twitchy. How do you feel about them?

It was good to have the chance to talk with Ms. Engle and get a very clear explanation of the guides straight from the source. Thanks to Ernest for allowing me to join in.

Be sure and keep Ernest’s blog and podcast on your radar. He is a great local and national resource and offers plenty of great info on IP law on a regular basis.

The FTC Talks Guides is a post from: Minnov8 and published under a Creative Commons license.

It will be held at Deluxe Corp’s headquarters in Shoreview, MN, thanks to my friend Steve Nielsen, whose company, PartnerUp.com, was recently acquired by Deluxe. The meeting is scheduled for 8:00 to 10:30 am on Friday, October 31. Attendance is free, open to anyone interested in social media, and the first 100 attendees will receive a free copy of David’s book. (By the way, David blogs here.) To register, go to our group’s social network site at smbmsp.ning.com, click on the “Events” tab, then click on “SMB-Twin Cities 8,” and then look for the “Order Now” button. Or, just go directly to our RSVP page. The Minnov8 gang looks forward to seeing you there!  Oh — and costumes are optional…  :-)

David Meerman Scott to Speak at ‘Social Media Breakfast’ in Twin Cities October 31 is a post from: Minnov8 and published under a Creative Commons license.

A source inside the company described the recent moves as “the usual restructuring.” I was told that all VC-related activities are now under Rick Rommel, SVP-Emerging Business. Rommel reports to Kal Patel, whose title is EVP-Emerging Business. Also within Patel’s organization, I learned, is a second SVP-Emerging Business, Neil McPhail. My source tells me McPhail’s responsibilities are “less direct VC-related, although there is some overlap.” His main responsibilities relate to the stores and to the company’s “growth accelerator” initiative.

Yet another group within Best Buy is one that deals directly with the company’s own VC funding investments. That function has been headed for some time by Kuk Yi (first name pronounced “cook”), and is a part of the Finance function, specifically the Treasurer’s office. Yi also has a “dotted line” reporting relationship to Patel, I was told.

Late in March of 2008, a story broke via the blogosphere that Best Buy was forming a new VC fund of its own — actually two funds — which I later learned was an initiative headed by Kuk Yi, and it was seeking to hire Principals and Associates for those VC funds (as many as four positions). Here’s a blog post I did about the blog buzz and speculation going on at that time. The local Business Journal weekly broke the story in the Twin Cities media on March 28, picking up on the earliest blog reports.

No Action Since March?
The most surprising thing I learned from my sources recently is that no one has yet been hired for any of these positions. So, the question remains: just what is Best Buy doing in regard to formalizing its own venture investing function? And what changes, if any, can be expected in the liaison activity with the VC community at large, based on Nyman’s departure?

One thing is certain: Marti Nyman leaves Best Buy with a wealth of relationships with scores of VCs, including many of the most successful ones in Silicon Valley, where he spent much of his time. While assessing his next move, Nyman is doing business development consulting with a Twin Cities-based technology startup that had previously raised $5 million in venture capital and, he says, is on the verge of achieving significant adoption of its technology.

Best Buy Shakes Up VC Liaison Group is a post from: Minnov8 and published under a Creative Commons license.