Minnov8

Showcasing Minnesota Technology Innovation

Minnov8 Gang Podcast 47: Blogwell & Social Media

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doughboyWe really enjoyed ourselves at General Mills HQ (who were terrific hosts, by the way) for the BlogWell event Thursday and it comprised the lion’s share of our podcast today, along with social media in general.

We discuss the event, the interviews we held (and we were stunned by the strong corporate representation), the tool we used called ScribbleLive (so amazing we did a separate post on it here) and the liveblogging of the event itself…as well as the new friend we made you see at the left).

Graeme also held several interviews and those are posted below the Minnov8 Gang podcast at the bottom of this post.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.
Music: LA Big Daddy from Music Alley, purveyor of podsafe tunes.

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The Podcast

Podcast (m8-audio): Download (Duration: 30:28 — 20.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Podcast: Download (Duration: 30:28 — 17.6MB)

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Head on over to Graeme’s blog to read this post on the event and listen to the interviews there or below:

• Listen to the interview with Minneapolis blogger Arik Hanson.

• Listen to the interview of Gia Lyons, evangelist for Jive Software.

• Listen to the interview of Don Smith, a social media guru at General Mills.

• Listen to the interview of Jesse Engle, CEO and cofounder of Cotweet.

• Listen to the interview of Jim Cuene, Director of Interactive Marketing, General Mills.

• Listen to the interview of Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motor Company.

• Listen to the interview of Andy Sernovitz, founder of GasPedal and Social Media Business Council.

ScribbleLive: An Amazing Liveblogging Engine

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scribbleliveLast Thursday at BlogWell held at General Mills headquarters, the Minnov8 Gang used a tool that I had stumbled across a couple of days earlier: ScribbleLive. While not a Minnesota startup, they’ve so nailed the sweet spot of what’s needed in today’s liveblogging–Twitter integration, turning http’s in to links, embed codes in to instant presenting of the video or whatever else is embedded, audio and video uploading–that the entire Gang was basically blown away with the tool.

So many of us either watch live events or, increasingly, participate in them, that the ability for the creator (i.e., admin) of the ScribbleLive liveblog to turn comments on or off; find tweets and choose ones to insert (in to a middle pane that, like a baseball manager queueing up those next at bat, the batter is now “on deck”) and then inserting them at the correct time. Check out all of their features here.

The best part?  …  [Read More…]

Minnov8 Gang Liveblogging: ‘BlogWell by Gaspedal at General Mills’

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BW-topUPDATE: The event is now over and we’ve archived all of our posts, images and videos on our BlogWell page here.

The Minnov8 Gang (Tim, Graeme, Phil and Steve) will be liveblogging the BlogWell event being held at General Mills tomorrow.

We’ve setup a separate page that self-updates with our entries and is located here.  It’s currently password protected (we’re still experimenting with some of the liveblog engine’s features) but won’t be tomorrow morning before the event.

Stop by and watch the event unfold in near real-time as the Gang gives you a high level overview of the event.

Minnov8 Gang 46: Addicted to Twitter, Chatter about FanChatter & More

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twitter-addictOn this week’s show we talk about Twitter being down and how people realized they are social media addicts, FanChatter, controversy over iPhone apps being rejected and much more.

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

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 46:12 — 26.9MB)

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Discussed during the show:

+ Twitter down (and Dragnet’s “Blue Boy” LSD episode); FanChatter; Blog comment addition vendors: Echo and BackType (and BackType Connect for WordPress); Minnesota startups BusinessCard2 and Extendr as well as Retaggr

+ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) looking in to Google’s Eric Schmidt on Apple’s board (now potentially a moot point)

+ Pending Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proceedings regarding wireless open access and handset exclusivity are in motion, and as part of this the FCC requested more information from the Google Voice app rejection by Apple (good overview of the controversy–and Apple’s overall app rejection policy–in this BusinessWeek article)

FCC’s letter to Apple
FCC’s letter to AT&T
FCC’s letter to Google

+ HTML 5 and the open source video codec rejection; Google acquiring On2 and conjecture it was a strategic move to open source On2’s codec, move away from Flash (and minimize the possibility Adobe could make it a ubiquitous application platform as well as continuing to extend its reach as one for video) and not require licensing H.264

+ The MiFi device and the Wired article referred to by Tim; Comcast getting in to wireless broadband

+ “Social Media on a Stick“: Social Media Breakfast, Minneapolis/St. Paul (SMBMSP) is meeting at the State Fair

+ Blogwell is next week! This is positioned as a must-attend event for anyone interested in corporate social media use

+ Evocam: Steve’s geek fun this weekend.

Minnov8 Gang 45 @ Social Media Breakfast #17

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smbmsp17This month’s Social Media Breakfast-Minneapolis/St. Paul #17 was held at Vic’s restaurant in St. Anthony Main and the topic was Non-Profits and Social Media and was the typically well done event and even more so with the leadership of Meg Canada and the great panelists.

Afterwards, we headed out to the deck to record our M8 Gang podcast and were joined by Meg and then Bryan Person, the founder of the national Social Media Breakfast group. Added to this podcast were three interviews at the end which Graeme Thickins had recorded before the event began. Your hosts for this podcast are the typical cast of characters: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson.

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 22:32 — 13.0MB)

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Show Notes:

+ Minneapolis/St. Paul WordPress Users Group

It’s the NGIN that will make TST Media go

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tstmediaA company started in Eau Claire WI, TSTMedia, has moved to the Twin Cities in order to capitalize upon the talent pool, venture capital and (I assume) the balmy winter weather and to get faster access to Minnov8.

Seriously, this company has a uniquely strong value proposition that has already put them on the map in Eau Claire and in several markets where organizations have adopted TSTMedia’s offerings for mission-critical sports websites.

Founded in 2004, TSTMedia started off as a web development shop but focused their efforts around the sports passions of college buddies and co-founders Justin Kaufenberg (CEO) and Carson Kipfer (COO). Quickly they identified that the sports niche was woefully underserved and filled with group and collaboration needs not being addressed in the marketplace.

They quickly began moving forward with Team Sport Technologies, building out sports-specific web applications. The applications enabled amateur sports organizations to efficiently manage a website with little or no previous technical knowledge. TST Media, under the Team Sport Technologies brand, then released a complete roster of sports specific products for hockey, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, softball, football, volleyball, swimming and others.

The websites they built and delivered for sports clients included a combination of online tools (online registration, interactive multi-team calendars, highly sophisticated statistic engines, etc.) that made publishing website content, sharing information and communicating with members extremely easy.

In 2009, they combined their Ruby on Rails experience, knowledge of the sports domain, and the engine they’d already created to make it brain-dead-simple for non-technical users to deliver a great team or organization website, and consolidated their various organization products and features into a single platform called NGIN.  …  [Read More…]

Minnov8 Gang 44: Tech Stuff & Mobile Trends

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mobile-n-stuffFor half of the show, the Gang discusses several tech topics and then welcomes Lisa Foote, CEO/cofounder of Kwingo.net, the mobile solutions company here in the Twin Cities, to talk about “Mobile Trends to Watch“, a key trend since the I.T. consulting and analyst firm, Gartner, predicts that in 2012, smartphone sales will reach over 700 million units, accounting for 65% of all handset sales. This rate will represent a nearly $200 billion market.

Hosts: Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, Graeme Thickins and Phil Wilson. (Note: I apologize for the unfortunate ‘clicks’ heard in Lisa’s audio which were indeterminate)

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The Podcast

Podcast: Download (Duration: 49:54 — 29.1MB)

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Discussed During the Show Notes:

+ The music was provided by the Podsafe Music Network, the song is PJ style Blues by artist AjT, a 39 year old french geek and Apple lover.

+ Crunchpad and Mike Arrington on Charlie Rose

+ Twitter 101 and how Ashton Kutcher has come out about the fact that “Twitter Will Change Media”

+ Best Buy:

  • Twelpforce: the Twitter account and a Techcrunch article
  • The Twitter fight between Doug Beacham & Best Buy CMO, Barry Judge (and social media thought leader, Chris Brogan, has his own take on it here)
  • Best Buy Social Media Director job that was crowdsourced and an update #2 on it here

+ The iPod as a multi-function device (can tie Touch to local app devs)

+  BlogWell on August 13th at General Mills (get Minnov8 discount code in this post)

+ Our guest, Lisa Foote, sent over these links for our show notes:

+ Finally, as a special tribute to Phil Wilson’s curious and instant recognition that the bumper music for this week’s show was, in fact, very “Cialis commercial-like,” I offer up this Cialis spoof video starring the actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. (possibly NSFW) in honor of Mr. Wilson.

BlogWell Coming to the Twin Cities

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blogwellThere’s an event coming up next month called “BlogWell: How big brands use social media” being hosted by General Mills on August 13th and you can go!

About BlogWell: Walmart, McDonald’s, CME Group, H&R Block, Mayo Clinic, Progressive, Ford and General Mills share case studies in corporate social media. You’ll learn how to get started, get past roadblocks, and make your social media program phenomenal — in one afternoon, for just $250.

blogwell-cosBlogWell is all about how big brands use social media. No agencies, no startups — just big companies sharing what they’ve learned. Get practical, how-to advice on creating great content, getting management buy-in, educating employees, keeping lawyers and regulators happy, simple and ethical disclosure, and engaging fans.

You’ll ask questions, discover new ideas, and get answers from people who have been there, done that — and learn it all in four hours (and be home for dinner).

BlogWell is presented by GasPedal and the Social Media Business Council.

Register here and use the coupon code “Minnov8Rocks” to snag a 10% discount.

BusinessCard2: “The Big Upgrade” Launch is Near

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bizcard2-newSince I’m a user of BusinessCard2 — and been following CEO Lief Larson’s journey to make it the killer app for your web identity — I’ve been staying close to what they’ve been up to as the next version, the “big upgrade”, looms near (disclaimer: they’re also an advertiser on Minnov8).

Though they’ve been playing it pretty close to the vest for months, and I’ve been bugging Lief the entire time, he did agree to a quote and my posting of the graphic above. From Lief, “For the last 24 months our team has been working hard behind closed doors to create something we think has transformative potential.  What we have up our sleeve, nevertheless, is not being released until August.  We want to under promise and over deliver.  The internet is changing rapidly and we intend to launch something leveraging the cutting-edge.  Think web container, meets social, meets cloud.  Best of all, it’s 100% made in Minnesota.”

Go sign up now so you’re in the queue to get “the big upgrade” when they launch.

Obama Administration’s Focus on Innovation

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Delighted techies and geeks throughout the U.S. agree: the Obama administration understands open source software, leveraging social media, and providing transparency in governmental activities wherever possible. Unfortunately, unless you’re paying very close attention, it’s easy to think most of this stuff is a wish-list and needs to be battled out in Congress so bills can be passed.

Fortunately most of these initiatives are policymaking in nature and therefore can, and are, able to be developed and delivered quickly.

To that end, on July 1st, Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra sat down with White House director of new media, Macon Phillips, to answer questions from Facebook and WhiteHouse.gov on technology, information, and transparency. Kundra discussed the new IT Dashboard, which enables everybody to look at how the government is spending money for information technology, and allows us to analyze and evaluate these investments.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HZ-BESVVck&feature=player_embedded

With respect to innovation and its impact on Minnesota, there are three key parts to the Administration’s initiatives (which go beyond Kundra’s sphere of influence):

  • Innovation in the Economy: Drive Economic Growth and Solve National Problems By Deploying a 21st Century Information Infrastructure
    This includes everything from a comprehensive national broadband plan, to new health care information technology, to a modernized electrical grid, along with a focus on cybersecurity.
  • Innovation in Science: Invest in Science and Science Education
    Climate change, energy and other initiatives are key as is a focus on education.
  • Innovation in Public Administration: Creating an Open and Secure Government
    Strategic federal IT investments will make Government more transparent and accountable. At the same time, Americans will know that these investments by their Government are being leveraged to produce maximum value, and that the security of information systems nationally, and the privacy of Americans, are being protected. Strategic investments in IT are at the heart of the efforts to make Government services more effective, accessible, and transparent.