Remembering 2009 in pictures

The year started off with this bus ride where I made a lot of friends including Bob London @londonink and Cheryl Dickenson pictured here. Elizabeth Shea @eliz2shea of SpeakerboxPR was another organizer I had the good fortune to meet. Kim Hart @khart at that time with the Washington Post used my photos making it the first time that I got a mention in the Washington Post.

  

Speaking at SXSW with Raj Malik @rajmalikdc

I broke the news of Anil Dash's announcing Six Apart's plugins for Word Press at Word Camp Mid-atlantic

Visiting the State Department for the National Small Business event was for me next to visiting the White House. Thanks Ken Yancey of SCORE.

The first time I blogged from a Virgin Atlantic Flight from above 35k ft above the ground joining a different Mile High Club.

Receiving the Golden Quill Award from IABC for Network Solutions' Social Media efforts was a proud moment.

I thought of myself as a great photographer with this picture and about 35 people noticed but no one commented. :(

Did I really meet Hizzoner ?

Meeting the Terra Cotta Warriors even though not in flesh was another exciting moment. Check out the exhibition in the National Geographic Museum.

Of course the crowning moment came with a picture in the Washington Biz Journal in this article Shashi Bellamkonda: The Social Listener by Jennifer Nyz Conner @jenconner 

2009 Rocked as year of partnership between Small Business and Network Solutions

2009 Rocked as year of partnership between Small Business and Network Solutions
As 2009 slowly fades away into the horizon I will remember it fondly for the strong bonds that Network Solutions created with Small Businesses and partners helping Small Business. Here is a list of my thoughts that made me proud of this year: See my post on the Network Solutions Blog.

The Double 0 Decade 2000- 2009

This was the idea of a Washington Post reader Louis Cerny, Gaithersburg in a a letter to the editor published today.

“Years in which the two middle figures are zeros will not occur again for nearly 1,000 years.”

I was in India for 07.07.07 and temples in India were very crowded. Next year 20.10.2010 will be a special date. I predict 20.11.2011 or 11.11.11 will have some significance. what are the dates you remember?

NYC - No iPhone for you

http://bit.ly/4DHPoD

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Take care when you stream your life in the Social Media

These are some of the tips that I thought of, you may have others http://bit.ly/4Bc1QF

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Transparency and privacy - how to take care

http://bit.ly/4qzxIG

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Security may be heavy on your return due to Delta - NorthWest Incident

The president is on vacation but is on top of this incident and working 24/7 and asked for heightened security at airports. it may be inconvenient but is definitely necessary http://bit.ly/68ncqY

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Decade of email to instant Status update by @itsdgc

Good article by David George-Cosh. Facebook was not the first social network but it made the users perceive it as special. Good read from this writer who is the Canadian. Business reporter for The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, UAE. http://bit.ly/8JaxMk

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Flight from Regan National to Kingston Jamaica overshoots runway

Washington Post reports that there are no causalities and that the airline said it had set up a special hot line for use by relatives of passengers. The number is 800-245-0999. http://bit.ly/4W6rPS

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

@MikeSchaffner commentary in the Forbes "The Death Of Social Media"

Good commentary but what do you do as every technology evolves and becomes popular so do the folks who want to use it for their personal gain or use it to spam people. As a user we should fight back to preserve our use of this new media. @MikeShaffner mentions my friend @scottmonty of Ford as a good example of businesses using Social Media
Read the original article in the Forbes http://bit.ly/8QhD0y
My commentary link on Amplify http://bit.ly/5i5rLo

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Ford What a cool idea ! @scottmonty

http://bit.ly/6arVB8

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Cheftestants at SMCDC Iron Chef! Dec Holiday party

This post by Sarah Wurrey is a must read not solely because I was one of the contestants and won the 2nd prize. The real heroes were behind the scenes and the other contestants http://bit.ly/5xK4nh

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Kids & Santa may protest Moscow Mayor's plan to stop snow fall

I am glad Adrian Fenty and Mongtgomery County schools did not see this article last week. Also, thanks Megan Stack for writing this article this week. Who knows what would have happened if this word had got out last week. What are your ideas for preventing snowfall ? http://bit.ly/8ymDCv

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

No Facebook /Social Network Access Teens say we won't work for you

I just posted another story where some teens actually wanted to cut down their Facebook time and then this survey comes along and kids want social networks in their work place. its going to be a different works in a few years http://bit.ly/7btMvL

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Wow bathrooms ! Someone is looking out for passengers on the Metro's Silver Line

Good job Metro and great story by Lisa Rein of the Washington post http://bit.ly/4A0ixv

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Indian Business Association ASSOCHAM says Social networks leading to loss of productivity

Taken in the context of the questions the survey asked there are other things that are interesting : The survey showed that 77% of workers who have Orkut account use it during work hours. Interestingly, 83% see nothing wrong in surfing at work during the office hours. If your market is India you should consider having a presence on Orkut The study has pointed out that employee’s the best excuse to check out their Facebook or Orkut accounts during lunch breaks but turning to social networking sites or general Internet surfing in the office hours. See the ASSOCHAM press release here :http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2265 http://bit.ly/4TrQcY

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Thundersnow begins #DCsnowpocalypse #Thundersnow #snOMG #dc

But please don’t call him a guru. says @jenconner in #wbj

Today was a milestone in my life.Felt great to be featured in the Washington Business Journal article Sources Revealed. Visiting the Washington Biz Journal offices and my conversations with Jen Conner, Missy Frederick and Darlene Darcy. You should atleast see the best pic of me ever taken by Joanne Lawton of the Washington Biz Journal http://bit.ly/6NgvQD

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

I love Outright the Web based book keeping FREE software

I have to disclose that Network Solutions and Outright are partners and we went on a 5 city tour to educate UnintentionalEntrepreneurs.com still I was a Outright user long before this partnership started and just love it . You should give it a try and read what TechCrunch had to say http://amplify.com/u/171c

Posted via web from shashib's posterous

Taking a walk in Hyderabad Andhra pradesh 2008

Got some good streaming from my Nokia N95 when I took the kids to Hyderabad. See how things are different

EarthQuake in Maharashtra India -USGS No damage reports from NDTV

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
5.1

Date-Time

• Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 11:51:26 UTC
• Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 05:21:26 PM at epicenter
• Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location
17.127°N, 73.832°E

Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program

Region
MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

Distances
75 km (45 miles) NW of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
155 km (95 miles) S of Pune, Maharashtra, India
225 km (140 miles) SSE of Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India
1320 km (820 miles) SSW of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India

Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 11.9 km (7.4 miles); depth fixed by location program

Parameters
NST= 27, Nph= 27, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.2 sec, Gp= 83°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7

Source

• USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID
us2009qcaz

Shashi Bellamkonda Persona

Right out of a Tweet from Maggie Fox Founder and CEO of Social Media Group.com “Cool: Personas, from MIT's Sociable Media Group (no relation), visually shows you how the Internet sees you:http://bit.ly/SbNKI” It is very cool and this is the final screen of what is a very fixating screens as this application seems to know everything that's written about you on the internet. test it out. http://personas.media.mit.edu/personasWeb.html

First snow of the season 2009

US Army Website goes social - my.army.mil

Today was the second day of the All Services Social media Conference in Washington DC organized in association with the GeorgeTown University - Associate Dean at Georgetown University.  Meeting and talking to the enthusiastic members of the services, Information and technology , Social media and PR teams was a great experience. Very savvy, very enthusiastic and maybe a tad impatient to do do things faster made me glad i was there. After all the US Armed services gave the world the internet, gps and much more.

At the conference there was a demo of the the customizable, user friendly website of the US Army - http://my.army.mil . Service personnel, civilians alike can setup their login using new web 2.0 tools like Twitter auth, Openid, I signed upo and got a salute from the web site "HOOAH! Welcome Shashi Bellamkonda" Cool ! People working on this project have humor and imagination a very core web 2.0 necessity.

Read more about this at the US Army's web site announcing the new website , see a screenshot of my page http://www.flickr.com/photos/drbeachvacation/4158942590/

Of course I would have liked my own URL http://my.army.mil/shashib - imagine the SEO value :) but then the US army while friendly has a lot on its hands than worry about my SEO.

NowPublic

Tags: Washington | World | US army | Tech & Biz | dodsocmed | web 2.0 websites | my.army.mil

Check out this presentation - The Social CEO: New Rules of Engagement by Elizabeth Shea of Speakerbox

I have heard Elizabeth Shea speak before and her talk is very down to earth and full of practical tips. This presentation is from her talk to the President's Forum of Metro Washington and I am excited that she chose to add the Network Solutions Social Media engagement case study in her presentation. Learn more about Elizabeth Shea at http://speakerboxpr.com/About-SpeakerBox/Management/Elizabeth-Shea.aspx

The Social CEO: New Rules of Engagement

View more presentations from eliz2shea.

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg sends message to his 350 million users

I was alerted to this on Twitter by Julie Minevich. ( Thanks Julie. I never knew you spoke Russian too :)

Mark Zuckerberg posted a message to all Facebook users on the Facebook blog. a few moments ago

Top takeaways:

• Remove regional networks completely and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone. 
• The ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload
• Make the privacy settings page simpler by combining some settings ( more details )

I think this is a good thing and gives more power to the user.Wow ! with 350 Million users if Facebook were a country it would be the 3rd largest in the world after India and China surpassing the United States

Social Media increasingly can be used to solve problems @rjmcgarvey

I had a chance to talk to Rob McGarvey about his article in cioupdate.com . The article talks about how this is "very early days for business use of Twitter, Facebook, etc."

My Takeaways ( I was interviewed for the article )

• Social media a key collaboration tool
• Social media dramatically increase the speed of the ping-ponging of ideas.”
• Social media as crucial in our customer relations.
• The more people who engage with a topic, the more important it is, the more you need to pay attention.”

Definitely read the article and add you views to the comments.

Marketplace take on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

 

I love marketplace on NPR . I have been reading the releases by the various organizations on how Black Friday performed and here is the Marketplace take on CyberMonday.

Which city had the highest searches for Cyber Monday ?

This is a Google trends snapshot on Nov 30th 2009 at 4.50 p.m. Look at the cities and see if there is any logic behind the pattern? What are your theories?
Did the French really search for Cyber Monday? See the regions graph above.

Will people travel more this Holiday season ?

The retail and travel industries are crossing their fingers for a prosperous holiday season. CNBC interview with Stephen Hoch, of Wharton, and Steve Kaufer, of Trip Advisor, share their insight.

I love tripadvisor and have used it several times to plan trips and found agencies in the local places to save money. Some examples- Car Service in London and Punta Cana. Travel agency in Peru Kuoda Tours.

Black Friday Average shopper spent $343.31

Ylan Mui of the Washington Post wrote a great article that will come in tomorrow’s paper about Black Friday 2009.

The National Retail Federation released their Black Friday Verdict.

Top takeaways:

• More people joined in the post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza this year, but they spent less money and hunted down bargains
• 195 million people visited shopping malls and online retailers Thursday through Sunday, up from 172 million consumers last year
• department stores ranked as the top Black Friday shopping destination, with 49 percent of shoppers visiting at least one. Discounters, which have typically claimed the No. 1 spot, fell to second place with 43.2 percent of shoppers, according to the NRF survey.

Comscore on the other hand headlined their release with

Black Friday Boasts $595 Million in U.S. Online Holiday Spending, Up 11 Percent Versus Year Ago

Top Takeaways:

• Over the years, the online channel has become an increasingly influential driver in offline shopping behavior. Before making purchases in brick-and-mortar retail locations, consumers have become adept at doing their research beforehand. The array of sites doing round-ups of Black Friday deals are becoming more popular than ever.
• Amazon Sites was the most visited retail property on Black Friday, growing 28 percent from the corresponding shopping day a year ago, followed closely by Walmart, which grew 22 percent. Apple.com Worldwide Sites (up 39 percent), Target Corporation (up 2 percent) and Best Buy Sites (up 24 percent) rounded out the top five.

del.icio.us Tags: black friday results,black friday sales

Interviewed at Gnomedex by @jyamasaki of Seesmic

I went to Gnomedex in August and we distributed these cool Network Solutions t-shirts. Yama @jyamasaki interviewed me for seesmic.

New Pew Report talks about Teens as Digital Natives

The Pew Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research always has very interesting studies and I wanted to share this with you. The slide presentation is below delivered by Lee Rainie Director Pew Internet project and heare are some findings that I found very interesting.

• 97 % of teens play video or computer games
• 75% of teens have a cellphone but only 60% have a desktop or a laptop
• 14% of teens have blogs and post regularly while 54% read blogs
• 93% of teens are online and of these 73% use social networking sites
• 40% to 50% Tag content ( I wonder what the ratio is for adults )
• 50% to 60% post photos online
• 8% use Twitter

Teens In The Digital Age

View more presentations from Pew Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research Center.

Tony Hsieh CEO Zappos inspiring companies to deliver happiness more than products

Notes from the presentation at Pubcon

Zappos Keynote at PubCon – Tony Hsieh CEO Zappos
• Zappos wants to own the three C’s: clothing, customer service, culture.
• Zappos labels their products “happiness in a box”. Delivering that experience through both digital channels and a tangible product.
• Zappos has grown gross merchandise sales from $1.6M in 2000 to over $1 billion in 2008 by focusing relentlessly on customer service – a potent digital marketing tool
• #1 driver of Zappos’ growth is from repeat customers and word of mouth. Put a focus into the customer experience, create something that is worth talking about. Let customers do the marketing for you through digital (and physical) channels.

• Customer service: What customers see first on the Zappos website:
o 24/7 1-800 number on every page
o Free shipping
o Free return shipping
o 365-day return policy
• What customers experience:
o Fast, accurate fulfillment
o Most customers are “surprise”-upgraded to overnight shipping (creates a WOW experience)
o Friendly, helpful, “above and beyond” customer service – even directing customers to competitors if they are looking for something Zappos doesn’t have
• What Zappos does internally:
o No call times, no sales-based performance goals for reps
o Run warehouse 24/7
o Inventory all products (no drop-shipping)
o 5 weeks of culture, core values, customer service and warehouse training for everyone in Las Vegas office
o Customer service is not just that department, it’s everyone
o Culture book – all employees contribute a few paragraphs. Except for typos, it is unedited. Everyone reads it.

Zappos Core Values

1. Deliver WOW through service
2. Embrace and drive change
3. Create fun and a little weirdness
4. Be Adventurous , Creative and Open Minded
5. Pursue Growth and learning
6. Build honest and open relationships with communications
7. Build a positive team and family spirit
8. Do more with less
9. Be passionate and determined
10. Be humble

Zappos examples of transparency about how they do business.
11. http://twitter.zappos.com/ ( Every employee is encouraged to Twitter)
12. “Ask Anything” newsletter
13. Extranet for vendors
14. Tours and reporter visits to the Zappos office ( unsupervised)
15. Zapposinsights.com
16. Live events at http://zapposinsights.com/live/

• Alignment: it does not matter what your core values are .. as long as you commit to them
• Vision : What ever you are thinking – Think Bigger . Chase the Vision , not the money
• Entrepreneur : What would you be passionate about doing for 10 years even if you never made a dime?

Evolution of the Zappos Brand
• 1999 Selection ( Inventory of shoes)
• 2003 Customer Service
• 2005 Culture and Core Values as our platform
• 2007 Personal emotional connection with customers
• 2009 Delivering Happiness

Book recommendation
• Peak – Chip Conley
• Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

• The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom

Zappos - PubCon - 11-10-09

View more presentations from zappos.

A DM is better than calling me ? Communication tools that help you stay connected

A DM is a direct message on Twitter. To send a DM you type d followed by a space and the Twitterid of the person example : d shashib stop stealing the doughnuts :)

Have you ever experienced the panic that hits you when you look at your phone and there is no signal. You are now disconnected from the world and all alone by yourself. For some strange reason this happens to me specially in hotels.

Don’t panic help is on the way. You will still be able to communicate with me :

a) If there is wi-fi you can be sure I am connected ( specially if wi-fi is free)

b) If there is wi-fi I probably have Skype on so you can call me “shashibonskype”

c) I check Twitter and so I can get your tweets and DMs

Now if you have wi-fi you can pretty much reach me by email too but then its sounds like so yesterday :)

On a recent trip to Poptech Michelle Riggin of Batch Blue gave me a tip to use web video conferencing to keep in touch with the kids who are thrilled to see parents even if on a computer screen. I need to find a deal this Black Friday to buy a nice web cam.

What are your tips when the cell phone is not accessible?

INNOVATION: The Key to Pro$perity :Thursday, November 19 6-7:30 p.m: Johns Hopkins Rockville

INNOVATION: The Key to Pro$perity
Technology & America's Role in the 21st Century Global Economy

A Book Signing and Evening Talk with Aris Melissaratos
Senior Advisor to the President for Enterprise Development
Johns Hopkins University

WHEN:
Thursday, November 19
6-7:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus
9605 Medical Center Drive
Rockville, MD

RSVP to:
Barbara Crews, bcrews@jhu.edu or 301-294-7004

Social Networking: the Two Dirtiest Words in Gov 2.0 (a Sweets and Tweets event) by @debbieweil November 17, 2009

Baked
1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW
Washington, 20007

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 from 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM (ET)

Register here http://sweetsandtweets3.eventbrite.com/?discount=VIPcupcakeeater

About the Event

The point of social networking on Facebook, Twitter, etc. is not about being social or frivolous or wasting time. Social networking is also about more than collaboration, a new "in" term in government-speak. Social networking can improve the process of government, according to Mark (aka @cheeky_geeky) who writes for O'Reilly Radar,Federal Computer Week, Mashable and many other publications.

Our sponsor is Neighborhood America, an enterprise software company that has been doing cool things in the Gov 2.0 space before it was Gov 2.0. Neighborhood America develops enterprise social media solutions for public sector, non-profit and Fortune 1000 clients. Their software powers the content-rich AmEx OpenForum, one of my favorite small biz sites. Neighborhood America's CIO Jim Haughwout will be on hand to answer questions.

Sweets and Tweets features leading voices from DC's diverse technology community talking about the use of social media by the public and private sector, from the White House and federal agencies to local startups. The event series is produced and hosted by author (THE CORPORATE BLOGGING BOOK) and social media consultant Debbie Weil. Previous events featured GeniusRocket's Mark Walsh on crowdsourcing and HHS's Andrew P. Wilson, who runs Flu.gov.

Breaking News :Magic at a pubcon conference panel #magic Really!

#pubcon magic at this panel really magic by http://www.mysticjoe.com, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

As I am blogging this David kelin is doing a magic trick with Mystic Joe of http://www.joemystic.com/ beside him. I attend a lot of conferences but this is a first and I have never seen this before.

Book signing by @greenhance - Greening Your Small Business Saturday, November 14, 1 p.m. at politics & prose DC

 

Book Signing by Jennifer Kaplan - Greening Your Small Business

Saturday, November 14, 1 p.m.
Jennifer Kaplan  Greening Your Small Business (Prentice Hall, $19.95)

For companies too small to hire a consultant to implement green policies and practices, this is an affordable, comprehensive guide. Designed to address every aspect of going green, the manual assists in basics such as recycling, reducing waste, energy efficiency, and reducing the IT footprint, as well as considering wider concerns such as green marketing and communications, green business travel, and green employee benefits.

Location:

Politics and Prose
5015 Connecticut Ave. NWWashington, D.C. 20008

Jennifer Kaplan is a well-respected voice in the green space. She is a founder of Greenhance LLC and Adjunct Faculty of Marketing at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.

Presentation at the Prince William Regional Chamber of commerce

Social Media To Increase Your Business At The Regional Chamber Of Commerce Prince William

View more presentations from Shashi Bellamkonda.

This is a presentation I made at Innovations 2009 at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce on Nov 6th 2009

#Pubcon Waiting for the keynote to begin Day 1

Hear recording of my interview on KFNX 1100 :Marketing with Social Media 11-08-09

Subscribe Free  Add to my Page

It was great to be on the IMI Tech Talk show with Tom D`Auria and I have to thank my friend Gabe Goldberg who heard me speak at the CPCUG EIG meet at Clevland park and recommended me to Tom.

I got a chance on the show to show the immediate effects of Social media when I asked the question on Twitter for examples of Small Business using social media. Examples that we received  are : United Linen http://www.unitedlinen.com/, BlueSmoke Salsa http://www.bluesmokesalsa.com , @Sprouter , @FreshBooks , @Ben_Kwan; his family's restaurant, @AmazingChinese,

The Show website is http://imitechtalk.com/

Listen to me today on TechTalk on KFNX 1100 @ 5 pm EST | 3pm MST/PDT Nov 8th 2009

Every Sunday Tom D’Auria, discusses tech topics to help you run your business and your life. Today  I excited to be a guest on this show today. You can listen live if you live in the Greater Phoenix area on 1100 KFNX AM or online at http://www.1100kfnx.com/.  If you can't listen to the live show you will find the show as a podcast archive on the IMI Tech Talk website http://www.imitechtalk.com/archives.html

ON AIR

Questions for Tom or Guest
+1 602.277.KFNX
+1 602.277.5369
TechTalk[AT]imi-us.com

Follow the show on Twitter : @imitechtalk and head over to the show's Blog http://blog.imitechtalk.com/2009/11/november-8-time-to-get-to-business.html for details of past shows.

Folks behind the show :

Production Staff Members (http://www.imitechtalk.com/about.html)

• Host - Tom D'Auria
• IMI President - Terry Ruggiero
• Executive Editor & Executive Producer - Matt Campagni
• Producer & Senior Editor - Eric Johnson
• Foreign Bureau Chief - David Brandin
• Technology Bureau Chief - Jose Baptista
• Reporter - Pei Chung Chiu
• Reporter - Gilbert Williams
• Online Editor & Production Associate - Adam Poe

Interesting Nov Events from the CPCUG Calendar for DC MD VA Folks

[Wed., Nov. 18] 7:30 pm, Digital Video SIG, free
MAKING A SUCCESSFUL FIELD DOCUMENTARY:
"We Remember Grundy"
Speaker: Russell Belcher, Arc Lamp Productions
Bethesda Chevy Chase Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane, 2nd floor, Room A
(southwest corner of Old Georgetown Road and Edgemoor Lane)
Bethesda, MD
Parking: Garage in building (small fee)
Metrorail: Bethesda Station, Red Line, 1 block away
http://www.dvug.org
------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, November 21
---------------------
    * RSVP requested--send e-mail to bconn@cpcug.org *
1:00 pm, Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG, free
PRODUCTIVITY WITHOUT THE STEEP COST:
An Overview of Free Open Source Software
Speaker: Tom Gutnick, Sunny Banana,
President and Chief Dragon Slayer
Cleveland Park Library
3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 1st Floor Large Meeting Room,
Washington, DC
(west side of Connecticut Avenue between Macomb and Newark Sts.)
Metrorail: Cleveland Park Subway Station on Red Line (1.5 blocks)
Map:
http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/CLEVELND/clevelnd.html
To RSVP--send e-mail to bconn@cpcug.org
http://entrepreneur.cpcug.org/

Tweetup Rockville Nov 9th at 6.30 p.m

Mike Neumann @mikeneumann and Lindsey Mastis @LindseyMastis are organizing a tweet up in Rockville. Mike is visiting from Austin and I had a chance to meet him at the #GrowSmartBiz meetup at Indique Heights on 29th October.

Where?
Gordon Biersch
200 East Middle Lane, Unit A
Rockville, MD

When?
Nov 9, 2009
7pm - 10pm

Please RSVP here http://twtvite.com/iqkbao/1

Deadline for Chesapeake TechBridge Program and Showcases Nov6th

The Chesapeake Innovation Center, CIC, is currently conducting an active search for one of our Agency and Prime Contractor Partners.  A select group of companies will get a unique opportunity to provide an in-depth company overview presentation and demo  of their product and solutions to key senior staff at one of the Agencies and Major Primes (Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, ARINC, Alion, and others)  at the CIC TechBridge Showcase.  Slots are limited for the presenting companies.  Please urge your companies to apply today!

We are seeking to identify companies with developed and real technologies that are considered to be newest and/or  greatest that are revolutionary – faster, lighter, cheaper, less bandwidth, etc…  (please refer below for a list of targeted technology areas).  We are looking for companies that have clear AND significant advantage over their competitors. 

TechBridge Program and Showcases:GET nOTICED gROW fASTER

Target Technology Areas

• · Secure wireless multimedia
• · Advanced wireless security
• · WiMAX
• · Converging wireless and internet
• · Cyber security and defense
• · Collect/process/analyze voluminous data
• · Self organizing networks
• · Power, space, cooling  - IT
• · Data security
• · Distributed systems
• · Airport Technologies
• · Sensor Technologies
• · Cloud Computing
• · Embedded Systems
• · Homeland Security
• o Border Security
• o First Responder Technologies
• o Transportation Security
• ·Communication Interoperability Technologies
• · Chemical Detection Technologies

TechBridge Showcase Date · November 18, 2009

- Deadline for application is November 6th.  Very Few slots available.

· Next TechBridge Showcase will be held in February 2010.

Benefits to the Participating Companies

• · Amazing opportunity to highlight themselves to the their potential customers and partners in the intelligence and government market
• · Market Feedback – we solicit the feedback from the System Integrators  and Government Agencies and provide it back to the participating companies
• · Potential business opportunities
• · One-on-one coaching and preparations for their showcase

Fees for participating Companies

$100

Discount: If the applicant companies mention your name in the “how did you hear about us?” box on the application (https://www.cic-network.org/techBridge/techbridge.html), they will receive a $25 discount.

To Apply:

We are currently reviewing companies and the deadline for submissions is November 6, 2009. Please feel free to forward this to any companies you see fit.   They can also submit an application at https://www.cic-network.org/techBridge/techbridge.html.  Or…Please have the companies send me an e-mail with their product sheets and/or whitepapers by the deadline.

The companies that pass the screening test, will have a chance to present their technology to this Agency and other major Prime System Integrators at the CIC TechBridge Showcase to be held on the date mentioned above.  This is an invitation only event and will be closed to the public. 

Listen in to the Word On the Tweet tonight Nov 1st

Word On The Tweet a weekly podcast for everything about Twitter. The show is hosted by @jeffparsons and @CostaVidaFred  and today I am one of the guests on the show too at 08.30 p.m EST. URL for the live show and chat is http://www.wordonthetweet.net/live-show-and-chat/ Hope you will join us.

Google Maps kicking GPS manfacturers on their shins @robpegoraro

Key message :That is not to say that Google is some reincarnation of the dot-com-era Microsoft. It has yet to engage in such hubristic excesses as co-founding a TV news network, and it hasn't trampled over the antitrust laws. Google avoids locking in users with proprietary data formats or protocols; last month, it set up a site (http://dataliberation.org) to document and promote ways for users to take their data out of (and into) Google services.

Read the rest of the article and see how Google is a major presence in probably your lives

in reference to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103000753.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Northern Virginia Women’s Business Conference Thursday, November 12, 2009

Conference Date

I wanted to alert our readers about this conference which is being organized by Kristina Bouweiri  of Reston Limo . The agenda that i saw will make this a great conference for exceptional attendees from the DC area.

Register here http://novawomensbusinessconference.eventbrite.com/

Thursday, November 12, 2009 – 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Networking Reception – 4:30 to 6:30 pm

Conference Location

National Conference Center
18980 Upper Belmont Place
Lansdowne, VA 20176
get directions

Conference Agenda (subject to change)

• Registration, Continental Breakfast and Vendor Fair
• Morning Session – Welcome and Opening Remarks
• Opening Speakers…The Million Dollar Panel
  • Featured Speakers: Lovey Hammel, Employment Enterprises, Lynette Spano, SCI Consulting Services, and Linda Mathes, American Red Cross
           Panel Moderated by Misti Burmeister, Inspirion, Inc
• Educational Breakouts
  • Women's Health – presented by Inova Loudoun Hospital
  • Six Steps to Better Time Management and Organization
    • Overwhelmed? Not enough time? Learn techniques you can implement immediately to get more time and reduce stress both at work and at home.
      Presented by Susan Kousek, Principal, Balanced Spaces, LLC
  • The Truth About Breaking Into Government Contracts
    • Learn how Ms. Levin took her company into the government and became a multi-million dollar enterprise. Let her tell you how to do it too.
      Presented by Marissa Levin, CEO, Information Experts – recognized as a USAID’s Small Business Success Story.
  • Online Resources for Marketing, Public Relations and Business Image
    • Learn how to use Web 2.0 applications to sell, market and run your business operations more efficiently.
      Presented by Kelly Harman, Vice President, Sales, TriNET Systems, Inc.
  • Using Social Media to Boost Your Business... twittering, facebook, blogging, websites – can they help your business grow?
    • Understanding why you need to engage in social media now!
      Presented by Jennifer Abernethy, CEO The Sales Lounge
  • Success Through Business Etiquette
    • From the job interview to hosting a business meal, etiquette plays a subtle yet important role, come learn some of the secrets to success.
      Presented by Heidi Kallett, President & CEO, The Dandelion Patch
  • Work and Life Balance – presented by Freddi Donner
• Keynote Speaker – Sheila C. Johnson, CEO of Salamander Hospitality, LLC and
  President & Managing Partner of the Washington Mystics
  • Emceed by Rebecca Cooper, Washington Business Tonight
• Closing Speaker – Vernice Armour, VAI Consulting and Training, LLC
• Post Event Networking Reception – sponsored by the National Conference Center

Poptech Encounters : Laurie Rosenwald

I met two amazing designer Laurie Rosenwald (www.rosenworld.com)and Chris McCray of Syracuse University (http://colab.syr.edu)  at the Closing Gala of Poptech.  Here is a video that Laurie referred me to and is very interesting.

laurie rosenwald: so i fired the shrink from laurie rosenwald on Vimeo.

PopTech : Networking in the restroom line

Poptech is a conference with great content. This year it is filled with speakers and presenters with ideas that will definitely make the world a better place. The conference PopTech  has been held for the last 14 years at the Camden Opera House which opened in 1894.

I love the conference and at first pondered the problem of long lines to the rest room. Particularly on the 3rd floor the restroom is unisex and line usually long during breaks. Now the amazing thing is this actually helps with networking. I have met some amazing people in this line, exchanged cards and made new friends. So Poptech and Camden Opera House it is Ok to have those long lines :)

What about you do you have any unusual places hwere you have networked during a conference?

Flickr has a hiccough

6:00 PST We are still working on bringing the site back online. Just in case you are wondering: All photos you might have posted on your blog or elsewere should still be serving without problems. Our engineers are working as hard a possible to bring Flickr back to you. Thanks for your patience.

Read more at the Flickr Blog :http://blog.flickr.net/en/2009/10/24/flickr-is-unhappy/

Poptech 2009 Some common themes and threads

As I listen to the presenters at this year’s PopTech here are some common threads that seem to stand out for me:

a) More young people are involved in social causes

b) More social causes are using mobile technology

c) Diagnosing medical conditions quickly helps save lives

d) We need to reduce consumption or reduce the population growth in the world

e) Provide cheap electricity to 2 Billion people in the world who have no power.

f) Power generation in the US needs to be more efficient

g) IF you do not recycle and stop using plastic you are killing birds in the pacific

 

Did you get the same message ?

Poptech 2009 Mayor John Fetterman Gets a Standing ovation

Poptech 2009, originally uploaded by Network Solutions.

At Poptech 2009 in a session entitled American Stories the Mayor of Braddock PA John Fetterman got a standing ovation for his talk on a community that is getting destroyed and seems to be forgotten by mainstream America.

The town of Braddock is on the Monongahela River , 10 miles from downtown Pittsburgh.

In a New York times article in Jan 2009 DAVID STREITFELD http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/us/01braddock.html described the town as "Braddock is a mix of boarded-up storefronts, houses in advanced stages of collapse and vacant lots."

Andrew Carnegie started his first steel mill here and the population of the town has reduced from 20,000 people to less than 3000. John Fetterman studied master’s degree in public policy from Harvard and came to Braddock in 2001.

In his talk John Fetterman was very emotional as he told the story of the fight to save Braddock and ironically he was featured in Nov 2009 Atlantic Monthly and at the same time Braddock received the news that the UPMC Braddock to Close on January 31, 2010 - http://www.upmc.com/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/2009/Pages/UPMCBraddocktoClose.aspx

In the New York time article “Everyone in the country is asking, ‘Where’s the bottom?’ ” said the mayor, John Fetterman. “I think we’ve found it.”

How can we help ? Please send your ideas to John Fetterman at http://www.15104.cc/mayor

#poptech You will think twice about throwing plastic when you see these pictures from Chris Jordan

Please read the blog http://chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11 and support any conservation effort.

Details of the Midway Journey at http://www.midwayjourney.com/

Details of Chris Jordan http://chrisjordan.com/

Event Saturday, November 7, 2009 American Independent Writers “Going Freelance”

I spoke at this event last year in what began as a great association with the American Independent Writers and will be speaking this year too

Details : http://www.americanindependentwriters.org/

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, November 7, 2009

“Going Freelance”

Sponsored jointly by American Independent Writers and The Johns Hopkins University Master of Arts in Writing Program and presented at the Dupont Circle JHU Campus

Bernstein-Offit Building
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036

Metro: Red line, Dupont Circle

FOUR SESSIONS:

The Fundamentals of Freelance Business

Finding Work in Commercial Writing

It’s Time to Get Published

Using the Web to Advance Your Writing Career

Three ways to register: Phone: 202-775-5150, Online: www.aiwriters.org, and E-mail:rsvp@aiwriters.org

Registration cost: Before October 26, Member price, $69, Nonmember price, $99, and Student price, $39.

After October 26, Member price, $89, Nonmember price, $129, and Student price, $49

Important Note: New membership is only $100/year now through December 31, so join when you register to get the member price for this and upcoming events over the next 12 months! Call 202-775-5150 for details.

As with all AIW events, be sure to mention your membership status and the event for which you’re responding.

Event November 6, 2009 : INNOVATIONS 2009 Regional Chamber Science and Technology Expo!

INNOVATIONS 2009

Regional Chamber Science and Technology Expo

November 6, 2009

2:00-6:30 p.m.

George Mason University

Prince William Campus - Bull Run Hall

SCOPE

INNOVATIONS 2009 is an event designed to educate attendees on how to grow their opportunities and enhance their skills by gaining a better understanding of how to leverage today’s new and emerging technologies.  Attendees and exhibitors will have the opportunity to connect with technology experts and prospective teaming partners, clients, investors, employees, educators, and service providers.

Attendance target: 100-150 gate / 20-30 per workshop

Promoters: The Chamber, GMU, Media, Exhibitors, and S&T Council members

Registration: All registrations/ fees shall be managed by the Chamber

AGENDA

2:00 - Open Doors

2:00 - 2:15 - Attendees Assemble in Bull Run Hall to Network and Explore Displays

- Exhibitors may man exhibit or send in materials ahead of time to set on their table

2:30 - 3:15 - Workshops Round One (choice of one)

1. Using Social Media to grow your business (Shashi B, Network Solutions)

2.  Understanding the benefits of Cloud Computing (Carl Tidwell, ATCC)

3:30 - 4:15 - Workshops Round Two (choice of one)

1. Cyber Security, protecting your most important asset – your company data (Joe Yanda, Websense)

                2. Current and Future States of Regional Advancements and Opportunities in Biotechnology

  (Panel moderated and opening remarks by Ron Carmichael, GMU PW Campus Administrator)

- Dr. Chip Petricoin, Co-Director of Applied Proteomics & Molecular Medicine at GMU

- Thomas Seoh, former CEO of Faust Pharmaceuticals

- Joe Reilly, of Theranostics Health, LLC (tentative)

4:30 – 5:00 -  Keynote Address

4:30  Welcome by Chair - Purpose of the S&T Committee - Thanks all sponsors and volunteers - Introduce Platinum sponsor

4:32  Platinum sponsor introduces Keynote speaker

4:35 Keynote Address (Roy Dunbar, CEO of Network Solutions)

4:30 – 6:30 – Exhibits, Networking, and Cash Bar

- Exhibitors displaying their technologies and intern matchmaking station (GMU staffed)

Attendees are directed to approximately 20 exhibitor tables in the main entrance hall lined up with the front window.  Also present shall be light fare and high top tables with stools.  S&T Committee Ambassadors will be floating about assisting attendees, soliciting feedback/comments, and snapping pictures. One business card shall be drawn for the door prize and an award shall be presented to one exhibitor at the end of the program.

6:10 - Last call for cash bar is announced

6:15 - Draw one business card for door prize and present award to best exhibit

Livestream is partnering with PopTech in 2009 to present the PopTech conference live via simulcast.

POPTECH 2009: AMERICA REIMAGINED Free, Live Webcast, http://poptech.com/live! October 22-24 (Thursday – Saturday), 2009 9 AM – 6:30 PM EST DAILY

Watch and participate here! PopTech’s annual ideas summit will be presented live via simulcast. Join more than 70 extraordinary speakers and performers, and even submit questions live to our stage! Come along on our shared exploration of the issues, trends and technologies that will shape the future of our businesses, economy, society and world.

Check out the speakers and schedule and sign up for a reminder email through the contact form so Pop!tech can send you a note when the webcast is about to begin.

Headlines this week

Headlines this week, originally uploaded by ShashiBellamkonda.

Usually it is easy to buy two magazines and they have the same cover story. I was inspired to take this picture because of the variety in the cover stories in these magazines.

I love the feel of holding newsprint so I am one of those who hope that the physical paper does not go away.

What magazines do you read ? What do you think of these headlines?

Event : Thursday, November 5, 2009 - DMAW Optimizing Social Media Day

I am on a panel with my friend Gayle Weiswasser (@gWeiswasser) and Josh Green of Shop.org for the  DMAW Optimizing Social Media Day

When : Thursday, November 5, 2009 - 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Where : National Trust for Historic Preservation  |  1785 Massachusetts Ave, NW  | Washington, DC

 

Whether you’re a social media newbie or you’re already managing social media campaigns, you’ll leave this one-day social media conference with dozens of ideas and tips on how to launch and improve your social media campaigns. Get inspired by case studies on commercial and nonprofit social media campaigns – and get practical, actionable advice on how to use mobile, widgets, blogger outreach, video and more for great results!

Click here to register!

Members - $125     Not-Yet-Members:  $150

Registration Opens 8:30AM Seating is limited!

Location is approximately 2 blocks from Dupont Circle Metro Stop

Bring your laptop and plan to interact with the session live, online.

 

 

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM

Mobile Marketing:  How to Turn Mobile Into Money

Mobile marketing is primed to take off, but what potential does it hold for your organization? In this session we talk about the nuts and bolts of a mobile strategy, the costs involved, current mobile marketing best practices and what the future holds for mobile payments, mobile giving, branding, advertising, calls-to-action, ROI, mobile analytics.

Speakers:

• Christian Zimmern, Mobile Giving Foundation
• Suzy Twohig, Share Our Strength

Social Media Measurement:  Beyond the Hype to Measurable Results

There’s a difference between simply participating in social media and effectively using social media to reach your goals. Understanding what to measure and how to measure social media success is the first step. In this panel we’ll talk about useful metrics, what the numbers mean, some benchmarking ideas, case studies for applying metrics, and give you a plan you can put into action when you leave.

Speakers:

• Jodi McDermott, ClearSpring
• Nataki Clarke, AARP
• Sam Huxley, New Media Strategies

Online Brand and Reputation Management: What You Don’t Know WILL Hurt You

The world is talking about your organization, mission, products and message. Do you know what they’re saying? Do you know how your own employees, customers or members are portraying you in their online interactions? Are you prepared to react, to address concerns, to turn critics into fans and fans into advocates? In this session we’ll talk about how to learn what people are saying, understanding your online reputation and what to do with the information you find.

Speakers:

• Josh Green, Shop.org
• Shashi Bellamkonda, Network Solutions
• Gayle Weiswasser, TMG

You’ve Got Video! … Now What?  Integrating Video into Your Online Marketing Strategy

Learn how to integrate video into your organization’s larger communications and marketing strategy. We’ll cover everything from budgeting to production to distribution, as well as discussing what makes video work and what will flop. Today’s audiences love video, they expect it… this session will help you deliver videos with impact.

Speakers:

• Rebecca Corliss, Inbound Marketing Manager, Hubspot
• Randy Rieland, Reiland Interactive
• Michael Hoffman, CEO, See3Communications

Viral Marketing for Dummies

Widgets, Apps, Word-of-Mouth, Social Bookmarking, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. You know the platforms, you know the buzz words; now learn how to give your content the best chance of going viral and how to turn viral momentum into real-world action. We’ll examine some success stories, why they worked and tips for recreating success.

Speakers:

• Dan Zarrella, Hubspot
• Jodi McDermott, Clearspring
• Rochelle Sanchirico, Sr. Director, Acquisition Marketing, Washington Post Digital

Blogger PR: The Do’s & Don’ts, Success Stories & Pitfalls

Great PR rarely calls attention to itself. Bad PR ends up on The Bad Pitch Blog and gets attention for all the wrong reasons. Learn the do’s and don’ts of effective blog outreach to generate a groundswell of interest and coverage for your organization, product or campaign. Our speakers will talk about blogger PR best practices, understanding your targets, crafting pitches that connect and why pitching bloggers makes sense.

Speakers:

• Leslie Bradshaw, New Media Strategies
• Dan Riehl, Blogger (riehlworldview.com)

ThinkBusiness presents Leveraging Social Media for Business

This video is from the breakfast panel on Leveraging Social Media for Business held on September 23, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton, Tysons Corner. orgnaized by the ThinkBusiness Media it was on the topic -Social media: by now you know what it is.  But do you know what it means for your business?  Can it really impact your bottom line?  How can Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any of the other social media tools and technologies help generate more sales leads, help in growing your business or in recruiting top talent?

The panel consisted of many good friends . Details are here

Moderator

Debbie Weil is the author of the original and definitive book on corporate blogging, THE CORPORATE BLOGGING BOOK (Portfolo 2006). She is a D.C.-based corporate social media consultant who has advised clients such as GlaxoSmithKline and the American College of Radiology on how to embrace and execute social media marketing. She has been blogging since 2003 at www.debbieweil.com/blog and was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of D.C.'s Top 100 Tech Titans. She is a top Twitterer in D.C. @debbieweil with nearly 6,000 Followers. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Business Week, CNN.com, The Guardian and numerous other publications. She is working on a new book that is a narrative story of Government 2.0.

Panel Members

Shashi Bellamkonda works at the heart of Web hosting company, Network Solutions, as their first-ever 'Social Media Swami'. In this leadership role he has helped aggressively move into the online space to actively listen to and interact with its customers. Follow Shashi on Twitter @shashib.

Shashi has presented previously on " 'Social Media Tools for Small Business', 'How to Sell Social Media to Your Boss' and  "Online Reputation Management – Best Practices & Lessons Learned", at national and regional conferences like SXSW, NewComm Forum (SNCR.org), Online Media Bootcamp, and the DC Chamber of Commerce.

Kristina Bouweiri is a business leader in the Dulles Corridor and the owner/CEO of Reston Limousine Service, Inc., the largest limousine/shuttle business in Washington, DC.  Over the past decade, Reston Limo has grown from a small business into a major transportation company, ranked among the top 10 fleets in the U.S.  In addition to her various business and board engagements, Kristina is actively using social media to stay engaged with her customers and the local community, as well as extending the Reston Limo brand. To follow Kristina on Twitter, @restonlimo.

Daimon Caulk is the Principal and Owner of Modal, Inc., a digital agency that specializes in user experience design and social media.  He has more than a decade of experience designing user experiences for large Fortune 500 clients, non-profits, and associations in the U.S. and Europe.

His work can be experienced at Marriott.com, Capital One Account Management (Create Your Own Card), Network Solutions, and a host of other sites.  He has created online campaigns and managed the social media presences of several organizations.  Much of his job is consulting on the ways in which better design, messaging and communication can enhance their brand and credibility. Following Daimon on Twitter @modalinc.

Brian Dresher is part of USATODAY.com’s Online Marketing team and he’s responsible for customer acquisition initiatives, which include content distribution partnerships, RSS, widgets, podcasts, video, instant messaging, and social networking. As a result of these efforts, Brian has helped to bring new users to USATODAY.com and subsequently increase traffic on the site. Most recently, his efforts have been focused on increasing USATODAY.com’s presence on Twitter and Facebook. By working with USATODAY.com staff to effectively and productively participate in those communities, Brian has helped to increase USATODAY.com’s brand awareness, user engagement, and traffic. You can keep up with Brian’s latest updates on the DC-area, running, traveling, USATODAY.com, and social media by following him on Twitter, @bdresher.

2009 Chamber's Choice Awards Gala (DC Chamber of Commerce); Washington, DC; October 17, 2009

I am thrilled  that I am going to the DC Chamber of Commerce Annual Gala today . I hope to get a lot of pictures and will watch to see if DC Chamber Chairman and Washington Business Journal Publisher Alex Orfinger tweets from the event.  Stay tuned for more info on this blog.

Details of the event :

The Chamber's Choice Awards will be the year's largest gathering of Washington's brightest and most succesful business leaders. Our theme, "Connecting Business: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," honors those who have contributed to the local business community for many years, and those who are pioneering new paths in industry. The DC Chamber expects to have over 1,500 of the city's most prominent business minds in attendance for an extraordinary night of networking, fine dining, and entertainment at the Marriott Wardman Park. This year, the DC Chamber will honor a stellar group of leaders who are changing the business landscape in Washington including:

• Willard InterContinental Hotel - Business of the Year Award
• James Bennett (Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority) - Business Leader of the Year Award
• The Washington Capitals - Economic Impact of the Year Award
• The Washington Mystics - Emerging Business of the Year Award
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield - Chamber's Choice Award
• Dr. Dorothy I. Height - Chairman's Choice Award
• Abe and Irene Pollin - Lifetime Business Legacy Award

This year's entertainment will be provided by none other than The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards.

Technorati : 2009 State of the Blogosphere

Technorati SOTB 2009 -

This a  presentation from Richard Jalichandra of Technorati who shared the findings of the annual State of the Blogosphere report today at BlogWorldin Las Vegas.

• 72% say Blogs attract new clients to their business.
• 53% blog to attract new clients for the business they work for.
• Currently have an average of 4 blogs
• 73% of all Bloggers use Twitter
• Professional Bloggers care about Unique visitors and page views

What do you think ? Which category are you?

40th anniversary of the Internet on October 29th at UCLA

I got this event from my friend Gabriel Goldberg, Computers and Publishing, Inc.     LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/gabegold
On October 29, 2009, UCLA Engineering will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet with a Symposium that focuses not on the history or even on the technology, but rather on the impact the Internet has had on society, business, communities, lifestyles, culture, etc., and on the likely directions it will take in the future.
Forty years ago, a team led by UCLA's Professor Leonard Kleinrock, sent the first message on the ARPANET, which later became the Internet. The Internet has revolutionized communication, education, business and entertainment leading to dramatic changes in our social, political and economic lives.
What's next? The event's featured Internet leaders, activists and analysts will offer valuable insights on the opportunities and pitfalls that lie ahead.  Please check the website http://www.engineer.ucla.edu/IA40/index.html
for detailed information.

During this event, an IEEE Milestone Award will be unveiled by IEEE President John R. Vig.
The keynote address will be given by Nicholas Negroponte, Chairman of One Laptop Per Child.

Other Featured Speakers include:
Arianna Huffington, Co-Founder &  Editor-in-Chief, The Huffington Post
 John Taylor, Co-Founder & Bassist, Duran Duran
John Perry Barlow, Co-Founder &; Vice Chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Shiva Shivakumar, Vice President, Google, Inc.
Michael Morhaime &; Frank Pearce, Co-Founders, Blizzard Entertainment
Mark Bregman, Chief Technology Officer, Symantec
Thomas Gewecke, President of Digital Distribution, Warner Brothers
Regina Dugan, Director, DARPA Gary Bridge,SVP, Cisco