Independent Analysis: AI, SaaS, and Revenue Growth Strategy

The criteria for the co-working study by my friend Steve King of Emergent Research is : 1. the facility self-identifies as providing coworking space or language very close to this; 2. it offers a range of membership options (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) and facilities consistent with traditional coworking spaces; 3. it offers some form of community space and/or activities that encourage community; 4. coworking appears to be a important part of the facility offering; 5. the facility is actively in use. I increasing hear of more people using coworking spaces .Do you ? Amplify’d from www.smallbizlabs.com We laughingly use "non-traditional" and "traditional" because the coworking movement has only been around for 5-6 years.  But the concepts - shared space, targeted at independent workers and small businesses, an emphasis on community and networking - are being picked up in a variety of fields and shared facilities. One of the more interesting th...

Peggy Ornestein 's book "Cinderella Ate My Daughter" is coming out this year and she is on Twitter hoping to create conversations on her book. In this article in the New York Times she talks about how your Twitter expecations may change the way you behave and there is definitely some truth in that. sort out the line between person and persona, the public and private self. Do you agree ? Amplify’d from www.nytimes.com I came late to Twitter . I might have skipped the phenomenon altogether, but I have a book coming out this winter, and publishers, scrambling to promote 360,000-character tomes in a 140-character world, push authors to rally their “tweeps” to the cause. Leaving aside the question of whether that actually boosts sales, I felt pressure to produce. I quickly mastered the Twitterati’s unnatural self-consciousness: processing my experience instantaneously, packaging life as I lived it. I learned to be “on” all the time, whether standing behi...

Before I give any online merchant my money I want to make sure they exist. My friends at kikscore.com have a solution for new merchants - get a kikscore rating and proudly display it on your site and validate yourself. Disclaimer : This is a company started by my friends so I trust them Amplify’d from kikscore.com More than 63 percent of shoppers do not complete an online purchase because of security and trust concerns. (1) A study found that shoppers fear of identity theft and online shopping cost retailers $21 billion in 2008 (3) Read more at kikscore.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bxErCt

I wrote a gues tpost for smallbizdaily.com. One of the best things that happened to me ere because of connecting both online and offline. @rieva editor of smallbizdaily.com is a awesome contact that I was fortunate to meet through @kenyancey of SCORE. Take 3 to 4 days a month to have lunch or even breakfast with people you admire and you will come back learning more than you can ever give them. Read this post ans hope you will add your tips in the comments at http://bit.ly/cmsvvg Amplify’d from smallbizdaily.com For small business owners, the essential ingredients for building a strong brand are: A memorable business name brand identity elements: domain name logo email address business card social Web presence ( Linkedin , Facebook , Twitter , etc.) As a first step to weigh your options, check and see if your brand or the domain name you desire is available as a .co. You can find a list of registrars here http://www.cointernet.co/registrars/co-registrars (Disclaimer: This l...

The Washington Post article was interesting and showed a side of the current admin that is continuing the volunteering/ crowdsourcing tradition.. As the president was in NYC the motorcade was looking for volunteer drivers and one of them blogged about the volunteer assignment. See blog post http://bit.ly/9OO8G7 .Of course no sensitive info and also the assignment was to drive one of the vans in the motorcade. I think this is a great way to preserve the culture of volunteerism , need more of this for schools and libraries. The reasons the pitch Fork blogger gave for the voluntary assignment were: 1) the president is doing Democratic fundraisers, which are political, so using enlisted military men or policemen to drive his people around would be ethically questionable because those dudes are apolitical by nature 2) it’s expensive to fly in drivers from DC, and there’s no real reason to 3) there is a culture of volunteerism within the Obama administration. like apparentl...

I wanted to let you know about this post on the Radian 6 blog where Amber has laid out the 5 topics to watch. In the order of my preference i would rank 1) Social media integration 2) Social CRM 3) measurement 4) location 5) privacy and participation. What do you think ? head over to the Radian 6 blog and read thw whole article Amplify’d from www.radian6.com Location, Location, Location Social CRM Measurement & Accountability Privacy & Participation Social Media Integration Read more at www.radian6.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bjONAe

I know Dave Mcclure wears many hats in fact 500. He has been involved with may forward thinking initiatives. Among other things the Startup Visa . I missed out many times on the Geeks on a plane ( love the concept and want to try foodies on a plane) . DAve is also the Dave is the co-founder of Startup2Startup & Finance4Founders, monthly dinner meetings for Silicon Valley. Wish him the best in this venture and may many startups thrive and succeed. Amplify’d from techcrunch.com In January, we broke the news that prolific Silicon Valley angel investor Dave McClure was to set up its own venture capital fund . Yesterday, the man filed for the fund with the SEC, providing us with more details (hat tip to FormDs.com ). The name will be 500 Startups – McClure has long called himself the master of 500 hats – and the initial fund will amount to max. $30 million according to the filing . Read more at techcrunch.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cMytNM

Local expert and small business entrepreneur, Tinu Abayomi– Paul ( @Tinu ), will be on a tweet chat on increasing your website’s traffic and search engine optimization (SEO). Tinu is an expert at helping people generate leads and traffic from the web. Widely published, Tinu blogs at freetraffictip.com about building traffic systems to increase website profitability. She offers how-to manuals, including “The 7 Secrets to Fast, Massive Traffic,” as well as consultations. The tweet chat is organized by Network Solutions WHAT : Smallvolution tweet chat on “How to increase traffic to your website” WHEN: Thursday July 29th 1-2:30 EST WHERE : http://tweetchat.com/room/netsol HOW: Log in to Twitter and follow the hashtag #netsol. Join other entrepreneurs and members of the small business community on Facebook at www.facebook.com/networksolutions . Published first in my column at Examiner.com #netsol

n a move probably aimed at Linkedin Questions Facebook today launched a beta version of Facebook Questions . usually you can ask questions of your network using your wall and that appears in the ffed of anyone who is connected with you unless they have chosen to hide you :) ( Yes that has happened to me) Now this feature gives you a chance to search for, answer or ask for help from the Facebook community outside of your network if they chose to look for the topic. One added feature i found interesting off the bat is the ability to add a poll to your question. That would be useful inc ase you don't want to answer in words and still want to participate. Here is what Facebook has to say on their blog: Millions of people ask their friends questions on Facebook every day. What new music should I listen to? Where's the best sushi place in town? How do I learn to play the piano? Today we're introducing Facebook Questions, a beta product that lets you pose questio...

Interesting site and you should also check out fitfeud.com for another type of fitness and social exchange. Amplify’d from techcocktail.com If you thought the gym or yoga studio was your safe-haven from the connected world, think twice. Devices and sites are keeping us connected and trying to keep us on plan and in shape more than ever. The great news is that new sites like FiVi.com are moving beyond simple planning and tracking, attempting to create a more social and enjoyable path to fitness and well-being. Read more at techcocktail.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bqv7UO

I spoke at the event Six Linchpins Speak at Midsummer Madness Sweets and Tweets (Hat Tip | Seth Godin) organized by Debbie Weil on July 21st at the Baked and Wired Georgetown. I was honored to be speaking with Chris Dorobek , Jennifer Berk , Susan Harris , Justin Thorp and Mike Jolkovski .  See the video below and please give me your feedback and advice . Thanks Pictures from the event:

I think this is a great initiative and may help city and local government's get the power of Web 2.0 Glad to see Peter Corbett on the Board of Advisors http://codeforamerica.org/who-we-are / Amplify’d from codeforamerica.org Since our May announcement of the five Code for America cites, we have been working to better define the projects that our teams (made up of Fellows and city staff) will develop over the course of 2011. Initially the five cities were chosen because their applications reflected a deep understanding of the power the web as a platform can bring to cities.  Each of these applicants demonstrated not only cutting-edge thinking and a willingness to invest in long-term change, but also a compelling problem they were committed to solving to make their government more efficient, transparent and participatory. The cities chosen for the first Code for America cycle are: Boston, MA Boulder, CO District of Columbia Philadelphia,...

Got a exciting email from Eric Goldstein CEO of Amplify that I wanted to share with you and also at the same time test the new feature that Amplify ahs introduced. If you are reading this, then I did something right. Cheers ! I like Amplify and came across it from another user in my network just by following their link. Do you use Amplify? Today we are excited to introduce post-by-email on Amplify, making it easier for you to spark conversation on a wider range of content from anywhere on any device across all your social networks! To get your unique Amplify email address so you can start posting by email, visit your Post by Email page. Here’s how it works… whatever you provide as the subject of your email will be used as the title of your post. If you want to microblog, simply leave the subject of your email blank. The body of your email will be used as the content of your post. Photos that are included in your email (either inline or as attachments) will be included in yo...

Annual Networking and Resume Review/Career Counseling Night What : One of IABC/DC Metro’s signature events, the Annual Networking Night is a sweat-free tradition in the DC Metro area's public relations and business community. Not only is it an opportunity to meet and mingle with communicators from all over the area, it is also a chance for free resume review and career counseling sessions, which will be conducted by senior communicators who are generously volunteering their time. More details  Thursday, August 12, 2010 5:30 PM  -8:30 PM Bethesda Hyatt, 7400 Wisconsin Ave., Metro-Red Line - Bethesda, Parking $9 valet/$7 self park, Bethesda, MD 20814 Business Casual View Event Fees RSVP Here :   Thursday, August 12, 2010 See this Amp at http://bit.ly/ce6vp2 via Amplify.com Posted via email from Shashi Bellamkonda | Thoughts of a Social Media Swami

I am in Atlanta on 27th and 28th and I am looking forward to being part of  July 27th Atlanta tweet-up Happy Hour Brent Leary and the Swami at Tavern 99 and the 8th Annual Moving Your Business Forward Conference  | “Technology & Diversity in Social Media” on July 28th 1) If you can come to the meetup please RSVP here :  http://julyatl.eventbrite.com/   |  Tavern 99  128 East Andrews Dr   Atlanta ,  GA  30305 2) The Conference is Free $10 for boxed lunches: If interested RSVP here  http://2010mybf2.eventbrite.com/   -  Wednesday, July 28, 2010 |  9 a.m. to 3 p.m.|  8:30 Registration/Breakfast |  Clayton State University | Student Activites Center 2000 Clayton State Boulevard | Morrow, GA 30260 See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9ehvS7 via Amplify.com Posted via email from Shashi Bellamkonda | Thoughts of a Social Media Swami

@egoldstein I need a way to call a number and post to my Amplify the podcast See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bSo3Lj via Amplify.com Posted via email from Shashi Bellamkonda | Thoughts of a Social Media Swami

@egoldstein I need a way to call a number and post to my Amplify the podcast http://bit.ly/bSo3Lj

This article was first published in my column in the Examiner.com J July 25th 2010 :Today started off as a nice albeit hot summer day and then the storms struck the DC area this afternoon brining with them wind speeds of over 70 mph and a tornado like storm that landed near the W.Montgomery Ave. Rockville MD. According to the Washington Post at one time today more than 400,00 people were without power. The Washington Post article also says "The number of outages in the Pepco service area appeared to be the largest since Hurricane Isabel in 2003." At the time of writing this article the Washington Post put the  number of folks still without power as Pepco: 292,405 | Dominion: 31,461 | BG&E: 64,364. Callers to the PEPCO line reported that the automatic response was that the power would be restored back to normalcy by July 30th  The Pepco spokesperson Mary Beth Hutchinson clarified on WTOP news says they are calling in all available crews and will be working...

  I had an experience of this as I drove back to Montgomery County from Virginia this evening.It seems that people see a traffic light that is not working and there is total anarchy in disregarding the rules. Utilities are working to restore power to impacted Montgomery County residents.  Treat all intersections without traffic lights or police direction as 4 way stops. For Montgomery County residents experiencing Power outages, please call your local power company: Pepco 1-877-737-2662 Baltimore Gas and Electric 1-877-778-2222 Allegheny Power 1-800-255-3443

Interesting article on farmers and social media with a nice quote : “Consumers are seeking out where their food comes from and farmers can capture simple stories of their farming and ranching practices through blogging,” Pinke said Have you heard of http://www.localharvest.org / and http://cropmob.org / Amplify’d from www.grandforksherald.com DICKINSON, N.D. — Farmers far and wide are turning more and more toward social networking to help with daily business and farming practices and also to bring them in touch with fellow farmers and consumers. With the help of Facebook, Twitter and blogs, farmers are finding it easier to get answers to questions and advice from fellow farmers and experts in the areas of agriculture as well as finding a way to share stories with consumers and those distanced from farming. Read more at www.grandforksherald.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dAgceG

TBD.com folks are organizing a Tweetup on July 27th at Whitlow’s on Wilson in Arlington . 5.30 p.m . Details : Join some of the TBD staff Tuesday, July 27 from 5:30 to 8 as we attempt social contact (though not for the first time)… over happy hour specials at Whitlow’s on Wilson in Arlington . WoW’s happy hour specials run from 4-7 pm and include $2 PBR and Miller High Life cans; $3 drafts (not including Guinness); $3 red or white house wine and $3 rail drinks. If you’re hungry, we’ll just happen to be there for $4 Taco Tuesday, you you’ve got that going for you.’ RSVP at our Facebook page My blog carryoncurry.com is part of the TBD community network – Check out a list of all the TBD community partners. The real TBD.com is under the covers and the release is TBD but my gut tells me any day soon.  Tbd,com is a being launched by the same company as Politico, ABC7 and NewsChannel8.  According to  Nathasha Lim | Community Host, Food & Dining, TBD...

This is a cool look at some future materials that will make our electronics faster and make the term "nanribbons" more commonplace even though the article from MIT says '"It's a first step in a long chain of steps that will lead to graphene electronics."" Amplify’d from www.technologyreview.com The new method, which involves building from the molecular scale up, comes from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany and Empa in Switzerland. With atomic-level precision, the researchers made graphene nanoribbons about a nanometer wide. The molecule-thick carbon material called graphene outperforms silicon, which is currently used in electronic components, in every way. It conducts electricity better than silicon, it bends more easily, and it's thinner. Using graphene instead of silicon could lead to faster, thinner, more powerful electronic devices. However, unless graphene sheets are less than 10 nanometers wide and have ...

This Fast Company article is a bit snarky. In retrospect I should have amplified a more thorough analysis from the Wall Street Journal ( http://bit.ly/dqsizU ). Seems like the project was spearheaded by the "National Mission for Education" most likely similar to the STEM program. The device cost will be as much as a common cell phone. I think taking a potshot at OLPC ( who ever did that) was wrong. The goals are the same. This paragraph from Fast company was a cheap shot "Either the project has been made using materials sourced cheaper than anyone else can from Chinese suppliers. Or they're using old components, which means to quote Kit, "the thing would perform like a bitch." Or maybe they're making the components themselves from the carapaces of dung beetles and discarded bindis." ( see typo too) If they can pull it off I predict that streetside vendors will be doing their accounting online using cloud computing and citywide wi...

Answer from the Facebook Help Section Maintaining multiple accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If you already have a personal account, then we cannot allow you to create business accounts for any reason. You can manage all the Pages and Socials Ads that you create on your personal account. Please keep in mind that the fans of any of the Pages you administer will not have visibility or access to your personal account or profile. Any actions that you take as a Page administrator on your Page will show the Page’s name as the actor and not your personal name. To create a Page, simply click on the "Create a Page" link under the Sign Up section of www.facebook.com. If you wish to manage ads for multiple clients, you will need to do so from one account. We suggest you restrict all ads for each client to separate campaigns. Unfortunately it is not currently possible to designate separate credit cards for each campaign o...

It seems like just yesterday to me that I received my first invite to Facebook. I had heard that Facebook was now open to all and had joined to setup a quick profile and then did not do anything about it ( atleast as i remember it). What got me to become active was a email from a cousin who used the Facebook friend finder to send me yet another invite. This promoted me to take a look. Takeaway : Your users are going to be the evangelists to expand your users. Take care of them first As I saw this announcement my first thought was about having to replace the number in my speaking slides where I talk abotu the population fo Facebook making it the 3rd largest (it it were) country by population after India and China. I am happy that one social network is gaining in popularity and as long as they have the users’ interests at heart and make it convenient and efficient to maintain and grow human connections I wish them the best. Along with Mark Zuckerberg’s message...

Read the review on the Building43 Blog I am off to explore it

Good article and thought provoking question from Anne Zieger @nextHealthMedia What are we doing to leave patients so untouched, unconnected and unimpressed (maybe not disappointed, but not impressed) by their hospital stay that they do nothing to communicate about it on their own? Amplify’d from nexthospitalmanifesto.wordpress.com Seems like a good time to consider the following data, drawn from the Pew Internet and Life Project Report, which makes it pretty clear how little engagement consumers have with hospitals. According to Pew data from  blogger Nicola Ziady , 60 percent of e-patients engage with social media (sidestepping for now the question of how to *really* define an e-patient). What do they do online? According to Ziady’s data: Read more at nexthospitalmanifesto.wordpress.com See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dsTHOr Update : The headline was more for conveying that sites with user reviews are not as popular as Yelp is. I got this response on Twitter from Yelp Comm...

Must read article on the Harvard Business Review blog by Bill Taylor. Great quote from the article - "Would you rather be director of process improvement at a fast-growing software company, or, in the words of one job title of the future, Minster of Progress?" I agree I would rather remain a Social Media Swami for Network Solutions :) Amplify’d from blogs.hbr.org Nobody does a better job than The Economist at skewering the excesses and absurdities of organizational life. In a recent issue, the magazine's Schumpeter columnist took aim at the rampant inflation of job titles in companies and governments around the world. The winner, by a mile, was North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, who, according to The Economist , has 1,200 official titles, "including roughly translated, guardian deity of the planet, ever-victorious general, and lodestar of the 21st century." Memo to President Obama: "Leader of the Free World" seems downright lame compared with ...

Interesting read from emarketer that consolidates stats from several reports to show that Bing is growing. Even thought the results of Q2 were less than Q1 the spend is growing year over year. Read the article and subscribe to the daily newsletter. You will not be disappointed Amplify’d from www.emarketer.com See more at www.emarketer.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9LW7us

Jesse Thomas is a very creative guy and runs the agency Jess3. This is a interesting slideshow on how the mobile experience could be. I agree that if given permission devices should recognize and checkin in . I would go as far as notifying customers with a message into the POS system about people checking in so it connects to the business CRm system. What Sucks About Foursquare Today View more presentations from JESS3 .

Read the article by Rohit Bhargava here http://www.rohitbhargava.com/2010/07/why-the-old-spice-guy-might-be-the-perfect-branding-campaign.html . Top 3 points according to me: -The real time nature of these videos - advertising agency team behind this is clearly personally invested in the campaign -the level of integration between television, online and social media in this campaign stands out. Be sure to subscribe to Rohit's Blog. he writes great stuff. Amplify’d from www.rohitbhargava.com You might have seen a randomly bare chested and very good looking guy doing a bunch of short videos that look suspiciously like a funny commercial that has been on TV for months for Old Spice. Starting from a series of ads, over the last 48 hours the advertising team for Old Spice has created more than 200 short ads which are essentially video responses from the actor in the ads to comments and questions posted on Twitter. The real time nature of these videos has become huge onlin...

From my own experience it is really important for small business to be focused and use the social media tools to cater to their customers and acquire customers. many success stories but be cautious about your time. Amplify’d from www.usatoday.com You've got 3,560 people following you on Twitter and 1,450 fans on your Facebook page. That's great for your ego, but what's it doing for your bank account? Is social media a money-making machine or is it just a bunch of hype? Read more at www.usatoday.com   See this Amp at http://bit.ly/c1Mmup

For the month of July after the success of our last Tweetchat for Small Business I am working with the team at Network Solutions   for another informative smallbusiness chat WHAT: Smallvolution tweet chat on “How to increase traffic to your website”. Network Solutions and small business entrepreneur, Tinu Abayomi– Paul ( @Tinu ), for a tweet chat on increasing your website’s traffic and search engine optimization (SEO). Tinu is an expert at helping people generate leads and traffic from the web. Widely published, Tinu blogs at freetraffictip.com about building traffic systems to increase website profitability. She offers how-to manuals, including  “The 7 Secrets to Fast, Massive Traffic,” as well as consultations. WHEN: Thursday July 29th 1-2:30 EST WHERE: http://tweetchat.com/room/smallvolution Event Registration Online for Keep them Coming! How to Increase Traffic to your Website powered by Eventbrite HOW: Log in to Twitter and follow...

Last week I was at the Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort at  Rocky Gap State Park on a family vacation. On Thursday 8th July 2010 walked with my dad and my son to Canyon Overlook Trail at the Rocky Gap State Park . As we reached the overlook we found a group of very friendly professional photographers from the Western Maryland Photographers Association (WMPA)   who were having a meet-up at this beautiful spot. They are all experts and share the passion for photography. They are on FaceBook and this was part of a regular Thursday meet-up. I was so thrilled to meet this group and “liked” their page. No the group is not on Twitter. The Facebook page is a great example of a local niche community. Some great pictures from the members Marica Warnick http://4wheelsphotography.zenfolio.com/p932724801 Jim R : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5203807&id=570787693#!/photo.php?pid=4534035&id=96797779471 World Wide Photo Walk July 24th. ; If you want to join this Worl...

I was in Denver last month and gave this presentation at the Affiliate Marketing Conference Affcon organized by webmasteradio.fm Social media and Affiliate Marketing Affcon2010 View more presentations from Network Solutions - Domains, Hosting & Free Website .

Tatyana Kanzaveli host of the Global Social CRM community meet-up sent details of the event. Tomorrow, on 7/13 at 4:00 pm PST Global Social CRM community is making a history by participating in a worldwide event (16 countries) via TelePresence out of 3 locations: Santa Clara, CA; Washington, DC and New York, NY; via WebEx, Livestreaming video, Twitter and Wave. Meeting will start with introduction video by Paul Greenberg , followed by master interviews with Natalie Petohouff , Ray Wang , Mitch Lieberman , Brian Solis and Frank Eliason. They will cover the following topics: - How SCRM plays in the world of enterprise applications; - Justifying Communities in SCRM planning; - How does SCRM work for SMB? - How communities grow from Twitter.. This will follow panel discussions with LaSandra Brill [CISCO], Katy Keim [Lithium], Munish Gandhi [HyLy], Peter Grambs [Cognizant], Kira Wampler [Ant's Eye View] moderated by Esteban Kolksy . Topics that will be discussed ar...

  What: ExpressionEngine 2 as a CMS When: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 7:00 PM Where: Montgomery College Rockville 51 Mannakee Street Rockville, MD 20850 Local ExpressionEngine enthusiast, Joshua Hill, will walk us through the basics of ExpressionEngine 2 and even get into some advanced tips on using EE2 as a CMS. As always, folks are encouraged to meetup at Gordon and Biersh after for more socializing and talk. RSVP to this Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/refreshrockville/calendar/14080647/

H/T to Mashable . Watch the other “will it blend” videos from  Blendtec

Second man to walk on the Moon Buzz Aldrin will be at the National Air and Space Museum to sign hard copies of his three books, Magnificent Desolation, Look to the Stars , and Reaching for the Moon . "Magnificent Desolation," "Look to the Stars," and "Reaching for the Moon" Author: Buzz Aldrin Saturday, July 10 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Space Race - Gallery 114 National Mall Building Admission: Free More details : Air & Space Museum website On July 20th 1969 Buzz Aldrin along with Neil Armstrong became the first humans to set foot on the moon  on the Apollo 11 mission. Read more on Buzz Aldrin ’s Website Amazon.com: Buzz Aldrin: Books Restored video from NASA/AP of Apollo 11 Moonwalk