tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64346843811321112902024-03-13T04:57:48.298-07:00Interactive Information Management - Digital StrategiesDigital Expertise and GovCon Experience - on digital strategy, transformation, marketing, engagement, intelligence, automation, CIO IT investment management and governance.Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-14720340813431669582021-02-04T04:17:00.002-08:002021-02-04T04:17:22.350-08:00The Local Business and Government Digital Marketing Dilemma — Top Eight Strategies in Virginia Emerging Into the Post-COVID era 2021<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; text-align: left; word-break: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em;">As we’ve known but which became crystal clear this past year, social platforms online are in fact publishers — as they curate, craft, select, unselect, create, delete, promote media to target audiences, as a multi-billion dollar business model. Some “participate” more than others, supporting or suppressing content, paid or not. Yes, you may freely use the platform for your own communications purposes — but it’s not a garden walled from publisher-owner influence or governance, at all. Mobile phones and devices also are publisher tools — curating and presenting content informed by your physical activities — though this is becoming more difficult with crackdowns on mobile identification for personal privacy purposes.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aYSi52bkOhE/YBvlInb4SsI/AAAAAAAAs38/ApLKAHyRRt8_XadeuaP5vYfwbtkT7OtbACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201115_170613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aYSi52bkOhE/YBvlInb4SsI/AAAAAAAAs38/ApLKAHyRRt8_XadeuaP5vYfwbtkT7OtbACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201115_170613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aYSi52bkOhE/YBvlInb4SsI/AAAAAAAAs38/ApLKAHyRRt8_XadeuaP5vYfwbtkT7OtbACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20201115_170613.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; text-align: left; word-break: break-word;">What difference does this make to your business? Particularly the B2B, B2G, online B2C and nonprofit communities? (Setting aside brick-and-mortar retail for a while more).<br />In short, this year, your own publishing power needs attention, to your own audience for attention to you. The publishing terms, pricing and business audience access are entirely out of your control, or simply not cost-effective as for smaller and more local businesses, when using 3rd-party publishers. What’s also dangerously out of control, is the “<span class="hh cp" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">social media liability risk</span>” that’s emerged in this recent era of online partisan advocacy and tribal dialog — tinder that’s easily lit and can’t easily be extinguished. Particularly within the legacy, giant social and broadcast media channels including Twitter, Facebook/Instagram, YouTube (Google), most cable news. It’s even intruding into LinkedIn (Microsoft) and Pinterest — but these may survive as the more objective publishers on digital social media and data platforms. Reddit simply can’t be messed with, proceed there always with due caution and transparent business interests (but it is time to seriously give it a look if you haven’t — including ad subject alignment in groups or “subreddits”).</div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; text-align: left; word-break: break-word;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.003em;">To get the attention of your target audience, you must produce attention-maintaining content, and put it in the hands of your attention-consuming audience. Without them feeling like a “product”, but as a member, partner, friend, contributor, or stakeholder. A true customer. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #292929; font-family: charter, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 32px; margin: 2em 0px -0.46em; text-align: left; word-break: break-word;"><a href="https://tedmclaughlan.medium.com/the-local-business-and-government-marketing-dilemma-top-eight-strategies-emerging-into-the-b3a34a4b817">Continue reading </a>.....</div>Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-27490418216303292192020-11-16T16:48:00.005-08:002020-11-16T16:56:42.873-08:00Accumulating Technical Debt is a Contagion, that Federal, DoD and Army Data Centers can Battle<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Among the Federal government data center communities, the threat of incurable technical debt (TD) is pervasive - where short term planning and siloed IT design leads to procurement of IT COTS software, hardware and services that quickly become obsolescent and continually increase maintenance costs. This leads to the inability of Agencies to find and use new revenues or cost savings to deal with unexpected mission demands or to use new industry technologies. Modeling, monitoring and treating TD as a virus is an appropriate response - though requires as much continual input from the operators as from the architects, i.e. a “whole-of-enterprise” approach. </span><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s no herd-immunity to this disease, this rapidly multiplying and spreading pandemic. There is, however, expert commercial experience already fighting this contagion and its attack vectors, that public-sector IT programs should be leveraging.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read more at "<a href="https://medium.com/@tedmclaughlan/the-technical-debt-virus-attacking-an-it-contagion-across-federal-dod-army-data-center-f74ac2471f8b" target="_blank"><b>The </b></a></span></span><a href="https://medium.com/@tedmclaughlan/the-technical-debt-virus-attacking-an-it-contagion-across-federal-dod-army-data-center-f74ac2471f8b" target="_blank"><b>Technical Debt Virus: Attacking an IT Contagion Across
Federal, DoD, Army Data Center Ecosystems</b></a>".</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-66974226736157611032020-01-29T11:26:00.000-08:002020-01-29T11:27:04.752-08:00Commercial Insights for Government Solutions — Smart Cities ImplicationsMore and more often, governments (local, state, Federal) are finding the most current, useful and high-performing solutions (particularly in the IT space) are created through very collaborative engagement of the commercial ecosystem. Bringing "<b>commercial insights for government solutions</b>" to bear, is actually essential at this time, for example in designing, building and improving Smart City initiatives.<br />
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Read more about how <a href="https://medium.com/@tedmclaughlan/commercial-insights-for-government-solutions-what-does-this-mean-79d695cc5915" target="_blank">commercial insights for government solutions</a> is practiced in the use case of the Las Vegas Smart City, a collaboration between NTT DATA, the citizens and government of this American city.Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-24096324117185935422019-12-07T08:56:00.000-08:002019-12-11T08:23:37.931-08:00Mission Data and Information Intelligence, Analytics, AI - the DoD and Army's Data Strategy<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); margin-bottom: 3.2rem; margin-top: 3.2rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The New Army Data Strategy, Due Soon in 2019.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many in our mission intelligence and data management community are eagerly anticipating the pending release of the Army’s 2019 Data Strategy (last released in 2016). The <a href="https://docplayer.net/18804851-Army-data-strategy-february-2016-information-architecture-division-army-architecture-integration-center-hqda-cio-g-6-version-1.html" rel="nofollow noopener" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #665ed0; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">2016 strategy</a> still is entirely (mostly) relevant, however, and in fact remains to be fully implemented in all corners of the Army.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The digital domain with AI/ML tools is quickly evolving, however – by the data owners, data consumers and their enemies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A recent industry quote "Army Chief Information Officer/G-6 Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford told reporters at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting Oct. 15 the data strategy will help ensure the service's data is accessible, understandable and trusted. The unstructured nature of our data today doesn't allow us to do that until we implement a data strategy... Artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities will be best put to use in structured and clean data, something the service does not have right now, and added the strategy will also help decide what goes into the cloud in the future."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Read more about </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mission-data-intelligence-analytics-automation-whats-next-mclaughlan/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">industry's mission data intelligence solutions</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and how they are approaching this challenge, already solving it for commercial enterprises and beginning to introduce into the DoD, Army and other Service areas. #dataintelligence #ai</span></div>
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Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-72532602602136986542018-07-30T15:56:00.000-07:002018-08-03T03:54:38.940-07:00Top 10 Northern Virginia SEO & Digital Marketing Firms<div>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">From time to time we’ve taken account of the digital marketing and SEO landscape around us, here in Northern Virginia. Things change quickly on the Internet, and in the DMV digital business area - particularly for online marketing businesses competing for business, keeping up with Google, and educating local clients about all things digital. Our research summary here is a mix of current data, and our long-time understanding of the expertise available in our industry here in NOVA. While our summary may obviously appear subjective - we’re happy to point out the stronger players - while bypassing others - in this area. Some are friends, some we’ve known, some are newcomers, but the digital marketing industry in Northern Virginia is quite healthy, with a very capable and professional shortlist of providers for the wealth of small and mid-sized businesses, government agencies, nonprofits and startups who need help getting to #1 in Google search results.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">We did the research, so you don’t have to. </span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re an organization seeking visibility online to Northern Virginia customers, partners, future employees or new members - this is the Top 9 List of Northern Virginia SEO and Digital Marketing Firms to consider first. It’s accurate, right now.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What would you look for, seeking this kind of help? First, evidence of success - i.e. the company itself and its partners are easy to find on the Internet. Second, the company leadership and its team are experienced, qualified, easy to find online as local, hands-on professionals - present and active in the local business and technology communities. Staying power and testimonials are great evidence of capability - the top resources have been in business at least 7-8 years, with plenty of great recommendations across the boards. Diversity of clients is another indicator of knowledge and agility, dealing with many forms and types of digital marketing. As is diversity and range of services - “digital marketing” truly is an integrated mix of online/offline marketing, technology, creative design, data analytics/science, social channel management and actual business process engineering. It’s not just web design, not just PR, video tech or Facebook Ads. We’ll also point out that an agency with its roots in business data, marketing technology and Internet services is the right combo to find, vs. those that approach digital marketing first from the social or design angle - that’s not how revenue is produced.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">If you simply search the Internet, using terms like “Northern Virginia SEO” - you’ll find many “local” providers - some with seemingly amazing online presence and quals. Many of these actually aren’t in business, are out of the area (please don’t ever hire an overseas, “virtual” or out-of-state firm - it simply doesn’t work!), are just a single web designer, are really new and green behind the ears, etc. We know; we’ve done the research, we fight it all the time, fighting the “fake SEO news”. Some are actually too big and expensive, for the majority of small and mid-sized businesses in this area. It’s hard to dig through and find - using the criteria we’ve outlined above - the truly helpful, experienced northern Virginia digital marketing team that can and will deliver returns-on-investment you need.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">So here are our summary results - the most interesting one concerns “online visibility”. Without taking into account how well each firm actually promotes itself, much of the list order is quite different, mainly the expert “little guys” outshining the larger guys - who may actually get most business via referrals, partnerships and direct sales. This SEO prowess, however, is one of the few true “business results” metrics we can observe in public - without being able to see the actual marketing, web traffic and business results of our competitors’ clients. (Well, we can’t see ALL of it, but some is findable). So we include it - and the list as a whole is still the same list - the best, top 9 <a href="https://kme.digital/search-engine-optimization/" target="_blank">Northern Virginia SEO and Digital Marketing</a> agencies for small and mid-sized businesses to consider now in 2018, heading into 2019. If your provider, or one you’re considering, isn’t on this list - take another look. They’re probably not all they seem, or likely not up to the task. If you’re not on this list - examine your future clients and competition more closely, and keep on truckin’.</span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>Top 10</u></b></span></div>
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<li><a href="http://kme.digital/">KME.digital</a> - that’s our team and HQ offices in Fairfax City, with evidence of capability and expertise in every category, extremely reasonable costs and terms, plus we’re among the oldest kids on the block (previously “KME Internet Marketing”). Major, active presence among the local business and academic communities, plus really unique skills*. ‘Nuff said, just give us a call if you’d like more information, or just want to connect!</li>
<li>Go Fish Digital - a significant presence in the area and beyond, a larger company that’s been around as long as we have.</li>
<li>Silverback Strategies - in Alexandria, large Paid Media focus and background.</li>
<li>Conversion Pipeline - a couple of local, engaged community experts - with Reston Chamber awards to prove it - plus good resources to help.</li>
<li>Rapidan Inbound - a very focused “inbound marketing” talent with Hubspot certs, friends of ours from the NVTC.</li>
<li>99 Media Lab - a small group offering expertise that works, growing from their Fredericksburg web design roots.</li>
<li>Bleevit - an experienced group of folks local to the Reston community who have been delivering much success to area clients, a solid online presence. </li>
<li>Rawson Internet Marketing - SEO expertise from a talented, local individual and his small team.</li>
<li>Gallop Web Services - some of our Loudoun friends in Purcellville, creating and delivering great product for local clients.</li>
<li>SocialMarketWay - an earnest, backlink-driven effort to capture the online SEO market around here, by a motivated newcomer.</li>
<li>BONUS - Foster Web Marketing is also a reputable firm in the area, focusing nearly exclusively on law firms and medical offices.</li>
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*KME.digital's unique startup by certified IT Systems Engineers, Solution Architects and Program Managers provides world-class, enterprise IT knowledge and capabilities to smaller and mid-sized companies, at a fraction of the cost of a large IT firm or agency. As well, we've been appointed Commissioners to local Economic Development agencies and leaders at local Chambers of Commerce, the NVTC.org, local STEM programs and local BNIs - all with a finger on the pulse of Northern Virginia's business and technology community. We can help or manage delivery of difficult or complex challenges, including custom IT development and integration, technical research and discovery, large program planning, digital design help in areas concerning cloud, cybersecurity and AI/ML, plus very long-lasting and successful relationships with world-class multi-media production studios and custom/mobile engineering shops. Most of our smaller businesses won't really need any of this, but the indirect expertise, consultation and experience helps mitigate risks and ensure ROI of even the simplest engagement. Our larger clients and government agencies most certainly need these skills, offered by KME.digital at significant discounts to typical commercial rates and schedules. No other firm on this "Top 10" list can demonstrate these unique credentials.<br />
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Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-22027054354425708252015-03-04T09:58:00.000-08:002015-03-04T11:57:28.942-08:00ALL Data as a Service (DaaS/BDaaS) - EAs in a New Role, as DaaS EnablersThat's where we're headed, inexorably - you'd like to know what's going on with your systems, what your customers or constituents need, or perhaps the latest metrics concerning device utilization trends during business events. And, you'd like this information (all of it, or lots of it) right now, in an easily consumable, visual, semantically-relevant way - to share with your community and to be automatically (or easily) ingested by your other systems or analysis tools. Secure & compliant, fast, portable, standardized if necessary, high quality.<br />
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But most of all, you'd like to pay only for the data and the way it's delivered to you - not for a bunch of information technology products and services, hardware and software. You want data-as-a-service, as a consumer; i.e. explicit data units delivered via affordable service units. (Note the service deployment method might include Database-as-a-Service, i.e. DBaaS).<br />
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Or - you're on the other side - you want to actually <u>build</u> the DaaS capability, to offer DaaS (or, perhaps a better term is a "Data Sharing Service" ) to your constituents or customers - as a provider.<br />
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There are three primary and distinct roles to consider, whether you're building or buying DaaS - regardless of the type or characteristics of data that's being exchanged; big data, open data, fast data, IoT/IoE data, metadata, microdata, multimedia content, structured, non-structured, semi-structured...<span style="color: red;"><b>ALL DATA</b></span>.<br />
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<li><b>The DaaS Consumer</b> - who needs not only to acquire data from somewhere (in a way that shields them from the underlying technology concerns), but also then may use it to develop information apps and services, or repackage the data to share further with others. The consumer assigns and realizes value from the service.</li>
<li><b>The DaaS Provider</b> - who actually builds, markets and operates the business service and categorized storefront (or catalog), and brokers or stewards the data quality & availability, data rights, licenses and usage agreements between the consumers and the original data owners. The provider creates, shapes and deploys the opportunities for value-enablement of specific data assets.</li>
<li><b>IT Services Management </b>- who design, implement and operate the information and data management infrastructure the DaaS Provider relies upon - and manage the IT component and services portfolio this infrastructure includes. For example the databases, virtualization technologies, data access services, storage and middleware capabilities. (Note that "IT Services Management" may be a wholly 3rd-party role, as well as a role within the DaaS Consumer or Provider organizations - there may be 3 or more IT Services Management domains).<br />
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There's also a less distinct, more broadly relevant role - the <b>DaaS Enabler</b>. a.k.a. the "Enterprise Architect", which can be a person, a role, or an organizational capability. The EA scope includes a heavy focus on enterprise "universal" information management and governance, infused (particularly in the Public Sector) with the currently vogue philosophies of SOA, Open Data, Mobility, <a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/OracleIDM/entry/privacy_and_security_by_design">Privacy-by-Design (PbD)</a> and Cloud Computing. (Note that DaaS does not have to be delivered via a "cloud" deployment model - it's equally-applicable delivered as a private data services virtualization platform, for example).<br />
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Information management includes the entire lifecycle of "information as an asset" capabilities in an enterprise, and into the stakeholder ecosystem - from the data sources, their ingest and "staging/data quality", to storage in various repositories and access via information & data services, user interfaces and ultimately information-sharing and digital engagement services. Here's a new view of Oracle's Enterprise Information Architecture (which includes Big Data) - there's quite a lot to cover (contact me for more information about this):<br />
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The DaaS Enabler (as a person) might be known by other titles, like Chief Data Officer, Chief Information Officer, DaaS Architect, Information Architect - maybe even Chief Innovation Officer (focusing on data assets); regardless of the title, the experience and scope of attention is as mentioned above, coordinated across all three service roles. EA skills are essential, because DaaS enablement includes people, processes, technology and information concerns.<br />
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Each service role (Consumer, Provider, IT Management) benefits from the DaaS Enabler, particularly given the fact that the maximum value to be realized by each role's investment in effort and resources - is collaboratively dependent on the others, and dependent on acknowledgement of proven, trusted, pragmatic enterprise architecture principles.<br />
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<a href="https://www.oracle.com/cloud/daas.html"><u>Oracle is an example of a DaaS Provider</u></a> - empowering businesses and public sector organizations (i.e. DaaS Consumers) to "use data as a standalone asset and connect with partner data to make smarter decisions. Oracle DaaS is a service in Oracle Cloud that offers the most variety, scale, and connectivity in the industry, including cross-channel, cross-device, and known and anonymous data." <br />
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<a href="http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/enterprise-architecture/index.html"><u>Oracle is also a DaaS Enabler</u></a> - as an organizational capability, for DaaS Consumers, Providers and IT Services Management. This includes people (Enterprise Architects, supporting organizations and communities), processes (DaaS engineering, deployment and operations models, case studies, tools and business services), technology (DaaS information and device technologies, tools and platforms, hardware and software) and information (data assets, reference architectures, knowledge capital).<br />
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Creating or using Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), Big Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS), or any other DaaS initiative, exposed to the public or entirely within your enterprise? Identify your DaaS Enabler(s). <br />
Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-62382776355725817822014-09-09T08:28:00.001-07:002014-09-09T08:31:06.777-07:00DC, Northern Virginia Digital Strategy - for Businesses, Agencies, Nonprofits - Upcoming NVTC.org Committee Meetings 2014-2015Thursday, Sept. 18th 7:30-9AM - Build Your Digital Strategy, for 2015<br />
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Mark your calendars and RSVP for this first rebranded <a href="http://nvtc.org/community/digitalstrategy.php">NVTC "Digital Strategy"</a> meeting of the new fiscal year - kicking off support and insight regarding building and evolving your Digital Strategy for 2015.<br />
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Or <a href="http://nvtc.org/membership/application.php" target="_blank">join the NVTC now</a> to participate! <br />
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Hear from other #NVTC business and government members, sharing information regarding the approach to a Digital Strategy, executing and sustaining it for innovative business value.<br />
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This is an ongoing series, helping NVTC members through creation and use of their 2015 Digital Strategy, beginning with roles, resources and organizational challenges. Following meetings and forums will address digital business models, digital channels and communication, digital infrastructure and IT impact, plus analytics and value realization. Mobile, Social, Cloud - these are key enablers, disruptors.<br />
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If you're an NVTC.org member engaged in Digital Strategy, as a leader or participant, be sure to regularly attend our committee sessions - let us know, as well, if you'd like to present, provide a speaker or otherwise help guide the committee dialogue!<br />
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Note that a “Digital Strategy” is not only public-facing, across the “Internet of Things and Personas”, but also enterprise-facing, enabling and impacting company systems and IT platforms (<b>and therefore a critical Enterprise Architecture opportunity!</b>). It’s also critical guidance, to building or using big/open/fast data capabilities.<br />
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What’s your Business Digital Strategy for 2015?</h3>
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A Digital Strategy, coordinated with your Business Strategy and Roadmap, can cover a lot of ground, roles and responsibilities. It can be quite different by line of business, audience segment, or mission objectives, from healthcare to customer care, from online marketing to mobile gaming.<br />
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A methodical approach to building and discussing a Digital Strategy for 2015 will be followed, over the course of these monthly sessions:<br />
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1. <b>People</b> - "Who" - <i>Internal; Create Right Mindset & Shared Understanding</i><br />
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<ul>
<li>Leaders, SMEs, Roles</li>
<li>Stakeholders, Partners</li>
<li>Authorities, Policies</li>
<li>Community of Interest, Expertise</li>
</ul>
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2. <b>Plan</b> - "When, Where, Why, How" - <i>(Business)</i><br />
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<ul>
<li>Business Case, Assessment (Research/Analysis)</li>
<li>Business Plan/Preparation, Scope/Priorities, Roadmap</li>
<li>Business Performance Measures</li>
</ul>
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3. <b>Capabilities, Offerings</b> - "What"<br />
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<ul>
<li>Business Model, Processes</li>
<li>Brand, Personas</li>
<li>Product/Service Portfolio</li>
<li>Information as an Asset</li>
</ul>
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4. <b>Choose the Right Platforms</b> - "How" <i>(Technology)</i><br />
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<ul>
<li>Digital Technologies & Services, Deployment Methods</li>
<li>Digital Content, Media & Channels</li>
<li>Digital Engineering Plan</li>
<li>Digital Metrics</li>
</ul>
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5. <b>Engage and Cultivate</b> - "Who" - <i>(External)</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<ul>
<li>Business Development/Lead Generation</li>
<li>Sales</li>
<li>Marketing/Advertising</li>
<li>Communications, PR</li>
<li>Collaboration</li>
</ul>
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6. <b>Measure & Evaluate</b> - Results, AnalyticsTed McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0Herndon, VA, USA38.9695545 -77.38609759999997138.920174 -77.466778599999969 39.018935 -77.305416599999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-35962343202553818142014-08-07T07:41:00.004-07:002014-08-07T07:41:31.239-07:00Hand-held Motorola CP200 Radios vs. Cellphones Identified as Key to Safety & Reliable DR/Continuity of Operations, for Industry and Government News reports and incidents regarding issues with reliance on cellphones for event, incident or other monitoring and operations activities requiring mobile communications continues to surface. In this context, those responsible for finding, purchasing and using critical hand-held communications devices are maintaining their use of advanced hand-held radios - including the extremely popular and durable Motorola CP200 handheld radio.<br />
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(<i>This is a noteworthy industry perspective, from a KME client partner. Myself and other KME partners are satisfied, regular user of handheld two-way radios for many purposes, business and recreation, when cellphones are impractical or otherwise not designed for purpose.</i>)<br />
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<a href="http://www.nationaltwowayradio.com/index.php"><strong>National Two-Way Radios, a leading provider of critical Motorola mobile hand-held radio technologies and services</strong></a>, provides current, key evidence for two-way radios vs. cellphones as a critical core or backup component for business and mission operations in all challenging environments.<br />
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<img alt="National Two Way Radios" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-51498" src="http://www.northernvirginiabusinessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/motorola-radios-4.JPG" height="537" title="National Two Way Radios" width="241" />This particular <a href="http://www.nationaltwowayradio.com/store/cp200.html">hand-held two-way radio, the Motorola CP200</a>, is a long-time favorite of emergency departments, schools, corporate security, outdoor businesses and entertainment venues, marinas, golf courses, ski resorts - anywhere and everywhere reliable, safe, durable and well-tested direct communications across and between Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks and devices. National Two-Way Radio is a trusted, reliable and well-known partner for Motorola CP200 buyers and users - providing two-way radio technologies and support from the Washington DC-Maryland area for many years.<br />
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<a href="http://www.abc17news.com/news/att-wireless-issues-for-jaycees-cole-county-fair-opening-night/27198208">At this recent fair event, for example, AT&T wireless services became problematic</a> during the busiest time with the largest crowds - and both fair volunteer staff and the local Sheriff's department turned to hand-held radios and a mobile command center to maintain situational awareness, operational communications, and emergency monitoring. <br />
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I'll point out also, that reliance on Internet-centric communications including Twitter, email, or VOIP/text over IP as enabled by cellphone technologies and Apps are all subject to connection reliability risks - for industrial or commercial communications in the field, a COOP/DR strategy needs always to have radio backup. <br />
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Handheld, two-way radios are fundamentally recognized as a more disaster-proof, safer, reliable and useful tool in all applications where critical communications are a requirement, and safe use is a critical part of the context. The <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/07/28/4259121/hassan-signs-handheld-cellphone.html">Miami Herald recently reported</a>, for example, that a recent ban on handheld cellphones while driving in New Hampshire does not include the use of two-way radios, instrumental to the operations and safety of many industries and businesses - commercial, law-enforcement and other government. This exception appears common to all cellphone-while-driving bans - two-way radios are fully and appropriately allowed.<br />
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Organizations have different communications requirements based on the environments their employees and partners operate within. These include very noisy environments, outdoor assignments in both heat and cold, or in dangerous environments that intrinsically require devices that are safe to operate. Different use cases and operation scenarios may require devices that can be used with gloves, include bright displays or operate hands free. Most hand-held two-way radios designed for specific use cases, with their accessories, can meet all of these needs from extra loud speakers, noise-canceling microphones to glove friendly ergonomics, extreme temperature ratings, and ruggedized components (<a href="http://www.motorolasolutions.com/web/Business/Products/Accessories/Two-way%20Radio%20Accessories/Batteries/IMPRES/see_test_results_drop.pdf">such as the "proven tough" Motorola two-way radio batteries</a>). <br />
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<a href="http://www.nationaltwowayradio.com/"><img alt="Handheld Two-Way Radios for Industry" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-51499" src="http://www.northernvirginiabusinessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/motorola-radios-2-300x174.jpg" height="174" title="Handheld Two-Way Radios for Industry" width="300" /></a>While cellphones benefit from smaller form-factors and "smart phone" applications, two-way radios necessarily tend to be a bit larger and bulkier - in order to accommodate higher power output levels for maximum "talk-in" coverage range. An interesting consequence of a higher power output level is that it also increases the reliability of a feature found in two-way radio that is not available in cellular – direct mode operation or repeater talk-around. <br />
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As described at this <a href="http://communities.motorolasolutions.com/community/north_america/ccw14/blog/2014/05/18/why-are-portable-two-way-radios-larger-than-cell-phones">Motorola solution community, two-way radio systems have the "direct mode" feature</a> as a <strong>last resort form of communications in case the portable radios lose connectivity with the infrastructure</strong>. This allows the users to communicate directly with each other without the use of the infrastructure. For industrial and government users talking in direct mode...having some limited communications is better than none at all. Higher power output levels increases the reliability of the communications between the radios since the higher power level overcomes the signal path loss better in many environments.<br />
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Take advantage of the long-tested, well-known features of this critical communications technology today - for current operational use, as well as backup and disaster operations and recovery scenarios, when cellphone use is likely to be unreliable or can't meet operational requirements. National Two-Way Radio is currently offering <a href="http://www.nationaltwowayradio.com/store/handheld-two-way-radios.html">hand-held radios including the Motorola CP200 and accessories for the absolute lowest pricing online</a>, free programming for life, and essential, experienced consumer use guidance and technical support. Consider and evaluate a handheld two-way radio right now, before your local or regional cellular network becomes unresponsive or otherwise inaccessible.Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-8330160346678603362014-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:002014-04-28T11:17:40.133-07:00Northern Virginia Hire a US Veteran Information Campaign Kickoff - Lake Ridge, VA Wed Apr 30 10AM-2PM<strong>Northern Virginia Business Center (NVABC) Hire a Vet Kickoff</strong><br />
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Date: Wed 30 April 2014<br />
Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Networking Coffee 9-10am)<br />
Location: Northern Virginia Business Center (NVABC), 3421 Commission Ct., Suite 100, Lake Ridge, VA 22192<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1rpM5Qx">Registration is required, at this registration link</a>.<br />
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NVABC, in conjunction with a long list of sponsors, is proud to support our nation's veterans and their transition from military service to gainful employment and business opportunities.<br />
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Companies and supporters are invited to come to the NVABC "Hire A Vet" Kickoff, to meet military veteran job seekers in the Northern Virginia region, network with other Northern Virginia businesses, and to learn about the wide range of accessible, local programs and resources available to support veteran transitions. The event is designed to provide businesses with the most updated information and insights to maximize their veteran hiring goals.<br />
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This past week, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Veteran Unemployment rate in 2013 was 9%. A few months ago, the Washington Post reported "The unemployment rate for recent veterans is incredibly high". Last week, McClatchy reported that young post 9-11 US veteran unemployment is a staggering 21.4%. Fox News this week suggests the Pentagon may be partially to blame, and says "...much of the problem lies in a failure to connect veterans to the right employment services in the right place at the right time." Yesterday, New Labor Department regulations went into effect that require federal contractors to take steps to hire minimum numbers of protected veterans and disabled workers. With the US out of Iraq, and soon out of Afghanistan, the DoD, as reported yesterday in the NY Times, plans further reduction the armed forces to levels preceding WW-II.<br />
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Veteran unemployment is a major problem, and likely to get worse. The good news is that there are a lot of resources out there to help. Companies that want to help need these resources. That's where this event comes in. The NVABC Hire a Vet Kickoff is designed to provide Northern Virginia businesses and companies with the information/resources they need to comply with the new veteran employment regulations, and to help their businesses succeed and thrive by hiring veterans.<br />
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At the event, companies and veterans will learn about the resources designed to help veterans find jobs and start businesses as well as the programs in place designed to help employers find and hire veterans.<br />
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<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Speakers and topics at the event include:</span></strong><br />
<ul> <li><a href="http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/cd9a628e9659025d85256c2900524ab1/af9676427c1ac2a185257535005773de?OpenDocument&Click=85256823005F1997.f0a3d2c6f9f07af1852570bd00646e36/$Body/0.FCE">Delegate Rich Anderson</a>, R-51st, Chairman of VA House of Delegates Veteran Caucus, Author of the V3 Bill</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dvs.virginia.gov/">Virginia Values Veterans (V3)</a> - Andy Schwartz, Program Manager</li>
<li>Collin Davenport - Military Liaison; Rep. <a href="http://connolly.house.gov/">Gerry Connally</a>, VA-11th; Sgt Joe Weeren - a Veteran's success story</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dc-orp.com/">Objective Rally Point (ORP)</a> - France Hoang, Partner, Fluet Huber & Hoang</li>
<li><a href="http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs/warriors-to-work.aspx">Wounded Warrior Project (Warrior to Work)</a> - Caleb Johnson, Regional Coordinator, Northern Virginia, OIF Veteran</li>
<li>Small Business Administration (SBA) - Invited</li>
<li>Veterans Administration (VA) - Invited</li>
<li><a href="http://www.hirepurpo.se/">HirePurpo.se</a> - Derek Blumke, Executive Vice President, Hire Purpose</li>
<li><a href="http://projecttransitionusa.com/">Project Transition USA</a> - Nancy Laine, President</li>
<li> ...Additional speakers!</li>
</ul><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Special Guests</span></strong><br />
<ul> <li><a href="http://www.specialops.org/">Special Operations Warrior Foundation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pwchamber.org/councils-committees/councils/prince-william-veterans-council/">Prince William Chamber of Commerce, Veterans Council</a>, Mr. Mark Shaaber, Chairman</li>
</ul>Special thanks also to <strong>corporate sponsors </strong>of the Northern Virginia Business Center and its Hire a Vet initiative:<br />
<ul> <li><a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com">KME Internet Marketing & Information Technology</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.fluetlaw.com/">Fluet, Huber & Hoang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://maranathacontracting.com/">Maranatha Contracting</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.trio-consulting.com">Trio Consulting</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.tekconnx.com/">TekConnX</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sarumllc.com/">Sarum</a></li>
</ul>Date: Wed 30 April 2014<br />
Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Networking Coffee 9-10am)<br />
Location: Northern Virginia Business Center (NVABC), 3421 Commission Ct., Suite 100, Lake Ridge, VA 22192<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1rpM5Qx">Registration is required, at this registration link</a>.Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-56222741720356998682014-04-09T09:51:00.000-07:002014-04-09T09:55:06.328-07:00Why Information Sharing Precedes Open Data - Coffee TalkThe Agency Deputy CIO (DCIO), Enterprise Architect (EA), IT System/Security Manager (ITSM) and the Open Data Community Evangelist (ODCE) – Over Cafeteria Coffee<br />
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The DCIO & ITSM at a table, talking about the annual IT budget status. The ODCE drifts over, recognizes the ITSM from a recent agency newsletter.<br />
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<b>ODCE</b> – "Can I sit here? I wanted to talk to you about opening up data, freeing it, from your system to my Github group. Want to join? It’s at ODCE.io., plus there will be an announcement soon on Sharepoint."<br />
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<b>ITSM</b> – "Um, sure. Do you have a badge? Who do you work for?"<br />
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<b>DCIO</b> (<i>Thinking – this must be one of those social media risks. Can you twitter without using your hands? Maybe he’s got the new Google glasses thing. Need to check my email. This coffee is a bit stale.</i>)<br />
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<b>ODCE</b> – "Oh, sorry (produces badge from pocket) – the lanyard felt like a tie. I’m not a clacker yet, you know, with all the badges, I mostly telecommute – but I work for the Outreach/PR office, I’m their Wordpress Content Administrator and SoMe Evangelist."<br />
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<b>ITSM</b> <i>(Thinking – is clacking a bad thing? When did we get Wordpress, is it on MySQL? Can I telecommute?)</i> "What data do you need? Where does your Github group sit, on the 3rd floor with Outreach?"<br />
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<b>DCIO</b> – "Yes, open data is a great thing, probably. But isn’t “io” a foreign country TLD? We can’t expose our data to them. Wait, isn’t that an ocean?"<br />
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<b>ITSM</b> – "Not our data, anyway – it’s sensitive. You’re a DBA? Do you know Bill, our DBA? He has the legacy and big data platforms. I think “io” is really British."<br />
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<b>ODCE</b> – "Bill? No, does he know Wordpress? It’s really easy, with all the plug-ins. ODCE.io isn’t really foreign, it’s all over, it’s crowdsourced development. Github is on the Internet, it’s really outside of work."<br />
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<b>ITSM</b> – "Bill’s our Oracle DB expert, he’d need to understand this – but is this a requirement from your office, a work thing, maybe a FOIA request or some new regulation? Who’s your manager?"<br />
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<b>DCIO</b> <i>(Thinking – “crowdsourcing” can be cheaper, but it’s too much risk – when did we get Wordpress, is it part of the Portal? Is it better than Drupal?)</i> – "Please ask your manager to check with our Enterprise Architect (Katie) on this."<br />
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<b>ODCE</b> – "Open Data is the new currency of the Internet, a public utility, it’s like free energy for everyone. It’s massive, but accessible. My manager is Scott, but you don’t really manage “evangelizing” or social media, it’s part of the new company DNA. What’s the Enterprise Architect, does she work for you?"<br />
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<b>DCIO </b><i>(Thinking – “massive” doesn’t mean “free” around here)</i> – "Katie does work for me, she’s in the Directory <i>(but she keeps telling me she belongs in the CFO’s office.)</i>. I have a Big Data conference call to attend – good luck with your DNA club, I think my daughter’s in one just like it, at school!" (He leaves, quickly).<br />
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<b>ITSM</b> (checking his phone – <i>Wordpress? Maybe it costs less than the CMS platform we have, but isn’t it “freeware”?</i> <i>Drupal really isn't so free</i>...) – "I have a meeting also, about our SOA Data Security status with Bill – I’ll let him know to expect a new system interface request, from the PR office? Use the help desk form, if you can access it – it would be an “enhancement”, probably, for next quarter earliest, especially if it’s using our new SOA platform. Thanks for introducing yourself." (He leaves, beelines across the cafeteria after spotting his Scrum Master).<br />
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<b>@ODCE</b> (Drifting away, tweeting) - #opendatarising #Agency CIO all over Open Big Data 4 next qtr, share via ODCE.io – #opensource #dontcomehereforthecoffee.<br />
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<b>@DCIO</b> (Locked) - @KatieEA, are you finished with our “As-Is” data models? I think the PR office has a new database. Also, please check http://www...(<i>text truncated</i>)<br />
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<b>KatieEA</b> <i>(Thinking – I thought we were skipping the “as-is”, and focusing on the “to-be” – that’s what the new OMB 300 guys really want this year, part of the “Open Government” mandate or something. But we don’t have any new “major investments” to report, beyond the new Open Data catalogue, BPM and SOA software just purchased by the GIS department. I’ll check with Bill.)</i> – To DCIO (via email) – "DCIO, let’s talk via email, my twitter is really just for home stuff."<br />
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<u><b>Outcome</b></u> – “Information Sharing” will/should always precede “Open Data”, so plan for it - plus, always include your EA.<br />
<br />Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-42614387083107143422014-03-27T09:28:00.000-07:002014-03-27T09:28:10.552-07:00Project Management, PMP, ITIL, Cost Estimating Business Training & Certification in VirginiaIf you're in any way associated with Government contracting, project or program management, project or system cost estimating or resourcing, whether on the job or during acquisition processes and proposal preparation - you may need PMP, ITIL or Cost Estimation Certification and/or training. This is important not only from the business manager perspective, but also from the Enterprise and Solution Architect perspective - it comes in very handy.<br />
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Here's a shout-out to some respected professionals at Trio-Consulting and the Northern Virginia Business Center, for an upcoming PMP certification preparation course - as well as many other professional, Federal and DoD contract-focused training and certifications.<br />
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Trio Consulting at 3421 Commission Ct, Suite 100, Lake Ridge, VA (Prince William County, near Woodbridge) is offering a 4-day intensive <a title="Prince William Lake Ridge VA PMP Training & Certification" href="http://www.trio-consulting.com/single-class/pmp-boot-camp-31-mar-3-apr/2014-03-31/" target="_self">PMI-PMP Bootcamp March 31-April 3 in preparation for PMP Certification in Northern Virginia</a>. Visit the website or call 571-267-1445 for discounted rates today, using promo code "<strong>PMPMAR</strong>".<br />
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Working with the government can be difficult. There is a vast bureaucracy filled with red tape, legal caveats, and rules to navigate once you’ve entered the contract, project or program management role. To be fully prepared, it’s important that you have the training and knowledge to function effectively, for the government or your company. To be truly competitive, and deliver high value work on government programs - managers need to be qualified and even better, certified in standardized project management methodologies. A PMI PMP Certification will put you ahead of your competitors, and make you confident operating under government rules and regulations.<br />
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As a source of information for small businesses in Woodbridge, Lake Ridge, Prince William County, and the rest of Northern Virginia, the Northern Virginia Business Center (NVABC) is happy to bring this necessity and training opportunity to your attention. <a title="Northern Virginia Business Center" href="http://nvabusinesscenter.com/">The NVABC, a business incubation and startup facility for Northern Virginia</a>, offers new or expanding businesses help with federal contracting, legal assistance, <a title="Northern Virginia Business Digital Marketing & Technology" href="http://nvabusinesscenter.com/services/dc-digital-marketing-advertising-assistance-via-the-northern-virginia-business-center/" target="_self">DC-area digital marketing and information technology</a>, business strategies and planning, and many other advisory services for members. The NVABC's proximity to the nation’s capital makes it a significant, effective source for business training and certification required to address most government programs and contracts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.trio-consulting.com/" target="_blank">Trio Consulting, located in Lake Ridge VA</a>, offers Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification training, based on guidance and training requirements of the Project Management Institute (PMI.) The Trio Consulting PMI PMP "Bootcamp" is a 4 day in-depth training course from March 31 to April 3 at the NVABC, that fulfills PMI's 35-hour project management training requirement, and leverages the PMP Exam Simulator for real-time, in class test preparation.<br />
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According to Trio, the training is for “Professionals seeking certification to meet contract requirements, organizational staff development goals or personal enrichment.” The course itself is geared not only towards learning the information needed to pass the PMI Exam, but also investigates each of the Project Management Framework’s 47 processes. By the end of this four-day program, you’ll be ready for the test and to move forward with your business.<br />
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Additional professional development and certification training is available via Trio Consulting and the <a title="Northern Virginia Business Incubator in Prince William County, Lake Ridge, VA" href="http://nvabusinesscenter.com/">Northern Virginia Business Center, in Woodbridge (Lake Ridge) Northern Virginia</a> - contact them as soon as possible to register for the PMP Boot Camp and other professional development classes.<br />
Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-56299159216582701222014-03-25T15:05:00.002-07:002014-03-25T15:06:26.897-07:00Government Open Data Success Via Information Sharing, Enterprise Architecture and Data Assets<div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">The title of this article is quite a mouthful, and three very complex and broadly-scoped disciplines mashed together. But that's what's happening all over, isn't it, driven by consumer demand on their iPhones - mashing and manipulating information that's managed to leak through the risk-adverse, highly-regulated mantle of the government's secure data cocoon, and instantly sharing it for further rendering, visualization or actual, productive use. Mostly a "pull" style information flow, at best constrained or abstracted by public sector Enterprise Architecture (EA) methods and models - at worst, simply denied.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">This demand for open data, however, is rapidly exposing both opportunities and challenges within government information-sharing environments, behind the firewall - in turn a fantastic opportunity and challenge for the Enterprise Architects and Data Management organizations.</div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The recent "<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-13.pdf" style="color: black;">Open Data Policy</a>" compels US Federal agencies to make as much non-sensitive, government-generated data as possible available to the public, via open standards in data structures (for humans and machine-readable), APIs (application programming interfaces) and browser-accessible functions. The public (including commercial entities) in turn can use this data to create new information packages and applications for all kinds of interesting and sometimes critical uses - from monitoring the health of public parks to predicting the arrival of city buses, or failure of city lights.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">But there isn't an "easy" button. And, given the highly-regulated and tremendously complex nature of integrated, older government systems and their maintenance contracts - significant internal change is very difficult, to meet what amounts to a "suggested" and unfunded (but with long-term ROI) mandate, without much in the way of clear and measurable value objectives.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">That doesn't mean there aren't whole bunches of citizens and government employees ready, willing and enthusiastic about sharing information and ideas that clearly deliver tangible, touchable public benefit. Witness the recent "<a href="http://dc.opendataday.org/" style="color: black;">Open Data Day DC</a>", a yearly hackathon in the District of Columbia for collaborating on using open data to solve local DC issues, world poverty, and other open government challenges. Simply sharing information in ways that weren't part of the original systems integration requirements or objectives has become a very popular - and in fact expected behavior - of the more progressive and (by necessity) collaborative agencies - such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). </div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/oeagov/entry/public_sector_open_data_via">Continue reading at the Oracle Enterprise Architecture for Government Blog</a> ...</div></div>Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-6407402308108801862014-02-18T10:13:00.000-08:002014-02-18T10:13:31.226-08:00Monetizing Wellness, to Drive Value-Driven, Outcomes-Based #Healthcare Transformation in the U.S. #NVTC #NVTCBEAThanks very much go to John Teeter - Managing Director, Federal Advisory at KPMG, Global Center of Excellence for Health and former HHS CIO - for his presentation and discussion leadership at today's #nvtc joint committee meeting (Health Technology and Business & Enterprise Architecture <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23nvtcbea" target="_blank">#nvtcbea</a> ).<br />
<br />
The dialogue revolved around a principle challenge and opportunity in the Global and particularly the US healthcare transformation debate - bending the cost curve of US healthcare through better health outcomes - driven in part by use of the rapidly-growing and effective availability of health performance data analytics. Decreasing costs, by focusing on quality - upfront and often.<br />
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<a href="https://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/contracting-value/PublishingImages/quality-and-costs-chart1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/contracting-value/PublishingImages/quality-and-costs-chart1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Also, overall costs and payments can (now with advanced analytics technology) be more accurately and effectively "bundled" by integrated outcomes that cross provider boundaries - not just by service, by episode, by event, by facility. The better outcomes are dependent on care investment at every stage, particularly at the Primary Care level.<br />
<br />
By focusing attention on and funding regulatory, technology and organizational process improvement initiatives in the primary care/wellness phase of the healthcare services continuum (vs. so much in the secondary/tertiary phases, i.e. the "reactive" phases), outcome quality measures (by person, by population, by case segment) can be dramatically improved, thereby lowering "fee for services" costs and also lowering the overall expense of patient-centered health delivery.<br />
<br />
This is "optimization of the gatekeeper function" of the Primary Care provider. The patient becomes the unit of measurement - i.e. their overall status, their engagement metrics, their behaviors. The patient, and the provider, also are more likely to participate in a "value-based benefits" system - where cost-effective (healthwise) behavior is rewarded with better health outcomes and opportunities for the patient, and more business for the provider, in essence "monetizing" the wellness activities.<br />
<br />
This is in stark contrast to the status quo, which as Mr. Teeter put it, is usually a "perpetual revenue stream", from specialist visit, to referral/consult, to lab, to pharmacy - and repeated, the more cycles, the more revenue, but each cycle focused only on a particular condition and associated services.<br />
<br />
Actual outcome quality initiatives the transformed healthcare industry require, would need to be built on foundations (already underway) aligned with standard Enterprise Architecture models. The base includes informed, applied regulatory enablers (i.e. legislative mandate and governance); on top of which transformed healthcare payment and delivery business operating models would rest (i.e. the "Business Architecture"); run on modernized information technology platforms (including <a href="http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/options/advanced-analytics/bigdataanalyticswpoaa-1930891.pdf" target="_blank">robust, big data-aware analytics</a> and "Internet of Things" - IoT - platforms); ultimately enabling interoperable, standards-based health data services ecosystems. <br />
<br />
The Big Data/IoT platforms are particularly promising, as regulators and healthcare IT professionals wrestle with the question of how, when and why to insert additional data attributes (from everything from social media to ingestible sensors) into personal health records - in a safe, secure, standard manner.<br />
<br />
This dialogue will obviously continue in government and industry - and also within the <a href="http://nvtc.org/community/biztech.php" target="_blank">NVTC Business & Enterprise Architecture</a> and Healthcare Technology upcoming committee meetings and presentations. Check <a href="http://nvtc.org/">NVTC.org</a> for the next events...Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-34691443987311912212014-02-12T14:10:00.000-08:002014-02-12T14:10:55.605-08:00Making Real Money for Bands in the Age of Social Media - Democratization of the Royalties Model, by Gideen.com<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Welcome to M<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">usic Business 3.0 </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">- it's not about the $1 song anymore. Most artists these days are gifting songs away just for email addresses, the occasional "like". The 3.0 music business model is about creating tracks and collecting many different revenue types internationally for each track/song. It's a new content marketing model and platform for music, for the entire music industry.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Disrupting the recorded music market is a tall order - and 2013 music market investment deals primarily revolved around the largest and most established movers and shakers in the music production, licensing, promotion and streaming/distribution companies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not <i>your</i> band, not <i>your</i> music.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to <a href="http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/5893800/investors-put-24-billion-into-music-in-2013-streaming-tops-list" target="_blank">Billboard</a>, in the music industry, the "big got bigger and rich got richer in 2013" - including corporations like Warner, EMI, Pandora, and Beats Music. Most investments (besides mergers and acquisitions), large and small, revolved around consumers finding and enjoying mainline music offerings, events and concerts - across devices, personalized and in some cases with additional services and tools around creating, sharing and customizing the media.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 2014 music investment and technology startup scene introduces a <strong>revolutionary new take on the music investment, licensing and catalog opportunities </strong>for independent artists, their stakeholders and direct investors - and also for consumers, producers and media buyers seeking to find, use and potentially profit from exposure of 98% of the world's music offered for entertainment or business use. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Music that's non-mainstream, not yet owned by the largest labels. Music that's valuable yet undiscovered and not yet exploited - available from thousands of amazing I</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ndie artists and bands, </span><em style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">estimated at 70% the size of the existing primary music market.</em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></em> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img src="http://novabrewfest.com/fall/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2.jpg" height="114" width="400" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As <a href="http://blaiselucey.com/2014/02/12/forget-itunes-pandora-gideen-creates-a-new-way-bands-can-make-money-online/" target="_blank">Blaise Lucy</a>, a prominent music, marketing and technology writer and analyst puts it, <i>"Forget iTunes and Pandora....<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">In the pursuit of precious exposure, musicians are leaving revenue far, far behind...</span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I haven’t yet come across a reliable way for bands to make (decent) money online… but I think I might have found one on the horizon."</span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.gideen.com/" target="_blank">GIDEEN</a>™ is a new, crowdsourced music, technology, and revenue platform building steam right now on the Indiegogo fundraising circuit. With the help of <a href="http://bit.ly/1eo7kZO" title="#crowdfunded #musiclicensing #indiegogo #gideen">#crowdfunding supporters of new #musiclicense platforms</a>, Gideen is creating the premier music licensing and exposure marketplace for the vast majority of the world's creative, fresh and little-exposed music otherwise undiscovered by the hit-driven, pop-culture and electronic dance music (EDM) oriented mainstream music industry. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><i>"We just have to find ways to democratize the processes of making music, marketing music and using music. That’s what Gideen is doing"</i> - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">CEO Heiko Schmidt</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr2bo5jHTRU/Uvvfr8L2lrI/AAAAAAAABig/oI4Grn7560g/s1600/gideenportal2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr2bo5jHTRU/Uvvfr8L2lrI/AAAAAAAABig/oI4Grn7560g/s1600/gideenportal2.jpg" height="273" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Gideen.com</strong> aligns the economic interests of music artists and creators, fans and new audiences, new media designers and producers, and the consumer investment community in an extremely usable online platform. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By enabling users and music fans to purchase a stake in the future revenue stream of uploaded songs, the Gideen.com technology service overturns the revenue structure of the current music industry, fostering a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship between independent musicians and a whole new consumer market.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: red; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It's content marketing - where the "content" is music, and the "marketing" is a worldwide shared incentive.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over this month, Gideen is offering promotions to startup donors and early-stage supporters through its <a href="http://bit.ly/1bxPyDs">Indiegogo music crowdfunding webpage</a>. Be a recognized, publicized Gideen "Tour Manager" or "Producer" with smaller donations - from $1 to $100. Get 1/3 of the <span style="color: red;">future music revenue of 100 songs </span>from the non-public Gideen song database - with VIP-level support. Donations will support the site and service’s final development and launch phase, along with worldwide music community-building and exposure in anticipation of the anticipated March 2014 launch period. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Building this new music licensing and availability community is a grass-roots, crowd-funded initiative. Success will in large part depend not only on early-stage supporters and donors, but also on the music community - the #musicpreneur movement - pulling together, sharing and promoting this revolutionary market opportunity through the power of social media.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're an Indie music artist, music lover or music supporter - <strong>please follow, share, fan, tweet and +1 this first-time opportunity and community news </strong>to your fans, friends, audience and fellow media professionals - that's how it will succeed, and benefit the rest of the music industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simply put - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>"Gideen is being built for everyone - everyone who creates, loves, listens to and uses music”.</em></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></strong><br />
<hr />
<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About GIDEEN “Let the Music Pay"</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GIDEEN is a new music, tech, and revenue venture creating the first music marketplace for 98% of the world's valuable yet undiscovered music. The company was incorporated in October 2013 and received seed financing from Joey Capital, LLC in the same month. Launching in March 2014, Gideen technology re-imagines the revenue structure of the music industry by connecting music makers with music lovers to jointly promote and monetize music.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With 900 million global music makers being matched with promoters and introduced to 3 billion promotion and monetization opportunities per month, Gideen will revolutionize the music industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Contact <a href="http://www.gideen.com/" target="_blank">Gideen.com</a> directly for more information, visit the <a href="http://bit.ly/1eo7kZO">music crowdfunding page at Indiegogo</a> to find ways to contribute, or contact the <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/">startup crowdfunding experts at KME Internet Marketing</a> to learn more.</span>Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-50000845236504031202014-02-11T07:04:00.000-08:002014-02-11T07:06:15.007-08:00DC, Northern Virginia Enterprise Architects, Health Technology Professionals - an #NVTC Joint Committee Meeting with Former HHS CIO John Teeter - 2/18/2014<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>Northern Virginia Enterprise Architects, Health Technology Professionals</b>, in the Washington DC metro region<b> </b> - if you are members, stakeholders or guests of the Northern Virginia Technology Council ( #NVTC ), please join us this next Tuesday Feb
8<sup>th</sup>, 2014, from 7:30-9AM, for a Health Technology, Business and Enterprise
Architecture Joint Committee Meeting. <a href="http://nvtc.org/community/health.php#meet" target="_blank">Click here for meeting directions (Fairview Park, VA).</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Former
HHS CIO John Teeter will discuss Healthcare Transformation, and Enterprise
Architecture/IT Investment Strategies with our committee members and guests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Free Admission for
NVTC.org Members and Guests; <a href="http://nvtc.org/membership/application.php" target="_blank">contact NVTC.org for membership options</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
<a href="http://nvtc.org/community/biztech.php" target="_blank">NVTC Business & Enterprise Architecture ( #NVTCBEA )</a> and Health Technology Committees
present a timely, informed and conversational event with an influential leader
in the US Federal Government and global healthcare information technology (IT)
dialogue.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.govconwire.com/2013/01/kpmg-appoints-hhs-vet-john-teeter-managing-director-of-its-advisory-practice/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">JohnTeeter</a> - former HHS CIO</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">John
Teeter is currently the Managing Director in KPMG’s Federal Advisory Group, the
Global Center of Excellence for Health. During his time at HHS, the agency
successfully realized tens of millions of dollars of cost savings, particularly
in health IT and administrative systems. He helped change the way of thinking
to increase efficiency in IT acquisition, software licensing and telecommunications.
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Prior
to this, John was associate Director for IT Architecture at the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he kick-started a harmonized
approach to systems architecture across a highly federated organization. He
began his career at the center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the
Social Security Administration (SSA), where he held IT-related positions and
was involved in large-scale database migrations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">John
has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including induction
into the FEAC Institute’s “Federal Enterprise Architecture Hall of Fame”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Contact the NVTC directly, or <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/tedmclaughlan" target="_blank">Ted McLaughlan</a>, <a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/oeagov/" target="_blank">Oracle Enterprise Architecture</a> (NVTC Business and Enterprise Architecture Committee Chair) for more information. </span></div>
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Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com03150 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042, USA38.8591342 -77.21705659999997838.8559567 -77.22209909999998 38.8623117 -77.212014099999976tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-74281957768591202882014-01-31T07:35:00.000-08:002014-01-31T07:39:41.405-08:00A Soccer Field on the Data Center, Chickens in the Parking Lot - in Northern Virginia<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.madeinloudoun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/pomonaparking.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-331" src="http://www.madeinloudoun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/pomonaparking-300x199.jpg" height="199" title="pomonaparking" width="300" /></a><br />
<br />
Following the initial planning and construction phases, the presence and benefits of operating Data Centers in Northern Virginia seem currently limited, or perhaps simply not well-known, in terms of local, positive community visibility and impact (beyond direct revenue via commercial taxes and the indirect boost to community bond ratings and real estate values).<br />
<br />
Are Data Centers good neighbors, active and involved in the business and social fabric of the region – or can they be? What's the indirect, community ROI for these massive boxes without windows along the Greenway – the kind of ROI that both benefits and relies on the entire community?<br />
<br />
Questions are being raised more frequently – and starting to be addressed – here and around the world like the following:<br />
<br />
1. Will the Centers continue growing (due to data processing demands), or will they shrink (due to new technologies that drive <a href="http://www.northernvirginiabusinessnews.com/2014/01/28/the-oracle-optimized-data-center-engineered-systems-for-northern-virginia-data-centers/" target="_blank">data center infrastructure consolidation and performance optimization</a> and smarter or more distributed data use)?<br />
<br />
2. What if a Center is underutilized, goes out of business, or demand for this area simply dries up in favor of much cheaper investment prospects – are there other uses for this kind of facility?<br />
<br />
3. Are Data Centers good neighbors, how noisy or wasteful are they really, and do they really hire locally?<br />
<br />
4. How are the Data Centers connected to our growing need for STEM initiatives, do they offer Internships?<br />
<br />
5. What benefit is there for Data Center IT services, for local businesses – why not host my IT in Texas?<br />
<br />
6. What kind of local goods and services can a Data Center continue to use, or generate demand for (after construction)?<br />
<br />
7. Does this concentration of sensitive, valuable information pose a physical, critical infrastructure security threat to my community?<br />
<br />
8. Can we put a soccer field (with heated turf) on top of a Data Center?<br />
<br />
9. Where exactly is “DC's Technology Corridor"?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.floridahightech.com/e-newsletter/enews_imgs/2012-11/TopTechRegions2012-Mashable.JPG"><img alt="" class="alignnone" src="http://www.floridahightech.com/e-newsletter/enews_imgs/2012-11/TopTechRegions2012-Mashable.JPG" height="303" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
The presence of Data Centers in this area is no doubt an extremely beneficial element of the entire region's economic development and sustainability progress – particularly as they continue to be built. And, <a href="http://www.carpathia.com/blog/5-reasons-why-its-good-to-be-in-the-data-center-business/" target="_blank">it's very good to be in the Data Center business right now</a>. This is backed by the increasing tax revenues, land values, and increasing visibility and presence of this region on the world stage (further compounded by the proximity to Dulles Airport, and the Metro Silver Line under construction). The increase of assessed value of the county improves the bonding capacity of the county for local school projects. The technologically-advanced planning and construction have driven significant downstream projects to upgrade the electricity distribution, generation and water infrastructure, which we all benefit from, and become catalysts for additional telecommunication investments. They assist in the advancement of new industry initiatives, for the region, maintaining or increasing the local competitiveness and attractiveness of the region, to the benefit of all businesses.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://biz.loudoun.gov/images/pages/N115/data%20center%20SMALL.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignnone" src="http://biz.loudoun.gov/images/pages/N115/data%20center%20SMALL.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
They become (and currently are) an attractant for other data centers, service providers and a well-educated workforce, a magnet, the "cool factor", a "symbol of transformation", generating tons of political capital and psychological benefit – which tends to be very desirable and valuable in this area near Washington DC.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://dartpoints.com/why-your-community-needs-a-data-center-and-how-to-attract-one/" target="_blank">Every community needs a Data Center, it seems. </a><br />
<br />
Are the benefits truly sustainable though, or more fleeting? How can the industry segment as a whole leverage their assets to drive or create additional local business opportunities and spending? How can these physical IT clusters compound potential economic growth?<br />
<br />
In researching this article, it seems that calculations of indirect benefits & revenue impacts, economic multiplier effects, recycling of local spending statistics, ancillary business growth trends, economic activity metrics – the available examples and reports are all mostly model-based, without granular, experiential traceability to specific, physical community locations or segments. In other words, the direct and indirect benefits of a Data Center (beyond the various tax revenues), current and forecasted, for the communities immediately proximate to it – are not well and publicly documented, if at all.<br />
<br />
Why should this be important, to both the Data Center community and those around it? Why should we be discussing this at all, now? Would this heresy not be construed as "biting the hand that feeds it"?<br />
<br />
Improving and extending this important and valuable presence over the long haul is an enabler of dual business objectives, for the Data Centers – (A) to mitigate long-term business risks, and (B) to identify and exploit business opportunities. A significant increase in public, online, localized dialogue and information-sharing by the Data Centers, leveraging their information assets and community relationships, would be a very positive and productive investment in the local community that also supports these business objectives. (Note that this argument applies to any community with significant Data Center facilities investment – though Northern Virginia is a particularly large, influential and quickly-growing example.)<br />
<br />
How exactly would additional direct and indirect benefits be generated by the presence and activities of a local Data Center?<br />
<br />
The presence of a large data center business (DC) in a local or regional community (like Ashburn, or more broadly, Northern Virginia) includes a complex set of identities to manage and steward.<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Why must these identities be properly managed?</span><br />
<br />
1. Risk - To manage business, geo-political and environmental risks<br />
2. Growth - To grow the business within its local communities<br />
3. Sustainment - To sustain the business within its local communities<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">What "identities" are we addressing?</span><br />
<br />
<b>Generally Well-known Identities</b> – these are the aspects of most Northern Virginia Data Centers that local industry and public communities typically see and interact with, i.e. the Data Center as:<br />
<br />
1. A local employer<br />
2. A source of local, public or industry segment resources – primarily tax revenue, or in-kind, directed contributions/donations (i.e. non-profit hosting services)<br />
3. A user/purchaser of local resources, from facility supplies, energy and materials to IT equipment and services<br />
4. A producer of physical community impact, from waste and pollution to space and frontage aesthetics<br />
5. A participant in local government planning and operations – from energy and land use policy to economic development and homeland security<br />
6. A physically-visible/accessible business/storefront/group of employees, customers & vendor partners (i.e. events, in-person groups, speakers, etc.)<br />
7. A hidden/secure/protected business/group of employees, customers & vendor partners<br />
<br />
<b>Generally Unknown Identities</b> – these are the aspect of most Northern Virginia Data Centers that are not usually well-known to the local industry and public communities, i.e. the Data Center as:<br />
8. A local workforce development, education and training resource<br />
9. A virtually present, accessible and locally-tagged business/storefront/group of employees, customers & vendor partners (i.e. online presence, groups, events, communities, advertising)<br />
10. A local container of rapidly-depreciated physical assets<br />
11. A container of protected and/or reusable information assets with local relevance, usefulness<br />
<br />
As an opinion, most corporate members of the local Northern Virginia data center community can and should more comprehensively, locally and aggressively manage their full profile of identities, particularly the "Generally Unknown Identities", to maximize their business benefits, their community ROI. <a href="http://www.ragingwire.com/blog/ragingwire-becomes-an-integral-part-of-northern-virginia-business-community%20%20" target="_blank">Some are already doing so</a>.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How can they do this, what ideas are out there?</span></b><br />
<br />
Here and there around the world, some examples are evolving of direct and indirect benefits that Data Centers generate for their immediate and virtual communities - most are more effectively instituted where the Data Center is in an urban or suburban area (like Northern Virginia).<br />
<br />
Here are some more local ideas for this particular community of Data Centers to consider, some fairly quixotic, some not so much:<br />
<ol>
<li>Offer regular tours, tech day overviews - not only for industry groups, but schools and Universities – physical and virtual</li>
<li>Internships, and perhaps guest lectures & tech transfer initiatives (regarding things like energy management, networking optimization, data security), aligned with local STEM or technology certification initiatives (or create one!)</li>
<li>Offer opportunities for local product and service companies, perhaps set-asides for smaller or locale-identified disadvantaged businesses</li>
<li>Parking Lot Farmer's Market</li>
<li>Ways to reuse excess heat - perhaps distribute hot water close by - to things like car washes, swimming pools, greenhouses, chicken incubators? (See Farmer's Market, above)</li>
<li>Build a soccer field(s) on the roof - with an external pedestrian access bridge, and heated turf (grass requiring water and roots don't seem appropriate over loads of electrical equipment).</li>
<li>Excess, underutilized or recovered computing & storage resources, perhaps also software licensing, set-aside and managed free or very low cost for local businesses, nonprofits and startups - the community data center, free "cold" or "warm" backup for local data.</li>
<li>Contribution of marketing and advertising assets (i.e. their websites, channels, ad buys) to the local economic development and/or nonprofits to help promote more of the social and business fabric of the area</li>
<li>Anonymize, privatize, redact as necessary - but surface datasets and raw metadata concerning the Data Center's computing operations, software utilization, storage and HVAC trends - for use by local business or government interests - particularly those that might develop more effective, better-performing solutions for the Data Centers to use or adopt.</li>
<li>More inside space set aside for local public use, business incubation, school projects or clubs, etc., perhaps also co-located tech users, like call centers.</li>
<li>Competition or "leagues" among the datacenters, their staff, stakeholders and supporters - and not only softball or community service activities, but online virtual gaming, fund-raising, segmented research or problem-solving (addressing community needs).</li>
<li>Host a community-centric competition or forum (all together, perhaps moderated by an organization such as the <a href="http://nvtc.org/community/datacenter.php" target="_blank">NVTC</a> , to solicit ideas for community collaboration and benefit.</li>
</ol>
What other ideas exist, or can be proposed, for ways in which our local Data Center investments and facilities can generate truly sustained community value? It's time now for this discussion, these ideas. Here's a good <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Northern-Virginia-Data-Center-Community-6514489" target="_blank" title="Northern Virginia Data Centers Community Discussion">discussion forum for Northern Virginia Data Centers</a>.<br />
<br />
By <a href="https://plus.google.com/+TedMcLaughlan/about" rel="author" target="_blank" title="Ted McLaughlan">Ted McLaughlan</a>Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0Ashburn, VA, USA39.0437567 -77.48744160000001138.945078200000005 -77.648803100000009 39.1424352 -77.326080100000013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-3971143705680604282014-01-24T07:21:00.000-08:002014-01-24T07:32:19.308-08:00A Day in the Life of an SEO'd Blog Article, from the Local Washington DC SEO Provider's PerspectiveHmmm...I think Blogs are good for SEO...<br />
<br />
A. The SEO customer SAYS: "I'll write a Blog article, you SEO it, and we'll post it as part of our online marketing!"<br />
<br />
B. The SEO customer THINKS: "I'll quickly write a fun, helpful blog entry (or get a Guest Blogger!), and my SEO person will highlight it and tag it with some keywords – and the SEO will be done! This sounds pretty quick and easy, actually, so maybe I'll just get an Intern or check out "SEO 101" for next time…."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wKoUq0PZRSI/UuKG37UurQI/AAAAAAAABhg/MrPF6hAwX_U/s1600/gone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wKoUq0PZRSI/UuKG37UurQI/AAAAAAAABhg/MrPF6hAwX_U/s1600/gone.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
C. The SEO Provider SAYS: "No problem, let's agree on the topic, you put together some initial ideas about the content, and we'll get it all SEO'd!"<br />
<br />
D. The SEO Provider THINKS:<br />
<br />
"As part of our SEO agreement, we'll walk through the standard process with one of our experts, and our customer will get the very best results from their investment with us….this is what we'll do, and what we'll communicate with the customer, in a professional way they can readily understand and value...<br />
<br />
<u>The DC SEO Process: </u><br />
<i>(at least from <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/" target="_blank">KME Internet Marketing</a>'s perspective!)</i><u> </u><br />
<br />
1. Plan (Manager + Specialist): Evaluate the requirement, customer relationship/status and stage/scope/budget of the marketing campaign.<br />
<br />
2. Prepare (Manager + Specialist): Align and assign the right SEO resource (with access and tools) to deliver the requirements within estimated schedule & budget - sufficiently skilled in the applicable facets of an SEO delivery, the Provider's proprietary data/process/software assets, as well as the customer business, technical and Washington DC geo-political media domain (online AND offline).<br />
<br />
3. Deliver (Specialist): Execute a cycle of "SEO Content Marketing", leveraging interactive marketing experience, content production & SEO skill, and campaign knowledge – coordinating and communicating with others on the campaign team (customer and KME) as appropriate.<br />
<br />
The general lifecycle elements usually include some degree of:<br />
<br />
a. Research Domain, Topic, Locality, and Competitor Keywords/Semantics <br />
b. Access and Configure Content Management/Analytics platform <br />
c. Collect, Aggregate, Curate Reusable or Attributable Content (text, links, media, meta)<br />
d. Rewrite/Edit Content Draft (copywriting, design, placement, references, visuals - evaluate "Guest Blogger" content for true SEO value/authority)<br />
e. SEO Content (visible, hidden or "meta", and supporting or "corollary" content, SW code or Blog/Website design updates)<br />
f. Review, Test, Update Content (as necessary)<br />
g. Plan, Stage, Gain Approval for On and Offsite Content Publishing, Distribution & Amplification<br />
h. Publish Content (on Blog)<br />
i. Distribute, Share, Promote, Amplify Content, Extracts, Derivations (as necessary)<br />
4. Recover (Manager + Specialist): Review and report on Content Publishing success; Analyze and Report Impact; Reset or Continue Content Marketing lifecycle as necessary (i.e. with new content, related/associated content, or follow-up messaging)."<br />
<br />
E. The SEO customer THINKS: (After the process is started) "OK, there's obviously a lot more to this SEO exercise, so long as it really works(though it does sound more complex than it needs to be) – I'll probably need to let the professionals do what they do, or "let the doctor operate"… so to speak".<br />
<br />
F. The SEO customer (hopefully) SAYS: "OK, let's get on with it, see the results, and post another Blog article as soon as possible. And talk more about all the other online marketing activities we should be coordinating, like our mobile presence."Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0Washington, DC, USA38.907230899999988 -77.03646409999998938.709493899999991 -77.359187599999984 39.104967899999984 -76.7137406tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-84303007375519240282014-01-17T09:14:00.001-08:002014-01-17T09:14:40.292-08:00Northern Virginia Enterprise Architects - NVTC.org B&EA Committee - EA and Startups in Northern Virginia & Loudoun County(Reposted from the NVTC B&EA LinkedIn Group for Members)<br />
<br />
Thanks so much to the attendees of the recent <a href="http://nvtc.org/community/biztech.php" target="_blank">NVTC.org Business and Enterprise Architecture Committee</a> meeting, with guest star Filippo Morelli (of the <a href="http://9starts.org/" target="_blank">9Starts Loudoun Tech Startup</a> group, plus Chris, Ted and Tom from the <a href="http://www.loudounsourcelink.org/startup" target="_blank">Loudoun County Startup Community</a>) discussing the intersection of Enterprise Architecture and the Northern Virginia startup community. <br />
<br />
We're making progress also with our new and improved "Committee Marketing Value Enablers" - i.e.:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Committee Hashtag #NVTCBEA for dialogue/searchability across Facebook, G+ and Twitter.</li>
<li>Live Tweeting (from @Loudoun/#NVTCBEA) for dialogue exposure and sharing - TweetReach reporting over 40,000 "impressions" of these tweets!</li>
<li>Search Engine Optimized (SEO'd) event notice and follow-up for topic sharing and findability, as well as committee member link-juice and online impression benefit.</li>
<li>Continuing Online Dialogue and Information Sharing about Northern Virgina Business & Enterprise Architecture topics, via this LinkedIn Group (and email!) - plus amplification of the content into non-member public channels to help build and inform the broader community of interest.</li>
<li>Event Notification via multiple NVTC and other committee member SoMe channels.</li>
</ul>
<br />
The point is, this is <b>THE</b> <b><a href="http://nvtc.org/community/biztech.php" target="_blank">Northern Virginia Enterprise Technology Community</a> </b>to join, with the highest ROI, to network and engage in online and in-person professional dialogue about the critical IT Investment, Strategic Architecture, and Enterprise Technology concerns facing you, your employer, your business, customers and partners.<br />
<br />
This committee is for CIOs, CTOs, Chief Engeineers/Architects, Technology Strategists, Enterprise/System/Solution Architects - essentially those making or seeking critical decisions regarding investing in technology for business or mission value. Or learning how to make these decisions, how to find the right answers. Plus, exchange online contact info, not just pretty (and sometimes really small) business cards!<br />
<br />
This community is not only for large businesses and governments - as we discussed in this past meeting, it's clear that small businesses and startups absolutely benefit from application of EA methods and experience in their technology leadership. Here are some of the messages, tweeted (and retweeted/favorited!) via <a href="https://twitter.com/loudoun" target="_blank">@loudoun</a> #NVTCBEA:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>RT @loudoun: http://NVTC.org members - check out tomorrow's Enterprise Arch for Startups: 7:30-9AM at CIT w/B&EA committee - follow …</li>
<li>RT @loudoun: #NVTCBEA EAs, to engage w/startup community - don't sell the "EA" title, own and solve an IT capability problem, decision-maki…</li>
<li>today's #NVTCBEA - “@loudoun:EA experience, background is essential for Startups selling into large organizations, enterprise capabilities”</li>
<li>Great meeting at the #nvtcbea today</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA EAs too often solve the "technology" problem, instead of the "business relevancy" problem - which is key to startup sales/success</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA Most product companies don't have vertical arch. segments, but simply "Sr. Technologists" - Never seen "EA" job desc. in startup</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA 20-somethings - They don't know what doesn't work yet, especially with large IT challenges, platforms - EA experience inc. failures</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA "tour of duty" as EA/Solution Architect is invaluable for Startups selling INTO large enterprises - exp. w/risk, org., IT investing</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA EAs shouldn't write checks others have to cash, should eat their own dogfood, should produce output not only on paper</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA EA experience, background is essential for Startups selling into large organizations, enterprise capabilities</li>
<li>#NVTCBEA per Filiippo - EA is "Enterprise Warfare" - moving ideas forward, avoiding selling a vision no one wants to buy #EA #NVTC</li>
<li>#NVTC #NVTCBEA committee meeting underway, discussing IT Strategy/EA for the startup/small biz community</li>
<li>RT @loudoun: http://NVTC.org members - check out tomorrow's Enterprise Arch for Startups: 7:30-9AM at CIT w/B&EA committee - follow …</li>
</ol>
<br />
Thanks particularly to our most enthusiastic, engaged Northern Virginia Biz & EA committee members and guests - <b>contact these folks </b>and this committee for counsel and assistance with your EA profession questions and strategic IT challenges for Northern Virginia enterprises or startups:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=2680498" target="_blank">Filippo Morelli</a> - EA, CTO (<a href="http://www.computechinc.com/" target="_blank">Computech</a>) and Experienced Startup Captain</li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=4494174" target="_blank">Atul Mathur</a> - EA & VP of IT (<a href="http://www.imc.com/" target="_blank">IMC</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=7027404" target="_blank">Arsalan Khan</a> - EA Manager & Evangelist</li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=15004218" target="_blank">Tom Lynch</a> - EA/Solution Architect & Gov't Contracting (<a href="http://www.ccforce.com/home" target="_blank">CCForce</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6893462" target="_blank">Partha Gogoi</a> - EA Manager (<a href="http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_NL/nl/services/consulting/technology-advisory/enterprise-architecture/index.htm" target="_blank">Deloitte</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=22434198" target="_blank">Chris Petrakis</a> - Local Startup Co-Founder/COO (<a href="http://www.solebrity.me/" target="_blank">Solebrity</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=463244" target="_blank">Ted McLaughlan</a> - EA (<a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/oeagov/" target="_blank">Oracle</a>) & Startup CTO (<a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/" target="_blank">KME Internet Marketing</a> )</li>
</ul>
Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0Herndon, VA, USA38.9695545 -77.38609759999997138.920174 -77.466778599999969 39.018935 -77.305416599999973tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-31005173625295316382013-12-06T10:34:00.000-08:002013-12-06T10:43:11.013-08:00DC SEO 3.0 & Internet Marketing Top 10 2014 Tips for Local or Small BusinessesAt KME (a <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/" target="_blank">DC SEO Company and Digital Technology Agency</a>), we cover a lot of ground among client types, industry segments and technology services, with a heavy emphasis on area DC SEO business requirements for online, interactive marketing and advertising. As a local or regional small business near Washington DC, including Northern Virginia, Suburban and Southern Maryland, there's an almost bewildering array of online marketing services, tools, channels and opportunities to sift through - plenty to buy, try and use, but not nearly enough time and expertise to properly leverage. Plus, the online research or purchasing habits of your constantly changing customer segments (and their technologies) are really hard to keep up with - whether for marketing or simple communications purposes.<br />
<br />
Our insight comes from many places, though primarily from the experiences of our long list of DC area clients - ranging from IT and B2B service companies, to retail, B2C and startup businesses. We're also very active in local economic development agencies, chambers of commerce and small business development/incubation centers, in addition to other area business development, industry organizations, media and professional associations. This gives us a very comprehensive, very unique perspective into the challenges and requirements faced by DC area businesses, digital marketing staff and DC SEO companies as they evolve their marketing strategies.<br />
<br />
The most challenging theme we see is the gap between the SEO skills a small business understands or can afford to hire, and the SEO skills truly relevant and necessary in the evolving 2014 DC SEO and online marketing environment. A large and growing inventory of SEO facets (like onsite metatags and content styling) are now commodity services readily offered by legions of cheap, low-skilled or offshore providers (think of an auto mechanic with just a few months of experience; they can change the oil, clean the car and install new headlamps, but …) These SEO facets are also standard offerings in most online content management tools and social media platforms, and can be implemented by the your newest social media or administrative intern (<a href="http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E29542_01/doc.1111/e29634/cos_usr_app_seo_supp.htm%20" target="_blank">see easy-enablement of SEO visibility of widget text even if the browser's JavaScript is turned off</a>) . <br />
<br />
<i>Therefore, addressing these common DC SEO facets is no longer a differentiator among competitive businesses – it’s simply a required cost of operating, a required skill for those who maintain websites. Particularly in this very high-tech, mobile, Internet-focused Washington DC community. </i><br />
<br />
Businesses must learn more, work harder and likely pay more to maintain market-share and relevance in the online marketing domain – much more skill and experience is required for SEO performance in this more complex environment. However, since small business budgets for online marketing really aren’t growing to meet the need (though the DC metro and Northern Virginia economy is turning around) – the role of the successful and most helpful small business DC SEO company begins to transition from a tactical services provider to more of a strategic, multi-faceted business counselor and IT investment advisor. With fantastic, empathetic communication skills.<br />
<br />
Be sure your <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/marketing-services/web-marketing/seo" target="_blank">small business Northern Virginia or DC SEO company</a> meets this profile, and can provide current, experienced business management, digital strategy and marketing consulting advice that’s pragmatically aligned to the commodity DC SEO block-and-tackling required.<br />
<br />
<b>Here's a brief summary of what we see are 10 significant themes in the online marketing and search engine optimization space, that DC area businesses, nonprofits, agencies and startups need to address in 2014. </b><br />
<br />
1. <b>Natural, Accurate Language </b>- is quickly becoming more accessible and desired by search engines, as they process very large amounts of unstructured information and data that increasingly exists within a predominantly artificial ecosystem of structured tags, markers, metadata, links....in other words, content that's readable, immediately useful and sharable to local, community culture and language dialect is incredibly important.<br />
<br />
2. <b>Simple Mobility</b> - is the defacto device use case for our busy DC audiences and customers, notwithstanding "hands-free" legislation for commuters and the slow uptake of federal government mobile usage - but the desktop design sometimes is most effective for mobile tablet users, and the "responsive" cellphone design is sometimes not as effective as a standardized, small-screen design. In other words, any web or content design you're considering needs first to consider the mobile needs of your primary audience segments, but needs not be overly complex.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Online Brand Consolidation </b>- your primary branding signals or presence is manifested in a special image or video, an online persona, a message (text copy) or perhaps an interactive user interface (like a special app function), but it can quickly get lost, fragmented or devalued among the noise of competing SEO, website navigation, device controls or user experience signals across the multi-channel path your customer takes to interact with you...in other words, simply and consolidate your branding signals so that they're instantly, easily, helpfully recognizable anywhere your content is used.<br />
<br />
4. <b>Knowledge Management </b>- what really does this mean, isn't it some huge information organization and expert tracking system that only the biggest companies use? Nope - it's simply finding out what your employees know, and figuring out how best to package and share this knowledge in a way that supports your marketing and communications. Call it "employment engagement" or "content harvesting" - your people (particularly DC-based, local, social residents) have lots to contribute, but will need some process control to do it successfully. It's ALSO <a href="http://information-mgmt.blogspot.com/2011/08/socially-semantic-markup-link-facebook.html" target="_blank">semantic translation and tagging of content using metadata</a> (invisible data, but resulting in visible indicators such as Google "snippets" or Twitter Cards) - this is definitely a more difficult yet extremely important to address. <br />
<br />
5. <b>Online Reviews</b> – are incredibly important now, in this time where social recognition and community input heavily influence consumer choices, and these social signals in turn drive SEO performance and online reputation – but this can be a complex communications process to monitor and manage, with careful attention to search influence and audience feedback. Yelp is particularly difficult to manage - there are many other review sites and services that should be considered.<br />
<br />
6. <b>Online Asset Protection </b>- how is your digital content monitored and protected from copyright infringement, duplication or misuse, brand dilution or highjacking, or other situations where competitors or gray-hat SEO firms are illegitimately benefiting from your hard work? Inbound link and reputation monitoring is critical, as is the all-to-often-ignored process of updating, backing up and protecting both your content and web technology investments (including all the service widgets and plug-ins you've purchased).<br />
<br />
7. <b>Website Performance </b>- while this has always been important, it's even more so in the age of mobility; content-heavy, responsive websites with data feeds and service integrations need to work fast on large or small screens - and Google will reward those that serve immediate, local demand the best. Website performance includes efficient security and privacy protections - protecting not only against malware and misuse, but also against content management errors that quickly become SEO faults. Don't forget to include an "Information Architect" on your web design team - a critical professional in our opinion for the next year. <br />
<br />
8. <b>Authorship </b>- the importance of canonical content attribution to recognized, popular or otherwise trustworthy, expert and credible sources is more important than ever right now - creating and publishing content will need to more often recognize individual personalities (or bodies of work) further legitimized via social media activity. No more hiding content behind the corporate voice, particularly for small businesses - engage your audience directly, personally, in both text and imagery.<br />
<br />
9. <b>Social Marketing over Social Media </b>- there are thousands of people who are really good at using social media for socializing, and there will be millions more next year graduating from secondary schools around the world. Few of these, however, can craft messages and conversations to align with marketing objectives and performance goals, in ways that are optimal for each social media platform, are professionally transparent, for each audience segment. Don't confuse the two, and cloaking social marketing within online socializing will become more easy for search engines to spot (particularly with advances in big data tools). <br />
<br />
10. <b>Paid Placement </b>- still works, and there are more tools and ad products than ever to leverage (from Google, Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Pinterest, LinkedIn, LivingSocial, Washingtonian; you name it) - so long as you know how to evaluate and use them, and your paid, placed content is appropriately identified. In fact, online paid advertising methods appear to be rapidly gaining usefulness even to the smaller budgets - and this carries over to the small screen as well, where inline content and product placement is much more acceptable than the traditional banner ads (which you can't see anyway).Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0Washington, DC, USA38.907230899999988 -77.03646409999998938.709493899999991 -77.359187599999984 39.104967899999984 -76.7137406tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-79702862735994900472013-10-07T10:01:00.001-07:002013-10-07T10:06:00.048-07:00Datacenter Colocation in Northern Virginia for Small, Medium Businesses - Business Requirements and Reasons for Local IT Outsourcing<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.6pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Colocation
of business IT assets (servers, storage, networking) at Washington DC regional
and local Datacenters in the Northern Virginia area is big business – and
entirely appropriate to consider for small to mid-sized businesses of all
shapes and sizes.</span></b><b><span style="color: #bf3028; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">What do you need to know, where to start?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">(Reprinted from <b><a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/"><span style="color: blue;">KME
Internet Marketing</span></a></b> - Northern Virginia and Loudoun
Datacenter CoLocation Retail Providers – please send your updated contact
information to us if we don’t already have it, for more information about leads
and demand generation, and to participate in our local datacenter colocation
marketing and outreach activities).</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Your Business Depends on IT</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">You’re a small to medium-sized business in Northern Virginia, the
Washington DC metro region – maybe even a larger, regional business, nonprofit
or government entity. You operate and maintain, yourself, a growing, aging,
critical inventory of information technology (IT) assets, that run the computer
programs and online data services your employees and customers depend upon, and
connect to the phones, computers and laptops they use. Both your capital and
operating expenses on IT are consuming your budget, with little impact to show
regarding support of business growth and market opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I Need Help – Converting Business Requirements
to IT Requirements</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This article and support is for you, the business owner or manager
responsible for controlling money spent on IT, understanding and mitigating the
risks to your company if the IT isn’t properly managed. You may also be a buyer
of IT services, particularly colocation services – and you know about business
requirements and value, but not about cabinets, circuits, carriers and
certifications. That’s our expertise, connecting the buyer to the
provider, shaping and translating business needs to useful IT requirements and
ultimately helpful IT services and trusted provider relationships. Are you a
sysadmin, IT manager, or infrastructure engineer? Reading further might help
you better understand how your business actually values IT infrastructure
services, how they value your time and expertise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">IT Infrastructure Isn’t Your Business</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It’s a heavy, costly burden – keeping internal or customer-facing
IT systems performing well, updating them to keep up with growth and new
requirements, taking advantage of new technologies all the competitors are using,
and most importantly, protecting your company and customer data and information
assets from damage, loss or misuse. You may also be paying a premium to retain
and continually train your IT staff (of 1?), as they spend countless
unproductive hours maintaining the systems, vs. improving them and finding ways
to cut costs or increase output. Without sleeping.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">IT devices and systems are also always changing, evolving, getting
better or different. Particularly the technologies used to main “high
availability, highly-secure” systems, with redundancies and overlapping
capabilities at every level. Who at you company stays apprised of recent
advances and opportunities in engineered systems, memory-only databases,
caching, low-latency internal networking? Probably nobody. But your
local Datacenter colocation folks do, along with us – and they’ll likely have
some very good insight and advice for you, as you contemplate moving the old
stuff into a new space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Your Office Isn’t a Data Center</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Additionally, your actual IT equipment and network, including
connections to the Internet and other systems, may not be as stored and
operated in a facility that can preserve and protect it – perhaps there’s not
enough space, cooling and fire suppression systems probably aren’t effective
(do you know?), telecommunications changes are really difficult and power
utilization is completely unmanaged and expensive. What if your facility or IT
equipment suffers significant damage, lack of access or long-term power outages
– what’s your fallback?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Your Business Risk and Legal Exposure is
Significant</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This is a quickly growing risk to the profitability, reputation
and ability of your company to grow and succeed in today’s information-driven
economy. It’s also a risk to those who depend on you to protect their
data, privacy and investment in custom knowledge and services. Who
depends on your IT systems? Customers, employees, investors,
partners, members, the local community you support. Managing this risk is
bigger than your business, and probably isn’t part of your core business skills
or capabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">There’s Great Help Available, Nearby</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">“IT outsourcing” is a loaded phrase, with many definitions.
Fundamentally, for organizations who fit the profile above, it’s about getting
rapid, competent, local help in taking care of the basic IT support – that’s
beyond your organization’s skill, budget or, frankly, interest. It’s not a core
capability of your organization – but it is a core capability of your local
CoLocation data center providers, all of them. This doesn’t mean
everything should be outsourced – most local business models and requirements
generate a mix of IT solutions, some that should be outsourced, some that
should not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Local CoLocation Data Center Services Are the
Best IT Outsourcing Option for Northern Virginia Businesses</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">There are indeed many types of IT outsourcing strategies for your
type of company – using “Cloud” infrastructure or software services, hiring
offshore or remote developers and administrators, paying for completely-managed
computer services – basically, letting other IT professional services take care
of your IT equipment and needs, with or without the hardware, software and
expertise you’ve built up over the years. The answer sometimes is a mix
of many of these solutions, or a “hypbrid” approach – particularly when
considering remote Cloud solutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">How do you choose the right approach, plus hire and manage the
right kind of help? Adopting a colocation strategy is a perfect first step –
read on to find out why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">What is CoLocaton?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">A colocation strategy for your local business IT assets and
services simply means hiring and trusting a local Data Center (an IT Services
Provider and Facility) to own, operate and manage the commodity IT and computer
server facilities. The local Data Center has made a very large capital
investment in industry-leading technologies to house, protect, and monitor your
computer equipment, plus provide absolute protection and nearly unlimited
access to power, cooling, parts, telecommunications access, network security
and all kinds of other “care and feeding” options for the computer servers that
run your systems and house your sensitive data. This includes physical
protection of the machines, behind very advanced 24×7 biometric-enabled physical
security measures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Your servers and software (the assets you’ve decided are most
cost-effective to run your business) are managed under the same roof as many
other companies (they’re colocated), but you alone control your business and
customer applications and data. A colocation provider is like a trusted
auto repair shop – it’s your car, but the mechanic owns the responsibility for
maintaining the expertise, equipment, facilities and vendor-relationships to
cost-effectively take care of the parts you don’t see, don’t want to fix
yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Note that local and regional Data Centers provide many more very
private and fully-managed services for IT consumers of many types and sizes –
this article is focusing specifically on the business need described above, the
most appropriate solution strategy therefore being colocation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Why is CoLocation in Northern Virginia the Best
IT Outsourcing Solution For You?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It actually might not be. However, if the following benefits
match your business objectives, it absolutely is the right solution – in part
(i.e. a “hybrid” approach), or in whole. The key benefit is a new relationship
with a trusted partner in your local, stakeholder network – a partner who
completely understands the local market and cost pressures, the local IT
community and workforce, plus the local climate with respect to business and IT
risk, legislation and compliance, business success factors and competitive
pressures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Did you know that Northern Virginia is the 2nd largest colocation
market in the U.S.? For lots of very good reasons, and this high profile
and success among the datacenter community tends to keep the area on the
receiving end of the very most advanced supporting technological innovations
and expertise, from all-fiber infrastructures to environmentally-sensitive cooling
and power solutions and the resulting innovations therefore in actual
datacenter design and operations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Northern Virginia CoLocation Benefits for Local
Businesses</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">In this area, the Washington DC metropolitan region – and in
particular Northern Virginia, including the very attractive Loudoun County
“Data Center Alley” region – the reasons to choose a Northern Virginia
CoLocation provider are hyperlocal, peculiar to this specific area of the
country and the community of businesses and IT providers who engage in
commercial, nonprofit and government activities. Some of the best
providers are the retail operations of the data centers themselves, or perhaps
“wholesale” colocation providers, who rent space from the data centers and
resell the space and services to you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">We have operated within and among all these local stakeholders
(small to large) for a very long time – over many generations of IT advances
and service methods, and we can confidently boil down the key reasons to choose
a Northern Virginia colocation datacenter to these factors:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- You are a “</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">server hugger</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">” –
this simply means your business, your IT staff really don’t want to relinquish
physical control and access of your servers, and the information on them, to
3rd-party, non-employees. There are many good reasons for this, ranging
from legal mandates to peace of mind. Simply put, if your business needs to
routinely touch and update your servers, or access them quickly for any kind of
recovery or reconfiguration need – local colocation is for you. This also
applies to your datacenter facilities inspection – you likely want to
first-hand, in-person evaluate the actual datacenter space, security,
employees, building – before actually shipping or installing your valuable
equipment to the datacenter. You want to be sure your server is protected from
issues relating to surges & power overloads, network outages,
ventilation, ambient temperature, theft, incompetence, uncaring or
unprofessional attitudes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Social, local, professional reputation</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> of datacenter and its personnel – the
3rd-party retail and wholesale datacenter community around Washington DC and
Northern Virginia really isn’t that big, and word gets out fast (among IT
professionals and local business customers) about superior service, expertise,
collaborative helpfulness – or not. Some local datacenters are fully
invested in their local businesses and regional economic development, engaged
and helpful to the entire business community – and are willing to actively
establish and maintain custom, hyperlocal dialogue to completely satisfy the
unique needs of Northern Virginia customers. You may know the employees
and managers from the local soccer field or ball game, see them at local civic
events – working with local data center owners and staff who are fully invested
in your business and social community is simply the right choice to make, a
choice that helps both your business and the entire local business economy in
the long run. Shop local, buy local as they say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Physical, area proximity</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> to both your IT staff and your business leadership – yes, a
primary advantage of local colocation sevices is that your own IT staff can get
there fast, access the equipment quickly, at any time of day or night.
Particularly if the datacenter is close to a major airport (for expertise
needed to be flown in), and outside of the major commuter arteries, traffic
choke points and other bottlenecks of the region. Loudoun County
datacenters, in particular, are easy to access, easy to get to, easy to live
near – for both customers and staff of the datacenters. Another, more
frequently required proximity advantage is the need for your business planners,
managers or strategic business and IT architects (like Enterprise Architects,
System Architects, etc.) – to be able to work closely, in person, with
the data center planning and IT strategists on project plans, business value
planning and longer-term growth strategies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Value-add services</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> from your local datacenter make your IT activities
more efficient – gone are the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">days where your IT staff, project or
business managers need to stuff all their equipment in the car, sit in the
computer “cages” inside the datacenter, and end up traveling back and forth
between you business location and the datacenter as the work progresses.
Many local datacenters are establishing onsite business service amenities to,
in effect, bring your business closer to your equipment. Office space and
communications facilities, custom shipping and receiving services, access to
local SMEs and business services assistance, office productivity facilities
like videoconferencing and document storage, and help with remote access
software, processes and mobile devices are coming your way soon from your local
data center provider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Disaster recovery and business resilience - </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> recovery testing, preparation,
configuration and actual implementation (when there is some kind of failure or
outage across your systems or facilities) usually includes a lot of physical
asset movement and data access, high-volume data loads and movement, transport
of removable media like tapes and disk drives, rapid delivery and installation
(or removal, disposal, recycling, wiping) of equipment due to damage or upgrade
requirements, and physical coordination of people and operations procedures
that are best facilitate by onsite, in-person collaboration. If your systems
and IT equipment are physically threatened or sustain physical outage or damage
– recovery is always easier if you’re close by, and have access to redundant
modes of transportation, access routes, power, water and telecommunication
services supply. This convergence of high capacity, redundant services
and facilities to support your IT infrastructure needs is exactly what makes
Loudoun County colocation facilities so very attractive – to both users and
providers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Local IT support services,</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> local parts and equipment supply or production, local
removal, waste management or refurbishment agreements can be cheaper and easier
to both negotiate and manage for your IT asset inventory – vs. remote shipping,
out-of-state 3rd-party services or commodity, online service and parts
suppliers. Simply put, local datacenter services, product and facilities
providers are extremely motivated to provide cost-effective, efficient
solutions to local customers – earning healthy feedback, reviews and community
goodwill in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">- </span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The local network backbone and power grid -</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> simply put, this Northern Virginia region,
and in particular the Ashburn VA area, is very attractive to datacenters
because of the multiple, redundant and very cost-competitive services available
from power suppliers and telecommunications carriers (over 50!) – that deliver exceptional
value for low-latency, high-bandwidth requirements. In non-technospeak,
if part of your business needs access to really, really fast, “always-on”
Internet or private network connections, for huge volumes of data, images,
video…then a colocation provider right here in Ashburn, Northern Virginia is a
superior alternative to nearly any other area of the country. Capabilities are
also available to establish secure, high-bandwidth network connections among
and between datacenters all over this region – which can be hugely important
for large data or system migrations, upgrades, distributed content
requirements, etc. This area is also not as exposed to natural hazards as
others – aside from the occasional “Snowmageddon”! Because of these factors, major
companies and government agencies from Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to the
Departments of Defense and Homeland Security make this area their home for
critical datacenter needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Northern Virginia CoLocation Services – Who Are
They?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Suffice it to say, there’s a mind-boggling number of choices in DC
and Northern Virginia colocation service providers – from direct, retail
offerings of the major telecommunications carriers and independent datacenters,
to the smallest independent owner/operators of leased colocation spaces within
the larger datacenter wholesale spaces. Following is a partial list – our
suggestion in reviewing this list, is to FIRST put together your BUSINESS
requirements and relationship expectations for a local colocation service provider,
and THEN reach out to these providers – either yourself, or with some helpful
guidance from us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Partial List of Washington DC, Suburban Maryland and Northern
Virginia Co-Location Providers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Northern Virginia CoLocation Services –
How Do I Get Them?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If you are a business that fits the profile described here, and
you are a business owner or manager who feels colocation may meet your business
requirements, there are two primary steps to take – that we can help with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">1 – Inventory and understand all the IT equipment and services you
currently run and pay for, determine whether the return-on-investment (ROI) and
total-cost-of-investment (TCO) you’re experiencing meets current and forecasted
needs, and evaluate whether your current infrastructure and IT staff are
prepared to meet the challenges of your industry, your location, your business
plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">That’s a lot of work, and you might not have the bandwidth or
expertise to properly prepare to most effectively enter into colocation
negotiations or an agreement – or even to properly decide how much colocation
to actually use. But it needs to be done – if your IT staff hasn’t already done
so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Send us your general business requirements, IT challenge, or other
information that’s driving you to consider IT outsourcing, and in particular,
co-location. We can help craft a custom “Request for Quotation” (RFQ),
that Northern Virginia datacenter colocation providers can most effectively
respond to – we can translate your needs into the language of the datacenter,
and let you know of risks and opportunities regarding the colocation approach.
We can also help “right-size” or strategize your entire IT investment,
colocated or not, in the cloud or on the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">2 – We’ll establish contact with the very best, most appropriate candidates
for your colocation business in Northern Virginia and the DC metro area – and
get an apples-to-apples comparative set of quotes that meet your needs.
This includes filtering the local providers down using your business
requirements, strategy and Northern Virginia business relationships context –
not simply judging by commodity pricing options of power, telecommunications
access and data movement statistics. Remember that many deals and
arrangements may only be available through personal, local contact – vs.
nationwide, public advertisements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">You’ll receive the best advice, the best service, and the very
best pricing available that makes complete sense to operating your business
with IT assets in this region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-64394181278299127612013-09-26T14:02:00.003-07:002013-09-26T14:04:02.302-07:00LexisNexis Data Breached - But Your Unique Identity is Much More Than Data Stolen Over the Internet<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In light of this week's <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/t/cyber-crime/identity-theft-service-planted-botnets-in-lexisnexis-other-data-providers-227519" target="_blank">LexisNexis Data Breach</a> report, it's worthwhile to explore the true value and usefulness of this kind of data that might be stolen from you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Sensitive, personal data (PII, or "Personally Identifiable Data") is usually protected, but no
protection is guaranteed if outside your complete control in any way –
most people should assume their most-used data reflecting their personal identity
(like SSNs, tel #s, DOB) <b>is already public</b>, if not already being used
illegimately. Where you drive, what you buy, who you meet with, your
outwardly-visible or audible physical characteristics – this information
is already public in many ways, as well as captured through commercial
or government systems to some degree. This is particularly true the
older you are, or the more active you are using this information on the
Internet (regardless of standard firewall, encryption, VPN, password or
other security and privacy protections leveraged).<br /><br />However, a
person's "Unique Identity" is not simply this data, but also the context
around this data, and its derivatives (or "information packages").<br /><br />Your unique identity includes the data and patterns that reflect "Observations" of you –
what you do, say, when, where, with what device, aligned with what
other events, etc. Observations can be hard to dispute, but also can easily be
recorded or interpreted wrong. Or they might be falsified (like hair
color), or simply mis-typed. Some observations are typically indisputable,
especially in combination (like iris color, retina pattern and voice
pattern) – but this data still requires validation.<br /><br />Your unique identity also includes "Assertions"; this includes most common PII data that's been provided by the user (you) or a
verified 3rd-party, or auto-generated by computer systems (like
IDs). "Strong" assertions are nearly indisputable, like verified
biometrics (i.e. validated fingerprints) or your personal work or bill-paying history –
but it's usually expensive and difficult to collect and properly
validate all of these. However, since these assertions are usually historical and are just another form of static data - this kind of data or knowledge may be easily obtained through fraudulent means. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Weak" assertions include information provided by the
individual or others, as user-entered or system-generated data. These assertions are
only as good as the controls and auditing devised to validate and verify
the encounter (i.e. how the data was entered) and the data itself.
Data can be bad, very bad. The LexisNexis data thieves certainly stole a lot of data (weak assertions) - but some of it might actually be quite useless.<br /><br />Therefore, the fact that your
common PII data has been stolen or hacked isn't necessarily cause for
critical concern. The concern lays more so with the systems and
services you use, or that are used on your behalf, that rely on this data to perform.<br /><br />If critical
information and services valuable to you are protected by security
systems that take into account your holistic "unique identity", as
described above – you're still, probably, well-protected (but obviously that's not
guaranteed). These kind of systems offer multiple, overlapping
capabilities such as:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Multi-factor authentication</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.equifax.com/technology/anakam/products/identity_proofing/en_tas" target="_blank">Identity Proofing</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Progressive Authentication</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Defense in Depth" multi-layer information and system assurance (accredited/certified)</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are gaining access to, and supplying, very sensitive
information about yourself (or others) – and the only information
requested from you is this kind common PII data – then avoid doing this
if possible; i.e., avoid sharing too much you're not comfortable with.
Fraudulent access to your information by others is quite feasible. Or -
avoid supplying the very most sensitive information, including:</span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Information about your personal habits, travel, relationships</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Photos or videos of you, your friends & family, where you live or work</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Any medical or mental status</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Your work status, role, access to system, people or information</span></li>
</ul>
Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-30547730912369419922013-09-22T06:31:00.000-07:002013-09-24T08:43:50.023-07:00Anatomy of a Crowdsourced Startup Funding Fail - 8 Recommendations for Marketing Successful KickStarter CampaignsThis is some professional perspective and analysis regarding a recent campaign to raise donation capital through crowdsourced funding tools available on KickStarter. At the end of the day, the campaign was not funded, and didn't reach its goals (From $100K to $1M). Not that it didn't have a chance, and wasn't backed by some very savvy and knowledgeable product designers/developers - the failure was all about Marketing 101.<br />
<br />
<i>Note – this is actually a prediction, halfway through the initial campaign – as measured by the stats and trends so far, and the very predictable performance (albeit from the always-easier armchair quarterback seat). We’ll eat our shorts and donate if it actually turns around…</i><br />
<br />
<i>Update 9/24 - the campaign has been pulled from Kickstarter, citing availability of operating funds now no longer necessitating crowdsourced funding....a lukewarm "save" in the face of pending campaign failure. </i><br />
<br />
If you’d prefer not to read further, here’s the simple takeaway – include professional marketing experience and planning for your campaign, before the campaign (unless you already know it's totally kick-ass, from others...). <br />
<br />
The product (let’s call it the “Elektrowatch”) is a consumer-focused electronic entertainment device. Without revealing the specific brand, suffice it to say that it was a new product in a well-understood market, with a few unique (but technical) qualities that might set it apart from the pack. One of which was its use of open, non-proprietary technologies, therefore enabling future enhancements and derivative creation. On the other hand, its uniqueness wasn't a smack-down clear differentiator - it didn't create a market, it would be relatively easy to copy, and its slice of the consumer electronics pie would likely be interesting, but fleeting.<br />
<br />
Elektrowatch was interesting, had the potential to actually be exciting (to the gadget community, at least), did have a very large, well-recognized world-wide market (though tilted towards the Japanese culture), and was in fact a US-owned startup. The timing was right - a great fit for the upcoming holiday season (Christmas/New Year). It actually worked, was branded, and was shippable with (limited) customer support. Enough moxie and experienced backing among the founder and his stakeholders was available to expect reasonable donation-based funding via channels like KickStarter (or Indiegogo – but KS is a usually a better choice for new, creative products). <br />
<br />
Call it "startup introversion", "head in the clouds", "technology blinders" or simple fear and reluctance to engage outside expertise for a capability likely not understood at all by the founders - the campaign failure boils down to apparent ignorance of these marketing-related elements:<br />
<br />
<b>1) The Plan </b><br />
<br />
For a marketing or outreach campaign to adequately gain interest and achieve results, especially with time, resource, budget and stakeholder expectation constraints, you need a plan. Particularly on kickstarter, where you must be ready to rally for funding over a short period of time, with constant campaign updates, stretch goals, buzz maintenance, etc. A project plan (created BEFORE the campaign!) will address discrete schedules and dependencies, roles and assignments, risks and contingencies, costs and spending, tools and services, plus performance monitoring and feedback. Then it needs to be executed, and managed. And updated or adjusted. A plan you’ve spent more than an hour on, and have vetted with all critical stakeholders (don't count on social media strangers to execute!). This means you need a Marketing Campaign Project Manager - and the technical, product and company leadership should be not doing this; they need to make sure the product, brand and company will operate as advertised.<br />
<br />
<b>2) "Made in the USA" means made-in-the-USA </b><br />
<br />
If this idea is actually important to you and your target market, then actual, hands-on creation and manufacturing (or programming) needs to happen in the US, by US taxpayers. Conceived/funded in the US, managed and programmed (SW) in India, and designed/manufactured (HW) in China does NOT equal Made-in-the-USA - it equals an obvious poser. If in fact it's not made in the US, but is being marketed here (and to other Western countries) - it still needs to be marketed with appropriate cultural affinity, i.e. absolute proper, American English (if you write Java, hire someone else to write marketing copy!). This applies in reverse, obviously, to other countries and cultures, and their languages.<br />
<br />
<b>3) Is it a brand or a product? </b><br />
<br />
What exactly are you selling? Something to buy once and use, or something to invest your time, money and attention in, as part of a larger, long-term movement, community, experience? This particular product was only a product, with some hints about a "developer community" and mass-appeal-and-adoption-based-on-what-it-does; but these facets weren't developed or marketed specifically, nor was there any identified value to be gained from participation other than immediate gratification and entertainment (even the titling and key messaging was unclear, mixing the product name with unclear messaging - i.e. no SEO value at all, particularly on the KickStarter site itself). The donation would basically yield a disposable, short-lived diversion...quickly fulfilled by the next amusement. This leads neither to scalable success nor brand growth. To shake this out – some very significant market research is usually appropriate – this is actual paid research and surveys by industry experts, not a bunch of Google or Facebook searches by random stakeholders.<br />
<br />
<b>4) Who cares? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>As all marketers know, the key to success is knowing your demographics, your buyers, your influencers. And then speaking directly to them, in ways they prefer, about the benefits for them and their sphere of influence. Particularly with donation-based funding (vs. investment, where the goal really is just about money), you need to discover and market to people who actually care....care about the market segment, care about the particular startup ecosystem, care about the difference this product will make in people's lives. Maybe also those who care about only themselves - but beyond just the "ownership" factor, into the "it's really going to help me" space. (Note to video producers - your videos really need to be authentic; fake enthusiasm from paid models and extras is truly vilified by today's media generation.)<br />
<br />
One helpful segment of the caring actually are the Kickstarter investors - most of whom invest multiple times, and become quite interested, enthusiastic, sincerely active in their support not only of the product, but of the forum, concept and community. Listen to them, respond to them, maybe even ask some of them for advice BEFORE the campaign - especially when they end up saying things like "this is an exciting project... but given the current trend ... projections don't give a rosy picture of this getting funded, unless the founders do extensive marketing...do some marketing research."<br />
<br />
One other note – the world context at this time is trending eCommerce for the holidays; this fun fact doesn’t yet seem to be addressed as another draw, another opportunity to attract not only donors, but real orders…<br />
<br />
<b>5) Social Networking isn't Interactive Marketing </b><br />
<br />
Professional online marketers have figured it out, but it's taken a while for this hype-cycle to burn out, and the newbies, recent grads, interns, career-changers-turned-social-media-pr-experts-because-they-can-log-into-hootsuite need to <u>pay attention</u> to legitimate practitioners with revenue-producing track records. Promoting and marketing your product through social media is not a replacement for a comprehensive, integrated marketing strategy...it's just a part of it. "Likes" aren't "Conversions" or "Material Pledges of Support". Interactive marketing requires expertise in interactive design, SEO, communications/PR, content production, optimization and management (including press releases and video), event support, user analytics and many other disciplines; things neither your product development team nor recently-graduated Intern actually do every day.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, relying on your personal social network and social media interns will only get you so far - at some point you'll either need to generate some truly awesome, viral news, or start leveraging the networking experience and assets of the mature PR/marketing communities in your industry. Also, social media used wrong, in ways that counter the objectives of your marketing campaign - can quickly and irrevocably destroy your product and brand's reputation. Double-whammy - no positive goals are achieved, and negativity must now be overcome.<br />
<br />
In this case, there was some limited, focused social coverage and feedback about the product, both "earned" and via the brand's own channels (plus help from a “Socialite”) - but it started late (too late for SEO value) and tailed off quick, wasn't amplified or extended, and simply didn't deliver conversions (notwithstanding KickStarter's own online presence and social promotion). This appears to be backed up by SocialMention stats – i.e. decent “passion”, but “neutral” sentiment, plus no “strength” or “reach”. TweetReach also shows little significant reach, and Topsy analytics show an amazing lack of Tweeting right around the launch date in particular, despite the “share with friends” sweepstakes offer on Facebook (!), plus auto-tweets from KickStarter themselves.<br />
<br />
<b>6) Advertising isn't Marketing </b><br />
<b></b><br />
"Buying" visibility and customers is very different than "earning" them. For brand new products however, with a short-fused campaign goal - buying and managing advertisements (especially online) is essential, and should be planned in the budget. Adwords, LinkedIn, Facebook, AOL Ad Networks for example - all have very reasonable and extremely well-analyzed advertising options (search, content and community-focused), and best of all, they can immediately reach targeted demographics without the typical, organic SEO or social media ramp-up. Search advertising in particular is a great way to quickly and cost-effectively test marketing messages and demographic targets, as well. Buying and managing ads, however, is a professional competency all its own - though it must be aligned with other marketing and communications tactics. Your programmer, your CEO - they will not know how to do this effectively (it’s not their job) - yet it must be done.<br />
<br />
<b>7) Donations aren't Investments - Except They Are</b><br />
<br />
With platforms such as KickStarter, donors aren't getting any financial investment value, i.e. material ownership stake in the company, contracts, shares, etc. Donors generally get a discounted product, some online recognition or perks, an invite to the party, a T-shirt, a heartfelt "thanks from the team". They may parlay this online recognition into personal or professional gain - but it's generally an altruistic transaction, or one for the curious (i.e. to try something new, test something out, be the first on the block or "lead adopter"). A best practice goal for backer or donation solicitation, is to actually cause the donor to become invested - in a way that the donor ends up selling and marketing for you, providing or pledging invaluable feedback and assistance, continuing to engage, and otherwise becoming a full-in, committed and active member of your new brand's community. This is called elongating and expanding the pipeline, future buying interest (plus some protection and mitigation against hard times). For this particular product, there were some hints at donor investment value - but they really weren't spelled out, marketed and validated.<br />
<br />
<b>8) Win to win</b><br />
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One of the most effective marketing tactics to win visibility, customers, revenue - is to win contests, certifications, showcases, bake-offs or reviews. Don't lose. Don't enter unless you'll win, don't ask unless you'll get the answer you'll want. Smart, experienced marketers will only play for the guaranteed, or even manufactured "win", leaving little to chance. (Make up your own "contest"!) Entering a personal electronic gadget in a contest for the best tech startup, in an area known as a hotbed for backing socially, environmentally, politically engaging products that can "change the world" - isn't a good idea. Nobody cares. In this case, the product lost, and lost big. Furthermore, searching for reviews, product comparisons, official validation or other marks of distinction reveal nothing - only multiple requests from the hardcore for more technical detail. Note - if the techies don't get it, the end-users sure won't. Not only do competitive losses and non-placements make marketing and fundraising an uphill battle, but lost is any upper ground to shout about.<br />
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<b>Now what? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>The nut is cracked, the product and its market edge exposed, the “social proof” wasn’t achieved, the unreasonably high goals weren’t met, and the exposed donor community and attending electro-gadget press corps have moved on to the next shiny ball. Can a new campaign be initiated? Probably, but only by observing the points above, as well as including a very new, fresh feature (therefore addressing new market segments) and branding update. Otherwise, this particular kind of crowdsourced fundraising is probably now out of reach for this particular product. The best next step is simply to market the heck out of it, while the window is open, and earn true "operating funds" - or at least a better idea of its legs for profit.<br />
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And, learn the lesson - get a solid, experienced marketing team engaged WAY BEFORE the campaign. Try <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/" target="_blank">KME</a>.Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-52041028961206486772013-07-24T14:11:00.001-07:002013-07-24T14:29:59.912-07:00The Chief Marketing Technology Officer (CMTO) and the Enterprise Architecture PerspectiveThe <b>Chief Marketing Technology Officer</b> (CMTO) is recently an often-proposed role, that combines the interactive marketing savvy and experience of a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and the traditional information technology operations, management and investment knowledge of a CIO or CTO. More and more often, digital marketing requirements of an organization need a healthy integration of both marketing and IT skills.<br />
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A good deal of the CMTO/CMO's "enterprise" scope to address is actually outside of their organization, i.e. dealing with Internet-based services, tools or 3rd-party sourced data and information. Per this <a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/oeagov/entry/the_chief_marketing_technology_officer">Oracle Enterprise Architecture for Government Blog</a> entry, the typical Enterprise Architect is well-suited to be helpful and useful to the CMTO's domain, even outside the home organization.
Below is an image of the CMTO Domain Reference Architecture.<br />
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Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-5671362705062437592013-02-03T07:02:00.001-08:002013-02-03T07:03:05.275-08:00Choosing an Internet, Digital Interactive Marketing Services Partner - Interviews and RFP/RFIs<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How to evaluate your digital, interactive marketing partner, for local and regional businesses - particularly in the Washington DC and Northern Virginia marketing and advertising area.</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LRlD_G9q5wI/UQ523On2lPI/AAAAAAAAALs/dsLW-QM-rGo/s1600/KME+new+front+image+1_300wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="KME Internet and Interactive Marketing in DC, Northern Virginia" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LRlD_G9q5wI/UQ523On2lPI/AAAAAAAAALs/dsLW-QM-rGo/s1600/KME+new+front+image+1_300wide.jpg" title="KME Internet and Interactive Marketing in DC, Northern Virginia" /></a></div>
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We'll put it out there – as you evaluate prospective partners like <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/" target="_blank">KME Internet Marketing</a> to help with web marketing initiatives, gaining exposure for your business and driving new sales from the Internet, this is <i>exactly what you should seek</i>.<br />
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Research and ask about ALL of these skills and expertise domains, either directly, or as part of your Solicitation or Request for Proposal/Information (RFP/RFI):<br />
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1. <b>Is the firm accessible</b>, with local, hands-on, in-person availability of subject matter experts? Professional, personal service and communications are critical.<br />
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2. <b>Who exactly will you be working with</b>; are these professionals accessible? The firm's website should include leadership profiles and pictures, and these individuals should be well-known in the industry and accessible via professional social media (i.e. LinkedIn). The firm's leadership should have demonstrated at least 10 years in the Internet Technology industry.<br />
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3. Is the firm established, well-known and <b>engaged in the community</b>, with clear evidence of success over time? Avoid the newbies, the out-of-towners, the affiliate marketing scams (there are MANY around), the off-shore-ers, the "website marketing mills", the inexperienced recent graduates, the recent career-changers, the part-timers and interns. Seek those with community roots and involvement, knowledge of local geopolitics. Does the firm appear among the top results itself, in local search engine results? (Try this – search for "Loudoun Internet Marketing" in Google – and note KME is referenced in nearly every result on the first page!). Is the firm engaged in local business and social media forums?<br />
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4. Does the firm require a long-term contract? This is a clear sign of a revenue-focused firm, vs. a <b>customer services-focused</b> firm.<br />
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5. Is the firm "in it for the long haul"? Firms with <b>established certifications and designations</b>, for example "Disadvantage Business Enterprise" (DBE) designations by the State of VA and the SBA, provide evidence of invested commitment to industry and clients. KME is a designated "SWaM" (VA DBE) and "WOSB" (SBA) enterprise (in process). KME also maintains Google Adwords certifications.<br />
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Read more at <a href="http://loudounseo.blogspot.com/2013/02/choosing-internet-digital-interactive.html">KME Interactive Marketing's Blog</a> ....
Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6434684381132111290.post-55529275433340365492012-12-15T07:59:00.003-08:002012-12-16T05:05:22.943-08:00Online Digital Reputation Management is a Requirement for Marketing Strategy & PR in DCNearly every business conducting business in the DC or Northern Virginia area (and elsewhere) is finding that more and more effort is required to manage their online reviews and feedback. Particularly for local or regional businesses, the very first thing online consumers do in considering to visit or buy, is to seek out online reviews, search for online reputation or trust signals, and canvass their social media networks for trusted advice and opinion.<br />
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More often than not, the aggregate perception developed in a consumer's mind, from this online collection of "reputation proof points", will overcome ANY direct marketing, advertising or SEO efforts being made.<br />
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It's hard to fight back, and lawsuits really aren't the answer. <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-04/local/35625084_1_yelp-online-reviews-defamation">This recent example</a> here in Northern Virginia and DC may result in some compensation - but the damage is done, and will last for a long time on the Internet. <br />
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Establishing consistent, durable and very positive online messaging isn't easy, and requires constant attention. There's also no specific, simple answer, tool or web service - and furthermore, any tools or methods that are working today, will not be as effective tomorrow, given the constant changes and updates being made to social sites, search engines and competitive reactions.<br />
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What is absolutely necessary, to maintain a very positive, trustworthy, engaging and respectable professional presence online - is professional care and feeding of your online reputation paired with superior products, services and customer engagement. It's not necessarily expensive, but requires time spent determining your status, planning your approach, executing an ongoing strategy and staying on top of the reviews.<br />
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<b>Your response to online review and PR challenges also requires absolutely professional, high-quality <u>American English</u> copywriting and communications skills (i.e. you can't outsource it overseas, and you shouldn't attempt if you aren't already a great writer), with innate knowledge and understanding of your locality and local news, your market and customers, and your products, services and technical vocabulary.</b> <br />
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<a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com">KME Internet Marketing</a> can help - as they do for all of their clients. The customer, community and revenue fallout from bad Ripoff Report (a particularly nasty service), Google, Yelp reviews can be diluted, overcome, even officially retracted if unfair. Critics and negativity can be promptly, effectively, legally addressed. Positive feedback and testimonials can be solicited, collected and expertly highlighted. Great experiences and news can be prominently placed and optimized for maximum visibility. Professional public relations (PR) and communications strategies can be implemented, at extremely reasonable rates - and far more proactively and effectively than traditional advertising, web design, media publishers or PR firms can offer.<br />
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This is a difficult, quickly-growing issue that will always take time to address and monitor, and has to be an extremely important part of every business marketing and outreach plan. Contact <a href="http://www.kmeinternetmarketing.com/contacts.html" title="Internet Reputation and Review Management">KME Internet Marketing</a> today for more information, or to discuss the many ways they can help. Ted McLaughlanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05341853677599869856noreply@blogger.com0